The Golden Orb

In 2002 when Brandt and I came to Norfolk Island for our first holiday together, we discovered The Golden Orb Cafe hidden behind other shops in the main street, Taylors rd.

This is little Teddy at 18 months old at The Golden Orb when we came for our second holiday to Norfolk Island.

To find it, you can follow the big red and gold signs through a walkway of tropical plants to find a quaint little wooden building with a deck built around an avocado tree.

Look at little Sienna after her first haircut just after we moved here, she was about 16 months old in this photo and rewarded for being good at the hairdressers by going to 'the orb'.

The Golden Orb cafe is also a bookshop that sells fantastic local books and a great assortment of others as well.

The floor is painted with quotes from famous books, but although the atmosphere is wonderful, it is the food which is worth coming back again and again for, Cas is very imaginative and creative with her food, she produces wonderful salads with a mix of fresh and tinned which sometimes is a necessity here on Norfolk as the fresh produce is all grown here and is very seasonal, but also extremely tasty. There is always Yummy vegetarian and wholesome foods for me and I love the winter menu that really warms you up, their minestrone was huge and delicious, just right for the chilly day we had yesterday and the log fire was lit too, it was extra special.

As with most places in Norfolk, there is a very basket of toys for the children to play with which is a very welcome touch for us Mummy's.

We have tried to take all of our visitors to the Golden orb and it is generally agreed that is a favourite place to go while on holiday and worth a return visit.

Teddy has been ordering at the counter since we arrived here to live, at 3 and a half he always races down the walk way ahead of me and heads to the counter and asks for 2 babycino's, one for me and one for my sister with 2 marshmellows and a chai tea for Mum. The staff all know him well and sometimes there is a baked delight too good to resist, it is always different and fresh.

Hope you can come and sample the Golden Orb's delights with us.

This is Norfolk Island's Golden Orb spider, though I couldn't get any extra information about it, I know that it isn't venomous, but the female is quite large and has the strongest golden sticky web. I watched this one near our house for about 3 months, it was very interesting in a bizarre sort of way.

When the kids finish their babycino's, they usually head out to the tropical garden to play hide and seek and if they meet a friend there, they are happy to join in too.

Greg Magri and the late Di Buffett began weaving in the tradition Tahitian way 2 mornings a week as Di had written a beautiful book called 'Plaiting in Paradise'.

It is fascinating to watch and they welcomed all locals and visitors to join in and make their own hat or other item from palm leaves or flax.

Greg and friends are still there every Tuesday and Wednesday.

Although I would love to watch and learn, I don't think that I could sit long enough with the kids there to make anything of value, maybe one day.

In the meantime, going to the Golden Orb is a very special treat that we are lucky to only be about 8 minutes walk from.

Wonderful Wonderland!

Archie Bigg is a wonderful sort of community hero in our family.

I first went to his fantastic Wonderland by night while on holiday on Norfolk Island in March 2002.

Archie is a bush poet, he has written wonderful poems using lots of humour and the Norfolk language, which is very special in itself.

He developed a way to show his poems to the visitors who come to the island in a very unique setting, he has imaginatively decorated his Norfolk property with many, many lights and life size dioramas. The night time tour called 'Wonderland by night' is clever and witty and really quite pretty (oops didn't mean to rhyme there, I have only discovered this after spellcheck. ha ha).

I loved this night so much and bought Archie's book of poetry for Brandt who has always been amused by the Norfolk language which is so unique as it is a mix of 18th century English and Tahitian. Brandt would read these poems often when we went home, but the pronunciation is not easy and you just end up sounding funny(he is getting the hang of it now 6 years later).

When we returned at Christmas 2004, I took Brandt and 18 month old Teddy along, Brandt carried him in the backpack.

By this time, Archie had written a second book called 'kids and pines and nursery rhymes'

We took this back with us and read it to Teddy often, when we decided to move here, our well loved copy was one of the very few of our favourite books that we brought with us.

When we moved to Norfolk Island, Teddy began at the local preschool called Banyan Park Playcentre and was automatically put in the 4 year old group as he was born on the 20th of June(the cut off for the school year is the 30th of June).

Archie kindly lets the 4 year old group visit his wonderland in the day time and he makes it just as special and magical for them by day. There is a magical jelly bean tree that produces a bag of jelly beans for the children if they share them.

Unfortunately, Ted missed out on half of this excursion as he had shut the car door on his fingers and I took him to the hospital to check that he was o.k.

A few months after this, we decided to drop Teddy to the younger 3 year old group at playcentre, so this year when he was back in the 4 year old group, they were again invited to Wonderland. Teddy returned with absolute stars in his eyes and talked of nothing else but Archie this and Archie that and Jack in the beanstalk and the amazing Jelly bean tree that is still producing for good children who share.

Even a few weeks later in the school holidays when he saw Archie at the movies with his Grandsons, I didn't hear how the movie was only how great it was to see Archie!

Teddy asked me to draw Jack in the beanstalk for him, just like at Wonderland, I had to search the memory after Ted told me the first 2 drawings weren't right and then he wanted to decorate it to say Thanks to Archie(I was impressed that he had thought of it, I was also amazed although a touch embarrassed that he was thoughtful enough to think of his little sister Sienna when he saw Archie at the service station and asked if he could bring his little sister along to wonderland as she had missed out....).

Archie must have been impressed also as a week later, he rang me and offered to open up wonderland for the children to see the lights and to have a little ride on the moon buggy and generously offered other children in community to come also.

Look at the pure Joy on Ted's face!

It was a fantastic and magical night.

Archie and Celia, what kind and generous people you are!

I know that Teddy and Archie have become good friends and there is always a beaming smile from Ted when he catches sight of you.

Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou for helping to make mine and other kids in the community's childhood, extra special and magical.

You are both real treasures!!!!!!

This is Teddy with one of his favourite local stories about "Bunny Nuffy", It is really Barney Duffy who local legend has it that he was escaped convict who hid in an old hollow pine tree for 7 years. He was found by two guards and he cursed them that they would be dead by the end of the week and they both drowned within the week whilst fishing at Headstone.

In the shed, lining up for Caramello koala's.
Sienna says "yum, Thanks for the Chocolate"

At the end, Teddy was worried that the Teddy bears picnic wasn't there anymore as he had remembered it, but didn't see it (there are so many wonderful things to look at) so Archie let us go back through and find it, cute and tiny set up on a rock at the base of a wild olive tree, Some of Teddy's friends followed us out to find it too, so I snapped these photos of them.

'Wonderland by night' featuring the unique bush poetry of Archie Bigg is a must see and do when you come to Norfolk Island, I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and I have.

Happy Mothers day!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY.

I have had an especially wonderful weekend with just my children for company as Brandt hopped on a discount flight back to the sunshine coast and is enjoying Mothers day with his Mum, the only time he was 'off the island' for the past year was a quick overnight stay at Phillip Island half an hour away in a boat, hope you have a good time Brandt.

So I have had some quality bonding time with my two little cherubs and enjoyed each moment with them immensely.

I am very lucky to have two cheeky characters who remind me constantly to smile and enjoy them!

Happy Mothers day to all the Mothers out there, especially Brandt's Mum Patty, my sisters, Mandy, Jenni, Maria and Kate.

Also to my Aunty Mary and cousin in-law Kim whom I spent the day with at my preschool fundraiser devonshire tea and then at the Homestead for lunch.

Not forgetting Nana on her Birthday May 11th. Her birthday fell on Mothers day every few years and we usually combined the family celebration. She would have been 97 and even though we have not had a cuggle together for 12 years, she is still very missed and thought of often.

*

But, most of all to my Mum, Sally. I love you, I miss you and I am so Thankful to have had a very precious 35 years with you as my Mum and my friend.

As I sit and watch the antics of 2 and a half year old Sienna, I really feel that I am you watching all of my crazy childhood antics (they are all very familiar to me) and I am loving every minute of it and have the same look of amusement on my face that I remember seeing on yours.

Thankyou a million times over for your love, support and acceptance of everything that I did and still do.

I am enjoying every moment with our two.

Yes, it is going so fast but I am enjoying them both so much (yes, I know my family are secretly smiling wondering why it took us so long after 16 years together and protesting that we weren't having any.)

Anyway, I wouldn't swap them for the world.

whatever happened to baby Jane (the cat)?

So, I have been asked, Whatever happened to the cat?
(* see 'Sienna and Jane the cat' in January 2008 of this blogsite for the original story)

Lynlee who works with us here at Fletcher Christian apartments and her husband Peter who have lovingly already saved a 12 year old ginger tom called Tigger, have a real soft spot and have been so good and kind to take on another old cat and add her to their menagerie of Tigger the cat and Zoee the Jack Russell terrier.

I had always thought that Jane was petrified of dogs and other cats, but as the photos below show, that on her first day at Lynlee and Peter's, she felt very safe, comfortable and at home.


Thankyou so much Lynlee, Peter, Zoee and Tigger for welcoming Jane into your home I am sure she appreciates the gentler cuddles that she receives now from you.
And although she handled her time locked into our large storage room, even moving into the upstairs loft, I know that there is nothing better than a loving home.

Thankyou from us......and Jane.