Stella at Target in OZ

Target stores in Australia made a one-time only deal with Stella McCartney to sell a line of her clothing in their stores in March. The clothing was in stores on March 12th and sold out in most stores by noon. The line included tops, a jacket, a dress, and skinny cropped pants as well as the trenchcoat pictured here. Nothing was priced over $A200. Here are a few more photos from the line. A few stores had some returns as most of the merchandise was grabbed up without benefit of fitting. Even the mannequins were beheaded and stripped. The returns are being trucked to 4 stores in Sydney where stocks sold out the fastest. Most customers were pleased with their purchases; however, a few complained that the clothing was "too big" which was explained by Target as a feature of McCartney's signature line and reflected in the Target store line. More photos of the line here.

Sydney Harbour Receives Two Queens

The $1 billion grand lady of the sea, the Queen Mary 2, docked in Sydney Harbor early yesterday. Too tall to sail under the Harbour Bridge and too long to berth at the International Terminal in Circular Quay, QM2 had to dock at the Garden Island naval base. Later that evening her sister ship Queen Elizabeth 2 entered the harbour. Even though the two ships sailed together from Florida, they set different courses around the world and this was their first reunion. They saluted each other with their foghorns and thousands of Sydneysiders lined the harbour foreshore to watch fireworks in their honour. At 11pm, the QM2 began its departure on its way to Hong Kong. She leaves behind her smaller sister, with the QE2 remaining in Sydney until Thursday evening when she departs for Brisbane.

Anniversary of Darwin Bombing

Today is the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Darwin, a small town on Australia's Top End. On February 19, 1942 Japanese forces dropped bombs on Darwin for 40 minutes and launched a second attack 30 minutes later. At Darwin's wharf 22 workers died, and 243 people were killed during the raids. About 400 others were injured. It was the first time Australia had been attacked on home soil by an enemy. There were over 60 more bombing raids on Australia's north, lasting until November 1943. Wreaths were laid in Darwin today at the town's war memorial and at the wharf.

Our Beach

This photo was taken at our beach on Australia Day 2007. Between the fireworks and the lightning is Comet McNaught. Click the image to see a larger view.

For full details of the photo and to see it full size, go here.

Comet McNaught Visible

On Tuesday and Wednesday nights we had perfectly clear skies and Comet McNaught was spectacular. It was clearly visible from after sunset until after 9pm. The head and tail were very distinguishable. Hundreds of people came to our beach for a good look. For tonight it looks like the clouds have returned.

Comet McNaught

The weather didn't cooperate with our comet-watching last night. We waited patiently for the sun to set then looked in the proper direction and finally through a little peephole in the cloud cover, we saw Comet McNaught. We'll try again tonight. The sky is clear tonight but the comet will supposedly be less visible. There's a great photo gallery at Spaceweather.com of the comet in different parts of the world. Our view sadly was not comparable to any of these great photos.

New Yellow Wiggle

The Wiggles, a popular Australian band which specializes in children's entertainment, has a new member. Sam Moran will replace Greg Page, the Yellow Wiggle. Page was a founding member of the group and he has been a part of the song and dance group for the last 15 years; however, he suffers from orthostatic intolerance, a disorder which stops his heart from pumping enough blood while standing or dancing (or wiggling) and has been forced to resign from the group.

Sam Moran got his start with The Wiggles hosting the Dorothy the Dinosaur Show. Recently he married Lyn Stuckey, the American who is Dorothy the Dinosaur, in a Sydney Harborside ceremony. Pictured, Sam Moran and Lyn Stuckey

Happy New Year!

Sydney Harbor Bridge alit for New Year's 2007. Locals have nicknamed the bridge, the coathanger.

"City of Canberra" Comes Home

Australia's first jet airliner, a Boeing 707, returned home today to become part of the Qantas Founders Outback Museum at Longreach. Originally named the City of Canberra, the four-engine plane will join a Boeing 747 and Douglas DC3 at the museum, which celebrates the airline's history and early aviation.

The 707, which Qantas sold in 1979 after 20 years' service, had been parked in England for six years, after finally operating as a VIP carrier for the Saudi Government.

Retired and holidaying Qantas engineers have spent the past five months ensuring the aircraft's airworthiness, and company crew still certified on the type flew it to Sydney today via the US mainland, Honolulu, and Fiji. The jet's final destination is Longreach.

Qantas chairwoman Margaret Jackson said the 707 had brought the world to Australia.

Bush Fires in Victoria

Sad news from Victoria today where bush fires threaten the Chalet atop Mt. Buffalo. According to fire crews, it's a matter of when, not if, the fires will reach the chalet. A resort farther down the mountain has been completely destroyed. The chalet was the site of a conference Aussie and I attended several years ago. It's a grand old place with huge fireplaces in every public room, a lovely dining room, and those old-fashioned rooms like you see in old movies with antique furniture and footed tubs and lace curtains. What a loss!

Another Cyclone

The Top End is looking stormy once again, and the water from Cyclone Clare has barely drained away! Now classed as a Cat 2 storm, forecasters are saying the storm could double in intensity by the weekend.

Heavy rain over the Kimberley is expected to continue, especially in western parts.

Shark Sighting at Mullaloo Beach

We woke up this morning to the sound of a circling plane. We were pulling on our clothes when the plane's siren began to sound, then the Mullaloo Surf Club's siren wailed. We ran down to the beach and were assured by the activity around us that a shark was in the water, but we never saw a fin or other sign.

Channel 7 ran a photo of the shark at 6pm. It was sighted 200m offshore. It was estimated to measure 6m. The plane stayed on the scene until the shark swam into deeper water and the beach was re-opened. Even though it was 34C today, Aussie and I didn't swim, our confidence shattered for the moment.

WA Premier Resigns in Surprise Announcement

Geoff Gallop has announced today that he is resigning his seat in WA Parliament and resigning as Premier of WA to give full attention to receiving treatment for depression. He sought medical help last week and intends to devote time and energy to his recovery. He thanked family, friends, and colleagues then took no questions from assembled reporters. Eric Ripper will be acting Premier until Gallop's replacement is selected.

More on Shark Attack at Perth's City Beach

The spearfisherman who was attacked by a white pointer on Sunday spoke on ABC radio this morning. He said his mates in the water with him came swimming in toward the shark as he was fighting for his life. One of the mates was wearing a "shark pod", a device which sends out a quick pulse. As the three men came together in the water, the shark let go of the victim's arm and swam away. Whether the shark pod was the reason the shark gave up the fight is not really known. It could have been the increasing number of swimmers which distracted the shark. If you are interested in more information about the shark pod, click here.

Good News on Shark Attack

The spearfisherman who was attacked by a white pointer shark on Sunday at Perth's City Beach sustained lacerations to his arm and suffered severe fright, but he is alive to tell his story. What a story it will be! He was dragged by the shark all the while poking at him with his spear. Finally, the shark let go and swam off. His fellow divers pulled him out of the water and onto their boat where he received first aid. Later he was treated on the beach then transferred to the hospital.

Shark Attack at Perth's City Beach

A diver was attacked by a shark at City Beach on Sunday morning. He has been treated at the scene and transferred to hospital. The extent of his injuries are unknown at this time. Boaters in the area reported seeing a great white shark circling their boat earlier in the day.