Today Sue and I (David) went to Bondi and met some friends of Sue’s ( a group of friends with whom she often goes gossiping walking around the foreshore of Sydney Harbour). We went to look at the Sculptures by the Sea exhibition.

As an aside, we used our new Opal cards, which meant our trip  from Blaxland to Bondi (two hours, by a train and two bus rides) return cost us a total $5 !

Sclutures by the Sea is very good.  Sponsored by various firms, they select a number of artworks, some clearly designed specifically for the site, others less specifically inspired.  The one below left was my favourite, but there were many good ones, a small selection I will put below.

It was a beautiful day.  We arrived early, which was just as well.  By the time we left (just after lunch) it was really crowded.

There was even a whale went past whilst we were there.

I’ve had an excellent weekend.  It was a long weekend for reasons I cannot be sure of: someone said it was the queen’s birthday (which or what queen?), but I also heard it was a Labour (Labor?) Day weekend.  It’s all the same to me ….

Anyway, one highlight was going on a mountain-bike ride with Nick.

Both boys were at home, but only Nick came riding in the Glenbrook National Park with me.  We went down the Ironbark trail, up Bennett’s Ridge to the Oaks picnic area on the Woodford Trail, then down the Single Track back to Glenbrook.  A superb ride through the national park, early in the morning.

Even Nick was glad in the end that I got him out of bed before 6-30 AM!  It was hot later in the day, but cool as we pulled up the hill to the top of the Single Track.

This is a picture of me just before haring down the Single Track.

The long downhill of the track must be one of the best rides in NSW/Australia/The World.

Hurtling down a track about a metre wide between trees and plants in the bush, at (I guess) 40-50 kph at times, trying to keep up with Nick (who starts off first, and after about 2km is 20 seconds ahead)!  Exhilarating is only half of it ….

Later the same day I went to the AMRA exhibition in the Whitlam Centre in Liverpool.  An excellent venue, about 40 minutes drive from MtRiv.

As I walked in, there was a live steam Garratt !!!!!

It is a model of the Darjeeling 0-4-0+0-4-0 Garratt.  Radio-controlled, live steam, powered by “Metho” (or was it butane?), 0-gauge.

I want one ….

$8,000 in Australia, though.

There were other live steam loco.s that were more reasonably priced, however.  “Only” $2k for this one, for instance:

Or about $4k for a Stanier 8F ….

Perhaps something for the garden railway in a our next house?