A well-travelled blog, even in this heat!

Every now and then, I take a look at the statistics on where in the world this blog is being read. There's been an odd trend recently, and I'd love to know what explains it. For most of the life of the blog, the vast majority of readers were from the UK. Recently, however, British readership has slumped, and Italy and the US have overtaken big time. The table below shows page views for yesterday.

Odd, isn't it? Why are Italians so interested? And why am I losing readers from the UK? (Am I that boring?) Four readers in Cambodia? Two in The UAE?? And just who is that one lonely reader in Canada? Maybe some of you from outside of the UK could use the comments facility at the bottom, and introduce yourselves? Please? I'd love to hear from you.

I fixed the mushroom vent. That glue is truly amazing! And we've started on the chimney, too. It's not as difficult and scary as we'd imagined, of course. It's just slow because the sealant we're using in conjunction with glass-fibre rope takes hours to set fully. And of course, it's been VERY hot, which doesn't help with jobs. The maximum temperature in the cabin has been 32° C, with all windows and doors open. But, of course, the skies are wonderful.

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Yelvertoft, Australia?

You'd think that a name like Yelvertoft was unique, wouldn't you? I've done a fair bit of research into the history of the village and its name, and I've never come across the name used anywhere else.

Until yesterday. To be honest, I can't remember the series of events on the web which led to me stumbling upon it, but I did indeed stumble upon the information that there is, in the middle of nowhere in the Northern Territory of Australia, another Yelvertoft. And here it is...

The red line is the main road, the blue are rivers.
The grey areas are largely rock!

"Yelvertoft is a homestead on the Buckley River in west Queensland. Its closest capital city is actually Darwin (show me) in the Northern Territory about 1210km to the northwest (the capital of Queensland is Brisbane (show me), about 1650km away to the east-southeast of Yelvertoft). Yelvertoft is at an altitude of about 293m above sea level. Yelvertoft is one of the westernmost homesteads in Queensland. The nearest sea is the Arafura Sea which is part of the Indian Ocean about 300km north-northeast of Yelvertoft. The nearest more populous place is the city of Mount Isa which is 85km away with a population of around 21,000 (show me a map with Yelvertoft and Mount Isa)." (www.bonzle.com)

So it's a "homestead", and not a village. Very small. Tiny population. So one has to think that it got its name from someone who had once lived in Yelvertoft, Northamptonshire, yes? I'm in the process of trying to make contact with someone who might know. Someone living there, or someone from the appropriate local authority. Whatever that might be. It may be a vain hope, but I'm a bit fascinated, and it's worth a try.

Courtesy of Google Maps

This is as close as I could zoom in.

A couple of gems

We're keeping busy, but the weather's not always been helpful. Rain and strong winds have slowed Grace's progress towards painting the Roses and Castles. Yesterday too hot for the paint. Today too, probably. I've done all that's needed to the engine to have it ready for the next cruise. And there's a list of other bits and pieces for us to do which could wait for a couple of weeks if necessary. Painting has to take priority.

Having seen Simon Pegg playing Benji in Mission Impossible the other week, we chose an inclement day more recently to see him in Absolutely Anything.

"A council of aliens, travelling from planet to planet to see what kind of species inhabit them, take a look at Earth. If they find the people to be "decent" by their standards, they are welcomed to be their friends. If not, the planet is destroyed. To find out, they choose one inhabitant and give that person the power to do whatever they want. On Earth, they choose Neil Clarke, a teacher who is constantly being berated by his headmaster. He is attracted to his neighbour, Catherine but doesn't have the courage to approach her. But now he can do anything he wants, he has to be careful."

Very silly, very funny and great entertainment. With a top cast, too. Though not very well reviewed yet.

Unlike cinema-viewed films, DVD viewings don't usually get a mention on this blog, but today I have to make an exception. Two exceptions, in fact. Grace and I have recently watched a couple of DVDs from the marina library, and both of them were absolute gems.

Australia, a 2008 production starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, is another film which is underrated on IMDB. But it's a film with a good story, a lot of human interest, humour and pathos, action, and a good dose of mystery.

"In northern Australia at the beginning of World War II, an English aristocrat inherits a cattle station the size of Maryland. When English cattle barons plot to take her land, she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn stock-man to drive 2,000 head of cattle across hundreds of miles of the country's most unforgiving land, only to face the bombing of Darwin by the Japanese forces that had attacked Pearl Harbour only months earlier."

The second gem is Blessed (2008). James Nesbitt co-stars with 8 year-old Lil Woods in a moving, inspiring story.

"A successful city trader suddenly loses everything he truly cares about. Seeking comfort in isolation on a remote island, his life is turned upside down by the arrival of a little girl."

That's all you need to know really. Watch it! In interview, James Nesbitt said that the role of Peter was one he'd waited his whole professional life to play. The particular challenge was the lack of dialogue (he says not a word for about half of the duration of the film) and the need to develop the character without words.