Showing posts with label Anzac Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anzac Day. Show all posts

Tuesday, 28 April 2015

Embrace the CRAZY.

 Don’t let the world change your smile.
Let your smile change the world.”
~ unknown
Embrace the CRAZY.
And I don’t mean me.
Though I’d be the FIRST one to say yes to a hug.
LIFE is crazy.
Unsettled.  
Changeable.
Apt words to describe it at the moment.
Whilst I’m a staunch proponent of change and the benefits it forces upon one, 
there comes a time when even I really need SOME things to remain static.
At least for a while.
This constant chasing to catch up, or adjust, is exhausting.
Mother Nature has been unsettled of late too.
From dark and stormy skies with accompanying wind and rain yesterday morning
to bright sunshine and blue skies in the afternoon.
It does make me smile.
Predictable -  Mother Nature is NOT.
I LOVE the moody weather though.
What others see as dismal, I see as dramatic.
It’s Mother Nature wearing one of her many guises.
Each and every day STILL has its beauty.
But in vastly different ways.
It’s only the rain that prevents me from capturing it.
Not many are brave enough
 ... or CRAZY enough ... 
to venture out when the weather’s THIS inclement.

‘Good morning’ IS an oxymoron of sorts. What can be good 
about a morning when you’re
NOT a morning person. 
The youngest lemming encapsulates
that completely
Yesterday’s weather had him snuggled up under his duvet
whilst the hound and I were out reveling in the wind and rain.
It’s these times out though, doing what I love, that keeps my sanity intact.
It’s the glue that holds the messy bits together.
It’s necessary.
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive; 
to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” 
~ Marcus Aurelius
An especially pertinent quote this week as we commemorate ANZAC Day and 
bear witness to the devastation and tremendous loss of life in Nepal.
We dressed the window for ANZAC Day too.

Thursday, 25 April 2013

The hound joined in the applause too ... as only she can!


We attended a beautiful ANZAC Day service in the village today.  The service is always so moving, especially in a small village like ours.  There are still servicemen living here who served in the Second World War and returned.  The families of those who lost their lives partake in the service too ... wearing the medals of their fallen family members in their honour.  It’s a beautiful and poignant reminder of the sacrifice made by those serving in the Army Corps.

I’ve been asked by several friends in SA why NZ commemorates Remembrance Day on April 25 instead of November 11 like the rest of the world.  NZ does BOTH .... commemorating Armistice Day on 11th November and Anzac Day on 25th April, but only Anzac Day is a public holiday.

Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first campaign that led to major casualties for Australian and New Zealand troops during the first World War.  30th April was the day news was received in NZ of the landing of the first troops on the Gallipoli peninsula in 1915.  The date 25th April was officially declared Anzac day in 1916.

The day now broadly commemorates ALL Australians and New Zealanders who served and died in all wars, conflicts and peace-keeping operations throughout the world, and the contribution of all those who suffered and served.

Paper poppies became part of the Anzac day commemorations by accident.  Poppies had been ordered for Armistice Day in 1921 but the ship that was delivering them was LATE.  The RSA (Returned Services Association) chose to keep them for the next commemorative service which happened to be Anzac day.  That date stuck as the new Poppy Day in New Zealand.

So there you have it.  The history of Anzac Day and the reason why we celebrate Poppy Day at the same time.



Most Anzac Day services are conducted at dawn ... something to do with the comradeship soldiers sought in those quiet peaceful moments before dawn, when in a war zone.  I can SO identify with that as I know how much I enjoy the serenity of my early morning rambles. I can only IMAGINE how the soldiers must have felt. 

Our village though now holds its service at 10am .... a much more civilized time of the day, particularly for the elderly.


It’s always well attended by the locals ... both young and old ... and their hounds!  We’d already walked the hound up to the view site and along the beach so she was quite happy to lie at our feet for the duration of the service.  It’s conducted at the memorial site in the village which is on the boardwalk just above the beach.  The Dignitaries get to sit down but us mere mortals have to stand up.

All went well until the end of the service when everyone applauded.  The hound chose to join in the applause too .... VERY vocally.  She WARBLED and HOWLED her appreciation, much to the amusement of those around us.

It was a wonderfully light-hearted end to a beautifully poignant memorial service.
Tonight's full moon

Thursday, 26 April 2012

I would rather have a life of "Oh well's" than "What if's" ....


“Your life is about everyone who’s life you touch, and it’s about the way in which you touch them. Neale Donald Walsch

Sometimes even the most positive amongst us have an ‘off’ day .... 


A page I like on FB put it most aptly today “Dear Life, I have a complete grasp on the fact that you are not fair ..... so please quit teaching me that lesson!”.  I couldn’t have said it better myself .... sometimes life ISN’T fair.


It’s not always easy giving yourself a good shake to put things right ... sometimes the screws that are loose just don’t want to fall back into the right place ... and besides, there’s not always a compliant body around to screw them back in.


It's not often we get to see a Bulldog on our beach ...
Yesterday, in addition to the onset of a migraine that’s been threatening to blitz me for a day or so, my faithful camera, that’s weathered all kinds of hazards including sea water, dust, sand, doggy nose art, rain, blizzards et al, malfunctioned .... and “lost” all my photos .... urgh .... BIG urgh!!!
.... and he was gorgeous ... in a Bulldog kind of way!


Apparently he can't swim .... it didn't stop him racing into
the waves with the hound.


I know, I know ... there’s worse things than can happen, but to me .... crocodile of note .... this was a biggie.


I’m an all or nothing person .... I don’t generally do grey .... when I commit myself to something, I do it with my whole being, with passion, with energy, with enthusiasm. When something goes wrong though I respond in the same way .... passionately .... which doesn’t always help. I don’t take advice ... I don’t ask for help .... I’m impatient .... I just want it fixed .... and I want it fixed NOW!!
.... and then Barney came to help!


... and boy .... can he swim fast!
I know my camera needs a service ... the fact that’s it’s having these “episodes” more and more frequently is testimony to that. I also know that there are ways and means of recovering so-called “lost” photos from an SD Card ... but I’m NOT a patient person ... trawling the net to find a means of doing this frustrates me hugely.


Fortunately for every volatile irrational reaction I have, there’s bound to be a member of my family who reacts in quite the opposite way. My photos have been “recovered” .... not the RAW version of them but the jpegs .... but that’s ok .... at least I HAVE them. When you see the ones I’ve used on my blog today, you’ll understand in a small way why I was so distressed at the thought of having lost them.
Indy giving her a kiss because Barney pinched her ball!


Yesterday I used my larger lens for the photos ... it was a trial really to see how well it would work on the beach ... and it was awesome! Oh well .... I guess that’s another lens now that’s going to be subjected to the same hazards as the camera ... but .... in being subjected to those same hazards it’s going to give me way more magical moments ... and THAT’S what my photography is all about.


I would rather have a life of “Oh well’s” than a life of “What if’s” even if it means I occasionally lose the plot!
The start of the parade ...


... and the lone Piper


I'll have one of these!!


It was lovely seeing so many people at the Anzac Day service.