BITS AND BOBS…

I’m going to be changing the format of this blog a little bit. I have been trying to get too much information into each post. I have books, photos, daytime excursions and on and on. I have decided I am going to do shorter posts but maybe more often. As a reader I’m a tortoise, not a hare. The same goes for writing posts. So I’m going to adjust myself to that realisation. 😃. One day there may be a photography focus. The next will be about a book I read.  I want to mention entries in journals. I want to share some interesting books from my shelf. I want almost a diary format. 

I want to write about the walks I do with a camera around Hobart or southern Tasmania. I want to make the information for others to comment back and not overwhelm them.

I have two things today. One book. One excursion and just a couple of photos. If you love hearing about books but not interested in photography you can just skip the photo ones. If you enjoy the photos but not so much the book talk then that can be for you. If you just want to hear about life rambles then you’ve got it!! The Penguin will continue to be a part of the blog and I thought I’ll take him with me more often and get photos of him out and about. I’ll continue to dress him in themes that match the posts.

 Life is busy and I know some of you don’t have a lot of time to read long posts that cover too much info. So I’ll keep them shorter. I hope it works. I enjoy hearing from my readers so much. So now I’ll move on with the topics of today. Stay tuned for the change. Maybe I should turn Penguin in for a tortoise- (joke-I’m too attached).

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I finished the book group’s book The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley for Thursday’s book group meeting coming up.

Good Reads gives it 3.5 stars. I did not enjoy it at all. 

The Ministry of Time is a clever mix of time travel, romance, and intrigue. AI explains: 

In a near-future Britain, a secret government agency discovers time travel and brings people from the past into the present to study them. A young civil servant becomes a “bridge,” assigned to live with and guide a 19th-century Arctic explorer, helping him adjust to modern life.

As they navigate everything from technology to social norms, their relationship deepens into something romantic—but the project itself hides darker motives, and things begin to unravel into danger and conspiracy.

At its heart, the book explores big ideas:

• what it means to belong in a different time
• identity and cultural displacement
• and whether love can survive across history

It’s both entertaining and thoughtful—part love story, part spy thriller, and part reflection on history colliding with the present.

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I thought the premise was interesting. But I didn’t like the structure of the book and how of the four people brought back from centuries past, only one seemed to be very developed and then that just melted into a big romance with his “bridge”. Next thing you know there are then people from the future trying to wipe everyone out. I just thought the whole book was ridiculous. HOWEVER…..I know there are people who really enjoyed this book. I just am not one of them. It is imaginative, I’ll give it that. I do look forward to the discussion Thursday of our book club members and I’ll let you know how that goes.

Yesterday I had an interesting day. The Tasmanian Museum organised a trip with Ian Terry who produced a wonderful historical photographic journey of a Tasmanian historical figure, George Augustus Robinson. The trip was based on the photographic book he produced of the places Robinson visited along with excerpts from the man’s diary. A great deal of research went into this project and it is wonderful.

George Augustus Robinson was a British-born colonial official best known for his role in early 19th-century Tasmania during the violent conflict between European settlers and Aboriginal Tasmanians, often referred to as the Black War. He led what he called a “friendly mission” to persuade Aboriginal people to relocate, promising safety and support, and ultimately facilitated their removal to Flinders Island. (Flinders Island is a small island off the northern coast of mainland Tas in Bass Strait). While Robinson saw himself as a protector, his actions contributed to the displacement, suffering, and dramatic population decline of Aboriginal communities. He later became Chief Protector of Aborigines in the Port Phillip District (now Victoria), continuing similar policies.

We had a bus load of about 45 people who signed up for this excursion. We left Hobart at 8:30 am and returned a little after 5pm.  I sat next to a lovely woman who I’d not met before and we had really fun conversations. All of the people on the trip seemed to be lovely and I also saw two others who I had met in the past and chatted to.

We explored the forests of the central highlands of Tasmania. We enjoyed  a couple of longer walks in the forests and the information of where Robinson had had meetings with Aboriginal people back in the 1800s was explained to us. It was a great way to learn history of this terrible time in Tasmanian history. The forests were beautiful and I did take some photos of which I will share more of.

A very old Cider Gum tree. They are disappearing from our state due to global warming. It isn’t as cold here in winter for their seeds to propagate.

I’ll leave you with this for today. I’ll be back to share a bery different type of book with you very soon.

Have a good week.

Is there a favourite forest you visit where you live?