Live life 🙌🏼
What an amazing looking flower. My partner and I thought this looked like one of those bottle brushes you see mothers having to clean their babies’ bottles with. When we found out their name, we thought it was very amusing. The crimson bottlebrush is native to Australia and is very popular with birds for its nectar, specifically lorikeets, which we see here in Sydney all the time.
Thanks for taking a look at my flower of the day and I hope you all have a very happy Friday!
Wayne ✌🏽
I was inspired by Suzette B’s Blog some time ago when she showcased one of the Game Of Thrones doors in her blog post. It was a fascinating read and it made me think back to when I had also seen one of these doors. So as part of Dan’s Thursday Doors, I thought I would show case the Game of Thrones door that I have seen.
First of all, a recap of what these doors are all about. If you have watched Game of Thrones and were an avid fan, you might be aware of some of the filming locations. Many scenes were filmed in Northern Ireland, much to my delight and the delight of most people living there. A prominent scene was filmed at a location called The Dark Hedges in Co. Antrim and has since become a huge tourist attraction. It is basically a road lined with beech trees but the trees are magnificent in their stature and appearance, creating a very moody and suspenseful location to wander through.
Over the years, sadly many of the trees have fallen. They have been subject to storms and the ever increasing presence of tourists coming to the site. Tourism Northern Ireland and HBO found a way to keep the fallen trees alive (in spirit at least) and make good use of them. They were upcycled to create ten wooden doors, with each one depicting a scene from the Game of Thrones series and scattered throughout different locations in Northern Ireland. If you want to see their locations, you can find information here. This is where I found out that mine was number six in the Game of Thrones doors series.
I had heard about these doors when I was last in Northern Ireland, three years ago. My parents had known that there was one nearby in Ballintoy, in a pub called the Fullerton Arms. We headed there for a pint and a nosey and we were delighted to spot the Game of Thrones door, created with such finesse from the fallen beech trees. The pub also had a shrine to Game of Thrones with other memorabilia, a themed dining room and even its very own throne!
I absolutely cannot wait to see all of these doors when I head back to Northern Ireland soon. Once I have seen them all, I will create a new post to show case them all.
Thanks so much for reading.
Take care,
Wayne ✌🏽
There is a new documentary called Mother Teresa – For the Love of God? Has anyone else watched this? We have it here in Australia on Stan (an Aussie streaming service). I will share my thoughts on the programme and hopefully you can comment if you have also seen it or plan to watch in the near future.
Personally I didn’t know all that much about Mother Teresa. I remember her dying in 1997 when I was 14 years old. I remember it being significant as she passed not that long after Princess Diana and that had made a big impact on my memory. So when Mother Teresa died, I recall people feeling extra sad. I knew she was a good woman who helped the sick and poor and she was a very spiritual person. So when I spotted a new documentary about her life, I thought it could be interesting, especially as the title states, For the Love of God? The question mark made me think, are we to question that her life was or wasn’t for the love of God? Or was the help she provided for the love of God? I wasn’t sure but I was intrigued.
I don’t want to spoil the documentary for anyone so I will just make some vague points but personally, I found it to be very interesting. It begins with telling you the history of Mother Teresa, that she was born in Macedonia and how/why she ended up in Calcutta, India. It shows how she helped the poor, sick and most vulnerable members of society and how her legacy grew. Many women joined her to become nuns and assist with her quest to look after the most downtrodden. There are a lot of positives shown about Mother Teresa and the amazing work carried out by her and her team, for example, giving temporary homes to those who had been orphaned.
However, interestingly, it does show aspects of her work from another point of view. The documentary shows how she became so well known and adored by millions. The Catholic Church embraced Mother Teresa and often utilised her to create a positive image for the church (specifically to cover up the issue with Priests and sexual abuse). She also gained A LOT of money that was given to the church. The controversy being that much of the money was given to the church and not necessarily to those people that needed it the most. The money was not used to treat the sick and dying. Medical professionals who had worked with Mother Teresa initially, were horrified at the lack of proper treatment and facilities and ended up leaving to work elsewhere. Mother Teresa was about bringing the word of God to people whilst they were coming to the end of their lives and providing them with a place to stay, rather than helping them medically or offering any pain relief from their suffering. I think in the eyes of Mother Teresa, pain was seen almost as a necessity when dying, like Jesus was in pain when he died on the cross. This part did make me feel uncomfortable, although I was not that surprised that she was used by the church for financial and popular gain, sadly.
Having watched the documentary, I still believe Mother Teresa to be an amazing woman, who gave up her life to devote herself to God and look after those in need. However, I do think it is sad that much of the money acquired through charity and donations, never reached those who really needed it and very tragic that the church had used her kindness and time to their own advantage.
What are your thoughts if you have watched it? Would this blog post make you want to watch it? I believe Mother Teresa’s life was for the Love of God and I believe her help was for the Love of God. I just think maybe more could have been done to treat the sick and offer them pain relief. Also saddened that she became so popular and maybe lost track of her initial mission, with a focus more on the church rather than the people. However, it’s easy for me to say that sitting at home. I wasn’t there to know the facts and I’m sure we are not seeing the whole picture.
I hope I do not cause any upset to anyone with writing about this documentary. It’s just one take on her story and I’m sure there are many other points of view. However, I did really find the show interesting and gripping, albeit rather sad.
Take care and thanks for reading my Tuesday thoughts.
Wayne ✌🏽
Happy Friday everyone!! Today’s flower of the day is from the Coral Tree (Erythrina), also can be known as a Flame Tree. I think the flowers look really spectacular. The vivid red colour and their shape is extraordinary. What do you think? Have you ever seen a Coral Tree?
Wayne ✌🏽
Happy International Nurse’s Day!!! To all the hard working nurses out there, be that registered nurses, enrolled nurses, nursing assistants and nursing students, all around the world…especially throughout the past two years. It’s not the easiest of jobs but we love what we do 👨🏼⚕️💛👩🏼⚕️ and it’s Florence Nightingale’s birthday!
Wayne ✌🏽
Hooray for Melanie’s questions making a return for her Share the World blog post. I love these random questions as a way of learning more about others and sharing a little more about myself. Melanie has posted the following questions and you can read my answers below 👇🏼.
1 – What two totally normal things become really weird if you do them back to back?
I would say brushing your teeth and then having a coffee. I’m sure the coffee would taste really minty. I always wait a good half an hour after brushing my teeth before I have coffee.
2 – What is something that you just recently realized that you are embarrassed by, that you didn’t realize embarrassed you?
I haven’t really been embarrassed by anything for a long time thankfully. I do tend to be embarrassed if people I know speak very loudly, especially on public transport and normally regarding a private matter. I guess I find it strange that people can hear you airing your dirty laundry (so to speak).
3 – If Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, Germany, the USA, Brazil and Italy were represented by one food, which would it be for each?
Australia – Lemingtons
NZ – kiwi fruit (may not be the case but it makes me think of NZ 🤣).
UK – bangers and mash
Ireland – Shepherd’s Pie
Germany – Curry Wurst
USA – burgers or anything deep fried
Brazil – Brazil nuts (may also not be from Brazil)
Italy – Pasta
4 – What might happen if Goldilocks and the Three Bears were set in modern times?
I think the bears would eat Goldilocks.
5 – Where was the most most embarrassing or inappropriate place you’ve passed audible gas?
In the gym! Thankfully only one other person heard but I was mortified.
Thanks Melanie and thanks for reading everyone. Feel free to answer also in the comments section 🙂.
Wayne ✌🏽
I hope you are all having a lovely weekend. Enjoy your Sunday everyone.
Wayne ✌🏽
Happy Friday everyone. Please see below my flower of the day. Todays offering is a China Rose.
This rose is significant for it’s ability to bloom almost every month of the year and therefore, it represents longevity. I like this idea of living a long life, through thick and thin.
Take care all and have a lovely weekend.
Wayne ✌🏽
As it’s Thursday Doors today, courtesy of No Facilities, here are my latest offerings of doors from my neighbourhood and beyond. Please let me know which ones are your favourites. Check out my doors below 👇🏼
I find it hard to choose a favourite as I like them all for different reasons. I am watching the tv series Cheers from start to finish at the moment, so for that reason, I will say the door from Northern Ireland as it has the Cheers logo 😉.
Thanks again for checking out my doors this Thursday.
Wayne ✌🏽
Today my husband and I celebrate five years of marriage. After ten years together, it was time to put a ring on it and make it official. We had a civil partnership in Northern Ireland as it was still illegal for people of the same sex to be married then. Thankfully, it was made legal in 2020.
For us, marriage was about strengthening our commitment to each other, showing our love for each other to the world, providing security for each other and having that certainty that we would be seen as a couple in the eyes of the law. As we were moving to Australia, we wanted that security, for example, heaven forbid, if something happened to one of us. We also wanted to have a time of celebration with our families and friends, before we would leave Northern Ireland for a new chapter Down Under.
When we arrived in Australia the following month, we were surprised to discover that gay marriage was also not legal here. This was astounding as we know how gay friendly Australia is and Sydney hosts one of the biggest Mardi Gras festivals in the world.
On 9 December 2017, the right to marry in Australia was no longer based on sex or gender. This was amazing news and enabled us to be married officially. We had a small wedding service on our one year anniversary (four years ago today), just for us. We felt that we were married before but now it was official. We had a ceremony at one of our favourite beaches with an intimate collection of family and friends.
#loveislove
Wayne ✌🏽
The sunset I am showing today was taken at Musket Cove in Fiji, 2018.
Hope you all have had a lovely Sunday!
Wayne ✌🏽
Happy Saturday everyone. Usually I post my flower of the day on a Friday as I always think of Friday Flowers. However, I was pretty beat after work last night so I thought I would leave it for this week.
However, I was doing my usual walk today after work around the eastern suburbs and spotted this amazing flower on my way home from Bronte Beach. Even though it is Saturday, I really wanted to share this one with you all. It is known as Silky Oak and it’s botanical name is Grevillea Robusta. The Silky Oak is an evergreen tree and the flowers appear from spring to summer, which is quite funny as here in Australia it is autumn going into winter. Go figure! I was fascinated as I don’t recall ever seeing this one before. Let me know what you think? Have you ever seen this flower before? It honestly put the biggest smile on my face when I spotted it. I love the bright orange colour and the long looking tentacles.
Have a lovely weekend everyone!
Wayne ✌🏽
Welcome to another week featuring some amazing Doors of WordPress. I was fortunate enough to spot some fantastic doors last weekend when we were staying at The Rocks in Sydney. Therefore, the doors featured this week were all spotted there at The Rocks, almost like a Rocks special episode of doors. This is a very popular tourist spot with a very interesting history. You can read more about this area here if you so wish.
I was really hoping to explore Darlinghurst and Five Ways today but alas, the rains have returned again to Sydney. That will be for another day, all being well. Please check out my doors below and do not hesitate to let me know which one is your favourite this week.
That’s my lot for this week. Which one do you prefer? Have you ever been to The Rocks in Sydney? It is honestly such a beautiful area, with cobbled streets and meandering pathways all around. You can spend a lot of time here and I never tire of visiting. It’s a bonus that there are so many amazing doors to discover and I have only scratched the surface.
Thanks for having a look and take care everyone.
Wayne ✌🏽
Today I think of my partner and how it is his birthday today! Unfortunately we are both working today so we will celebrate modestly this evening. On the other hand, we were able to celebrate during the weekend just past and had a really lovely weekend together in Sydney.
I planned a secret outing on Sunday in the CBD. I wanted us to participate in an event or excursion and it just so happened that there was an Oyster masterclass happening, courtesy of Sydney Oyster Farm Tours. This was part of a larger event that was happening all weekend in the Sydney CBD to celebrate food, drink and live entertainment.
We were able to shuck our own oysters (the process of opening the oysters) and thankfully none of us managed to injure ourselves. There was a girl in front of us who nearly chopped her finger off! We learned some history and gained knowledge regarding oyster farming and we were able to eat them afterwards. We had a collection of Sydney Rock Oysters and Pacific Oysters and I’m sure we managed to eat nearly a dozen each! This was a great experience and one that we had never done before.
We then checked into our hotel for the night. I thought it would be cool to stay in a really nice hotel with stunning Sydney views, just for one night. You have the novelty of being away from home but with the luxury of not having to travel too far. Being a tourist for the day and night was fun. We stayed in the Shangri-La and really, thoroughly enjoyed it. I would say the only negative point was that it was a long weekend, therefore, it was pretty busy and had lots of kids. It was impossible to get a window view at the bar for drinks and also for breakfast the next morning. Out of season would be better. However, the bottle of bubbles in the room for my partner’s birthday was a really lovely touch and the staff were so, so friendly. The views of Circular Quay were stunning and I’m sure if you have a Harbour Bridge view, that would also be pretty epic.
We had dinner at The Spice Room at Circular Quay. Delicious Indian food in a really quaint and authentic setting. I had been here before and loved it. Thankfully, my partner loved it too 😊. When you see many Indian and Nepalese families eating there, that’s a sure sign the food will be tasty and authentic 🇮🇳.
On the following day, it was ANZAC Day (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps), remembering the soldiers lost at war. We had a dip in the pool and checked out. We had breakfast at The Rocks which was beautiful and watched the parades honouring the service men who fought in the World Wars. I always find this day really moving and I love how people of all ages come out to remember those who lost their lives fighting for their country.
We headed home for a quick change and then out for lunch with friends at The Chiswick in Woollahra. Absolutely stunning venue and food. If you ever have the chance to visit here, do not hesitate. It’s definitely up there.
That was our weekend in a snapshot. I really feel like birthdays deserve to be celebrated as we only have one a year and life is so short.
How was your weekend? I apologise as it’s Tuesday but we were off work yesterday 😛.
Cheers,
Wayne ✌🏽
Happy Friday everyone. This is the day of the week that I post some flowers that I have seen recently or I have managed to haul from the archives, as part of Cee’s Photo Challenges (you can find here).
Today’s flowers were taken at The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and are known as Wax Begonia. They are native to South America and are often used as ground cover.
I really need to return to the Botanic Gardens soon as they have such an array of flower and plant species and it’s a really beautiful spot to take a relaxing stroll through.
Have you ever seen these flowers? Have you ever visited the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney?
Please do let me know and thanks for checking out my FOTD.
Wayne ✌🏽
As it’s Thursday Doors today, courtesy of No Facilities, here are my latest offerings of doors from my neighbourhood. Thursday is fast becoming my favourite day for blogging as I love showcasing the local doors. My only concern is, what happens when you run out of doors?
Please see my selection below and their locations in Sydney👇🏼
What is your favourite this week? I love the artwork for the last one. This is a very popular coffee shop on Bondi Road called Up South Bondi. However, if I’m thinking solely of the door/doorway, the first one would be my favourite.
Thanks for checking out my doors.
Wayne ✌🏽
I hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend. I was fortunate enough to fly to Melbourne to visit my good friends. Whilst there I was able to tick off one of my bucket list items and that was to visit the Brighton Bathing Boxes, just 17km outside Melbourne’s CBD. We were able to drive there but you could walk or cycle also if you had the time. This was the perfect timing for us and the weather was beautiful, a welcome change from Sydney’s crazy weather.
The bathing boxes are pretty famous and have been around for over a hundred years. They are a very European idea and still exist in parts of Europe today. I had seen them on Instagram and thought they looked really epic. They are colourful boxes that people use for storage, just on the beach. There are 82 in total and stretch along the Dendy Street Beach. Useful for storing important items, especially for the beach (I assume) but interesting to note the boxes can not have electricity or a water supply. Perhaps to stop people from living in the boxes.
Please feel free to check out my pictures of the bathing boxes below. They are sure to brighten up your Tuesday 😆 and if you want any additional information, you can read more here.
Thanks for taking a look,
Wayne ✌🏽
Not your typical Easter flower but it’s a great backdrop for celebrations. I hope you all have a lovely Easter break. I am really looking forward to a glass of bubbles or two.
Take care and stay safe everyone!
Much love,
Wayne 🐣
As it’s Thursday Doors today, courtesy of No Facilities, here are my latest offerings. I love walking around Sydney and finding new doors. I feel blessed to live somewhere with such an array of fine looking doors 😛. Have a look below and let me know which ones are your fave? 👇🏼
As you can see, many of my Sydney doors are from Woollahra. I love this suburb in the eastern suburbs and it’s right on my doorstep. It’s very quaint with lots of character and charm.
That’s me just finished work for the week. I am sitting on the train home, tired but delighted to be off for a few days. I hope you all have a lovely long weekend and if you celebrate Easter, enjoy the celebrations, enjoy your time with those nearest and dearest and treat yourself to some chocolates.
Take care everyone and thanks for checking out my selection of doors.
Wayne 🐣
“Each month, we’ll be bringing you a single word that serves as a prompt for your writing, your art, your coding, whatever it is that makes you, you.
For April, the WordPrompt is: GREEN”. Thanks WordPress 🙌🏼.
Ok I like this prompt and I smiled when I saw the word. To begin with, green is one of my all time favourite colours, falling just behind blue. I love scenery and nature and for me, this will most often include green and blue colours. Perhaps this is a reason for loving these colours. I feel like green has so many shades that can all emulate different energies. For example, racing green makes me think of class and sophistication, whereas, apple green is light, fresh and fun. Even when wearing green clothing I tend to feel good 😊.
I am also from Ireland, the Emerald Isle, where we have lots of greenery. We have luscious green fields, trees, grass and moss, namely due to the amount of rain we receive. Ireland is always associated with being green and we can see this especially on St Patrick’s Day, when all the Irish will wear green clothing. This isn’t only in Ireland. People all over the world will celebrate this day and don their favourite green attire. Ok, so it is mostly in countries that have a large Irish population or heritage but wearing green has become a trait of being quintessentially Irish.
However, that’s not to say green is solely for the Irish. There are many countries that show case the colour green very well. When I think of green, I also think of tropical places. I think of holidays and paradise. Many countries and islands have wet seasons, therefore, green vegetation will be in abundance. When we travelled to Taveuni, the garden island of Fiji, it was extremely green, as you would expect.
I also love to eat many healthy green fruit and vegetables. I love peppers (or capsicums in Australia), broccoli, peas, salads, apples, pears and grapes. I think even just the green colour makes me think of them as being healthy and good for you. I remember as a child always hearing “be sure to eat all your greens!”.
Thanks for allowing me the chance to divulge in a sea of greenery!!! What do you think about the colour green? What does it invoke in you?
Wayne ✌🏽 #wordprompt
Today I am flying solo. I am off from work and the sun is finally shining in Sydney. It feels strange but exciting to see blue skies after having so much rain. I am dying to get out and about so I take myself off for a really long walk, wanting to soak up as much vitamin D as possible and to increase my step count for the week. I can’t do the Bondi to Coogee walk as it will be packed on a Sunday. So I decide to walk to Watson’s Bay via the residential streets, hoping to encounter as few people as possible. I pass Macquarie Lighthouse and from there I walk to Camp Cove, just past Watson’s Bay. It’s a little beach that is not as well know, unless you live here in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. I take the South Head heritage trail to Hornby Lighthouse and return to Watson’s Bay. Here I take the coastal walk from the Gap Lookout and return home via Rose Bay.
As well as being a beautiful walk and a good distance for gaining the steps, it also gives me the opportunity to take many photos, most of which I can add to my future posts for my Doors of WordPress and my Friday Flowers ☺️.
I hope you enjoy some of the scenic shots from today. This is my happy place. Walking in beautiful weather, with stunning scenery and the chance to see what I can photograph.
All in all, my walk was about 3.5 hours with a lunch stop. My feet are walked off me but I feel great for having done it and I can now put the feet up at home.
I hope you all are able to have a lovely Sunday wherever you are. Take care and keep safe,
Wayne ✌🏽
My Friday Flowers are back again this week! Sometimes I will post a flower of the day on a Friday but if I have a few to share, I will call the post Friday Flowers 🤗. I think it’s a nice way to end the working week, splash a bit of colour through WordPress and it’s a good opportunity to appreciate the little things in life that we can often take for granted. We are still having A LOT of rain here in Sydney and through NSW. I can’t even complain about it as some people have it much, much worse then me. There are severe floods here, people losing their homes, their livelihoods and sometimes even their lives. Plus we still have the war in Ukraine that is in my thoughts every single day. When will it all end? 🙏🏼 .
Please feel free to check out my Friday Flowers below and hopefully they can make you smile and add a little colour to your day ☺️. I will tell you their name and where I have seen them 👇🏼
I have to say, I am in no way a botanist but I have an amazing app on my phone that can tell me about a flower species by simply uploading a photo. I cannot believe how amazing it is that we can learn so much from a photo. The app is called Picture This if you want to have a look for yourself.
Ps. This is not an advert for this app. I just want to share as I think it’s fantastic if you want to know more about the flowers you are photographing. You can check them out here at https://www.picturethisai.com/
I hope you enjoyed my Friday Flowers post. Have a great weekend everyone and if you’re in Sydney, good luck staying dry 😬.
Wayne ✌🏽
My fourth instalment is here, featuring doors found in and around Sydney. These posts are creating a door monster within me! Now every time I see a door that I like, I have to photograph it. I just hope the person behind the door doesn’t mind. If ever questioned, I will explain my love for doors and inform them that they are part of my blog post. That is quite the achievement to be featured 🤣 (jokes). I hope you enjoy my selection of doors this week 👇🏼
Thanks for taking a look!
Enjoy your Thursday everyone,
Wayne ✌🏽
Thank you Melanie once again for your questions. I will use these for my Tuesday Thoughts today 🙌🏼. I love this Share Your World blog which you can check out again here. A great idea to connect with others and answer questions that you would not normally be asked. Check out my responses below 👇🏼
Are you more productive at night or in the morning? Do you think it’s possible to change and get used to another schedule?
I am always more productive in the morning. My brain must work better or maybe because I’m refreshed from a good sleep. I am more focused in the mornings and determined to meet my goals. I think it is possible to change, however, other things in your life would need to change. Maybe going to bed later and rising later. Maybe going to the gym in the evening might provide you with more energy. Who knows. All I know is that I’m content with my morning productiveness 😆.
What’s the biggest vehicle you’ve driven? If you don’t drive, what’s the biggest vehicle you’ve ridden in?
The biggest vehicle was a Renault Scenic. Maybe not that big for some but my first car to drive was a Ford Fiesta so the Scenic seemed pretty big. I loved that feeling of sitting up high with a good view around you. My dream is to drive and stay in a camper-van one day but like one of those big motor homes from Meet the Fockers.
What songs would be played on a loop in hell?
Oh anything heavy metal or trance music. That would be painful 🙉.
How were your spirits (mood) over the past week?
Pretty good to be honest. I have a lot to look forward to this year and plans are starting to come together. Watch this space 😉.
Thanks everyone and have a good week. Enjoy your Tuesday (Monday night for some).
Wayne ✌🏽
Happy Sunday everyone. If you’re in Australia, I hope you’re all feeling fresh as our clocks went back last night and we had that extra hour sleep ☺️.
The sunsets I want to show you this week are from the Coral Sea when we travelled on a South Pacific cruise. This was a Christmas cruise and our very first time holidaying on one. It was magnificent and the sunsets we seen were unreal. We also really appreciated the clean open air as Australia was in the middle of a really horrific bush fire season and the air was so smokey that it was difficult to breathe for a few days and nights. This was December 2019. It was bad enough we were experiencing the fires but little did we know that the coronavirus pandemic was just around the corner.
Have you seen many sunsets from the middle of the ocean? It really is something spectacular and this holiday will be forever etched in my memory.
Take care everyone and enjoy your Sunday.
Wayne ✌🏽
On this very wet Friday morning in Sydney I want to share with you my flower of the day….Frangipani, a small tree or shrub, native of Central and South America. This beautiful species definitely lifts my mood when I see it and they are everywhere in Sydney. Also today is the 1st of April. Can you believe it! For many people across the world, this means spring is on its way. For us Down Under, autumn has well and truly arrived.
Thanks for checking out my Frangipani pictures. I hope you like them as much as I do ☺️.
Wayne ✌🏽
I do love a good word prompt! I was scrolling through my junk emails and spotted this one from WordPress (swiftly moved to my inbox). I like the idea of having a monthly word prompt and luckily for me, I discovered this on the last day of March 😅.
Coincidentally, I also have a love for bridges. I’m not sure what it is that I love about bridges. It doesn’t even have to be a big or majestic bridge. I like any sort. I love the design of them, I love how many of them travel over water. I love the excitement of seeing what is at the other side of a bridge. Does anyone else have the same sentiment regarding bridges?
Most of you will know what my passions are from my previous blog posts, for example, photographing anything quaint, scenic, architectural etc. and a good bridge definitely falls into these categories. I have so, so many pictures of bridges but I don’t want to bore you all with them today. It is more than enough that I share my doors, flowers and sunset pictures 😆.
However, I will share one of my favourite bridges that is right here in my current city. You can maybe guess it already. Every time I see this bridge I am in awe. It also always reminds me that I am living in Sydney, one of the best cities in the world, in my humble opinion. I think I have photographed this bridge from every angle possible. I have walked under it on numerous occasions, sailed under it, walked over it, travelled over it by car, bus, train and even had the opportunity to climb this bridge with my Dad when he came to Australia. It is of course, the Sydney Harbour Bridge 🙌🏼.
What is your favourite bridge that you have seen so far???
Wayne ✌🏽
You look so fat!!!! Have you put on weight?? What happened to you?
Ok so these are questions and statements that I would never ask or say to anyone and hope that no one else would (unless seriously worried about a loved one’s health).
Yet, I receive the opposite of these questions and statements on a VERY regular basis. You look so skinny! Have you lost weight? Are you eating enough? What is happening with you?
Granted I have always been skinny and always received these questions for as long as I can remember. However, I have had three different people ask me this in the past two days! When does it end? As a skinny man, it has always been my goal to put on weight, possibly for this reason. I’ve only really been working on my weight gain for the past five years and I want to do this in the best way possible and in a healthy manner.
I train at the gym which I absolutely love and yes I have put on a good amount of weight when I increased my calorie intake by 1000 calories. However, I noticed that my body fat was also increasing. Therefore, my new goal is to put on weight that is muscle mass and not body fat. I want to train well and eat a healthy diet. This takes a lot of time and effort, there is no quick fix. This is fine for me, I’m in no rush. However, the constant questioning and statements about weight is both tiresome and saddening. Now, I know this is not intentional. These are lovely people saying this and they would be horrified to know if I was offended. However, I am honestly surprised that I don’t have more of a complex about this. I guess I’m a tough cookie, quite resilient and do not let comments bother me too much.
Just another side note – unfortunately this is not people saying I’m skinny in a good way. For example, they could say, you’re looking slim or you look very toned…instead of saying skinny with that look of worry and disbelief in their eyes. Another point to note is, my weight very rarely changes on a daily basis. Therefore, I think people must forget how slim I am and when they do see me after a few weeks, they have forgotten and assume I have lost weight or I am not eating enough. People who know me well, know that I am always hungry and always eating. I love my food and am extremely grateful that I don’t need to worry about putting on much weight. Good genes I guess 😜.
Anyway, thanks for reading. That is my rant over. What are your thoughts on people’s own weight? Would you comment on someone’s weight? I don’t think people realise that being called skinny is just as bad as calling someone fat, which I personally would not do. Therefore, it really baffles me 🤷🏼♂️.
Many thanks to you all,
Wayne ✌🏽
Happy Sunday everyone. I’m up early here in Sydney, bright eyed this morning but without the bushy tail 🤣. Four hours sleep is just not enough for me (I’m a 7 hour man!) and I’m away today for some wine tastings. So I thought I would create my Sunday Sunset post before I head out for the day.
These were taken in 2016 at a place called Portrush. It’s a little seaside town along the north coast of Northern Ireland. This is the small harbour known as Portrush Harbour (funnily enough). It’s a really beautiful place and it’s a town that many people from Northern Ireland visit for a mini vacation. At the harbour you can find a variety of restaurants, quaint and cosy pubs, a yacht club and you’re in very close proximity to the beaches and town.
I am extremely fortunate that my parents moved here a few years ago so it means I always get to come here. I used to frequent as a child, like most kids did then, as most people couldn’t afford foreign holidays. People would have travelled locally for the weekend or a week away. However, we always had the best times and treasure those memories into our adulthood.
Have you ever visited Northern Ireland’s stunning yet underrated coastline? I feel like it often gets forgotten about when people visit Ireland 🤷🏼♂️.
Be sure to let me know.
Take care everyone,
Wayne ✌🏽
I want to share with you today some flowers from a very popular place here in Sydney at The Grounds of Alexandria. Presently they are showcasing their Secret Garden, where lots of people come to take some pictures and pose with the flowers, mainly girls for their social accounts but it is a really impressive spectacle. I’m unsure if the flowers are real or artificial or maybe a combination of both but it really is a feast for the eyes either way. You can see more information about the event here.
Let me know what you think 🤗
Wayne ✌🏽
My love of doors continues to thrive. I cannot wait to travel again and see doors from other countries too. However, I do love how Sydney has such an array of door types and fortunately for me, are all in my neighbourhood. If you are also a lover of doors, check out Thursday Doors here. You can take a look at my top 5 doors this week below 👇🏼.
Thanks for taking a look and stay safe guys,
Wayne ✌🏽
For today’s post I want to reply to Melanie’s post which you can find here on SHARE YOUR WORLD. I love the idea of sharing our thoughts. Ps. I just missed my spot to hop off the train by about three stops. The joys of being engrossed in the blogosphere 😬.
What very common thing have you never done?
I have never been married to the opposite sex.
Are we morally obligated to be charitable, if we have the means to?
This is a really tough question. I don’t think we are morally obligated but it is the right thing to do. We should want to help others as decent human beings. I feel morally obligated to help Ukraine but feel so helpless as a single entity to do anything significant.
What is the most amazing fact you know?
That the sun will rise again tomorrow.
What’s your favorite sandwich and why?
Chicken and cheese all the way!
Something that inspires me…
The youth of today inspire me, especially their stance on global warming and wanting to improve the world we live in.
Thanks for taking the time to read my Tuesday Thoughts and thanks to Melanie for the inspiration.
By the way, I actually can’t believe this but I have just missed my train spot again on the return train!!!!! No more blogging for me this morning 🤦🏼♂️.
Wayne ✌🏽
Happy Sunday everyone. I have been thinking about this for some time now. As well as my love for travelling, doors, flowers, architecture and anything quaint, I am also obsessed with sunrises and sunsets. Preferably sunsets as I don’t like to wake up too early to see the sun rising. I want to share with you every Sunday some of my favourite sunsets (and a few sunrises) over the years and where I have seen them. Hopefully the colours will also brighten our spirits with all the sadness in the world today.
This week I will show you a sunset I watched in Kata Noi on the island of Phuket, Thailand. I met my parents here for a few days as they were holidaying from Ireland and I flew over from Australia. It was amazing to be able to catch the sunset with my parents and spend some quality time with them on my own. A time I will forever cherish.
Thank you for taking a look.
Wayne ✌🏽
Happy St Patrick’s Day everyone. 17th March is a day the Irish love to celebrate. We celebrate St. Patrick as he drove the snakes out of Ireland, although he also brought Christianity to the island too apparently, saving the Irish from their pagan ways 😝.
For most of us, it’s a time to celebrate being Irish or to be from the country of Ireland, including Northern Ireland. It’s a time to gather with our friends, drink lots of Guinness, wear our finest green attire and listen to traditional Irish music. It is an excuse for many to have a big breakfast and start the celebrations early. If you manage to stay out celebrating past 7pm, you have done extremely well.
This is also a day where everybody wants to be Irish. Everyone will tell you that they are Irish. “My grandmother’s aunt came from Ireland or my Dad’s great grandfather’s wife was Irish, so I must be part Irish too. We hear that a lot and in most cases I’m sure it will be true. The Irish tend to be everywhere. Years ago, Irish people had big families and many emigrated to seek a better future for their families, especially to America, Canada and Australia.
Being in Australia is a bit different from home and the traditions are a little different. I was working today but will be heading out for dinner tonight. I will be wearing green and I will be drinking Guinness. Even though it doesn’t taste as good here (they say Guinness doesn’t travel well, it’s best to drink in a country pub in Ireland, preferably Donegal 😉).
Will you be celebrating St Patrick’s Day today? Do you have a connection to Ireland? Do you have an Irish heritage? Please do let me know.
Have a great day everyone.
Slainte! 🍻
Wayne
Welcome once again to Fandango’s Provocative Question. Each week I will pose what I think is a provocative question for your consideration. By …
Fandango’s Provocative Question #160
“Do you think, given everything that is going on in the world, that children born these days will have a worse or better life than their parents? Why do you feel that way?”
I find it sad to think about future generations living on this earth. The threats of war, natural disasters and pandemics will be in the future for sure. Natural disasters are going to become worse and to the extreme that will have never been seen before. Global warming will be at the point of no return as governments haven’t acted quick enough despite all the warning signs over the past few decades. Why can’t we all listen to what David Attenborough is saying?
We see with Ukraine, Afghanistan and many other countries, the greed of powerful leaders/governments wanting to take control no matter what the cost. Sadly, these people have followers, either due to stupidity or just pure evil. I thought people would learn from wars but I don’t think that’s the case and it will certainly remain for future humanity to have to cope with. What is it all for? What does it achieve?
Also I can see more pandemics in the future too. People not willing to do the right thing for the safety of everyone. Wealthier countries unwilling or unable to help the poorer countries. It’s actually quite depressing to think about it for the children of the future. Maybe I’m cynical because things are so bad at the moment with covid, floods, bushfires and countries being brutally taken over.
I really am hoping the future is bright for the next generations. I don’t want people of the future to suffer. It does worry me for family and friends who are all having children. Thank goodness I’m not having any 😜. What do you think?
Wayne ✌🏽
Hi everyone. I just wanted to share my thoughts in this post. It’s funny I’m doing it on a Tuesday, or maybe it’s apt as I used to always hate Tuesdays. I always found Tuesday to be a nothing day. Let me explain my thought process there quickly. On a Monday you always had lots to talk about, normally what you had been up to over the weekend just past. On a Wednesday it was hump day i.e. middle of the week. You knew, when you were nearly finished the day, you were heading towards the weekend. Thursday is the day before the weekend can begin so you are in a really good mood knowing that Friday is the next day. Finally, Friday was the best day of the week. You were filled with excitement to be off for a couple of days and have some excitement over the weekend. Ok, so this was before I became a nurse and started working different shifts. From then I haven’t minded Tuesdays as much ☺️. Additionally I really appreciate my weekends off more when they happen now.
Here in Sydney, the weather has been dismal. Constant rain for the past two weeks and with no end in sight. Some places are having 230mls of rain in 24 hours. People are experiencing severe flooding, loss of homes, livestock, and employment. I know we are in the middle of La Niña, the atmospheric phenomenon that occurs here every ten years but this feels so much more. People are saying this is the worst flooding in decades. Global warming I’m sure is having a major impact. Very gloomy here in Sydney, however, I don’t want to complain about it as people are losing everything to these floods.
Also the war in Ukraine doesn’t seem to be slowing down. So many innocent civilians losing their lives. For what? The mind boggles. I know we wanted to hear something other than Covid on the news but this isn’t what I had in mind.
That’s my Tuesday thoughts on this wet, miserable day. Maybe I should start writing some fiction to lighten the mood. How’s everyone else’s Tuesday going?
Wayne ✌🏽
This amazing piece of art is from my good friend Grainne Knox. You can check her out on Twitter, Instagram etc. Grainne is providing people with this image if they care to donate to the people of Ukraine via the Disasters Emergency Committee here. No matter what the amount is, it can make a difference. It’s a good idea if you’re feeling helpless and not sure how to help.
I think it’s a lovely gesture and I love this image. It is very relatable for Ukraine today with the sunflower being their National flower 🌻. I also love the idea of sunflowers growing everywhere.
If you want to check out Grainne’s work online you can click this link https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/GrainneKnoxArt?coupon=GRA4MNA.
Wayne ✌🏽
Today I am show casing the sunflower as it is the national flower of Ukraine. I cannot stop thinking of this country, it’s people and it’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Hoping for a miracle.
https://ceenphotography.com/2022/02/26/fotd-february-27-dahlia/ – thanks Cee for your FOTD space 🙌🏼.
Wayne
It’s February 25, 2022. Welcome to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (U.S…
FOWC with Fandango — Launch
The only thing I can think about at the moment is poor Ukraine. When Russia decided to LAUNCH an attack and invade Ukraine. It just seems so barbaric and unnecessary. People are so greedy and self absorbed. I dread to think what will happen when Putin takes over the capital city. Maybe he will stop there, when he feels he has won. With Ukraine taken over, the government dismantled, the media might stop and people will forget what is happening there. Like many other world atrocities, we tend to forget and move on with our own lives. However, the people still living there have to deal with the trauma every single day. Although, if Putin doesn’t stop there, where will this war head? Will he want to try take over other countries? If so, NATO will have to jump in and would that then be the start of WW3? It’s a frightening thought.
I just feel so sad and helpless for the people of Ukraine, as I’m sure many of us do. I don’t think posting the Ukraine flag on my social media will help. Nor do I think prayers will help. I’m hoping the world leaders will do more. I know they don’t want to engage in war but maybe cutting off Russia from everything might deter Putin. I know they’re trying this already. I suppose it will take time to see if it makes a difference. Sadly, the Ukrainian people don’t have time. They’re fleeing the country or seeking shelter. Just awful ☹️. How are you all feeling?
Wayne ✌🏽
Welcome to my second Doors of WordPress post. I am posting today because it is Thursday today and there is an amazing Thursdays Doors group in the blogosphere that showcases the most amazing doors. You can check it out here https://nofacilities.com/category/thursday-doors.
Please let me know which one is your favourite. I have written the location where I found each door in the caption below the photo. Note they are all from New South Wales, Australia ☺️.
The last door is my personal favourite. What’s yours?
Thanks all and keep safe,
Wayne ✌🏽
If you’re looking to check out somewhere different near Sydney, then this could be your next stop. Situated near Botany, this park has it all, including a walking trail, a sports oval, themed gardens and ornamental animals, a maze, shaded walkways and picnic benches dotted around the park.
This park is a lovely way to spend a couple of hours on a sunny morning/afternoon. It’s always a blessing to find a new spot to discover and explore.
Thanks for taking a look with me,
Wayne ✌🏽
Cee from Cee’s Photo Challenges has a Flower of the Day challenge. You can check it out here. I thought this would be a fun post to show some of my flowers as I have quite a lot on my camera roll. They just aren’t popular on my Instagram feed for some reason, therefore, they are rarely seen. I’m delighted to show them off here on my blog. A big thank you to Cee for creating this challenge 🙏🏼.
Thanks for having a look. All photos taken by me. I have so many more if this post becomes popular enough 🤣.
Wayne ✌🏽
WrookieSchU 