A new Meeting place for the people of Ntandire in Malawi

The next project for the Malawi Support Group are to be building works at Ntandire for a church and hall in shantytown.

The Photos taken on the 10th December are reflective celebrations of a people overjoyed at the prospect of having somwhere to meet.

 

Victorias Fiery Summer

Melbourne awakens to an eerie new day
Fiery red Sun through smoky grey haze
Feels like evening as sun seeks its rest
Dust of a landscape signals rain its request

Bush fires in our country unlike any other
Fed by a drought of an endless dry summer
Dry fuel and air as soil has no moisture
Fight fires in vain best just to contain her

Melancholy thoughts of dim days of our past
Black Friday and Ash Wednesday I pray be our last
Volunteer fire fighters can’t see through the smoke
Brave and determined they’re just ordinary blokes

Smoky conditions will drag on with the drought
Summer continues as towns wait in a fright
The rains we seek quench my country I cry
Rains in dreamtime as smoke blots out the sky

Perth to Freemantle

Recently I travelled on business to Adelaide and then to Perth. During my stay in Perth I took the boat trip to Fremantle.

The first photo shows the Perth city skyline journeying along the Swan River on the way to Fremantle.

Fremantle was once the western gateway to Australia, as millions of migrants arrived by ship prior to modern day jet aircraft. It remains a popular tourist destination, at the mouth of the Swan River and renowned for its feeling of tranquillity with streets graced by old worldly historic buildings which I have attempted to capture in the photographs.

In 1987 it leapt to prominence as a port City when it hosted the Australian defence of the America's Cup. Perth's isolation can be ascertained by the length of the return flight to Melbourne, it takes nearly 3hours continuos flying in a Boeing Jumbo 747. It is the most isolated City of any country on earth.

Little wonder then its residents have been known to sarcastically refer to certain visitors as “ The Wise Men from the East”.