Lyme Regis in Dorset is a special place, the coastline in either direction is magnificent. The cliffs over the boarder are grey and crumbling, those eastwards, towards Charmouth are also unstable – especially after heavy rain, and those at Black Ven are capped with a layer of Gold. The town is noted for the fossils found in the cliffs and beaches, which are part of the Heritage Coast—known commercially as the Jurassic Coast—a World Heritage Site. For information pleaseclick here.
Charming narrow streets
The steep narrow streets of Lyme reflect its long history and the Georgian architecture is contemporary with its prosperity in the 18th century when sea bathing became fashionable.
Enjoying the sun
How good is this being on the south coast of England with a beautiful blue sky. 🙂
The Royal Lion Hotel built in 1601
You gotta love the English pubs. 🙂 Built in 1601 as a coaching inn, this grade II listed hotel has been extensively refurbished, yet still retains much of its history and unique charm. There are many oak beams, wood panels and an open fire which help to create a warm, welcoming and comfortable atmosphere.
Privately owned and managed, The Royal Lion Hotel has gained an enviable reputation for its friendly service, world class food, wine and leisure offerings.
Great view of the beach
During peak season the beach is raked every day, supervised by lifeguards and has toilets, showers, food and drink outlets, and ice cream vendors nearby, making it a perfect family friendly beach. The beach is sheltered by the harbour and does not get completely covered at high tide.
Lyme Regis Jurassic Coast Marina
If you live in Lyme Regis you gotta have a boat. 🙂
Cannon on the Lyme Regis harbour wall.
Lyme Regis is an historic unspoiled seaside resort and fishing port on the world famous Cobb harbour.
Walk out on the rocks
Surrounded by beautiful coastlines and countryside, the area has been awarded World Heritage Site Status; famous for its geology and fossil finds.
We visited Lyme Regis on the way to Lands End.
Lyme Regis is a coastal town in West Dorset, 25 miles (40 km) west of Dorchester and 25 miles (40 km) east of Exeter. It lies in Lyme Bay.
That’s all for now folks
Thanks for visiting my Lyme Regis Jurassic Coast photo blog, this was a very interesting coastal village.
Gold Coast Party House 1994 was like a magnet for people who loved sex drugs & rock & roll. I never bothered with the drugs, bourbon was my weapon of choice. 🙂 The photo above is a typical gathering of party animals. The two guys holding cigarettes are Barry Kemp on the left & Andre Buzek on the right. Sadly within the next year or so Andre was killed in a car accident in Cuba, RIP old friend.
What time can we start having fun?
Right about now I imagine. 🙂
Gold Coast babes
I don’t remember all the names, however that’s tricky Vicki Foster on the left, & 2nd from the right is Carolyn Clark who was my girlfriend at the time.
I need lemon for my Stollies
Thanks Alan, I knew I could rely on you. 🙂
This is the way to suck a lemon
Who said sucking lemons would wipe the smile off your face?
Visitors from Argentina
These gorgeous got me thinking I should visit South America soon. 🙂
What a fabulous smile
Absolutely beautiful.
I asked the question earlier
What time can I start having fun?
My late great friend Andre
Andre was the complete party animal, he had a dental practice on Chevron Island & all the pretty girls got a huge discount. 🙂
The original & the best
What a character.
Coffs Harbour NYE.
Visiting Coffs harbour, that’s Tony Murphy on the left with his girlfriend Anna, aka the Bean. Carolyn Clark is in the centre.
Murphy’s Moke
December 28 1994.
Bonneville Coffs Harbour
A magnificent golf course.
If you gottem, flaunt em. 🙂
How sexy is this?
I feel like a rose between two thorns
That’s my story & I’m sticking to it.
A weekend in Sydney
I took Sonya to Sydney, she was a Gold Coast meter maid.
A happy girl
Until she had one drink too many then she was very hard to handle. 🙂
The Greenwood hotel in North Sydney
Very popular for after work drinks.
Drinks with Hoggie
It’s now 2021 & I have lived in Thailand for almost 10 years, I must see what Hoggie is up to these days.
Italian road trip in march 2000 commenced after a few days in Florence & San Gimignano with my beautiful Italian friend Barbara Manelli, I left with 2 American friends Paul & Dan on a road trip south through Naples, the Amalfi coast & all the way to Reggio at the toe of the boot.
Spanish Steps in Rome
That’s Paul in the middle & Dan aka Scooter Boy on the right. Can’t remember the name of the guy on the left.
Here we are in Naples
The locals are playing a game on the beach.
Naples harbour
Dan & I checking out the boats.
More boats in Naples.
Getting the boat ready for some fishing.
Next stop Pompeii
Pompeii was buried under meters of ash and pumice after the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.
Fairly gruesome
I guess they never really stood a chance.
Farewell to the streets of Pompeii
One of the most interesting places I have ever visited.
Sorrento
David, Paul & Dan.
The gorge
The gorge down to Marina Piccola from PiazzaTasso.
Next stop the Isle of Capri
Took a bus trip around the island, had lunch & checked out the Blue Grotto.
Capri
A narrow Capri street.
Capri was very interesting indeed.
Our guide to the Blue Grotto
It was nice without blowing your socks off. 🙂
Positano
The jewel in the crown on the Amalfi coast.
Fruit anyone?
The jewel in the crown on the Amalfi coast. Happy guy with lots of fresh fruit.
Lunch in Positano
A very quaint village clinging onto the side of a mountain, lots of stairs to climb.
This is not a travel blog, it is part of my personal photo history, you may describe it as the melancholy musings of an old man. My answer to that is simple, it’s far better to be a “has been” than a “never was”. 🙂
Pretty woman stop awhile, Pretty woman talk awhile, Pretty woman give your smile to me, Pretty woman yeah, yeah, yeah, Pretty woman look my way, Pretty woman say you’ll stay with me, ‘Cause I need you, I’ll treat you right, Come with me baby, be mine tonight. It seems fitting looking back on a random selection of some of the Pretty women I have been lucky enough to know, that Roy Orbison should help me recall some of those wonderful memories.
That’s Karen Smith in 1985, my 3rd & last fiancee, I have never known a nicer girl.
Carol Aboud in 1978
This was taken on my birthday which fell on 7-7-77, Carol & I were an item (on & off) for around 4 years.
Sing it for me Neil. 🙂
Carolyn Clark 1994
I still see Carolyn when I’m on the Gold Coast, in fact in July 2019 we made a little promotional video for her boyfriend Andy Sims.
Next we have Glenn Frey sing a beautiful song, ok I know the song is Caroline as opposed to Carolyn, but you get the picture.
Now this definitely is a pretty woman.
Kelly Davis hailed from Tasmania, we knocked around together for a few months in 1991.
Kelly was a huge fan of Van Morrison so here is another one of my favourites.
One of the sexiest of all the girls I knew.
There is something about those Kiwi girls, hot, hot, hot. Karen Greenwood & I had an on & off relationship for over a year in 1991. She stuck around mainly because I lent her a car. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Now here we have a real wild child.
Allison Schroeder, 18 years of age & gorgeous. Of course I was only 45 at the time. 🙂 If I remember correctly I promised her the world & bought her an atlas. 🙂
As they say in the classics, I was having the time of my life. 🙂
Allison was wild but Tanya was crazy. 🙂
Great company sober, but give her a couple of drinks too many & she would turn into a nightmare. This was 1989 on the Gold Coast.
Time to feature a triple treat.
Meet Kitty, Di Parko & Helen Burke, before you ask the answer is yes. 🙂
They don’t come any hotter than Donna Turner.
This was 1996 & she still looks fabulous today in 2019.
Marlene Cuthbert
Around 1983 Marlene worked for Ansett Airlines, she had a very sexy voice on a microphone, that’s why Ansett used her to make all the announcements at mascot airport. 🙂
Looking back I sometimes regret I chose Karen Smith to be my 3rd fiancee instead of Marlene. Don’t get me wrong, Karen was one of the nicest person I ever knew, our personalities were at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Lee Gregory was my 2nd fiancee.
Lee was from Adelaide where met, then we reconnected again in Melbourne in 1974. We had a fairly hectic dramatic short time together, travelled to Singapore & Bali & saw Frank Sinatra in concert in Melbourne on my birthday 7-7-74.
This is one of my all time Sinatra favourites, I can think of no better song to play when I think of Lee.
And they did…..
Teresa Hamilton-Smith & Helen Burke, we had a lot of fun together in 1982 & 1983.
Barbara Manneli aka the Gypsy.
The classic island romance, we celebrated the millennium on Koh Samui, 3 months later I flew to Italy to re-kindle the affair. Guess what? I didn’t make 1st base. 🙂
This one’s for you Gypsy.
Tall & tanned & young & lovely
This is Mel, we me on Copacabana beach, she had green eyes & was 6′ tall, say no more. 🙂
Bebel Gilberto will sing the song for us.
Someones knocking at the door.
Do me a favour open the door & let em in.
This is Emily at the Sheraton Mirage.
Was a Gold Coast meter maid.
Then there was Jill….
Cool, sexy & a lot of fun. Last time I saw her was in Sydney in 2102.
Back to the 60s
Veronica Crocker was my 2nd serious girlfriend, we dated for a couple of years when I was a teenager until the wanderlust took hold of me & at the ripe old age of 20 I sailed to England.
Dion DiMucci was a huge artist in the 60s, here are two of his songs. Both bring back great memories of my time with Veronica.
Teenager in Love
Take good care of my Baby
My first serious girlfriend
What incredible memories I have of this gorgeous girl Elizabeth Wiggington, better known as Beth. She lived on the corner of Wellington Rd & Antwerp St & I would ride my bike 3.3 Km from my home at 58 Kihilla Rd. It was much easier when I got my drivers licence & bought my little Morris Minor, except for the night I was driving home from her house & collided with a horse on Cumberland Rd. 🙂
Now here is one of the reasons I love Facebook, it was 1960 when we were together for 1 to 1.5 years, then I never really saw her again. It’s now September 2019, 59 years later & we have re-connected on Facebook, in fact Beth sent me quite a few photos, because way back then for some stupid teenage reason I had torn up all the ones I owned. 🙂
Johnny Burnette can remind us how it was back then.
The old shipboard romance.
I needed to get over my long romance with Veronica & Leanne Scott on the ship to England seemed like the perfect solution. 🙂
Sing it for me Bobby……
Wendy Winspear, tall & gorgeous.
A lovely Dutch girl on the Gold Coast, sadly she passed away far too young around 2017, RIP.
My first fiancee, Melbourne 1970.
Paula Wills was an Adelaide girl living in Melbourne & working as a an hostess for Ansett. After 3 months living together I think we just ran out of things to say.
Dianne Parkinson in 1975
To say Parko bought some dramas into my life is a gross understatement. Read about some of it on THIS LINK.
The sweetest Diane of them all.
Adelaide 1973 Diane Butson was one of my neighbours in a condo block on Anzac Highway. She was a dance instructor at Arthur Murray dance studio. A great girl & absolutely gorgeous. Follow THIS LINK for more old photos.
Great song from the Bachelors in 1964.
The Bachelors ~ Diane ~ 1964
Another beautiful Adelaide girl.
Jan Seagers was another neighbour, we had some terrific times together. We caught up again in 2015, I had not seen her for 40 years. Check out THIS LINK.
Pretty woman stop awhile
Helen Burke from Melbourne, we really had some fun, played backgammon all through Hawaii & the California coast in 1982.
Linda Ronstadt will tell you about the coast.
Well by now you are bored silly by the memories & musings of an old man. But make no mistake, Glenn Frey will describe exactly how I feel today.
Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia which is officially known as Flagstaff Beach, is the northernmost beach in New South Wales. It’s at the mouth of the Tweed River and the rocky headland Point Danger, which also marks the Queensland-New South Wales border.
Sand transport system
The Project is a sand transport system that collects sand from the southern side of the Tweed River entrance at Letitia Spit, and pumps it under the river to outlets on the northern side. From there the sand is transported by waves and currents to nourish the southern Gold Coast beaches.
Great view of the beach
We are standing on a cliff in QLD looking across Flagstaff Beach to NSW.
Surfers waiting for a wave.
There seems to be many personal and indescribable experiences in their lives that keeps them paddling out again & again. Plus the willingness to wait for them often defines a surfer more than his or her individual ability.
Bring it on.
The waiting is really worth it.
Everyone loves the beach
Not just surfers, kids with their mums & dogs as well. 🙂
My friends from England
Joan Baptist & Bill Austin from Wiltshire visited Australia in 2010 & naturally I took them sightseeing along the coast. The following week we drove down to Sydney.
They actually got married in England yesterday August 3 2019 after being together for over 20 years.
Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia
It’s not just the board-riders who love to surf. Kite-boarding is an action sport combining aspects of wake-boarding, snowboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, skateboarding and sailing into one extreme sport. A kite-boarder harnesses the power of the wind with a large controllable power kite to be propelled across the water, land, or snow. Wikipedia
Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia
I’m guessing he is heading for a cold beer.
OK, I’ll meet you at the pub. 🙂
This is what the Beach Boys call a “surfer girl”.
Thanks for visiting my Surfing Duranbah Beach Australia photo blog.
Two weeks Gold Coast 2019 provided a welcome relief from months of hot weather in Thailand. Caught up with some old friends & celebrated another birthday at Melbas on the park. Most days were overcast with scattered showers which suited me just fine. Above is Marine Parade Labrador.
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Talking about Labrador…
There is a nice restaurant next door to the Aqua building called The Lazy Lobster.
Lunch with an old friend.
I have known Shane for around 30 years, he took me to lunch for my birthday.
I chose the baby Barramundi
The dish was very nice however I must admit my favourite place for seafood is on Chevron Island.
Chevron Island Seafood
Always fresh & the price is right. If you go make sure you say hi to Frank & Wozza.
Malcolm Kennedy
Coffee on Chevron Island with Mal, another guy I have known for 30 years. Mal originally owned the Typsy Prawn restaurant on the corner of Upton St & Ashmore Road. He moved to Phuket around 2001 & opened a restaurant on the beach with the same name. Then after a few years he moved to Jomtiem & bought a venue called Simon’s Fish & Chips, he now resides on Chevron.
Melbas 38th birthday
Beside me is Dave Allen, Adrian, Greg Craig & Graham La Roche. More birthday photos on THIS LINK.
Check out this new illuminated LED menu idea.
Now you can throw away your glasses. 🙂
Breakfast at the Island Cafe.
Excellent food & coffee here.
Australian lamb price is at all time record levels.
To be fair this is at the Brickworks in Ferry Rd Southport, both the seafood & butcher shop are known for their over the top prices.
Meet Sam Murphy
I stayed with Tony & Nikki Murphy at their lovely home in Sorrento, Sam however is totally in charge of the house. 🙂
Burleigh Heads Surf Club
A very good breakfast here, more photos of Burleigh on THIS LINK.
Avanti St Mermaid Waters
My brother Ian & his wife Sandra just demolished their home & built duplexes. They sold one & live in the other. 50% of the homes in this street are now duplexes. Incredibly there is one a few doors down from Ian that just sold for $1.8 million.
Drinks at Melbas
Caught up with the usual suspects.
Two weeks Gold Coast July 2019
Thanks for visiting my Two weeks Gold Coast 2019 photo blog, I hope you enjoyed it.
Omeros Gold Coast Restaurant has been a favourite of mine for around 30 years from back when it was known as the Paragon. A fabulous on the Broadwater looking towards Southport.
I usually sit inside with the air conditioning. 🙂
However if I’m dining with a noisy mob outside is better. 🙂
Lunch with friends
Ross & Mariana Kennedy are legends in their own lunchtime. They now live 5 minutes away at Paradise Waters.
A couple of drinks at the bar first is a good idea.
Omeros Gold Coast Restaurant, inside is a little more formal.
Ok, I guess it’s time to show you some food. 🙂
Seafood Chowder
Absolutely delicious.
Omeros Gold Coast Restaurant Curried Prawns
This is an entre size however a main course size is available if you are hungry. I’m a creature of habit & usually have the above 2 dishes after my oysters natural. 🙂
Manager Robert Rank.
Robert has been there more years than I can remember. 🙂
Flashback to 1992 with one of my favourite photos.
On the left is Henry Geller from California sitting beside Kelly Davis who was my girlfriend at the time. My old mate Harley Bradstreet is on the right sitting beside Tony Seures from Minas Gerais in Brazil. Tony’s Brazilian girlfriend has her arm around the neck of my late great friend Andre Buzek, RIP old buddy.
A final photo….
Ross the boss Kennedy & his lovely wife Mariana & myself say farewell from my Omeros Bros Gold Coast Seafood Restaurant photo blog.
Friends from Brisbane
Clinton & Duncan caught up with Robert on November 3rd 2019.
This is not a travel blog, it is part of my personal photo history. It seemed like Groundhog day. 🙂
Surfers Paradise Party Animals
Surfers Paradise Party Animals, 1992 was just another year of fun & games on the beautiful Gold Coast. I was certainly among the main party hosts, I had a great home for entertaining & I loved have lots of beautiful girls around.
Some of the usual suspects.
Naturally when there were pretty girls around the competition between the guys was fierce. 🙂
A rose between two thorns, I don’t think so. 🙂
I guess there is no need to say I was enjoying life to the max.
Occasionally some of the girls would relax in the spa.
Naturally I always had my camera ready.
These girls loved nature
And Dr Evil was always there with the camera. 🙂
Roslyn & Jill looking good
I remember spending some “quality time” with both these lovely ladies.
Jill & Sharon
Another “daily double” I’m happy to say, (that just means I bonked them both. 🙂 )we saw a show that night at Jupiters casino, I think it was Barry Humphries.
Andre Buzek dentist extraordinaire, (I don’t think so)
Sadly my great mate lost his life soon after in a car crash in Cuba.
Girl of the year Kelly Davis
I was lucky enough to spend a few months on & off with this lovely lady.
Here we are on New Years Eve
Naturally Harley is locked & loaded once again. 🙂
My favoute song from 1992
Big Steve Bristow (son of Tim) & Greg Johnston.
Now in 2018 Greg lives in Pattaya & runs a bar on the dark side, & Steve still lives on the Gold Coast.
The late great Paul Allen, a Surfers Paradise icon.
Talking about icons…………
Daryl Beattie is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, those bikes however all belonged to Mick Doohan the living legend who won five consecutive 500 cc World Championships. The guy in the middle is a legend in his own lunch time, my good mate Ross Kennedy aka “Shoeless Joe”.
Talking about legends…
Here I am giving my boat a good wash. 🙂
A good looking bunch of babes
It was Xmas day 1992 and we all had a great lunch at my home in 106 Upton St Bundall. My main squeeze at the time was Kelly 2nd from the right, & my occasional squeeze was Jill standing beside her. 🙂
Another night another dinner at Upton St
Harley & his gay flatmate naturally came dressed in their army outfits. 🙂 Tat’s Kandice on the left & Nicola on the right.
That night produced one of my favourite photos
This is a true classic.
Another classic from 1992
Lyn Goss & Roslyn provided the glamour & Tony Murphy & I contributed with a truck load of style. 🙂
Sokha Beach Resort Sihanoukville has a great pool & a beautiful private sandy beach. Exceptional food & very good rooms, what more could you possibly want? 🙂
Pool bar
Cocktails or a cold beers at the pool bar.
There are two room sections, we stayed at the cheaper option, the Sokha Express. You still have full use of all the facilities, for a great room rate just book through THIS LINK.
Rarely were there many pople in the pool which made it absolutely ideal.
But wait, there’s more……
The beautiful beach has pure white sand and warm tropical water.
The beach goes on forever, where are the people???
Generally Asian people like to stay out of the sun so us foreigners have the place to ourselves. 🙂
The main building
Breakfast is served here & it’s as good as it gets a you can imagine.
The property is huge
The deck is around 500 meters from the main building & pool. It’s worth the walk however, you have the choice of two excellent restaurants, Lemongrass & the Lotus.
Why do they call it “The Deck”?
Well it’s pretty bloody obvious if you ask me. 🙂
Lemongrass Restaurant
Food was very good & the place almost deserted.
Soup to die for.
I really do love my soup.
Serendipity Beach
This is where most people dine at night, it’s the net beach & all the action is here. Only a 10 minute Tuk Tuk ride.
Tuk Tuk
The ten minute ride to Serendipity is only $2 or $3 USD.
Lovely ladies They were working at a wedding that was in the hotel grounds.
This is supposed to be happy hour. 🙂
Nobody looks happy, & in fact there certainly were not. 🙂
Drinks are 2 for one at happy hour between 5 & 7 pm.
Pizzas & burgers are reasonably priced as well.
The Beach Bar
Sadly is closes around 7.30 pm.
I guess they want you at their casino.
Part of the hotel & when we went there there were more staff than customers.
Sadly this lovely coastal village is never going to be the same, just read THIS STORY.
This is Donna.
