Wedding and bus safety for guests

Some people say it's safer to organize a bus for your wedding guests so they can drink but don't have to drive home. Especially if you hold an event in a wine region.

Tragically, wedding guests were killed in a bus crash in Australia. Hunter Valley, the popular wine region, New South Wales, Australia.

I was pleased to see a campaign for seat belts on buses. Making it compulsory to wear them. 

What if the bus has seat belts but passengers stand up during the journey?

What about a medical episode? maybe vehicles could be designed to only go and stay at speed when the driver has both eyes on the screen for a  certain number of minutes or seconds.

What can passengers do? Do up seat belts.

Stay seated. 

You need a responsible driver.

Useful Websites

https://nypost.com/2023/06/19/bride-and-groom-break-silence-after-10-of-their-guests-die-in-bus-crash-processing-this-tragedy/ 

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Wonderful Bago Winery and Amazing Maze, north of Hunter Valley, Australia

Maze at Bago Winery, NSW. The maze uses a local plant, Lilly Pilly.

A new place on my wishlist. This winery is family run and offers family fun. Wine for the adults. An amazing maze for the children. Souvenir glasses and tea-towels. I like the tee-shirt, but don't see it in the shop. The shop sells chocolates made on the premises. The chcolate area keeps different hours.

You are not allowed to take pets, I suppose they might eat or pee or damage the vines. But for animal lovers the name of the place is memorable, Lambs Road and Herons Creek.

The bottles have attractive labels showing birds. The online shop shows four teatowels, with designs of a green frog, a koala, or birds. The teatowel price is about 24 Australian dollars, about half that in British pounds, just over twelve pounds sterling shown in conversion tables in September 2023.

Maze tickets cost Australian $12 for adults, 8 for children, under fives free.

The place is open 9-5 daily except Xmas Day. Last maze entry at 4pm. It take about 20 minutes to walk around the maze. 

The lunchtime music once a month is free. You can buy meat or cheese platters. They recommend ordering as there is a limited supply each day.

Where To Go

Bago Winery

The winery is north of Sydney, over 300 kms/miles. See Google maps, a mornin'g s drive, if you keep to the speed limit.

197 Lambs Road, Herons Creek, NSW, Australia 2439

When To To

Once a month they have music days. Free entry for father last Father's day so maybe the same next year, if you want to bag a bargain and are looking for something new to do.

You might spot the bottles with bird labels in nearby hotels and shops.

Useful Websites

bago.com.au

https://www.facebook.com/bagomazeandwinery/

https://www.bago.com.au/blog/the-road-to-bago-maze-and-wine?

https://www.bago.com.au/stockists

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How Do You Remember The Australian States? What have they in common with learning Chinese Numbers?

AUSTRALIA

Where are the states of Australia? Could you quickly teach them to somebody else? How do you remember them?

Problem
I was learning Chinese numbers on Duolingo when up popped a suggestion that I try their Tinycards. I know and like the Tinycards. Before I could find the ones on Chinese numbers, up popped the suggestion that I try the states or territories of Australia.  I've always wanted to know these. There are fewer than a dozen. Fewer than half a dozen. Five big ones. How hard is that! I thought I would try this quiz and add to my general knowledge about countries. How does it work?

Answers
It's a bit like the multiple choice questions in the Chinese numbers.

Chinese Numbers
In the Chinese numbers, they offer five choices. One of the choices is Yuan, which is the currency, and this comes last. So you are left with four choices. You start by process of elimination. The same applies to learning the Australian territories.

We start on the left, the West, the nearest point if you are flying into Australia. Western Australia has to be to the left. Northern is to the North. South is in the middle in the south.  But note that although it's Western and Northern, it's not Southern but South. I got that wrong the first time.

(Perth, with an E and an R, is in Western Australia.)

Now we come to New South Wales. It's not in the centre south because we've already done that one.

So let's look at the last word of the three, Wales, which is furthest East of the three word New South Wales.  That sounds is a bit like Wales on the Map of Great Britain, lower down, but not on the west of Australia, on the east.

Photo by Adrian Gigante from Sydney. In Wikipedia.

Think of Sydney Harbour Bridge, like the bridge across to Wales. Think that Down Under, where the seasons are reversed, they do things differently.

Severn Bridge. Wales. UK. Photo from Wikipedia. Public domain.

The Severn Bridge, Wales.
Now, next, what is north of New South Wales? Queensland. Wales is part of Britain, the Queen's land. (Of course, these places were named in the time of Queen Victoria. But you can think of Queen Elizabeth II.

I looked at the map and didn't even notice Victoria until I brought it up on the more detailed map.

It's in the east and south.

Logically, going south on the east coast, we say Queen Victoria, so Queen(sland) is to the north of New South Wales and Victoria is to the south, Victoria from the past being less important and smaller than the Queen.

Melbourne is named after one of Queen Victoria's ministers, the Prime Minister. The name was not chosen by Victoria by the Governor of Victoria. So it is in what was his territory, Victoria.

Look at the map and say the names, three or four times. However, I think that's hardly necessary. I know them all. You also learn by teaching. Maybe you could teach somebody else.

Useful Websites
https://tinycards.duolingo.com/decks/2JvHmk3/chinese-numbers
https://tinycards.duolingo.com/decks/oM9Qei/australian-states-territories

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please save (bookmark) and pass on links to your family and friends.