An Australian Summer

TODAY'S EDITION OF 'FOX TOWER is all about Summer. Yes Summer is here at last! Well, at least if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, it is. Three - sorry, four - people enjoying the Summer in Sydney, Australia, are my feature today.

First is Mella, featured in the photograph on the left, in her role as the Prom Queen. Mella is a citizen of Sydney, a city she loves, as you will find in her MySpace webpage, which you can visit here.

Second is Miss Stine Slettemark, who is living in Sydney whilst she is studying a Tourism course at college in the city. Stine has her home in Oslo, Norway, a city which takes on a much different appearance to Sydney at this time of year, a fact not lost by Stine, as her blog on her Windows Live Space shows. Visit Miss Slettemark's webpage by clicking here.

Greetings to my cousin, Sarah Cowin and her partner Dave, who are also in Sydney. They have travelled from the cold, wet, UK, to Sydney, where, in a letter home recently, Sarah also found the summer weather a shock to the system, saying she kind of missed the cold and rain which is constant here in the UK at this time of year!! Sarah & Dave report they have secured accommodation and employment, close to the harbour, with views of the World-famous Opera House. After their stint in Sydney, Sarah & Dave plan to travel to Perth, Western Australia, but that is in the near future. This is Sarah's second visit to Australia, her previous visit was a decade ago, December 1996. How time passes...!

Wallpaper Of The Week

TODAY'S WALLPAPER is a photograph I took on the evening of April 10th 2006, as the Northern Rail evening service was passing Garsdale, heading north to Kirkby Stephen. Enjoy...

And Finally... An Eventful 2006...

Missed the chaos? Fat chance!

TRAFFIC was brought to a standstill after a wagon spilled cooking oil all over the road.

The lorry was driving along Marina Way, in Hartlepool, when its side door suddenly opened, causing several barrels to fall into the road. Traffic chaos quickly followed and at least two accidents were caused by cars skidding on the oil. The lorry driver, who did not wish to be named, said: “It’s just an accident. I didn’t mean for it to happen. “The clip on the side door has broken off, so the side door came up. “The first right hand turn I took, the barrels tipped out, and when I looked in my side mirror I could just see them coming out.” The driver of the Eden Valley Oils wagon was turning right into Middleton Road when the barrels full of used cooking oil spilled out. Two fire engines attended the scene at around 1.15pm yesterday and firefighters closed the road and worked to remove the oil. Watch manager at Stranton Fire Station Barry Waites said: “I believe there were a couple of minor bumps as a result. “Our job was to remove the oil from the road surface. “We use something called elcef fibres and we brush them into the road. It’s also used in petrol spillages as well. “We also used two tonnes of sand from the council.” The affected area was temporarily made a 20mph speed limit zone in a bid to prevent any further accidents. Buses, meanwhile, were diverted along Lancaster Road and Clarence Road.

16 November 2006, The Hartlepool Mail.
Nobody was hurt, so at least those of us in the know (no names!) can raise a smile, I guess...

If you would like to leave a comment, please do so below, or to take the opportunity to E-Mail me, click here.

Finally, finally, may I take this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year and say if you make a wish this New Year, I hope your wish comes true!