Mary Poppins Festival

Mary Poppins

The historic city of  Maryborough in Queensland, Australia,
has a unique connection to the world’s most famous nanny that no other place can claim,  and is about to celebrate it’s annual Mary Poppins Festival beginning June 26th to July 3rd. 

Fun and games for the whole week!

Mary Poppins’ author P.L. Travers was born in the historic town of Maryborough, Queensland, Australia, in 1899.  Pamela Travers was born Helen Lyndon Goff in the residence above a bank, where her father was the bank manager.
In 1924 she moved to England seeking literary fame and fortune, using the name Pamela Travers for her writing, and it was in 1934 that the first ‘Mary Poppins’ novel about the magical nanny was published.

The city of Maryborough is very proud of it’s link with Mary, and so honors her annually with a spectacular week long festival in the streets. One of the local ladies plays the part of Mary in appropriate attire and walks around the streets talking to enthralled children who gaze at her with wide open eyes! Of course, she carries the obligatory umbrella and bag!

Bagpipes, parades & Mary with her bag and umbrella dressed for the occasion!

Lots of fun!

 
There are games, competitions, food stalls, music, pipe bands, horses and carriages, chimney sweep competitions, pram races (locals dressed up as nannies pushing their charges down the street, and the highlight would be sharing  ’high tea’ with Mary on the last day of the festival!

These are some photographs I took at last year’s festival.
My hubby entered the chimney sweep competition and won a prize for his dancing efforts whilst pretending to sweep a chimney – I didn’t know he could dance!

My 'chimney sweep' hub with Mary

Best View. The whole town turned out!

 

We are looking forward to this years event which starts this Saturday with free rides on a miniature steam train round the park for children (big kids too!),  school bands competing, dog shows, art shows –  and of course food stalls everywhere you look!

Click here if you would like to see more photographs and information.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge-Morning

This is what I woke up to this morning when I looked out my window . . . .

Morning Glory

 

then I walked down to the beach and saw this . . .

Morning Has Broken

Brighten Your Day With a Song

I received this video clip in an email from a friend this morning, and it was the best start to the day
I have had in a while, so I had to share it.

Relax – sit back – listen – watch . . . enjoy! 

Photos of Exuma Islands put the music of Zac Brown Band’s “Knee Deep” – the perfect song

for the most beautiful water in the Bahamas.

Being ill is such a Waste of Time

We have been in our new house for three weeks now and it’s starting to look a bit more like home. We have worked incessantly every day and believe it or not, have unpacked all our boxes – yes, every single box – all gone – even the empty ones from the garage!

Our Family Room-not a box in sight!

 

However, during our first two weeks in our new home, I picked up some kind of virus (I hardly ever get sick), so I have spent the last five days in bed with a fever, aching limbs, nauseous – and so unbelievably tired.  I was useless, I couldn’t lift a finger to help my hubby; all I wanted to do was sleep – and I did!

I could hear my hubby emptying boxes in the other rooms and putting stuff away, but I couldn’t have cared less. Not like me again – I like to be in the thick of things! Not once in my delirious state did I ever think about what still needed to be done in the house, so  my poor hubby coped with everything - as well as looking after me!

Then yesterday I knew I was starting to feel better because I was thinking of jobs that needed to be done. Good as my lovely hubby is, he has no idea how to hang drapes, arrange the crystal in the cabinets – you know – the types of jobs where most men are absolutely useless!  I also needed to make some home-made soup, my dog Poppy needed a bath, I should be going outside in the garden to see what needs to be done, I have to get my vegie patch started soon – and so on – my mind was running wild!
I didn’t do any of that yesterday, the hub made me stay where I was, but today I was rarin’ to go! I got some of the drapes hung and made some soup – and that was the end of me; I went back to bed exhausted – and slept! I couldn’t believe it, that’s not me.
I hate being sick.

Anyway, tomorrow is a new day . . .

Just want to bring you up to date on everything so here are some photos I took before I got sick.

This walkway winds along by the ocean, so no excuse for not getting some kind of exercise either walking or biking. It’s lined with trees, so nice and shady for our hot sun.

 

The road leading up to the boat ramp and the beach

 

The Beach