Stilgherrian – Page 4

20 July 202620 July 2026

Weekly Wrap 842: I rode some trains but here’s a pub

A Sydney suburban pub lit by the late afternoon sun. The ground floor is tiled in yellow. The upper floor is red brick with matching yellow trim around the windows and elsewhere. The roof is red tiles. The sign reads: General Gordon Hotel.

My week of Monday 13 to Sunday 19 July 2026 was moderately productive. I posted a podcast, did some client work, continued working on my compensation claim — it’s so close to being ready to file! — and even spent a lovely afternoon riding Sydney’s train network with David Feng.

19 July 202620 July 2026

The 9pm Half-time Bingo Card Update 2026 with Snarky Platypus

Photograph of an old-fashioned bingo card from Milton Bradley Company against a background of wooden bingo stamps stained with red ink, and in the top right corner an inset showing a platypus. — *Main image by* Rudonni *via Pixabay. Foreground bingo card originally by Milton Bradley Company,* photo by Abby Hendrickson under under a CC-BY 2.0 Generic *license. Platypus inset photo by Taronga Conservation Society Australia / Chris Wheeler. Digital composition by Stilgherrian.*

Back at the start of the year, my good friend Snarky Platypus and I created a bingo card for 2026. A set of 25 things that might happen. Well, we’re half-way through the year, so let’s see how we went.

13 July 202616 July 2026

Weekly Wrap 841: Enjoying Wollongong, but heaps late

Looking out over the Pacific Ocean. On the right-hand side of the photo, riding the mackerel blue waters, are two big black bulk carrier ships, their red hulls high out of the water, their bows pointing to the right. On the far left, closer to us, is a small fishing boat. In the immediate foreground, waves break on the shore. Above are lumpy clouds, and in the in distance there is rain.

I had another couple of days off this week, Monday 6 to Sunday 12 July 2026, visiting Wollongong after a gap of 21 years. Very enjoyable. But when combined with my lovely time in Newcastle last week, it means I’m now well behind where I wanted to be this month.

06 July 202613 July 2026

Weekly Wrap 840: Darting up to Newcastle to see a darter

A bird stands on the rough river wall of the Port of Newcastle, its wings outstretched to warm and dry in the sun, the green estuary water behind. it. He’s black, for yes he is a male of the species, apart from a white streak down the side of its head and neck, and a long snake-like neck.

What a week! From Monday 29 June 2026 to Tuesday I was suffering quite a bit of back pain, for which I received treatment on Tuesday. But from Friday afternoon through to Sunday 5 July I was in Newcastle, where I did a lot of walking and caught up with a couple of friends. There was wine. At various times during the week I finished producing one podcast, recorded another, and even got some client work done. Very happy-making.

02 July 202603 July 2026

The 9pm Not Quite All of the Trains with David Feng

A Chinese man in short-sleeved shirt stands on a railways station platform on a bright sunny day. Behind him stands a very shiny modern train in white, blue, red, and grey livery, with a legend in Lao script. — *David Feng stands in front of a high-speed train of the *Laos*–*China Railway* in 2023.* (Photo: Supplied)

I like trains. Do you like trains? I hope so, because today we’re talking about trains. There’s a strong focus on China and on high-speed trains, and our guest on the internet from Beijing is Chinese-Swiss international rail visionary, it says on his YouTube channel, David Feng.

29 June 202601 July 2026

Weekly Wrap 839: Podcasts and pain, what a week!

It’s a bright sunny day on a suburban street. We’re looking at what has obviously been a corner shop for a century or more, a two-storey building which has been re-rendered in buff-coloured plaster or concrete or something. On the righthand end there’s an open door, above which a blue awning reads “1 STOP SUPERMARKET” with various square photos of food and groceries. The centre part of the wall has two big panels with similar photos. On the left-hand end is a roller door-closed. The upper floor has windows of various shapes, the larger ones with roller shutters. At the right-hand end what was once a balcony is now enclosed. In front of it all is parked a small silver sedan — a car, not a chair.

I ended my week of Monday 22 to Sunday 28 June 2026 with back pain from a rather nasty series of spasms, which kicked in on Saturday and are kinda still with me as I write this on Monday. I’d recorded two podcasts, but didn’t have the energy to edit them. I haven’t taken many photos lately, which is why there’s a random local shop at the top of the page.