Little Wandering Wren …. chats!

Kung Hei Fat Choi  for the Year of the Horse! My friends in Asia are excited for the Year of the Horse and  are all enjoying the major Chinese New Year holiday  which started Friday 31st January.  We too are excited, but for different reasons! Peace and good health in the Year of the Horse! (馬年安康, mǎ nián ān kāng) Here is our horse, Little Miss Hussy. She is a three year old racehorse,  who has two wins, one second, one third and a fifth to her name. We own a small part - like a tail! We are hoping 2014 is her year... Lucky/Auspicious Year of the Horse! (馬年吉祥, mǎ nián jí xiáng)  Do you know if you are born in the Year of the Horse? Here are the years: 1930 1942 1954 1966 1978 1990 2002 2014 If you are born in one of these years they say you  are clever, kind, animated and energetic. You might talk too much but you are cheerful, perceptive, talented and love to be in the centre of a crowd.  People ...

Welcome to Melbourne, Australia! We're gearing up for our big Melbourne Cup holiday weekend. .. Yes the whole city grinds to a halt for a horse race on Tuesday 5th November! And guess what? No-one has told the weather that we're all going to be on holiday next weekend, it is grey and bleak looking all week... Last week the news was full of dreadful bush fires raging in New South Wales and yet Melbourne residents were battening down the hatches coping with rain, hail and strong wind bursts.  We were supposed to be playing our first cricket match of the season last Thursday but the pitches were waterlogged... So let me take you back a few weeks when Spring had arrived with all the promise of a good one and skies were blue...  SouthBank, Yarra River looking towards the Eureka Tower. Melbourne struggles to compete with Sydney's wow factor. There is a constant competition between the two places as to which is better. Of course this is a bit of a o...

Melbourne Cup Carnival Preview Day Saturday 5 October 2013 They don't call Melbourne the sporting capital of Australia for nothing.  We move from the footy season into the racing season, with barely time to draw breath.  Certainly you need to be keeping an eye on forthcoming events, otherwise you will find yourself like me, caught short. You see two weeks ago beanies, scarves and a meat pie were the order of the day...  Now we're into heels, floaty dresses, with something other than a beanie on your head, whilst we enjoy canapés and champagne!  The orange hat below is mine from ten years ago, to the left and the right were what the girls are actually wearing these days. So to say my hat is a tad over-the-top is a fair summary of the predicament I found myself in Saturday morning... Added to the pressure is the fact that the invitation comes with the compliments of the Chairman of the Victorian Racing Club (VRC) to attend ...

With the Australian General Election over,  we can turn our attentions to some other important matters of life, the Spring Racing Carnival... As some of you may know we have a part itsy - bitsy share (like a tail) of a racehorse... We have had two previous horses and neither saw me galloping flat out around the shops in an absolute tizzy trying to work out what to wear... The first horse was in the UK where British weather dictates a smart coat (or more likely a raincoat) will suffice... The second was an Aussie horse, but let's just say we were never remotely near the winners enclosure and leave it at that... So this weekend I've been pondering frocks, hats and the rest. Fashions on the Field is a big part of a day at the Aussie races, even for those not remotely interested in entering the famous competitions. They say that over 26 million dollars was spent on hats, dresses and accessories for the Spring Racing Carnival in 2012 It is...