2020 is almost over, and finally I can write about travel, instead of spoonvilles and window teddies. There is no orienteering, or overseas involved in this trip of course, but it’s memorable for being the first chance we’ve had to pack our bags and hit the road during 2020, even if only for 4 days. […]

Many new words have entered the lexicon in the past year. As we move through the pandemic, we continue to add more and more. Some of them are globally recognised; others are very local and only understood by those with shared experiences. Here’s a selection, for posterity: Super Spreader = someone who is highly infectious […]

I’ve lost track of which lockdown version we’re up to, but we are 10 days into Stage 4 (or a week if you count from the day that work came to a grinding halt), which we kind of splodged into from Stage 3, or 3a, or something. It’s all pretty much the same thing to […]

Two weeks before the re-introduction of the level three lockdown Ilze and I decided to replace our tired and inefficient kitchen pantry with a better one. We decided against the “Bunnings” standard types and anxious to be more local found a company in Kilsyth called Flat Pack Kitchens whom we recommend. We chose a fusion […]

Strava Art has taken off during lockdown – orienteers are planning routes that outline, well, anything you like really.  It got a huge boost when Fredo and Craig, up in Bendigo, created a map of the world during a 25 km run, as part of an online Easter Challenge (check it out here). Since then […]

On Friday, Australians were told to “get out from under the doona”, as the first tentative lifting of restrictions started to happen.  Our PM clearly did not look at the weekend forecast for the east coast of the country.  Under the doona was the only sane place to be, with the coldest April day since […]

Coming up to two weeks under restrictions (I’m not sure I can describe it as lockdown yet as we are still free to shop, work and exercise each day; just by ourselves or with immediate family).  Being late March, Melbourne’s weather has been gorgeous – that lovely soft Autumn sunshine, cool nights, crisp mornings and […]

What to do when the Library is closed. (and the Orienteering is cancelled). Ilze’s long career in the printing industry and my lifelong aversion to discarding “old friends”, has left us with a house full of books. We have a total area of Ikeas Billy Bookcases (the assembling of which is soon to become an […]

Was it really only 7 days ago when life as we know it came to a grinding halt?  To be honest, being in lockdown hasn’t made a huge difference to us (yet). We can still get outside to exercise, and we can still shop for groceries – pretty much the main reasons we had before […]

Wow, how fast the world has changed. Was it just 2 weeks ago that we were packing up after the Melbourne Sprint Weekend, a frantic, exciting 3 days where orienteers from all over Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia, travelled freely to Victoria, gathered in groups of more than 10, were not required to stay […]