Belgrave

  • My Heavenly Hometown, Hounded By Hitler

    With time on hand recently, I was going through historical records of the small Australian village where I spent my childhood and got a profound shock. I discovered the sleepy little hamlet I’d believed to have been a cosy resort area for day trips out of Melbourne had also been a breeding ground of Teutonic terror in the years immediately before World War II. Belgrave is located about 40 km east of Melbourne’s central business district and is a tourist-commuter town to this day with the bulk of its visitors coming to ride on the Puffing Billy Railway, a steam train that starts its trips from the village. Belgrave has…

  • Kangaroo Paw Finally Hopping Into Action

    My heart-wrenching kangaroo paw plants have finally started to flower, bringing some joy, but a little bit of sadness, too. Perhaps the best lesson they’re teaching me at the moment is not to get too attached to anything. I’ve always wanted to have kangaroo paw in the garden. They’re one of the few Australian flowers I’ve always known about. I consider them iconic Australian flora. They have a connection to the theme of this website. Most of the kangaroo paw I have in our garden have a connection to my hometown. Apart from one plant, I grew all our kangaroo paw from seed I bought in Belgrave, where I grew…

  • There And Back Again: Oz 2022

    Kangaeroo made it back to Oz for a while in 2022. The circumstances behind the trip weren’t the greatest. But the time spent Down Under was fruitful and poignant. Kangaeroo got to catch up with lots of childhood friends. And deeply explored the places that had played an enormous role during the formative years. Thanks to an enormously kind and helpful seller on gumtree, Kangaeroo also got to move around outer eastern Melbourne on a Malvern Star! In many ways, the time spent in Australia was magical and Kangaeroo extends his deepest gratitude to all the friends, family, people, places, critters and creatures that made it that way (even the…