Friends in High Places

I've  read a few of Donna Leon's crime stories in the past, and have generally enjoyed Commissario Guido Brunetti's investigations.    Brunetti is a high-ranking police officer in Venice, who takes his food and family seriously.  He is usually confronted with both the  bureaucracy and the corruption in Italian life.   He's mostly above such matters, although he couldn't be described as perfect.   He doesn't hesitate to utilise the computer-hacking skills of his co-worker, Signorina Elettra, for example, nor (occasionally) the connections of his high-placed father-in-law.

Friends in High Places isn't a new book, but I came across it a while back and put it aside for holiday reading, as I knew it would be very readable.  Brunetti is faced with a range of issues, and effectively solves the main plot but is forced to leave some issues unresolved -  an outcome  consistent with the imperfect society in which he operates.

Qdos

While at Lorne, we made what has become our annual visit to Qdos for coffee on the deck and a walk around, viewing both the art and the sculptures.   

View from the deck

All very interesting, but while (as always) we enjoyed the coffee and ambiance, we didn't find a sculpture for our courtyard to our taste, particularly having regard to the prices being asked!

Lily pond

Looking up towards the gallery and the deck

Beach Houses

I was interested in Bernard Salt's column in The Weekend Australian that referred to the ownership costs of a beach house.   He concludes that for most people the beach house idea doesn't make financial sense.   I, too, suspect that the numbers only stack up if your parents made the original investment!  But, like Bernard, each January, I reflect on the high cost of renting during the holiday season and look at all the "For Sale" boards, and then the idea of buying hibernates for the next 11 months.

Someone once suggested to me that the way to buy a house at a coastal resort was to walk around and decide which house you would like, then knock on the door and ask the price.   This is on the basis that, even if they're not advertised, a lot of the houses in at least some coastal towns are for sale at the right price.

At Lorne, there did appear to be a more-than-usual number of properties with "For Sale" signs this year.   I also heard that the holiday letting market is a little quieter.

Just the same, there's some building activity occurring around town,   I'm not sure if building a house is any more "economically rational" than buying an existing house, but perhaps the achievement of ending up with just what you think you want compensates for what seems to me to be the stresses of the building process.

The jigsaw

One of our Lorne "traditions" is to complete a jigsaw puzzle (often a Christmas gift!).    This year, the last parts of the puzzle were rather challenging.

Note that the sky is complete!

However, we put in a team effort, and finally managed to complete it at 10.30 pm on the evening before our departure.

The cemetery

There are a couple of memorials of significance to us in the Lorne cemetery, so each year we pay a visit. However, we weren't impressed this year to find that it has been transformed from a pleasant rural resting place to a something more akin to an urban landscape, as the paths, which were previously gravel, have now been paved. There are wide expanses of white concrete between the plots, quite changing the appearance. No doubt the change makes it slightly easier for funeral hearses to travel the last 50 metres or so of their trip – but at such a cost to the whole atmosphere! Just who is represented on these cemetery trusts (Lorne is administered by the trust based in Geelong)?   Did the paving really need to be quite so wide? Was anything thought given to softening the harshness of the bare concrete by toning it down by making it grey or some other tone more in line with the surroundings?
 

In addition, some eucalypts have been planted. Not such a bad idea, except that the variety chosen (E. caesia, or gungurru) has obviously been selected for its somewhat “weeping” appearance. The catch (so I am reliably informed) is that it's originally from the deserts of Western Australia, and is hardly likely to thrive in a location exposed to the salt-laden winds coming off Bass Strait.   And anyway, would not it have been preferable to have something from the local region?

Hristos se rodi

We celebrated Orthodox Christmas in style, complete with tree and with friends, plenty to drink and lots of food!

The traditional oak tree

Walking in the Otways

C and I set out to walk to Phantom Falls – which I've never been to before and which I now know are certainly worth a visit. The track starts at the Allenvale car park, skirting “Allenvale” itself, which is a farm with orchards and horses, then joins an access track which seems to follow the water pipeline. The track runs parallel to the St George River, but is further up the side of the hill, so you get some good views looking down on the river. The falls are on the St George River, downstream from the Allen Resevoir. There was quite a lot of water coming over them, no doubt due to the good spring rains this year.

Having reached the falls, we saw that it was only 0.8 km to the “Cora Lynn carpark”, so off we set, down a track that first followed the St George River then crossed over to the Cora Lynn Creek a little upstream of its junction with the St George's River. The “car park” is not publicly accessible by vehicle (only on foot) so the name is a bit odd! Here there was a gate belonging to Barwon Water, blocking vehicles from proceeding further along the track to the Allen Reservoir. However, there was no restriction on walkers, so we set off up the steep slope, across the ridge back into the St George valley and reached the Allen Reservoir (seemingly the source of Lorne's water). We pondered following the track further, as the map indicated that it completed a circuit back to the falls, but decided instead to retrace our steps (probably a more pleasant route).

The forest is in great condition this year, after good spring rains, and the tracks, too, are good and clearly marked, with evidence of maintenance having been undertaken.

Some additional photos:

From the path as you walk past Allenvale

Looking down on St George River

Phantom Falls

Allen Reservoir

The Bridge (2)

I bought the January issue of the local newsletter after I posting my initial comments about the disappearance of Lorne's iconic Swing Bridge. This contained some more information about the bridge's demise.

It seems that the bridge was closed (we are told, for safety reasons) last March. The planning process was then said to be “in motion”, but at least one resident claims to have heard nothing. Then in the space of 5 hours, supposedly without any notice at all, the bridge was demolished in November. As the letter writer says, “No farewell to a piece of Lorne history, no consultation yet again with the people who use and love it – just gone”.

Hardest hit, it seems, was the previous operator of the cafe on the bank of the river. No-one could get to him over the winter months, and he departed. Some have seen it as unfair that a new operator arrived just before Christmas.

Wet day on GOR

The forecast was for rain, and rain it did! We went off to the Wye Rover pub for lunch. Although the traffic around Lorne was very congested, once we got out of town, it was a breeze.

We sat inside at the pub (well, the deck was impossible because of the rain), and had a great seafood stew and minute steak burger. We got a table by the window and looked out on the rain!

New Year

Best wishes to all for 2014!

The New Year celebrations at Lorne were very subdued. Unlike previous years, there was no entertainment on the foreshore (not that we've attended that in the past!), and the word was that the fireworks would be at 9.30 pm, with nothing to occur at midnight. Came 9.30, and …... nothing happened. My thoughts that the sour-pusses had taken over seemed to be totally vindicated. However, it 10 pm, the pier lit up, and there they were. And at midnight, another display.    So, with good company, good food and nice wine, plus fireworks,  a good evening.

Cockatoos

From the Lorne Independent: “..we implore all homeowners to screw a piece of heavy hardwood to the inside of your household garbage bin now! Otherwise our very smart cockatoos will flick back the lid, no matter how many bricks you put on top of it, and distribute your rubbish everywhere......”.

The Bridge!

We're at Lorne, and I'm glad to say that not much has changed. A few of the shops and restaurants have changed, but no matter. The main thing is that the iconic “swing bridge” has gone. I always thought it was a suspension bridge, but I suppose “swing” describes the action that occurred whenever a few people were on it.

I read a notice in the estate agent's window explaining that it had had to be closed for safety reasons. But it was a shock when I saw that it had been totally demolished! I heard that this occurred as long ago as February.

I bought a copy of the local newsheet, and now understand that progress is be made in replacing the bridge. In fact, it was stated that part of the delay was because the Heritage Advisor required some design modifications “to ensure the new Bridge is an exact replica [of] the old one...”. Well, well! Some delay was also caused by the fact that there was a single objector following the public display of the plans (who subsequently purported to withdraw his objection)!

It's apparent that there's been a lot going on, but in the far-away city, I have been oblivious to it all.

The Aquatic Club

The Lorne Aquatic Club has for what seems forever enjoyed a prime location close to the pier. It's always conveyed the impression, at least to me, as being a pseudo-private retreat.  And it's never been apparent to me what the the members of the club actually do, apart from socialising and enjoying their view!

However, this year, a “Save our Club” banner has appeared on its walls. And there's now a sign at the entrance, which includes the words “Visitors Welcome”. And I spotted a courtesy bus (apparently owned by the local council). I have no idea of what might be going on here, but the thought crossed my mind that it's interesting to observe that a challenge sometimes promotes change!