Sydney Generosity

Among the generous assistance Australia has been giving to the Victorians who lost their homes and loved ones in the bush fire, today i witnessed the sweetest show of generosity a little closer to home.

I was on a train on my way for a job interview (having recently lost my job due to the financial strain of my company) and i could hear a woman nearby arguing with someone (presumably an ex-partner) on her mobile about their daughter and his lack of financial assistance and lack of presence in her life.

This went on for a good number of stops till i noticed a girl who got on at one point turning around to face this woman. I faintly heard "i dont normally do this" and "its not much before" handing her something and getting up to get off at the next stop. Thoroughly curious i watched the woman open her hand to reveal a crisp $20 note. I was really surprised and impressed.That lovely girl had handed her some money to help out with her daughter just because she overheard the ladys conversation.

Now for those cynics who might be saying that the lady was shouting her conversation so others would feel sorry for her (as has been known to happen and i have experienced myself) let me tell you that this was not the case. Ive seen enough to know the difference.

The woman kept looking at the note and playing with it as if she couldnt quite believe it was real. A little later i heard her finally exclaim "oh my F... god!" and a bit later a sniffle or two. For my part, i was really touched by this spontaneous act of generosity and im sure i wont forget it and neither will that woman.

VP

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Rain, rain everywhere...but not in Bathurst.

This week has given us miserable weather, the tempreture dropping below the 20 degree celcius mark. I know we need the rain but i loathe cold climate! :( So i decided to take a trip up to Bathurst. I had promised my next door neighbours kid to go up to visit him ages ago and never got round to it.

He was still on uni holidays so i made the trip up and i had lots of fun. It took me a bus, a train and a drive to get there...i left home about 9.45am and got there about 2pm! As much as i like sitting back and watching the scenery go by or reading a book, next time i think i'll drive up.

We stopped by his place and then decided to go for a walk. It was cool but sunny and nice. Bathurst is a cute country town. The houses are picturesque and there are a few parks dotted throughout the place. The main streets are as you would expect and there are innumberable pubs (for all the uni students and visitors) and cafes. And one heck of a yummy ice-cream parlor. If ur ever in Bathurst you have to go Annie's Ice Cream Parlor. It has delicious flavours, and generous servings, and its good to munch on one while taking a walk :)
I came across a house thats right near Bathurst train station that reminded me a lot of Pippi Longstockings house. It was set on its own apart from any other houses on a large-ish bit of land, the garden was a little overgrown and there was a pirates flag flying from the upstairs balcony though it didnt come up in the photo.









I had a lot of fun walking around and just enjoying the conversation and sights. The people are really nice and friendly too which i thought was a myth about country towns but i guess not. Id like to go again just to take more decent photos of the main streets and the historic buildings - they have one which is now a boys boarding school and one which i think used to be either an orphanage or mental asylum, i really cant remember.

Oh and it was sunny the whole day :)

VP

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