Featured

Bondi Beach Aerial

Bondi Beach is a popular beach and the name of the surrounding suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Bondi Beach is located 7 km (4 mi) east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council, in the Eastern Suburbs. Bondi, North Bondi, and Bondi Junction are neighbouring suburbs. Bondi Beach is one of the most visited tourist sites in Australia

© Shan,Shihan 2018

Death Of Cricket, The Sporting Times mock obituary 1882

Australia and England first met in Test match cricket in Melbourne in 1877, but the legend of The Ashes, the symbolic trophy the two teams play for, only began in 1882 when at the Oval in London, Australia won its first test match on English soil, beating its hosts by seven runs in a match that spanned two days in late August.

Four days later a mock obituary, lamenting the home side’s loss, appeared in a newspaper, The Sporting Times, written by Reginald Shirley Brooks.

“In Affectionate Remembrance of English cricket, which died at The Oval on 29 August 1882. Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances RIP. NB – the body will be cremated and the ashes takes to Australia.”

The bales were burnt and the ashes placed in an urn to become The Ashes for which Australia and England compete. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Pink Flannel Flower (Actinotus forsythii)

Pink Flannel flowers (Actinotus forsythii) in full bloom in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia. These flowers are extremely rare and can be seen on exposed rocky escarpments in this region and in scattered parts of eastern Australia, from the Blue Mountains to north-eastern Victoria. They are rare as they rely on rain fall after a bush fire for seed germination to occur and flowering usually occurs in late summer. During the summer of 2019-2020 in Australia fires ripped through the Blue Mountains World Heritage area damaging nearly 80% of the area. Twelve months on nature is rebounding and these flowers are part of the regeneration process.

© Janet K Scott