This will hurt me...

There is always one joker... Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston. February 2012. The Porcupine is a novel by Englishman Julian Barnes that was originally published in Bulgarian [ Бодливо свинче]. This should give us a very strong clue as to the identity of which post-communist country the story takes place. The novel concerns the trial of the former communist leader of Bulgaria, and its effects on both the central protagonists of that trial, as well as the broader community. The real strength of the book is the complexity of its characters. There is no clear ‘black and white’ here and the tones in which the former dictator and the new democratic government’s representatives are painted are very much grey. Barnes has done an excellent job of overcoming the certainties of Cold War triumphalism and creating human characters (especially given that the book was released in 1992, with events still very fresh in the mind). The point of the book seems to be more than exploring c...

Flinders Street Station, Melbourne, in glorious colour. April, 2010. A few thoughts... A colour photograph can give a very different impression to a black and white, despite being taken mere seconds apart. Australia got their just desserts in the World Cup against Germany. Australian soccer fans are annoying. The Australian Soccer Team are annoying. Soccer Australia The Australian Football Federation are annoying. Soccer is annoying. Ezra has discovered Bob the Builder in a big way. However, he says " Bitte Ahh " instead of "Bob the Builder". Flinders Street Station, Melbourne, in moody black and white. April, 2010.

As I'm tidying up my back catalogue of photos, here's one from way back in the new year period of Henry and Jen ry riding the rails!

The Orient Express. The Trans-Siberian Railway. The Deccan Queen Express. The Don River Railway. We've done them all one.

Sometimes the process of lining kids up for a photograph can be a more interesting photograph of some kids lined up.

Occasionally I point the camera away from small children and try my hand at artsy fartsy photographs. I took the opportunity to snap a few moody black and whites (with dirt magnets in tow, of course) at the railyards at the Don River Railway. I reckon that the top one has a Dorothea Lange-vibe about it. Whaddaya reckon?

The notion of visiting a train yard and riding the rails as a holiday treat might seem odd to those readers blessed with active passenger railways. Alas, here in Tasmania, we've not had any passenger rail lines active since the early 1960s! Thus, Henry and Ezra felt blessed to experinece the brief ride on the Don River Railway just outside of Devonport last week. Indeed, Henry paid a visit to the driver mid ride, and got to experience driving the thing first hand. As a bonus, we all survived! I will admit that I am a fan of rail. Travelling the tracks, the clickety clack, whistles and all that jazz fires me up . Anyone who has ever had the privilege of making love on the night sleeper from Venice to Vienna will know what I'm talking about here. However, we are here to talk Theme Thursday , and the theme is most definitely not “how to prevent severe leg cramping on the overnight sleeper from Venice to Vienna”. No, the theme is SURFACE. Which brings me to today’s photograph. T...

While journeying through the magnificent north west coast of Tasmania (the greatest coast in the known universe), we happened upon one of the world's great rail journeys: the Orient Express Don River Railway ! As you can see, Ezra spent a portion of his trip working on his dimples.