10 Tyre Companies

1. Michelin: Based in France, one of the largest and most well-known tyre makers globally.
2. Bridgestone: A Japanese company and one of the largest tyre producers in the world.
3. Firestone: American company now owned by Bridgestone
4. Goodyear: A major American manufacturer with a long history of tyre technology.
5. Continental: A leading German brand specializing in premium vehicle tyres.
6. Pirelli: An iconic Italian brand famous for high-performance and luxury vehicle tyres.
7. Hankook: A major South Korean tyre manufacturer known for quality and value.
8. Yokohama: A prominent Japanese brand popular for passenger and performance cars.
9. Dunlop: A historic brand with a strong global presence in safe motoring
10. Giti: Indonesian company with it headquarters in Singapore

Not sure what prompted this but I have been thinking about retirement a lot recently.

The Blue Mountains

The Three Sisters

Before heading to Australia we were to make sure we visited the Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney. We have dn ethat and it truly is breathtaking.

Maroubra Bay

Adam. J.W.C., CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>
via Wikimedia Commons

When I was about 15 I bought an album called Epsilon in Malaysian Pale. It was the second solo album by the German musician, Edgar Froese. I bought it on the basis of my appreciation for his band, Tangerine Dream. It consisted then, on vinyl, of one side with tthe album title and the other side with a track calle Maroubra Bay. I lilke both tracks though it was hard work at first, These are pretty obscure mellotron and synthesiser dominated tracks. I'd never given much thought to the titles but then here in Sydney I saw a bus headed for Maroubra Beach and it suddenly clicked. Apparently Tangerine Dream toured Australia back in the seventies and Maroubra Bay recalls the Sydney location, a sandy beach where people surf. Yesterday we were offered a final opportunity to see somwhere and so I jumped at the offer of a 26 minute car ride to Maroubra Bay. We had lunch in the Bay Hotel and watched the scene, noting the existence of the Matoubra Bay Garage.

You can hear the 1975 track here. Interestingly it was later re-issued backwads by mistake - not so very different. See here. Perhaps the best version, further research reveals is the 2004 remix, whcih introduces ocean sounds and other extras that take the track to an even higher level. Hear it here.

10 Australian Inventions

1. Boomerang
2. Practical Refrigerator 1856
3. Electric drill 1889
4. Hills Hoist clothes line 1945
5. Black box flight recorder 1958
6. Ultrasound scanner 1962
7. Inflatable escape slide 1965
8. Electronic pacemaker 1969
9. Polymer banknotes 1988
10. Extended wear contact lenses 1991

(Also Granny Smith apples 1868)

Lord's Day September 13 2026

This last Lord's Day I was again in Kogarah Bay Bible Church and St John's Park Baptist. I preached on the crown of thorns in the morning at KBBC and on Proverbs 24:15, 16 on th evening at SJPBC.

See here for the first sermon

https://kbbc.org.au/the-crown-of-thorns-john-191-3/

And for the second

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSn2UAJK6xc

Crimson Rosella

Saw this one up in the Blue Mountains

10 Australian pieces on my ipod

1. Friday on my mind The Easybeats (Number 2 in Top 100)
2. The Carnival Is Over The Seekers (Number 37 in Top 100)
3. Torn Natalie Imbruglia (Number 51 in Top 100)
4. Down Under Men At Work (Number 65 in Top 100)
5. Truly Madly Deeply Savage Garden (Number 89 in Top 100)
6. You're the Voice The Alan Parsons Project (Number 90 in Top 100 ie John Farnham version)
7. Weather With You Crowded House (Not in Top 100 though other Crowded House soings are)
8. All The Lovers Kylie Minogue (Not in Top 100 though another Kylie song is)
9. I'll Never Find Another You The Seekers (Not in Top 100)
10. Maroubra Bay Edgar Froese (Maroubra Beach is in Sydney)

10 Australian Deserts

1. Great Victoria Desert (348,750sq.km)
2. Great Sandy Desert (267,250sq.km)
3. Tanami Desert (184,500sq.km)
4. Simpson Desert (176,500sq.km)
5. Gibson Desert (156,000sq.km)
6. Little Sandy Desert (111,500sq.km)
7. Strzelecki Desert (80,250sq.km)
8. Sturt Stony Desert (29,750sq.km)
9. Tirari Desert (15,250sq.km)
10. Pedirka Desert (1250sq. km)

Midweek Meeting September 9 2026

For the third week running I was in the prayer meeting at Kogarah Bible Church. Again we were around twenty but not the same twenty for various reasons. The full time elder, Andrew Harrison, led. A bkessing to be there once again. One of the burdens for prayer was the war affected lands of Sudan, South Sudan and Lebanon.

Penguins, St Kilda's Beach, Melbourne

One of the highlights of the trip to Melbourne was seeing the fair penguins. Brilliant.

Welsh Church, Melbourne

One of the things we saw in Melbourne was the Welsh church. Like most Welsh churches outside Wales (and many within) it is a cultural draw rather than a spiritual force but interesting nevertheless. We were kindly shown around by their new caretaker.

VR06 Sydney

And another, one of at least two here in Sydney

Protestant Minister by Willem Key 1563

Willem Key Public Domain Via Wikipedia

Today in the NSW Art Gallery here in Sydney we saw this portrait by wealthy Antwerp based painter Willem Key (c 1515-1568). Painted 1563, it is a portrait of an unknown Protestant Minister of Religion. Done in oil on oak board, it has no signature. The text, in Dutch, that he holds is 1 Timothy 6:7-9 We brought nothing into the world, nor shall we carry anything out; so if we have food and clothing at our disposal, let us be content all our days. For those who wish to become rich as they please fall into temptations and evil desires; but you, godly people, shun this snare - pursue righteousness and stand firm in the faith, so that you may enter into the joy of the Lord.

The artist has added This was done in the year '63; at that time I was forty-eight years old (the sitter or the artist?)

Australian Pic 7

 

They love their Tim Tams

Australian Pic 6

 Some sort of fig tree in Sydney