The day after

What proved to be the highlight of my weekend in Canberra came to end on Saturday night, yes these  big events sure can wear you down. But as night turns into day we set ourselves for another crack at some of the other attractions that draw people to our capital. First up we head up MT AINSLE to capture the overall view of our national capital, very impressive. Next stop will be the AWM with many hours to be spent here  pouring over our war history.Five hours later as we leave this place of sadness I know that some day I will return. Over a long lunch at Poppy's restaurant we plot our next move ,on arrival at the old Parliament House we are soon engrossed with an old but well maintained piece of Australian history, much to see but time is getting shorter. As we cruise the suburban streets of the national capital playing spot foreign embassies darkness starts to take over so we return to our hotel to hatch our next plan. Dining out tonight will take place at King OMalleys Irish pub, with Irish music and a wee drop of Guinness and a cosey corner we settle in for a while. As the evening drifts slowly by I notice some warm cider for sale, after a couple of samples we decide to call it a day. As we stroll through the city we discover another sad side to our national capital, yes the homeless people are starting to claim their doorways for the night. Pretty sad for our national capital.           WADDA

Honouring our war dead

As time closes in on ANZAC day 2015 I will take time to reflect on our fallen soldiers from the wars of the past. As I start my of journey of enlightenment to Canberra I think of the sacrifices made by these brave young men who set off from our safe shores of Australia to the land of the unknown ,many never to return. My trip begins on the eve of ANZAC day with my mate Tom his wife Cheryl and my wife Denise , with a 7.30am departure planned we set sail on our journey to take part in the dawn service in Canberra at the Australia war memorial. After a 1hour stopover at the Holbrook bakery we continue our journey north, as the Hume highway unfolds before us the car navigation system starts to predict several ways to reach our destination. There will be no fooling the driver Big Tom he knows best, yes we turn off the highway and head to locations unknown to the rest of us, THIS SHOULD BE FUN. As doubt begins to creep into big Toms head I quickly turn on my iPad to scour Google maps looking for a quick route out of these badlands of NSW. Arrived at the Medina hotel in Canberra to settle in for our 3 day pilgrimage of the national capital, gotta go to bed early as we will be attending the dawn service which means out of bed at 3am. Up early and grab a cab to the dawn service arriving at 4.15am only to be greeted by a swam of people also attending the dawn service as well , we also stayed for the day service. With some 100 odd thousand attending the dawn service this become a very moving moment in the clean crisp air of our national capital. As the morning finishes we grab a cab to the Ainsle football club for a late lunch, the afternoon gets only better as the Maggies take on the Bombers on the big screen. A solid afternoon was put in but the lights are starting to fade in this old mans body, as bed calls all I can add is WHAT A DAY.                 WADDA