Never to young: Timber and working with wood show

These young people were as at home at the timber show as the older people. Carpenters, cabinet-makers and craftspeople of the future!

Beautiful timbers: Timber and working with wood exhibition

These timbers are so inviting, so tactile. Not many people could walk past and resist running their hands across these beautiful pieces.

Rummaging : Timber and Working With Wood show

Looking for treasure....at the Timber and Working With Wood exhibition

 It looked like great fun fossicking through this trailer of superb looking pieces of timber for the one that was just right for you!

In the background, the lovely building is the Royal Hall of Industries at the old Sydney Showground at Moore Park.

Fantasy

Sex obviously still sells

Timber and Working With Wood exhibition

Etching at the Timber and Working With Wood exhibition

Buying at the Timber and Working With Wood exhibition

Demonstrations (TImber and Working With Wood exhibition)

Rapt attention as exhibitors at the Timber and Working With Wood exhibition demonstrate their products.

Pushing and prodding (TImber and Working With Wood exhibition)

The Timber and Working With Wood exhibition is an opportunity to test out all those bits of equipment a bloke (well, it was mainly blokes!) could ever want!

TAFE and WorldSkills Australia - Ben

On Saturday I visited the Timber and Working With Wood exhibition in Sydney. 

In October this year, twenty nine of Australia's best trades apprentices and trainees will compete against the best that 54 countries can offer at the Global Skills Challenge in London.

This is Ben Cooper who is training in Cabinetmaking at Lidcombe TAFE College. Ben is passionate about cabinetmaking. You can read more about him and WorldSkills by clicking here.

The expert workign with Ben is Jason Hindes, who is self-employed at JF Hindes Cabinetmaking. He was a silver medallist at WorldSkills International in 1989. Jason wants Ben to be confident that he has performed to his best.

TAFE and WorldSkills Australia - Gustavo and Ian

Ian Vickery and Gustavo Asciutto

On Saturday I visited the Timber and Working With Wood exhibition in Sydney. I was thrilled to come across some TAFE (Technical and Further Education) students and their expert trainers, TAFE teachers, demonstrating their skills. In these photos, meet expert Ian Vickery, and competitor, Gustavo Asciutto. More about them below.

In October this year, twenty nine of Australia's best trades apprentices and trainees will compete against the best that 54 countries can offer at the Global Skills Challenge in London.

Gustavo is competing in the Painting and Decorating section. He is training at Granville campus of TAFE in Sydney. His says his aim is to be the best he can, and hopefully win gold at the international competition. Ian teaches at Newcastle TAFE, was a competitior himself in 1989, and has helped train competitiors in 2003, 2007 and 2009. To read more about Gustavo and Ian, click here.

Autumn ----> winter colour

In much of the world, the official change of season is at the equinoxes and solstices. In Australia, seasons change "officially" by calendar date: Spring - 1 September; Summer - 1 December; Autumn - 1 March; Winter - 1 June. Of course, plants don't read calendars, and late autumn colour is still very present even when the official designation is winter. These were taken last weekend. Indigenous seasons are another thing again, and vary from place to place.

Sandstone wall

This beautiful sandstone wall runs along the railway line near Central station, on Elizabeth St. It has recently been cleaned. Sandstone is the "Sydney stone", beautifully exploited in colonial times for building. Click here to see more examples of Sydney sandstone.

Battle of the Bulge

Centennial Towers at Surry Hills near Central Station.

This is just a product of me playing with my new Canon G12 camera with the fisheye lens- like feature.

Not something you'd want to do every day, but it's fun experimenting with the features on a new camera!

Passengers

My last picture from the Great Train Festival held at Central Station over the past weekend.

Loco 3642

Steaming away



To read more about this locomostive and its class, click here.





Loco 3526

Built at the NSW Government Railway's Eveleigh workshops in 1917, loco 3526 remained in service until 1967. It was restored between 1990 and 2004.

For more about this locomotive, click here.

The Southern Aurora

The Southern Aurora's stainless steel carriages epitomised luxury overnight rail travel between Sydney and Melbourne from the early 1960s. The later Indian Pacific carriages between Sydney and Perth were almost identical; I remember spending 3 days to Perth, and 3 days back, playing cards and listening to the radio in a Club Car very similar to this in 1972.

I especially love the etched glass lyrebird.

Meals were freshly cooked in the galley kitchen, and served in three sittings in the dining car.

The carriages were based on American long-distance luxury trains. The first run was on 16 April, 1962, on the newly opened standard gauge rail line. Before that, passengers had to change trains at Albury, from the NSW 4ft 8.5inch gauge line to the Victorian 5ft 3 inch. Competition from road and especially airline traffic saw the end of the Southern Aurora on 3 August 1986.

Sydney Great Train Expo

Steam engines, diesels, old carriages, all on display at Central Station this weekend.

Locomotive 3265 was bulit in 1901 by Beyer, Peacock in Manchester, England. It was painted maroon in 1933 and was used regularly as the "Newcastle Businessmen's Express" during the 1930s.  In 1968, after having travelled 3 million kilometres, it was retired, and relocated to what is now the Powerhouse Museum.

Restoration by volunteers began in 1998, as far as possible in line with its original specifications. It re-entered service on Sep 20, 2009, and hauls occasional steam tours run by rail heritage groups. Its "home" these days is  'Trainworks'  at Thirlmere.

For more about this loco in particular, and its class in general, click here.

(Canon G12, using 'Nostalgia' feature, giving the photo an 'aged' look. Yes, I'm having fun with my new camera!)

On the sidelines.....

Sometimes, when it's cold, and windy, and you're sitting on the sidelines, the humble sausage roll is called for. What it lacks in nutritional goodness, it makes up for in - comfort?  That's my boy, Number 2, by the way.

These are amongst the first batch of pics taken with my brand new Canon G12 camera.

New graffiti, Maroubra - continuation from yesterday

While sitting in the car looking at the beach, along came a stencillist to place a new addition - the little paint pot-wielding logo.

It is familiar as a logo for one of the major paint companies, if not now, from some time ago. Anyone recognise it?

Graffiti, Maroubra

Yachts



Yachts at Middle Harbour Yacht Club, The Spit



Jason

here's his work



and here

Kate

Comrades

Good morning Fionie!