CAR BADGES - just a little trivia for you.

Over the years many car manufacturers become known, not only by their name but their badge or logo. On todays cars, look at Toyota, Mazda and Lexus and you'll see the badge but no name.

Have you ever wondered what the origin of Citroen's double chevron insignia is? Probably not, but this is my blog so I'll tell you.

Before Andre, Andre Citroen that is, started making cars - he produced gear wheels. Instead of a worm drive, he developed this herringbone style of gear mesh as the photo below illustrates.

Australia imported many Citroens in the years between the two world wars. They mainly came in chassis form with the bodies built by coachbuilders here. This avoided some sort of tax that was attached to imported fully built cars. Alfa Romeo, Fiat and many other European cars came to Australia like this and hence had unusual bodies compared to their Euro counterparts.

We've been Citroen owners and members of the Citroen Car Clubs in Melbourne over the years. We started with the Traction Avant in its four and six cylinder form and later the Xantia came along which is still in the family and has been for almost 10 years.

You might consider that this post is just a little piece of trivia and it is. I'm just getting into practice because Friday night Sue and I are off to a fundraising Trivia Night with friends. Our table is called "A boy called Sue" because we are dressing up in black and most of our wives are named Sue.
Except that my Sue wants to be called Johnny - maybe that's because she has all the CASH!!!!
And on that note, I'll say goodnight (it's Thursday night as I post this at 11.50pm)

AVAGOODWEEKEND

Funny Friday

One of my favourite Melbourne Comedians.

Oh, alright - here's another one before I go to bed.....

Havagoodweekend

Is Edna Funky enough for Friday

Graffiti can be a bit of a blight on the community, but with thousands of years of this "art" its hard to ignore. I think we all consider tagging (someones name or initials) a bit senseless and even vandalism. Then there's the clever or even whimsical.
I once saw some graffiti that said, "What would you do if God came to Carlton" and the answer below from someone else said something like "let him play full forward". To be expected in a football town like Melbourne. My memory fails me a little, but you get the general picture.
I even saw tagging on the many buildings in our travels through France and Italy. This was back centuries ago and instead of a pressure can - a sharp steel instrument was possibly used.

Back to this graffiti I saw in Melbourne recently - It was of our self proclaimed Dame, Edna Everage. I like this form of graffitti which is a paper stencil and so easily removed too. But not this one of Dame Edna. It still exists, obviously others like it too.

HAVAGOODWEEKEND

Funky Friday - at last

Funky Friday returns with an extended long weekend - Yes, Good Friday, the weekend and Monday make for four days rest, but wait - that's not all as the man on the commercial said, "do you want steak knives with that?"
What is he talking about do I hear you say - well here in Australia we also have ANZAC Day falling within Easter and that means we get Tuesday off as well.
Seeing that for some reason our workload has become very busy lately and we should feel grateful that we are busy, I thought that this little clip might give an indication of why I can use a looooong weekend.

Here's wishing you a happy and safe Easter with family and friends.

A little something about ANZAC Day as well.

Funky Footy Friday

 I'm posting this Thursday night for Friday.

Footy - that's Australian Rules Football.

Now from the beginning I have to admit that I'm not a big fan, in fact I'm a fan of the anti-Football League.
As a kid I played footy - the only goal I ever scored was for the opposite team. My team mates were not impressed but I was quite excited that I actually got my boot to the ball.
I much prefer Lycra and cleated shoes than footy boots - oh yes and they hit each other, rather barbaric don't you agree.
Well, Melbourne goes footy crazy now until that "Sunday in September" when the grand final is played.
Give me the Paris Roubaix, the Giro. Le Tour where men are men, not buffoons giving each other a biffing occasionally. I say biff each other on the ascents of the European Cols.

Having said all of that - most of the population in Australia will talk nothing about footy for the next six months.

Thought I might post some vintage footy film which is actually a bit of good fun.

1956 Melbourne Olympic Velodrome

The Olympic Velodrome in Melbourne was built for 1956 Melbourne Olympic velodrome. As a 14 year old I had my first experience of racing on the boards.

Us KIDS had the wonderful experience of rubbing shoulders with the. then greats of Australian and International cyclists - the Germans, Swiss, Italians, Brits and French raced here during their winter to enjoy our summer.

The Program below is of a meeting not long after the Olympic Games. Initially the track was built to International Olympic standard of 330 metres but later was shortened to 250 metres which offered the spectators a more thrilling experience. For the Games, the wooden surface was covered by concrete but when the track was modified, the boards were exposed and as you entered the venue, spectators would hear the rattle of the boards as the riders were warming up.

Yes it was a far cry from the modern indoor velodromes of today......I'm glad I had the experience of this era.

Funky Friday Foto

Driving home one Friday late in the arvo I quickly took this photo as I drove down the freeway over the city of Melbourne below. I'm not sure what the crooked arch means, and it seems to serve no real purpose. I'm not quite sure that I see it as decorative even, but there it is and I drive under it most days on the way home from work.

Sitting on my study desk is this model of a Citroen 2CV and a couple of cute racing cyclists. The 2CV may have been present from my daughter and the cyclists came home with me from Paris last year. I think we might just keep going back until I get a whole Tour de France field. Much more decorative than a crooked arch......

This Friday is the beginning of a long weekend in Melbourne - It is Labor Day. What's that you say, Labor day..... What's Labor Day.

Well, we have festivals, Moomba on the Yarra River. Folk Festivals in Port Fairy. Lot's of things happen.

Wikipedia

Celebrating the Australian labour movement, the Labour Day public holiday is fixed by the various state and territory governments, and so varies considerably. It is the first Monday in October in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and South Australia. In both Victoria and Tasmania, it is the second Monday in March (though the latter calls it Eight Hours Day). In Western Australia, Labour Day is the first Monday in March. In both Queensland and the Northern Territory, it is the first Monday in May.

Looking forward to starting the weekend with a bottle of sparkling whatever tonight. Three days of rest coming up.

Friday Nostalgia

Just some old Aussie Posters to fill a Friday.

Ice Cream, Biscuits, Holden cars and Holiday Destinations.



What will your weekend bring?

Melbourne is looking forward to sunny days in the 20s.

Perfect for catching up on some home maintenance I'm told.

Tell you more later.

FUNNY FRIDAY

I had no idea what to post this Friday - that is until I decided to polish my shoes.
This is the Australian icon shoe polish - KIWI.
We don't have Kiwis in Australia - It was a native bird to New Zealand. Strange!!!!

The current Kiwi shoe polish tin I used this morning.



A couple of early newspaper advertisements



 

You'll love this little clip - nothing to do with shoe polish.

Friday Funky Feline Foto

This is our Rosita - once run over by a car and went missing for a week. Beforehand she was quite stand-offish but as the years have rolled on, she's developed a pat-me personality. We think she must have been brain damaged in the accident to have had such a change of personality. Anyway we love her as much as high maintenance Blue Burmese who is starting to lose her level of pecking order to Rosita. Go Moggy.


It's my couch, and don't even think about joining me (unless you rub my tummy).

Saturday Song sometime tomorrow

Who? Not quite sure yet.

The Yarra River

The Yarra River runs through the middle of Melbourne. I was travelling to an appointment for work when I was driving along the Boulevard beside the river. I thought there might be a pic or two for the blog.


The bridge in the background is one of the early ones that crosses the Yarra. Being not very wide, it is now a pedestrian bridge and from where I took the photo is the "Tan", a running track that circles Melbourne's Botanic Gardens.



Looking in the opposite direction towards the CBD, the tall buildings of Melbourne were covered in a mist from the encroaching drizzle that afternoon. No matter what the weather, the Yarra always looks interesting.

 Not only was I off to an appointment, but I had just come from one on the banks of the Yarra in an area called Southbank. It was a coffee meeting at one of the many cafes that line the river in that precinct.
I'm always taken by statues, sculptures and unusual pieces of art. Within the arcades of Southbank, there are many unusual pieces to be seen - these large metal fish hang from the ceiling and most probably give tribute to the many fish caught by our indigenous people who originally lived by the banks of the Yarra River.
The Yarra has seen a new life over the past several decades. In the early years of settlement, it became a drain for industry further up the river. Places such as Tanneries and Slaughter Yards.
Many of the fish and even Platypus have returned to a cleaner river upstream. On occasion, porpoise have even said hello in the lower sections.

It's now 10.51 pm Thursday night and it's still 25 degrees c with an expected low overnight of 22 degrees c.

It's been raining most of the day with maybe a less wet weekend before more rain is forecast for next week.

Time for bed - Goodnight.

Funk Friday Foto

Tell me this isn't Funky

While on our recent bayside ride we met our 50s beach girl.

The Rain in the Lane Mainly Flows Down the Drain

Wednesday I decided I'd work from home - around 9.00 am the rains came and didn't stop all day. Not just drizzle but great huge buckets of torrential rain were tipped all over Melbourne and Victoria.

This is the water that flows less than one kilometre to our lovely Port Phillip Bay.
With it flows any garbage that thoughtless people may decide to empty
 from their vehicle instead of the recycling bin at home.

Our street became a small river as the flow of water either side of our street met in the middle. Any depression in the ground surface became a small pond. The front lawn took on the feel of a sodden carpet in a beer house.



And she said more wet weather to come.

 All this overflow finds its way down the drains taking with it rubbish from the gutters. The other day as I drove into my street I saw the packaging of a finished McDonald's meal. Rather than taking the rubbish home some person stopped at the corner, opened the car door to leave his/her garbage in OUR street. It's most probably now somewhere in OUR Port Phillip bay.



The forecast for the rest of the week looks like more wetness but with temperatures almost tropical.

 After all the rains we've had, I see our water reserves have now reached close to 53% capacity. That might not sound great but some of the dams are full capacity while some still need a top-up.



Scenes from the Melbourne torrential rains experienced this week.

 Hopefully the weekend will bring less rains because my lawns are growing very quickly. I think this weekend might be the time to purchase a motor mower. I love my push mower but the grass is longer and I'm older.
Friday night I'm taking my father to watch the bike racing at the indoor velodrome. There's a race on that I won in the early 70s that's been run since 1925. We'll do some father/son bonding over a Guinness or two.
Sunday Sue and I have a dinner to attend on Sunday night at an Indian Restaurant called "Roti Boti", how appropriate.

I can feel a weekend blog happening.

All of our Wednesdays become Friday

Yes, all of our Wednesdays in France and Italy have come to an end and today is Friday.
But Wednesdays will still continue with memories of our travels. It wasn't long after returning to Melbourne that another trip was being planned. More of that next Wednesday.


Only half a man

 Last weekend was absolutely idyllic with cloudless skies and balmy nights, just perfect for outdoor meals on the deck under the shady umbrella of the leafy trees in our backyard. The weather report for this weekend is a contradiction of last Saturday and Sunday. Rains all weekend are predicted - with our water reserves still at 51 percent, we really can't complain.



With a split personality

 Not sure what Monday's blog will bring - guess I'll have to wait and see. I do know we will be having dinner with another couple we met in Paris earlier this year. We met at a restaurant next to Shakespeare and Co. bookshop beside the Seine.

Friday Family Fotos

Just a bit of Family Fun with my Daughter Carly and Son Mitch

Really ugly, huh!

3 FUNKY GUYS

Here we are - 3 funky guys who enjoy their bike riding and socialising together.

Yes we are wise and we do like to monkey around.

But Sue has a differing opinion

The weekend is not looking good with heavy rain forecast however we are joining about 20 couples for a weekend on the Mornington Peninsula. It will be a coffee, wine and foodie experience in a really nice part of the world with fun people.

Funky Friday

Funky Friday turns into welcome weekend

and the chance to use the new BBQ

Notice the mushrooms above the grill.

It only proves that I'm a Fungi.

(that's a really bad joke but it is Friday)

A World Champion at 65+

Michel Briat, my good friend who lives in Paris with his wife Danielle and who both have been so kind to us on our visits to his City is now a World Champion.

I woke up this Friday morning to read the results of the World Masters Track Championships in Portugal. Michel has travelled to Australia in since 2007 in his endeavor to win the rainbow jersey.
He finally achieved his goal in Portugal this month in the 65 to 69 age division

Congratulations to a true champion cyclist and person.

Annette Kellerman- the Aussie Mermaid

While recently reading thru my History of Mentone book, I was reminded of Annette Kellerman, a local girl  who with her family settled in our local suburb. She was credited as influencing synchronised swimming (in my case synchronised drowning).
I'm afraid we can't take much credit for her infamous career in her latter life as she took off to the US to become a celebrity in many ways - Wikipedia (as always) has something to say about this young lady who spent some time from around the corner where we live.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annette_Kellerman#Early_life

I'll just post a few piccies of this delightful young mermaid of the pool.

And there is more here - happy reading, she's fascinating.

http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/marie-claire/features/life-stories/article/-/5887692/annette-kellerman-australias-forgotten-icon/

Funky Friday Foto

Our cat Rosita enjoys teasing the garden dog but he just ignores her. 

Maybe someone can add a caption!



Or this one!