Flying the Flag in Tetbury

Tetbury is an English town in the county of Gloucestershire. We stopped for a brief visit on our way back from Westonbirt Arboretum.

The town is pretty but was not particularly photogenic. The central market building was surrounded by roads ferrying cars here and there. Fewer cars would have been welcome.

Tetbury market building

Tetbury market building

One of Tetbury’s claims to fame is a shop operated by The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall called Highgrove.

Many of Tetbury’s buildings were adorned with the English or United Kingdom flag. I am noticing this trend more and more since returning to the UK. There seem to be more flags flying than I remember almost a decade ago.

A street in Tetbury

A street in Tetbury

The Snooty Fox public house in Tetbury

The Snooty Fox public house in Tetbury

From Green Bean to Cup

During our visit to Bathurst we were treated to fresh coffee. This was the first time I had seen green coffee beans roasted and transformed into a cup of coffee.

Our kind hosts put up with my enthusiasm to see, and photograph, their coffee making process in full. The entire roasting process took about fifteen minutes and required surprisingly simple house hold tools to complete.

The green beans are placed in a container ready to be roasted with a hot air gun.

Green coffee beans

Green coffee beans

These beans took about twelve to fifteen minutes to cook with constant stirring. As they roasted the coffee beans’ husks came off and drifted out of the bowl.

The beans were roasted outside as the husks can settle in the garden without harm and the smoke created does not trigger fire alarms.

Roasting the green beans

Roasting the green beans

The beans are stirred as they roast

The beans are stirred as they roast

Once the beans are roasted, they are cooled. In this case the beans were tumbled from one metal bowl to another.

Cooling the roasted coffee beans

Cooling the roasted coffee beans

Tumbling the coffee beans to speed up the cooling

Tumbling the coffee beans to speed up the cooling

The once green coffee beans have now turned brown.

Roasted coffee beans

Roasted coffee beans

The cooled roasted beans are ground to a powder using an electric grinder. Previously the grinding had been done with a hand grinder, but unsurprisingly the process was not endearing and an electric replacement was brought in.

The traditional espresso coffee machine

The traditional espresso coffee machine

Coffee ready for the espresso machine

Coffee ready for the espresso machine

After being ground the coffee is put through a coffee machine and into the waiting the cups. The end result tasted fantastic.

The final beautiful cups of coffee

The final beautiful cups of coffee

Light Fall of Snow

Our first light fall of snow appeared overnight. The Malvern Hills behind Malvern showed a thin scattering of snow this morning.

Snow on the Malvern Hills

Snow on the Malvern Hills

Given our onward travel plans, I am grateful to see no more snow is predicted for the next few days.

Malvern Hills viewed from Malvern Link

Malvern Hills viewed from Malvern Link

Road looking up at the Malvern Hills

Road looking up at the Malvern Hills

Westonbirt Arboretum

We enjoyed a walk in Westonbirt Arboretum near Tetbury, UK. The Arboretum has wide paths and open spaces amongst the trees. It is clearly a popular place for families with young children and dogs, who can run and play freely.

Frosted gate at Westonbirt Arboretum

Frosted gate at Westonbirt Arboretum

It was a cold, sunny morning, and the ice crunched under foot as we wandered along. Being winter, many of the trees had lost their leaves, but there were still vistas of vivid greens and oranges.

Frozen grass

Frozen grass

Vivid colours at Westonbirt Arboretum

Vivid colours at Westonbirt Arboretum

Beautiful forest within Westonbirt Arboretum

Beautiful forest within Westonbirt Arboretum

Wooden plaque at Westonbirt Arboretum

Wooden plaque at Westonbirt Arboretum

Sun shining through Westonbirt Arboretum

Sun shining through Westonbirt Arboretum

Moss covered tree at Westonbirt Arboretum

Moss covered tree at Westonbirt Arboretum

Carpet of leaves in Westonbirt Arboretum

Carpet of leaves in Westonbirt Arboretum

Arriving at Paddington

With over thirty hours of travel behind us, we reached Paddington Station in London. Despite a lack of sleep over the past days, the architecture of the train station still managed to capture my attention and my camera’s focus.

Paddington Station's vaulted ceiling

Paddington Station's vaulted ceiling

We had a few hours to wait at Paddington before our train for Malvern arrived. During that time we wandered around, enjoyed a coffee, visited Paddington Bear, and enjoyed the feeling of walking on solid ground again.

Detail of the vaulted ceiling at Paddington Station

Detail of the vaulted ceiling at Paddington Station

Beautiful iron facade at Paddington Station, London

Beautiful iron facade at Paddington Station, London

Surviving Long Haul Flights

Long haul flights are never enjoyable. The term long haul is apt and descriptive. I have travelled back and forth from Australia to Europe enough times to know that every extra comfort is worthwhile.

Thanks to extensive searching for specific routes and a healthy block of Frequent Flyer points we were able to secure our latest flights on the new Airbus A380 plane along with Qantas Skybed seats.

Qantas A380

Qantas A380

This was the first flight I have been able to recline fully on. The seats certainly helped. It will be difficult to return to traditional airline seats.

Qantas Skybeds inside the A380

Qantas Skybeds inside the A380

Inside Business Class of the A380

Inside Business Class of the A380

View across the A380 inside

View across the A380 inside

Qantas Skybed seat controls

Qantas Skybed seat controls

Tail mounted camera on the A380

Tail mounted camera on the A380

Au Revoir Australia

Our final weeks in Australia were a whirlwind of packing and catching up with family and friends. Thank you to everyone who hosted events for us and had us as guests. We had a wonderful time.

View from the plane

View from the plane

After a 38 hour journey, we find ourselves on the other side of the world and at the start of a great adventure.

Visiting Friends in Bathurst

Bathurst is an Australian town in New South Wales. Getting to Bathurst by train and bus takes about four hours. The scenery on the way is beautiful and rural.

We were in Bathurst to visit friends. The town has an attractive and family friendly feel. We happily strolled around with our friends’ two little boys running and playing ahead.

Park and two foozles

Park and two foozles

It was wonderful to catch up in person with old friends.

View of Bathurst and surrounding countryside

View of Bathurst and surrounding countryside

Bathurst courthouse

Bathurst courthouse

Bathurst war memorial in the town centre

Bathurst war memorial in the town centre

Bathurst war memorial

Bathurst war memorial

A visit to Bathurst would not be complete without a circuit of the race track.

View from Bathurst race track

View from Bathurst race track

Vacuum Bags

I do not remember when I first encountered vacuum bags. It must be many years ago now and I can not imagine moving or travelling without them.

Vacuum bags are designed to reduce the storage size of your bedding or clothes. They are plastic bags that allow air trapped inside to be pumped out. You put your clothes or linen inside, then you vacuum out the air. The result is an impressively shrunken rigid bag.

Typically the vacuum bag requires a vacuum cleaner to suck the air out. Some smaller bags can be rolled to remove the air; this type is great for travelling.

Today I got the chance to photograph and film a new vacuum box being used. This box was a new variation on the vacuum bag theme for us. The vacuum bag is fixed into a semi-soft box. When compacted the bag is neatly contained in the box. The box makes the final rigid bag easier to pack or ship.

Watch the bag being compacted on YouTube in High Definition.

An empty vacuum bag

An empty vacuum bag

Vacuum bag with 3 duvets inside

Vacuum bag with 3 duvets inside

Compacted vacuum bag holding 3 duvets

Compacted vacuum bag holding 3 duvets

Close up of the compacted vacuum bag inside the box

Close up of the compacted vacuum bag inside the box

Closed vacuum bag box ready for storage or transport

Closed vacuum bag box ready for storage or transport

Native Australian Flowers

Megan had a surprise farewell lunch at work and brought home a beautiful native Australian flower arrangement. Having grown up on the other side of the planet, this arrangement was a delight to see and touch. Plants in Australia tend to be much more hardy; they have thicker and broader leaves to cope with the harsh sun and dry regions.

Radiant native Australian flower

Radiant native Australian flower

Native Australian flowers

Native Australian flowers

Detail of a native Australian flower

Detail of a native Australian flower

An amazing clustered flower native to Australia

An amazing clustered flower native to Australia

A white flowering plant native to Australia

A white flowering plant native to Australia