ABC Wednesday, D, of Dreamtime

The Milbi Wall

Deamtime stories

Australia - Aboriginal Dreamtime: " All peoples of our world have a concept of how the world was formed. The Aboriginals believe that, in the beginning, the earth was featureless, flat and grey.

 There were no mountain ranges, no rivers, no billabongs, no birds or animals - in fact not one living thing.

 Then long, long ago came the Dreamtime. The Dreamtime was a time when giant creatures rose up out of the grey plains where they had been slumbering for countless ages.

These mythical Beings looked like animals or plants or insects, but they behaved just like humans. They wandered across the vast grey wastes, digging for water and searching for food and as they searched, because of their giant size, they made huge ravines and rivers in the land. Thus the world took on the shape it has today."

In Cooktown there is a great example of Aboriginal art. It's called the Milbi Wall. This is created by the inhabitants of Cooktown and the Aboriginal compound of Hopevale, under the direction of the Hopevale artist Roy McIvor, who is an uncle of my daughter's ex- husband.Milbi is the Guugu Yimithirr (local Aboriginal language) word for story. The wall is meant to be part of the reconciliation project and a memorial to show history from an Aboriginal point of view.

The wall concists of three parts. The first part tells about the Dreamtime, the second part about the first contact with Europeans and later Asians, these contacts were disastrous for the Aborigines, then the third part shows us the present time which hopefully promises reconciliation of differences.The stories are told in beautiful ceramic tiles.The Wall is built right at the spot where, in 1770, Captain James Cook and his crew first set foot.

On top of the wall lies the Rainbow Serpent, one of the creator spirits of the indigenous people of Australia.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with D.

ABC Wednesday, D for Didgeridoo

The didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia potentially within the last 1,500 years and still in widespread use today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe".
There are no reliable sources stating the didgeridoo's exact age. Archaeological studies of rock art in Northern Australia suggest that the people of the Kakadu region of the Northern Territory have been using the didgeridoo for less than 1,000 years, based on the dating of paintings on cave walls and shelters from this period.^[2] A clear rock painting in Ginga Wardelirrhmeng, on the northern edge of the Arnhem Land plateau, from the freshwater period^[3] (that was begun 1500 years ago)^[4] shows a didgeridoo player and two songmen participating in an Ubarr Ceremony.^[5]
A modern didgeridoo is usually cylindrical or conical, and can measure anywhere from 1 to 3 m (3 to 10 ft) long. Most are around 1.2 m (4 ft) long. Generally, the longer the instrument, the lower its pitch or key. However, flared instruments play a higher pitch than unflared instruments of the same length.
David Hudson demonstrates how to play this wonderful instrument in various ways. It is an excellent tutorial on Didgeridoo playing.(see You Tube)

The Didgeridoo is a traditional instrument of the Aboriginal people from Arnhem Land in Northern Australia. It was originally known as a Yirdaki in the traditional language..

An uncle of my daughter's ex husband made my didgeridoo. In order to find the right material he went to the forest and tapped on some thin tree-trunks until he found one with a good hollow sound. He then cut the tree, blew the termites out of the hollow pipe, and prepared it for its final shape.

Termites are needed to make tree-trunks hollow.

The first time I heard the sound of the digeridoo, I got goose-pimples and was highly impressed by its deep sounds. I love the way  animal sounds are imitated.

Sorry my video doesn't work, but on the photo you can see my didgeridoo leaning against the cupboard

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created the ABC meme.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words beginning with D

ABC Wednesday, D for Declare, Anything to Declare?

We thank Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and we must thank Roger too for the weekly job to find  ten bloggers for each of the ABC Team members  to visit and to read their posts. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words  beginning with D

Anything to declare ? How often did we hear this in the past? And always I answered :"No, nothing to declare". Nowadays all hand luggage will be scanned, we have to take off our coats and put handbags and small articles in a basket or small container. We ourselves have to be searched and pass through detective gates. There are dogs who smell food hidden in a bag or suitcase. My two years old  grandson had an apple in his little bag, the dogs smelled it and my daughter was advised to throw it away before boarding.

Not so long ago a father tried to smuggle his son in a suitcase into the country.

Another strange case was the prisoner
 who tried to escape in a big suitcase.

Our World Tuesday, ABC Wednesday, D for Daffodils.

These photos were taken in March 2007.

Welcome to Our World Tuesday! This meme continues in memory of the work of Klaus Peter, whose "that's My World" brought people together from around the world every Monday to share the wonders therein--big and small.Please click on our  logo for "Our World Tuesday" in the sidebar. Thank you Team of O. W. T.!

 

 With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and thanks to Roger. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with D.

Here's a video for the non- native speakers, like myself, easy to understand.     

 

 

 

ABC Wednesday, D for Dingo

Photo by Steve Parish

Whenever I was in Australia, I never saw a dingo, but I heard then howling at night and my daughter's dogs answered them by barking , which seemed to keep them away.They don't  show themselves easily, but friends of mine told us that they were once on the beach and then they saw a group of several dingoes coming towards them and it was rather scary.

Wikipedia:The dingo  is a wild dog found mainly in Australia, as well as Southeast Asia, where it is said to have originated. It is currently classified as a subspecies of the grey wolf.
A dingo's habitat ranges from deserts to grasslands and the edges of forests. Dingoes will normally make their dens in deserted rabbit holes and hollow logs close to an essential supply of water.
The dingo is the largest predator in Australia on land. The dingo is seen as a pest by sheep farmers due to attacks on livestock. They also hunt rabbits, kangaroos and rats, which is seen as a  benefit to cattle stations.
 Dingoes have a prominent role in the culture of Aboriginal Australians as a feature of stories and ceremonies, and they are depicted on rock carvings and cave paintings.

We thank Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and we must thank Roger too for the weekly job to find  ten bloggers for each of the ABC Team members  to visit and to read their posts. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words beginning with D in the new round.

ABC Wednesday, D for Downpour in Australia

Australia, the first week in January: 

After a week of sweltering almost lethal heat we  had a torrential downpour of rain, which made us all feel a lot better. Even the Australian people I know had complained about the heat and told me that this was not normal. The rain was very welcome, for even the vegetation around the house was brown and almost dead. So here comes the rain!

 With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with D. Thanks also to our captain: Roger!

 

Glorious Rain!

Suddenly every thing was wet!

Tropical Rainfall

 

Our World Tuesday, ABC Wednesday, D for Dijk or Dike

A typically Dutch polder.

A typically Dutch sky!

 These photos are taken by my Dutch daughter . It shows where we live behind a dike. Most houses are built on the landside of the dike, but there are also people who prefer to live on the dike itself, with the garden adjoining the river. This is not such a good idea, because it had happened in the past that these gardens were flooded and the lower  part of the houses as well.
This dike protects the polder against floods.

 A polder is a low-lying piece of land surrounded by dikes. The water in the polder will be pumped away into a river, and the river flows into the sea. Pumping was done by windmills in the past now we have electric pumping engines.

All photos can be enlarged if you want to see more details. Just click on them.

I live quite near the windmills. If you enlarge the second photo you can see one of the twenty mills in the distance. They only don't pump anymore, for there is not always wind and then the polder will be flooded.We live below sealevel so a pump is needed. The mills can work if there is no electricity and enough wind. I have written many times about the mills. They are very beautiful.



A pumpingstation keeping the polders dry



Welcome to Our World Tuesday! This meme continues in memory of the work of Klaus Peter, whose "that's My World" brought people together from around the world every Monday to share the wonders therein--big and small.Please click on our  logo for "Our World Tuesday" in the sidebar. Thanks to the team of "Our World Tuesday": Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy and Jennifer.  I wish everyone a happy week!
I link Our World Tuesday and ABC Wednesday. Because I live here!


With thanks to Denise Nesbitt,  who created ABC, and Roger, who took over from her. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with D.



Some people live on a houseboat



These houses are built on the landside of the dike.

Many people own boats



These houses are very old, but charming!

ABC Wednesday, D for Dismal Swamp, Tasmania

To enlarge the photos, please click on the rectangle in the right bottom corner.


Dismal Swamp sounds very black and gloomy, but the opposite is true.It is a piece of rain forest, with
a lot of educational and interesting facts. There are signs everywhere telling about the vegetations and animals living here.
For the children and adults who are young in mind, there is the Slide, an enormous affair only for the very brave! My grand children did the slide twice. They had to wear  helmets and to sit in a kind of small sledges.

Tarkine Forest Adventures - Dismal Swamp

   

Experiences

Facilities

Tarkine Forest Adventures is an eco-tourism and forestry interpretation centre near Togari, northwest Tasmania. Dismal Swamp is a natural blackwood forest sinkhole, believed to be the only one in the world. Formed over thousands of years by dissolving dolomite, the 40 metre deep sinkhole is a unique forest habitat supporting a range of plant and animal species.

 

Visit the Visitor Centre, and view the forest from a cantilevered walkway, suspended over the treetops. Enjoy a tasty meal and glass of fine Tasmanian wine in the restaurant, visit the forest interpretation centre or browse in the shop to choose from a range of Tasmanian-made products.

From here you can follow the walkway to the floor of the sinkhole, or take the exhilarating 110 metre slide from the viewing platform to the swamp floor. Stroll along the timber walkway to discover this ancient environment through interpretation signs and artworks interpreting the spirit of Dismal Swamp.

We thank Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and we must thank Roger too for the weekly job to find  ten bloggers for each of the ABC Team members  to visit and to read their posts. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words    beginning with D , in our new round.

ABC Wednesday, D for Dona Gracia.

Gracia Mendes Nasi ( 1510–1569) was one of the wealthiest Jewish women of Renaissance Europe.
Dona Gracia  was born in Lisbon, Portugal. The family was from Aragon Spain and was forcibly converted Jews . While still Jewish, they had fled to Portugal when the Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, expelled the Jews in 1492. Five years later, in 1497, they were forcibly converted to Catholicism along with all the other Jews in Portugal at that time.

In 1528, Dona Gracia married the very rich black pepper trader Francisco Mendes  who belonged to a very prominant Jewish family . Francisco Mendes directed, along with his brother Diogo, a powerful trading company and bank of world repute with agents across Europe and around the Mediterranean. The House of Mendes/Benveniste became particularly important spice traders. They also traded in silver - the silver was needed to pay the Asians for those spices.

When her husband died Dona Gracia took over the trading company and bank. She developed a net work to help Jews who were forcibly converted to Christianity , escape the inquisition. She lived in various countries in Europe, but finally came to Tiberias, where she bought  a piece of land. She wanted to attract Jewish families to populate this area, and so found the state of Israel. But this was not to be. The male dominated world didn't trust a woman to be clever and skillful enough to do this.
 In this hotel in Tiberias we could see how rich Dona Gracia was and how people  at the time were dressed.

 With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC and to Roger the new Captain of our team.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words beginning with D.

ABC Wednesday, D for Dordrecht

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.We started round 10 of the fascinating meme of ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with D.

In August last year a friend of mine and I went to Dordrecht for a walk through the town, which is very old and still well preserved. The weather was fine and our trip on the ferry from Krimpen aan den IJssel to Dordt was delightful. On arrival in Dordt we first saw a restaurant where we enjoyed our morning coffee and apple pie. Then we set off to see the town and take photos.You can see more details if you click on the photos.
































Dordrecht historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,601 in 2009. Dordrecht is the oldest city in Holland and has a rich history and culture.

ABC Wednesday, D for Dickens

Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England, on February 7, 1812, to John and Elizabeth Dickens. He was the second of eight children. His mother had been in service to Lord Crew, and his father worked as a clerk for the Naval Pay office. John Dickens was imprisoned for debt when Charles was young. Charles Dickens went to work at a blacking warehouse, managed by a relative of his mother, when he was twelve, and his brush with hard times and poverty affected him deeply. He later recounted these experiences in the semi-autobiographical novel David Copperfield. Similarly, the concern for social justice and reform which surfaced later in his writings grew out of the harsh conditions he experienced in the warehouse. Dickens died in 1870.

"David Copperfield" was the very first Dickens book I read. And of course "A Christmas Carol" the second one.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with D.

ABC Wednesday, D for David Attenborough.

Sometime ago I got this video by e-mail. It's called the "Amazing Lyrebird".And amazing it is. This bird can imitate any sound it hears, even an opera singer! David Attenborough introduces this interesting bird in the way we are used to see and hear from him with a lot of humor. I am not sure if the bird in the end,really imitated David's voice saying exactly the same David said. I have the feeling that this is a joke.

The lyrebird is found in Australia, I hope to see it one day.

 

From Wikipedia: "Attenborough, born in May 1926, grew up in College House on the campus of University of Leicester, where his father, Frederick, was principal. He is the middle of three sons (his elder brother, Richard, became an actor/film director and his younger brother, John Michael Attenborough, an executive at Alfa Romeo). During World War II his parents also adopted two Jewish refugee girls from Europe.

Attenborough spent his childhood collecting fossils, stones and other natural specimens. He received encouragement in this pursuit at age seven, when a young Jacquetta Hawkes admired his "museum". A few years later, one of his adoptive sisters gave him a piece of amber filled with prehistoric creatures; some 50 years later, it would be the focus of his programme The Amber Time Machine.

Attenborough was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys in Leicester and then won a scholarship to Clare College, Cambridge in 1945, where he studied geology and zoology and obtained a degree in Natural Sciences. In 1947, he was called up for National Service in the Royal Navy and spent two years stationed in North Wales and the Firth of Forth.

In 1950, Attenborough married Jane Elizabeth Ebsworth Oriel; the marriage lasted until her death in 1997. The couple had two children, Robert and Susan.

His son, Dr Robert Attenborough, is a senior lecturer in Bioanthropology for the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University in Canberra".

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.We started round 8 of the fascinating meme of ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with D.

ABC Wednesday, D for Daphne du Maurier

Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE (13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English author and playwright.

Many of her works, which were written in Cornwall, have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca, which won the Best Picture Oscar in 1941, Jamaica Inn, and her short stories The Birds and Don't Look Now. The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Her elder sister was the writer Angela du Maurier. Her father was the actor Gerald du Maurier. Her grandfather was the writer George du Maurier.

This is the house where Daphne du Maurier lived as a girl during holidays and later as a grown-up.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with D.

The first photo shows the Frenchman's Creek. The second depics Jamaica Inn and the third one is the church of Altarnun where the evil vicar of this place lived ,from the book "Jamaica Inn".

These are a few of my books written by Daphne du Maurier. It stands to reason that, although she was not Cornish, she loved Cornwall with all her heart, and by reading her books she also made me love that beautiful part of Great Britain. My husband and I went to look for many places she mentioned in her books, especially in "Enchanting Cornwall", "Myself when young"and "Vanishing Cornwall"!