tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23996818240037492762024-03-21T22:47:59.980+11:00Matthew Glenn Ward's BlogMatthew Glenn Ward is a writer, publisher & digital artist.Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-66463977777684214142012-12-14T21:11:00.003+11:002012-12-14T21:13:06.424+11:00Missing the 1989 Newcastle Earthquake by Matthew Glenn Ward<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">Before
the earthquake of 1989, Newcastle NSW was known as a 'large industrial town.'
After the earthquake of 1989 Newcastle NSW was known as 'that large industrial
town that had an earthquake.'</span>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">In the twenty years since the earthquake, she has since become
less of an industrial town and a little bit closer to a modern, bohemian city
whose population used to remember the natural disaster every year, but now only
does so every five or ten years.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">What I hated was I was not in my home town when the earthquake
hit. I was in Coffs Harbour on holiday with my younger brother, Philip; a mate,
Tony; and my brother's mate, Darren. This is how it all went down. At the then
mature age of 23, I was 'absent without leave' when my city had its biggest
event since the flaming car Star Hotel riots of 1979 that shortly after was
immortalised by Aussie rockers Cold Chisel.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">We had crept into a Coffs Harbour caravan park around
mid-afternoon on December 27th 1989, tired after Christmas and Boxing Day
celebrations, and a little jetlagged by the trip from Newcastle - a jetlagged
feeling even though we travelled there by car, if that makes any sense.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">We constructed a slipshod tent and I crashed in there immediately
despite the hot weather. To my confusion, I awoke an hour later in the orange
light to the sound of giggling and the sight of a little green crab that was
inching itself towards me, pincers ready - I believed - to sever my little
toes. The giggling was not the crab, as you might have gathered, but the other
guys outside who did this sort of thing for a lark all the time, as we all did.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">That night we walked from the caravan park in our going to town
clothes, my then long hair split-enzy because I used Sunlight Soap instead of
shampoo in the caravan shower block. Anyway, at a club we drank expensive
watered down scotches and Cokes, watched music videos on a big screen and then
hours later walked back to the caravan park with that 'paid too much to not to
get anywhere' feeling.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">Next morning on December 28th we woke up around 9am, dressed
casually and shortly after went by car into town to grab breakfast. On the way
back, Darren, who was driving, decided to bunny hop his car around another
caravan park. Inevitably the clutch cable snapped. We then pushed the car in
the heat to the local Mitsubishi parts place, the rest of us hoping that this
example of buffoonery would cost Darren a motza. It didn't. He wasn't called
Lucky the Cat for nothing. The clutch cable for his model of Sigma, a GE
(1978), was only $20 or something. The models after the GE had cables that
started at over $100.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">So, being someone who worked in the car game I knew that even
though Darren would be paying next to nothing for his cable, they wouldn't have
one for at least a week - it might even have to come from Japan - and then he'd
have to book in to get it done. Well, they had one and said they could fix it
within the hour for next to nothing. Lucky the Cat strikes again.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">After the car was roadworthy once more, we cruised to get lunch in
the middle of Coffs. Strange things then started to happen. I went to an
autoteller and was told via an onscreen message that the bank I was trying to
get money from, The Newcastle Permanent, was down. Then we got back into the
car and just drove around. Someone put the car radio on. There was some music
and we chatted generally about nothing in particular just as the DJ said:
"And we'll give you more info on the Newcastle earthquake as it comes to
hand..." Someone in the car told the others to shut up, and we waited an
eternity for the DJ to get back to us. We assumed the whole thing was a joke as
he played Martika's then popular cover of Carole King's 'I Feel the Earth
Move'.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">We all decided we had to be back in Newcastle, so we went back to
the caravan park to pack. Tony and I hung around waiting for Philip and Darren
and while we did we met an old man who told us the best place to go for a bite
was the RSL where we could get a baked dinner and "exotic things like peas
and carrots and potatoes." We knew all about peas and carrots and potatoes
but let him talk as he seemed to delight in telling us the marvels of baked
dinners.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">So, we travelled in two cars, Darren driving his car with Philip
as shotgun, and Tony driving his brown metallic V8 HZ Kingswood with me in the
passenger seat, both vehicles trying to get to Newcastle as quickly as possible
but Tony winning due to sheer horsepower.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">Tony and I eventually arrived back in Newcastle after lunch, eager
to go cruise Main and see what the damage was, from Hamilton where awnings had
collapsed on cars and the Newcastle Worker's Club where poker machine playing
pensioners had shuffled through dust and spilled coins to try and escape the
rumble of the floor.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">Trouble was every stickybeak Novocastrian and rubbernecker from
outside Newcastle was determined to get into Newcastle as well. The roads all
the way back were packed. We sat in the car outside Wickham Gates for an
eternity. We had to have a story ready as there was security only allowing in
certain people and turning most away who u-turned it back to where they came
from. We cooked up a half-baked story that I had a brother in Merewether and
was concerned for his welfare.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">I gave the story to the security guy and he asked where exactly my
brother lived. Well, we hadn't thought that far ahead, and he gave us the 'good
try' look and urged us to turn around, which we did.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">Traffic was thick going back to the suburbs but eventually I
arrived home to New Lambton while Tony left to see his family in Kotara.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">My brother arrived soon after and we relayed our stories to our
parents, and my younger sister who had escaped from Newcastle an hour or so
before from her workplace, Spotlight, a retailer of manchester, material etc.
My parents were worried after hearing apocalyptic stories on the radio of
Newcastle totally collapsing and greeted her with relief.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">When the quake happened, everyone in my street apparently went
outside, not having ever been prepared for such a natural disaster. It didn't
hit anywhere near as badly as in the city but still it had been a shock. When I
heard this I wished I had been there, too.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">The aftereffects were everpresent on the media and in the streets.
It was in the papers, on the TV and Novocastrians loved talking about the
tragedy. Several people unfortunately lost their lives and we watched stories
on TV of relatives of the deceased reliving their stories of woe.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">In the following week the Newcastle CBD and Hamilton were turned
into ghost towns, with only those who owned buildings that were deemed safe or
tradesmen allowed to enter the zones. Tony was a plumber at the time and was
called in to do work, so he kept the rest of us updated on the situation in
town.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">Being an avid amateur photographer, the following week I travelled
over in my car to Tighes Hill, a suburb next to Hamilton, that had had its own
shakeup. That year I had been going part-time to tech (TAFE) and I was keen to
see if it had sustained any damage. It had, and I used my zoom lens SLR to
photograph fallen walls, and red & white taped off areas. I also talked to
some teachers who were not allowed into their workplace until they were given
the okay, which was at least a week away.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">A week after that buildings started to get demolished. In Tighes
Hill I stood with 50 or so curious onlookers, a lot with cameras, while a pub
was knocked down. In New Lambton similar crowds gathered as the facade of the
pharmacy in Orchardtown Road was toppled over. The old George Hotel in town,
where my Nan had worked in the ’70s, was apparently too unstable and had to be
knocked down, yet when they tried she held on, refusing to go, and those of us
who used to go there as underage drinkers with fake photocopied boat licenses
were very proud of her steadfastedness that day.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">Scenes like this were repeated all over the city and suburbs. The
excitement then died down and thousands of people whose homes had been damaged
by the earthquake struggled to get their abodes habitable again. Some of them
would wait years.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">***</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">A few years later I was at university. One afternoon I was at home
talking on the phone to my friend Michelle. The sliding door to my room was
closed, then someone rattled it to say, I assumed, that dinner was ready or
that someone was at the door to see me. "Yeah, hang on," I yelled
out.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">Michelle said: "What in the f*** was that?"</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">"What was what?" I replied.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">"I think that was a tremor," she said.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">"Cool," I said, I wasn't here for the last one (in
1989)."</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">"Well I was," she said. "I'm getting outa
here!"</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">"No, just stand under the doorframe," I said and did
just that (I had read that somewhere).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">Well, she uttered something unprintable and rushed outside her
flat and into the street.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">***</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">As a bit of a sidebar, it's interesting to note that at the time
of the turmoil in Newcastle, where we were in Coffs Harbour was very quiet,
peaceful. Tony and I had been sitting on grass in the caravan park playing
chess while in our home town of Newcastle, people ran for their lives. I can't
remember who won that chess game but that doesn't matter, does it? While we
were playing a peaceful game that represented war, a peaceful city was in the
midst of its own war, against nature.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">Years after the earthquake, when Novocastrians told their tales, I
had always felt left out, but I was soon warmed by the curiosity of others who
wanted to know about my time in Coffs at the time of the quake, the very story
you are reading now. It was still an earthquake story, I realised, and as
relevant as any other earthquake story.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">© 2010, Matthew Ward</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-58594635030249404062012-10-21T22:52:00.000+11:002012-10-21T22:52:09.115+11:00EGYPTIAN TOMB FOUND IN NEWCASTLE<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjn6x0KrxoqPdb0WCrP2RrLqdglDB_jjVvBtNIJQ3BOpnEv8gYM_aSbbiWutlhqIVhzEgK0XMSgjcPf8Epg6c4Y_6V34KhLdwT0aK-oYuPuAmkNBFOVnhPMUaz8Tnfi519JlyGkAYcCXN/s1600/egypt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjn6x0KrxoqPdb0WCrP2RrLqdglDB_jjVvBtNIJQ3BOpnEv8gYM_aSbbiWutlhqIVhzEgK0XMSgjcPf8Epg6c4Y_6V34KhLdwT0aK-oYuPuAmkNBFOVnhPMUaz8Tnfi519JlyGkAYcCXN/s1600/egypt.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="color: black;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;">Here lies Novocastrius III, <br />broken-hearted...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="color: black;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">from </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;"><i>Skive Magazine,</i> 3 Dec, 2003</span></div>
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA:</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">
On Saturday last, a group of three young friends discovered to their
amazement what would turn out to be the remains of an ancient Egyptian
tomb that was originally discovered by archaeologists in 1920, then lost
again, it was feared, for all time. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">The young people, all 11 and 12 years of age, told <i>SKiVE</i>
about their discovery and wanted to remain anonymous. Of course
'wanting' and 'getting' are two different things... Here are their
names: Michael Zembert, Kathi Chermolian and Bradley Bradleyson. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">The
friends were playing in a vacant lot in Newcomen Street, searching for
old bottles to sell at The Bottle Emporium in King Street when they came
across a stone wall with strange markings. They reported their findings
by phone to the University of Newcastle's Egyptology Department, who
quickly referred them to Ancient History at the Newcastle Technical
College in Tighes Hill (who have more extensive research material than
the uni's well-known slide rule and framed picture of Rameses II). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">The
tomb was revealed after <i>The Newcastle Herald</i> had a block next to them
cleared in preparation for a 7 storey subediting highrise to be called
'The Tye-Poe Center'. The previous week some construction workers had
noticed the strange markings but believed them to be part of 'Ahmose The
Sailor', a famous Egyptian-themed deli that was famously popular in the
late 1880s. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">Doctor Xavier
Filament of Steele Street said he thought the wall was part of the set
of Cecille B. Demilles' 1920s epic, 'Nefertari The Beautiful', which was
filmed in and around Newcastle. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">In
fact the tomb is that of the lesser-known satrap pharaoh Novocastrius
III, after whom Newcastle is named. Novocastrius governed from 1000 to
1070 A.D. and became fat and wealthy with a monopoly on bricks as well
as the ensuing Cobblestone Rush of 1049 A.D. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">When
Novocastrius died in 1070 A.D. of acute arthritis (he liked to count
his bricks after every day till midnight), the whole city had the day
off and headed for the 'Maize & Beer Porridge Hotel' (now The Grand)
on King Street for a quiet beer. If you go there today you can still
see the stool when Novocastrius sat every afternoon, his name is
engraved on it in the form of traditional cartouche with the hieroglyph
of a block & tackle and a dapper frog with a fancy crown. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">Archaeologists
have roped off the area around the tomb and plan to be there for a
period of four years to conduct a survey, which funnily enough is the
same about of time the grant money for the dig runs out.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">William Billingham-Smith</span> </b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Humanities & Inhumanities)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: grey;"><br /></span></b></span>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-32240526914347253392012-02-11T00:43:00.000+11:002012-02-11T00:45:17.788+11:00Some more book covers I have designed / assembled<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFlhnaNyz750BAaJOtiFT5HvFf4-UL2BKAPHRuGEIShV6H6zPwf_G-MnQMGpm4e-1QcOivvQRWYX-CfC65r8ZqUYLl2kaP9TqgCb5z8vh16vqIncpc7IW-hxslmktRf1NGgLa2B1vHrc-/s1600/Robson_Crossing_Paths.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFlhnaNyz750BAaJOtiFT5HvFf4-UL2BKAPHRuGEIShV6H6zPwf_G-MnQMGpm4e-1QcOivvQRWYX-CfC65r8ZqUYLl2kaP9TqgCb5z8vh16vqIncpc7IW-hxslmktRf1NGgLa2B1vHrc-/s320/Robson_Crossing_Paths.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Crossing Paths by Debbie Robson</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mary Celeste Press</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8EPIUJ2Ae7pffItabe1gyz3MGATOXwCq5CmJMXwixxpmnjPo7TWO25eT3t644zK_NlDLGPHUioKDxNRUnTxF_sEieSpsSXNmBQ2qZu2IxL9iRhFRF0SltotwGi_AieHfA8E1lS7iG16p4/s1600/Strozier_Magical_Publishing_Pen.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8EPIUJ2Ae7pffItabe1gyz3MGATOXwCq5CmJMXwixxpmnjPo7TWO25eT3t644zK_NlDLGPHUioKDxNRUnTxF_sEieSpsSXNmBQ2qZu2IxL9iRhFRF0SltotwGi_AieHfA8E1lS7iG16p4/s320/Strozier_Magical_Publishing_Pen.png" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Magical Publishing Pen<br />
by M. Stefan Strozier<br />
Mary Celeste Press</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhM71WKJUFrX3lODj8H8EJEDz74GTrl3sI78xc_x8RzfyGRk91whjKStzvCm81-ES_ytbQc_s0JhIG_DXmvCcFlZiMQJxo_yHcsjoWXSQbjsEwA_qG6ZAoBYt6VF3N3NG7kkIaDzL2YcM/s1600/Strozier_Second_Row.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhM71WKJUFrX3lODj8H8EJEDz74GTrl3sI78xc_x8RzfyGRk91whjKStzvCm81-ES_ytbQc_s0JhIG_DXmvCcFlZiMQJxo_yHcsjoWXSQbjsEwA_qG6ZAoBYt6VF3N3NG7kkIaDzL2YcM/s320/Strozier_Second_Row.png" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second Row by M. Stefan Strozier<br />
Mary Celeste Press</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3cEkmEr4LLEQgT767VrxolQfP28jcTdW7IkiYn4hUaAcWUXWw2txvpYVEfm5AWOrQsAbPrwsktSGdMwt50V6XHb6Z85Q67bQGwI7ci3sGy77p8CGvctRiDrk_T6F0NmevOtmgAO5vLWEn/s1600/Audience_2012_Spring.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3cEkmEr4LLEQgT767VrxolQfP28jcTdW7IkiYn4hUaAcWUXWw2txvpYVEfm5AWOrQsAbPrwsktSGdMwt50V6XHb6Z85Q67bQGwI7ci3sGy77p8CGvctRiDrk_T6F0NmevOtmgAO5vLWEn/s320/Audience_2012_Spring.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Audience Magazine, Spring 2012 Issue<br />
World Audience Press</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5StC1-jNiQ3Numr-Km0kiIMXP94G0yCjqnwEhDIYfdUarn44VX7NNjXPY8Lt6pq28meKKyTHFbTVWxeAab1jVVdGPK6rvJlBq8iHs5QMLBH1_wXac0GTqWoH56VRTMTIntAHvP5TpgJU7/s1600/Massari_Sonnets.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5StC1-jNiQ3Numr-Km0kiIMXP94G0yCjqnwEhDIYfdUarn44VX7NNjXPY8Lt6pq28meKKyTHFbTVWxeAab1jVVdGPK6rvJlBq8iHs5QMLBH1_wXac0GTqWoH56VRTMTIntAHvP5TpgJU7/s320/Massari_Sonnets.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sonnets: Darklight & Echoes by Michael V. Massari<br />
World Audience Publishers</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCIh3oMVy0lpBOzFvQO4Kw-dyvZKtV-sAtQGzWCeH6k1MCHIUh4YAsQ_Tq8lphfyGAsAaY0EfC6miyuhdqgWE2LUmaAJkGRSJPZlJe9H71oHQnUS4LImFVYBHlH771ojn5SvMx2tyQiphq/s1600/Murray_The_Mental_Performance_Index.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCIh3oMVy0lpBOzFvQO4Kw-dyvZKtV-sAtQGzWCeH6k1MCHIUh4YAsQ_Tq8lphfyGAsAaY0EfC6miyuhdqgWE2LUmaAJkGRSJPZlJe9H71oHQnUS4LImFVYBHlH771ojn5SvMx2tyQiphq/s320/Murray_The_Mental_Performance_Index.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mental Performance Index by John F. Murray Ph.D<br />
World Audience Publishers</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-44709220757464420742012-02-07T13:24:00.000+11:002012-02-07T13:26:56.927+11:00Laman St. Figs Destruction - 7 Feb. 2012, Day 8 - Last Fig Felled<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgod_H0tCQOZTUZyJVqGH3VQZR_R7ujTwBpN7EAhBZyOJXdlfa8OBypJi2lCFNhZkicLRvldN7N4R4-qWuUmhyqzTs__1x8wBJB6WSW_Rnn7x3B-IbeYY3jiq_ZRD5o1TuHL8JWEN0NBbAF/s1600/Last_Tree_Standing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgod_H0tCQOZTUZyJVqGH3VQZR_R7ujTwBpN7EAhBZyOJXdlfa8OBypJi2lCFNhZkicLRvldN7N4R4-qWuUmhyqzTs__1x8wBJB6WSW_Rnn7x3B-IbeYY3jiq_ZRD5o1TuHL8JWEN0NBbAF/s320/Last_Tree_Standing.png" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Last Tree Standing</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The tall one to the right of the right</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">of the art gallery and to the left</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">of the crane.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">HDR b&w photo, HTC camera.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY9qIwb7C4jpd-tE1srA0AAUjilK7PSN_lXUREW_gUMh8Who227hJ5H1pFbDGk3SIlVWkKKmXRL1YgCyZi036dJCaFpVnEqBoZ7hXhbkegWb9oDPJa7B0dcCKfo18gQ2bg8GyA0t_z1DHh/s1600/All_Trees_Gone_Dawson+Street_End.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY9qIwb7C4jpd-tE1srA0AAUjilK7PSN_lXUREW_gUMh8Who227hJ5H1pFbDGk3SIlVWkKKmXRL1YgCyZi036dJCaFpVnEqBoZ7hXhbkegWb9oDPJa7B0dcCKfo18gQ2bg8GyA0t_z1DHh/s320/All_Trees_Gone_Dawson+Street_End.png" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">All the Trees Are Gone</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Looks like an old photo, doesn't it?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">HDR b&w photo, HTC camera.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-75323319440395256312012-02-06T16:18:00.000+11:002012-02-06T16:20:27.666+11:00hope-less<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidLHPrd3ZohPSFJl6ojHovGOIilvD4BIjvoWvo1db88Jc9aPkqC3af3q55zM3kcs5PcRWjJkOKhc1TqR32S17gYvCfpq-p_RuQiFE6o8Bnf9jhvucaFHzxRK18wzN1HbqXHqkjMxAwmf3L/s1600/Hope-Less.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidLHPrd3ZohPSFJl6ojHovGOIilvD4BIjvoWvo1db88Jc9aPkqC3af3q55zM3kcs5PcRWjJkOKhc1TqR32S17gYvCfpq-p_RuQiFE6o8Bnf9jhvucaFHzxRK18wzN1HbqXHqkjMxAwmf3L/s400/Hope-Less.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>hope</i> <i>-</i> less</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I took the photo on the left, of the yellow card heart, in August 2010. The Laman Street Figs had been adorned with toys and notes written on card, in this case in the shape of a heart.<br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The photo on the right, of the sawn-through Fig tree, was taken on the 4th February 2012, last weekend. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I don't think it's the same tree, but I noticed that the sawn-through trunk looked heart-shaped, and actually, the angle of both card - held by my girlfriend Justine - and the sawn-through tree are almost the same (I wasn't consciously trying to replicate that). </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">BTW, the NCC branding logo is my digital mischief. <br />
<br />
Feel free to link to this page or download the image and put on your own Facebook page / blog.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-31014643978832952632012-02-04T22:07:00.000+11:002012-02-04T22:26:36.737+11:00Laman St. Figs Destruction - 4 Feb. 2012, Day 5<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Day 5.</b> The sun finally shone, but Novocastrians could see what the damage looked like in the light of day.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoEKm0bgVvaxqY5vKoV3ds4ccK0bTDA8LBnkHJujAGrQltuU8WstJzytBc8syHx_NLKE99GlQOm4CRdzBVMcu3PzgUbn9GBbblvcc0kT4iYXAXgMUJ6AJzbIBLm5jb5bCT4PhMvJY5vaNy/s1600/IMAG2063.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoEKm0bgVvaxqY5vKoV3ds4ccK0bTDA8LBnkHJujAGrQltuU8WstJzytBc8syHx_NLKE99GlQOm4CRdzBVMcu3PzgUbn9GBbblvcc0kT4iYXAXgMUJ6AJzbIBLm5jb5bCT4PhMvJY5vaNy/s320/IMAG2063.png" width="191" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3UedyDuwOZ5zfocHXL9JMAgM6PIZ6mtXJ-4MGhnfhtR6Plq8fa4UtlsRU6PDVfxRMFHBmRUlP0GQunrPvbp3hBu_qu5xE30i2Qrc7wzTtbktTdkHLmW4nF1nj6P6mJYcTIgV_slj7seAJ/s1600/IMAG2065.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3UedyDuwOZ5zfocHXL9JMAgM6PIZ6mtXJ-4MGhnfhtR6Plq8fa4UtlsRU6PDVfxRMFHBmRUlP0GQunrPvbp3hBu_qu5xE30i2Qrc7wzTtbktTdkHLmW4nF1nj6P6mJYcTIgV_slj7seAJ/s320/IMAG2065.png" width="191" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRAdADMFQlJIIvWp9lC5fq-46ukQEWUunrZ0NrU2yImfXfQ0ZlwW3bpQc5A1fhCEfGuqVMygjLl7SKs1rStz8YbeuLlBwv9It7w8tfE1cL8K-eIUejcc5VDPi-O8XpcmDw5iTqw7w3piF/s1600/IMAG2066.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRAdADMFQlJIIvWp9lC5fq-46ukQEWUunrZ0NrU2yImfXfQ0ZlwW3bpQc5A1fhCEfGuqVMygjLl7SKs1rStz8YbeuLlBwv9It7w8tfE1cL8K-eIUejcc5VDPi-O8XpcmDw5iTqw7w3piF/s320/IMAG2066.png" width="191" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmUM8XMs4kPt_RHIjGOsY3y6rjJi6A8-S3O29Sqwwb_nh6JqhhKRrnt859MJXcQOFhgf08BoIUko3eyyxH7kaIphBJSNiaB6ncyM67CQCIVXS414IwlA9zWtc7kaWOiC27Oe8LeaExCCB/s1600/IMAG2067.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmUM8XMs4kPt_RHIjGOsY3y6rjJi6A8-S3O29Sqwwb_nh6JqhhKRrnt859MJXcQOFhgf08BoIUko3eyyxH7kaIphBJSNiaB6ncyM67CQCIVXS414IwlA9zWtc7kaWOiC27Oe8LeaExCCB/s320/IMAG2067.png" width="191" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2dtFG3Deq4mDK8AvxeF6b3aAc0iFZLrXAfJte5QNONqMuF1Y7P_VJR9flxvcWpNSwZRJoy020b8T_CvW4wLsWpvC-2Lw-8kL8CF8_iXBFwcPYNkBjfVmMoeNwX5w9SQ2S2GAJC3HzRjJw/s1600/IMAG2068.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2dtFG3Deq4mDK8AvxeF6b3aAc0iFZLrXAfJte5QNONqMuF1Y7P_VJR9flxvcWpNSwZRJoy020b8T_CvW4wLsWpvC-2Lw-8kL8CF8_iXBFwcPYNkBjfVmMoeNwX5w9SQ2S2GAJC3HzRjJw/s320/IMAG2068.png" width="191" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK8rL6DA7wGF3wxmQzL5EBd-1Shlrkem1fcQr6gv9Nlta7kAX3ZTm82Lsrqi57VmaNtPvhyZkfsvOLBd-uzmE8o7_X39cEa1RTonabKYzgPHPE1dmCjD3bIN4FFuEb29Xaor58jZRoKVMT/s1600/IMAG2069.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK8rL6DA7wGF3wxmQzL5EBd-1Shlrkem1fcQr6gv9Nlta7kAX3ZTm82Lsrqi57VmaNtPvhyZkfsvOLBd-uzmE8o7_X39cEa1RTonabKYzgPHPE1dmCjD3bIN4FFuEb29Xaor58jZRoKVMT/s320/IMAG2069.png" width="191" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKFkInBRaHKPipxzlhd-ekq4Y5SGbMzcmllFpqFWTCVG8lQTHu-4LtbCSnwLQC3WnGzMHAbm_5nkUZIK0Mnxwsp56U-wwtwnP8D5dOAsJTjohLXWklrVsIqkFndIBHGRvJVXg4iHFUZlXq/s1600/IMAG2070.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKFkInBRaHKPipxzlhd-ekq4Y5SGbMzcmllFpqFWTCVG8lQTHu-4LtbCSnwLQC3WnGzMHAbm_5nkUZIK0Mnxwsp56U-wwtwnP8D5dOAsJTjohLXWklrVsIqkFndIBHGRvJVXg4iHFUZlXq/s320/IMAG2070.png" width="191" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOLQwQvjn7tt5-0cl5AeeRIaHT7lz-I-9dojqdt2X0NRaCbhiYIloZcqpzxJ_XWb70NGh2R7Wb8b8bAhAbbS57Mwh4h2gNaULZCI5xJ2FJW65Lio0SR37PpvBcjI3w21wdlqk77RJAnnl/s1600/IMAG2071.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOLQwQvjn7tt5-0cl5AeeRIaHT7lz-I-9dojqdt2X0NRaCbhiYIloZcqpzxJ_XWb70NGh2R7Wb8b8bAhAbbS57Mwh4h2gNaULZCI5xJ2FJW65Lio0SR37PpvBcjI3w21wdlqk77RJAnnl/s320/IMAG2071.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikFW5QDYqRnLyAx0xvWzV73w0tjuIl7gRFryPvGnr67E3LXbBDoytFxipizwqo__OxFScPTtenCh0D06GLyCTCK7E3qEpSiX9emVLSX5N3RRMU4M7CHTcLp6BQToR7M33ZRmdvaOe_FTNM/s1600/IMAG2072.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikFW5QDYqRnLyAx0xvWzV73w0tjuIl7gRFryPvGnr67E3LXbBDoytFxipizwqo__OxFScPTtenCh0D06GLyCTCK7E3qEpSiX9emVLSX5N3RRMU4M7CHTcLp6BQToR7M33ZRmdvaOe_FTNM/s320/IMAG2072.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNSuS0TyiA7eZ3eBpWSIvhW1e9Qmx5leLBmr4IAu2HFRcYPVFr47z1hdxkqSq_JzWC73SdQJBEaajlCcy-Avw5PP8FAPz5yrfLJsV842fJBJkv4OreP5W9PW6bJk3j3gwRCpAwMTDukKaB/s1600/IMAG2073.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNSuS0TyiA7eZ3eBpWSIvhW1e9Qmx5leLBmr4IAu2HFRcYPVFr47z1hdxkqSq_JzWC73SdQJBEaajlCcy-Avw5PP8FAPz5yrfLJsV842fJBJkv4OreP5W9PW6bJk3j3gwRCpAwMTDukKaB/s320/IMAG2073.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ErlUsYz1MK7bG3L8WkJfecaf_kmUfsbAacEaUzo4z7dr2e08GX5dk2kgXy2QqNbPReqAVJRgRyZ5voKZISvdFHglXAe2OPBPjdSd6uRd76uojD1XmUUjMmi7-S-vGm-zU5zbftDJBlL_/s1600/IMAG2074.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ErlUsYz1MK7bG3L8WkJfecaf_kmUfsbAacEaUzo4z7dr2e08GX5dk2kgXy2QqNbPReqAVJRgRyZ5voKZISvdFHglXAe2OPBPjdSd6uRd76uojD1XmUUjMmi7-S-vGm-zU5zbftDJBlL_/s320/IMAG2074.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5fvdvsVDVL-EFl0nwEnQ3MSqTDZxmC0lUyhyLEC8rNBVZIKq-endWHfut_RLPFx27eiJ-JtHv7yGA_PAdpl1WqP3NMqQWUMCSq_UwYtQU6JA1NuK_leS7BDVA58TOKQ-SWck4OOg2huAg/s1600/IMAG2075.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5fvdvsVDVL-EFl0nwEnQ3MSqTDZxmC0lUyhyLEC8rNBVZIKq-endWHfut_RLPFx27eiJ-JtHv7yGA_PAdpl1WqP3NMqQWUMCSq_UwYtQU6JA1NuK_leS7BDVA58TOKQ-SWck4OOg2huAg/s320/IMAG2075.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1oZw3lwfUAEES40GOaejTWsMHov6UjSUWiImLNGAnCuMn6cx1rGmEicNWvm_hfzZSojjFVxxioCXcdoiZpiAH3U0Xav3xq9UNwwM7QntJWR3KuIFUZ1oJX1BtEhJ6MNn34wfShdJCI8Si/s1600/IMAG2076.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1oZw3lwfUAEES40GOaejTWsMHov6UjSUWiImLNGAnCuMn6cx1rGmEicNWvm_hfzZSojjFVxxioCXcdoiZpiAH3U0Xav3xq9UNwwM7QntJWR3KuIFUZ1oJX1BtEhJ6MNn34wfShdJCI8Si/s320/IMAG2076.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimULANpiXHj1JUdrbP9chQzxcERNvm_ccazghpuEmTtndZD33gSUj7GJw2o_OBfEmDY38iSAQXpT0WDHr0dW2JVkp5K6HM-Xmk9xSRH0fBUHgq4sWxKbWXO4j64lpNsYOA5rD7DtGkSijY/s1600/IMAG2077.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimULANpiXHj1JUdrbP9chQzxcERNvm_ccazghpuEmTtndZD33gSUj7GJw2o_OBfEmDY38iSAQXpT0WDHr0dW2JVkp5K6HM-Xmk9xSRH0fBUHgq4sWxKbWXO4j64lpNsYOA5rD7DtGkSijY/s320/IMAG2077.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdWJHgmlI-u9Gok5qRkOYqLO_8gbFBtn55K2b2DGQ1Q9HhCviWZdd49-Wxt5k20AeQ2qbUBm_VIODpixwbjsQzIfTopdyG8Nmq0yxN-7rvJErwS552Zs0j3wO_KGETrnHJZ6mWviFsCDw/s1600/IMAG2078.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKdWJHgmlI-u9Gok5qRkOYqLO_8gbFBtn55K2b2DGQ1Q9HhCviWZdd49-Wxt5k20AeQ2qbUBm_VIODpixwbjsQzIfTopdyG8Nmq0yxN-7rvJErwS552Zs0j3wO_KGETrnHJZ6mWviFsCDw/s320/IMAG2078.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxoL3dLB2TbHgAUFIX7drORnQ7vmkJstA7dMviQsl5vnHrdOeBvLn3mkEc53HxdyRVcTebcL1cGoBpqm1khWfIbn0GccmLz2Gxd7PeMSOHbQT9wCIz-ATvILTc6Qi60jtWpKCKCNfePQjq/s1600/IMAG2079.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxoL3dLB2TbHgAUFIX7drORnQ7vmkJstA7dMviQsl5vnHrdOeBvLn3mkEc53HxdyRVcTebcL1cGoBpqm1khWfIbn0GccmLz2Gxd7PeMSOHbQT9wCIz-ATvILTc6Qi60jtWpKCKCNfePQjq/s320/IMAG2079.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGYA1Hhc7qnUnOuZMuiu_4SDrSkHtwGNdSHlGigrNL77iS7g07V4DzfjRLSmlCBGEUN3883Y7lC8bYQlF20-YiVMyddfZhVaA0iejQLx_0iLc_63XsLmw3wUBOXi8jd-6Pwuq8VZrHQRzK/s1600/IMAG2080.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGYA1Hhc7qnUnOuZMuiu_4SDrSkHtwGNdSHlGigrNL77iS7g07V4DzfjRLSmlCBGEUN3883Y7lC8bYQlF20-YiVMyddfZhVaA0iejQLx_0iLc_63XsLmw3wUBOXi8jd-6Pwuq8VZrHQRzK/s320/IMAG2080.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTRPfX5wZdFKUy6ENvvgxOzeynJaICtMSJxZnL92ZYZwUOZAYWtTBut9O0Jk7hi-CAXt0nRJiteyrPOufyOkR0FAdMQ82VwJzNjkv45Igzfi4N3Lk7ugwYSWEzEBPGEgPvUBZikDsK_JL/s1600/IMAG2081.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTRPfX5wZdFKUy6ENvvgxOzeynJaICtMSJxZnL92ZYZwUOZAYWtTBut9O0Jk7hi-CAXt0nRJiteyrPOufyOkR0FAdMQ82VwJzNjkv45Igzfi4N3Lk7ugwYSWEzEBPGEgPvUBZikDsK_JL/s320/IMAG2081.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl9258nHyimVRDc0oaZQAovD168l67a5tEB1A6D1_XOCaW12n0Bqnc0m_muik8WDmksGLxi6Ps1lNrtq9ivha9mi5nZdcwXxYKphj8z8chMUhjm-fF3zNUk-uaW9mcDKp5vUUPnKDUBKBp/s1600/IMAG2083.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl9258nHyimVRDc0oaZQAovD168l67a5tEB1A6D1_XOCaW12n0Bqnc0m_muik8WDmksGLxi6Ps1lNrtq9ivha9mi5nZdcwXxYKphj8z8chMUhjm-fF3zNUk-uaW9mcDKp5vUUPnKDUBKBp/s320/IMAG2083.png" width="191" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReFmwCDoHj-d9r2Sh8wp0VXiCjpO1ZvyLN3IJRmQCAj97Vp2XKAty2WN8EAJ9ikrfMRpIzFcitqqJ99ePWqEnaEHZkSPFmyuK0PSUNMnLTatmhQ5_FU_iHxzjeVg_l6mYy5hyphenhyphenoxH1bjl8/s1600/IMAG2084.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReFmwCDoHj-d9r2Sh8wp0VXiCjpO1ZvyLN3IJRmQCAj97Vp2XKAty2WN8EAJ9ikrfMRpIzFcitqqJ99ePWqEnaEHZkSPFmyuK0PSUNMnLTatmhQ5_FU_iHxzjeVg_l6mYy5hyphenhyphenoxH1bjl8/s320/IMAG2084.png" width="191" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha42zIeGGvu5RGrch1eBrO8eINnj7wvSUREPgrRnemwVuyA4FuyBUqsqP9vOMrGLPrVVy3m1yYJ8_KPdxnWpLM4DoJ_bJWEJVRk2Mq0He2U5fjgQtpyra7_EEuXo3TxyGlNukQspRZpoI4/s1600/IMAG2085.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha42zIeGGvu5RGrch1eBrO8eINnj7wvSUREPgrRnemwVuyA4FuyBUqsqP9vOMrGLPrVVy3m1yYJ8_KPdxnWpLM4DoJ_bJWEJVRk2Mq0He2U5fjgQtpyra7_EEuXo3TxyGlNukQspRZpoI4/s320/IMAG2085.png" width="191" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwEMZmrUJaxjmKjrh3OSUe9ngNHdeGboWngyWHyAyh1-gNf1OFCiav7BS6o6FmrPzcBkEhXLJ-shiYH44TvNqLfg-ZVMdDIO27liPjy5QxqTuGES87iauJEVhdHjEkeaWUdI5_jCM-mKFI/s1600/IMAG2087.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwEMZmrUJaxjmKjrh3OSUe9ngNHdeGboWngyWHyAyh1-gNf1OFCiav7BS6o6FmrPzcBkEhXLJ-shiYH44TvNqLfg-ZVMdDIO27liPjy5QxqTuGES87iauJEVhdHjEkeaWUdI5_jCM-mKFI/s320/IMAG2087.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEL0_2P7NQh6IuopTX5ln7DFvJx5td0sZoTYgWVljvhnR-LMxnx0PbkuZfTHxKykBqYpS2ExJwL4W971iHolTPNdkGST2BACfhpcBQCqYFe5ubI0WWV0y-6jhtmDWdAX98PCxNN2xoHscR/s1600/IMAG2088.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEL0_2P7NQh6IuopTX5ln7DFvJx5td0sZoTYgWVljvhnR-LMxnx0PbkuZfTHxKykBqYpS2ExJwL4W971iHolTPNdkGST2BACfhpcBQCqYFe5ubI0WWV0y-6jhtmDWdAX98PCxNN2xoHscR/s320/IMAG2088.png" width="191" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnXblz4mAgKZp10EEEgYxFgszehuSfBxquzsMz6T27rYhyphenhyphen7GAI3m9qTJt2wl3FHCu7gbsWqY5yuOtWfZjC8fNr3O-cJm2GzUDnJyb6I3_wW2NzKzvFkf-Tu-cmkYriKHA7FWKuYxNbvElK/s1600/IMAG2089.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnXblz4mAgKZp10EEEgYxFgszehuSfBxquzsMz6T27rYhyphenhyphen7GAI3m9qTJt2wl3FHCu7gbsWqY5yuOtWfZjC8fNr3O-cJm2GzUDnJyb6I3_wW2NzKzvFkf-Tu-cmkYriKHA7FWKuYxNbvElK/s320/IMAG2089.png" width="191" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOM2NQpwCta554NNAxnzRzh0z1PH80-4Hy4qJShgtdiv1KygAETXE1YlGzoBvpLfWtXOmXa0cY5AIQZnbK1g1SZgtOG1h-LaH3YTO7LbecrqmeShotsDlmMvNe-A4hCyZKhSbNmtt2zKt/s1600/IMAG2091.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOM2NQpwCta554NNAxnzRzh0z1PH80-4Hy4qJShgtdiv1KygAETXE1YlGzoBvpLfWtXOmXa0cY5AIQZnbK1g1SZgtOG1h-LaH3YTO7LbecrqmeShotsDlmMvNe-A4hCyZKhSbNmtt2zKt/s320/IMAG2091.png" width="191" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-35000477212617146342012-02-03T23:48:00.000+11:002012-02-03T23:53:41.315+11:00Laman St. Figs Destruction - 3 Feb. 2012, Day 4.<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Day 4</b> was more pleasant, weather-wise, but the trees continued to be felled. In the afternoon, at 4:30pm, more than a hundred pro-fig protesters made noise in the way of chants of SHAME COUNCIL SHAME!, bells, whistles, horns and pots and pans hit with spoons in a successful attempt to make more of a racket than that of the chainsaws and wood chipper. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Liveable City Director was Frank Cordingly was seen hiding behind a column near the Art Gallery, admiring his work no doubt. Tree felling / cutting / chipping ceased around 5pm, allowing those attending the Gallery exhibition - including musical icon Kamahl - to be able to chat to each other without raising their voices. Here are some photos.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiKJvo-tuMGz7zd5NxHeVpJfk_2jqHn5jtxx2h0L4RJgsq5h2By8IPsRmZD9jmf6qaaVvXwZUNFY0fbGkZ8BNv2kUqCnx1uIULZme3kzxESiNPy4waUi54K_9LHN5oTqyuzZLyifBuTBEg/s1600/IMAG2016.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiKJvo-tuMGz7zd5NxHeVpJfk_2jqHn5jtxx2h0L4RJgsq5h2By8IPsRmZD9jmf6qaaVvXwZUNFY0fbGkZ8BNv2kUqCnx1uIULZme3kzxESiNPy4waUi54K_9LHN5oTqyuzZLyifBuTBEg/s320/IMAG2016.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Dawson Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLdCVP2xT7wlAWwpjHSFBVnvOVWi9MycxUO8B_T1ADkPBatZ1vavl4WByLYeasG3Ot5a-8KjgP82lF-8taHRaRgBucWxqCVb8IRgqdBTanS3s9JgPoEQTf_p6m7-U3WZSlxgIqZ52S0I5K/s1600/IMAG2018.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLdCVP2xT7wlAWwpjHSFBVnvOVWi9MycxUO8B_T1ADkPBatZ1vavl4WByLYeasG3Ot5a-8KjgP82lF-8taHRaRgBucWxqCVb8IRgqdBTanS3s9JgPoEQTf_p6m7-U3WZSlxgIqZ52S0I5K/s320/IMAG2018.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dawson Street End.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJsyFX5Cl6BfnaoJeP6ZX_rj13UMMEUnTUTmsHJdreT_3cwPgA4yvoXGDDTO9on8MCLeZHpYsi7GyhxCHG-kjufSAFNc6JdQ6JfyxvTNQgFhlt3hu5eJIdQYZ89ymAEzXmkUz2uAF5-iSm/s1600/IMAG2019.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJsyFX5Cl6BfnaoJeP6ZX_rj13UMMEUnTUTmsHJdreT_3cwPgA4yvoXGDDTO9on8MCLeZHpYsi7GyhxCHG-kjufSAFNc6JdQ6JfyxvTNQgFhlt3hu5eJIdQYZ89ymAEzXmkUz2uAF5-iSm/s320/IMAG2019.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizD846hCkfJfrnZUKSrJr9bkWGtfnUmKI6rt_I3wSEhRRkYlQU_hSlk6hDqh3j75EjSZewCFnbqvaS_iU9Nzk3auumtxzuqDWEgRA-fMBsEA3d3FCK96fw08vTycgI0yFunTajDAT1OUZa/s1600/IMAG2020.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizD846hCkfJfrnZUKSrJr9bkWGtfnUmKI6rt_I3wSEhRRkYlQU_hSlk6hDqh3j75EjSZewCFnbqvaS_iU9Nzk3auumtxzuqDWEgRA-fMBsEA3d3FCK96fw08vTycgI0yFunTajDAT1OUZa/s320/IMAG2020.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQBQslHjoGRiOdSGM59u5dggv3D4BUroWqKfDwD1cyOP6R1x_XG2-mx67KdZC2FdbXpIRhJ5ln5sbk_btiOLFNE-W2E0t4d4AUXKp36zXU8C8Z9ooy4uz9Eyuug5VaxRj0i44wzSpzUzn/s1600/IMAG2021.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQBQslHjoGRiOdSGM59u5dggv3D4BUroWqKfDwD1cyOP6R1x_XG2-mx67KdZC2FdbXpIRhJ5ln5sbk_btiOLFNE-W2E0t4d4AUXKp36zXU8C8Z9ooy4uz9Eyuug5VaxRj0i44wzSpzUzn/s320/IMAG2021.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM4ppxEBBVR2rTaI-GA0WJhrPr4IxXNr3R_fzgZSmfPb91LaLVvk8BcX6NAxhFuAUShEVWeNQl1BWZ2FbweY97rdYRRJ5dJanPuv-kC9IgkdBNXbkkwUm8RkMsQM4hoTikpBstt2BuxGJS/s1600/IMAG2022.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM4ppxEBBVR2rTaI-GA0WJhrPr4IxXNr3R_fzgZSmfPb91LaLVvk8BcX6NAxhFuAUShEVWeNQl1BWZ2FbweY97rdYRRJ5dJanPuv-kC9IgkdBNXbkkwUm8RkMsQM4hoTikpBstt2BuxGJS/s320/IMAG2022.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End. </span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Joyce Foster with her Australian flag.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGX5urD3kS2KUCeNgbuyk85wSP4f4F6KVtOuL2Z8-iyQBLQHLXuwL3_kndcBPHoRInvmADGRN0lj7wXstfPV9QhdYcqf9w0Mm8c4IXe8Yob1jqQTnIy2vatMQ_IryHMhuoIla3zRRuJ8Zb/s1600/IMAG2023.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGX5urD3kS2KUCeNgbuyk85wSP4f4F6KVtOuL2Z8-iyQBLQHLXuwL3_kndcBPHoRInvmADGRN0lj7wXstfPV9QhdYcqf9w0Mm8c4IXe8Yob1jqQTnIy2vatMQ_IryHMhuoIla3zRRuJ8Zb/s320/IMAG2023.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End. </span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Joyce Foster with her Australian flag.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQCO6qxdmI0DZtCUkEiWTftevPA2YKoF50ZMNgyKOvN1be4xZEX-F9EnpLKZY1jKksXUbqLP94qrdQ-ue8NY26zHx94schJaa9DzUL241pLSrBhuetVVfwBujD0xXFnNdfXqhcA7CuQGj/s1600/IMAG2027.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQCO6qxdmI0DZtCUkEiWTftevPA2YKoF50ZMNgyKOvN1be4xZEX-F9EnpLKZY1jKksXUbqLP94qrdQ-ue8NY26zHx94schJaa9DzUL241pLSrBhuetVVfwBujD0xXFnNdfXqhcA7CuQGj/s320/IMAG2027.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFgL_hZiH12Hfeu-ZSp7h0rLFoW5ED_XcZl8rX5CGJeJxlOpcR-A5afVA9tSmT-2YHPlVd0wovW-S6ysOnqgiWHHE92hRv3l_cy69108uY6Y0MsETyA9R3vANsH8qY0Z6ehWjW3TNWyyGm/s1600/IMAG2028.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFgL_hZiH12Hfeu-ZSp7h0rLFoW5ED_XcZl8rX5CGJeJxlOpcR-A5afVA9tSmT-2YHPlVd0wovW-S6ysOnqgiWHHE92hRv3l_cy69108uY6Y0MsETyA9R3vANsH8qY0Z6ehWjW3TNWyyGm/s320/IMAG2028.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8IzVSmsBcybG4SCS3N-GyG5TXcMHuy6i8N1KFjW2XOEUITpqflEj4x7Imch7PTXITc2NnnGLwaoVzAyrY9yexv4tFDgEmmkpVCPJ31M5yls_CEKJdvZwuECVGEnMLGf_tjoC9l-A_lFL/s1600/IMAG2029.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8IzVSmsBcybG4SCS3N-GyG5TXcMHuy6i8N1KFjW2XOEUITpqflEj4x7Imch7PTXITc2NnnGLwaoVzAyrY9yexv4tFDgEmmkpVCPJ31M5yls_CEKJdvZwuECVGEnMLGf_tjoC9l-A_lFL/s320/IMAG2029.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYTnjAm2mUhFfYgXS0hTpw6jNNgA516Oq1tJNmPXs788qvy-ms9G29t5_rIt3kPwEEhSCnI5SRMZjwQyejZ0xiWSSOIZJCl_7_Iix1HLyDIY0lHRGwTuWOtcBeLMDW1K2OiFAQFiSpBjG3/s1600/IMAG2030.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYTnjAm2mUhFfYgXS0hTpw6jNNgA516Oq1tJNmPXs788qvy-ms9G29t5_rIt3kPwEEhSCnI5SRMZjwQyejZ0xiWSSOIZJCl_7_Iix1HLyDIY0lHRGwTuWOtcBeLMDW1K2OiFAQFiSpBjG3/s320/IMAG2030.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizz9eU4qVJAfDvMbl-b68_hT5HlzLLCsQn2PF4BJEPlTNRT4419f5i_JvfceDVQacF5eLxznrDiIM3uJ4jW4heN5EZrcpQdY4fB2GPShw32M8oN7reX8oSrNWbdPK0WiTvJb44X-pbq4Lh/s1600/IMAG2032.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizz9eU4qVJAfDvMbl-b68_hT5HlzLLCsQn2PF4BJEPlTNRT4419f5i_JvfceDVQacF5eLxznrDiIM3uJ4jW4heN5EZrcpQdY4fB2GPShw32M8oN7reX8oSrNWbdPK0WiTvJb44X-pbq4Lh/s320/IMAG2032.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGlkgJ7nWdaAyQUSi4nAzzwDA3zXf43q8cJw1FEKl4yDDi2n4XMkI6D-1rhZospjxISE7AsJ2U8eSFZbsnVbHtMY_d8DWCnlrMK_eU5KxrU6BKPSkqfjYYdGyyTKskMzIsdq6P3xVQ2iwx/s1600/IMAG2033.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGlkgJ7nWdaAyQUSi4nAzzwDA3zXf43q8cJw1FEKl4yDDi2n4XMkI6D-1rhZospjxISE7AsJ2U8eSFZbsnVbHtMY_d8DWCnlrMK_eU5KxrU6BKPSkqfjYYdGyyTKskMzIsdq6P3xVQ2iwx/s320/IMAG2033.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8tbdjkkep0h5tlK5mXOsFjqK4LwZMftDFZEaZcRtt59LyriHlJdKNxj72rfKw9GUqmhpgz-a2bBpEa3UfoYSs7D_CKq4PphvVtSg9ZMFv4d-Ja6UK4_Tn9HV1bXobe6gqgocHLqeQjHXs/s1600/IMAG2034.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8tbdjkkep0h5tlK5mXOsFjqK4LwZMftDFZEaZcRtt59LyriHlJdKNxj72rfKw9GUqmhpgz-a2bBpEa3UfoYSs7D_CKq4PphvVtSg9ZMFv4d-Ja6UK4_Tn9HV1bXobe6gqgocHLqeQjHXs/s320/IMAG2034.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRbGKLQkQFcMO5Fe09odKt2c1KE-eOsD-1Id7BHtHhJf4P_f0oW-G7obze8d9Gyi-1PdP2OxlJr8waHGJtqXcZvC7KGncHh6-Qhiax0y_2111bTm5V7fhn072uP0x6FGuGjPHnQdHITksW/s1600/IMAG2035.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRbGKLQkQFcMO5Fe09odKt2c1KE-eOsD-1Id7BHtHhJf4P_f0oW-G7obze8d9Gyi-1PdP2OxlJr8waHGJtqXcZvC7KGncHh6-Qhiax0y_2111bTm5V7fhn072uP0x6FGuGjPHnQdHITksW/s320/IMAG2035.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqQIv6VZtnKhT03m-epD2aJ_QV2PGaVGI9a4BUMqEMNZuRyE0fcuTicmk26hDQUDdJcu87gSflRObYxXIzekn0u7uMvFRcZUCnEEbM7IYK4_zsuuxTpTObn7264nqP07sIFhv4xMbHG3D/s1600/IMAG2037.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqQIv6VZtnKhT03m-epD2aJ_QV2PGaVGI9a4BUMqEMNZuRyE0fcuTicmk26hDQUDdJcu87gSflRObYxXIzekn0u7uMvFRcZUCnEEbM7IYK4_zsuuxTpTObn7264nqP07sIFhv4xMbHG3D/s320/IMAG2037.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3jGjgqjtisKEDNi1m9hemc4Lyt5jjmKUQAQdumes7QQpept5XrBrVQpYXkGZxrRjcAOaZ0k5eyohXjRiID3y_atUk93VFb-nYiU6xzyfTUvcLTNE9AVD0J67_uqV0qIhuwiO0386NJaxX/s1600/IMAG2038.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3jGjgqjtisKEDNi1m9hemc4Lyt5jjmKUQAQdumes7QQpept5XrBrVQpYXkGZxrRjcAOaZ0k5eyohXjRiID3y_atUk93VFb-nYiU6xzyfTUvcLTNE9AVD0J67_uqV0qIhuwiO0386NJaxX/s320/IMAG2038.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_m1ZuprABO6Z6H73DVcjrz0eiBxb64815WrZKhwZL7eqGDyleDJu1BXYi9ps4TJxQ9EHdzB-yafJ_tYia4MYkLDTClgi0iA21DSzeE9H9S3nHotUXu7aaujoDXVUFCZngBAdIC46TkJNM/s1600/IMAG2039.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_m1ZuprABO6Z6H73DVcjrz0eiBxb64815WrZKhwZL7eqGDyleDJu1BXYi9ps4TJxQ9EHdzB-yafJ_tYia4MYkLDTClgi0iA21DSzeE9H9S3nHotUXu7aaujoDXVUFCZngBAdIC46TkJNM/s320/IMAG2039.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJaRO3gWhEbU0Rd1k9INn-3TrDxlq058wDuNZ458K9axxBB8ldEECYLoyXuEL0ouRXUflZeSXAoRds7G8Qvtu0XoBj5X56EuRrQtVhPUECg0Gh5-fsLka8r2AQ83wei0m8hp9BLa4CtjqX/s1600/IMAG2040.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJaRO3gWhEbU0Rd1k9INn-3TrDxlq058wDuNZ458K9axxBB8ldEECYLoyXuEL0ouRXUflZeSXAoRds7G8Qvtu0XoBj5X56EuRrQtVhPUECg0Gh5-fsLka8r2AQ83wei0m8hp9BLa4CtjqX/s320/IMAG2040.png" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQn0SVvK681qsNy6fjz2nGQbtirnp1UZCI_TQX6Hq928CosYrDKDO4CUL4HwG5oJtTzyw2GSorGA_z5_1Xg6Oe4bUcXPX_bWz0XD32r1dKiXBYsQF9T__mLSuQiJELwlg4AUSnkbFjPVLn/s1600/IMAG2043.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQn0SVvK681qsNy6fjz2nGQbtirnp1UZCI_TQX6Hq928CosYrDKDO4CUL4HwG5oJtTzyw2GSorGA_z5_1Xg6Oe4bUcXPX_bWz0XD32r1dKiXBYsQF9T__mLSuQiJELwlg4AUSnkbFjPVLn/s320/IMAG2043.png" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xQj25BLTAdkWIzV1QlV1GwM6hXJ8-WXQIt89KfsEvB1AF458IZkqxMu4DTgyDPXlPmWfjepYsENbS5veMR-goRpbIQmspQDFovzdWAgHUhRX2ylcB_MTqcLxUb7zl1IyYtcKq7_bWPLR/s1600/IMAG2045.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xQj25BLTAdkWIzV1QlV1GwM6hXJ8-WXQIt89KfsEvB1AF458IZkqxMu4DTgyDPXlPmWfjepYsENbS5veMR-goRpbIQmspQDFovzdWAgHUhRX2ylcB_MTqcLxUb7zl1IyYtcKq7_bWPLR/s320/IMAG2045.png" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9JLA44XA8slZ1bujwZ3rInnYo0kCVb3Li8g9vZVThLaYmk9yDR6EHlFZLCVSzOrCkm4C4PyrKrW2CkU6H93zLI4UVSQA5ReGXZXiMnS8cXifMYLOIpAQonv7QCGkeX1K_BTY7wDkcGgd/s1600/IMAG2046.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9JLA44XA8slZ1bujwZ3rInnYo0kCVb3Li8g9vZVThLaYmk9yDR6EHlFZLCVSzOrCkm4C4PyrKrW2CkU6H93zLI4UVSQA5ReGXZXiMnS8cXifMYLOIpAQonv7QCGkeX1K_BTY7wDkcGgd/s320/IMAG2046.png" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Doug Lithgow wearing hi<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">s Tam o'Shanter</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="st"><i></i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvekNcFq_1S_61GsRkNgazFGZcQcExQFxoR34INWi3qV6Kj6gJBbFFobcHwnMSpmlVAfWy3FQDzjUBjjrcOe9y8RXmkh24t-ri2fp6xlcSsEUjyHCydGhCiU10gs5-ilKRc9Jofsq6WYMA/s1600/IMAG2048.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvekNcFq_1S_61GsRkNgazFGZcQcExQFxoR34INWi3qV6Kj6gJBbFFobcHwnMSpmlVAfWy3FQDzjUBjjrcOe9y8RXmkh24t-ri2fp6xlcSsEUjyHCydGhCiU10gs5-ilKRc9Jofsq6WYMA/s320/IMAG2048.png" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ8GPkgmlOr3wOj78fPoFng5XG2pEYikWLtfdVy2UXswpf-qp7GK1TEjgTSXPyzDD7bePoPObUuITXC9AHLm3M8VbLnEuxaIHoGtbpuoLRoXyXr4TiqUFQ-Bm472M0_b7YCyfC0lJqtrE3/s1600/IMAG2049.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ8GPkgmlOr3wOj78fPoFng5XG2pEYikWLtfdVy2UXswpf-qp7GK1TEjgTSXPyzDD7bePoPObUuITXC9AHLm3M8VbLnEuxaIHoGtbpuoLRoXyXr4TiqUFQ-Bm472M0_b7YCyfC0lJqtrE3/s320/IMAG2049.png" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Down to the stump.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj47oNa-MfkuLDsxlkmwOpg63Ra2kPiLr_9KRK-atYL7tWxXUc0QNZ4R70N14I_dnBDl7hGPv1ToftwekRzwsMnzYT1nM3rKkM6B-6pxzQ_vInd_O_d513tqY8wkqw4VHzolDrv4oZy_GMs/s1600/IMAG2050.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj47oNa-MfkuLDsxlkmwOpg63Ra2kPiLr_9KRK-atYL7tWxXUc0QNZ4R70N14I_dnBDl7hGPv1ToftwekRzwsMnzYT1nM3rKkM6B-6pxzQ_vInd_O_d513tqY8wkqw4VHzolDrv4oZy_GMs/s320/IMAG2050.png" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKpwijCcaPZ80e6josLpD-GFAM3hc1JiCjiC4DfWk3KjNKHLlr96Fatr6SLTL7s-4whgnnkijVpyjmeo7d_6eo5EPZWzDYnM6-D-gkT-YQk1-5s7kCtGWgZCMAWU2Ahi4gpJvsc3zq1zcS/s1600/IMAG2052.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKpwijCcaPZ80e6josLpD-GFAM3hc1JiCjiC4DfWk3KjNKHLlr96Fatr6SLTL7s-4whgnnkijVpyjmeo7d_6eo5EPZWzDYnM6-D-gkT-YQk1-5s7kCtGWgZCMAWU2Ahi4gpJvsc3zq1zcS/s320/IMAG2052.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMM4O_5fBu4ZzYErvS63pzojLkYQ9aOvQN_tYFlf-rr_ZBDQ0RpS7OjPOlNdNn0tpFR6etufmHPiofZqq7rCw6uSDCYrmVdkmoBrkwRc-bLeeCuGbhnyg8DMrswV9kvnHc0UitOVrC0Xo/s1600/IMAG2053.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMM4O_5fBu4ZzYErvS63pzojLkYQ9aOvQN_tYFlf-rr_ZBDQ0RpS7OjPOlNdNn0tpFR6etufmHPiofZqq7rCw6uSDCYrmVdkmoBrkwRc-bLeeCuGbhnyg8DMrswV9kvnHc0UitOVrC0Xo/s320/IMAG2053.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxW1qNdaIc1rgMKM_cZEp4l9DIBMEF7RQAVvpNTRh1-W1tCGYcQ7G2F2Qmr-Z1Et8SAWeoKgiuEAn7aQO-h4ySwkU_HxvguRqO4LIKuVFn3uToZqa49uVsXXpHc17q8HOxAiKa3UbUBe6u/s1600/IMAG2054.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxW1qNdaIc1rgMKM_cZEp4l9DIBMEF7RQAVvpNTRh1-W1tCGYcQ7G2F2Qmr-Z1Et8SAWeoKgiuEAn7aQO-h4ySwkU_HxvguRqO4LIKuVFn3uToZqa49uVsXXpHc17q8HOxAiKa3UbUBe6u/s320/IMAG2054.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFMsvUtdet3EFC88Ysyyb0U3HD3JTeiA93mBwy7LyV7yLqCHY25l_IiI7EC3JI5udyJwpK5z9TmuxaWfgLHMrvOYASuRJ1GH-HsyOIueFQCyTC19TIdFIkhh097S0E9j7YGycUaUZHOgLe/s1600/IMAG2056.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFMsvUtdet3EFC88Ysyyb0U3HD3JTeiA93mBwy7LyV7yLqCHY25l_IiI7EC3JI5udyJwpK5z9TmuxaWfgLHMrvOYASuRJ1GH-HsyOIueFQCyTC19TIdFIkhh097S0E9j7YGycUaUZHOgLe/s320/IMAG2056.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qxLCk75j69MHrhsMeeC-K7LxCXXqc6TmuGe9V546ATcVYFdRMwPusjf6SWp-Q0JptN3DE5ps5KfgPvFyE_1IJ_5TbtVq9DsrE3UYL_Pizk0oaQisTtPkoKr1dikhVJEC1KiBR5R7206q/s1600/IMAG2057.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qxLCk75j69MHrhsMeeC-K7LxCXXqc6TmuGe9V546ATcVYFdRMwPusjf6SWp-Q0JptN3DE5ps5KfgPvFyE_1IJ_5TbtVq9DsrE3UYL_Pizk0oaQisTtPkoKr1dikhVJEC1KiBR5R7206q/s320/IMAG2057.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Joyce Foster with her Australian flag.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-sNWJHQRm6DCe9_C5tEWWY523bphuHchtRxozn0ClJ0sSaNkK55NkIDkjDqiwLUSNU_USOkSrol9NnzKk_AQlilWyF2jndXTdTQ6Qof1qVDHs-nC4j9uujyHWMmmuQPXIJfrOCATfH35R/s1600/IMAG2058.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-sNWJHQRm6DCe9_C5tEWWY523bphuHchtRxozn0ClJ0sSaNkK55NkIDkjDqiwLUSNU_USOkSrol9NnzKk_AQlilWyF2jndXTdTQ6Qof1qVDHs-nC4j9uujyHWMmmuQPXIJfrOCATfH35R/s320/IMAG2058.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Darby Street End.</span><span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Joyce Foster takes a well-earned drink.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-btM-feHt5cSncxcbHH0LJZoN4Cmcr_yJtlqnASh8JtIv5jblUU5G-ERAVjEIPCJPcbpV276jv-W8TAyt84pYQtny77bgQxSHmLgNQ0_kK_hcPpNHhAw3k9bB2uAPMZex7L5oJyMLJ9M/s1600/IMAG2060.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-btM-feHt5cSncxcbHH0LJZoN4Cmcr_yJtlqnASh8JtIv5jblUU5G-ERAVjEIPCJPcbpV276jv-W8TAyt84pYQtny77bgQxSHmLgNQ0_kK_hcPpNHhAw3k9bB2uAPMZex7L5oJyMLJ9M/s320/IMAG2060.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">Police camp. from Civic Park.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-54123609803811754732012-02-03T10:52:00.000+11:002012-02-03T11:43:32.121+11:00Recent Book Covers @ February 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilFKlH6iPqPqyL2tsQPN7bJZxfb9MOsadCPiSTdG8aFR_htgGXFunkrGRqTURZ0JjRHJ7N2kMc2MTyWjVj8XcrWc-dymTwq_5FhmKMdM-YhlOWOVnYETv52WyM4iil2SeI-ZjQmNrMFetQ/s1600/Audience_Magazine_Issue_21_Spring_2012.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilFKlH6iPqPqyL2tsQPN7bJZxfb9MOsadCPiSTdG8aFR_htgGXFunkrGRqTURZ0JjRHJ7N2kMc2MTyWjVj8XcrWc-dymTwq_5FhmKMdM-YhlOWOVnYETv52WyM4iil2SeI-ZjQmNrMFetQ/s320/Audience_Magazine_Issue_21_Spring_2012.png" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">AUDIENCE MAGAZINE</b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: x-small;"> (2012)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: x-small;">Spring 2012 Issue</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: x-small;">Cover & Interior Design & Editing by Matthew Ward
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: x-small;">World Audience Publishers</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP12l3XuuttudLITw3liUhGASwC-g7cxditO-fKRjg-QtP3AppTy_9AanA8tDcn5MA7shQcVBG2nK1aT-QTYnc6M4gjryZCRdRbETBesGOoQ6HyCz8F0hlaGeIh8DHPGJGCbXU9XwUuX2d/s1600/Second_Row_Front_Cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP12l3XuuttudLITw3liUhGASwC-g7cxditO-fKRjg-QtP3AppTy_9AanA8tDcn5MA7shQcVBG2nK1aT-QTYnc6M4gjryZCRdRbETBesGOoQ6HyCz8F0hlaGeIh8DHPGJGCbXU9XwUuX2d/s320/Second_Row_Front_Cover.png" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">SECOND ROW, AMERICAN RUGBY</b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: x-small;"> (2012)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: x-small;">Author: M. Stefan Strozier</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: x-small;">Cover Design by Matthew Ward
<br />
Mary Celeste Press</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBCbQd3LmohxE1a5r9R5gKIOYPEZ_7pnJ4mMb3CF-gLuDV8jqVlrfIIJ1WuVSppozI4W50hJrW7eWon_v5aBnveVp6gzCvOWtymZXgSCUDPGkCxknHac6ohFxoFAGlNv43JBCR37buCZrt/s1600/3+Sonnets_Book_Front_Book_Cover_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBCbQd3LmohxE1a5r9R5gKIOYPEZ_7pnJ4mMb3CF-gLuDV8jqVlrfIIJ1WuVSppozI4W50hJrW7eWon_v5aBnveVp6gzCvOWtymZXgSCUDPGkCxknHac6ohFxoFAGlNv43JBCR37buCZrt/s320/3+Sonnets_Book_Front_Book_Cover_2.png" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;"><b>SONNETS: DAYLIGHT & ECHOES</b> (2012)</span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;">Author: Michael V. Massari</span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;">Cover Design by Matthew Ward
</span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;">World Audience Publishers</span></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-16652878809342532212012-02-03T01:35:00.000+11:002012-02-03T23:55:03.077+11:00Laman St. Figs Destruction - 2 Feb. 2012, Day 3.<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Day 3</b></span> was rainy and cold. Still, the trees continued to be felled and chipped. Police and Security Guards, and also Council staff and hangers-on outnumbered protesters by 10 to 1 throughout the day. There were some public concerns workers were risking injury or even death, due to the extreme weather, but Workcover seemed happy with timberworkers using cherrypickers instead of harnasses. Here are a few photos.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjniQvv-sLKGkmeWnPCzpibSVQlVQRtEiAtbKB_FfLPdIYRqSN15Pu4Jwc8qg31hBSjHHpk4SJbKOopR95C8oCgnnJPxvGXcfxVnXtU2JzlMRLmvQQPcozJXnhQ9e9AuhO57WNVm-kdGPrZ/s1600/2012-02-02_16-03-20_HDR.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjniQvv-sLKGkmeWnPCzpibSVQlVQRtEiAtbKB_FfLPdIYRqSN15Pu4Jwc8qg31hBSjHHpk4SJbKOopR95C8oCgnnJPxvGXcfxVnXtU2JzlMRLmvQQPcozJXnhQ9e9AuhO57WNVm-kdGPrZ/s320/2012-02-02_16-03-20_HDR.png" width="320" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The city's library (on the left) is revealed for the first time in 40 years.<br />
Now we know why they covered it up with beautiful trees. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXs1V5E2dMQ5nf34dBstQ0zRFBIrGylb23FQJf9r4qCyP2sy8GVYAL30iqh7p2wwFufkDMnwX5ZpGNgwxQ1ZCn_3hOzyDCupXyUO1CacTcWUoymGv90I0mk21lhw9tAfcur3YDL2qpZe6/s1600/2012-02-02_16-03-44_HDR.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXs1V5E2dMQ5nf34dBstQ0zRFBIrGylb23FQJf9r4qCyP2sy8GVYAL30iqh7p2wwFufkDMnwX5ZpGNgwxQ1ZCn_3hOzyDCupXyUO1CacTcWUoymGv90I0mk21lhw9tAfcur3YDL2qpZe6/s320/2012-02-02_16-03-44_HDR.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking through the destruction towards the Council Admin. Building</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQk7fJ9q-gBA1BQG28xA-xHGg0Ydc_isc0Qc5mNnepsif0or4hQIr-zUp1mmDPONzbh3tHcSuucqsEcpkIAiYkyLz_hs_9LQk_7hopYYMYpYLDF3LFslzHC3SMNGyGCxbUWVJ1ANPow84z/s1600/2012-02-02_16-04-10_HDR.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQk7fJ9q-gBA1BQG28xA-xHGg0Ydc_isc0Qc5mNnepsif0or4hQIr-zUp1mmDPONzbh3tHcSuucqsEcpkIAiYkyLz_hs_9LQk_7hopYYMYpYLDF3LFslzHC3SMNGyGCxbUWVJ1ANPow84z/s320/2012-02-02_16-04-10_HDR.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crane drops another healthy giant tree limb to the ground.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrQCBYTw2IF3a_RDdDrRCUqsUF_WJDtaWPEWycAp0dE5LHBlvUbsfaIQGq_tGThOGa0LIKb98RMmqN-T1w4AfGBQYf5_1ZaSd1m_OaDrhv0oB5TTPMb_L90qv2j22x11q0i-cBbjwdm42/s1600/IMAG2015.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrQCBYTw2IF3a_RDdDrRCUqsUF_WJDtaWPEWycAp0dE5LHBlvUbsfaIQGq_tGThOGa0LIKb98RMmqN-T1w4AfGBQYf5_1ZaSd1m_OaDrhv0oB5TTPMb_L90qv2j22x11q0i-cBbjwdm42/s320/IMAG2015.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-23134901521204044742011-12-29T20:53:00.000+11:002011-12-29T20:54:27.493+11:00A LABRADOR GOES SHOPPING, AND MORE!<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">When I was a boy living in my home town of Newcastle NSW my constant companion was a Labrador Retriever named Caesar. In the 1970s all dogs seemed to have been named after kings, like Caesar, Kaiser, Rex, or... King. He arrived as an 8 month old youngster on our doorstep when we lived in Ipswich Queensland. I was about five at the time. Caesar had belonged to another family and they gave him to us I believe because they lived somewhere where they weren't allowed to have pets. My dad was in the Air Force and in 1974 he was transferred to Newcastle, and our dog came with us.<br />
<br />
Caesar was walked every day by my father and when I was old enough to go to the park by myself, around the age of 9, I would take Caesar with me, let him off the leash when we arrived at the park, then tie him up again and walk him home where he always hurriedly slurped down a dog dish full of water.<br />
<br />
Most of the time he was kept in our large back yard. My parents were scared if they let him roam the streets he might end up in the local pound or run over on the road. He seemed content with this for the first few years until he found out he could escape over the fence at night, wander around the local bushland for hours on end, and return in the early hours of the morning. No-one would have been the wiser had he not reeked to high heaven of the tossed garbage bags he'd nuzzle through and a tide mark along his belly showing he'd been swimming in ponds, no doubt trying and failing to get his paws on local wildlife (more on that practice later).<br />
<br />
During the day Caesar would laze around like other dogs, occasionally going for a drink of water around the back of the house, or sitting in the sun while my mum would hang out the clothes on the 1950s style fence-to-fence clothesline.<br />
<br />
Then, at about 3:00pm every day he'd instinctively get up and make his way either over the fence or if it was open, through one of the side gates and up the street where he'd sit on the footpath, looking down the hill waiting for the schoolbus that would carry my younger brother, sister and I home. Then, after the bus would depart, he'd stand and stare at the vaguely recognizable children in the distance, waiting for us to get closer. Then we'd call out his name and he'd come running, his ham tongue dripping saliva down those black rubber-like gums to the tar road. We'd greet him, pat his head and he'd accompany us home where we'd get afternoon sandwiches and cordial from Mum, and watch TV.<br />
<br />
Occasionally, just to gently tease him, we'd get off the bus at the next stop, creep around the corner, wait until he was watching the other way, and make it to our front fence by hiding behind nature strip trees. He'd be confused that we hadn't jumped off the bus, but then he'd be relieved when we called out his name. The race up the stairs to the front door was always a close one with one happy Labrador right on our tails.<br />
<br />
Back in Queensland, Caesar had been a bit of a handful, although one had to see the humour in the predicaments he found himself in. Once, he disappeared for a day until my dad received a phone call, asking if he owned a golden Labrador. My dad said yes, and then jumped in the car to go pick up this juvenile delinquent who had met up with a more experienced black Labrador earlier that day and decided to chase some chickens. Dad found Caesar tied up, feeling very sorry for himself. The man who called said that the other dog was probably the ringleader, and Caesar the gullible sidekick.<br />
<br />
Then there was fun with my mother driving the family car. One day she was learning to drive - and this was about 1973 - with the driving school instructor sitting in the passenger seat and as she drove the streets of Eastern Heights, Ipswich, she happened to glance in her rear vision mirror to see a very tired looking dog running behind her. She pulled over to the side of the road and saw, to her alarm, our dog's paws worn down so much they were bleeding. The car wasn't hers and she thought our dog would make a mess on the back seat, so she turned the car around and drove slowly back, allowing Caesar a leisurely hobble back home to where his feet were treated with something soothing like Rawleigh's 'Antiseptic Salve' or Lanolin.<br />
<br />
When we moved to Newcastle in 1974 my mum didn't often drive, but one day Caesar saw her driving a few streets away from home. He thought he'd surprise her by jumping through the driver's door window right onto her lap! Trouble was the car wasn't ours, and the woman wasn't my mother. Our dog had a puzzled look on his face as the woman - several months pregnant, by the way - quite understandably screamed in panic.<br />
<br />
When I was about 13 I used to walk over to Garden City Kotara, the local shopping centre (now called Westfield Kotara) with a mate of mine, Bill. We didn't have much money in those days, usually enough for a drink, some chips or a few cinnamon donuts, but we liked to go the record shop, called The Green Apple, and also look at bikes at Norman Ross. Getting away from the house without Caesar seeing us and following was a difficult one; even my mother if she went out in the day on errands, would be quiet when she shut and locked the front door as our loyal dog would hear her, start whimpering, then bound over the fence and 'walk her' down to the bus stop. One day he followed my brother and I down to the bus stop and jumped right on the bus with us, much to the amusement of the other kids on the bus. He was ordered off by me, the bus door shut and the bus took off, the dog running for a 100 metres or so before he tired and the bus was out of sight.<br />
<br />
One Thursday night, the traditional late shopping night, Bill and I grabbed around $5.00 each and trotted off to Garden City. Two streets away from home, I could hear a dog's feet padding the road, and panting. You guessed it, Caesar had decided we needed company. I was afraid he would get run over so I ordered him home. I'd point homeward, yell: "No! Go home!" He'd look in the direction of the finger, look back to smile and then pant. No matter what I did he wouldn't listen. So he came with us.<br />
<br />
In a moment of impetuous foolishness I decided to split from him when we arrived at Garden City. I thought he'd just stay out the front on the grass and we could gather him on our way home a couple of hours later. I told him to stay. He didn't. I told him to go home. He wouldn't. He just followed us into the centre like he was our little brother.<br />
<br />
So, there we were, two 13 year old boys and a Labrador walking through Garden City Kotara with everyone staring at us. (It was so embarrassing for me at that fragile age.) We walked into the David Jones store. It was there that we finally lost Caesar when we jumped on the Up escalator. Caesar had never seen moving stairs before and just stood looking up at me as I disappeared.<br />
<br />
Bill and I went around the top floor and took our time looking at stereos, watching TV, checking out sports equipment, and generally having a good time. We were away maybe 20 minutes and then we rode the down escalator when we soon heard loud, mournful howling. It was Caesar, at the base of the escalator, still waiting for me and surrounding him were three or four very attractive David Jones girls, trying to console my dog. Before I could escape, Caesar turned his head and when he saw me he bounded towards me and when I stepped off the escalator he jumped up in excitement. <br />
<br />
The DJ girls there were very cross with us, abandoning the dog like we did. One said to me: "Is this your dog?" I nodded. "Well, you should be ashamed leaving him like this. He's been very worried!"<br />
<br />
Red faced, we left the shopping centre. Personally, I was very annoyed Caesar had 'caused so much trouble,' but my dog didn't care as he had his owner back, he felt safe and his adventure was finally over.<br />
<br />
END</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">© Matthew Ward, 2011</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-8847921054171489282011-10-05T23:53:00.000+11:002011-10-05T23:53:28.538+11:00River Styx - Revisiting Old Monikers, 4 Oct. 2011<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I was a boy in the 1970s / 1980s New Lambton NSW Australia, it was a common sight to see working class Newcastle kids hanging out in what we called the Drain, a stormwater channel running through the suburbs to the sea. The official name is The River Styx, a bit of a joke I guess, referring to the water that leads to the Greek underworld, Hades. <br />
<br />
Anyway, we invented whole worlds there on weekends, running up and down the walls, throwing balls, digging up old coins in the clay on the banks, watching the water trickle over cement and green slime. Occasionally we'd see interesting things, like tiny fish - alive - swimming to somewhere; cans, bottles, junk jewellery, batteries, dead birds. We'd also fall over, skin our knees, but that was part and parcel of being a kid. <br />
<br />
The other week I remembered when talking to an aunt that when I was about 10 I had carved my name on a wall underneath a tunnel. My 12 year old cousin Andrew had been there that day - we'd been visiting my Nan's no doubt (she lived nearby) - and he also marked his name.<br />
<br />
We had used large nails and large rocks as chisels and mallets. <br />
<br />
Well, this week I was walking through New Lambton and decided to revisit the drain, and the tunnel to see if the names were still there, and they were! (I might have gone back there about 20 years ago, but can't recall), but I will assume I haven't seen these marks since 1980, 31 years ago. I was amazed they were still there, but also how short we were back then (yesterday I had to bend to get in the tunnel).<br />
<br />
Here are some pics:</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpA1BNTYph3bfzT32TcpflNbkOQfnjfszpLFHjOIZ5E_2_t2mzPQIUy-9rDJ1_nitlBRfazzlh75my1-RdBLtMK0GoqgYCs-avPOCnDOdQ8N4n_9vJiWIoJ2FBglte-g5PxREOrtyhnV1M/s1600/Mattt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpA1BNTYph3bfzT32TcpflNbkOQfnjfszpLFHjOIZ5E_2_t2mzPQIUy-9rDJ1_nitlBRfazzlh75my1-RdBLtMK0GoqgYCs-avPOCnDOdQ8N4n_9vJiWIoJ2FBglte-g5PxREOrtyhnV1M/s1600/Mattt.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1) My name</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">MAttt</span></b></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
My name is Matt, but that day I must've gotten carried away with the t's :-) I can see that I knocked in dots, and then joined them up. I did an M, an A, 3 x t's, and started an h but abandoned it when I made the 3rd t. MAttt looks cool, though I think.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uqftbG6eWgz4ZynQ3lCvcb-toCG0Yjah-u_AnVIgveWEfAkGKjIEfTWyAREC9J_h7ZNj68vrbyCD_4WOmquA7o_TT3cm_7Q7HSVweBoZBYaMkyvKNCF2lyxYzB-toLsYtdxsCRbeW_km/s1600/Mattt_Emphasized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uqftbG6eWgz4ZynQ3lCvcb-toCG0Yjah-u_AnVIgveWEfAkGKjIEfTWyAREC9J_h7ZNj68vrbyCD_4WOmquA7o_TT3cm_7Q7HSVweBoZBYaMkyvKNCF2lyxYzB-toLsYtdxsCRbeW_km/s1600/Mattt_Emphasized.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">2) Here I have used Photoshop to make the MAttt stand out more.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSJ7zx6ZS6ULK7blPLgeTALaYgS7twgRTXF68EpPuOwP5_ts3CORIdFjmV2xDjp3Z8q-Fa3uhtZFAoTa-65pYKx9pPOc6_DhBb6WOjCeZ_2Zh74aW2zjpn5hRhyphenhyphenBqVfoWRXsYNvGy-4Ap/s1600/AR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSJ7zx6ZS6ULK7blPLgeTALaYgS7twgRTXF68EpPuOwP5_ts3CORIdFjmV2xDjp3Z8q-Fa3uhtZFAoTa-65pYKx9pPOc6_DhBb6WOjCeZ_2Zh74aW2zjpn5hRhyphenhyphenBqVfoWRXsYNvGy-4Ap/s320/AR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">3) My cousin Andrew's initials</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
<br />
</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-71072573828494756452011-10-02T22:44:00.000+11:002011-10-02T23:31:19.924+11:00Rainy Newcastle afternoon, 2 Oct 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKuH1RQ1-2vV1Tb-EAoqDGpa1EIJXX3F8TgyhVCYDkYZdx_s07_2Vy_iTW3C2BT3XkANxmxdH_33_KF7u-UkiqizIrjSwuuQF24RSdW8xi__0htpUvVFD_MmtQffrDM3BpqRXPnmhoV-y/s1600/Old_Police_Station.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKuH1RQ1-2vV1Tb-EAoqDGpa1EIJXX3F8TgyhVCYDkYZdx_s07_2Vy_iTW3C2BT3XkANxmxdH_33_KF7u-UkiqizIrjSwuuQF24RSdW8xi__0htpUvVFD_MmtQffrDM3BpqRXPnmhoV-y/s400/Old_Police_Station.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosd2vAxPw6EIOyEX4LIcXC1xc4NTrHvfZWbcQ1JEY0c-jBDQA8QGwMDGERLHzSqcPXtwgey4f1uW598ovKLZMTXoThmWrheFipYde5uB3xhyekYf5JWDShR4YnKiA3WcauI2cT6iy0LGI/s1600/Shop_Front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosd2vAxPw6EIOyEX4LIcXC1xc4NTrHvfZWbcQ1JEY0c-jBDQA8QGwMDGERLHzSqcPXtwgey4f1uW598ovKLZMTXoThmWrheFipYde5uB3xhyekYf5JWDShR4YnKiA3WcauI2cT6iy0LGI/s400/Shop_Front.jpg" width="400" /> </a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwIfoJ4_Z68O6SSV5Lqm3YEo52SBEoA883Spra78u8it4366ccnATOjjVVbR3vwEMNn-wKZaI8ISBDfqyopG_zK6yIS1PPIOp5IbrLY2HTXVhwNdmeit9n2fx6ULsDz_lL0f8lCic_EF2A/s1600/Warning_Sign_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwIfoJ4_Z68O6SSV5Lqm3YEo52SBEoA883Spra78u8it4366ccnATOjjVVbR3vwEMNn-wKZaI8ISBDfqyopG_zK6yIS1PPIOp5IbrLY2HTXVhwNdmeit9n2fx6ULsDz_lL0f8lCic_EF2A/s400/Warning_Sign_2.jpg" width="400" /> </a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPp8BTAkUfL8-2RyESM5yLrcncbbMpntWIIVjUxKgHkhOJwR2MCJjByMnMSIpLp3jRv5JE1TZmnnLljj-8FmDdm6NeYrCF6cmdrUvvqx3xzJdPZBCUyIxz2WE2x6m8uxPFVes1rk_eJ0F/s1600/Warning_Sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPp8BTAkUfL8-2RyESM5yLrcncbbMpntWIIVjUxKgHkhOJwR2MCJjByMnMSIpLp3jRv5JE1TZmnnLljj-8FmDdm6NeYrCF6cmdrUvvqx3xzJdPZBCUyIxz2WE2x6m8uxPFVes1rk_eJ0F/s400/Warning_Sign.jpg" width="400" /> </a> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXw51fwUdyenhbEeeALLWOYFPYl9CGhEGnicn_2FAUnERBOQy45OK6ac1c-cuOxYTCqG8G5FWU7nDX6GwnoK25_afAC-B4sIehjoMUIkkHoYnZSOV-vM3AcS-cNzMYixFWm1NwLzyV_8-Z/s1600/Road_and_Gutter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXw51fwUdyenhbEeeALLWOYFPYl9CGhEGnicn_2FAUnERBOQy45OK6ac1c-cuOxYTCqG8G5FWU7nDX6GwnoK25_afAC-B4sIehjoMUIkkHoYnZSOV-vM3AcS-cNzMYixFWm1NwLzyV_8-Z/s640/Road_and_Gutter.jpg" width="380" /> </a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6Tmfdq7_T0EQdAxWC467-XSHMR-1yjzzoTgK5w7jnoPOyWumovwwPy7zcZ4P8ghdypBG1YLZ3Dsh2qvlSNzeJP6dutHWmy6KTlBShKuDJh-W0XT6eGSavHqlTLk0BN7QwgWdPb0C-Ah4/s1600/Pavers_and_Weed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6Tmfdq7_T0EQdAxWC467-XSHMR-1yjzzoTgK5w7jnoPOyWumovwwPy7zcZ4P8ghdypBG1YLZ3Dsh2qvlSNzeJP6dutHWmy6KTlBShKuDJh-W0XT6eGSavHqlTLk0BN7QwgWdPb0C-Ah4/s640/Pavers_and_Weed.jpg" width="382" /> </a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEqXDTVGxB8CwYyn0FdWnUt5vUbslMvi2YwupRVDn70tZvilrgy3_k-1hfd9pio4avBYkYevNlAra9i89OMVWQXpOahq6ARTYb1snNMFDizkHkyvp7ivvmTpVjuurQ_qMsI8yzcJ9m2WX6/s1600/Hunter_Street.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEqXDTVGxB8CwYyn0FdWnUt5vUbslMvi2YwupRVDn70tZvilrgy3_k-1hfd9pio4avBYkYevNlAra9i89OMVWQXpOahq6ARTYb1snNMFDizkHkyvp7ivvmTpVjuurQ_qMsI8yzcJ9m2WX6/s400/Hunter_Street.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Photos taken with HTC Desire HD smartphone (8 MP, b&w, iridesecent)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">© Matthew Ward, 2011</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0Newcastle NSW, Australia-32.9166667 151.75-33.1924277 151.2450675 -32.6409057 152.2549325tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-24553210174119677902011-09-26T00:48:00.000+10:002011-09-26T00:48:27.920+10:00Time Machine : Rebekah Brooks & Kate Middleton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0g_MYmF9nKucRLQW3jvZ-kj9UFTg4zVEfRRquwcIBFw9BF-3OAZo_Y0d3qYjm8ucLiWsNt2YyFGuwhM_VUXMu5BS9d18967sdP042sE9_P-FOo23MJ0th5dIY9XJQy2wMpsUuZR_FTqLz/s1600/Brooks+and+Kate.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0g_MYmF9nKucRLQW3jvZ-kj9UFTg4zVEfRRquwcIBFw9BF-3OAZo_Y0d3qYjm8ucLiWsNt2YyFGuwhM_VUXMu5BS9d18967sdP042sE9_P-FOo23MJ0th5dIY9XJQy2wMpsUuZR_FTqLz/s400/Brooks+and+Kate.png" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">Rebekah is Future Kate! </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-44961111375474783822011-09-26T00:05:00.000+10:002011-09-26T00:05:45.112+10:00Cool Studebaker, Newcastle Australia 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhhttu2zwfxfGI1ZnnRT2phlOvZ-wMOp1C0KP0hujTy5EsuR2gtDW4up5BcrqNzsPVnhHTdlhWzaKgR_dF0ViYJYkIOIumoqgvEMNhFfG6kt-BWugonPOM3dThqPFRhSVavIjK7dTTeUiH/s1600/Studebaker_FB.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhhttu2zwfxfGI1ZnnRT2phlOvZ-wMOp1C0KP0hujTy5EsuR2gtDW4up5BcrqNzsPVnhHTdlhWzaKgR_dF0ViYJYkIOIumoqgvEMNhFfG6kt-BWugonPOM3dThqPFRhSVavIjK7dTTeUiH/s400/Studebaker_FB.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-35733497429136829992011-09-25T23:46:00.000+10:002011-09-25T23:50:14.174+10:00Moments in History : BEN FRANKLIN FLIES HIS KITE - 1752<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWX1ko_l6gcqAH36gtgWynxkL7cK8g6v-a6n4qabqaOHIHL2jARTDEFXaMmc5bmx3IdRuJ94dxTZWFl93ksd8TP3IhIEynM87da8ASydCSS_XsfLMzz4z1BqUYGuLd6o1D8Q7RxOW0O3W/s1600/Ben_and_Kite.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWX1ko_l6gcqAH36gtgWynxkL7cK8g6v-a6n4qabqaOHIHL2jARTDEFXaMmc5bmx3IdRuJ94dxTZWFl93ksd8TP3IhIEynM87da8ASydCSS_XsfLMzz4z1BqUYGuLd6o1D8Q7RxOW0O3W/s400/Ben_and_Kite.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-74417030623505269152011-09-25T11:02:00.000+10:002011-09-25T11:08:36.249+10:00Kaleidoscope Art Using Renoirs's Umbrellas - 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCK2IsIUsab49epm6PWV0Bwzhr8pkb6gjUR0RCG4b3zL4K_sge_CL-MVhCgvU3Bb5-cxUZndGjyqYKjrc8rz4rNp-UpYsIcZn_6U5enKp-FruktX3TSKPICLc5SiHsuXN-TmS4iKC5ix__/s1600/Renoir_Umbrellas_Kal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCK2IsIUsab49epm6PWV0Bwzhr8pkb6gjUR0RCG4b3zL4K_sge_CL-MVhCgvU3Bb5-cxUZndGjyqYKjrc8rz4rNp-UpYsIcZn_6U5enKp-FruktX3TSKPICLc5SiHsuXN-TmS4iKC5ix__/s400/Renoir_Umbrellas_Kal.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2011</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-13718713622195384532011-09-25T10:57:00.000+10:002011-09-25T11:07:03.477+10:00Kaleidoscope Art Using Van Gogh's Cafe Terrace on the Place de Forum - 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhh07aorECp-TFn35qkYAiT0EScciy6UFQ5fVMAOK41kUkBZgzGjdSDDjnxdFCCPAMihwoXL6-4YZstPP-txIrdqL8p5eOO6mkpwK2dA2QXIAES12OdKdKEJzz0xh2FiLM0TmAmX2pMNg/s1600/Van_Gogh_Cafe_Terrace_Kal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhh07aorECp-TFn35qkYAiT0EScciy6UFQ5fVMAOK41kUkBZgzGjdSDDjnxdFCCPAMihwoXL6-4YZstPP-txIrdqL8p5eOO6mkpwK2dA2QXIAES12OdKdKEJzz0xh2FiLM0TmAmX2pMNg/s400/Van_Gogh_Cafe_Terrace_Kal.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
2011<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-88648889899292004802011-07-20T14:01:00.000+10:002011-07-20T14:01:48.963+10:00Revisiting the BlogIt's been 3/4 of a year since I've visited this blog. Time flies by, doesn't it?<br />
<br />
Apparently Blogger is now part of Google. I had to create yet another Google account. Lucky I keep track of all these accounts.<br />
<br />
There is a book in the works. A novel. It is to be published with World Audience in NYC.<br />
<br />
When it is finished - in a few months - it will be a good read, albeit a little surreal, which of course is my bag.<br />
<br />
Stay tuned...<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-44227583902286554522010-12-08T03:30:00.000+11:002010-12-08T03:40:48.202+11:00FINDING OUT ABOUT JOHN LENNON'S MURDER<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Today is the 8th December 2010, the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's murder. Here is a memoir I wrote last year, 2009. </i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Finding Out About John Lennon's Murder</b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> by <b>Matthew Ward</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">"... all the serious people like Martin Luther King and Kennedy and Gandhi got shot." </span></i></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">- John Lennon, 1969</span></b></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_KF5TsPL9Vd-t4HVwREl4XajHVUHjLQi9QwtlvzRYeEJxr6n3lMZFrjXzqLVeF2SNHmayi6oZKL8YuiJ0toclutGvaufafJe-Z65WUSLCzZt3SXGwyeAlNu5ksw6MOhIPBpNHX7M5gnEI/s1600/JL_Unrestricted_Use_Wikipedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_KF5TsPL9Vd-t4HVwREl4XajHVUHjLQi9QwtlvzRYeEJxr6n3lMZFrjXzqLVeF2SNHmayi6oZKL8YuiJ0toclutGvaufafJe-Z65WUSLCzZt3SXGwyeAlNu5ksw6MOhIPBpNHX7M5gnEI/s320/JL_Unrestricted_Use_Wikipedia.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It was only last week at the time of writing that Michael Jackson died at the relatively young age of fifty. Now, it might be hard for some of us who have entered middle age to fathom the outpouring of emotion for that musician - even though we are aware of the record sales, and the MTV clips - but it only seems like a week ago that John Lennon, creator of The Beatles, went to meet his maker after he was murdered in New York City on 8th December 1980. Lennon was younger than Jackson when he died, he was only 40, and was more influential than Jackson in terms of music and popular culture, it could be argued, and certainly more so than most other musicians of the 20th century, with the exceptions being John's hero Elvis Presley, contemporary Bob Dylan, and his Liverpool cohort Paul McCartney.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My journey from ignorant youngster to Beatles aficionado took but a glimmer of time; and all it took was the death of Beatle John: the rocker, the teddy boy, the artist, the wordsmith, the poet, the peacenik, the loving husband and father, the house-husband, the orphan, the King of the Comeback; but also the sarcastic one, the drug addict, the womaniser, the alleged wife beater, the deadbeat dad, the blasphemer, the political criminal and the adulterer.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It was sometime in 1981 that I waited in the Newcastle NSW suburb of The Junction. It was night, maybe close to 10pm and I had been to a Beatles film evening at the old Hunter Theatre, a place that was built back in the 1920s I believe, and a building that would be demolished in 1990 after Newcastle's 1989 earthquake. I had previously been to the theatre for school excursions, to see such 1970s must-sees as 'Storm Boy' and 'Blue Fin'. The ceilings were tall, and the seats leather and wood and uncomfortable as all hell. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I was leaning against a half brick garden wall in the semi-darkness for my father to come and pick me up, and as I stood there I watched the cars roll on by towards Bar Beach in the City or the other way, past the council flats to Adamstown.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In my mind I also relived the movies I had just seen, films that for the most part had debuted over 15 years before, when I was a little boy living in Williamtown, when I lived near the Air Force base with my mum and dad in 'marry-quarters' (when my dad was in the RAAF). The films were zany director Richard Lester's 'A Hard Day's Night'; and also 'A Magical Mystery Tour'; and the famous 'Shea Stadium' concert from 1965. The Washington DC concert that was also advertised was not shown due to 'sprocket damage,' but I didn't mind as I had seen three movies back to back for my $5.00 or however cheap it was in those days. I might have been the youngest one there by at least 20 years, but what we all had in common was a love of The Fab Four. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As I was so young when they were released, I hadn't seen any of the films before. 'A Hard Day's Night', the black and white masterpiece that perfectly captured Beatlemania - at least what the media thought Beatlemania was about anyway - with the Moptops running around like lunatics, trying to keep away from screaming girls and all the while encouraging them at the same time (George Harrison met his future wife Pattie Boyd on the set when she was playing the part of a schoolgirl.) 'Magical Mystery Tour' was in colour - bright colour - that was like Alice in Wonderland and Edward Lear go on a bus trip with carnival freaks. And 'Shea Stadium' had The Beatles helecoptered into the middle of a baseball field to the shrill sound of thousands of (mostly) girls who clutched the boundary fence and screamed in one continuous scream like summer cicadas I had heard in Blackbutt Reserve near my home.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I also thought of The Beatles, of course, my new group, even though most of my friends liked the New Romantic bands or semi-metal groups like The Angels, The Oils, and The Radiators, or nothing at all. I was again aware that one of The Beatles had died at the end of the previous year, and the world was quiet as I stood there, thinking as 13 year old boys are apt to do.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">On the afternoon of 8th December 1980 I arrived home from high school to find out John Lennon had been murdered in New York City at the age of 40 by some nutcase who thought he himself was the sardonic ex-Beatle and peacenik and that his victim was an imposter. Of course you know that Lennon had signed the murderer's record sleeve, and then a short while later he addressed him, shot him, sat down and seemingly waited for whatever was to come, be it praise or something else.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The thing is at age 14 I had never known of John Lennon as a Beatle. Sure, I was aware of The Beatles - who wasn't? - but to me they were a long ago black and white movies band who sang 'She Loves You', 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' and 'Help'. The John Lennon I knew was a recent star who had just released an album called 'Double Fantasy'.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It was a warm Newcastle afternoon and as I walked through the front door my mother asked me if I had heard that John Lennon had been killed. I said I hadn't and felt a little saddened as I had loved his recent hits '(Just Like) Standing Over' and 'Watching the Wheels' (and maybe 'Woman' but that might have been released after his death).</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It was through watching the headlines and news on TV did I get the connection that John Lennon of 'Double Fantasy' and John of The Beatles were the same man. I saw story after story of fans crying, holding vigils with candles at The Dakota, the building that John and his wife Yoko called home in New York. I saw the brief interviews with John's friends, other musicians, the other ex-Beatles Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I had my dinner that night, then watched TV again and saw more stories on John Lennon, this phenomenon who had been cruelly cut down in the prime of his life, after his comeback album was selling so well. That night I went to sleep crying quietly into my pillow, for reasons that had less to do with Lennon being shot, but, selfishly, more to do with me never having the chance to appreciate his music as a Beatle and that I would never get the opportunity to see him in person or watch him perform on stage. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This was the first time in my life I would mourn someone's death.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In 1977 I was in primary school and recall talking to a boy who sadly told me Elvis Presley had died. I thought it odd later on that this boy, Stephen, loved Elvis when he seemed to me to me old hat, a bit daggy for 1977 when everyone else was listening to disco, long-haired glam rock, or Sherbet Vs Skyhooks battles on Countdown with Ian 'Molly' Meldrum. However when John Lennon died I understood Stephen's grief for the King of Rock ’n' Roll, and also Lennon's grief at his hero Buddy Holly dying in 1959. We all have our heroes, it seems.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In the days after John's death, I started obsessively collecting newspaper and magazine clippings regarding the murder but also general Beatles-related clippings, too, which was easy as all the newspapers had them for a long time, featuring everything from the living ex-Beatles' reactions to the death (McCartney's perhaps misunderstood "It's a drag" comment became as commonly repeated as Lennon's 'Bigger than Jesus' statement of the mid-’60s).</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Then I borrowed books from the library, Hunter Davies' Beatles tome was devoured every afternoon and into the night; and I bought them, too, with whatever money I could scrounge (Peter Brown's 'The Love You Make' is still a thorough and fair read.) Obviously I collected the LPs, the singles, the EPs, and later cassettes and CDs. 'The Beatles Ballads' was an LP released in 1980 by EMI, and I would lay in the darkness of my bedroom at night and unconsciously memorise the songs, like 'Yesterday', 'Do You Want to Know a Secret?', 'Hey Jude', 'Norwegian Wood', 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away' and more... At any time of the day I could imagine the songs and play them in my head like I had my own internal jukebox (such is the imagination of the adolescent).</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhucNcAMWWLrwv-bqTgPoE-yiQqhDAMd_rk5bLpv2ZoIZba0mzKuy41dwAWtz6SX5782xHRXMuPiAiH1I5AjuSCNfGo0n6HgCE-ldp997Pxnde6Id5w0Utjr_qL2ert-L2vpZefHKB4xRZ2/s1600/TheBeatlesBalladsalbumcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhucNcAMWWLrwv-bqTgPoE-yiQqhDAMd_rk5bLpv2ZoIZba0mzKuy41dwAWtz6SX5782xHRXMuPiAiH1I5AjuSCNfGo0n6HgCE-ldp997Pxnde6Id5w0Utjr_qL2ert-L2vpZefHKB4xRZ2/s1600/TheBeatlesBalladsalbumcover.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Over the next couple of years I collected the rest of the Beatles albums, one per month, sometimes two if I was flush with cash. One birthday I bought a tape player and the albums 'Revolver' (1966) and 'Abbey Road' (1969). The others followed ('Sgt Pepper', White Album, 'Revolver', 'Help!', 'A Hard Day's Night', 'Magical Mystery Tour', 'Please Please Me', 'With the Beatles', 'Let It Be', 'Yellow Submarine', 'Rubber Soul', 'Beatles For Sale', and other official mixtures like 'Hey Jude', 'Past Masters', 'Oldies But Goldies', 'Rarities'. And the singles, as many as the second hand shops had.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After that I collected the ex-Beatles' albums including those of John Lennon ('Imagine', 'Plastic Ono Band', 'Mind Games', 'Walls and Bridges', 'Double Fantasy', 'Sometime in New York City', 'Live Peace in Toronto', 'Menlove Avenue', 'Shaved Fish' among them). It seems to me now that the best ex-Beatles albums were recorded during the time of the Beatles or soon after - as afterwards, with no-one to check them, the ex-Beatles made music that was good but not as tight, in my opinion, as those recorded in the periods 1963-1969. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I had a few friends in high school who liked The Beatles and we discussed the band all the time. We had our favourite Beatles. I admired John I think because of his attitude and thought the chicks liked him more than Paul (which according to John was never true). One friend, David, used to play squash at the squash courts at the International Sports Centre, Waratah (now the Newcastle Knights Admin Headquarters) on a Tuesday. We'd talk Beatles on the way over and often in Beatley voices, probably imitating the Beatles cartoon more than the real deal, and pretending we knew how to play guitar with our rackets. I recall David's sister had given him for his birthday a coloured vinyl copy of 'Sgt Pepper' from The Green Apple record store at Garden City, Kotara and I was more than a little envious.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Another friend was walking with me one day and when I saw a dead beetle on the ground I asked, in a silly way, which of the Beatles it was. The friend answered, 'John Lennon' in a snide way that the real Lennon would have been proud of. The comment made me a little sad, wishing I had never asked the question.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I watched every Beatles special on TV, and every week Donnie Sutherland on his show Sounds Unlimited (later, Sounds) would regularly play Beatles clips from the Let It Be period, like 'Let It Be', 'Don't Let Me Down', and 'Get Back'. McCartney looked cool in his Scotland beard, Lennon starved but still looking dapper with long hair, round glasses and F-You attitude, and Yoko at his feet.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Years ago there was that 6 Degrees of Separation thing with connections to actor Kevin Bacon. We all like to try to connect with our heroes. My connections to The Beatles are flimsy. Let me see... My dad's uncle by marriage was related to Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin played in the band The Yardbirds. Eric Clapton played in The Yardbirds and was friends with George Harrison and so played guitar on George's Beatles song 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' (and would eventually marry George's first wife, Pattie). Also, recently I commented on Yoko's Twitter page and a day later she started following me on Twitter. Lastly, about 6 years ago I designed a website for a client who in 1964 took time off school to go to Sydney to see The Beatles perform (she proudly said she was the only one in her school who did so). Not much is it? But it's something.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">For me, The Beatles never died. Lennon said in an interview that fans can listen to the albums if they want to reminisce, and also record their own compilations: one of his songs, one of Paul's, one of George's, one of Ringo's from the post-1970 albums, and pretend if they wanted to that the band was still together (as the Beatles albums from 1967 on were recorded largely it has been said as individuals, with the others playing 'backup band'). It's just a band that broke up, it's not important, he said. But we wanted it to be important, and we knew it was important, and we knew that when Lennon died, they could never reform again, and I knew that I could never watch them perform in person.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Lennon said that death was like getting out of one car and getting into another. I don't know if I believe that, in reincarnation, but I guess there's always hope that we can meet our heroes, in this world, or the next. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My dad picked me up in his car and asked me if I enjoyed the movies. I said yes, smiled and we drove off towards home, and towards my tape player, headphones and drawer after drawer of Beatles masterpieces.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;" /><b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">© Matthew Ward, 2009</span></b></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-6328278264768291692010-05-14T23:47:00.000+10:002010-05-14T23:47:01.123+10:00The Magical Publishing Pen front cover by me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir00lf67T3hvkNQB6qwcofQnPwMZ6RGciYqtZN-skRgRI-32ahijL-0jQxhZ2i83NY4APT9wFtjl0e0KPjEv8gJLCWpTgsN-4jvjnBPfcWa6LKBWMKmOiWla7RcPcPJ4p1gUYuWebYjxjc/s1600/MPP_CVR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=httpwwwskivem-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1444900641&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir00lf67T3hvkNQB6qwcofQnPwMZ6RGciYqtZN-skRgRI-32ahijL-0jQxhZ2i83NY4APT9wFtjl0e0KPjEv8gJLCWpTgsN-4jvjnBPfcWa6LKBWMKmOiWla7RcPcPJ4p1gUYuWebYjxjc/s320/MPP_CVR.jpg" width="212" /><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=httpwwwskivem-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B002JVWR9U&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=httpwwwskivem-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=bpl&amp;asins=B002JVWR9U&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;m=amazon&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;f=ifr" style="padding-top: 5px; width: 131px; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" align="left" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=httpwwwskivem-20&amp;link_code=btl&amp;camp=213689&amp;creative=392969&amp;search-alias=aps&amp;field-keywords=vampire%20diaries">Search Amazon.com for vampire diaries</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httpwwwskivem-20&amp;l=btl&amp;camp=213689&amp;creative=392969&amp;o=1&amp;a=" alt="" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" border="0" height="1" width="1"></iframe></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-77459146591637442382010-05-13T17:21:00.000+10:002010-05-13T18:26:51.762+10:00John F. Kennedy Lives in the Future! - Book #4 on sale in June 2010World Audience Publishers in NY USA is publishing my 4th book,<br />'John F. Kennedy Lives in the Future! :<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybI7S7s6x1lBkOts6f1JnfpaeC0oYKgGu8wmqi-0EAbrAfQ3r79_sNCQsLEa3mK9-7QMIBD8uKaJKZ3kFjMowDDM3OKDK6kuwe2buk9VryzljNHSZnqtHg5MEOKD1ujRcEX9GByNLwBeF/s1600/03_JFKF_Cvr_Front_Bleed.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybI7S7s6x1lBkOts6f1JnfpaeC0oYKgGu8wmqi-0EAbrAfQ3r79_sNCQsLEa3mK9-7QMIBD8uKaJKZ3kFjMowDDM3OKDK6kuwe2buk9VryzljNHSZnqtHg5MEOKD1ujRcEX9GByNLwBeF/s400/03_JFKF_Cvr_Front_Bleed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470661065819377234" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The Blurb:</span><br /><br />What does a middle-aged Australian man know about John F. Kennedy, his Camelot years, the Democrats, Republicans, the Addams Family, and American Gothic the painting? Only what he read about, or watched on TV – and that was a lot!<br /> Matthew Glenn Ward always had a fantasy about saving Jack Kennedy’s life and now with this book he has his chance – and you the reader can come along for the ride!<br /> ‘John F. Kennedy Lives in the Future!’ is a collection of short, mostly satirical modern day fables that take real life, and twist it ’til it leaks ‘funny’. We have JFK as time traveler, Elizabethan poet John Donne as serial killer, a ghoul shotgun wedding, an unemployed cat, rivers getting married, old men taking revenge on young hoods, cheapskate heart attack victims, chocolate iPhones, plenty of booze, some drugs, gambling, stories that just make no sense plotwise, and a bit of love too – nothing is meanspirited.<br /> Influenced by such great writers as Jack Kerouac, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Monty Python and The Goons, ‘John F. Kennedy Lives in the Future!’ is a book by an Australian that Americans will devour.<br /><br />The book will be available in June 2010.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-2025538245514301822009-10-10T22:30:00.000+11:002009-10-10T23:01:42.353+11:00'Freudian Tunnel' - CHROME SPIRAL CLIMAX<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><br />CHROME SPIRAL CLIMAX - CD Review</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">'</span><span style="font-size:100%;">Freudian Tunnel'<br />Archetype Records, 1997<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">by </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Matthew Ward</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">(using the name Carl Young)<br /><br /></span>Published in <a href="http://famousalbumcovers.blogspot.com/2009/06/let-it-kg-be-lenin-mccarthy.html" target="_blank">'Famous Album Covers'</a>, 150609<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8v8gICswv4sz-bPG3tX_0Ifp97q-WKA_qAAAPTS1Bbi8HOL-HleQcNtt38093FuxNyj1CfkT9rrpzSuHtsIdL_Xhz1CHnL6Wp7lmpf4Nk7ZBqpsCLmh6DaEcmRHQrMdzZ8ruLaExfAuTy/s1600-h/CHRMSPRL.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8v8gICswv4sz-bPG3tX_0Ifp97q-WKA_qAAAPTS1Bbi8HOL-HleQcNtt38093FuxNyj1CfkT9rrpzSuHtsIdL_Xhz1CHnL6Wp7lmpf4Nk7ZBqpsCLmh6DaEcmRHQrMdzZ8ruLaExfAuTy/s400/CHRMSPRL.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390934713965678306" border="0" /></a><br />CSC are a group of 24 year old lads from Everton in England. They all have computer science degrees, are all geeks and all love music more than just about anything.<br /><br />The press release I have says: "Freudian Tunnel may be the finest debut album from a British band ever, and that includes such established names as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who".<br /><br />That's a pretty big rap. Critics in England are already saying that because the band utilises a computer they are just plagiarising other peoples' hard work, "scoring free flesh of a dying antelope", one London rag has said. But this is a little unfair.<br /><br />Brendan Witherspoon, a self-proclaimed hacker and leader of the trio said the band knew they were going to be big when they discovered that all major Beethoven pieces, when recorded backwards, spliced up then recorded forwards, gave not only astonishing tunes, but also the apparent sound of people talking, and not stilted like in the backmasking trials of the '70s and '80s (Led Zeppelin, Motley Crue, Queen etc...) but actual lyrics.<br /><br />Peter Sutherland, the band's 'funny one' mentioned his theory to The Guardian in July: that the spirits of old Beethoven and others like him had left a puzzle for artists like CSC to tap.<br /><br />And tap they have. If you like house music you will be pleased. If you hate all niteclub music you will be converted. 'Freudian Tunnel' has precious moments, from the mysterious 'Tambourine Flash I still Got The Cash' and 'Fisherman Baskets For Sale', 'Reds They Come From Crook-ed Cross Drawing', 'Degrees and Degrees of Sanity' plus the boppy 'Regress Too Far Away', this album will sell well with both those in the drug culture and the people entrenched in other, more eclectic tastes. Yes! Album due out in early November.<br /><br />-Carl Young (1997)<br /><br /><p>Published in <a href="http://famousalbumcovers.blogspot.com/2009/06/let-it-kg-be-lenin-mccarthy.html" target="_blank">'Famous Album Covers'</a>, 150609</p>Orig. published in <span style="font-style: italic;">Opus</span>, November 1997<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-66950503331065398392009-09-30T11:36:00.000+10:002009-10-06T03:14:42.190+11:00MATT WARD INTERVIEW, World Audience, 28 Sept. 2009In the early hours of 28 September 2009, I was interviewed by Mike Strozier of World Audience publishers on Blogstar. I had no webcam, only a mic so have extracted the audio from that interview and also transcribed the speech to text. Here are Parts 1 -3 (10 mins for each part) interview about me, Skive Magazine, Mockfrog Design, and what Mike calls the 'secrets' of a lot of website hits, downloads etc... Audio player below so you can hear us as you read. Enjoy, and please comment if you have Blogger etc... (Part 4 to come).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Interview with Matthew Ward of Skive Magazine, Mockfrog Design</span><br />by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mike Strozier, 28 September 2009<br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Part 1 of 4</span><br /><br /><object height="240" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JFFgyQgdl7o&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JFFgyQgdl7o&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="240" width="320"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">WORLD AUDIENCE (WA)</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">So, okay, we spoke last time and we covered a lot of ground, I know, things are just really changing fast, fast and furious with publishing and the online world and technology and all that so I don't really want to take up too much time like maybe we could talk about half an hour cos, maybe a little longer, we'll see since see since it's really only just you and me anyway, no-one's here and then we can change the whole video around cos I don't want my face looking [laughs] for an hour, you know.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">So okay so let's start with well why don’t we just start with some small talk then like I don’t know, The Beatles, or Australian weather or whatever you want. Go ahead...<br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Matt Ward (MW)</span><br />Well, Australian weather, we had a big dust storm here last week about 4 days ago. It blew over from the west of New South Wales and we woke up at about 8 o'clock and the whole of Newcastle was red, it was red dust it was amazing and beautiful.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">WA</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">Okay great. Actually before, I should back up a little bit and give a little bit of an introduction. So this is World Audience interviewing Matt Ward, and basically Matt Ward, I have your blurb on our page here but you're the publisher and the editor of Skive Magazine which has been around forever before World Audience ever existed and I personally as a writer used to submit to Skive it seems like going back into the late '90s but and then your magazine became a printed magazine in '03 i guess, correct me if I’m wrong, and a lot of the writers that I know and interacted with in the '90s and up into the beginning of this decade submitted to Skive and were published by your magazine and so it's grown to be a rather large publication at this point probably been around a decade which is something of an accomplishment. I know there's a lot of competition out there in the world with these literary journals but I think we've really covered some ground. And in addition you were very instrumental in helping World Audience get its feet up off the ground when we started in '06 and helped me a lot showing me the ins and outs of publishing and technology and html. You showed me a lot of that and built our website in fact so thank you for all your help that you've done for World Audience. But now what's happened lately is a lot, I think we were at the right place at the right time because within say the last two years, well certainly Print On Demand technology matured say 3 or 4 years ago but it sort of took a couple of years to sort of get everything rolling and then within the last 2 years everything else has come online. YouTube is fully integrated, now there's Twitter and then there's Print On Demand technology and that incorporates well together with YouTube or things like Twitter. ... Desktop technology is fully integrated. The printer that we use - 'printers' I should say, we use several different ones. Technology can create these wonderful color books, great artwork and then probably last the artists themselves and writers are online now. They're not... Well, they always were online, but it seems like now they're more than ever. We're reaching, we just keep getting better and better as artists. I know you have a lot more writers that you've published than I have so that's just sort of an overview, background about you and me and our businesses so...</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">Okay, so let me ask you this specific question, but before I do that let me let you respond to that and then I'll ask a specific question.<br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">MW</span><br />Well yeah I published you in 2006. You sent me a play and I published your play and I think you were amazed that I’d publish a play [laughs] where most people were publishing short stories and things like that, poetry occasionally. But now I haven’t been running this for a decade, I’ve been running it for about 6 years this year which I guess is a long time anyway. And you're right, the Print On Demand business has really improved a lot in only a couple of years. I mean, when we were starting out it was a bit of a hillbilly outfit, I mean it was really easy to use but the quality of the book was sometimes lacking, pages were sometimes upside down, books sent to Australia had to come through Spain and I don't know what the hell was happening. Sometimes it'd be late, sometimes the books'd be damaged or missing or whatever. And they'd always replace them but it was a pain because it took sometimes a month for books to get to Australia in the first place. So... But you're right, in the last couple of years they've really pulled their fingers out at Lulu and I think the reason for that is CreateSpace's come onto the scene and Lulu have had to so something to stay in the ballgame as it were.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">WA</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">Okay yeah there's Lulu, there's Lightning Source, which I use, and the distribution through Amazon, and Barnes & Noble and Ingram and all the other distributors. It's pretty sophisticated at this point and I know with your magazine Skive you have Lulu, then there's CreateSpace which sort of made the competition a little bit stronger and then there's Cafepress which I was using but that's probably the weakest of the lot and then there's a few others in fact. But you were saying that you have now, 'Your magazine gets how many downloads do you get a week?' is my question. And are you paying for those? Did you in the past or how are you monitizing that? I think you were saying through advertising. So that's my question and then also the other question that I wanted to ask is, 'How many are you selling, printed copies through Lulu?' cos I think you've gone to selling quite a few now but unlike me you don't have any distributor so if you could maybe talk about how you're able to get all these downloads plus selling... In a sense you become your own distributor, so what are your secrets?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />MW</span><br />[Laughs]. My secrets, oh god. Well, downloads, it's hard to say how many per week or how many per month cos usually what happens is as soon as an edition of Skive comes out there's a huge peak and it sort of peters out as you'd probably expect it to do that. I had a few thousand in a few days and I was... This issue, the issue before, December, before that it's been really big for about 8 months and print as well. Now I think the reason it's jumped because I've made it available free, and that sounds bizarre that you'd do a magazine, just put it up free but I mean it seems to have worked and it's not only the authors who are buying copies of this magazine anymore and it used to be like that for a couple of years; really the only people who were buying it were the authors and people who'd been published a few times stopped buying it, they already had their copies and they didn't want to buy it anymore. I just took a gamble and put it up live and people started downloading it. Printed copies? I've sold a few hundred in a few weeks and it's mostly authors but also other people as well. I've kept the price down too, I've dropped the price. I got greedy and I was selling it for $30 and I sold a few but then people really were not buying it as much as they used to. But I've really incorporated things like Facebook and Twitter - you were mentioning those - and I've got a book of 50 or 60 organizations I'm involved with as you probably are too and you've got to keep track of all these places whether they're social networking sites like Facebook... I'm not involved in MySpace but it's probably more for the youngsters. But there's hundreds of these sites and I think that probably contributes to it too. So I get in contact with these people, I keep in contact with them and we get a really nice working writing relationship and I think that helps a lot to give that sort of personal touch. I'm not just a guy turning up to make a heap of money who knows nothing about writing. I'm a writer who became an editor who became a publisher. So, I'm self-taught. And going back to your computer comments before - me helping you - people helped me the same way and that's how I learned. I've got a degree in Classics, and Philosophy and English and things like that. I don't have a computer degree, I don't have a website degree or graphic arts degree, I'm more self taught so that way I'm more patient with people I meet that way so I think that people appreciate that.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">End of Part 1.</span><br /><br />-----<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Interview with Matthew Ward of Skive Magazine, Mockfrog Design</span><br />by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mike Strozier, 28 September 2009</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Part 2 of 4</span><br /><br /><object height="240" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FVZ8hPjFNbw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FVZ8hPjFNbw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="240" width="320"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">World Audience (WA)</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">Okay, thank you very much. Yeah probably that's true, I mean ‘the personal touch’, I think probably the fact that we're writers, I’m definitely a writer and that does make a difference in the fact that I’m able to relate to the writers that I publish, I will say that does make a huge difference. You know, we were talking before on Skype that I’m a publisher that dabbles in a magazine and you're a magazine publisher that dabbles in books - or I should say I’m a book publisher - so you know we're two sides of the same coin. And also I think you were describing with your magazine... I'm sort of like a couple of years behind you still and as soon as you made your magazine free I made it free so I’m just following your every lead. And now that I’m thinking about it I’m thinking I should maybe make all of our titles free, ebooks and that will kick in... that will create that network of links that create or facilitate the printed book getting purchased which is a lot more profitable even than an ebook would be. So that's definitely an idea in terms of marketing books.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">I guess, what other secrets of the trade do you think you have that you incorporate that you notice have worked. I'm just curious because obviously you have a lot of success, certainly the personal touch is part of it but I have to think it has a lot more to do with the marketing that you're employing. Because the personal touch works in connecting with writers on a personal basis, I can say the same is true for me but it doesn't sell books although it does make a difference in sort of building up that network. But even the network itself doesn’t necessarily translate to big sales and watching your growth I noticed that within the last two years those same two years when technology really started to catch on fire that's when you started to catch on fire and so I don't think it's all timing of the network of writers and that personal touch that you have. There must be some other stuff that you're doing that's working so maybe if you could talk a little bit about that.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MW</span><br />Secrets? Well, going back to your... Following my coat tails [laughs] or whatever you're talking about, one thing I do do, is I charge for back issues of ebooks, so the current issue is free but back issues cost money and people tend to buy them, it's bizarre that they would do that. I think... What I did have was... At one point I had everything free, as ebooks not printed books and even the printed books were almost cost so they were very cheap but I think sometimes people treat cheap that way, they don't seem to respect you that way. So the current issue is free but past issues I charge, only a couple of dollars. It's all balance of... It's costing. If a book is $14.95 for the printed issue and you offer the ebook for $3.00 it looks attractive, it's just all pricing. Samplers, which I think we've done with World Audience as well. So a sort of smaller version of the book, half a dozen pages for free whacked up there. I've put up PDFs that've got passwords on so that people can look at them online, they can read them but they can't print them, they can't extract text from them, that sort of thing. I guess it's a little bit like shareware, you know, with software so you give someone a taste and most people will, if they can get it free they'll get it free. I don't know many people who'll read a whole novel or a whole copy of my magazine or your magazine online, it's a bit of a pain. They'll get a bit of a taste, and they'll go, "What the hell, I’ll just buy a copy". I also used to send someone an ebook as soon as they'd bought the printed book. If they'd told me they'd just bought it I’d say, "Here's the ebook too". So instead of waiting for a week they'd get a bit of a taste as well.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">WA</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">Okay yeah that's very good, there's some more things I forgot that we did before. The samplers definitely work, you know we give a little taste of the book. Of course the other thing that was always an issue was having the ebook get out there in cyberland and then that sort of spoiling the show. I know sometimes way back in the day you would send Skive and say, implore people to not forward this email [laughs] with the ebook attached to it so, I don’t know, but now you can lock it, so that makes it a lot better.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">So what about social networking and the power of using that to have the authors connect with the readership. Certainly, we're publishing these two books by Dr Jack Kevorkian. One is already is in print, that's his memoir that he wrote in jail and it sold a little bit here and there, but his other book is about overpopulation, and then he has a movie called 'You Don't Know Jack' starring Al Pacino, John Goodman and Susan Sarandon [and] some other actors that's coming out in January [or] February; he'll be on some major TV shows talking about his book with World Audience so we're expecting some sales from traditional means in that particular way. But we have a lot of other writers that potentially could you know, use these social networking sites and I just don't know how to approach that, I’ve some ideas and we've talked a little bit. What are your thoughts on that?</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MW</span><br />I've been using Facebook for about a year really seriously and the advantage I had was I had already published 400 people in my magazine, and they’ve got this neat thing you can find your friends on Facebook using your address book, your email address book and out of 400 people roughly 200 people became my Facebook friends overnight. I mean, that was really good, and they know people too and I make Facebook friends every day, which you probably do too and Twitter is another thing which everybody laughed at you know cos who's gonna be interested in what you're doing when you're crossing the road with your Blackberry saying, "I’m crossing the road now"? I mean, no-one really is, but it gives a really instantaneous gauge to things like television shows, you know, albums, books, that sort of thing. And it's just another string in the bow, you know? There's Myspace, which we haven't really talked about, for the younger people. I mean, I utilize all these social networking tools, all the people I know online do as well. They're not only sitting at their computer, they've got their Blackberrys and they're Twittering from Starbucks as well, it's ongoing all the time. It doubles up, and these people can say, "Oh, I’ve just sent a submission to this magazine"; I’m a writer and I’ll say, "I haven't heard of them" so I’ll send something to this magazine and if I know the person I can say, "Mike recommended me" and it gives me a better chance of getting published there as well. So I’m on the hunt for this publishing thing as well like everybody else is. It's a very powerful tool. All of them are, all the various social networking websites like Facebook... And Facebook’s sort of changing all the time too to compete as well. They've got a lot of advertising which I don't utilize. I don't really seek out advertising really except for the website but the more people I publish the bigger the whole thing gets because they all have blogs, right, every time they get published they put something on their blog or on Zoetrope or Critters Bar or all the various writing sites they’re on. Everybody that I know is a writer, they all know how to use these things or they soon learn how to use them whether it's free press releases or... It multiplies the chances of getting published. What's interesting is that these people are writers and they’re on my...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">End of Part 2.</span><br /><br />-----<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Interview with Matthew Ward of Skive Magazine, Mockfrog Design</span><br />by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mike Strozier, 28 September 2009</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Part 3 of 4<br /></span><span><br /><br /><object height="240" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ksKNDSjQlgg&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ksKNDSjQlgg&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="240" width="320"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MW cont...</span><br />I’ve got two Facebook pages, I don't use one. I've got two Twitter pages, one is a writing page, and the other one is for Skive. Now the Skive writers rarely say anything nasty to me which they probably wouldn't anyway but you'd think if it was someone who was a publisher and you want to get published with them you'd if you were smart you wouldn't say anything too annoying [laughs], it wouldn't worry me anyway. On the whole it's been a positive experience with the social networking sites and I think it can help most people if they just get on and learn how to use them. There's a lot of annoying things about them that I hate that, the quizzes and all that. You know, 'who's you favorite spice girl?' or ;which president are you like?' all this sort of stuff it just annoys me, I hide them and block them.<br /><br />I had a look at my statistics, going back to your question about how do I gauge downloads. I use Webalizer and there's another one called Modlogan and they more or less have a look at my website stats and I can tell where people are coming from, I can tell how many... I can't tell how many downloads from a place but I can tell how many people are coming from a place, so I can see that there's so many hundred from Facebook and, I mean, if they're coming from Facebook, I’ve got roughly 200 friends yet I’m getting a lot more hits so obviously what people are doing is they're sending links to their friends and I’m getting a lot through Twitter and a lot more direct enquiries which to me says that people they have knowledge of the magazine now. They know what it is, they just type it in and I can see in my little stats thing keywords that are used to find me, whether it's just my name or whether it's... Sometimes I get links from your site or mostly Google of course, everybody links from Google. But also through Twitter so I can just put up a little Tinyurl link saying 'magazine's out now, taking submissions', that sort of thing. And Facebook's got that really cool thing where you can set up your own fanpage or group page; I don't know if you have one set up for World Audience; and you can send a message instantaneously to everyone on your group and they've got their own stats on those pages too, so, you know, it's a big deal.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">WA</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">Okay, super, thanks. Yeah, that's all good information. I didn't think of a World Audience group or fan site, I got to look into Facebook and also adding all my friends to my own email list with Google, they could probably incorporate them, or Gmail.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">So, yeah, that's really interesting. There's just so much that keeps growing between what we're doing with the networks that we have. Certainly there's a lot of ezines out there other publishing houses like, say, Glimmer Train, I know you know all of these as well, or even something like McSweeney's but McSweeney's is more like a traditional publishing house who thinks that they're sorta hip and young and modern but they're not really doing what we're doing. And probably even something like Glimmer Train is again printed, certainly they have a big database of writers that's much larger than say yours or mine but they're publishing just that one magazine through print, they're not using anything that you're using which is very much in the digital realm. And I like to think that of the books that we have, I mean if you just look at the numbers, we have about 200 titles now and that's about a hundred a year basically. It's actually more than that, you know, we're publishing maybe 20 a month or something now. So that's grown significantly. It basically makes us a mid-side press. I mean, Random House publishes maybe double that, forty, fifty a month or something so they're not really that far ahead of us and they're dying and I’m growing so the other thing is that we're reaching these writers better, top notch writers through the web, like you say, they're finding me. Sometimes people ask me, like, 'how do you find these writers?' and I say, 'I don't do a thing, I mean, I’m not doing anything', I did way back when in like 2006, I was really hitting the streets and everything but nowadays I don't have to do anything, they find me and if anything it's all about how I interact with them which is what we were talking about before, that personal touch which to me of being a writer I tell them what they want to hear and I’m able to deliver what they want and then that pretty much seals the deal. There's really nothing else to discuss cos they're very excited about what World Audience has to offer because we're able to fulfill their needs in many, many, many ways. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">So let me ask you this, then: given that fact, given, you know, social media, given what I’ve just now talked about with writers and then what you're talking about, you know, on the web and your Webalizer which I have. I use 75% of what you're describing I understand but that other 25 is still a mystery to me. I need to probably take a course or something.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153);">Let me turn to the future now. What do you think, cos of course publishing is dying, especially in America - printed old school publishing - what do you see is the future, like where are you going to be in a year from now? If you could talk a little bit about your writers, have you seen the quality improve? I know you're publishing more than just stories, it used to be just a story magazine and now you have all this other artwork and things, so where do you see yourself going in the near future?</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MW</span><br />The magazine has sort of come full circle. I mean, when I started it was an online magazine. It branched out from a magazine that I ran at university with a friend of mine. It was like a boy's own adventure magazine, sort of post modern 1940s thing, guys' short stories, and occasionally poetry, poetry was used to fill pages when we had gaps and things and we used to have ads that my co-editor used to create - or we used to create together - and they were sort of tongue in cheeks ads from... You see them if you can buy the magazines and I don't know the names of them off by heart but they're things like corsets for men, and wigs and nose straighteners and all these crazy things they used to have in magazines, so we had that, right, and that was more or less stories that were illustrated with pictures. And then it got too big in the end. And my idea was to take it to a website and I’d been designing for a few years so I could do websites and my idea was to do a website that was a monthly thing and it would take me no work at all, it would be easy, I wouldn't have anything to do, and of course I was just totally naive in the thing cos it took me twice as much work as it did previously when we were doing the printed magazine. Now, my co-editor, he was going to go in with me, in the end he was too busy so I took it on myself. And then what I did is I advertised to the authors I’d already published and then started scouring the web like you're talking about, advertising. I had all this spam software that you can get and I was just sending to everywhere, you know, really making a pest of myself, and likewise now I don't have to do that, people just come to me; I'm not trying to sound grandiose but they know of the magazine, they do a search on Google and they find you, you know. Where do I see Skive going in a year? I think you asked me that last year. I'm not really sure. I mean, there are things like Kindle, and there's a Sony reader as well. You're really into ebooks, and you [were] talking for a long time about the big ebook revolution which, hey, if it comes about, fantastic although, you know, people tend to like books more than they like electronic readers. Where's my magazine going to be? I'm not really sure.<br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">End of Part 3. </span><span>(Part 4 coming soon...)<br /><br /></span><br /><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-16080882748045166892009-09-29T21:18:00.000+10:002009-09-29T21:30:49.678+10:00SHOTGUN WEDDING - A Short Story of Horror, well, kinda...<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">-</span><br />by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Matthew Glenn Ward</span><br /><br />How was I to know that wearing a condom can actually increase the chances of getting a ghoul pregnant.<br /><br />My ladylove’s name is Elizabeth Wonderplowe. She is forever 17. She’s 17 and so am I.<br /><br />Elizabeth died of plague in 1851. In 1996, I threw myself off a cliff, and thanks to a litterbug and a rusty 1972 Holden Kingswood, instead of the dramatically romantic demise of drowning in the ocean, I just broke my neck on the diff of a very common and lacklustre Australian sedan.<br /><br />So, Elizabeth and I lived 145 years apart, but we both died at age 17. Quite romantic, isn’t it? We have everything in common. We both like music, but we do have different tastes in bands. Me, I like late 1970s punk. She is more into circa 1850s traveling minstrels singing about the gold rush.<br /><br />Elizabeth is pregnant, ‘with zombie’. Her father, the right honorable Cleveland Wonderplowe, sneered as he thrust a gun in my ribs. Shotgun weddings shouldn’t be a worry because you’d think there’d be no pain when you’re a ghost, but the funny thing is there is pain, and sorrow, and also happiness. This didn’t used to be the way, the old timers tell me. But it all changed a long time ago...<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />The story goes that in 1714 God and the Devil got drunk together to reconcile old differences. They spent an afternoon quaffing tequila. Well, they laughed. They cried. They stared blankly at a blaring jukebox saying they had wasted their lives. God said he was sorry he lost his temper that day he threw the Devil out of Heaven and into Hell. The Devil forgave him, and said he, too, had a confession, that he had disguised himself as God and had had his way with God’s wife while God was away trying to swing things in the favour of the Christians during Crusades II.<br /><br />This last confession infuriated God so much that he slapped the Devil in the face with a leather glove, in essence challenging him to a duel. Pearl-handled cosmic cannons at dawn. In the atmosphere on the other side of The Sun.<br /><br />St. Peter was God’s second. The Devil initially chose God as his second, then after God gave The Devil a WTF look The Devil decided to be his own second.<br /><br />God thought about St. Peter’s suggestion of swapping the Devil’s cosmic ammunition for silver-dipped martyrs from other faiths, but he thought better of it knowing that he’d never get any sleep, what with all that guilt.<br /><br />So, there they were, God and the Devil, back-to-back, Good and Evil in the fight to end all fights.<br /><br />Well, to cut a long story a little shorter than it could have been, they both turned and fired at exactly the same time. 500,000 warheads the size of mountains collided with each other causing such a tumult that both God and the Devil were thrust back into twin black holes. The kings of Good and Evil were crushed down to the size of carbon bees, and they drifted into the blackness.<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />Heaven and Hell ceased to exist that day, I was told. No longer would God and the Devil intervene in the lives of people on the planet Earth.<br /><br />And so, here I was in a cemetery, never to leave, all because two old friends who became enemies decided to become friends again.<br /><br />Those who come to a place like this can never get out as there are invisible boundaries that zap you if you try. The individuals look like they did the day they died; they sleep, don’t have to eat but can if they want to. We’re stuck here forever because there’s no longer a Heaven or Hell to go to. And we are invisible to the living so if they come here, they can’t help.<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />The guests started arriving. I went on my last night of freedom last night, drinking blood & wine cocktails from the skull of a Dadaist who wanted his head buried in the cemetery and his torso burned in the crematorium. I was taken to a ‘strip club’ which was really a secluded part of the Catholic section where ravens watched from tall trees as Potato Famine teen girls from the year 1847 did lap dances in my gracious lap.<br /><br />My now heavily pregnant bride appeared, stumbled up the aisle, escorted by her father who looked at me with one eye while he bent down to pick up the other that had fallen out and rolled away. The guests cheered, and some of the women cried. Boer War veterans toyed with their medals.<br /><br />When Elizabeth got to the altar, our zombie baby chose then to fall out and onto the ground, as zombie babies are wont to do. The matron of honour wiped it down with a souvenir 1902 Coronation hanky, and everyone applauded as the zombie baby stood up on its own - and I was amazed to see it was actually born in a tiny suit!<br /><br />The ghost priest smiled in that way only priests do at weddings.<br /><br />Then the zombie baby brought forth a velvet cushion with two rings. I noticed the rings had stones that were black, shiny and mysterious. My future father-in-law had said before the ceremony that he had acquired them from somewhere but wouldn’t say exactly.<br /><br />I put one ring on Elizabeth’s ring finger. She put the other ring on my finger.<br /><br />We exchanged vows. We kissed.<br /><br />Everyone was ecstatic as we walked arm-in-arm between the graves. Hundreds of ghouls applauded us and threw maggots, cos rice can swell in a pigeon’s stomach and choke them to death.<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />That night, Elizabeth and I lay in opened stone caskets in our own wedding present from her parents: a stone sarcophagus. After some spine-melting lovemaking, she held me tight and I her as well. Everything was perfect.<br /><br />Our wedding rings on our fingers shone in the moonlight that seeped in through the crack in the roof of our sarcophagus. Then the strange black stones on the rings seemed to move. I heard a ‘tink tink’ sound, like when you knock on a TV screen with your fingertips. Then tiny voices. I looked closely at both rings and could see little faces. Their mouths seemed to be saying: “Let me out! Let me out!” One figure had a white beard. The other, horns.<br /><br /><br />END<br /><br />This story has been accepted to be published in issue 7 of <span style="font-style: italic;">House of Horror</span> (UK) out Dec 1st 2009.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399681824003749276.post-62703311034973126812009-09-26T02:03:00.000+10:002009-09-26T02:07:49.911+10:00DASH - Friday Flash - 25 September 2009This was a 200 word challenge at Critters Bar. The word prompt was dash<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DASH</span><br />BY <span style="font-weight: bold;">MATTHEW WARD</span><br /><br /><br />IM WORKING FOR AN EDITOR WHO HAS A DASH POLICY / HYPHENS ENDASHES EMDASHES ALL IRK HIM SO ALL OF US IN THIS BACKWOODS NEWSPAPER DONT USE THEM // THE SEASONS PASS BY / IM NOW A MAN IN MY SIXTIES AND ACCORDING TO CONVENTION READY TO RETIRE TO MY FRONT PORCH WHERE ILL READ THE SAME PAPER IVE BEEN WORKING ON FOR THE LAST TWENTYFIVE YEARS UNTIL I DIE / AND LIKE CLOCKWORK I AM GIVEN A CLOCK ON MY LAST DAY AND EVERYONE IS THERE EXCEPT THE EDITOR WHO WITH MAGNIFYING GLASS IS SEARCHING FOR DASHES IN HIS PRINTOUT AS HE DOESNT BELIEVE THE SEARCH AND REPLACE IN WORD ACTUALLY WORKS / I THANK MY COLLEAGUES / SOME CRY // I STAY LATE THAT NIGHT WITH SILLY PARTY HAT ON / JUST BEFORE THE MORNING EDITION HAS GONE TO PRESS I CREEP INTO THE EDITORS OFFICE AND SEE HIM SLEEPING ON HIS DESK / MY LAST JOB IS TO GIVE THE PRINTERS THE GO AHEAD // NEXT DAY I SIT ON MY PORCH / THE PAPER OPEN / EVERY SPACE IN THE EDITION REPLACED WITH A DASH / ALL-MY-DOING / MY-SMILE<br /><br />END<div class="blogger-post-footer"><!-- Begin BidVertiser code -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript1.1" SRC="http://bdv.bidvertiser.com/BidVertiser.dbm?pid=285217&bid=696960" type="text/javascript"></SCRIPT>
<noscript><a href="http://www.bidvertiser.com/bdv/BidVertiser/bdv_advertiser.dbm">internet advertising</a></noscript>
<!-- End BidVertiser code --></div>Matthew Glenn Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16753753709933957420noreply@blogger.com3