New at my Patreon... Paying a visit to the Nhill Aviation Heritage Centre on the location of a sprawling World War Two airbase, I met a classic Australian aircraft manufactured for that conflict: #museum #nhill #history #flight https://www.patreon.com/timrichards/posts/image-of-week-up-172009525

Today in print in Traveller, I write a profile of Chicago's magnificent Union station. Here's the link to the online version: #train #trains #Chicago #USA https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/when-it-comes-to-us-train-travel-this-station-is-the-jewel-in-the-crown-20261011-p61219.html

When it comes to US train travel, this station is the jewel in the crown

Opened in 1925 in the beaux-arts style, it’s basically a temple devoted to rail travel.

smh.com.au

Good morning from Horsham station! Not one of Victoria's busiest (usually just two passenger trains each way per week). Just waiting for our own train. I'm on a heritage rail tour with Seymour Railway Heritage Centre. #Train #Trains

New at my Patreon... Travelling on a rail tour through western Victoria, I visited an extraordinary structure - suggestive of some rough-hewn cathedral of the bush - built for storing wheat: #Tour #Travel #Victoria #Architecture #History […]

Here's the first two reviews from this year's Melbourne Fringe Festival by myself and @NarrelleMHarris - of the shows 'Campervan: An Ozploitation Horror Musical' and 'The Year There Were No Monsters'. Enjoy! #Melbourne #fringe https://www.patreon.com/timrichards/posts/reviews-fringe-1-171547763

Here's the first two reviews from this year's Melbourne Fringe Festival by myself and @NarrelleMHarris - of the shows 'Campervan: An Ozploitation Horror Musical' and 'The Year There Were No Monsters'. Enjoy! #Melbourne #fringe https://www.patreon.com/timrichards/posts/reviews-fringe-1-171547763

Melbourne laneway life... this place makes amazing filled baguettes, French-style. #Melbourne #food

I'm off tomorrow on a great four-day rail tour run by Seymour Rail Heritage Centre, aboard their Shiraz & Jazz train to the Wimmera region of western Victoria: https://srhc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SHIRAZ-JAZZ-2026.pdf While I'm on the trip I'll be writing exclusive posts for my […]

If I ever retire, the very first thing I'll do is delete Instagram. God I loathe it - such a vehicle for brainlessness - but it has work-related uses. Especially since I'm not on many other platforms nowadays. Social media was fun for a while but it's turned out to be a mess, hasn't it? Thank […]

Greens can hope to pick up the mess Labor and Albanese have made https://pearlsandirritations.com/e/daily/2026-10-08/480110/ #Auspol

Greens can hope to pick up the mess Labor and Albanese have made

Labor’s shift to the right has opened political space on its left. If the Greens seriously want to become an alternative party of government, they must take votes from Labor, professionalise and build a much broader political movement.

pearlsandirritations.com

Triple J is playing the Paul Kelly song How to Make Gravy on 8 October! That is weird. The music equivalent of seeing Xmas decorations around now I guess - way too soon.

So tired today. We've had two nights in a row of works happening on and around the local tram stop in the middle of the night. The first night was almost bearable, last night was far worse as they'd moved to the end of the stop nearer our window. Had to wear earplugs. City life! Hopefully it's […]

Good god. Not my cup of tea. "She is currently on a cruise with her husband Grant, 68 – but not just any cruise: they are now about a month into history’s longest commercial cruise, Explorations by Norwegian’s Regatta’s 371-day sailing, scheduled to visit more than 220 ports across 62 countries […]

I like these thoughts. Nowadays I try to stick to the surface once I arrive in another continent, via trains and ferries. "In the age of algorithm-optimised travel planning, it’s easy to fall into the hyperefficient five-cities-in-10-days mindset. But fast travel often increases both […]

Is there anything that influencers can't ruin? "As a girl, now-general manager Julia Drew and her sister grew up here, walking the grounds. Their mother, Rita Woolley, was still secretary manager in 2013 when they planted the wisteria, which blooms every September. "In the years since, it has […]

Good luck to the Greens. I think they'll do well in the upcoming Victorian election, given Labor is on the nose. It'll be interesting to see what happens in seats where the Greens ended up in second place last time, such as Footscray and Preston. #vicpol […]

Hmm I'm not sure that "food delivery" is a crucial service we should be worried about staffing. #auspol https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-cost-of-cutting-foreign-workers-fares-spike-in-taylor-s-migration-gamble-20261008-p613jx.html

The cost of cutting foreign workers: Fares spike in Taylor’s migration gamble

One feature of the opposition’s plan involves the Home Affairs Department stopping international students violating work rights by working in the gig economy.

smh.com.au

Worth knowing. #money https://theconversation.com/are-you-seeing-new-service-fees-since-the-card-surcharge-ban-here-are-the-rules-293544

Are you seeing new ‘service fees’ since the card surcharge ban? Here are the rules

Businesses can’t just give the card surcharges a different name. Some are putting up their prices instead.

theconversation.com

A convincingly detailed explanation of why economy seats are so awful. #flying #travel https://newatlas.com/aircraft/aircraft-flight-economy-seat-uncomfortable/

Why your Economy class seat is torturing you – possibly on purpose

Ever fly Economy and felt like you were being tortured by the seat? It turns out that you're not being fussy, the seats really are horrible from an ergonomic point of view, which is why you're suffering. Oh, and that might be by design.

newatlas.com

Somewhat odd. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqy7zr6d2lj4o

Sir Ranulph Fiennes: Relatives tell BBC it's 'very painful' not being able to visit him

It has been alleged that Sir Ranulph has been admitted to a number of care homes under assumed names.

bbc.com

Yep I'd say so, First Dog. #auspol https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2026/oct/05/is-anthony-albanese-destined-to-be-the-most-disappointing-prime-minister-ever

Is Anthony Albanese destined to be the most disappointing prime minister ever? | First Dog on the Moon

How could this happen?

theguardian.com

According to The Atlantic the share of Americans who say they host friends or family at their home at least monthly has fallen from 42 percent in 1975 to 12 percent in 2026—a 70 percent collapse in a half century: "Mid-century Americans knew how to throw a party, for better or worse. In some of […]

I'm at Docklands Library today. I'm fascinated by this crane which is operating on a construction site a bit further along - because there's no space on land for it, it's waterborne. #Melbourne

Truly can not understand anyone getting excited about a new phone release anymore. Who is paying up to $4,000 for a phone that does the same thing as your current phone? Who’s paying that much for more AI to track you and make everything (including yourself) a bit more useless?

Nice piece by @seatsixtyone about a new European Sleeper service: "It sounds too good to be true. London to Brussels by Eurostar in just a couple of hours, a leisurely margarita in the Hotel Pullman bar at Brussels Midi, then overnight to Italy on a sleeper train with glimpses of Germany’s […]

Good piece by Ross Gittins. He suggests switching from increasing interest rates to control inflation, to adjusting taxes up and down instead (thus spreading the effect to more people, rather than just mortgage holders). "So who is greatly affected by changes in interest rates? One group stands […]

Cute variant. https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/dlr-staff-get-their-own-monopoly-style-board-game-92862/

DLR staff get their own Monopoly-style board game

Lots of companies buy corporate-branded goodies to hand out to staff and other worthies, and oh, look, yet another branded water bottle and tote bag. But sometimes, it’s a DLR-themed clone of the Monopoly board game – KADOPOLY. It was commissioned by the Docklands Light Railway’s (DLR) operator, KeolisAmey, as gifts for staff, so you’re not going to see it in shops, but it’s still been done to a high standard, with a lot of DLR touches to the board game. Community Chest offers lots of rewards for providing good customer care and running the service on time. Go to Jail remains intact – presumably for the fare dodgers. Free parking is now waiting at the platform. The gameplace pieces are still the classic ones from the original game, so you’ll still be a dog or a hat, and not a cluster of DLR trains going around the board. A KeolisAmey spokesperson confirmed the game was commissioned for their staff, and they don’t plan to order more or sell them. So, short of getting a bonus as an employee, you’ll probably only see them if someone decides to sell theirs via those well-known second-hand websites. Working clockwise from GO: **CLASSIC** | **KADOLOPY** ---|--- Go | Go Old Kent Road | Stratford Community CHest | Top up your Oyster Whitechapel Road | Abbey Road Income Tax | Star Lane Kings Cross Station | London Stadium The Angel Islington | Canning Town Chance | Community Chest Euston Road | London City Airport Pentonville Road | Woolwich Arsenal In Jail | In Jail Pall Mall | Bank Electric Company | You Missed Your Train (back 2 spaces) Whitehall | Limehouse Northumberland Avenue | East India Marylebone Station | Tower of London Bow Street | Custom House (for Excel) Community Chest | Beckton Depot Marlborough Street | Royal Albert Vine Street | Galleons Reach Free Parking | Waiting at the platform Strand | Pudding Mill Lane Chance | Community Chest Fleet Street | Devons Road Trafalgar Square | All Saints Fenchurch Street | O2 Arena Leicester Square | Deptford Bridge Coventry Street | Elverson Road Water Works | Poplar Depot Piccadilly | Lewisham Go to Jail | Go to Jail Regent Street | Canary Wharf Oxford Street | Heron Quays Community Chest | Shopping at Canary Wharf Bond Street | South Quay Liverpool Street Station | Cutty Sark Chance | Mudchute Park Lane | Island Gardens Super Tax | You caught an early train (move forward 2 places) Mayfair | Greenwich The game was created by The Dice Guys. All photos are from my own copy of the game, from one of those second-hand websites.

ianvisits.co.uk

Here's a new Patreon post that's free for everyone to read – announcing the publication of my new book, Train Europe. In it, I talk about how I wrote the book and what's inside it. The post also includes the video of the complete Q&A session which was held at the […] [Original post on aus.social]

Just spotted another new G-class tram! The one I've been on before is tram 7006, but this one's number is 7009. Wasn't picking up passengers, so I assume it's being used for driver training. Good to see more in the wild, in any case. #Melbourne #tram #trams

"We're gonna need a bigger bell."