Arms And The Man

Ned Kelly, The Trigger-Happy Bushranger

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This figure of the infamous bushranger (that’s Aussie-speak for “outlaw”) Ned Kelly stands tall over the Victorian town of Glenrowan and is an integral part of local folklore. During a long interstate drive on Friday 5 June, I pulled off the Hume Highway and literally parked under the statue.

I quickly shot some silhouettes of the famous figure before heading to a local cafe for breakfast. About 45 minutes later, the sun had shifted to my advantage, but I still had to work the angles to get the statue against a patch of blue sky.

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Winter Blossoms

In Full Bloom, Despite The Morning Frost

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

On Friday, while doing a major highway drive into the bush (aka the Outback) I decided to pull into Glenrowan for breakfast. Not far from where the giant statue of the infamous bushranger (aka an outlaw) Ned Kelly stands in the town, I found Linda's Billy Tea Rooms and thought that would be the ideal place for breakfast.

I was right! Not only did Linda herself cook me a huge plate of eggs, bacon and sausages (and a very genteel pot of tea), she was also quite happy for me to wander around and take some photographs.

In her back yard I found this huge flowering shrub that was absolutely covered in clusters of miniature pink-and-white blossoms. Because it's winter here, and because I could not identify the flowers, I had to march back inside and seek her guidance. Turns out the shrub is called jade.

Just as I was about to turn away, I heard a distinct buzz - see if you can spot the bee in the image below.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

InterNed Explorer

My Test Of Character

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Thank you to OzLady, whose amusing post Are You A Simpson?, and to Diesel, whose Simpsons Caption Contest both reminded me of a Simpsons link in my own life.

About eight or nine years ago, before I got into The Simpsons, the conversation at home turned to nicknames. I puffed up my chest. ``My nickname at work is great. They reckon I remind them of a really well-known character on television,'' I said with pride.

My wife and kids were pretty impesssed. Then we sort of got down to the nitty-gritty. They wanted to know what the character's name was.

``Ned,'' I replied.

``Ned?'' There was a querulous note in their chorus.

``Yep, Ned,'' I replied, ``like Ned Kelly the bushranger. This bloke's really famous too.''

``Which TV show is he on?'' They were starting to sound like Inspector Columbo in unison.

``The Simpsons,'' I replied. And then they all guffawed. That's when they took me off to watch the show, and I've been hooked on it ever since. But you know what the really funny thing is? Every time I've told this story to other people, the universal response has been, ``Yeah, you actually do have a lot in common with Ned.''

So tell me, gentle readers. Do I take this as a compliment? I'd like to know what you think ....