Good Days And Better Days

George Lesses (January 4, 1941 – May 10, 2011)

“I only have two kinds of days – good days and better days.

And today is a better day.”

~ George Lesses (January 4, 1941 – May 10, 2011)

Blog posts have been a bit thin on the ground lately. That’s because most of my waking hours have been occupied by the extended illness, and recent death of my older brother, George.

While this may serve as an obituary of sorts for George, it is pretty much impossible to do justice to his 70 years in a few paragraphs. Family man and father, basketball player, coach and mentor, cabinet maker, carpenter and craftsman, athlete, grandfather (‘pop-pop’ to some, and ‘papou’ to others), brother, and lover of life. All these and so much more, sum up the many facets that were my brother and the life he lived.

I hope every family has a man like George in their lives. George was one of the pillars of our family. A man who always made sure to include everyone in celebrations - large or small. One of his personal motto’s was: We’re not here for a long time – we’re here for a good time. To that end, he loved organising family get-togethers, at which he presided over the bar-b-que or roasting spit, and it gave him no end of pleasure to see everyone eating, drinking, laughing and enjoying each others company.

George was the eternal optimist. The saying (and song), Always look on the bright side of life, could have been written for George. More to the point, he might as well have written the phrase himself, so much did he embody its spirit. But George lived by the quote at the start of this entry, which as far as I am aware, was original to him.

The story goes that George, who was a cabinet maker and master of anything involving the use of wood, was having a tough day with a couple of hard to please clients. At one point one of the clients, apologised – sort of – and suggested they were making his day harder than it needed to be, at which George said he replied to the effect: “Not at all. I only have two kinds of days – good days and better days. And today is a better day.”

And thus the phrase has made it into our family folklore.

In 2003, I wrote Good Days, Better Days, a song which adapted and incorporated part of the phrase, which pleased George no end. The song has always been a popular crowd pleaser whenever I performed it live, which you can see me doing in the clip below. George always enjoyed the song, and he was in the audience singing along on the chorus with everyone else when the clip was filmed.

It is a small but fitting tribute to a great man whose legacy survives in his two adult children, four grandchildren (with a fifth on the way), and in far more ways than I can hope to document here.

I’ll miss you bro’. This song’s for you…

Things You Discover Walking #2

Roy 'Mo' Rene (1891-1954)

Image: Roy ‘Mo’ Rene statue

It just goes to show how rarely I walk down Adelaide’s Hindley Street. The statue of Roy ‘Mo’ Rene had been in place for at least four months in 2010 before my round the world trip, but if I had been on Hindley Street during those four months, I was completely oblivious to this wonderful statue.

Created by the South Australian artist, Robert Hannaford, to commemorate one of Australia’s most famous funnymen, the statue stands on the corner of Hindley and Leigh Streets.

The plaque set into the pavement at the foot of the statue states: “One of Australia's greatest and most loved comedians, Roy Rene was born Harry van der Sluys (or Sluice) in Hindley Street, Adelaide.

The son of a Dutch cigar merchant, and one of seven children, he loved to perform from a young age. His first professional job was at the Adelaide markets and his stage debut was as a singer at the Theatre Royal in Hindley Street.

The young Roy moved to Melbourne with his family to continue his acting career. He performed around Australia and New Zealand, eventually moving to Sydney where he joined the vaudeville circuit. Roy Rene became famous for his superb timing and funny gestures and for his distinctive make-up - a painted white face and black beard.

Later, by then known as 'Mo', he teamed with comedian Nat (‘Stiffy’) Phillips and the duo became the renowned 'Stiffy and Mo' comedy act. In the 1940s he turned to radio and his show McCackle Mansion was a huge success.

Some of 'Mo's' favourite catchphrases are still part of Australian vernacular. For example: "Strike me lucky," "Fair suck of the sav," "Don't come the raw prawn with me," and "You beaut!"

The Australian entertainment industry's annual 'Mo Award' for excellence in live performance is named after him.

Commissioned by the Adelaide City Council, the sculpture was created by Robert Hannaford, and installed in Hindley Street in February 2010.

Solar Mallee Trees

The things you discover walking...

Image: Solar Mallee Trees, 2005. Artist: Anthony Materne.

So there I was, visiting the Adelaide Festival Centre (see my entry AdelaideFestival Centre) for the first time in years. As I wandered across the complex I came across Anthony Materne’s Solar Mallee Trees on the plaza between the Festival Theatre and the Dunstan Playhouse.

To my surprise, a plaque near the installation bore the date 2005, indicating the year the work was created and installed on the plaza. I was surprised, I suppose because it just showed how rarely I paid a visit to my home town’s principle arts centre.

Image: Solar Mallee Trees on the Festival Theatre plaza

Created in steel, aluminium, and fibreglass, and incorporating sound and lighting elements, Solar Mallee Trees is an “…interpretive sculpture developed to creatively exhibit solar power technology through its form, movement-activated messages, lighting display at night, and digital power generation display. The form is a contemporary interpretation of the indigenous Adelaide plains mallee tree.”

There is a lot of public art around Adelaide, and as I discover it for myself, I will present the best of it here.

Notes:

Name: Solar Mallee Trees, 2005

Artist: Anthony Materne

Location: Adelaide Festival Centre Plaza

View: All year round

Entry: Free

Be A Tourist In Your Own Town

Art Gallery of South Australia

Yesterday’s post [April In Adelaide] listing some of the major events taking place in and near Adelaide during April, may seem like a strange choice for a blog which has readers from all over the world. However, one of the things I am determined to do, now that I am back in Australia, is to be a tourist in my own home town.

Having recently returned from an eight month journey that took in New York City, New Orleans, Paris, Phnom Penh and other exotic locations, it would be a mistake on my part to think that dear Adelaide with its million or so people, has nothing of interest to offer a well travelled wanderer. Of course, that is simply nonsense, so over the course of my current stay here, I am going to make sure that Adelaide features a lot more prominently in this blog.

The month of March in Adelaide is festival month, and sadly I missed out on several major events I would normally try and attend if I were here. Three in particular have a long history and huge followings. These are the Adelaide Fringe, the Big Pond Adelaide Film Festival, and WOMADelaide. Add to these the Clipsal 500 Super 8 car race, the Come Out Festival and other events, and it is clear that for its size and location, Adelaide packs quite a lot of partying into its relatively small size.

April has its own rewards, but major events are not the only thing capturing the eyes and the attention of Adelaideans. Every day, somewhere across the city, smaller, more intimate events take place in museums, galleries, wineries, in small Adelaide hills towns, and elsewhere. I plan to build visits to some of these locations into my life here. For example, both the South Australian Museum and the South Australian Art Gallery offer free tours and talks throughout the year, and I will make sure I take the time to participate in some of these, and write about the experience here.

While it is good to dream and plan for your own overseas travels, I urge you to be a tourist in your own town from time to time. You will almost certainly be surprised and delighted by some of the things you discover there.

Home Is The Traveller

Victoria Square fountain, Adelaide

Home is the sailor, home from sea,

And the hunter home from the hill.

~ Requiem, Robert Louis Stevenson

I don’t know why this couplet from the poem, Requiem by the poet Robert Louis Stevenson came to mind today as I made the move into an older sisters vacant apartment, but it seemed somehow appropriate. After living out of a suitcase for nine months, this solo traveller is finally back in Adelaide again and looking forward to exploring my home town in greater depth. Needless to say, it is great to be able to hang my shirts up again, keep my jocks and socks out of sight in the bedroom, and nice to display my books for easy and convenient access.

Most importantly though, it will be lovely to start blogging again on a regular basis. I set myself several goals and objectives at the start of the year, with regard to my blogging and writing, and all of them have been on hold since mid-January when my Sony laptop stopped working.

In particular I want to forge links with other bloggers and travel sites, which includes inviting guest posts from writers I hold in high regard, and in return contributing to travel sites I also find useful and informative – and most of all, trustworthy. To that end I have already started contributing guest posts to the artist-at-large website, and I have also agreed to contribute to the CheapOair website.

I have recently created a Twitter profile for the Compleat Traveller, which I hope readers will join, and participate in. I’m still getting my head around Twitter, trying to work out how it can work for the Compleat Traveller, and more importantly, how my participation on this social networking site can work for you, my readers. Like the links I am building with other websites, my intention with my Twitter profile is to form networking links with high value travel related companies and independent travellers, who have something of real value to contribute to readers of this blog.

So there you have it folks. Three months into the new year, I am only now beginning to get back to work, but I hope to make up for lost time with the help of my new laptop, and a compulsive back up plan.

Friday Photos: Angel Of Semaphore

Close: War Memorial clock tower and angel

In 1925 this war memorial and clock tower commemorating those who fell during the First World War, was erected on the foreshore at the ‘foot’ of Semaphore Road, in the suburb of Semaphore, Adelaide, South Australia.

Although this series of Friday Photos is titled, Angel of Semaphore, the monument is obviously not called that. However, colloquially the locals refer to the statue on top of the clock tower as either the ‘Semaphore Angel’ or the ‘Angel of Semaphore’, and that’s good enough for me.

Closer: Night falls over the seaside suburb of Semaphore

I shot this series of images late one evening after going for a long walk along the beach, which is a great way to relax and gather one’s thoughts after a long tiring day at the office – not that I worked in an office, but you get my drift.

Closest: the Angel of Semaphore keeps an eye on locals and visitors

Maybe I should have called this post, Close, closer, closest. Then again, maybe not.

It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve walked past this War Memorial, I have always taken the time pause and look at the angel. Lit up at night, it makes for a particularly captivating image, and I know I am not the only person to have tried to capture the monument as the sun sets in the west, and another long, hot summer day draws to a close.

-o0o-



The Aussie Way Of Greeting

Signage on Stuart Highway heading north from Adelaide

...

There's a great tradition still taking place on Australian country roads that has been around for many years, and long may it continue to be so. This tradition involves the practise of acknowledging complete strangers (but fellow travellers), as you cross the nation's highways.

This acknowledgment takes the form of a slight raising of the fingers of one hand just as two vehicles travelling in opposite directions pass each other. It is almost like a mini salute. You rarely have to take your hand completely off the steering wheel to execute this manoeuvre, and it can be so fleeting that if you are not paying attention, you could easily miss it.

I was delighted to see this practise still in use on a trip to Port Lincoln a few years ago (a round-trip distance of around 1300kms).

I don't know if this is a uniquely Australian practise, but it must surely be in danger of dying out as the years go by, and more and more cars take to our national highways. At some point it becomes impossible to acknowledge every driver you pass during a long trip. There are just too many travellers to greet. But it was not always so.

Back in the day, when we went on an extended drive through Australia's bush, there were far fewer travellers on our country roads. Back then, before the nation's major highways were even sealed, we would often stop and chat with fellow travellers to learn about the road conditions which lay ahead. Back then, you could travel, literally for many hours without seeing another vehicle on the road. So when you did encounter another car, you would always stop for a brief chat with the other driver.

Now of course, it is completely different. It is very rare to travel anywhere along our national highway system, and not encounter a continuous stream of vehicles, large and small on the way to somewhere else! Now, too, almost everyone carries a mobile (cell) phone with them, and you are never more than a few hours between country towns, roadside truck stops, and other forms of human contact. Add to that the increasing use of GPS systems, and it is almost impossible to get lost or be out of contact with another human for more than a couple of hours at a time.

I was thinking about all of this on my trip to Port Lincoln, when I began writing what I thought might be a song on the subject. In the end, it seems to have turned into a poem, but all it takes is the addition of a melody to turn it into a song, which I may yet do. Anyway, here it is...

THE AUSSIE WAY OF GREETING

© 2006, Jim Lesses. All Rights Reserved.

When you're driving on the highway,

And you want to say, "G'day"

To a stranger that is driving

Down the road the other way.

Just lift a coupl'a fingers,

Point them up towards the sky.

It's the Aussie way of greeting,

So go ahead, say, "Hi".

It's the Aussie way of greeting,

Nothing flashy, nothing grand.

Nothing over ostentatious,

Like the waving of a hand.

It isn't Regal; it isn't Papal,

It's never coarse, and never rough.

It's the Aussie way of greeting,

Understated - but enough.

It's the Aussie way of greeting,

From the people of the land.

If you ever need assistance

They will always raise a hand.

They will never leave you stranded

They will help you share the load.

It's the Aussie way of greeting,

And you will find it on the road.

It's the Aussie way of greeting,

May it live forever more.

May you never be too busy

Fellow travelers too ignore.

May you take the time to send one,

May it brighten up your way.

It's the Aussie way of greeting,

So raise your hand, and say, "G'day".

One Leg Down - One To Go

It's 7.30pm New Zealand time as I write this (5.00pm in Adelaide).

I've just completed the first leg of my trip around the world - Adelaide to Auckland - although I'm not spending any time exploring the 'land of the long white cloud'. There are better times of the year to travel New Zealand, unless you are into winter sports - and I'm not.

Got off to a good start this morning, thanks to Sarah-Jane, my long-suffering niece.

However, I had a moment of panic last night when I went to bed. Literally 30 seconds after I flipped out the light and put my head on the pillow, I suddenly thought: I don't have any printed details for my accommodations in Los Angeles. I had of course, booked a couple of nights in L.A. weeks ago, and I had copied the information into a couple of MS Word documents onto my laptop. But I had forgotten to make a print out of the information.

There I was, trying to get to sleep, while also trying to remember the name of the hotel and coming up with numerous variations of the place, but not the right name. I considered leaving it until this morning, but knew if I left it, I would never get to sleep from having the oversight play on my mind all night. There was nothing to be done but get back out of bed, unpack the laptop, power supply, cables, and pre-paid wifi dongle, boot up the computer, find the files on my machine and finally email them to myself so I could print them off this morning. All that duly done, I packed everything away again, and 50 minutes later hit the pillow once more.

But why did I remember this oversight at almost the last moment? How is it, that my subconscious was able to retrieve this information, when my conscious mind had forgotten these very important files? I have no idea of the answer to those questions, but I'm thankful for the gift. Truly, the human mind/subconscious is a wonderful thing.

In the end, it was an uneventful flight - just the way I like it. My inflight movie of choice was a second viewing of the South African film, District 9. I even got to sit next to the wing exit, which means that in the even of an emergency, I was the person designated to open the escape route onto the wing. Unfortunately, no-one explained if I had to wait until the plane came to a complete stop before I opened the door, or whether I could open it before we hit the ground. Fortunately, I didn't have to find out!

Livingston spent the whole flight tucked into the overhead storage locker - sleeping. At least, that's what I'm assuming. Anyway, he didn't complain too much, and I left him to it. I did take some photographs during the flight, but as yet I can't download them from camera for your viewing pleasure.

They will wait.

Just like I'm waiting for the next stage of the trip: Auckland to Los Angeles.

The first leg was easy. This next one will be a real back breaker, but with a bit of luck I hope to sleep most of the way. See you then, then.

24 Hour Internet - $27.50!

~ Excuse me while I vent my spleen! I’ve just been reading a review of the Oaks Plaza Pier Hotel (15, Holdfast Promenade, Glenelg, Phone: 8350 6688), in my local Adelaide weekend paper, The Advertiser (May 8, 2010).

Dianne Mattsson, the reviewer, gives the hotel an overall rating of four stars, and for all I know it deserves everyone of them. However, the thing that has got my blood boiling is the list of ‘facilities’ she mentions – one of which includes 24 hour Internet access for AU$27.50* per day.

Twenty-seven fifty!

You can park your car with them for $16.00 a day, but if you want Internet access you have to pay $27.50 per day!

Are they mad?

Almost every budget chain hotel/motel in America provides free WiFi Internet access as a matter of policy, and here in Australia we have some dinky little hotel charging $27.50 a day. Do they think people are going to spend their whole stay locked in their rooms surfing the Internet? Are they afraid that the few cents it costs them to provide Internet access for each room is going to send them broke? Can’t they see, providing free Internet could set them apart from their opposition and give them the edge they need to attract more guests?

Heck if it really is that expensive to provide ‘free’ WiFi to each room, why not add a few dollars per day to each room rate, and recoup their investment that way. Some guests will use the service a lot; others will use it a little; and still others not at all.

In an age when WiFi enabled computers and mobile phones are ubiquitous, it makes no sense to charge your guests an extra $27.50 a day to keep in touch with family, friends, or the boss. Especially, when more and more local cafés are providing free WiFi to attract customers through their doors.

Mind you, the Oaks Plaza Pier Hotel is not alone in slugging travellers huge fees for Internet access. In Australia this appears to be the ‘rule’ rather than the exception. So in their defence, the hotel might argue they are just following the industry norm. To which I would say, So what? How about thinking outside the square? More importantly, how about joining the rest of us in the 21st Century, and providing what should be an essential service to your guests – just like the ‘free’ linen service, television, and other standard room facilities every traveller now takes for granted.

For my part, I will never pay extra for Internet access, when I can choose a hotel that provides the service as part of their standard booking. The more travellers refuse to pay extra (and explain why they choose not to stay at hotels that do charge extra fees), the sooner these hotels will begin to include free WiFi or broadband access as part of their standard service.

* While the Oaks Plaza Pier Hotel does give you the option to pay $10 for two hours of Internet access, in my opinion this is even more a waste of money, and a further insult to their guests.

Technology and Travel

Technology and travel; has there ever been a better time to marry the two fields together?

I am constantly amazed by the convergence of technology with modern life.

On my recent trip to Melbourne my new iPhone was permanently attached to my hand. Whether reading books while travelling on the city’s tram system, tracking my progress via Google Maps, looking up locations and information online, snapping photographs, taking notes, listening to music and podcasts, playing games, sending and receiving text messages and yes, even making the occasional phone call, my iPhone was constantly by my side.

As much as I continue to use the phone on a daily basis, I am still blown away by the marriage of technology and convenience it offers. Take this simple example: Yesterday, as I walked down Semaphore Road towards the beach, I was listening to the BBC radio program The World Today being broadcast via WHYY, a public radio station based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Semaphore Road, Adelaide; the BBC; WHYY, Philadelphia; an iPhone – and not a wire in sight. If that’s not incredible, I don’t know what is.

In future entries, I will begin reviewing some of my favourite travel applications.

Happy New Year!

~ Happy New Year!

Strange isn't it? It is midday on January 1st, here in Adelaide as I write this (with a slightly befuddled head following yet another late night seeing in the new year), which means we are already 12 hours into 2010.

Meanwhile, in New York it is still only 8.30pm on New Years Eve. I imagine there are thousands of people streaming into Times Square to join the thousands who are already there, waiting to start celebrating in style once midnight finally arrives in that great city.

The revelers in Los Angeles on the other hand, have still got more than six hours to wait before they see the new year reach them. I hate to tell you this folks, but you may as well stay home and get an early night because New Years Day, 2010 looks remarkably just like every other new years day I have ever celebrated.

And yet, celebrate it we will. Just like we celebrate the birth of a new child or the start of spring. All hold the promise of something new; something fresh; something we haven't experienced before.

For myself, I hope 2010 brings me closer to my family and friends, and closer to a few more of the billions of people populating this wonderful planet. I hope too that each of us can take our own individual steps closer to peace, compassion and understanding. God knows, we and the planet could do with it.

Wherever you are, and whoever you are with, may this New Year, 2010, infect you with Peace, Love and Understanding.

Summer Down Under

The long hot days of summer have begun in the Southern Hemisphere, where this week the average temperature in Adelaide is set to hover around 37 degrees Celcius (that's almost 100F).

Yesterday, I went for my first swim of the season, and although summer doesn't official begin until December, I get the feeling we are going to be in for a torrid summer.

Of course, no right thinking person would spend their days out in the heat of the midday sun. Not if they had a choice anyway. Mind you, this rules out most teenagers who think that frying their skin in the middle of the afternoon is the 'cool' thing to do.

Come to think of it - I was one of those teenagers once. I can still vividly remember taking a day off work one hot summer day to spend it at the beach. Stupidly, I didn't apply sunscreen to my back and legs (I can't remember if sunscreen was around in the late 1960s), and by the end of the day, it is no exaggeration to say that I left the beach as red as a lobster.

In deed, the next day my legs and parts of my back had broken out in blisters as a result of the damage I had inflicted on my body. It was a lesson I learned the hard way, and to this day I will not visit the beach or enter the water unless I wear a hat (to cover my balding head), and a t-shirt to protect my upper body from the burning sun. I also make it a rule to visit the beach late in the afternoon or early in the evening when the heat of the day has begun to ease. The added benefit of this policy is that I'm always on the beach to watch a golden sun dipping below the horizon in a blaze of yellow, orange and red.

Of such small pleasures are my days made whole!

Spring Has Sprung, Down Under

~ It is one of those quirks of nature that while the northern hemisphere enjoys summer, the southern hemisphere rugs up for winter. And so it is, that the first days of September herald the start of spring in Australia, while Europe and North America start moving into autumn (or fall, as our American cousins like to say).

And so it is too, that the more the months, weeks, and days tick inexorably by, the more I seem to have travel on my mind. Especially now that spring is in the air.

I am still not much nearer to finalising my travel plans for next year. Maybe it’s because I’m a Libran! Or maybe it’s because I’ve never been good at making quick or snap decisions that have the potential for major impact on my life. Personally, I hate to blame my procrastination and constant vacillating on a star sign. That’s too easy, and quite frankly a cop out. Still, all these things are plaguing my thoughts today as I look at the calendar and tick off the days in the lead up to April 2010.

One of the downsides of being a solo traveller, is that you have no-one to share the planning and decision making process with. Sure, you can discuss and mull over the various options available to you with family and friends, but there’s only so much you can expect from those closest to you.

Putting myself in their shoes, I think I would soon tire of the constant discussions revolving around which destination to visit first.

“Yes, Jim,” I can feel them thinking, “It’s all very well us sitting around planning your holiday with you, but while you are lazing on the sandy beaches of some Greek island, sipping coffee on the Champs-Élysées, or spending weeks driving the byways of America, we are going to be stuck here in dear old Adelaide!”

So, ultimately, you have to make all the decisions on your own.

As April draws nearer, I will start to solidify some of the ideas rolling around in my head. On any given day they can and do change constantly, but currently my thinking is thus: fly directly to Athens, Greece, and spend the first month or so on Ikaria (see Friday Photo #7: My Island Home, Ikaria, Greece). Then travel overland to one of several possible destinations (Italy, France, Spain or England). Since I am currently learning a smattering of Spanish (see Spanish is The Loving Tongue), it makes sense to visit Spain in order to reinforce the Spanish I’ve already learnt and to hopefully learn even more.

However, early next year I will also undertake a French for Fun and Travel class at the adult learning school where I am currently taking the Spanish class, so it would also make sense to spend some time in France.

At any point I can always return to Greece, which could serve as my European base. My aim is to spend most of the northern spring and summer in Europe, and then travel to America later in the year for a stay in New York, before driving south to Arizona to visit a cousin in Tucson. I will either return to Australia from there, or return to Europe.

As you can see, I have much to decide, and a thousand decisions to make before I book my flight, and for a Libran, a thousand decisions is about 999 decisions too many!

Spring Flowers image courtesy of Rikx Flickr Photostream

Spanish is The Loving Tongue

~ Hola! Como se llama usted?

In my entry for July 7 (Never To Old To Live And Learn) I wrote that I had signed up for a ten week Spanish for Fun and Travel course at the WEA, an adult learning institution here in Adelaide.

I’m now two weeks into the course, and desperately trying to remember and practise everything I’m learning. The hardest part is not having anyone to talk to, or practise with. So with that in mind, I went searching for language classes online to see if I could find a site to supplement my classes.

As you might imagine there are literally hundreds if not thousands of websites that offer language courses either for free or for a fee. The best of them provide some lessons free to get you started, and a ‘premium’ service for a fee.

After conducting several hours of research and trying some of the sites, I have settled on a great online resource that is proving to be a treasure trove of help for language learners like myself.

The site is the Radio Lingua Network.

On the Radio Lingua Network you can listen to, and download audio files for at least 18 languages. These include the obvious ones like French, Spanish, Italian, and German, but also less obvious languages such as Catalan, Gaelic and Irish, Luxembourgish, Polish and Russian, Danish and Norwegian, Greek and Turkish, and others.

The downloadable resources for Spanish alone run to 80 audio lessons of between 15 and 20 minutes each. And these Coffee Break Spanish lessons are free!

If you opt to pay for the Premium lessons, here’s what you get:

• 15-20 minute enhanced audio lesson which includes flashcards for iPhone/iPod Touch and other iPod models


• Printable lesson guide which outlines all the words and phrases covered in the lesson, additional vocabulary and notes


• Bonus listening material: 8-10 minutes of extra listening which helps to consolidate the language covered in the main lesson


• All materials available via a one-click download through iTunes


• Platinum content for level 1 and 2 which includes wordlists, review exercises and key

So why am I paying for a language class when I can listen online and download lessons for free?

Because there is nothing quite as good as being in a room filled with other students practising and using the language as it is intended to be used – in conversation between real people. I also have the benefit of getting help and feedback from my teacher, and the added ability to ask questions, clarify pronunciation, and gain confidence using my new language skills.

However, the benefits of using the audio lessons on the Radio Lingua Network are that I can have them playing on my computer (as I write this for instance), which helps reinforce what I have already learnt, and prepares me for the lessons to come.

By the way, if you are a member of Twitter, you can follow the Network and sign up for language specific ‘tweets’ every time a new lesson for your chosen language has been added to the RLN site.

I would like to point out that I am not associated with the Radio Lingua Network, either as an affiliate, subscriber to their services (although I should be), or in any other way. I just happen to think they are providing an incredibly valuable service (especially the free lessons), and think too that more people should know about and support them.

PS: The opening Spanish paragraph reads: Hello! What is your name?

House Swapping for Families

~ This is the fourth in an occasional series of articles about house swapping your home with another family, thereby making the most of your travel experience in another city or country. The first article was House Swaps: The Practical Way To Go; the second article, House Swapping for Seniors, provided practical advice for that age specific group of travellers; and the third House Swapping for a Better World discussed how this concept can help break down barriers between different nationalities and cultures. These blog entries are sourced from, and used with the permission of the Aussie House Swap website.

While virtually every individual and couple can enjoy lots of advantages through a house swapping (home exchange) holiday, perhaps families stand to benefit most of all.

Think about it.

Firstly, there are the monetary savings to be gained: no accommodation costs; cooking "at home" instead of going out for meals; free use of car; free laundry, clothesline, dryer and DYI ironing.

No doubt there will also be other savings. For example, you can't stay cooped up together in a hotel room for long. You'll need to spend a good deal of time out and about for the sake of your mental health. And while you're out, you'll inevitably end up spending money on something.

Besides, there's so much more room in a house and yard. Even a normal apartment will be a lot more spacious than a hotel room. So you won't have to go out for your sanity — just to visit local attractions, go shopping and so forth.

Here's something else to think about if you've got children. Why not arrange to house swap with another couple who have children of a similar age? Then you'll each have the necessary items on hand when you get to your destination — whether it be a cot, a high chair, a stroller, a trike or bike. Plus toys and games, books, children's videos, DVDs and the like. None of which (other than one or two special favourites) you will have to take with you. So you'll be able to travel that much lighter.

Even if you're travelling by car, and have a little more room to take things with you, you won't need to cram every corner to get bulkier items in. You'll be able to travel in a lot more comfort.

You may even find a backyard cubbyhouse and swing set at your destination. (Or maybe you'll be on the lookout for things like this, before deciding on which house swap to choose.)

And what if it rains during your holiday? Staying in a normal house is a whole lot more pleasant for a family than being cooped up in a hotel room, or a cramped guesthouse, caravan or tent.

Having constant access to a laundry and iron will also help you travel lighter, since you can pack less clothes when you're able do the washing more often. Especially kiddie clothes, which tend to need changing more than once each day!

Let's return for a moment to the monetary savings you make through house swapping, which are likely to amount to at least hundreds and possibly a couple of thousand dollars. Instead of rationing visits to fun parks, aquariums, "sea worlds" and the like, you'll be able to afford to take the kids to explore as many of these attractions as you like. And STILL come home with a lot more of your hard-earned cash, rather than an empty wallet or purse, and a credit card that will take months to pay off.

When you add it all up, house swapping (home exchanging) really is tailor-made for families!

How much does it cost?

Aussie House Swap membership is only $65 per year! However, if you do not manage to house swap in your first year we will give you another 12 months membership absolutely free! This is our guarantee to you! For $65 (less than the cost of one nights motel accommodation) you can make as many house swaps as you like within your 12 months.

Article courtesy of Aussie House Swap website. Like our Partner site, Home Away, Aussie House Swap gives you the opportunity to stay in someone else’s home, while they stay in yours.

Image for illustration purposes only

WEA = Life-Long Learning

~ On Tuesday (Never to Old to Live And Learn) I wrote that I had signed up for a Spanish For Fun and Travel course at the WEA, the Worker’s Educational Association. The Association, which publishes five course guides each year, has been running classes for adults in Adelaide for almost 100 years. Since there are many courses in the current guide related to travel, I thought I would explore the possibilities further in this entry.

A quick look through the winter guide (download PDF here…) reveals a host of interesting short courses for the intending traveller.

To begin with, the most obvious ones are the language courses. Apart from the Spanish class, one could also learn some Italian, French, German, Portuguese, Japanese, and Chinese Mandarin. And if you still had time to spare, you could also be taught to communicate with the deaf and hearing impaired by learning to Sign using your hands.

If your travels are taking you to Turkey or other countries of the Islamic world, why not take the Islamic Art: A Glorious Legacy course, or the Civilisations of Turkey course?

Food lovers can prepare for their gastronomic adventures by choosing from over a dozen classes covering such regional fare as Spanish Tapas, or cuisines from Morocco, Greece, Thailand, India, Vietnam, China, Italy, and several other countries.

Less obvious are the courses for people with an interest in archaeology, history and culture. Joining these you can learn to decipher ancient Egyptian images; travel through Tuscany; or learn about Moorish Spain, the Crusades, or the early Christian sites of Syria.

Planning a visit to Brazil or other South American countries? Then why not sign up for a short course in Latin dancing? Then you will be able to Rumba, Cha-Cha and Tango with the best of the Latin Lovers!

Heck, you could even look through the Practical Art listing, and try your hand at drawing or landscape painting. Instead of coming home with 3000 images on your digital camera, imagine returning with some original canvases or sketches made while relaxing in the hills of Tuscany or the squares of Venice.

Speaking of digital cameras, why not do the Introduction to Photography course? Or if that’s too basic one of the short courses on getting the best out of your digital SLR camera? Or the one-day Close-up Photography Workshop? That way, instead of simply taking ‘happy snaps’, you might come home with photographs worthy of the best professional photographers.

Yes friends, a world of learning awaits each and everyone of us. Once again, may I remind you – there are similar institutions to the WEA elsewhere in Australia and overseas. If the information in this blog entry has inspired you to embark on a journey of life-long learning, check out the sites below, or ask at your local public library for information about similar organisations in your city.

Links to Associated Sites

• WEA Sydney
• WEA UK
• WEA Illawarra
• Council of Adult Education Melbourne
• Adult Learning Association
• International Federation of Workers’ Education Associations (IFWEA)

Download a PDF of the WEA Winter Course Guide here…

Never to Old to Live and Learn

~ Yesterday, I signed up for a ten week Spanish For Fun and Travel course at an Adelaide based institution, the WEA. The Workers' Educational Association was founded in 1913, and is Australia's largest non-government adult community education organisation. It provides learning opportunities for anyone aged 15 years or older in its nearly 1800 short courses – for which the Association receives over 30,000 enrolments annually.

Using a concession card my ten week by two hour course cost me just AUD$112.00. That breaks down to a mere AUD$5.60 per hour! Even at the full price of AUD$124.00 the course is still incredibly cheap. Further down the track I may even sign up for a French or German language course. And why not? At the above prices, learning a language for ‘fun and travel’ is pretty much affordable to everyone.

I’ve decided to tackle Spanish first because next year I want to drive across America. I will probably start on the west coast at Los Angeles and either drive Route 66 to Chicago and New York, or drive across the south towards New Orleans and then up the east coast to New York.

After spending eight weeks in New York City last year, it quickly became apparent that a basic knowledge of Spanish would be very useful – not just in New York but wherever I happened to be in the United States. Of course it will be even more useful if I decide to take a side trip into Mexico during my road trip.

I know there are regional differences between Spanish as it is spoken in Spain as compared to Mexico (and indeed throughout Latin America), but I figure the little I learn during this course will be better than the complete lack of knowledge I now have.

From the USA I will be going to Europe, and since I have never been to Spain, I am considering a trip to that beautiful country too.

Life is for living and learning, folks, and now that I have the time, I plan to live and learn and travel as far and wide as my finances will allow.

By the way, the WEA is not unique to Adelaide. There are similar institutions elsewhere in Australia and overseas, so if you want embark on a journey of life-long learning, check out the sites below, or ask at your local public library for information about similar organisations in your city.

Links to Associated Sites

• WEA Sydney
• WEA UK
• WEA Illawarra
• Council of Adult Education Melbourne
• Adult Learning Association
• International Federation of Workers' Education Associations (IFWEA)

Drive Across Australia For Almost Nothing

~ I’ve heard about this sort of thing before, and thought it was an urban myth - but to my amazement it is true.

What am I talking about? A scheme that lets you drive a car, motorhome or campervan right across the country – for next to nothing. In fact, some of the companies involved will even give you up to $500 in free fuel – and pay you an allowance as well!

It sounds crazy, but it’s true. Let me explain. Car rental companies often hire their vehicles out to clients who are travelling in one direction only – say from Adelaide to Brisbane. Once the car has been dropped of at its destination, the rental company then has to get the vehicle back to its home location in Adelaide.

They could of course, wait, and hope that eventually someone in Brisbane will rehire the vehicle and drive it back to Adelaide, but they could end up waiting days or weeks for this to happen. And while they are waiting, they could be losing clients because they don’t have enough hire vehicles left in the yard back in Adelaide to rent out to other clients. Sometimes their only option is to offer amazing inducements to drivers to return the vehicles, and this means that if you are flexible about when you want to travel, you could literally be paid to drive a car or motorhome across the country.

How do you find out which companies are involved and what vehicles are on offer? Go online, dear reader, go online.

For instance Apollo (the campervan and motorhome rental company) have a page on their website where they list the vehicles that need to be relocated back to home base. As I write this, there are 23 such vehicles including a Euro Tourer 2 Berth campervan that needs to be returned to Alice Springs from Adelaide.

As an inducement they are also offering (and I quote from the site): “$1 per day rental, all fuel free (dockets required), $100 travel allowance (no dockets required)”. Yes you read it right. Not only could you be driving this campervan from Adelaide to Alice Springs for a dollar a day, but all fuel is free and they are also offering to pay you a $100 travel allowance! Or you could drive a Euro Deluxe 6 Berth motorhome from Cairns to Sydney for just a dollar a day, and they will throw in up to $500 worth of free fuel! Yes, it sounds crazy – but it’s true.

Head over to the Apollo website now and take a look at what is on offer. By the way, this is why you have to pay a premium if you are hiring a vehicle and only going in one direction. The hire car company often has to offer inducements, like those on the Apollo website, for someone else to return the car to base.

What’s The Catch? Well, for a start, you can’t spend two weeks returning the vehicle to home base! As you will see on the Apollo site, vehicles have to be returned within a specified period of time. However, if you do want to spend a bit more time on the road, you could of course hire the vehicle for an extra day or two and enjoy the trip rather than simply drive between point A and point B in the fastest possible time.

Another ‘catch’ is that you have to be ready to hit the road with very little notice. Again, take a look at the Apollo web site. Some listings want a vehicle returned “Today”, while others have return dates that are several days off.

One more ‘catch’ to consider – once you have delivered the vehicle as arranged – what do you do when you reach your destination, where do you stay, and how do you get back home again?

And finally, you may not find a vehicle which needs returning to your preferred destination. For example, checking the Apollo website again, today if you wanted to drive from Darwin to Brisbane, you would be out of luck, because no vehicles need to be returned to Brisbane from Darwin. However, that situation could literally change overnight, so it is worth keeping an eye on the site.

Of course, there are the usual Terms & Conditions that apply to vehicle hire, and you will need to meet those before anyone is going to let you hire in the first place. However, adventurous readers may well want to give this method of transport a go. You never know where you might end up!

Image: Courtesy of Apollo website