Deep sadness It wasn't a flash start. Just as I finished watching the New Year's eve fireworks on the tellie, I received a telephone call from my youngest brother Greg to tell me that my younger brother, Murray had died of a heart attack.
The immediate feeling was of shock and then over the following months, periods of almost bottomless sadness. We didn't spend a great deal of time together, but when we did we bounced off on another's company and laughed and drank and enjoyed good times. Too young - he was only 57. At his memorial ceremony there was a large crowd. He had circles within circles of social contacts and a string of friends and lovers and his adoring and adorable children Lachlan and Anneke. His great soccer exploits were also remembered by many of his team mates.
Someone wrote about him in Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray_Barnes). I still and will always miss him.
The year passed, sometimes very slowly, not helped by the passing of my good friend Harvey Henley in July following just 18 months after his retirement from a brain tumour and only about a year from diagnosis. We had spent many years together in Armidale as our age-matched children grew and had many adventures into the New England wild country. Vale old mate. But enough.
Work I have been working with Broken Hill Prospecting Ltd http://www.bhpl.biz/about-us/our-team/board-of-directors/ as a part-time geological consultant and in July was invited to become a Non-Executive Director. This has been a terrific role to get into as it has kept me interested in rocks, mineral deposits and Broken Hill, some of my long term interests and I am working with a terrific group of people. My first Annual General Meeting with the company in November was a milestone as I had to be re-elected to the board
In May after a conference and company meetings in Broken Hill I went adventuring across western NSW with brother in law Warwick. We visited old mines at Broken Hill (Daydream http://www.daydreammine.com.au/ , art galleries, aboriginal sites at Mutawintji National Park (especially the petroglyphys site which I had originally visited as a teenager), and the opal mining town of White Cliffs, where we stayed in the underground motel.
Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Lou has been successfully running a personalised tutoring service and providing intervention and support for children to help them get the most out of school and life. She has been busy most afternoons and getting some terrific improvements in kids, some of whom were really struggling at school. https://sites.google.com/site/actiontutoringwindella/
Travels The latter part of the year was a major improvement. Younger daughter, Diana, has been living in Hanoi Vietnam after a posting with Engineers without Borders. So Lou and I visited and the three of us travelled for three weeks from northern Vietnam - Hanoi, Hanlong, Hue, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Dalat to Ho Chi Minh city and the Mekong deltain the south.
I was a terrific trip and we saw some beautiful sights and stayed in some superb hotels. Food and service were great but it still is a very poor country, very much in transition. We were impressed with the overall sense of goodwill and community in the whole country.
Back in Australia for just two weeks and we headed off again, this time to north island New Zealand. Who wouldn't like New Zealand - volcanoes, gardens, scenery, great food and wine and great roads. Wellington, train to Hamilton, west coast, Taupo via volcanoes, Rotorua.
The second of our two weeks was at the famous Waihi gold mining town for the Australian Mining History Association conference http://www.mininghistory.asn.au/ . Excursions to old mining areas around the Coromandel Peninsula were fabulous, including an underground historical pumping station in an old gold mine now part of a walk. http://www.thecoromandel.com/new-zealand/Karangahake-gorge-walks/
The historic Thames School of Mines http://www.historicplaces.org.nz/placestovisit/waikatocoromandel/thamesschoolofmines.aspx was a highlight.
Local food and activities Living ten minutes from the Hunter Valley wineries and restaurants has its advantages and Lou and I make regular visits to favourite restaurants, generally during the week when the Sydney hoards are absent. This year's favourites are Mojos on Wilderness Lane, Bimbadgen, and the dependable standby The Cellar at Hunter Valley Gardens. In Newcastle, Tartine in Hamilton is always a winner.
Hobbies and stuff I like I have attended the Maitland Photographic Society
regularly, the Maitland Historical Society is good value, National Trust from time to time, Maitland Regional Art Gallery functions, Look Who's Talking run by Maitland Library. And for a chat amongst mainly old farts it is the Hunter Socratic Society. Retirees from the Department meet twice a year for lunch in Martin Place leading to another train trip to Sydney. Virtually all of the St Leonards transferees to Maitland have now retired or left.
One of my goals in retirement has been to scan the thousands of black and white negatives I have from photos I took, and rarely printed, from our eight years spent in Broken Hill. This task is now largely finished and there have been some great finds.
Surprising for some, I have enjoyed Twitter @robbarnes112 and frequently engage in social discussions of various types. I have a number of twitter "friends" who I know online but have never met. Its immediacy also allows contributions to radio discussions, which can be interesting.
House and Garden Living on an acre has its challenges and there was a large established garden when we bought the house. Still Lou has put her evergreen thumb to great use and there are new and very productive patches around the place as well an a fabulous rose display around the front circular driveway. My favourite is the extensive herb garden, which we use constantly. We try to include something from the garden in our meals every day.
And we now have solar hot water and a modest collection of solar panels. We missed the over-generous early schemes but are happy to see out energy use fall (although the bills still rise).
We hope everyone is traveling well through life and we wish everyone a safe and relaxing summer break. - Rob and Lou
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