Today I participated in the Seven Bridges Walk in Sydney.

It was a 22km walk around the foreshores of Sydney Harbour. We started at Circular Quay and walked over the Pyrmont, ANZAC, Iron Cove, Gladesville, Tarban Creek, Fig Tree and Sydney Harbour Bridges.

It was an absolutely fantastic event, designed to raise money for four worthy charities. You were expected to pay a “toll” at each bridge with the money going to Beyond Blue, The NSW Cancer Council, The Heart Foundation and Diabetes Australia. It was free to enter, although I would gladly have paid up to $20 for the day, despite the sore feet.

The route went through some of the nicest historical suburbs in Sydney and highlighted what a wondeerful city we live in. It was encouraging to see an increasing number of cycleways being created by local councils, however it also highlighted the poor state of many footpaths in the city. This is of particular importance to those people of limited mobility, as in several spots the only smooth path was on the roadway, which is not a safe alternative.

I hope the event is held again as I would certainly go in it again, (after a little more walking practice).

It is probably dangerous having the title of “Lolita” in a blog called “AlternateRoute” (at least with the Australian connotations), as the site might get bombarded by paedophiles. The log is to say that I have just finished the book by Vladimir Nabakov. It was suggested to me by a member of my wife’s book club who thought I would enjoy it. Call me a philistine, but I didn’t like it at all.
I wasn’t offended by the story or the topic in general, I just found it a hard slog of a read. The sentences are generally long and complicated giving lengthy descriptions of the smallest detail. Whilst this might be seen by some as the essence of good literature, I think it just alienates the reader. Also annoying was the frequent use of French throughout the novel. Good for our bi-lingual friends in Canada, but simply annoying for everyone else.
As for the characters, I found Lolita to be fairly one dimensional and didn’t develop at all during the course of the novel. The main character Humbert Humbert was repulsive. He was weak, possessive and sickly and reminded me a bit of J. Alfred Prufrock.
I found the ending pathetic and meaningless. The final crime seems to serve no purpose except perhaps to show the depth of Humbert’s madness and lack of conscious.
I welcome comments pointing out what I have missed, but I wouldn’t recommend the book to anyone.

Well, what a way to start a blog, today I have been cleaning up a chemical spill (of the deadly substance “Neverwas”), rescuing a worker trapped under a pipe of pipes, fighting fires and rescuing a worker from the roof of a warehouse.

Although it sounds dramatic it was all a training exercise put on for the Randwick State Emergency Service by the site safety team at Qenos in the Botany Industrial Park.

Although the SES is not the combat agency for fires and chemical spills in our area, it was still good experience to get to “play” with the serious rescue equipment and find ourselves in situations out of our normal comfort zone.

More photos are available at the Randwick SES Gallery

Themed restaurants (particularly those in franchised chains) are best avoided on most occasions, but the Outback Steakhouse should be avoided at all costs.

This is an Australian themed restaurant that comes out of America. So what you get is an American menu, and an American style of service (get ‘em in, feed ‘em, get ‘em out) with inane Australian labels attached to it. As an added bonus of authenticity, we had an American waiter who proudly displayed badges awarded for selling the most drinks in a night (does the phase “Responsible Service of Alcohol” ring a bell) and insisted (was probably forced contractually) on saying “No worries” whenever he left the table.

The restaurant works on the good old Aussie “No Rules, Just Right” principle, which is not actually any Aussie principle that I am aware of.

Like any good American restaurant they bring out your salad first and wait till you have finished it before they bring out your main dish. Guys, the reason it is called a side dish is that it sits beside your main dish. Let’s not get this stupid way of eating established in this country.

The menu items are almost exclusively American but given supposedly Australian names. They have a thing called a “Bloomin’ Onion” which is a huge onion cut into a flower shaper, rolled in breadcrumbs and deep fried.

They also have “Cheese Chips” which in the states are called “Cheese Froys” (because they think that is how we say Fries). These chips are covered in “Aussie Jack” cheese. Has anyone ever heard of “Aussie Jack” cheese. I think it might just be “Monteray Jack” by a different name.

Some of the names for the food are just ridiculous. They have a “Drover’s Platter” which consists of pork ribs and chicken. Given that a drover spends the day herding sheep or cattle across the country, why the hell would they be eating chicken and pork?

The “Down Under Favourites” include a dish called “Jackaroo Chops” which consists of Pork Chops served with Cinnamon Apples. Notwithstanding that Jackaroos are seldom seen herding pigs, since when have Cinnamon Apples been a favourite in this country?

The dessert dishes listed in the menu under “Cop it Sweet” include such Aussie favourites as pecan brownies and more Cinnamon Apples. No sign of Lamingtons or Pavlova or even a vanilla slice. Where did these clowns do their research?

My advice is to avoid this restaurant. Don’t even contemplate going there. It is bad enough that American fast food franchises are spreading like cancer across this country. Having one that is pretending to be Australian is appalling.