Days 47 & 48 Friday & Saturday 04th & 05th September 2026

Just a bit of a heads up here, some of the enthusiastic contributors to the blog have advised me that they haven't been able to post their concise & witty comments to the blog.  I have had a similar experience in reply to the comments.  Blogspot can expect a stern letter when I get back to Melbourne.

The lonely streets of Adelaide were dark wet and gloomy this morning, the mist hung dense, menacing and heavy over the surrounding hills..... oops sorry, that's the opening sentence to my next novel.

Today, being Saturday I have driven approximately 400km from Adelaide to Horsham, about 200km of that has been on Victorian roads.  I can honestly say, and without exaggeration, that I have seen more potholes in that 200k that I have seen in the 8,000 plus km of my trip driven on NSW, SA & WA roads.  The potholes are not only plentiful but are deep and dangerous.  The other worrying thing is that as well as the potholes there are lots of dips and undulations in the road surface which to my mind could indicate a deteration in the sub-strata of the road that could lead to more problems in the future.

Enough about Victoria's sub standard roads.

Another thing I noticed, SA & WA was the complete, I repeat the complete absence of graffiti.  Within 10km of crossing the border into Vic today I saw a grain silo covered in graffiti.  How is it that other states can deal with this sort of vandalism but Victoria is unable to?

On a more personal note I have noticed that over the last seven weeks my walking pace , which started out at the pace of the Duke of Gloucesters Light Infantry (DGLI) pace of double time is now the pace of the French Foreign Legion (FFL) slow but fearsome.  

Yesterday (Friday) was showery and overcast in Adelaide so I caught the tram to Glenelg looking to have a nice seaside lunch.  After a walk along the pier and back, note that was out and back, no shortcuts for me, it was time for lunch.  Lunch was quite delicious in the dining room of an aged hotel that would have once been the place to be seen.  I even had Vegetarian spring rolls, imagine me eating vegetarian!!  If I had a camera I could have taken a photo.

After lunch I caught the tram back to Adelaide, the tram runs every 10 minutes, is clean and no graffiti.  Being a senior gentleman and travelling off peak I was able to travel for free.  If my travel had been in peak hour I think it would have cost $2.35 each way.

Arriving back in Adelaide and with time to kill before first drinks I decided to do a little shopping in the Rundle Street mall.  

I started by buying some chocolates at the Haigh Chocolate shop, which is an Adelaide icon.  And guess what I saw on the notice board at the back of the shop a faded photo of Flashy still wanted for eating all the free sample chocolates and not buying anything.  The photo was dated 1992, long memories the staff at Haigs chocolates.  Flashy is also on a watch list in Ypres, Belgium for the same offence.

As I walked down the mall I noticed an air of excitement, and discovered that it was the 50th birthday of the Rundle Street mall.  There were various rides for the kiddies and face painting for the adults, some musical entertainment and people handing out free stuff.  I then noticed what looked like unemployed university drama students approaching in costume and then I realised that there was going to be, oh no, street theatre!

Street theatre is closely related to karaoke in that people with absolutely no talent will try to impose their lack of talent on a captive or unsuspecting audience.  The only difference is that most people watching street theatre will have no idea what it is about.

Drink time or not it was time for a drink, so I hightailed back to the welcoming bar at the hotel.

This the penultimate day of my travels with a 300km drive home tomorrow.  It will be good to be home I am looking a bit wild and wooly and in need of a visit to my Ukranian barber in Bentleigh East.

I will do a bit of a bit of a wrap up of the trip once I get home.

Just a few photos from Glenelg below;

How did this aeroplane photo sneak in

Early settlers memorial Glenelg

Hmmmm, you tell me.

Yawning Seagull

Aeroplane about to fly into building

Couple of views along the jetty

Bigger seagull, not yawning.