Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

He said he was drinking special light beer
But he came back home with only one ear
He’s strong and reliable and mighty God-fearing
But I reckon he’ll struggle to get a fair hearing

Despite Our Sorrow, We'll Face Tomorrow

Hand On Heart, A Salute To Australian Resilience

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Vivid golden-yellow is the colour that Melburnians chose to wear as the bushfires raged around this city, starting on 30 January and continuing to the present moment as the blazes continue.

Everywhere, people wear ribbons on their chests and yesterday the "Herald Sun", the city’s biggest-selling paper, distributed these wristbands as well, in conjunction with the state government. All the money raised goes to the Red Cross appeal.

Despite the deaths (more than 200) caused by the bushfires and the number of homes destroyed (more than 5000), I've chosen today to share stories of survival. Thanks to a report by Jamie Walker and Lauren Wilson in the broadsheet newspaper "The Australian", I can tell you about the courage of two of the oldest survivors .....

In the Strzelecki Ranges east of Melbourne, 97-year-old Charlie Richardson chose not to flee. He stayed to defend his property. When his home was destroyed, he took refuge in a horse trough.

He wrapped himself in a blanket and dived beneath the water, coming up periodically for whatever air he could breathe. Hours later, he was taken to hospital when rescue crews found him crawling toward the road, bravely waving a torch to flag down cars in the dark.

A Koornalla woman, believed to be about 80, turned down a offer of assistance from Country Fire Authority (CFA) volunteer firefighters. She chose instead to stay and protect her home. "Don't worry about me, I'll be right. But thanks for coming,'' she said.

She had to save herself by running down to her dam, tying one end of a piece of rope around her wrist and the other to a fencepost before submerging herself in the muddy water. It would have been a huge physical challenge for anyone, but more so for this brave homeowner. She had recently had hip replacement surgery.

Then there were some amazing quotes from people who had been touched by tragedy ...

"I was on the farm when the fire came through and it was just too fast. I ran and jumped in the dam and pulled my shirt over my head and stayed there for an hour and a half until I could get out. I'm luckier than many because I still have my wife and others don't.'' - Neville Goulding, who celebrated his 37th birthday the night before the fire that destroyed his home.

"House blessing. Bless our home, our lives, our friends. With love that Lord on thee depends. Amen.'' - Noelene Pyle, laughing as she reads the words inscribed on a single plate, one of the few things left intact in the ash and twisted metal remaining in the wreckage of her Wandong home.

"The fire was like a jet engine coming through the trees'' - John Pyle (husband of Noelene Pyle) .

"There were children running down the streets with flames behind them, it was hell. I never want to go back to that place, never." - CFA firefighter John Munday, describing Marysville on Black Saturday.

"Sing it again!'' - An unknown member of the congregation at Rod Laver Arena after the haunting rendition of "I Am Australian" during the National Day of Mourning ceremony last Sunday.


"It doesn't have a single crack or anything.'' – Samantha Wilson, 19, clutching a ceramic model of the Disney character Pluto, a present from her grandmother. The souvenir was one of the only objects left intact after her parents were killed while trying to defend their Mudgegonga property.

"There was just no air, it was like you were breathing vapour.'' – Kinglake resident Jason Lynn, who used what he thought was his last breath to tell his wife and children he loved them, while he lay on the muddy banks of his dam. He kept his mobile phone pressed against his head to speak to his family as friends and his local minister Shane Lepp prayed for him and tried to keep him conscious. He survived.

"I could tell him by his big toe, because it looked like the only piece that wasn't burnt at the time.'' – Sherrill Carta, who thought her husband Bill was dead. They both suffered severe burns as they separately fled their burning property. Bill arrived at The Alfred hospital by helicopter and Sherrill by ambulance. In an incredible coincidence, each only realised the other was alive when they were reunited in the hospital’s burns unit.

''Until you taste it, breathe it, smell it and see the speed, you can never understand how terrifying a bushfire is.'' - Irene Passi, who lost her Buxton home while she helped save another property.

''She had four mobile phones strung around her neck and was answering them by turn while organising a sausage sizzle.'' - Anglican bishop Philip Huggins, describing the deputy manager of the Wandong recovery centre who doubles as a CFA group leader. Huggins led the post-fire prayers of reflection from the back of a truck during a service at Wandong football oval and said it was one of the spiritual highlights of his life.

''Faith doesn't explain everything, but it's a great consolation.'' - Father Vince Jewell, Marysville's visiting priest, whose church burned to the ground.

''I just thought, bugger it, I'm not going, I'm going to stay and try to save this place. We'd put too much into it to let it just go up in flames.'' - Greg Cherry, the owner and sole defender of the Crossways Historic Country Inn in Marysville. His determined resistance against the firestorm saw him acknowledged as the last man standing in the town.

''Listen kids, we can't get out. Our house is on fire. We are going to die in here. We love you, we love you. Please pray for us.'' - Phone call from Kinglake resident Bernie Hansell to his children. Hansell, a Vietnam veteran and retired federal police officer, drove along the burning Kinglake-Healesville road with his wife Jan – and miraculously beat the firestorm.


(Extra, extra, read all about it: I've been interviewed here. Thank you to all those who have already followed this link, commented and voted.)

Visit TNChick's Photo Hunt. Today's theme: "Thankful".

Money For Jam

He Was On A Hot Streak

A Norfolk barman closed the till hid the day’s taking - about £1,000 - in a hot oven after his boss told him to put it in a "safe" place. The horrified landlord said: "When I got to the kitchen and smelt the burning, I realised he was serious." The Bank of England has said some notes may still be useable if their serial numbers are legible.

FOOTNOTE: Crisp notes.

Post Of The Day

Today's winner is Moannie with First Day At School and NoniZamboni with Wordless Wednesday. The other top contenders were Sarah Laurence with Peace Like A River; Kym with Two Months; Away From It All with I’m Old And I Have No Partner In Crime; The Writer's Porch with The Goat Castle Murder; Poetic License with Remember What You Saw; Sandy Carlson with An Eye For You; Merisi with Coffee, Anyone; Anemone with Tid For Mat; Jennifer Harvey with Toward Light; Daryl with Thursday In The Hood; Poutalicious with Random Acts Of Art; Elaine with 126 Front Street and Another Sober Alcoholic with Dream On. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Mirror Image

Welcome To Back-To-Front Alley

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This shot was taken on a humid afternoon in Singapore, just over a year ago. I was in the vicinity of Mosque Street, keeping my eyes peeled for unusual sights to photograph. I have a theory that what I call the "camera-brain'' in each human is another sense in addition to sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste.

It's just that some of us never flip the switch to activate the "camera-brain''. This phrase simply refers to the ability to look at something differently when you have a camera in your hand, to recognise that something small or inconsequential can produce a striking image.

That afternoon in Singapore, as I crossed a narrow lane, I saw a weather-beaten motorcycle parked opposite me. In front of the motorcycle was a dun-coloured wall. I had no reason to walk across, but I did. That's when I saw that the dusty rear-view mirror on the right handlebar was reflecting a street view from behind me.

Like any mirror image, it was laterally inverted, or reversed. But because the dun-coloured wall is the only background, it's a perfectly static anchor for the image. I think the eye is drawn to this image because it looks as if something is wrong - and then the brain works out that it's not ``wrong'', just unusual.

If you have time, let me know what you think of this shot. And don't forget to switch on your camera-brain. It's easy. Trust me.

Visit MamaGeek and Cecily, creators of Photo Story Friday.

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

Barabbas the pirate just turned his back on treasure
He said tending turtles brought him more pleasure
He claimed he was enlightened but surely not gutless
So instead of a toothpick, he used his gold cutlass

O Captain, My Captain

Boeing, Boeing, Gone

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This shot of a Qantas Boeing 737-800 was taken at the 2007 Australian International Air Show. Its unusual livery is the result of a Qantas corporate decision to feature Aboriginal artwork on selected jets in its fleet. The first was a Boeing 747 and this experiment proved so successful that a second jumbo was also painted in Aboriginal art.

The third jet was this 737, literally a flying piece of artwork called Yananyi Dreaming. It wasn't cordoned off at the show, so I was able to get some side-on shots as well as some from underneath the wings. This frame was just a one-off, taken as I walked past the nose of the aircraft.

To tell the truth, I didn't think much of the shot at the time. But I later realised that not many people get this upward-looking view straight up towards the cockpit from in front of the undercarriage - except pilots, airport staff, maintenance crews and baggage handlers.

And like they say, to fully appreciate any painting, you have to study it from every angle. That's exactly what I was doing.

(Extra, extra, read all about it: I've been interviewed here. Thank you to all those who followed this link, commented and voted.)

For other participants in Dot’s concept, go to Sky Watch HQ.

Get To The Bottom Of This Debate

Yes, Acoustics Can Be Fun

An acoustics expert is conducting science's silliest experiment - to find the world’s funniest whoopee cushion. Professor Trevor Cox has set up a website where visitors hear six trumpeting noises and are asked to grade them. When he's not designing concert halls, he likes to spend his time studying the funnier side to sound.

FOOTNOTE: Don’t tell Whoopi Goldberg.

Post Of The Day

Today's joint winners are Mary with A Letter To Rylan and Rune with F Is For Father-In-Law. The other top contenders were My World Through My Camera Lens with My World Tuesday; An Aerial Armadillo with The World Was Silent When They Died; Beth Kephart with The Family Of Things; Fireblossom with Watching St Anne; Alison Wonderland with A Movie, A Book And An Announcement; Arne with The Entrance To Parliament and Our Vanilla Life with Fishing!. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

Did you see my Aunty Coral
As she hitch-hiked to Balmoral?
She’s never lost a quarrel
(Yes, this story has a moral)

All The Fun Of The Fare

Deep In The Heart Of Taxis

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I’ve caught taxis in many parts of the world, but I don’t think I’ve ever come across a taxi company that extends such a colourful welcome - or a more enthusiastic, visible greeting - to prospective passengers.

These shots were taken in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last July, when the entire Authorblog family escaped the Melbourne winter and jumped on a plane to spend ten days in the tropics.

I was eleven years old when we visited Singapore for the first time and I remember being fascinated by the share-taxi concept that existed on the route from the city centre to Bukit Timah. You got into the cab and waited for three other passengers and as soon as they had materialised, the cab driver would get going. Because it was a fixed route, you paid a fixed fare, too.

That was a big deal for me, because the cabs that plied the route were big, majestic diesel Mercedes-Benz sedans. The first time I sat in one, I could barely believe my luck because it was the first time I had ever sat in a Benz. Man, did I have some stories to tell my envious classmates when I got back home.

I also remember vividly the self-closing doors of the silver-and-red taxis in another former British colony, Hong Kong. As soon as we got in I would reach for my seatbelt with one hand and the door handle with the other - but the door would swing closed. It was not immediately that I realised the cab driver was activating a switch that was closing the passenger door!

Both these shots were taken on the move. In KL. The first shot was taken on the long, scenic drive from the international airport to the Shangri-La hotel in the city. I saw the welcoming sticker on the door of a cab that pulled up alongside us at a traffic light - and quickly angled this shot before the lights changed.

The second shot (below) was taken as we walked along a busy footpath in the city centre a few days later. I could see the cab approaching in the lane closest to me and I knew the driver would have to slow down for a set of traffic lights.

I had my 18-125mm lens on the camera, so I composed a neat, tight frame and set the speed accordingly. Then I tracked the cab, allowing the camera lens to follow its path - and simply hit the shutter as soon as the cab was where I wanted it.

(Extra, extra, read all about it: I've been interviewed here. Thank you to all those who have followed this link and checked out the interview. There have been so many wonderful comments that I've tried to reply to each one personally - but you're setting a cracking pace. My humble and heartfelt thanks to all of you for the wonderful tributes and thoughts you have shared on the interview.)


For earlier posts in this series, check out The Doors Archive.

Same Burglar, Same House, Different Result

Maybe It Just Didn’t Click

A burglar who stole a DVD player in China was arrested - when he went back to the same house for the remote. But the thief was allowed to go free - when police ruled the £100 DVD player was not valuable enough for them to press charges.

FOOTNOTE: Remote possibility.

Post Of The Day

Today's joint winners are Klaus with American Alligator and Monkey Math with My Son Slept With A Girl. The other top contenders were Life, The Universe And Everything with Teachers Who Have Inspired Me; Denise with Coffee Pot; Suldog with Jimmy Doesn’t Know What To Write Today; Crystal Jigsaw with A Family’s Home; Jo Beaufoix with Squashing Granny; Five String Guitar with Missing Joe’s Clothes and One Day At A Time with O, The Fickleness Of A Teenager. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

"There’s always one catch," growled the frumious bandersnatch.
"Three pirates with a patch ate each cookie in my batch.
Amid slithy toves and shores of sun-kissed coves
They fired up their stoves and used more oaths than Jove’s."

F Is For Fremantle

Did The Earth Move For You?

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Sometimes a tiny fragment of a huge view in front of you catches your eye and seems to cry out "Concentrate on me". That’s pretty much what happened here. We were in Fremantle, Western Australia, for a few hours last month for a family wedding.

The ceremony was over and I’d just parked the rental car as we walked across a park to slake our thirst – and there was a lot of thirst to slake - before the reception began.

It was a scorching afternoon, with the temperature around 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) and there I was (remember, I am definitely a cold-climate bloke) in a suit and tie, trying to find some shade as we walked down this street. But I guess my photography radar was still working well, because I shot about a dozen frames as we hurried down the footpath.

This was the last frame I shot and I guess this view arrested my attention because of several factors. There was the ochre wall meeting the blue wall. There was the plethora of signs, all different colours and shapes. There were the three arrows, each pointing in different directions. There was the silvery light pole adorned with a single, slim piece of red tape. There were the strong shadows on the wall and across the window.

I shot this as I walked, without breaking stride – because lagging behind your clan members on a wedding day is not the smartest thing to do.


Later, during the reception at the historic Moores Building Contemporary Art Gallery, I spotted this great sign (above) in the walkway leading through to the courtyard. It was only when I got back home to Melbourne that I was able to research the history of the building, which gets its name from the nineteenth-century general merchant store belonging to William Dalgety Moore.

History held absolutely no attraction for me when I was in school, yet now that I am an adult it holds me in a magnetic thrall. Whenever I see an object that I photograph, I am drawn to know its story.

This narrow passageway in the Moores Building would have felt the weight of many pairs of boots since the early gold rush days. Being a general store, the place would have been extremely busy as the locals stocked up alongside the seafarers who took on supplies for their long voyages away from the colony.

Now the passageway leads from the gallery and reception centre to a beautiful yard. It may be a floor with a flaw, but I’m sure it could tell us thousands of great tales. There would have been tales of commerce, of adventure, of noble endeavour, of hopes and aspirations, of dreams, of sober reality and (I’m sure) some hilarious moments far removed from sobriety.

The Moore, the merrier.

Extra, extra, read all about it: I've been interviewed here. Thank you to all those who have already followed this link and checked out the interview. There have been so many wonderful comments and votes that I've tried to reply to each one personally - but you're setting a cracking pace. My humble and heartfelt thanks to all of you for the wonderful tributes and thoughts you have shared on the interview.


For the home of ABC Wednesday, go to Mrs Nesbitt's Place.

Can We Do It? Yes, We Can

This Must Be An Open Challenge

Can opener. Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

The Law Is An Asp

Who Are You Blokes? Slitherin?

About a thousand Indian snake charmers have staged a rally in protest against a law that declares their profession illegal. Playing their distinctive flutes, they marched in Calcutta, demanding the right to perform with live snakes. Animal rights groups say the ban will curb the abuse of snakes.

FOOTNOTE: Fang club.

Post Of The Day

Today's joint winners are Rose Creek Cottage with Like A Box Of Chocolates and Digital Flower Pictures with Snowball Orchids. The other top contenders were Shrinky with Spit It Out; Hilary with Serendipity; Cheshire Wife with Home Sweet Home; Janie with Girl Gone Wild; Teen Gravid with Nearing The End Of My First Trimester; Tracie with Red Tape Or Blessing and Craig Glenn with Bicycle-Riding Squirrel. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

If I were Lord of Tartary, myself, and me alone
I’d have a birthday partary, and invite Bill and Joan
I’d have a clown and pony rides and Walter de la Mare
Puppet shows and mighty slides and all the fun of the fair

Bench Press

Throw Some Light On The Matter

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

What’s silver and red and dotted around the business district? The answer is very simple - benches.

I often walk past these benches during the day and of course, all I see is the moulded silver strips that comprise their form. But four or five weeks ago, we were walking past them on a long summer evening - and I suddenly noticed another aspect.


As dusk advanced, there was a soft red tone to them, emanating from lights switched on automatically under the benches (see photo above) bathing them in a glow that evoked some space-age invention. Even the most mundane sights can look transformed if you take the time to view them differently.

(Extra, extra, read all about it: I've been interviewed here. Thank you to all those who have followed this link and checked out the interview. There have been so many wonderful comments that I've tried to reply to each one personally - but you're setting a cracking pace. My humble and heartfelt thanks to all of you for the wonderful tributes and thoughts you have shared on the interview.)


Visit the creative team behind That's MyWorld Tuesday.

Always Coca-Cola

Scotched On The Rocks

A Croatian man says he's in perfect health - after drinking nothing but Coca-Cola for more than 40 years. The 71-year-old began his Coke-only diet in 1968 after promising his mother he wouldn't drink alcohol. "I never drink anything else," he said.

FOOTNOTE: Yes, he can.

Post Of The Day

Today's winner is Moannie with 1955 And All That. The other top contenders were The Quintessential Magpie with Ode To Foodies; Michelle with Lamp; Medic61 with Plans; Ripples In A Small Pond with Didn't You?; Jinksy with Heartwood; Under The Lilac Tree with The Stages Of A Relationship Are Best Measured By Farting; The Brit with My Rio, How I Missed You; Epijunky with Fail. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

Before you plant ranunculus
Talk to your aunts and unculus
And maybe a cloistered monkulus
About avoiding a carbunculus

Symphony In Orange

Vivid Colours In A Tropical Paradise

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I'd be delighted if some expert could tell me what these flowers are called. The first two images was shot in Singapore in December 2007, as I walked around the island city-nation. A tropical thunderstorm had just passed through the area and I was making sure that I was never too far from an arcade or some form of shelter.


There was sound logic behind this. Just in case the heavens opened again, I would be able to do a quick sprint to the nearest point of shelter to protect my precious camera.

The flowers were simply growing by the side of the footpath, in that wonderfully landscaped environment that has been a part of my earliest Singapore memories, ever since my first visit there as an eleven-year-old.


It was not just the formation of the plant that attracted my attention, but the way the vivid orange stood out against the green foliage in the background. So too the graceful manner in which the leaves seemed to echo the intricate grace of a Thai or an Indian classical dancer.


This shot (above) was actually taken in Langkawi, Malaysia, last year. We were walking around the vast hotel property when I noticed this, but couldn't find anyone to tell me what it was called.


This frame (above) was shot in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. We'd been sitting by the pool at our hotel for a few minutes when of course I had to do my customary "what's-in-the-vicinity-for-me-to-photograph" survey and lo and behold, I saw the same plant a few metres away.


After I'd shot a couple of frames of the blooms themselves, I also noticed that the long, narrow stems made an interesting sight with their contrasting colours and gentle angular orientation. So, quite naturally, I had to shoot a frame of that unusual view as well.

Obviously it was the same species of plant, but I couldn't find an amateur horticulturalist to tell me what it was called. I guess I'll just have to go back there to find out .....

(Extra, extra, read all about it: I've been interviewed here. Thank you to all those who have followed this link and checked out the interview. There have been so many wonderful comments that I've tried to reply to each one personally - but you're setting a cracking pace. My humble and heartfelt thanks to all of you for the wonderful tributes and thoughts you have shared on the interview.)

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

Knots Landing

Welcome To Tie Land

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I guess not many of us look this closely at a tie. I certainly don't even look this closely when I'm choosing them in a shop. I'm told that when I was a kid I enjoyed wearing a tie now and then - and let's not go into the number of family photographs that show me wearing one in my early years.

Then of course I went to boarding school at St Joseph's College in Darjeeling - and we wore ties every day. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday we wore dark grey suits with our respective house ties (I was in Fallon house); on Wednesday and Saturday we wore blazers and light grey slacks with our school tie and on Sunday we wore dark blue suits with our school tie.

This shot was taken some months ago. I was just about to remove this tie when I thought I would do so with the knot intact, just to take a quick shot of the fabric.

I still wear ties every working day. But come the weekend and it's strictly Levi's and T-shirts for me.

(The Odd Shots concept came from Katney. Say "G'day" to her.)

Clone Ranger

Sounds Like Me, Looks Like Me

A Japanese toy company is offering to make tailor-made robot Mini-Me versions of its customers, even replicating the sound of their voice. Customers submit a photo of the person they'd like their new toy to resemble. The dolls can be taught to sound like the person via an in-built microphone, a computer and voice recognition software.

FOOTNOTE: Austin powered.

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

Pinned to my jacket is a fresh blue begonia
To remind me (as promised) that I have to phone yer
Pinned to my cellphone is a purple azalea
To remind me (as promised) that I’ll never fail yer

The Mane Event

Chorus: There Is Nothing Like A Tame

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

No, I didn't run away and join the circus. But I simply could not resist shooting this scene in Singapore's Chinatown area just a few days before Christmas 2007.

As a kid, I was always in awe of lion tamers in the circus and the confident manner in which they would make the big cats perform. Of course, it's been decades since I've seen a circus with lions and tigers among the live acts - so this sight really brought back memories.

And for those who like a bit of rock trivia, can anyone recall the hit track by The Eagles that begins with the following lines:

City girls just seem to find out early
How to open doors with just a smile

Your first clue is that the song was written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey. You second clue is that the track was recorded in 1975. Your third clue is contained in the photo in this post.

The answer: Lion Eyes, er, sorry, I meant to say Lyin' Eyes.

(Extra, extra, read all about it: I've been interviewed here. Thank you to all those who have followed this link and checked out the interview. There have been so many wonderful comments that I've tried to reply to each one personally - but you're setting a cracking pace. My humble and heartfelt thanks to all of you for the wonderful tributes and thoughts you have shared on the interview.)

Check out the rules at Camera Critters or go to Misty Dawn.

The Sunday Roast

This Bloke Never Talks Through His Hat

This week's interview is with Pappy,

who writes the blog Pappy's Balderdash.

The first of the standard questions. Why do you blog?

First I would like to thank our host, David McMahon, for the privilege of being featured on his "Sunday Roast". I am a relative neophyte to the blogosphere, although I’m not sure if the life span of a blogger has been accurately determined yet. I am retired and in my sixties. For most of my career, I was a criminal investigator. I taught high school for one year before I decided that law enforcement was a less dangerous pursuit. I taught English in high school and I wrote a little in my spare time. However, when the press of making a living took over I put writing on the back burner. After I retired, I started writing again and I was looking for another outlet for my work. My first cousin, Beth, suggested blogging. She started a blog and she told me how it was done.

What's the story behind your blog name?

I named my blog "Pappy’s Balderdash" using the name I wanted my grandkids to call me combined with a description of my writing style which is eclectic and sometimes senseless.

What is the best thing about being a blogger?

I wanted something to force me to write everyday. I find this is one of the biggest advantages to this medium. I had no idea in January of this year when I started it would become so addictive. I feel guilty when I don’t have anything to post. I didn’t know how universal a blog was. I have readers and commenters from all over the world.

I also visit blogs around the globe. I enjoy hearing opinions from those who live away from my home area. I also enjoy the photos from other places. I feel something akin to a friendship with those who visit frequently although I don’t even know what many of them look like.

What key advice would you give to a new blogger?

I encourage others to try blogging. When I first started, I visited other blogs and tried to see what I liked about each layout. I used the old trial and error method in the beginning to come up with a style I felt was comfortable for me. I participated in every meme I could find (after I found out what a meme was) and this increased my exposure and my readership. I now am more selective.

Blog your passions. If you have a hobby or pastime you might find blogging a good way to link up with others who share your interests. Don’t worry about messing up. Everyone does from time to time, but fellow bloggers are for the most part encouragers. Keep your posts as short as possible. Bloggers like to come and go quickly.

What is the most significant blog post you've ever read?

I have read so many great posts it is hard to list one as the best without leaving someone out. I think the ones I enjoy most are those that highlight our human frailties. These touch me on a personal level and elicit empathy.

What is the most significant blog post you've ever written?

I would have to leave it to my readers to decide which of my blog posts would qualify as significant. I have posted most of my published poetry and short stories. I broke the stories up into serial like parts to keep them short enough to fit my rule of keeping things short. I try to make my readers think, laugh, cry, and sometimes get riled. When they respond with emotion then I know I’ve succeeded. I probably need to regain control of my time and write some new original material so I don’t become stale. Come by and plan to stay a while. I would love to meet you.


Today's Sunday Roast with Pappy is the 56th in a weekly series of interviews with bloggers from around the world.

Banana Republic

No Peels Of Laughter Here, Officer

Secret service agents in Ukraine have impounded hundreds of tonnes of bananas - for five months, as part of a drug smuggling investigation. Now the ship's crew has been issued with nuclear war-style bio-hazard suits and respirators - to protect them from the toxic, rotting bananas.

FOOTNOTE: You old smoothie.

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

Phlegmatic Bertie Wooster, he never had any peeves
Except when he was bereft of the inestimable Jeeves
You could traverse the world, from Bombay to Calais
And never would you find such a multi-gifted valet

Blow Hot, Blow Cold

Getting Warmer All The Time

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This was just one of those lucky shots. You know what I mean – you just happen to be in the right place at the right time? We were in Adelaide two years ago for a family wedding and the next day we decided to head to Semaphore Beach, despite the whipping wind and a moody grey sky.

I struck out towards the pier, in the opposite direction to the rest of the family – and that’s when I saw this miniature train. It’s a narrow-gauge locomotive that ends its run at the beach and I could tell from the sound of the bell that they were summoning the last of the tourists before it reversed away from the station.

I’m no world-class sprinter, but I sucked in the air and concentrated on a decent stride pattern as I tried to cover about 400 metres in double-quick time. I got there a couple of seconds after the train started moving, but it was still going slowly enough for me to take half-a-dozen shots.

I guess you could say this was tunnel vision. Or maybe we should make that funnel vision instead. Okay, let’s just say this shot is a hot favourite.

And I thought I'd add this picture, for a closer look at the train's headlamp. Did anyone notice the special silver gaffer tape around it in the first frame?

If you didn't, check out this shot for a smile ....


Post-script: There have been a couple of comments on this post that I must highlight here. The first one was from Jinksy, who said: "Funny, I thought train drivers usually faced front!" Yes, Jinksy, but this is Australia and we're upside down ... no, so I'm kidding. The train, as I explained, was at the end of the line and was reversing. That's why the driver was looking backwards.

The second one was from Artist Unplugged, whose witty response was: "I hope you said, 'Gotta run or I'm going to miss my train'!" Um, no, my brain didn't work that quickly. But you've made my day with your witty riposte.

Extra, extra, read all about it: I've been interviewed here. Thank you to all those who have already followed this link and checked out the interview. There have been so many wonderful comments and votes that I've tried to reply to each one personally - but you're setting a cracking pace. My humble and heartfelt thanks to all of you for the wonderful tributes and thoughts you have shared on the interview.


Visit TNChick's Photo Hunt. Today's theme: "Warm".

Hale And Hardy

Shiver Me Timbers, That’s The Chilling Truth

Scientists are hoping to finally crack one of the great unsolved mysteries - how Geordies can go out in winter without a coat. Researchers from Newcastle's Centre for Life want to find out if the locals’ famed hardiness is anything more than a myth. The results will be announced next month.

FOOTNOTE: Lead on, Mac tough.

Post Of The Day

Today's joint winners are Jennifer Harvey with Be Careful and Deb with Things My Mother Never Told Me. The other top contenders were Lisa’s Chaos with Let The Lighthouse Guide You; Big Blue Barn West with Elvisland; Jazz with Of Useless Shopping Trips; WIXY with Cursive Writing; Louise with Key Lime Pie For Breakfast; Reasons To Be Cheerful 1, 2, 3 with Do You Have Anything For ….; Janie with An Acrophobiac’s Nightmare; Jeff B with Let There Be Light; Glovzoff with Poignant Humour; An Aerial Armadillo with IF - Celebrate and Faryana with Tears. Finally, take a look at Mojo’s post Gentrification. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Concrete Proof

Grand Colonial Style, From Every Angle

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Fighter pilots and aircrew gunners in World War II always said the key to survival was being able to swivel their heads constantly, to search the sky for enemy aircraft. It's probably a great attribute for a photographer as well, to look up, down and sideways in search of common sights that produce uncommon effects.

I shot this frame as I walked down Flinders Street on Monday. This stately old building was right opposite me and I was struck by how well maintained the facade is. Nice brickwork. Fresh paint. Window sills in good nick.

That's when I realised that the clear blue sky and the main dome reflected in the windows was the perfect foil for the strong colours and lines of the building's exterior. I was in a hurry, but I'm glad I stopped for a few seconds to take this shot.

(Extra, extra, read all about it: I've been interviewed here.)

Visit MamaGeek and Cecily, creators of Photo Story Friday.

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

Wordsworth and Keats and Coleridge and Byron
Were literary geniuses with all cylinders firin’
They wrote verse that encompassed both odes and sonnets
And the grandmothers copied them under their bonnets

High-Wire Act

Open Your Mind To Unusual Objects

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Last week I had a lot of queries from bloggers who said they try without success to compose skyscapes without the intrusion of wires. Interestingly, I’ve always felt that a pure skyscape is a thing of great beauty, but a skyscape with a silhouette of some sort actually adds a certain value to an image.

The comments and emails came in the wake of two frames on my post D Is For Desolation, both of which included wires stretched across the horizon.

These frames were shot in late 2006. I was walking down a street in an old Melbourne suburb when I realised that if I waited for a few minutes the low cloud would present some great opportunities as the sun sank. But there were three problems – the street was interspersed with power poles, lots of overhead cables and fully mature trees that were twenty metres high.


So I quickly decided to use all three factors to my advantage. Rather than fret about the streetscape intruding into my view of the setting sun, I embraced the chance to include my surroundings. It made for an interesting ratio, because most of the frames included 30-40 per cent of silhouette across their surface area.

Part of the duty of any photographer, amateur or professional, is to faithfully tell the story of the existing landscape. If there are power poles on the horizon, you can always find a way to compose a shot to exclude them. Generally a vertical frame or even a tight horizontal from closer in will solve the problem.

But wires are another matter altogether. The only escape route is to shoot under the wires, because it is almost impossible to shoot above them unless you are looking down on them from a hillside.


Bear in mind, though, that if you are shooting into a rising or setting sun, any object in your viewfinder is going to appear as a silhouette if it is located between you and the sun. Be willing to experiment and be open-minded about including other objects in the frame.

A recent example of this can be seen in a sequence I shot on New Year’s Day and displayed in a post called Who’s Been Painting The Horizon?. Yes, there was a great sky – but I thought the streetcape in silhouette would be an interesting "anchor" across the entire bottom of the frame.

Have a look at the shots on that post and let me know what you think. One of the frames I shot is even deliberately composed around the central silhouette of a street sign, which dominates the centre of the shot.

(Extra, extra, read all about it: I've been interviewed here.)


For other participants in Dot’s concept, go to Sky Watch HQ.