Category Archives: Travel

An Engineer’s daughter

A personal reflection on Clough Engineering

If your mum or dad is an engineer then so much of your childhood is about the built environment.

For one thing you have to wade through photo after photo of bridges and buildings to find the one photo of you as a two year old. 

Forget it if you’re the youngest.

As kids we went to the openings of bridges as often as our friends went to the zoo.

Clip of film dad took of the construction of Stirling Bridge. This is most of an 8mm film which ends with a couple of minutes at the Perth Zoo and includes the only film of my brother as a child.

At the opening of the Stirling Bridge in 1974 for example, we got to walk through the hollow centre.  Wearing matching tracksuits we ate sausages in bread and had the railing pointed out to us.

My sister Cath and I at the opening of Stirling Bridge 1974

Have you noticed the railing ‘disappears’ as you drive past it so you can see the river?

My dad was the Project Engineer.  It was his first big project and it was not without it’s challenges.  Like the day driving down Stirling Highway he noticed the crane at an alarming angle.

It might be Stirling Bridge to you, but to me it is “Dad’s bridge”, and to my children “Grandad’s bridge”.  And yes, they will point out the cool railing.

Dad worked for Clough Engineering which this week went into insolvency having been sold by the family a decade ago. I’m feeling sentimental.

Clough built this city.

Not just Stirling Bridge, but the Narrows, and Mt Henry Bridge.

I was too young for the Narrows but I can tell you they had a hot air balloon at the Opening of Mount Henry in 1982.  Dad was Director of Engineering for that one.

See the balloon in the background? Yep that’s the family photo at the opening of Mt Henry.

They built Cinema City – remember that?  Okay perhaps not one of their more notable projects.

They built Prix d’Armour – that folly of Lang and Rosa Hancock in Mosman Park, now demolished.

And Clough built the Polly Pipe.  The Graeme Farmer Freeway tunnel under Northbridge (which always flows well in both directions).  I took my kids to the opening of that one and we walked through with thousands of others in both directions.

Walking through the Polly Pipe
And you got a certificate to prove it.

I grew up with Clough.  I worked in the library one summer. Photocopying mostly.  I even went on a date with Bill Clough, the youngest son.  My dad worked for Clough for the majority of his career, ending up as Chairman, so the company feels like family which is why I feel sad about today’s news.

But the thing about the construction industry is that you build things.  Things that last even if the company is no more so I’ll still be driving around the city that “dad built”.

And you can too.

Oh and remember to check out the disappearing railing next time you’re in Freo.

Dora Day 2 – Ennuin to Lake Ballard

What a foggy start to the day. It was like we were in a cloud when I first got up. Not that I got up early. It was about 8am. But by 9.30 it had burned off, we’d eaten a bacon and egg sanger. and we were off.

Bacon and egg sandwiches are the breakfast of champions as you well know.

Now it is true that had we gone back to Southern Cross and then to Kal and Menzies on the highway we would have got to Lake Ballard quicker, where is the fun in that. No fun at all.

So we turned right up Mt Jackson Road and followed it around til we reached the turn off to Menzies. And then – even though it was not signposted – we turned left at the Riverstone road and it took us to the lake.

Navigation win.

We’d been to Lake Ballard before. In a tent. But this was in Dora and deluxe.

Remembering to pick up some firewood on the way we set up camp between a family group and a couple from Perth. I got my girl scout on and I must say, set a bloody good fire.

Rory meanwhile got out the Weber BabyQ and set to cooking a roast chook and potatoes.

We dined like royalty and slept in.

Animals: cows and a wedge tailed eagle
People met: Deb and John
Fuel: full tank at Southern Cross on Day 1 at 2.37.

Dora – Day 1

So today Rory and I set off (finally) on our trip across Australia in my parent’s Explorer.

Yes it’s Dora the Explorer or in Explorer Motorhome Owner’s parlance #321TV Quedjinup. I know.

Rory and I in the driveway

We were supposed to leave a few days ago but Rory’s car had to go in for a service and Hugo was nearly back from Cairns so we waited.

It turned out to be a good thing really because after collecting Dora on the Wednesday we could potter about transferring our lives piece by piece into the artfully squirrel like storage units.

Of course that doesn’t mean we didn’t forget things.

Like a mug.

Or garlic.

Just putting in the family shot as well although we are leaving the littlies to housesit.

We decided to make the station our first stop.

It’s about 5 and a half hours due east and gets us to a comfortable spot, off the bitumen for our first night. Yes I’m typing this on my laptop in front of a pot belly stove with a great wifi setup. Rory is watching the Eagles.

Tomorrow night we will be truly on our own.

Dora is a very comfortable ride.

A strange week

Sunset drinks in Broome

My son went in for a pretty serious operation on Friday.

It was scary.

After three hours on the table he was weak and groggy.

This is of course not unexpected, just horrible to see when it’s your baby, your son, your brother.

He is recovering quickly. Resting a lot.

And. Finally. Home.

To distract myself this week (coincidentally) I travelled to Karratha and Broome (Monday-Thursday). That’s what I mean by a strange week.

I love travelling north.

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I didn’t wear my brand new sandshoes*.

The photo is me and Madelaine having a sunset St Clair Sav Blanc at Cable Beach.

Needless to say my exercise regime has been compromised…

Sunday: Social Rowing
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday: Erg session at hotel
Thursday:
Friday: Just a lot of nervous energy
Saturday:

*the Pindan dirt would stain them in seconds flat

Rottnest holiday

Rottnest Island.

Expensive but if you are there for more than two days you fall in love all over again.
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And you truly relax.

You just have to block out how much you are spending.

Kickstart the holiday

What’s the best way to say – mate.  I’m on holidays.

For me, it’s taking off immediately for Dunsborough.  Even if it is only for a couple of nights.

Inside

We are lucky in that Mum and Dad have built down there so spur of the moment getaways are possible and yet this is the first time we’ve been down all year.

Mind you. This is my first holiday this year.

View from the bed

We had a lovely break and raced the bad weather back to Perth well rested and planning our next visit.

While down there I caught up with my sister’s blog.

She is a homeschooler – really a wholeschooler – and I am continually amazed and impressed with how she is raising her kids to be truly themselves.
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If she lived in Perth I would ask her to homeschool my kids!

I would beg her.

My niece is equally impressive. She has set up an animal rescue program to rescue dogs on death row.

How amazing is that?

What was I doing at her age?

Reading crap novels probably.

And my nephew is acting in Shakespearean plays in adult productions.

Yeah I would totally get her to homeschool my kids.

Cigars and Stories

Where have I been?

Well its been busy and I have been a poor correspondent.

So this post is a catch up on stuff… and I won’t get caught up in trying to put things in order… you’ll just have to roll with me here.

OMG so good

It’s been a week since I caught up with my Brisbane colleagues and went out for an amazing meal at Cutler and Co in Melbourne.

The food was amazing… those little ‘cigars’ were filled with foie gras, which I know is not particularly good for the goose, but tastes amazing.

The cigars were one of the ‘surprise’ courses.

The wine was even better thanks to the superior judgement of the two in charge of the wine menu and I was quite glad that I didn’t see the prices so that I could enjoy the wine without the taint of “OMFG How much???!!”  You know how it is.

It felt good to be in the Queensland gang and I am still chuffed I was included.

What a sexy cycling get up

Okay this was a couple of weeks ago when Groover joined me in Melbs for a dirty weekend.

We went to Lygon St to catch up with The Cuteness (see below somewhere) and then picked up bikes at the share bike station, bought a couple of helmets at the local 711 for $5 each and cycled our way through the CBD back to the hotel.  Great fun and good value.

The helmets are good quality and we squeezed them into our hand luggage for use at home.

Not that we have bikes but you never know when they might come in handy.

The cuteness

Enough said.

This is my niece.  She is very gorgeous.

Foggy Melbourne

I hadn’t seen foggy Melbourne before.

At Pony Fish Island

We went to this little bar which is on an island in the middle of the Yarra.  Very groovy.  They even serve mulled wine there sometimes.

Brisbane sunshine

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This is the week before in Brisbane.

The view from the training rooms at the office.

Great view huh?

In full flight

A week after the bike riding back in Perth, we go out with some friends to see Ira Glass and This American Life in the cinema.  If you missed it, you can hear what we saw here at This American Life.

It was a great show.

It underlined to me a couple of things… one:  how distracting the visual can be!  David Sedaris dressed up as a clown for his story and I don’t remember the story AT ALL.

Two:  How telling stories without notes is SO MUCH BETTER than watching someone read.

I am going to aim for NO NOTES in future.

It is one of the very impressive things I’ve always noticed about Colin Barnett btw.  He must have to give hundreds of speeches and I’ve never seen him with notes.

And for those freaking out that I’ve mentioned a person from a political party – I’m sure it is not because of the party he represents.  He’s just a good public speaker.

After the film we trooped around the corner to a little lane way bar called Ezra Pound.

It’s a tiny bar full of mismatched furniture, with a limited wine and even more limited food menu but it’s cute and groovy and a little bit hip.

I felt very much in-the-know taking my friends there…

We told stories, drank wine and beer and ate some pretty sexy olives.

My new office

When I got back to Perth I had to find somewhere to “live” at work.

I’ve been seconded to another position for a couple of months.

So I now have an office.

Very exciting and a bit lonely too if I’m honest.

Apart from all that.  Not much storm damage and all family well.

The secret signs of cleaners

So I am in Brisbane at the moment.

My last night in fact and tonight, when I got back to my room and headed straight for the bathroom I sighed with contentment when I noticed the message from the cleaner:

The sign of attention to detail

Whenever I see the little folded triangles it’s like the cleaner has left a little sign for me.

See, they are saying, I have cleaned your room.

And I, as the temporary occupant think, yes. My room is clean.

Indeed, the dirty dishes I left soaking on the sink have been cleaned thoroughly and put away.

Perhaps I would feel that my room was clean even if the only thing touched was the toilet paper… it’s possible.

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It made me feel better although I am not sure the other occupants of my domicile noticed.

However.

I don’t think the secret sign necessarily means attention to detail.

Witness:

That is a pillow

Just sayin’

Brisvegas

20120513-210013.jpg
I’m in Brisbane waiting for someone to take my order at a Turkish restaurant.

Rapidly losing my sangfroid because there is nothing like eating alone to make you impatient with waiting staff.

Southbank itself is a rather lively well landscapes part of town and this Sunday is busy with people strolling along the wide footpaths and eating and drinking in the many restaurants and bars.

Ah my order has been taken.

Thank goodness for my smartphone the century’s equivalent to a book as entertainment when dining alone.

Really you’d think serving singles and getting them out quickly would be good for the restaurant too.

Who wants to dine in a restaurant full of sad lonely desperately trying to look interested in words with friends people who have no friends!

Sigh.

This morning I went rowing on the Swan.

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Hmm it was a rather ordinary meal.

Poor ordering maybe.

Anyway the rowing was fantastic.

Gliding on the water which was still and flat, the rising sun making butter yellow reflections.

No dolphins today.

It was so good to be breaking the routine and experiencing the city in a new and beautiful way.

The pain will come tomorrow I suspect.

Right. Off to the mini mart and some telly before bed.

Signing out.

It’s my birthday and I’ll whinge if I want to

image

Okay I’m not really whinging.

I like Melbourne.

I could live here. No. Really.

(Anyone want to offer me a job?)

But the thing with the tram lines does my head in.

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I feel like a bird in an aviary.

Or Truman in The Truman Show.

Does anyone else feel like that?

Oh.

Just me?

Damn.