The Demise of Buranda Railway Station

Due to a stupid act of thoughtless selfish arson, Brisbane has lost one of its older-style railway stations. Buranda Railway Station, on the southern side of Brisbane, was burnt down on Sunday night by a teenage boy of 17 who lives at Loganlea. When he was up in court today, the judge (and rightly so) did not give him any leniency, and remanded him without bail.

I've been through Buranda Station. It was a lovely sweet older-style station. The railway line first went through Buranda station and others like it, weaving its way down to Cleveland in 1888. While I doubt that the timber and iron construction Stationmaster's Office, loos and sheltered seating area date back to that time, they are still old enough have been built back in the 1950s or earlier.

To have them destroyed in a raging fire is not only criminal, but also such a waste of what little bits of heritage Brisbane still has. Not to mention the total disruption it has caused commuters on an already heaving and overworked train network.

A new station will be a long time in the coming, although according to Queensland Rail, there will be a temporary structure on the platform by the weekend, and port-a-loos are already in place, as are railway staff to help commuters who have no other option but to use the station. It goes without saying that Queensland Rail have done a fantastic job in this situation (where others would no doubt have failed), and should be commended for such quick action in getting the station up and running again, even if only in the most rudimentary manner.

I hope the little shit who did this gets more than a fine and a slap on the wrist. Perhaps making him pay the cost that will inevitably fall to the taxpayers for the construction of a new station and replacement of everything lost would be a good start?

Grrrr...

The Cuteness That Is My Dalmatian

I had plans of posting an update on my current doings, but then as I was doing a bit of a clean up of old files, I came across some of my silly dalmatian when he was just a tiny puppy. Seriously, they are too cute NOT to share. But if this type of thing bores you, please feel free to skip this entry :-)

These pics were taken, for the most part, at the breeders, the day I went out to pick which puppy I wanted. In the end, he picked me, but that's another story! The only picture not taken at the breeders is the one of him asleep in his bed. Please note - he was so small when he first arrived, that the bed he is sleeping in belongs to my cats! He was smaller than they are, and they were quite happy to let him know that with the odd beating going on when I wasnt there to protect him. Only one of my cats (Female Velcro Twin) chose to befriend him and look after him, and they remain firm friends to this day. The rest of the cats just put up with his company, or, when they think I'm not looking, try and attack him (Mr Vampire Teeth), tease him with promises of sharing toys (Male Velcro Twin), or just plain do a battle of wits against him (She Who Must Be Obeyed).

Either way, enjoy the pics (or not!)

Is It St Patrick's Day (and March) Already???

Right about now, I'm struggling to even remember what day of the week it is, let alone the date...

But apparently it is St Patrick's Day - has been all day, in fact! So to those of Irish descent (and I am one of them), blah blah blah etc etc etc....

Sorry - just too tired to think straight at the moment.

I'm into my third week of university, my second week of having a skin allergy caused by something in my yard, and my first week of serious storms (in a while). The university studies are keeping me busy - doing a language, especially a foreign one, involves conjugating verbs among other things....

My itchy extremities aren't quite so itchy as they were last week, and are now mostly to be found on my hands....

And the dog (big sook that he is) came in last night due to the ripper storm we had. But he's in a sulk with me because he thinks I've been keeping him outside because I had another dog inside. What that translates as is - he saw his reflection in the mirror inside the display cabinet, and took it to be another dalmatian. Silly pup. He also saw himself on my webcam last night and thought it was yet another dog...

Dad tells me this is quite normal - he has a horse that spends inordinate amounts of time looking at his reflection in the window.

Animals are odd creatures :-)