We're off!

We're off on our big junket on the Murray River... Coastalrev's long-term dream of a trip on the Murray. One day I hope to 'sail' the full length - which will be interesting getting past Hume and Yarrawonga Wiers which don't have locks!

Anyway, Zoë's special job on the trip is to keep you all updated - so check her site regularly (if we have mobile phone coverage).

And don't come and rob our home! Someone is housesitting! And holding big parties... hmmm.

Glenn.

Some train videos and photos for you to enjoy

Here are some train videos from two visits in March to Werai Curve on the NSW Southern Hightands, plus two 'light engine' (engine only) movements through the historica Exeter Station, just south of Werai.

Grain train 9227 passing through Werai - and also two hours later at Unanderra:


Using some of the same footage as the previous one, train 9227 passes Werai curve and crosses 2225, empty limestone train to Marulan with "Hally" in the fireman's seat.


Pacific National train 5MB4 Melbourne to Brisbane intermodal:


ARG (Australian Railroad Group) flour train to Bomaderry. ARG has just been sold to QRN (Queensland Railways National).


Two light engine movements through Exeter. Note the signal arm!


There's more where that came from!

Still shots begin here.

I'm not ashamed... of the gospel. But what about my hobby?

Many Christians are ashamed of the Christian gospel... that God incarnate should be subjected to the shame of death-by-crucifixion and all of that stuff. I guess in there is the fear of ridicule too. Romans 1:16.

I countered that by becoming a minister:

Innocent bystander: "So what do you do?"
CoastalRev: "I'm an Anglican minister."
Innocent bystander: a) "Wow! I go to such-and-such church."
b) "Never believed, and never will."
c) Awkardly looks at the floor, then turns away and shuffles quietly.

As you can see, it's very hard to move on from there - but at least I can't hide it!

So what am I ashamed of? Liking trains. I think it's because, typically, your rail fan [gross American term] or rail enthusiast [implies a little too much energy placed into hobby], train watcher [has connotations of vouyerism], train chaser ["so what do you do when you catch it? Kiss it like Rex Hunt, or tag and release?"]... I've digressed.

I think it's because, typically, your rail fan is a classic case study in Aspergers Syndrome before it was described by Dr Asperger. The kind of bloke to whom you can say, "Hey I saw an orange train with big boxy wagons at Berry" and he will say, "Oh yes that's 3982 Bommoderry to Cooks River Export Flour Train. The locos on the day you saw it were CLP4 and 2203, owned by ARG which was just purchased by QRN... blah blah blah."

So what am I on about?

All of this is a preamble to the following embarrassing email I sent tonight. We're looking for a motel to stay in somewhere in the 'deep south' of NSW when we return from Echuca after our Houseboat From Hell experience we're going on after Easter.

Here's the email. I was ashamed to send it. I'm trying to purge the shame ju-jus by sharing it with you, my only Blog reader:

Hi there,

This might sound like a really wierd request (probably because it is!) but I note from the NRMA website that you're near the railway line. Given that for some of us that's a good thing [ok, with embarrassment I admit I like to watch trains go past!], are you close enough for a bit of train watching from the motel rooms? That aside, we think will be after a room in Wagga on the Friday or Saturday (or Sunday or...) of the weekend of the 21st April for 2 adults and a 3-month old bub.

Given that it's close to ANZAC day, are there likely to be any problems with that?

Thanks,

Glenn Farrell.

Giving blood

I've never given blood before - and having worked in Sydney across the road from the blood bank there I've always had this latent sense of guilt at not giving blood. I mean, I've got all the indicators of giving good blood - never been to the UK, no diseases, etc, etc... It's just that I had needles.

In fact, because I once had high cholesterol, and because of heart disease in the family, and because I'm fat, I have a 6-monthly blood test for cholesterol, type-2 diabetes, urates, iron (as there is a family history of haemachromositis and I love my red meat!) and goodness-knows-what else. As an aside, it means that I know that I'm very healthy, because the regular check-ups tell me so! But my veins go AWOL. And I get sqeamish - especiallly when I feel them pulling back on the needle to draw blood and when I look - ouch - there is an empty vial! This is the reason I don't give blood!

But last week Michelle was seeing a specialist at Wollongong and I walked Zoë past the blood bank and thought, "I have seen Zoë's birth without any concerns, perhaps it's time to give blood". So I dropped in and made a booking for this week.

When it came to finding veins, I warned them I'd be difficult. Sure enough, despite the blood bank's promises, it took 25 vampires to find a blood vessel. During that time, Michelle (who came to drive me home in case I felt faint with all the squamishness!) kept looking around the corner to see how I was going. The amount of attention I received was making her a bit concerned!

But at the end of the day, they vampired me and Wendy who goes to Figtree Anglican and is married to a 2-N Glenn kept me talking and before I knew it I had "saved three lives" as the blood bank rhetoric goes.

I survived - not even feeling squeamish. How good is that?

G.