Christmas Day

Christmas day was no less hectic despite Max's departure for Tamworth and the coast the day earlier. We had three separate engagements, first visiting Dot's friend Jane and two of her three sons for morning tea and nibbles. After a weight raising two hours, we then moved on to Dot's cousin Bob's house on a property called Springmount about 20km north of Armidale.

There must have been 25 people or so at this waist expanding Christmas lunch. In fact, there was so much food, that the left-overs would have fed Napoleon's entire army during its retreat from Moscow back to France in 1812. The lunch itself was held in some splendour amidst Bob's collection of antique furniture and Christmas memorabilia. Of special note, was his collection of perhaps 20 mechanical Santas who say ho ho and other things while nodding cheerfully in one's direction. These were augmented by several nativity scenes (being good catholics), hosts of angels, and lots of mock vegetation in the form of wreaths etc. See the accompanying photo.

Finally, in late afternoon, we returned home for a recovery session prior to heading iff next door to our neighbour, Christine Hunt. She had all her tribe around, including Kassandra and Michelle who grew up with Emily and Rebecca. Dot and Dick had to reluctantly bow out of this third extravaganza on account of tiredness, but I ventured forth to play Boules (French bowls) on their lawn.

However, that wasn't quite all for Christmas Day. I had a Skype session planned for 20.00, but that went belly up when the program refused to operate and I had to download the latest version. Alas, Phillip and Brian were eating breakfast in Plymouth by the time I got it working and somehow we never reconnected.

AS

second coming

Five days after leaving Canberra, Beck, Max and Rob turned up in Armidale for 4-5 days. It was a boisterous and tiring few days with Max at the helm and each day started with him climbing into our bed at 5.30 am. He spent his time thereafter:
* hunting for spiders and other insects (and associated entomological work)
* playing in various parks (with ever hair-raising and unintended use of equipment)
* shopping
* bush walks
* watching videos, and
* beating us at his favourite game of matching pairs of animal tiles laid face down.
I played him four or five times and only won once. He also received a variety of presents and went shopping for a few more, though he didn't quite realise they were for him. Once upon a time, young kids were in bed by 19.30, but Max managed to keep going for an hour or so longer.

The picture show Max hunting for lizards, tadpoles, and yabbies (crustaceans).

AS

Christmas a Week Early

As I had a meeting with my specialist in Newcastle last Friday, we decided to extend the trip to Canberra to see Emily and Greg for the first time since they returned from the US and meet up again with Beck, Rob and Max. Absence from the last-named gives us perpetual withdrawal symptoms.

It's not normally a difficult drive from Newcastle to Canberra because it is freeway conditions for most of the way and I had acquired an e-tag to navigate the toll roads around Sydney. An e-tag means avoiding toll-booths by paying fees electronically as you speed past instead. On this occasion, it poured heavily for most of the journey and the heavy spray made driving a nightmare. Still, we managed the journey in less than 5 hours.

Saturday was a shopping day for Christmas presents, including taking Max to his favourite store: Socrates! Socrates sells mind-bending games and toys for children and he scored a plane which flies long distances when you launch it correctly. And, on Sunday, Max came with us first to the Australian Museum and then the newly opened national portrait gallery. At the first, he designed his own future mode of transport on a computer and this was automatically uploaded to a film about a city of the future which we then went and saw. He had the pleasure of seeing his own 'plane' orbiting this city with a picture of Max on the back! And, at the portrait gallery, he went around ticking pictures off a card as he viewed them.



Later that afternoon, we went to Beck's house and assembled Max's Christmas gift from us, a trampoline, much to his delight (pictured). That evening we had an early Christmas meal and opened some of his presents before going outside to wave some sparklers around. This rounded off a hectic day for the VERY happy little man!



Yesterday, in wonderful driving conditions, Dot and I drove the whole distance from Canberra to Armidale in a shade under 8 hours (plus stops for R & R). That meant a shade under 95 kph average for the 756 km journey - a long way! That's the fastest we've ever done the journey.



AS

Earth Studies Building

Today we celebrated the official opening of our new academic home, the reconstructed earth studies building. We staged a large party addressed by the Dean, Margaret Sedgley and the VC, Alan Pettigrew, pictured in the centre.

In fact, this was a culmination of four years of effort on my part starting in early 2005 when, as the incoming head of school, I found that UNE's Council had funded our school $3 million for a new building. I quickly worked out with the head of Facilities Management, Mike Quinlan (in the blue shirt), that this sum would buy about half of our needs if we constructed anew and thta it would be better to spend the money on refurbishing an existing building. I soon found the heavily underutilised Geology building and proposed moving there to UNE's then business manager Graham Dennehy. UNE usually doesn't move fast, but on this occasion the message came back in 24 hours that I had a great idea.

A year of architectural work then ensued, whereby a user's group met with design and construction professionals to decide upon the building's optimal layout to fit us all in and conserve the necessary teaching and research spaces. This bought together staff from Geology, Geography and Planning, and Archaeology, as well as Facilities Management in an effective working group. The resultant plans were approved by the users and passed Armidale Council (the Mayor was there today also). The work was sufficiently complete for us to move in mid-2008 and we have spent the last 5 months fine-tuning our occupation.

The outcome is very good and my colleagues are happy. Today, I received a strong round of applause when the VC noted my driving role in making this outcome happen, and I basked in the warm glow of a job well done!

AS

Horrible? Wonderful? Conundrum

I discovered this morning that two conferences in which I normally participate annually are end on. The first is being held by the International Geographical Union Commission on the Sustainability of Rural Systems (IGUCSRS) and the second by the Pacific Regional Science Conference Organisation (PRSCO). I'm the Australia - Pacific representative on IGUCSRS steering committee and have attended every meeting for the last 14 years on every continent except North America ... and Antarctica ... and I've also organised two of its conferences in Australia, the only country to have held two meetings. I'm an organiser of the second conference and treasurer of the host organisation, The Australia and New Zealand Regional Science Organisation International (ANZRSAI). I've also only missed one ANZRSAI meeting in over 25 years and was also President of that organisation during the 1990s.

What's the problem you ask? Well, one runs from 13 to 18 July 2009 inclusive and the other from 19 to 22 July inclusive. I also feel that I must get to both because the host of the former is a very good friend, Lucka Lorber. And I have to get to the latter to attend the AGM (as ANZRSAI Treasurer) and one of the best meetings in its field in the world. PRSCO attracts delegates from China, japan, Korea, south-east Asia in general, ANZ, Canada, the USA (including I predict at least three heavies in whose homes I've stayed in the US, Mexico, Peru and so on ... i.e. the Pacific rim).

But there's a bigger problem. IGUCSRS is being held in Maribor and PRSCO in Surfers Paradise. Before you run to your atlases, I should point out that Maribor is in Slovenia (just north of the Adriatic) and SP is, of course, only 400 km from where I live here in Armidale. The destinations are separated by something like 18,000 km!

Nice problem. What would you do, assuming both are afforable? It makes getting to Darwin for the 2009 Planning Institute of Australia meeting look a doddle.


AS

Plympton

I hope that Brian and Daphne get to read this brief missive. We've just returned from Adelaide where I spent four days at a major international conference. Dot and her brother, Dick, came along for the trip too, but spent the days out and about in the Adelaide region visiting wineries, galleries and that sort of thing. Meanwhile, I was confined indoors at the Australian Wine Centre in the botanical gardens ... which wasn't so difficult to take.

I took part in a panel session, delivered a paper and chaired a session, which about the most that anyone did. The organising groups were the Australia and New Zealand Regional Science Association (of which I'm Treasurer) and the Australian Research Council Research Network in Spatially Integrated Social Science (ARCRNSISS). I'm also a member of the latter, which paid my travel, accommodation and registration fees! So, I had a good bargain.

What's all this to do with Plympton? Well, after the last conference session I took the tram from downtown to Glenelg on the Gulf of St Vincent. That's unremarkable, but half-way down the the 10 km to the beach I was stunned to find myself going through Plympton, which doesn't look anything like its UK namesake. In fact, the tram stopped at Plympton South and Plympton Park. Does anyone know how Plympton (OZ) came to get its name?

AS