Thursday Thoughts # 86

from The Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett:
"They say there can never be two snowflakes that are exactly alike, but has anyone checked lately?"

from Warbreaker by Brendan Sanderson:
" Any good Monarch knew that the first thing you did to stabilize your throne was to execute anyone who had a better claim to it than you did. After that it was usually a good idea to execute everyone who thought they might have a claim."

" War is, in my divine opinion, even worse than politics"
"Some say the two are the same, your Grace"
"Nonsense. War is far worse. At least where politics is going on, there are usually nice hors d'ouvres"


Today's Thoughts:

Have you noticed people yawning lately?  I see it everywhere. In days gone by, in the past, years ago, put it however you wish, yawning wasn't often noticed. People covered their mouths when yawning.
Now I see yawning every day. 
People with eyes scrinched shut, mouths gaping like a train tunnel.
Not a pretty sight. 
Cover your mouth, please!

Last Sunday, my brother R and his lovely wife V, were in town. They'd arrived on Friday night and spent all day Saturday with R's daughter G and grandson E. On Sunday they picked me up and we all spent the day with G and E. 
We visited the Torrens Riverbank and saw the new construction work going on at the Convention Centre. I took a few photos of the now completed footbridge from the Con. Centre to the Adelaide Oval.

look behind the waterspout and you'll see there is a viewing platform with a waterfall off to one side of the end of the bridge and under that is another platform so you can stand behind the waterfall.
As we walked around the lake, G gave E a small packet of seed to feed the swans.

 

Then we went across town and took E to a miniature train ride place that is only open one Sunday a month. I tried to take photos, I really did, but there were people in the way lots of people and small children, and there was a birthday party going on fro a little girl turning three.
The trains went a little too fast for my small camera (I wish now I'd taken the big camera), so I switched to video and got a couple of good 30 second videos, BUT I can't transfer them to the computer. Windows 10 won't recognise any of them and downloaded them as a file I don't recognise and can't open.
So I put the memory card into the big camera and got the photos that way, but the videos wouldn't transfer. I still have them on the SD card and can view them on the small camera, but you don't get to see them. Sorry.

So here are the few photos I managed to get:

G and E sitting on one of the mini trains. E loves hats.

and off they go. The track is quite long and takes a while for the train to get around. 

There are six or seven different engines, I forgot to photograph the black one and the red one. They are all steam trains maintained and run by volunteers who used to be train drivers. 

the padded seat is where the driver sits and the other engines have 'carriages' with padded seats for the passengers.

one of the drivers. Well, part of him.

a different type of engine.

the blue one which reminded me of Thomas the Tank, this was E's favourite and he rode around three times. 

some of them blow steam, all of them blow a whistle as they take off.

The one rule is that feet must always be on the running boards, anyone putting their feet out to the sides or trying to touch the ground is put off the train. It will stop and the naughty person is made to de-train. and has to walk back to the "station".

Entrance is six dollars, for everybody over a certain age, I think four, but maybe five. Train rides are free, sausage and onions in bread is two dollars, cups of tea and coffee are two dollars.