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Created by KeefH Web Designs, September 19th, 2022, 8.18 AM A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog Motorhome trip No51: Sept 15th- 18th 2022 NOTTS->White House Beach C&MC Club Site, Beach Road, Kessingland, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 7RW ->NOTTS 335 miles MENU Introduction / Overview of Weekend You Tube video of all photos and videos Photo highlights and Norfolk / Suffolk "pals" camping memorabilia White House Beach caravan & motorhome club site, Kessingland George Orwell in Southwold Map of the Area Audiobook The end, tags etc. INTRODUCTION We had packed the van, mostly, the day before which was a good thing as it was spitting when we came to do the final packing up. Breakfasted and ready to leave soon after 9-ish Keef had a nightmare time trying to get the iPod touch to play music despite a good long try at it (much to Annie's annoyance) #technologyeh Note post return iPod touch all rebuilt from scratch after resetting ready for music on our next trip. We liked the Norfolk / Suffolk area so much that we are thinking of returning shortly but for a much longer spell, realistically a 4 hour drive each way for a long weekend now we are nearly Septuagenarians is a little too much, it was no issue for a weekend after work on a Friday way back when the boys were young , but that was just a fun escape from work sent with our dear pals, Pete & Joy and family. Anyhow we eventually left after filling up with diesel (wow that hurt price wise, well over £100 for a tank nowadays) #WalletOuch 😉 There is no direct route to Suffolk and Norfolk as we have found over the years, i.e., no motorways so it's mostly A roads like A52 and A47, basically taking us from home via Spalding, Grantham (famed for the Iron Lady), King's Lynn, Dereham, Beccles, Lowestoft and Kessingland. We did stop for some pre prepared tuna mayo cobs at Frensham just before Dereham. #yummy We arrived at the campsite, White House beach at about 2.20 pm this Thursday to check in. Site arrival times have altered recently being 1 pm, and what with the hassles the club has had with its new booking system for both customers and wardens alike we were glad to arrive a little later, there was only a minimal queue. On the last day it looked like Bedlam with so many caravans and motorhomes arriving at the same time. We introduced ourselves to the lovely wardens Helen & Neil who coincidentally knew our pals Lawrence and Yvonne as they had worked with them in Airdrie Scotland and even more coincidentally after Helen rang me a couple of times, we established she taught at a junior school in Long Eaton in an earlier life and Neil came from Stabbo (Stapleford) where his parents still live, what a small world we live in. Anyhow we set off to find a hard standing pitch, we selected pitch 93, set up, it started to rain. It was a good flat pitch and quite close to both the amenities block and the nearby water / bins / ablutions site. Returning to tell Helen about our pitch number we asked for an extension till 4 pm on Sunday to allow time for our Sunday lunch at the Waterfront restaurant. Fully expecting to pay, Helen said it was at her discretion so all good there, thanks Helen.! There are an even number of grass and hard standing pitches on this site with a couple of rows beach side, but they are first come, first served and we weren't first #haha It was fairly windy but had now stopped raining, so we decided to go for a stroll on what turned out to be a very pebbly beach and a long hop to the sea, as it turned out literally, Keef foolishly thought it was sand so wore shorts and flip flops. #ouch We walked over the carefully laid old tyre inners down to the water's edge, some interesting beach plant life and old boats but huge waves and a sharp incline to the sea, so turned back, up to the Sailor's home Inn and nosed in at the Waterfront restaurant. Took quite a few pictures on route. The it was back to the motorhome for a relax and early tea. Spam, Hash Browns and Baked Beans #carboverload and yoghurt for pud. Early evening Keef made use of the TV aerial hook up on the post with his cable and we watched some "real-time" TV including the wonderful Repair shop. Friday was raining most of the morning, probably good for farmers but not motorhomers #haha Keef spied out a pitch for Pete & Joy as the site was very busy and not many folks were leaving. Pitch 117. What I hadn't realised was this was not the pitch without awning P&J had booked, oh well no worries they arrived about 1.30 pm and got set up. We said our greetings, K doing some scones and jam and then we headed off for the Sailor's Home Inn up the road for a jolly good catch up, what a fabulous pub that sold 5 different types of local real ale, we were of course forced to try most but Keef settled on "Gone Fishing" and Pete their "Best", the ladies having wine and Cinzano respectively. What a fun time. 271 years around the table now. In the evening P&J cooked a lovely Lasagna with garlic bread followed by Tiramisu, accompanied obviously by an appropriate amount of alcohol, well why not, we were all on holiday #suchfun Saturday Pete worked out which bus and from where we could use our old folks passes into either Lowestoft or Southwold. As we all love Southwold that was the choice. It's a short walk up the hill to Wash Lane where either the 164 or 99 (differing bus companies) leave from. It's about a 30-minute trip which would normally cost about £3.70. We caught the 164 which came along first. It stops at the far end of the High Street. What a lovely place Southwold is. Weather wasn't bad although a little grey and likely to rain. We resaw many of the shops and architecture we had seen on our previous trip to Southwold, not in the motorhome but in a family rented holiday cottage BLOG 89, we then walked along the beach front, waves lashing at the defense wall, past all those lovely beach huts, expensive to buy and about 9 available to hire (£24 a day). We stopped to watch 3 surfers in the huge waves by the pier and a nut case swimming in the sea, it takes all sort, he looked a little blue in my humble opinion #haha We then strolled to the end of the pier after a brief stop for coffee and then back past the crazy mirrors. There was an appeal for Ukraine van and a bit of history about Southwold celeb Goerge Orwell. We then headed back into town past the stately lighthouse and went into the Tip Tree Cafe for coffee and cake, Black Forest Gateau (very 70s) and Lemon Drizzle. What surprised us was despite the lady saying they were short staffed as the reason we couldn't have a piece of their lovely looking quiche; we saw no difference in cutting cake to quiche, oh well. We just had to live with it with our tongue's hanging out #haha We also bought some nice jams in the shop; the gins however were overpriced. Then it was onto the old Cheese shop and purchasing a huge slap of Snowden's mature Black Bomber, probably along with St Agur my fave cheese. We then caught the bus back to the site and called in for one quick one at the pub, why not? Keef cooked halloumi burger, halloumi chips and garlic bread with salad for tea, followed by citrus cheesecake in little ramakins and cheese and biscuits. A fab day all in all. Lots of gassing as well #obvs Sunday Joy cooked a lovely breakfast and we all started to pack up ready for the return journey but not before being hugely surprised by having Sunday lunch at the wonderful waterfront Restaurant. Must give them 5 stars on Trip advisor. Whilst awaiting going out for lunch Keef helped Helen & Neil, the wardens, take down poor Mr. Hodge next doors awning. The poor old fellow had fallen and broken his arm in 2 places and was all plastered up, he was alone and lived in Kenilworth so was having to be transported back the next day, car, caravan and gear, not a great break (if you will forgive the pun) for this older gentlemen, we all felt sorry for him. Anyhow after lunch we all said our goodbyes and wended our way home, what a lovely weekend Annie & I really enjoyed ourselves. As Boris and Arnie once said... Hasta la vista baby.... Return to MENU THE WHOLE TRIP IN PICTURE FORM WITH MUSIC See our full photo and video diary Return to MENU HIGHLIGHTS & PAST MEMORABILIA See highlights with our pals, what a fun weekend. NOSTALGIA TIME: I have also included a few from our earlier visits to the area, be that Aldeburgh, Southwold, Walberswick, Cromer, Pentney Park and nearby Gayton, Hunstanton (Searles), Hopton on Sea including nearby California beach, Swaffham Beckland Meadows (Blog 45) or Kessingland. As far as I can tell from my photo records we visited June 1986, June 1987, Jul 1990, May 1991, May 1996, June 1999, May 2000, Sept 2002, Aug 2012 so it's been a while since we last visited that area, i.e., 10 years #smile Return to MENU OUR CAMPSITE Here is the supporting stuff for the White House Beach caravan and motorhome club site that we picked up that you may find of interest including i) the site map, we were on Pitch 93 hard standing, very close to good service point, and Pete & Joy were on pitch 64, the only standard pitch without awning unless you include the front seaside, which are impossible to get on anyhow, ii) the site details sheet iii) some stuff on local walks and history of Kessingland iv) the fab real ales at the sailors inn just a short walk up from the site v) the fish and chip restaurant further up the road, allegedly the best in Suffolk, P&J have been there, we will on another occasion. Return to MENU GEORGE ORWELL QUOTES He spent time in Southwold as a teenager and return again to this beloved seaside town in his 30s, he lived next door to the now bakery and then fish and chip shop in the high street, we were reminded of some of his politically astute quotes from both Animal Farm and 1984 but there are many more. Some animals are equal, but some are more equal than others (somewhat prophetic in the current climes)! Big brother is watching I will work harder 4 legs good, 2 legs bad .... and 4 legs good, 2 legs BETTER (Hmm!) Napolean is ALWAYS right Return to MENU MAP Return to MENU AUDIOBOOK You can listen to this blog as an audiobook if you would prefer, I have also provided a full slideshow with an audio overlay, which may suit some, maybe the hard of reading 😉 Return to Menu THAT'S ALL FOLKS

Created by KeefH Web Designs, December 2nd, 2022, 17.31 PM A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog Genealogy Trip No 1 & Not the Motorhome trip No 20: July 7th, 1967 – August 10th, 1967 INTRODUCTION This is a very retrospective blog, during the winter months of November and December 2022 I decided to translate the many of the handwritten diaries we hold in our Family Tree data to supplement our Genealogy info featured here under the Family tab, good website design, backing up audiobooks, videos and slideshow with text. MENU Diary Audiobook Video with audiobook overlay showing relevant ships, voyages, and images from places visited, created via Clipchamp by KeefH Web Designs Trailer DIARY Diary of sea voyage to Australia 1967, 7th July to 10th August, by the Jones family written by Jean Jones, with some contributions by Wilfrid which have been highlighted when it is his piece. I have added some 2022 observations to translate where necessary on odd occasions, the world has moved on. 2022 Summary of ports and journey at sea. Southampton 6th July 1967, 5 days at sea, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria 10th July 1967 , 11 days at sea, Cape Town , South Africa 21st July 1967, 13 days at sea, Fremantle (Freo), Western Australia, 3rd August 1967, 4 days at sea across the Great Australian Bight, Melbourne, Victoria, 8th August 1967, 1 day at sea, Bass Straits, Sydney, New South Wales, 10th August 1967, 35 days on the Fairsky in total, distance being from Southampton to Sydney is 10631 miles / 17108.94 km / 9238.08 nautical miles , so in ship terms that is an average of approximately 260 nautical miles travelled per day. For many days it sounded like a tale of continuous sea sickness, do hope others didn’t feel that way? Wednesday 5th July 1967 Taxi from sister house to station. 12.36 train from Preston to Euston, all luggage aboard, I hope. The train arrived at Euston at 4 p.m. We stayed at Steve’s hotel which was a very poor place , its address was 23 Lower Marsh, Waterloo, London Southeast 1, and its phone number was Waterloo 3534 Wilfrid wrote this bit in the diary. The Fair sky is 500 feet long, 75 feet wide. It was built in 1942 as an aircraft carrier and rebuilt in 1954 as a passenger carrier. Jean then wrote this. Thursday 6th July 1967. We departed Waterloo hotel at 8.47 a.m. and arrived at Southampton at 11 am. There were long queues which was exhausting. After going through emigration, we boarded the Fair sky at Southampton docks. We were in cabins 178 and 180 on A deck. We were allocated deckchairs B234 and B34 (2022 whatever that means?) It was very sad to see all the relatives dock side that were left behind, many weeping. Lots of streamers were thrown and departure music played very loudly. It was all very moving. The weather was bright. All crew members seemed to be Italian as witnessed by many people asking “where is it?” and getting the response “sorry I no speak English”. It was a very clean ship. I saw the ships pilot transfer and waved to him, all very exciting. The ship sailed late at 2.50 p.m. There was a mistake by Bonners (2022 presumably the agent the tickets were booked with?) and we had to pay an extra £32. We found there was no luggage in the cabins , absolute chaos everywhere. We then had to queue for table bookings, everyone was tired and had sore feet. There seemed to be a total lack of organisation. There were telegrams and letters of good wishes for us. Lunch in the dining room was soup followed by steak and vegetables and ice cream for pudding. From the deck there were lovely views of Southampton, the water and then the Isle of Wight and the Needles. Goodbye England. Dinner in the evening was excellent, soup, fish, chicken wing, spinach, sponge pudding and sauce. Friday 7th July 1967. Woke at 5 am and started writing this diary. The ship had more movement now, we were in the Bay of Biscay, but thankfully no one was seasick yet. The children and I are in a 4-berth cabin and Wilfrid is with 3 other men, leaving all his clothes here in our cabin. There are 4 hanging cupboards, 4 chest of drawers, 4 wash basins which were all very clean, 2 blankets and coverlets on each bed. Our steward was Italian and could not speak English. Meals today on table 29 and then table 9 Brian had booked early. Breakfast was from 7-9 am, Luncheon 10.30-11.30 am, Tea 3.30-4.30 pm and finally dinner 5.30-6.30 pm. Some of what we had was cheese & biscuits and apple and coffee. (2022 it is not clear from the diary which meal but guess dinner?). I was feeling better today but my leg was still painful and swollen. Wilfrid and I went to the cinema in the evening to see Colour, we didn’t see it through. We did more searches for luggage, by 10 pm everything was now here. Some things were smashed but the goods were safe thank goodness. So, to the details of meals. Breakfast juice, poached egg. I was sick slightly, 10 minutes earlier. So, we all took a sea sickness pill at 10 am. We walked around deck and focused on the horizon. Brian looked at ships through his telescope. It was fairly bright today weather wise, but the sea became choppier. Lunch Anne missed this as felt sick. It was soup, Russian salad with mayonnaise, beef burgers, cauliflower, potatoes then ice cream with nuts, fruit in jelly and cheese if you wanted it. We then rested in our bunks. There was a fire drill at 4.40 pm. 7 short blasts followed by 1 long blast on the whistle. Initially instructed in Dining room A and then assembly by lifeboats 10-14a. All very exciting. Man overboard is 1 long blast. Fire on board is 2 long blasts. We then changed into thinner dresses and went to the lounge and rested. Wrote postcards and listened to a very dull quartet. Shades of Max Jaffa. Dinner was a very grand sounding menu. Soup, chicken, cod fish with potatoes, Pork , apple, carrots, peas, potatoes followed by cheese and biscuits. Strawberry tart with ice cream. Cinema in the evening, which children were not allowed at was a comedy, we then went to bed early. Saturday 8th July 1967. Facts by Wilfrid, the clocks were retarded by 1/2 an hour. The distance from the Needles was now 323 miles in 18 hours (6.46 longitude) We get news sheets each day which show the activities of the day. The clock going back ½ hour will happen frequently on a Saturday night. Saturday’s speed was 17.5 knots. 1st day travel 340 miles, 2nd 432 miles, 3rd 435 miles more to follow hopefully. Woken at 7 am by Wilfrid, I had been awake earlier at 3 and 5. We booked the deck chairs after breakfast and the Las Palmas tour. More queues, it cost 25 shillings each (equivalent in 2022 would be £18.20 each i.e., £91 for the whole family). Deck chairs were £1 each for the whole trip, not bad. We secured 2 deck chairs. Meeting at 10 am, briefing by female members of the crew, there were 3 of them the only name I caught was Mrs. Cooper. Lunch was excellent as usual. Afternoon we used the deck chairs, it turned very warm, then had a bath and changed for dinner. The children bathed in the pool, had showers, and changed. We saw a ship on route to New York all lit up. Dance in the evening, we watched for a while. The lounge was decorated with soft lighting. Sunday 9th July 1967. Breakfast 7.15 am, then writing in the room. For dining always queues if as late as 8.30 am. We have avoided this so far. Our deck chairs are near the swimming pool which is good for children but tending to get smuts (2022 presumably from ships funnel?) so we moved our chairs, but the Steward was after us. Now in the lounge for lunch. Had dinner then went to the pictures, the children are not allowed, although for the second time I went “Frankie” Stephen Boyd to bed, they don’t make the arrangements clear. (2022 will assume some form of rhyming slang for getting annoyed but don’t know what). Monday 10th July 1967. Las Palmas, Spanish city, and capital of Gran Canaria. 6am. Rose at 5 am, dressed quickly and went on deck, it was dark, but Las Palmas was all lit up. The lighthouse to guide us in was flashing. All very exciting. At breakfast had a chat with an aussie from Brisbane. He said that we were going to the best place of the lot to live in i.e., Sydney. The next bit was written by Wilfrid. The ship tied up at 7.03 am and we left on the conducted tour at 7.40 am. £1 5 shillings each. It was in a Commer van (2022 hopefully not the current day white van man variety). The quay side was 1 mile long. In Las Palmas there were cave dwellers. The ground was dry everywhere, boulders and gravel. All gardens need constant watering. Palm trees and flowering shrubs, lots of geraniums. Saw the cathedral, dark dismal grey stone. Most buildings were khaki coloured. Saw some nice flats. Bought bed spread £5 (2022 would now be a price of £73). Our tour guide could speak English. Bought 4 post cards, saw small brooch plus a lovely painting , oil on water of the bay, plus one of the roads done in oil. Got back to the ship at 11.10 am. Cheap shacks all along the quay selling unusual items including binoculars and bedspreads, some interesting transactions. Saw several ships coming into the harbour. Very busy roads. Left Las Palmas at 4.30 pm. The hooter frightened us as we were on the top deck. The sea became rough after leaving Las Palmas , no sun and overcast all the time. Now back to Jean’s words. “Música” we were piped on in great style. Saw captain on the bridge , ordering gang plank up. Jean’s next words are about the visit to Las Palmas, just written in a different order. A girl in national costume presented me with a carnation, to be paid for naturally! There was a large hotel with attractive gardens with palms and brightly coloured flowers. Lots of cottage industry shops. We saw the museum. Columbus and ancient mariners’ instruments. Many courtyards with interesting views, 2 parrots, old well that Columbus is reputed to have drunk from, models of ships, manuscripts, etc. Lovely flowers on the island, lots of geraniums, hibiscus. Now text switches back to being on the ship having left Las Palmas. Sat in lounge, had Australian wine, horse racing game soon, Anne and Margaret played cards, we listened to the music, then retired to bed, the sea was fairly rough. Tuesday 11th July 1967 Breakfast 7am, porridge, bacon, and egg for me. Talked with woman who was going out to Queensland. She described the lovely, coloured birds and the noisy Kookaburras in the morning. I hung the washing out on the last available line. Enrolled Brian at school on B deck. None were available for the girls. Wilfrid filled in more forms and had them checked. Documents of identity and to let us know we will be in the State queue at Sydney. Sitting on the deck with all the bare bodies, mine only partially. Had lunch. More sunning , washed my hair and the children’s, ironed, hung up more washing in the cabin then played deck quoits. Dinner was soup, fish, chicken etc (the usual) apple pie, cheese, and biscuits. Wilfrid played shuffleboard with the children. Went to the Beethoven concert at 9.30 pm. I heard that some washing had been stolen. Now off the coast of Africa, gold coast. (2022 now Ghana) Thursday 13th July 1967 After breakfast Anne went to bed because she was feeling slightly sick. I felt heavy too and the weather was oppressive. Had a game of hoop-la with Margaret and Wilfrid. I did rather well. Still off the Gold Coast of Africa, the air feels steamy hot. Treasure hunt at 4 pm. But I felt rather poorly and tired so lay on my bunk and dozed off. Not too well at dinner either. Took sickness pills and recovered a little. At 9 pm we walked round the deck. So warm no cardigans needed. Deck officer doing his rounds again. Took Anne and Margaret to the lido bar where a teenage dance to hi-fi music was on (2022 you ravers you , ha-ha clubbing at a tender age). Watched for a short time, the music was so loud. I peeped in at the pirate’s dance. All decorated very nicely, people dressed up in pirates gear, very picturesque. The people who had found keys had to try and open the chests with the doubloons in. The winner found carrots, cabbage, and a bottle of rum. Ships officers all standing at the back. Very handsome well-built chaps (2022 naughty, naughty ha-ha). Talked to old lady of 70 (2022 70 is the new 21 #fact) from Newcastle going to Sydney to stay with her married daughter. She said it was lovely out there. We have been making slow progress because of the fairy strong winds coming towards us. Commentary by Wilfrid. South easterlies only did 411 miles today because of winds and current. 17 knots, 150 miles off the African coast. Friday 14th July 1967 Newssheet. Brian goes to school at 9.15 am. The girls, Wilfrid, and I on the sun deck. Very strong winds today made things unpleasant so didn’t stay long. Also, very cloudy. Felt much better today. Ironer 2 sheets after lunch. Had a game of cheat with Anne, Margaret, and Wilfrid in the main lounge. Snoozed a bit then had tea and biscuits in the dining room. Lifeboat drill at 4.40 pm. Which was the same as before (2022 repetition makes perfect!) in dining room A. Brian had been playing bingo in the cinema. 404 miles so far today. We then went and sat on the sun deck. Girls went to see the same film as us tonight, an Australian film, we sat in the lounge, then table tennis just before dinner, so had to rush to get dressed. Saturday 15th July 1967 Breakfast then games deck, had a game of table tennis. Our waiter is Franco Castanio who comes from Northern Italy. Very handsome, pleasant and we are lucky as some are a little surly. Sat on the sundeck after lunch, very hot but windy. Wilfrid’s legs got over cooked. Children saw “Crossing the Line” ceremony. Wilfrid and I “rested”. We crossed the equator at 5 am. Marvellous dinner, lobster, turkey, Alaska cake bought in procession in darkness all lit up (2022 a process still enacted on cruises to this day). We all applauded then the chief chef and his staff marched around to further applause. The Alaska cake was light sponge with ice cream and meringue on top, we also had Italian wine. We all got certificates, proving we had crossed the line. We had travelled 408 miles today upto 12 noon. (2022 so probably a good length travelled by the end of the day, maybe a record?) Boeing-Boeing at the cinema, mildly amusing. Dressed up in lace dress and a good thing too as the photographer took us all sitting at the table. We looked in at the dance, rather hot and crowded so we went to bed. Sunday 16th July 1967 Woke feeling rather poorly, had breakfast but still no better, shivery and headache. Either lobster or too much sun the day before. Went to bed after breakfast but got up, as we had booked to go on the bridge. A nice young officer spent 30 minutes showing us all the instruments. Most interesting. The radar was not working as there was perfect visibility today. Next bit by Wilfrid. Mostly British instruments, Decca, and Marconi. (2022 learnt something today, I had naively assumed they were Italian) Saw control of fire doors and inclinometer, 20-degree roll in the Australian Bight last year apparently. There was a chart table with 100 flags for signals. Next bit is by Jean. The quarter master was at the wheel. All senior officers do 4 hours on, 4 hours off in charge of the bridge. The young man apologised for his English. We assured him it was excellent. I again felt very poorly after lunch so had a sleep after washing, ironing and hair washing. I had some nice new nail varnish, crystalline oyster pink. Had dinner, very little, stormy at sea, saw the sun setting, lovely pinks until obliterated by the black clouds. Wanted to see the film at 9.30 pm but too poorly, head aches and shivers. Monday 17th July 1967 401 miles up to mid-day. Felt better, but severe back ache first thing. Breakfast 7.15 am , early as usual. Then games deck after ironing done. Watched a game of shuffleboard in a tournament. Wilfrid asked to take score. Showed Brian’s friend Ronald Mitchell (2022 do you remember him, Brian?) my coins. He showed me his as well. His father is a farmer in Queensland, mainly bananas, we then swapped coins which was to his advantage value wise. We 3 played cards then more boys arrived, so broke it up as it was getting noisy. After dinner saw and Australian film on the steel town of Newcastle. Some shots of radiant migrants in lovely homes who had made good. Then a film on decimal currency and trains right across Australia (2022 Annie has now travelled both the Ghan & Indian Pacific, well parts of their journey at least). Then to bed Tuesday 18th July 1967 Felt heavy on awakening but first reasonable sleep of voyage, so cold outside that everyone was in the lounge playing cards, draughts (2022 somewhat appropriate ha-ha) and chess. A few brave souls out competing in shuffleboard, hoopla and deck quoits. A blast of cold air every time the door to the deck quoits was opened. Sewed my dress after lunch, shortened it. In the morning had a very interesting talk with an elderly couple who have lived in Sydney for 16 years. They say it is the land of opportunity and very beautiful. They didn’t enjoy their holiday in England, he caught flu. In the evening it was a French film with Jean Seberg and Stanley Baker etc. (2022 In the French Style, a romance). I rather liked it; Wilfrid thought it slow. Wednesday 19th July 1967 Games deck, Wilfrid didn’t feel like taking part in a team. Lunch then bath and rest. Reading in the bunk. Brian won a prize at bingo, well done, then dinner. It was a rather dull day, very blowy and the deck was cold. In the evening there was a film on Melbourne and one called “the way we live”. Most interesting showing how immigrant families from rent to their own homes, with all the gadgets. No details on finance or lists of housing, naturally! French’s Forest too. Thursday 20th July 1967 Felt very tired and not too well so Anne, Margaret and I stayed in bed and regretted it later as felt rather sick. Weather and sea quite rough. Had lunch and retired to bed again, slight diarrhoea (2022 sorry I’m just a transcriber here #smile) not sea sickness. The girls bathed and sat on the sun deck for 20 minutes. Saw 2 albatross gliding in the slip stream. A fine night, their flight is supposed to be unlucky! Strangely enough Wilfrid had heard of a death on board. Wilfrid slept until 4.30 . I felt much better after a good blow. The sea looked very silvery with the sun shining on it, but a storm quickly blew up and it rained a little, our first. Sat in the lounge in the evening and played cards. Wilfrid saw a film again. I stayed in so that the girls could see the horse race. A man sitting next to us won 7 shillings, but it cost 2 shillings to enter. (2022 so todays equivalent would be £5 winnings, £2 to enter, not cheap). Had lemon drink as felt poorly and so tired. Went to bed but still rough so little sleep. Friday 21st July 1967 Woke at 7 am not feeling too grand, rather washed out. Toast and tea for breakfast. After lunch we went on the sun deck and had a marvellous view of the mountains as we approached Cape Town. Most spectacular. Table mountain seen very clearly as there was no mist. Queues to get off, packed like sardines, not for us, not again. We waited and had hot lemon drink. Eventually got off at 3.50 pm. Not too far to the shops from docks. Black Africans sitting around the docks waiting for work. No smiles. Across railway line, no crossing. Black children selling newspapers with bare feet. (2022 sadly probably evidence of this to this day) Cape Town nestles under the mountains. Very sheltered and surprisingly clean, with splendid wide streets and pavements and fine buildings. Good shops, every luxury here. All the whites look prosperous, and we are amazed at the large number of expensive cars. Traffic was very fast, and you have to watch you don’t get run over. Went in a cheap store but only bought sweets, cotton reels and post cards. As we had picked up a map and been told of the Botanical Gardens at the top of the street, I sent back Brian to collect Wilfrid, who said he couldn’t walk, to tell him to struggle on a bit further and rest in the park. We had left him behind beforehand. Light failing already so we had to speed up and find him. Lovely afternoon, warm sunshine and this is their winter. Flowers blooming and a very pleasant park. Very tame grey squirrels who went right up to the children. Gorgeous orchids and lilies in the hot house. Statue of Smuts and a large cannon. (2022 Jan Smuts, significant South African who served in the Boer War & was a British General in World War 1). Parliament house, museums and art galleries were near the park. Pity we didn’t have time to take the mountain lift up to table mountain as perfect visibility. 4 pm had a roll and Danish pastry and pot of tea at the Harlequin restaurant. Half the ship turned up too. Only grand restaurants for 6 course dinners were open which we and many others did not want. Nice to have a pot of tea after the terrible ship tea. Always with dried milk or something. Restaurant used tea bags of course but very good. Gentleman opposite had huge helping of steak and salad, so he offered some to Anne and Brian, which they reluctantly took. He aired his views on Apartheid , naturally I disagreed. He said he respected the British, asked why we were going to Australia when South Africa could do with “people like us”, I said I couldn’t live in a country where even the air is permeated with Apartheid. He then said that the British didn’t understand things and that the coloureds are happy and a lot was being done for them, He was a Boer with a typical accent. I didn’t ram all my views home much as I would have liked. When strolling around later , accosted by an elderly black woman with sad story, I said sorry we are also poor. Little black boys playing in the street, rushing to direct cars into spaces, hoping for tips (2022 sod sad , well-done Jean for standing up to the Boer, luckily things have moved on a bit nowadays, but one can always argue not enough). 4 fierce Alsatians inside new cars. Leaping up ferociously as each black person passed and taunted them. Too tired to do more so back to the ship. Marvellous to see Cape Town lit up at night. A beautiful sight. Strange to see the car lights going up the mountain side. Notes. Bus conductors look like army men. Uniforms apparently military style to impress the blacks. 1 rand is roughly 10 shillings (2022 value would be £7.50p) Wilfrid went up at 1 am to see the ship leave. Very cold in the evening after a warm bright day. Envious glances at my warm nylon coat. The Morecambe lady had bought chiefly thin things. Saturday 22nd July 1967 Last of Africa 10.30 am, very mountainous. Margaret has loose tooth. Sea getting very rough and cold. Everyone with warm clothes on. I have caught Anne’s cold and sore throat. Sat on games deck in the afternoon and played shuffleboard but not feeling good. Film in the evening billed as comedy!!! About the trials and tribulations of young love and parents’ marital problems. Perhaps educational to Anne and Margaret (2022 was it ladies? #smile ) Sunday 23rd July 1967 A very rough night up at 2 and 4 am. Couldn’t face breakfast. Rolls bought down for me and then bought up, Joke!!! Ship rolling and pitching quite severely. Ate biscuits in the afternoon, felt very ill, could keep nothing down. Felt deathly and worse acute back ache. I had nothing to eat all day. Lots of people on the ship were ill. All entertainment was postponed. Some doors to the decks were locked due to the strong winds. A bad bad day. Know what it feels like to feel like death. Children washed some clothes as I felt too ill. Monday 24th July 1967 Felt very week and poorly. Ate piece of toast which tasted leathery and ghastly but felt must make some effort. Anne and Margaret did a little ironing. We all sat on deck; it was blustery but not quite as cold. Felt a shade better in the air. Had a lemon drink as did Anne & Margaret. Salt all over the decks from the spray. Ate a very small lunch, sat in the lounge. Young woman behaving very oddly, she had been tested mental in England whilst on holiday (2022 wonder what this means, maybe Epileptic and / or psychotic not sure we will know as not there, wonder if you siblings remember?). Anne’s cold very severe, Margaret has tummy ache, half or more of the passengers have suffered from bouts of diarrhoea (2022 observation, maybe food poisoning?). Lots of people looking vey ill and wan, so I was not alone in my sufferings. Back ached terribly. Hope it isn’t my kidneys. Frightening thought. Hemmed up the girls’ dresses but felt coma like so retired to the cabin and had a nap. Went up to dinner. Still no appetite but ate a little to keep up my strength. Walked up and down with Wilfrid in the evening. Very few ere out as it was dark and blustery. However, felt better for the air and exercise. Turned out of lounge as being decorated for a dance. Wrote diary until Australian films , about Melbourne, come on at 9.30 pm. Eyes very heavy but feeling a bit better. Hope I can sleep. Everything shakes and rattles all night. People wishing the voyage was over. Until Thursday we have been on the seas 3 weeks with 2 more still to go, it is 4900 miles from Cape Town to Freemantle. (2022 i.e., by Thursday 27th July at sea 3 weeks) Glad it seems not quite so cold and miserable. Amazed at such conditions when we were near the equator. Tuesday 25th July 1967 Joined ship’s library. A good night for me!!! Sat out on a seat until the lounge opens at 10 am. Rather cold and blustery. Played lexicon with Brian, Ron, and Michael. Felt more like myself. Went up to the games deck. Just started raining. On the way back down my skirt went up like an umbrella, much to the delight of 3 sailors on the boat deck who broke into song. Had tea with pleasant lady from Queensland, and a clergyman in mufti, as I learnt later. Went to slides on hostels afternoon at 4 PM. Arizona raiders in the evening. Wednesday 26th July 1967 Felt rotten, missed breakfast , fed little. Very poor night, hardly slept at all, mainly a digestive upset, had hot lemon drink and felt a bit better. Sat on deck and the air revived me a little but felt very fragile. Met Mr & Mrs Mitchell (banana growers from before) in the foyer. Washed hairs, cut fringes and curled girl’s hair (2022 bet you enjoyed that ladies #smile ships pudding basins maybe?) They both looked much better. Margaret and Anne did the ironing, I had a bath. We went to the Australian films, very good. Investments in New South Wales also showed the shores and Bondi beach lifesavers. The cinema was packed. We are now 450 miles south of Madagascar. Thursday 27th July 1967 Now been at sea 3 weeks. Slept from 12 midnight to 5 am. Breakfasted at 7 am with young person from Melbourne. Had interesting conversation. He had been staying at the St Augustine’s college in Canterbury. Wrote letters to Mr W and Hilda (2022, do we know who they were?) Margaret and Wilfrid also joined the library. Cost was 10 shillings which was refundable (2022 £7.50 in todays money). Very rough outside, doors locked on one deck, as sea spray blown right across. Lunch was fun with plates and glasses all over the place. One or two crashes. Lounge again reading, it’s the smoothest place on the ship. Then washed and ironed. Now south of Mauritius island , a British possession, by mid-day. Dinner still sliding about. Good thing we have a high ridge edge on our tables. The Roman night was cancelled due to rough weather. Friday 28th July 1967 Missed breakfast as had a poor night. Had a good blow on deck after changing library book. Vicar spoke to me. Children’s fancy dress party. Marvellous costumes, Brian as Sir Francis Chichester. Saturday 29th July 1967 Brian had present at 9 am, a toy rifle. Slept in afternoon. Film in the evening on Hobart, fishing and cars. Looked in on Roman entertainment, couldn’t see properly as so crowded. Some of the costumes were very good. Had hot lemon then to bed. Sunday 30th July 1967 Felt better, but weather very cold. Boiled egg for breakfast, not hot as usual. Talked to young man again who was going to Sydney. Not quite windy outside but chilly, wore fur coat. Played shuffleboard with Wilfrid and changed our books. Lunch, we didn’t like the olives (2022 shame one of our favourites) Afternoon read books, Wilfrid wrote letters for Sherrard’s news. Reverend Hatton spoke to us again, he made a point of seeing us. Are we interesting or souls to be saved? Had to fill in our customs forms. Spoke to Bournemouth couple and lady who lived in Johannesburg . Couple from Inn at Worplesdon (2022 village just north of Guildford Surrey) , yarned about Mayford (2022 village near Woking) and inhabitants, a small world! Then talk and slides on Adelaide and Canberra. Monday 31st July 1967 Seas comparatively smooth today, 12.30pm noisy children in the next cabin banging and screaming. Filled in customs forms. Told about excess baggage charges, £4 10 shillings and scooter £15 7 shillings and 6 pence to be paid in Sydney (2022 a grand total in today’s money of about £310 , ouch!). Medical arms to be looked at on Wednesday. Fine of £10 for nonattendance with no good reason given , we will attend. (2022 £150 in today’s money). Looked for toolboxes, 2 more in hold, they have J on them (for Jones). 2 to 2.30 pm talk on baggage procedure in the baggage room. Needed for disembarkation. Film, the spy who came in from the cold, Richard Burton, I couldn‘t keep wake, too slow paced. Australian film on “Queensland and a spoonful of sugar” , Wilfrid went. Children in cabin next door kicking up, 12.30 pm still at it , again, I could shoot the parents. Tuesday 1st August 1967 Poor night’s sleep, no breakfast, changed library book, rough seas. Had hair washed. Landfall and roaring 20s party cancelled due to rough seas. Woman fell off chair in the dining room. Glasses and plates hurling around. No dinner for me. Wednesday 2nd August 1967 Slept most of the morning. Ships photos reduced to 1 shilling from 3 shillings and 6 pence (2020 42% mark down, now £15 in today’s money from over £50, a bit steep in anyone’s book). Medical inspection today, only arms and hands. Lovely weather after lunch. Sat for an hour or so on deck. Fine blue skies but rained late in the day. Thursday 3rd August 1967 Margaret felt sick and had to leave the dining room table, sadly diarrhoea. We all felt poorly after a very rough night so dozed again. Woke at 10.30 am when the ships engines wee reducing speed. A marvellous sight to see AUSTRALIA. A bright clear day, and good visibility. Saw tug leaving after dropping immigration officials and mail. Had lunch then we had our documents checked by the officials. We soon got through it as there were several men dealing with it. Fremantle, Western Australia. (2022 Connor’s landing) Waited on deck near gang plank. Wonderfully exciting and moving to see the large crowds waiting on the quay. Waving, calling and flag flying. Two gang planks moved in by cranes, very efficient. A fine ship terminal, clean and smart and very well organised. We changed some money and set off to see Fremantle. Left at 12.45 pm, ship is sailing at 5 pm (2022 so you didn’t get long, it’s such a lovely place). Didn’t go to Perth as time limited. We were agreeably surprised to find Fremantle clean with good wide pavements and pleasant shops. Two elegant churches, looking so English. The sun shone continuously but there was a chilly wind, just like a splendid spring day at home. I noticed the wide variety of fish in the shops. The large gum trees (eucalyptus) a fine tree with blossom still on it. Seats by fountain, and in the shopping precincts. Coles an excellent clean store, better than Woolworths. Had tea with real milk and in teapots! Also scones and Wilfrid had an apple pie. Very good and reasonable. Noticed a real bush type with the Aussie hat, also a very bandy tall man. Must have been riding all his life. Pleasant girls in shops. The Woolworth’s girls asked us where we were going. Said her mother had sponsored two British families. Felt very tired but such an enjoyable and interesting outing. Toilets cost 5 cents. Got back to the terminal at 16.40 pm. Loudspeakers were asking us all to return to the ship. Streamers thrown, crowds again waving and cheering. Two people missed the boat. We leave punctually to catch the tideway. Heard the ships music again. All very, very splendid. We were immensely cheered to find Australia at our first glimpse to be friendly and pleasant. We all stayed on the top deck to get a last look at the land. Went to pictures with Anne. First men on the moon film, ideal for children. Friday 4th August 1967 Woke early as boat rocking violently. Turned the southernmost point of Australia at 4 am. (2022 Albany and into the Great Australian Bight) Crockery rolling about at breakfast. Had to hang onto table to prevent chairs going over. Very rough seas. Sat in reading room, changed library books. My diarrhoea worse! Feel and look very groggy. Dozed and read all afternoon and evening, no dinner for me. Saturday 5th August 1967 Quieter night, toilet at 3 am but slept a bit better. Brian given certificate for satisfactory attendance at school. Still had porridge for breakfast but no lunch. I look ghastly. Black shadows under my eyes. Children did some ironing. I let “Fred” Antonio do the cabin then crawled back into bed again. I feel poor, headache and wrote diary in the afternoon. Went to dinner then to bed. Our waiter is Italian, Franco Castanio. Sunday 6th August 1967 Breakfast 7.30 am. Sat on deck, changed book. Talked to Australian in the lounge from Brisbane. Learned a lot from him. He is in the railways. Lunch learnt that the mental young woman was in the sick bay. Packed some clothes, what a rotten job. Hung wet clothes in Wilfrid’s cabin. Farewell dinner, turkey etc, wines, singalong, poor show! Bed , read Monday 7th August 1967 Breakfast. Should arrive in Melbourne, 2.30 am. On the 8th Changed money, got a map. Commonwealth band, Mr Ryan very helpful and pleasant. Very dark and stormy today, rough seas. Visibility very bad. Glad of my fur coat. Played cards, bed. Couldn’t sleep, Noisy neighbours, shouting for Mrs McFee at 2.30 am over the tannoy, a relative on the quay. Doors banging , luggage being lifted by cranes. What a night! Tuesday 8th August 1967 Melbourne docking at 2.30 am. Telegram received from Mr Hume & Mr Moon to say temporary address at Manly. Breakfast 7.15 am. Frisked for fruit. Dingy terminal at Melbourne compared to Fremantle. Port Melbourne station, Victorian trains, thick mist, cold, old fashioned main station, walked to the city centre (2022 Station Pier Melbourne Port is now classed as Heritage and Flinders Street station in the centre of Melbourne is definitely that, I suspect Melbourne has come on quite a way since we were there in 1960 and Annie’s family in 1967). We walked to the city centre, saw daffodils in flower and strawberries in the shops. Toilets 3 cents. Good shops and very busy. Not an attractive city in our opinion, not very clean. Had scones and a cup of tea. Good post office, modern, sent telegram. Walked over bridge above the River Yarra, looked rather muddy. Very fine park, but cold and miserable. Open concert hall being painted. Saw Government house. Had tram back to the centre , 49 cents for 2 stops (2022 £4.15 in today’s money). Good museum, gorgeous butterflies, interesting Australian animals, birds, snakes, aboriginal spears etc. More tea and sandwiches, Coles store well in evidence, better than Woolworths. Next bit by Wilfrid re Melbourne. We saw the Greek quarter, bought a waltzing Matilda cloth, very tired, rousing send off, large crowds, Jean chatted to a bank man on the top deck, he was apparently very nice. Wednesday 9th August 1967 Had a reasonably good sleep, felt better, packed clothes, ironed everything, labelling, then lunch. New people joined the ship, approximately 250 from Melbourne. (2022 Presumably either going to Sydney or Brisbane or back to UK? Who knows) Viewed coast of Victoria, bright, excellent visibility, island, lighthouse (2022 wither King Island, Flinders Island or Tassie, but I doubt it was Tassie, its huge, just not sure where the Fairsky went around the coast, but definitely past Mallacoota.) Miles of deserted beaches and forest apparently! Washed everyone’s hair. Dinner, a woman was weeping. Cola colas. Early to bed, early to rise, we hope, should arrive in Sydney 7.30 am. Pilot point 5.30 am. Thursday 10th August Hurray, final destination. Customs, Interview, and baggage check. Should meet Mr Hume & Mr Moon at 9 am. Magnificent view of Sydney and the heads , we were all up at dawn. The harbour looked magnificent, coloured roofs, houses decked on hill tops, a glorious technicolour world. THE END OF THE DIARY Return to Menu GRAPHICALLY SHOWING TRIP WITH AUDIOBOOK OVERLAY Return to Menu AUDIOBOOK OF THE TRIP Return to Menu

Created by KeefH Web Designs, December 3rd, 2022, 16.56 PM A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog Genealogy Trip No 3 & Not the Motorhome trip No 22: 4-6 October 1970 INTRODUCTION This is a very retrospective blog, during the winter months of November and December 2022 I decided to translate most of the handwritten diaries we hold in our Family Tree data to supplement our Genealogy info featured here under the Family tab, good website design, backing up audiobooks, videos and slideshow with text. Enjoy! MENU Diary Audiobook Video with audiobook overlay showing relevant and irrelevant areas of Australia, images from places visited, created via Clipchamp by KeefH Web Designs Trailer DIARY Jones family long weekend break to Kiama New South Wales Australia, 4th to 6th October 1970, Written by Jean Jones. Note Labour Day was on the Monday, and this meant we could have a long weekend away. Saturday 4th October 1970 Packed up the car the night before with camping gear and left early morning to get through Sydney before it got busy. We arrived at Kiama, but it started to rain. Kiama is a very small, pleasant seaside town. We looked at the blow hole which was not very high as there was not much wind. It must be spectacular at times. First campsite was caravans only, so we proceeded to the next one around the corner, which was very pleasant and was overlooking two beaches and was well grassed. We had to be careful as it was not a flat site. Car was jacked up. We pitched the tent which cost one Australian dollar. Wilfrid rested and we walked along the beach and explored. I prepared the picnic, a boxer dog made friends with us, cupboard love we suspected. Wilfrid and I slept in the car which was not too bad as we had liloes and sleeping bags. We were concerned about the weather but after thunder most storms passed over, but a sudden wind got up. Sunday 5th October 1970 Decided to visit the Minnimurra Falls, we passed through some very pleasant country. Jamberoo was a nice little town on our way to the rain forest and we had a climb up to the falls. There were fantastic trees and ferns, and it was well worth the climb, the whole ascent was an Australian mile! One of the trees was known as a cabbage tree. We then proceeded back through Kiama along the coastal road to Nowra and camped by a lovely wide river. It then turned very cold. At the site there was water skiing in our section and yachting further up. As it got very cold turned in after tea. Brian made some noodle soup; it took ages to heat up. We were lucky as no rain again. Wilfrid saw a glorious sunrise through the bridge. Monday 6th October 1970 (Labour Day) Today we visited Nowra, we fossicked along the river and saw some magnificent views from above the river and valley. It became very hot by 11 am. We saw what we named Hanging Rock. There is said to be diamonds, emeralds, and topaz to be found in the Shoalhaven River, although we had no luck. We decided to find the Cordeaux dam to have lunch. We took the wrong turning and found ourselves in Mount Kembla, which was very steep climb, but a nice little place up in the hills. It had an iron ore mine which presumably feeds the steel works at Port Kembla. We did eventually find the Cordeaux dam. It was very pleasant there, with hundreds of people but plenty of room. We all walked over the dam and saw a heron fishing. Not quite so beautifully laid out as Woronora which is prize winning but very pleasant. It was the end of our trip so we headed home, very busy roads, we feared traffic jams at Campbelltown but to our surprise we could keep going all the way. Jean noted the Rockhampton trip in 1969 there and back was 2500 miles, she also noted that the trip was now on tape, which is maybe the tape Brian mentioned to Annie & Keef on their visit in November 2022. Return to Menu AUDIOBOOK Return to Menu VIDEO Return to Menu

Created by KeefH Web Designs, December 3rd, 2022, 17.10 PM A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog Genealogy Info No 5, 18th August 1897 to 18th January 1898, 5 months 1 day at sea INTRODUCTION This is a very retrospective blog, during the winter months of November and December 2022 I decided to translate most of the handwritten diaries we hold in our Family Tree data to supplement our Genealogy info featured here under the Family tab, good website design, backing up audiobooks, videos and slideshow with text. Enjoy! MENU Diary Audiobook Video with audiobook overlay showing relevant and irrelevant areas of Australia, ships, and images from places visited, created via Clipchamp by KeefH Web Designs Trailer DIARY GERTRUDE WHITEHEAD’s DIARY: (Anne, Brian, and Margaret’s Granny) Voyage to Australia : 18th Aug 1897-18th Jan 1898 It took 154 days, 22 weeks or 5 months 1 day if you prefer, a lengthy time away at sea Wednesday Aug. 18th/97 Mother, Willie, Jeanie, and I joined the Port Stephens at Tyne Dock to go on our voyage to Australia with Father- Annie, Hilda, Bob and Uncle Bob coming to see us away. 6 pm. We left Tyne Dk. 6.45 pm Uncle, Annie, Bob & Hilda bid us good-bye and went on board the tug boat to go on shore. We then steamed away from Shields Bar & shortly afterwards we went to bed thus ending our first day. Thursday Aug 19th/1897 This has been a fine day & we have enjoyed it very much being on deck nearly all day. We passed Lowestoft at 2 o’clock in the afternoon & Dover at 11 o’clock at night. Passed lots of ships & steamers. At night had some music. Friday Aug 20th. Father tells me we passed Dungeness at 1 o’clock this morning. It is a nasty day strong head wind & sea very hazy. Passed the Isle of Wight at 1 o’clock this afternoon. All feeling a little poorly we went to bed early. Saturday Aug. 21st. Strong head wind & heavy sea. Port Stephens tumbling and pitching about & made us all sick. Mother very poorly. We all remain downstairs. Passed Ushant Isld. in the afternoon. Sunday Aug. 22nd. We are now in the Bay of Biscay & rolling and tumbling about. Mother confined to her roam sick. Willie, Jeanie & I have been on deck most of the day. Monday Aug. 23 This is my 11th birthday and such a lovely day. We have got Mother on deck to get the air. We are now across the Bay having passed Cape Finisterre at breakfast time. We have all got splendid appetites with the exception of poor Mother. Jeanie is running about all over the ship. Tuesday 24th. Aug. Very fine weather. Saw nothing today but birds & salt water & a few steamers. Mother is all right now & we are playing at quoits & other things and are quite happy. Wednesday Aug.25th. Lovely weather today but very hot had to get our summer clothes on. Had my music lesson & played about the remainder of the day. Thursday Aug.26th. We have a good fair wind today with high waves, but we are not sick at all. Friday Aug.27th. We arrived at Las Palmas at 7 o'clock this morning to take coal in. We threw some pennies in the water & the boys from the shore dived down & got them. We bought a parrot from a boy & we hope to make it talk before we get home. We got plenty of fruit grapes peaches and bananas which we enjoyed very much. We left Las Palmas at 3 o'clock in the afternoon all very black with coal dust. We did not get on shore because there was not time to go to the town & it was too hot We were up very early this morning so we went to bed soon. Saturday Aug.28th. We had a nice fair wind today & the Stephens went booming along. We played about the decks all day & had music at night. Sunday Aug.29th. Fine weather but very hot we are nearly roasted alive & have to sit under the awning all day. Had some hymns at night. Roast chickens & plum pudding for dinner and cakes for tea. Monday Aug.30th. It is blowing a gale of wind today with heavy sea & the awning was blown all to pieces. Mother is sick & we all stayed downstairs but it was a difficult job to keep Jeanie & Willie down. Tuesday Aug.31st. Strong head wind. Stephens pitching about a good deal. Passed Cape verde at noon. We have been on deck all day & saw the land & some steamers & a lot of birds. Wednesday Sept.1st. This is Father’s birthday & we had a large cake for tea. Fine day but big waves. Saw some flying fish & some porpoises & at night the water was lovely phosphorus it sparkled just like stars in the water. Music lesson in the morning & again at night. Thursday Sept.2nd This is Jeanie’s birthday. Had chickens for dinner & cake for tea. Beautiful fine weather today. Mother making pyjamas for Willie which father helped to cut out. We take our salt water bath every morning now as the weather is very hot. Friday Sept.3rd. Rainy weather in the morning but fine in the afternoon only a little windy. Saw lots of flying fish today. Willie was dressed up as Father Neptune at night & looked very funny with his big belly and whiskers. Willie got his new pyjamas on & was a proud man when he went to bed. Saturday Sept.4th. Very fine weather today but a little windy. We saw a good many flying fish but nothing close. We have been playing at houses & other games during the day. We have just come down from the deck to get bathed and Willie made Father laugh acting Bob Anderson. We had ducks for dinner and beef, tongue & fish for tea which we all did justice to. Sunday Sept.5th. Fine day but very quiet nothing to do except read. Music and singing after tea and then to bed. Monday Sept.6th. Very fine in the morning but raining at night. Cannot sit on deck as everything is overhead with coaldust and have therefore been obliged to play in the messroom. It is gradually getting cooler & is therefore much pleasanter. Tuesday Sept.7th. Strong head wind with a nasty choppy sea which Father says is the usual Weather experienced in the South east trades to make matters worse the men are working the coal off the deck & everything is covered in coal dust and we are obliged to stay downstairs. Wednesday Sept.8th. Very strong head wind with heavy sea. Ship pitching very heavily & taking seas on board we can scarcely keep our feet the way the ship is tossing about. Mother has been washing clothes today but it has been very difficult to work. Mother is now giving us a tune on the piano. We are going to have a game of cards & then to bed. Thursday Sept.9th. Another day with strong head wind & big seas breaking over the ship. Mother has been washing clothes again today & has got them all ready for ironing. Friday Sept.10th. Still very strong head wind & ship pitching fearfully. Mother has got her ironing done & is making me a dressing gown. Saturday Sept.11th. Still rough weather. Mother finished my dressing gown which is very comfortable and pretty. We had a sheep killed also some fowls. We had a good bath & then to bed. Sunday Sept.12th. Weather more moderate. Passed two sailing ships this afternoon which was Quite a treat as we have not seen any since 31st.August. Saw two birds One being a Cape pigeon & the other a Molly hawk. We have had a musical evening & are now going to have supper & then to bed. Monday Sept.13th. Weather finer. We passed another sailing ship. We then had a game of cards & then to bed. Tuesday Sept.14th. Fine weather but very cold. We saw an Albatross with wings about 6 feet long. Mother has made another pair of pyjamas for Willie & is making Jeanie a dressing gown & I am making a shirt for Jeanie. Wednesday 15th.Sept. Fine weather with strong sea ship rolling about. Saw a 1ot of Cape pigeons & Molly hawks. Lessons from ten o’clock till 11.30 then sewing and games until bed time. Thursday Sept.16th. Strong head wind & ship rolling a good dea1. Great number of Cape pigeons Flying about they are very pretty birds with black & white striped wings & are very tame. We had lessons in the morning & sewing in the afternoon & cards at night. Friday Sept. 17th. Very fine weather today but a strong swell causing the ship to roll a little. We were abreast of the cape of Good Hope this morning but were too far off to see it. Saw a lot of Cape pigeons & two albatrosses. Had a music lesson at night. Had a game of hide & seek. Father Jeanie & Willie are now having a game of cards & Mother and I are sewing. Saturday Sept.18th. Fresh wind with heavy seas. Steamer rolling heavily & knocking us all about. Saw a sailing ship & a number of Albatross & Cape pigeons. No lessons today being Saturday we occupied our time by sewing, reading & games. Had our bath at night & after supper went to bed. Mother has just finished a leather key rack for Father. Sunday Sept.19th. Light wind but still very strong sea. Ship lurching heavily. During a heavy lurch Mother rolled on the deck & we all had a good laugh at her. Mother has not got her sea legs yet, but Jeanie can go about like an old sailor in the heaviest of weathers. We saw a lot of birds today. Had music at night & then to bed. Monday Sept.20th. During the night very heavy rain with heavy squalls no sleep for anybody. During the day the weather moderated & we got a fair wind & sailed along more comfortably. A great number of birds following the ship today amongst them being some very large albatross. We had lessons in the morning, sewing in the afternoon & cards at night & we all had a good night’s sleep. Tuesday Sept. 21st. Strong fair wind & heavy sea some of them being like mountains but the good ship Port Stephens glides over them 1ike a duck. It is too cold to get on deck today so we are amusing ourselves in the cabin with our lessons sewing and games. There are none of us sick even in the heaviest of weather & we can always eat our meals with a hearty appetite. We are now in the Southern Ocean & Father tells me this is what they call running the Easting down, that is we are running due East for Australia.Lots of birds still following the ship. Mother is learning me to do a sampler. Heavy shower of hailstones at night. Wednesday Sept.22nd. Moderate wind & showery weather very cold. Had to light the cabin fire. Too cold to get on deck so we did our sewing & lessons. Willie stayed away all amongst the sailors & had to do his lessons at night. Mother has a very bad headache. Had my music lesson & then went to bed. The fowls & sheep were all shifted under the bridge deck as they suffered from the cold. At night light fair wind & moderate sea. Thursday Sept.23rd. Moderate fair wind with overcast sky & showery much warmer weather. Friday Sept.24th. Fine morning but wet during the remainder of the day. Had a game of cards at night & then to bed. Saturday Sept.25th. Heavy gale of wind right astern with mountainous sea but considering the bad weather the ship is going along very dry. We are not able to get on deck much today. The birds still continue to fo1low the ship. Had a game of whist at night then our bath & off to bed. The ship did 250 miles today. Sunday Sept.26th. Moderate weather today but very cold. Ship steamed 240 miles today. We had hymns in the morning & night also Scripture lesson. Ducks & plum pudding for dinner. Monday Sept.27th. Fresh wind & squally with rain & rough sea. Ship steamed 250 miles this day. I got my hair caught in the log line & had to have a piece cut out before we could stop the log. Tuesday Sept.28th. Moderate wind & overcast steamed 235 miles today. A great number of albatross about today, but very few Cape pigeons. Mother is washing today & being bitterly cold we all stayed down below doing our lessons, sewing & playing games. Wednesday Sept.29th. Light wind & fine weather today. Mother is ironing & I am finishing my sampler. Father says he expects we will reach Port Pirie in about 14 days. Thursday Sept.30th. This day commences with dull rainy weather. At night it blew a gale with heavy sea & the ship rocked about very much. We did not get on deck at all today. We occupied our time by doing our lessons, sewing & games.Jeanie & Willie got dressed up as clowns at night & amused us very much. Friday Oct.1st. Light wind but nasty cross sea. Ship still tumbling about a good deal. We were on deck a little today. And at night played cards. Saturday Oct.2nd. Strong gale right astern with very heavy sea. Engines racing very much & shaking the ship terribly. We cannot get on deck today so we are amusing ourselves in the cabin. Willie & Jeanie went on deck & received a cold saltwater bath as the ship happened to ship a sea just when they got on deck which wet them to the skin & frightened them very much. At night we had our usual bath & went to bed. Sunday Oct.3rd. Strong wind & nasty sea with dull gloomy weather we remained below & read scripture lessons in the morning & had hymns & music at night. We are all longing to reach Australia now as it is getting rather monotonous seeing the same things every day. Monday Oct.4th. Strong fair wind & heavy sea with rain & overcast sky. The lamb was killed today. Lessons, sewing & cards at night. Tuesday Oct.5th. Fresh fair wind & showery with rather rough sea. We were on deck a good deal today the weather being much milder. We had lamb & green peas for dinner. Lessons in the morning sewing in the afternoon & whist at night and Mother & I gave Father a proper licking. We are now looking anxiously forward to seeing land once again as we have seen nothing since we passed Cape Verde. In a week more we should be at Port Pirie all going well. Good suppers of homemade bread just like Mother's & now I am off to bed. Wednesday Oct.6th. Fresh fair wind & high sea & showery. Weather too cold to get on deck. Willie got his hair cut. In the morning we did our lessons, in the afternoon we did some sewing, & at night we had a circus entertainment Willie & Jeanie being dressed up as clowns. Thursday Oct.7th Strong wind & heavy squalls with rain & high sea. Mother laid up with a very bad headache. We remained below all day & occupied our time with lessons, sewing & games. Friday Oct.8th. Light wind & fine weather. We were on deck most of the day as the steward was painting the cabin. Mother’s headache is better today. We had the swing quoits & other games. Saturday Oct.9th. Light fair wind & fine weather with smooth sea. We are now crossing the Great Australian Bight. We passed the barque Invercoe of Aberdeen at noon who wished to be reported. Being Saturday we have no lessons we are therefore enjoying ourselves with games & other things. Willie assisted in hoisting the flags to the barque. The weather is much milder & we can now do without a fire. Sunday Oct.10th. Light wind & overcast sky with smooth sea. We had scripture lesson & then we wrote our letters home. In the evening we had hymns. Monday Oct.11th. Calm all day sea like a bit of glass. Sky overcast & showery we have been busy all day cleaning the cabin ready for port. In the evening we had a game of whist & went to bed. Tuesday Oct.12th. Light head wind smooth sea & dull cloudy weather. We had our lessons in the morning & played about the remainder of the day. Everybody are busy getting the ship ready for port. Father says he expects to make the land tonight. Wednesday Oct.l3th. Fine weather with smooth sea. Saw land all day & anchored at night. Thursday Oct.14th. Arrived at P.Pirie this morning. Mother & I were standing in the poop in coming up the creek when the tug which was to have towed us up came astern & went bang into us which gave us such a fright as she nearly capsized & we had then to take another tug but got safe into berth at 10 am. There is a population of 5,000 people in P. Pirie. Friday Oct. 15th. Very dusty, windy & warm. We went to an entertainment at night which was very good indeed. Professor Hertz was very clever with the cards & amused us very much. We had the Dr & his wife on board this afternoon also Capt. Balchin of the S/S Port Elliot. Sunday Oct.17th. Being a lovely fine morning Mother, Willie, Jeanie, & myself went to the Congregational Church also in the evening, Mother & I went again to the same church. There are a good many churches here they are all very small buildings made of wood & corrugated iron. The singing was very good. Monday Oct.18th. Very fine weather but everything is in such a mess with coke dust. Mrs. Warren came down in the afternoon & invited us to go for a drive with her next day. Tuesday Oct.19th. Very windy & dusty had to stay down below nearly all day. We went for a drive in the afternoon with Mrs. Warren & her mother. At night we went to an entertainment, Hudson’s Surprise Party which was very amusing. Wednesday Oct.20th. Fine day. We went to Doctor Stewart’s in the afternoon & they took us for a drive which was very pleasant. Had a game of cards at night & then to bed. Thursday Oct.21st. Very fine day. We went on shore to visit a Lady but she was not in, so we took a walk round the suburbs. Port Pirie is very flat country & sandy. The principal work is the Broken Hill Co. factory where they extract gold silver lead zinc etc from the ore. Friday Oct.22nd. Windy & dusty remained on board all day. Had several Ladies on board visiting Mother. Capt. J. Redford of Blyth came on board to tea & spent the evening with us. Saturday Oct.23rd. A beautiful day. Went on shore in the afternoon did some shopping & came on board. Capt. Redford came on board in the evening. We had our bath & off to bed. Sunday Oct.24th. A most lovely day. Did not go to church as we had our letters. Willie went for a row with the officers to see a model yacht race. Went to church at night. Monday Oct.25th. A lovely day. Mother Jeanie & I went visiting Willie spending the day on board the reliance a four-masted sailing ship having made chums with the chief officer who made him a model of a yacht. Paper adverts appeared on front page on Tuesday Oct.26th. Another lovely day but exceedingly hot. Willie Jeanie & I was at a party this afternoon which we thoroughly enjoyed coming back ten o’clock Jean being the chief attraction. Commenced loading sulphide ore this morning. Wednesday Oct 27th. Very fine in the morning but a little dusty in the afternoon. Mr. Warren Took us & his family out a-picnicking he had his two carriages & drove us out to a small wood where the cloth was spread & a fire kindled. We then sat down & had a good meal. We had chicken ham & egg pie, salad claret & ices scones sponge cake bread & butter strawberries & cream, bananas, oranges, tomatoes & tea & returned in the evening quite dark after enjoying a most pleasant outing. Thursday Oct. 28th. We finished our loading this afternoon & are now all ready to sail for Sydney in the morning tide. We were through the Refinery today & saw the process of extracting the silver & other metals from the ore which was very interesting. We had the Post Master & his wife down in the evening to say goodbye the Post Master Mr. Watson comes from Newcastle on Tyne & very nice people they are. Friday Oct. 29th. We left Port Pirie this morning at 5 o'clock in the good ship Port Stephens for Sydney. We felt it very much cooler after getting to sea. We had fine weather Down the Spencer Gulf & entered the Investigator Strait at midnight Father being on deck the whole night. We felt the movement of the ship & went to bed early. SS Port Stephens 1894 Milburn Line 3554 tons, Hull 310,102853 105.2 metres long, perpendicular to perpendicular, 345 ft., speed of 9 knots, specially designed for Australian coastal service. Saturday Oct. 30th. Fine weather but very heavy swell which caused the Stephens to roll about very much & we had great difficulty in keeping our legs. Still, we managed to get on deck & have a look at the South Australian coast which reminded us very much of the coast about Blyth with its sand hills. We retired early as the ship was tumbling about so much. Sunday Oct. 31st. Strong fair wind with heavy sea but the ship is going much steadier & steaming about 11 miles an hour. Father says we passed Portland at four o’clock this morning this being the place where the first settlers landed in Australia a monument being erected there in memory of their landing. Had hymns at night & then to bed. Saw a lot of porpoises. Monday Nov. 1st. Showery but able to get on deck between showers. Port Stephens doing splendid work today she did 257 miles. We passed several steamers. Tuesday Nov. 2nd. Arrived at Sydney at 8 p.m. We saw Sydney at night with its beautiful lights & ferries running to & fro. Captain Sutherland our harbour pilot met us at the heads & took charge from Father & moored us in Neutral Bay. We came along the New South Wales coast very close in & saw some wonderful caves the scenery was very nice. After an exciting day we went to bed at 9 p.m. Wednesday Nov. 3rd. Went on shore. Met Mrs. Sutherland & drove through the principal streets & out into the suburbs which was very fine indeed. Stayed all night at Mrs. Sutherlands where we had a most hearty reception. Thursday Nov. 4th. A lovely day. Mother & Mrs. Sutherland did some shopping. We children went to see the Gardens where we had lunch & spent a pleasant day. Friday Nov. 5th. Had a good look at the shops. Some of them are very fine buildings & very large.In the afternoon a gentleman lent us his steam launch when Father & Capt. Sutherland took us all round the harbour which is the finest in the world. Landed us on Clark Island where we walked round & gathered most beautiful flowers. Again on board of the launch we went to Mossmans Bay which is very fine. Landed six in the evening & all partook of a good dinner on board of Port Stephens. Saturday 6th. Left Sydney 9.30 for Newcastle where we passed some beautiful scenery we crossed the Hawkesbury river which is a most beautiful piece of scenery. Maggie met us & they were all so pleased to see us. Sunday 7th. Went out to Durramatta & spent the day with Capt. Bird. The country there is beautiful. The oranges & lemons growing all around. He has a horse & trap cow pig & poultry. We got plenty of good milk to drink. Monday 8th. A very warm day. We all went to do some shopping & had a grand ride on the bus out into the suburbs. Had lunch in town met Mrs. Brown at the station & joined Port Stephens. Sailed 6 p.m for Geelong Mrs Brown going the trip with us. All the Sutherland family came down to see us off. Tuesday Nov. 9th. Very fine weather today. Mrs. Brown not very well. Passed Green Cape at 6 p.m. At night we all got dressed up & had a very jolly time. Wednesday Nov. 10th. Had fine weather all day but at night it blew very hard the wind being very hot. We passed Wilson’s Promontory at 4 p.m a very high piece of land. We passed that close you could have thrown a biscuit on shore; we also saw a most wonderful cave. In the evening we had games & music. Thursday 11th. At 2/50 a.m. we took the pilot on board at Port Phillip Head it is blowing a perfect gale of wind at the time. 8 a.m. arrived at Geelong pier. We went on shore in the morning to the Botanical Gardens & remained all day, the Gardens were delightful, but the mosquitoes were very troublesome. At night we had a walk through the town & on our return to the ship had some music & off to bed as Father was very tired having been up nearly all the way from Sydney. Friday Nov. 12th. Raining heavily all the morning but a little finer in the afternoon. Went to do some shopping in the afternoon got our teas on shore & came back at 6 p.m. & then went for a walk with Father. Saw a large funnel there being over 60 carriages. Saturday Nov. 13th. Fine weather today. Went out for a walk in the afternoon. Agent & wife came down in the afternoon. Geelong is a very pretty place. Today is Father & Mothers anniversary of their wedding day being 18 years married. Sunday Nov. 14th. Very fine weather. Went to church in the morning & to a children’s anniversary in the afternoon. There were hundreds of visitors looking over the ship we could not get one place to ourselves the Steward collected 18/- among the visitors for the Aged Seamen’s Home in London. Monday 15th. Most beautiful day. Mother & I visited the Agent & his wife such a beautiful house & grounds & most lovely flowers. Same day we went to see some very fine ferneries & came back to the ship laden with most lovely flowers. Tuesday Nov. 16th. Another hot day. We all went on shore when we met an old gentleman who came from Jesmond & who had been out here for 43 years. He took us for a drive to see a large wool factory & again in the afternoon his daughter brought the carriage to the ship to take us for another drive. We went & had tea with him at his house they all came to see us off. Anchored off Williamstown at night. Wednesday Nov. 17th. Raining in the morning but finer in the afternoon. Went up the River to Melbourne at early morning. We went on shore to have a look at the city. Melbourne is a very beautiful city with a number of splendid buildings & shops. Thursday Nov. 18th. Showery all day took the trem out to the Zoological Gardens which is very extensive with a fine collection of beasts & birds did some shopping & came on board. Friday Nov. 19th. A lovely day. We took tram to south beach passing on our way the government house, a large grammar school & many other places of interest. Came on Board to tea when Mrs. Redford came & had tea with us. After we had a most dreadful storm it was quite a sight to see. Had a little music & then Father saw Mrs. Redford off in a cab. Saturday Nov. 20th. Fine day. Mrs. Brown left us today to go by steamer to Sydney. We left Melbourne at 4 p.m. for Portland. Sunday Nov. 21st. Strong head wind with heavy sea. Mother & I were both sick. Arrived at Portland tonight. We are anchored in the bay. Monday Nov. 22nd. Very squally. Father & Willie went on shore. Willie caught two large fish. Father took Mother & we children on shore in the afternoon to spend the afternoon with the Agents wife where we spent a delightful afternoon their house & grounds are most beautiful with a splendid tennis court. Came on board laden with most lovely flowers & strawberries & sailed 6 p.m for Adelaide. Tuesday Nov. 23rd. Strong wind on the side & heavy sea ship rolling a good deal. Saw a lot of Albatross & other birds. Saw Cape Willoughby Lt. House at 8 p.m. Wednesday Nov. 24th. Arrived at Port Adelaide at 5 a.m. Mother Jeanie Willie & I went up to the City in the afternoon where we first went to a circus & then to the Botanical Gardens which were very good indeed we then went & had some tea & then we got the train & came down to the ship tired out. Thursday Nov. 25th. Very hot weather. We went to the city this morning went to have alook at the shops & then we went to the Zoological Gardens which people say are the first in the world we then went to the Museum where there is a fine collection of stuffed birds beasts & precious stones & other things we then went back to the ship. Friday Nov. 26th. Very windy & rainy. We left Adelaide for home this morning at 8 o’clock the ship being full of wool. At night it was stormy, so we went to bed early. Saturday Nov.27th. Moderate wind with strong sea ship rolling a good deal. Mother very poorly & remained in bed all day. We had several games & saw a number of very large Albatross. At night we had our bath & then to bed. Sunday Nov. 26th. A very fine day. We passed a steamer at 5 o’clock. We were on deck nearly all day. Had music at night & then off to bed. Monday Nov.29th. Strong head wind with heavy sea. Had our lessons again. Tuesday Nov. 30th. Strong wind with big seas had our lessons in the morning & played about until bedtime. Wednesday Dec.1st. Very windy. We passed Albany at 4 o’clock this morning & Cape Leeuwin at 10/30 p.m. this being the last Australian land we will see this voyage & all going well the only land we will see until we reach the Gulf of Aden. We had cards at night & off to bed as the ship was rolling about a good deal. Thursday Dec. 2nd. Fine weather & fair wind. We are now ploughing our way across the Indian Ocean towards home. Had some games at night & then to bed. Friday Dec. 3rd. Light fair wind & fine weather. Had our lessons in the morning sewing in the afternoon & cards at night & then to bed. Saturday Dec.4th. Moderate wind on the side weather very hot. Had a game of cards then our bath & then to bed. Sunday Dec. 5th. Moderate fair wind. Had our scripture lesson in the morning, reading in the afternoon & music at night & then to bed. Monday Dec. 6th. Light fair wind & overcast weather getting warm. Lessons in the morning sewing & reading in the afternoon quoits & cards in the evening. A large number of flying fish were caught on the deck during the night of which the firemen made their breakfast. Tuesday Dec. 7th. Moderate fair wind & cloudy with following sea. Had our lessons as usual in the morning & reading & games during the remainder of the day. No birds to be seen now but a number of flying fish were caught after dark. We are now north of the sun. Wednesday Dec. 8th. Fresh wind & showery with strong sea. Nothing of any consequence transpired today. We passed our time in the usual way, lessons reading etc. Thursday Dec. 9th. Moderate fair wind & sea with fine weather but rather hot. We had flying fish for breakfast. We spent the day as usual had a game of whist at night & then to bed. Friday Dec. 1Oth. Fair winds with heavy showers all day we kept a lot of rainwater with which we all had a bath. It is very hot indeed. We have 9 sheep, 7 were killed on the passage, 3 geese 1 turkey which we are fattening up for Xmas 14 ducks & 8 fowls & we delight in gathering the eggs. Saturday Dec. 11th. Slight showers & very warm, sewing & reading & then a game of cards our bath & then to bed. Sunday Dec. 12th. Scripture lessons in the morning which were frightfully hot. Nearly all the crew sleeping on deck at night & we could not get a cool spot & the water is quite hot what we have to drink. Monday Dec. 13th. Another very hot day. Mother was washing today. The Steward was painting Fathers room. Tuesday 14th Dec. Light head wind & hot weather unable to sleep at night for the heat. Finished painting Fathers room & bathroom. Wednesday Dec.l5th. Fresh head wind & lumpy sea with heavy showers of rain. Father & Mother very busy getting their room put in order again. Weather not quite so hot today, slept better. A lovely dove flew on board today. Thursday Dec.l6th. Strong head wind & sea & heavy rain, ship pitching. Father very poorly. Mother ironing. A very peculiar fish was found on the deck this morning called a squid. Friday Dec. 17th. Fresh head wind & sea but beautiful clear weather. The ship has had a very strong current against her for three days which has stopped us a good deal. Mother has a very bad foot & walks with difficulty. We have passed the time away as usual with games etc. Saturday Dec. l8th. Moderate wind & fine weather. Saw a number of flying fish & some large birds. Today being Saturday we were free from lessons. Had games during the day a bath at night & then to bed. Sunday Dec. 19th. Light wind & very hot weather. Had Scripture lesson in the morning & reading during the rest of the day. Monday Dec. 20th. Moderate wind with heavy showers of rain. Had to stay below most of the day. Passed a steamer at night bound the opposite way. Tuesday Dec. 2lst. Moderate wind & fine weather. Lessons in the morning sewing in the afternoon & reading & games at night. Mother washed today. Wednesday Dec. 22nd. A very hot day. We have all been busy today painting & cleaning our room out Willie & Jeanie being in their hobby with bare feet scrubbing the furniture on deck. Fresh wind & cloudy. Thursday Dec. 23rd. Moderate wind & fine weather. Finished cleaning our room & got back into it today. Friday Dec.24th. 3a.m. passed Cape Guardefui & entered the Gulf of Aden. Light wind & very Hot weather. Saw several porpoises & birds today. Saturday Dec.25th. Christmas day. Had roast goose plum pudding & mince pies for dinner. Passed Aden at 8p.m. Willie & Jean got dressed up as Indians at night & amused every one, we had snapdragon & other games & spent a very pleasant Xmas day. Sunday Dec.26th. Arrived at Perim at 7/30a.m. coaled & left again at 1O/30a.m. Perim is a very barren island in the Red Sea & used simply as a coaling station, the inhabitants being all Arabs & a very funny lot they are most of them having red hair. Passed Mocha at 3p.m. a Mohammedan town principally noted for its coffee. Passed Abuail islands at 9p.m. Monday Dec.27th. Light fair wind &. fine weather. Passed Jebel Tiera a volcanic island at 9a.m. We also passed during the morning two mail boats one from Australia & the other bound to Australia. Mother washing today. Tuesday Dec.28th. Strong head wind & sea. Passed several steamers. Saw a large number of porpoises. Mother ironing today. Father made a coach for Jeanie. Played cards at night. Wednesday Dec.29th. Strong head wind & sea ship pitching heavily. We passed a number of steamers during the day. Weather is now getting much cooler. Thursday Dec.30th. Moderate wind & fine weather. Passed a large troop ship at night beautifully lighted up with the electric light. We also passed the Daedulus light house at 9.21p.m. it being on a small reef in the Red Sea. Friday Dec. 31st. In the morning strong head wind & sea in the evening moderate wind. At noon passed the Brothers Islands. At 10p.m. passed Shadwan island at the entrance of the Gulf of Suez. Saturday Jan. 1st.1893. Moderate wind & fine weather. At breakfast time we saw Mount Sinai which is mentioned in the Bible. We anchored at Suez at 5.45p.m took the Electric light on board & pilot & entered the Suez Canal at 9.15p.m. along with the Mail boat & several other steamers as it was late we could not see much of the Canal. Tonight, we were in trouble by hearing of the death of our Grandfather. Sunday Jan. 2nd. We were up early & had a look at the Canal there is not much to see but sand. Some of the stations had nice gardens. We saw several camels, most of the Canal officials live in house boats moored to the side of the Canal. We arrived at Port Said at noon & after our dinners Father took us on shore & we had a drive round the town but we are not in love with it as it is a dirty place & the people are made up of all nationalities. We left Port Said for home at 6p.m. after taking in 550 tons of coal. We saw a large troop ship at Port Said full of soldiers from home bound for India. Monday Jan.3rd. Light wind & fine weather. We are now in the Mediterranean & the weather is very much colder. Tuesday Jan.4th. Moderate head wind & showery. Mother has a very bad headache. We passed the time by sewing, reading etc. Wednesday Jan.5th. Fresh head wind & sea ship pitching a good deal. Passed the day reading etc. Thursday Jan.6th. Light wind & fine weather. Passed two steamers today. As it was delightfully fine we spent nearly all the day on deck. Father says he expects to see Malta tomorrow morning. Friday Jan.7th. Very light head wind, sea as smooth as glass. Passed Malta harbour at about 7.30a.m. Saw a sailing ship & several steamer. Passed Pantalleria island at 10.23p.m. Saturday Jan.8th. Moderate wind & cloudy. Passed the Dog rocks at 1.20a.m. one of the rocks standing perpendicular 250 feet high & looked just like a large ship under sail, this is on the coast of Tunis. We passed a number of steamers today two of which were in Australia with us. Sunday Jan.9th. Light wind & fine weather. We passed Cape Bengut at 9p.m. The weather has been beautiful & warm today. Had Scripture lesson. Monday Jan.10th. We passed Algiers a French coaling station at 2a.m. Had light wind & fine weather during the day but at night it came away to blow strong but as it was a fair wind, we did not mind it much. Tuesday Jan.11th. Very strong fair wind with heavy sea. The steamers passing going the other way are having a hard time of it & taking the seas right over them. We passed Cape De Gata on the Spanish coast at 6.30a.m. We will pass Gibraltar about midnight & we are sorry we will not have the opportunity of seeing it. We passed Gibraltar at 11.30p.m. & met a very great number of steamers in the Straits. Wednesday Jan.12th. Passed Cape Trafalgar at 4a.m. Fresh beam wind. Passed a perfect lane of steamers, they kept coming all day long. We passed Cape St. Vincent at 10.30p.m. & met with a head sea which caused the ship to pitch a little. Thursday Jan. l3th. We passed Lisbon at 11a.m. We have had a beautiful day. Passed the Berlings at 4p.m. Mother has been packing our clothes today as our voyage is drawing to a close. Friday Jan. 14th. Light variable winds & fine clear weather. Passed Cape Finisterre at 4.35p.m. also Cape Villano at 6.34p.m. Saturday Jan. 15th. Fresh wind & cloudy weather with head sea. Sunday Jan.16th. Light wing & hazy overcast. Passed Ushant at 2p.m. Monday Jan 17th. Light wind & hazy. Passed St. Catherine’s point at 12.30p.m. being a little hazy we could not see much of it. Took the pilot on board at Dungeness passed Dover very foggy. Tuesday Jan.18th. Arrived at Gravesend at 3/30p.m.& made fast to the buoys. Father went on shore to telephone to the office. At 6p.m. Father brought the Pilot off. We unmoored & proceeded up the River & arrived off London Dock entrance at 8p.m. Got into Dock & moored at 10p.m. So ended our voyage to Australia & back, which has been a very pleasant trip. We have steamed all together about 27,000 miles including the coasting in Australia. After discharging the London Cargo, the good ship Port Stephens goes on to Dunkirk & Antwerp with the balance of her cargo. We have bet the Port Elliot home which left Australia a week before us. Wednesday 19th.Jan. Father has arranged for us to go home tomorrow. We have been to Stratford today doing some shopping & we are now all ready for our beds. Note. We passed outwards through the North Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean & the Southern Ocean & on to the Pacific. Homewards we started from the Pacific, crossed the Indian Ocean up the Gulf of Aden & Red Sea, Gulf of Suez, Mediterranean, crossed the Bay of Biscay & up the English Channel & Thames & so finished our voyage. THE END Return to Menu AUDIOBOOK Return to Menu VIDEO Return to Menu THAT'S ALL FOLKs

By keef & annie, Mar 17 2012 01:05PM Worried about your payload? Want to squeeze in a little something extra, maybe another book to read on those long lot summer days, a slightly better (but heavier) BBQ, a few more bottles of wine or beer....? Well if you don't already know about these it may well be worth taking a look and either buying one or trying at the next bottle exchange to swap, could save you a bit of travelling weight. UPDATE 2014: We had to return ours after a recall, the 3rd in their history , read all about it HERE UPDATE 2018: Discontinued, probably unsafe UPDATE 2021: Calor have stopped making them. We got a carbon monoxide ping at 2am when in Brighton, frightening #scary Want to follow our motorhome-travels' pinboard on Pinterest? Image updated 2022 Original image

Created by KeefH Web Designs, November 3rd, 2022, 14.19 PM OVERVIEW We have had a ticking noise issue behind what we thought was the control panel in our van for about 6 months now, and no it wasn't the usual dial on the fire not being set back to zero on the gas half, i.e., it is trying the pilot light ignition. We got to the point whereas the level of noise grew we turned off the habitation switch which charges the 12V battery when you are hooked up to electrics at a site, which on one dark long night recently was not clever as all the internal lights went off. So, I researched Google as you do looking for a specialist in electrics for recreational and / or leisure vehicles and I'm so pleased to say I found Gary. What a lovely fellow with 47 years' experience in the field and just so knowledgeable. We had to drive to his house in Lichfield but so glad we did. He was initially perplexed by the ticking noise but eventually traced it to a hidden transformer gadget (don't ask me I'm no expert) whose fan was partially stuck and as it tried to rotate made what sounded like a clock ticking #hintsandtips #horology So well done, he is going to order a new one for us as it was unrepairable and fit it for us, we will return to Lichfield which as a byproduct of this we managed to call in on, never having been before, fab city. He is always busy so I wouldn't want this post to swamp him with work, but if you need an expert Gary, is your man. Can't recommend him enough to my motorhome-travels fraternity. UPDATE 24/11/2022 Gary now had the part, a replacement 10-amp charger for the habitation (hab) battery, which has no fan and because we have many of the internal lights replaced with LED ones (easy to do folks honest, if I can do it anyone can) the drain on the internal battery is not so much. We drove to Lichfield once again (a lovely city and home of the other Darwin, Erasmus) taking a somewhat torturous route, note to self don't let satnavs take you down long winding single-track roads of in the middle of nowhere #haha where we met again Gary and his very kind wife who was lovely chatty and offered us a drink. Anyhow Gary replaced the offending 18-amp part, and all is now quiet and correctly charging the habitation battery. Whilst in the process of checking all the chargeable mains connections Gary discovered some reverse polarity #overmyhead where someone (to be identified) had put the live in the neutral and the neutral in the live, presumably by mistake, as some stage in the main switch board. #notgood #dangerous #scary Gary sorted this and retested everything. Now all good. We asked what the effects of that would be, if you were touching the metal of the van outside and put your hand on the ground whilst mains were plugged in you could get a nasty electrical shock. Horrible and something we had no idea about. We all reflected on why anyone would do such a thing and concluded it can't have been wrong from when the van was built by autosleeper in the Cotswolds as they know what they are doing. The only thing we know about in our tenure of the van, now 10 years plus, was Don Amott's whom we don't trust having used them for many years as it is where we bought the van put in a new fire as a condition of our purchase, the old one did not work. Gary said the connecting wires were short so maybe, just maybe they did this to make it fit, but realistically who knows. I have to say we had so many issues with their service over the years we would NEVER use them again #hintsandtips So pleased Gary fixed this for us, now no noise whatsoever and the battery we know charges properly, we could not recommend him highly enough a very helpful chap and just so knowledgeable, we would always use Gary for electrical and probably gas work on the van, just hope now nothing goes wrong again for a while. Got the van home, getting ready for winterisation we washed it with the soapy high pressure jet spray, chammied it down to remove the last residues of summer dirt and left it to dry before putting on the breathable cover for winter resting. Happy bunnies now with Wendy houses repair work.

By keef and annie hellinger, Jul 21 2016 12:25PM UPDATE Nov 2022 Retrospectively numbered 9 because these clubs will really help (and reduce costs) for your camping in Scandinavia It is worth knowing that in most if not all Scandinavian campsites it is necessary to have a Camping Card Europe card. You can get away with ACSI, UK Caravan Club & UK Camping & Caravan club if you are lucky in one or 2 sites but that won't last for long and give you unnecessary hassle on what should be a relaxing holiday. Despite ACSI's notes that you MAY need one, you definitely WILL need one. Remember ACSI is a Dutch company, and their card is not used readable on most scandic campsite computers to automatically get your details off. No need to buy one upfront you can get one at the 1st scandic site you stay at costing about £14 (2016). What you will need for cheaper camping in the Scandinavian countries is DENMARK - CC Europe card, ACSI Discount card, pay on leaving (i.e., they keep your cards as security) SWEDEN - CC Europe card, ACSI Discount card, Pay up front FINLAND - CC Europe card, ACSI Discount card, Pay up front NORWAY - CC Europe card, ACSI Discount card, Pay up front Note in Germany, France and Holland the ACSI members card and discount card are fine and there is a mixture of paying up front and on departure. Do hope this hint and tip helps others. Kind Regards Keef & Annie Our site addresses There are 4 types of cards... in sequence on the slideshow Camping Radet / Camping Key card Buy at any Scandinavian site, these are ESSENTIAL ACSI discount card Buy up front online, ESSENTIAL for discount, well worth it ACSI registration card Used in place of your passport, Buy online from ACSI Buy both from their Web Shop UK Caravan & Motorhome club membership buy online

By keef & annie, Mar 8 2012 09:07AM UPDATE retrospectively numbered as a Recommended Leisure Van trader by us in November 2022 Because they were very good to us when we broke down in 2014 in France, but times have moved on and with the cost-of-living crisis our loyalty has had to be dispensed with in favour of price, so we are now with Performance Direct for both our insurance and breakdown cover but (if price didn't win out over Service) we would still highly recommend Safeguard. Performance Direct are however not bad either and covered our relay back when the van's cambelt went in BLOG 152 Previously Here in the UK, we did an enormous amount of research whilst trying to select the right insurance for our Motorhome. Our lovely Wendy house, VW auto sleeper clubman anniversary which we adore, by 2021 had her now for almost 10 years, and 46 trips in her. There are lots of factors to consider. price, cover, breakdown assistance, excess, value for money etc. etc. We found that many of the normal car insurance companies just don't do cover for motorhomes, and you may well have difficulty getting your no claims discount statement from your car insurance company, even though they don't offer the service, as they try to protect what they term 'their business'. You will probably need it as on the basis of your car no claims you are generally given a discretionary 4 or 5 years no claims for Motorhomes. Anyhow after some extensive research and asking friends & family we would recommend SAFEGUARD Comparable on price, if not a little cheaper, but the unlimited mileage (many charges are by the miles you do in the year and frankly we don't know the answer to that question yet) and AA European breakdown cover made it right for us. What do you think or recommend. Have your say in the comments box below. Let's get a discussion going for the good of all of us motor homers / rv-ers / campervanners We used them in France, and they were wonderful when the starter motor went on our van See Blog 71 By 2020 however we had swapped to use Performance Direct as in the growing health & economic crisis that is the global pandemic Covid-19 cost was important to us but I will still continue to champion them for the wonderful help they gave us in 2014, thx again folks The INDEX page has TAGs for all Blogs and by year or month, A-Z INDEX alphabetically or just using the LETTERs in the Tag maps, or you can use the SEARCH page to look for something or just use the search facilities here on the BLOG or the associated Blogs attached to each Blog, entirely up to you, there is a wealth of ways to find what you want, thanks for looking motorhome-travel blog, LIKE to join our Facebook community or have a look at all our great "motorhomes" on our pin board, why not, join the conversation “motorhomes R us” 😉 🌠 ✅ 🤔

By keef and annie hellinger, Dec 30 2021 9.11 am Integra We especially LIKE✅ this version of the Eura Mobil motorhomes although there are many more lines to like Their flagship Integra, is redefining the motor home upper class. The emotionally striking and at the same time functional and safety-oriented lighting design underlines the luxurious character of this liner inside and outside. Ambient lighting and state-of-the-art LED technology compose an impressive light symphony. High-quality materials, first-class workmanship, perfectly designed architecture and the extremely spacious interior design are combined to create an incomparable super-comfortable ambience. #vanswelove We spied this one a while back and featured it in our Instagram posts to see more visit their website and have a look around their motorhome show entries in Germany HERE

By keef & annie, Apr 1 2012 05:36PM We met these lovely people at the #sbs small business sunday event in birmingham on 30/3/2012 run by Theo Paphitis (Dragons Den) and Rymans for Annie's small business Serendipity Girls Designer Dresses Just love this vw conversion aptly named 'theo' If you want to learn more about Harrogate Motorhomes please visit their website. They are RECOMMENDED by motorhome-travels Maybe have a look at theopaphitissbs.com as well to see what its all about! Or Annie's entry specifically showing her WIN The INDEX page has TAGs for all Blogs and by year or month, A-Z INDEX alphabetically or just using the LETTERs in the Tag maps, or you can use the SEARCH page to look for something or just use the search facilities here on the BLOG or the associated Blogs attached to each Blog, entirely up to you, there is a wealth of ways to find what you want, thanks for looking motorhome-travel blog

By keef & annie, Mar 17 2012 01:26PM RECOMMENDED by motorhome-travels. We have just had our auto sleeper clubman spruced up by having all the fabrics re-upholstered. Barrie & Mick at Regal Furnishings are lovely guys and make you feel welcome and extra proud of your motorhome / rv. They love it when folk see their updated & refreshed vans for the first time and go WOW! They are based at Ilkeston, just down the road from us. They once had the contract for all new autosleepers so SO know what they are doing People travel to them from all over Europe and it generally just takes a day. You can leave it with them and then come back to a great surprise. They even have electric hook up on site if its gonna take longer than a day #tick Want to see more of what they do, click here

By keef and annie hellinger, Aug 9 2017 12:09PM Here is a summary of our Motorhome Travels in South Island New Zealand Arrived in Picton from Wellington on the Interislander ferry, Early morning start, Very wet day (haha welcome to south island), Shakespeare bay, Queen Charlotte Sound, Queen Charlotte drive, Ngakuta bay,Havelock, Green Mussels (yummy), Read all about mussels opposite (please) its very informative, Lady from Auckland, Freshness, straight from the sea, Long windy wet drive to Nelson, Town centre camp site over a bridge with a stream, nice calming stream noises, WOW museum and classic cars, so many clever costumes (see the slideshows),Lippydeema, Lord Maharajah and the Star bride, Goodbye Versaille starring Mrs Du Barry's monkey, Ishmaelian wingflapper to name but a few... go on look, you wont be disappointed.... What's the line "WOW makes Lady Gaga look like a librarian", Amazing Bras, Cars were Minis , Locomobiles, Vauxhall Vivas, Shaguar and many more, Tahunanui beach reserve , Board walks, Lunch, Winery areas, Pears, Apples, Kaiteriteri, Beach front history, sunsets, Wilsons ferries, Beached Whale pub, Fire, Singing barman, Rugby - Christchurch Vs Wellington, Abel Tasman National Park, The man who emptied his loo in the water area and covered it with leaves (Yuk! Sick!), Abel tasman boat trip, Totaroa, Awaroa, Medlands, Tonga Quarry, Torrent Bay, Bark Bay, Picnic, Coffee, Wind & Sun, New Zealand fur seal, Adele island and many other islands, kayaking, Solar panels, Tides , Motueka river, Kahurangi National park, Low cloud, Hinetai hops, Tapawera,Railways, Old police stations, Wooden Cow, Eels, Lake Rotoiti, Mr Angry and his boat, St Arnaud, Lake Rotoroa, Wet feet, nature walk, Red toadstools, Trees, colourful leaves, Buller river, Murchison, Heritage area, Fuel fillup, Buller Gorge Swing bridge, Waterfalls, Earthquakes, Floods, 2010,1929,White creek peninsular circular walk, Wagtails, Wekas, Bushline walk, Araki waterfalls, Logging on the buller,Springs junction for a pie lunch, Lewis pass, Waiau river, Kaikoura range, Road to Kaikoura Highway 70 via Rotherham and Waiau as SH1 closed due to Kaikoura earthquake 2016, Kaikoura camp site, Fish & Chips in town at No2, the best one (Tiki Takeaways) was sadly closed, Fyffe Quay, Old House chimney remains, Mountains, Snow covering, Boardwalk, The Point, Seal colony, No fishing, Smells, Views, Seals asleep on boardwalk and rocks, Road back, Many roadslips, Woodchester, Monet autumn views, man with coffee, Rejoin empty SH2 via Waiau, Christchurch, Britz office, Extra bedding, C&As van fixed - brakes/ headlamp bulb, Ours for internal light only, School party and rain at Christchurch Top10 site, Blue route bus into Bus station, Ballantynes department store, Devestation, Sad, Cathedral, Customs House, Chalice sculpture, Vintage trams, New Regent Street, Murals, Container City, Quake museum, Kiwi humour in the face of adversity, Columbo street, Mexican restuarant, Workman everywhere, often playing, Rain, Loosing each other on ring road around the airport, Sheffield pies,West coast road, Lake Lyndon, Castle Hill, snow, mountains, roads, State Highway 73, Kumara Junction, Great alpine way, Grasmere, Lake Pearson, great farming flats, Cass laggon track, Otira gorge and viaduct, Jackson tavern, Arthurs pass, Arthurs pass national park, Waimakariri river, Railways,Tranz alpine, Bridal veil falls and lookout, Visitors centre, Cobb & co stagecoach, Devils punchbowl bridge,Kumara gold town, Theatre, Hokitika, Tasman sea, Old town, Signs and chairs, Glow worms, Rainbows (lots of them), Ross Gold mining town, gaol, Heritage walk, Gold panning, Chinese influence, Jones flats, Museum, De Bakker cottage, Philip Ross May (local hero & Historian),Autumn colours, Mine shaft, Catholic church, Mining Memorabilia, New ross gold mine, Hari Hari, Guy Menzies, 1st solo flight Oz to Nz, Southern cross junior, Lunch, Whataroa river, Glacier flights, Rain, Glacier highway, Franz Josef wet walk, receding glacier, pain in knees , Lake Ianthe, Fox Glacier, Blue lake, Moraine, Haast valley, Bruce Bay, Stones for messages, Lake Matheson walks and views, Cafe, Coffee, Snow cover peaks, Knights point lookout, Whale watching, Mother and calf, Fox Glacier ski village, Pollax point peaks, Haast village, Haast campsite, Sunset, Eeerie colours on the peaks, Having to move pitches as the power didn't work at Haast Top10, Haasy-Jackson Bay road, Oturu, Harbour, Fan tails, Oturu river, Whitebait, Lobsters, Bridges (many), Neils Beach, Shearwaters, Hannahs crossing, Jackson Bay, Wharf (dodgy), Visitors centre, Whalers chimney remains, Whale (sighted by Annie), Pioneers, Fishing community, Return to Haast, Fuel station out, haast pass, Cameron Flat, Lunch, Mt Brewster and others, more snow, Mount Aspiring, Lake Wanaka, The Neck, Lake Hawea, Boundary Creek, Makarora Jack, Albert Town, Hawea, Wanaka, Snow predicted -2 it didnt arrive (hooray), Cold at night, Wanaka shore line, Luggate, Old motor cars, Town hall, Luggate - Cromwell Road, Tannersley estate vineyard, Lake Dunstan, 45th parallel, Lowburn, Mountain reflections, Cool seed pods, The Remarkables,Cromwell town - both new and old, Printing presses, Horses, Cartwheels, Paua art,Fruit town, sunshine, Goldfields, Kawarau gorge, Roaring Meg, Hydro power, A J Hackett bungy jumping, Warm outdoor fires, kawarau bridge, Shotover gorge, Queenstown campsite, Lake Wakatipu, Rainbows, Snow, Lumsden junction, Kingston, Old railway bridge, Garston, Mossburn, Stock crossing, Te Anau, lake Te Anau, Picture drome, Library, Coffee, Float planes, Kelpler track, Layby with Kea, Naughty alpine parrots - Kea, Car stripping trims, Homer Tunnel, waterfalls, Road slips, Rain, Milford sound lodge and camping ground, Milford village, Cruise terminal, Milford Mariner (our nature cruise boat), Nature cruise, NZ fur seals, Heron, Milford Sound is one of the true modern wonders of the world, Sigh loved it and nice to do it with pals, Low clouds, Mitre peak, The footstool, Sindbad gully, Many cruise liners, Massive crowds, Fur seals, Coffee, Warmth, Winds and cold,Tutoko Historic Suspension Bridge , Valley and river, Hollyford river and lookout, The Chasm walk and Kea (again) , Homer tunnel return, Mirroe lakes, such reflections, Ta Anau again, pitch where we camped in a tent in 2008, still there by the roses, Mossburn deer capital of NZ, red tussock grass, Lumsden, Gore, Clock tower and art gallery, Balclutha for a fab fish & chip lunch, Southern scenic highway, Dunedin, Otago peninsular (right hand coast), Taiaroa head scenic reserve, Royal Albatross centre, Prince Charles, Pilots beach, Blue Penguins (see video part 4), Portobello, Company bay, Broad bay, Wycliffe bay, Hooper inlet, Sandfly bay, Cape Saunders, Pilot beach viewing platform, Waiwhakeheke bay, Lighthouse, Dick Road, Allan beach, Sheep branding, Flotsam & jetsam, Lovely beach flowers, Highcliff road (scary and roadslips but great views), Dunedin city, Signal Hill lookot and memorial, University Oval cricket ground Dunedin, Baldwin street (the steepest in the world and I have the t-shirt somewhere to prove it!), Dunedin station lit up, travelling back to Portobello around the peninsular at night spectacular lights, Dunedin Vogel street murals, Blueskin Road, 19 Fathoms Foul memorial, Robert Falcon Scott memorial, Blueskin bay, Quarentine and Rakiriri islands, Waikouaiti and river, Karitane, Seacliff lookout, Pies in Waikouati village, Bushy beach reserve, Hide, Yellow eyed penguins, Oamaru victorian precinct, Jetty, Friendly Bay,Farmers market, Grain stores, Brewery, Distillery, Station, Picture frame, Steam punk (lots of it - class),Fat controller and the steam railway,Rakaia - salmon capital and goal, Banks Peninsular, Hilltop views, Akaroa, French very french, Jetty, Cinema, Passport office, Monet, Bedroom with a view, Churches, Roses, cats, Barrys bay, Little river, Silo stays, Over the hills in the rain, Gebbies pass, Dyers pass,Sugar loaf scenic reserve, Riccarton, Apollo motel (room11), Lone star last supper, Early rise, nice family, Airport off to Singapore (us), Hong Kong (C&A), tears, coffee in Sydney airport airside, Great times Want to see more click HERE This is a quick summary video with a lovely Clannad / Paul Young soundtrack #motorhome #motorhometravels #travelsin2017 #campsites #majortrip