Dear reader,

Please stick with me through the prosaic until I get to the personal.

Last Monday (21 March) was the officially observed public holiday for "Canberra Day" here in the Australian Capital Territory at the end of a 10 day festival period. (Also see a cultural overview of Canberra by the Australian Government with quite a few links; the very flash [Macromedia Flash 6] display at http://www.virtualcanberra.gov.au by the National Capital Development Commission, and follow the blue bouncing balls, etc; and, there's also http://www.celebratecanberra.com that's more of an augmented diary.)

The actual Canberra Day was 12 March, commemorating the day (12 March 1913) that Canberra city was officially given this name by Lady Denman, the wife of the then Governor-General Lord Denman at a ceremony at Kurrajong Hill (now Capital Hill and the site of the present Parliament House), and building of the new capital officially commenced with the 'laying of its first stone'.


Now, some personal observations.

a. I used the holiday mostly to clear out my forlorn looking former go-to-work car, a Mitsubishi Sigma (aka Galant). It's engine is 'terminal' and is in pieces. The car will be going to the knacker's yard any day soon. (For those not familiar with the term, it's a reference to knackers' yards where old horses were sent to be turned into glue. Get it?)

b. A formation of three Australian Army UH-1 Iroquois "Huey" helicopters flew nearly right over our house. These are among the last serving, and have been of immeasurable use in the Indonesian provice of Aceh that was devastated by the 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. (The last of the Australian troops of the relief effort pull out today, Friday 24 March 2005.)

What more is there to say?
_____
Peter