Swiss WorldCargo flies 14 tonnes of COVID-19 vaccines to São Paulo

Swiss WorldCargo successfully transports over fourteen tons of COVID-19 vaccines to São Paulo

On December 18, a SWISS aircraft arrived in São Paulo, carrying over 14 tons of finished COVID-19 vaccines. Flight LX 96 from Zurich to São Paulo had departed Zurich on the evening of December 17. Previously, the shipment had been transported from Beijing to Zurich.

The special cargo was carried in ten Envirotainer RAP-e2 containers, which kept the temperature consistently cooled within a range of 2-8 degrees Celsius. 

Together with forwarding partner PGL Brazil, Swiss WorldCargo carried out the shipment on behalf of the Brazilian Butantan institute. Upon arrival, the aircraft was welcomed by several prominent government officials, including the Governor of São Paulo, Mr. João Doria. The total shipment carried close to 2 million doses of finished COVID-19 vaccines.

This successful collaboration and transport further underlines Swiss WorldCargo’s long-standing expertise in complex pharmaceutical transportation.

Qatar Airways Introduces its First Fully Vegan Range of Gourmet Dishes For Premium Customers

 

Award-winning airline crafts a range of delicious vegan dishes for Business Class passengers as demand for plant-based food grows

Economy Class customers can continue to pre-order special vegan meals ahead of travel

DOHA, Qatar – Qatar Airways has introduced its first range of fully vegan dishes to its à la carte menu for Business Class passengers on all flights, designed to cater to the increasing demand for plant-based food while elevating passengers' culinary experience when they travel with the award-winning airline.

The newly crafted vegan dishes use only the freshest locally and internationally sourced ingredients and are available to all Business Class passengers flying from the airline's Doha hub, Hamad International Airport, and selected flights into Doha.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: "We always strive to provide our customers with authentic and indulgent experiences in the skies. We are delighted to incorporate a vegan main course choice to our on-board menu, offering our passengers yet another lifestyle choice that redefines the expectations from a five-star airline."

Designed with sustainability and taste at its heart, Qatar Airways' range of flavourful vegan dishes include smoked moutabel, spiral courgettes and arrabbiata sauce, tofu and spinach tortellini, asian barbecue tofu, noodles, scallions and shiitake, fried tofu with vegetable tajine, cauliflower couscous and kalamata bruschetta, and chickpea flour omelette.

The airline also offers a wide selection of special meals to cater to different dietary requirements. Passengers can request a special meal up to 24 hours before their flight. These include young traveller meals, vegetarian or religious meals and medical or health care meals.

Qatar Aircraft Catering Company (QACC), the exclusive catering provider at Hamad International Airport, ensures that all in-flight meals are prepared to the highest quality using the freshest ingredients. Spanning an extraordinary 69,000 square meters, QACC is one of the world's largest self-contained catering facilities.

Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, the airline has applied necessary health and safety measures onboard its flights, including in the preparation and serving of food. Business Class meals are served covered on a tray instead of a table set up, and a cutlery wrap is offered to passengers as an alternative to individual cutlery service, in an effort to minimise contact between crew and passengers. Qatar Airways has also introduced single-use menu cards and sealed refreshing wipes. Economy Class meals and cutlery are served sealed as usual, and menu cards have been temporarily discontinued. All social areas onboard the aircraft have been closed adhering to the social distancing measures. For more information about Qatar Airways' safety measures, visit qatarairways.com/Safety.

The national carrier of the State of Qatar now operates over 650 weekly flights to more than 90 destinations, providing more flexible travel options to more global destinations than any other airline. A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named 'World's Best Airline' by the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named 'Best Airline in the Middle East', 'World's Best Business Class', and 'Best Business Class Seat', in recognition of its ground-breaking Business Class experience, Qsuite. It is the only airline to have been awarded the coveted "Skytrax Airline of the Year" title, which is recognised as the pinnacle of excellence in the airline industry, five times. Its home and hub, HIA, was recently ranked 'Best Airport in the Middle East' and 'Third Best Airport in the World' by the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2020.

A motorcycle ride to Wallacia

O ye of little faith. They say that discretion is the better part of valour. Today those who exercised discretion rode home in the traffic, and those who demonstrated their valour had a great day riding in the countryside. Here is what went down.

Nine riders met at Maccas at Heathcote well in advance of the advertised start time of 10 AM. We gathered that the rostered ride leader might not be able to make it today, and so we started to discuss options. For some reason some folks were nervous about the weather, and that came into the discussion.

The general consensus was that a storm was coming up from the south, so it would be better if we didn’t go south to Kiama as advertised, but head a bit west and maybe skirt around the front of the storm running home ahead of it. Several riders consulted their respective electronic weather gurus, all coming up with different projections of what might happen, but it was fair to say that there was an air of pessimism about the weather. All they needed to do was look at the sky and have a little faith, and they would have seen that all would be well.

Anyway, it was ultimately decided that we would head down through the National Park from Waterfall, then back up to the Princes Highway through Helensburgh, head south till we got to Appin Way and then ride across to Picton. The deal was the Frosty would lead this section, and then Rocket would take over the lead from Picton through some interesting country leading back home because he was more familiar with that area.

Out to the bikes, helmets on, and all of a sudden the “3 Amigos” from the North Shore decided that the weather really was foreboding, and decided to head back home. Rocket decided to join them, and then there was only five of us for the tour.

The road through the National Park was a bit damp but underpopulated so we could get along at a reasonable clip. We turned right onto Appin Way and made our way through Appin and then across to Picton via the beautiful deep gorge on Wilton Road.  We had morning coffee at Picton, and to be fair to the sceptics, it did rain there. By the time we got out from Coffee, there were four or five drops of rain on each of our bikes.

We then set the GPS for the Oaks, Silverdale and beyond that Wallacia, as we had  decided that we would have lunch at the hotel there. We started out of Picton on Barkers Lodge Road and wended our way to the pub. That was a great 45 km of road, with not a lot of traffic and perfectly dry.

We had a top lunch (a venue worth remembering for future exploits) , and then decided on the way home. A couple of our riders wanted to pick up some motorcycle gear at a bike shop in Eastern Creek, one wanted to head straight home by the shortest possible route, and I was happy to head back to the Central Coast by whatever way transpired. So we headed off through Luddenham, where we got a bit messed around by the works for the new Badgery’s Creek airport. Two GPS’s had different views on which way to go, and both were wrong. Wayne finally rescued us and took us out on Elizabeth Drive,  the right road to get us to the M7 near Horsley Park, where we parted company for the day.

We really did have some delightful riding. As responsible mature age riders, we were of course “fully mindful” of the speed limit at all times, and had a very enjoyable day.

Frosty.

See more pictures and stories on our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/720092424867806/?ref=bookmarks

Parkes Elvis Festival

Parkes Elvis Festival is held annually in the second week of January in Parkes, New South Wales, coinciding with the birthday of Elvis Presley. Parkes has a population of 12,000 and is located 365 kilometres west of Sydney. In January 2015 over 20,000 visitors attended the Festival, more than doubling Parkes’ population.

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DON'T MISS THIS TONIGHT 🎤 . Buy your virtual tickets to see a live stream concert tonight, 5 September starting at 6pm starring Brendon Chase, Jeff Handcox, Kingsley Rock and Andy B. This concert will raise funds for Shelley Vieyra and her fight with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND). . Help support Shelley by booking your ticket or donating at http://bit.ly/ShelleyV . #parkeselvis #elvispresley #elvis #FND #stueyvaselvis #FunctionalNeurologicalDisorder #virtual #fundraiser @stuey_v_as_elvis

A post shared by Parkes Elvis Festival (@parkeselvisfestival) on Sep 4, 2020 at 2:37pm PDT

The Festival began in January 1993 as a small birthday party for the local newspaper editor. It was so much fun they decided to do it again - and again! Over the following 10 years, additional events were added and it became a two-day Festival. With the vision and effort of the volunteer organising committee as well as the support of Parkes Shire Council, the Festival exploded in popularity and word quickly spread across Australia of the fun and unique event in regional NSW.

Following its tremendous success, in 2014 the Festival transitioned management to Parkes Shire Council under a Section 355 Festival Committee. The Festival now regularly attracts visitors from all around Australia and stages more than 150 events annually. In January 2015, Parkes Elvis Festival was officially endorsed by Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., the trustees of the estate of Elvis Presley. Official endorsement elevates Parkes Elvis Festival to the ranks of premiere Elvis tribute festivals in the world.

Parkes Elvis Festival is proudly supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.

A Motorcycle ride along the NSW Central Coast

Faced with the prospect of leading yet another Catherine Hill Bay Ride I suggested we might try somewhere different. A quick look at google maps showed an area just south of the Bay crisscrossed by roads ending in headlands and beaches called Lake Munmorah State Conservation Area (SCA). Hmmmm ... which one to pick? The one with toilets and picnic benches ticked all the boxes so Frazer Beach it was to be 😁

On the day of the ride my briefing started with a mighty attempt at humour which was met by stoney stares and not even a hint of an up turned lip!

My plea for a TEC Volunteer also went completely unanswered except for the thud as, en masse, the ride group took a step back in unison.

The demand for Virgins to identify themselves resulted in one of the older group members raising his hand. Poor guy, must be that long ago he doesn’t remember 🤣

I ran through Corner Marking - wait at a turn if you can’t see rider behind - because the route had a few twists and turns, the fidgeting in the group was reaching fever pitch and it wasn’t yet even 9:55am!

I ran through the proposed Route -

Old Pacific Hwy to Calga - Regather

Peats Ridge to Central Mangrove and then towards Kulnura Spring Rd and Bumble Hill to Yarramalong and Triangle for smoko.

Hue Hue to Alison

Jillby Rd towards Dooralong

Durren and Dickson rds to join Mandelong Rd then 800m gravel rd.

Thru to Morisset M1 junction.

Wyee Rd to Ruttleys Rd across to Pacific Hwy.

Turn left up to Elizabeth Bay Drive and right on the drive and left into the SCA on Birdie Beach Drive- Regather and follow the signs for Frazer Beach.

Having done a recce run some weeks ago I issued a stern warning - the roads in SCA are good to terrible and change quickly so take it easy. There is also a bit of a wiggle to get to Frazer so please corner mark.

A final “Any questions” then “Mount up” and before I had chance to turn around engines were starting and riders were lining up on the 7-11 exit ramp. At least they’re eager I thought, as I hurried to don riding gear and pick my way out of the crowd of revving bikes to take my place at the front. And so it was 27 riders left for Frazer Beach at 9:58am ... meh ...what’s a couple of minutes between friends.

All progressed smoothly through to the Peats Ferry Bridge where we happened upon a poor rider at the side of the road accompanied by a Jam Sandwich with flashing blue lights. After recent events it wasn’t hard to guess his circumstance so with that picture locked in our heads we tootled calmly and slowly up the old Pacific Hwy to Calga - NOT!

After the regather we had a great run through to Bumble Hill and for once, at least at the front of the group, there wasn’t some numpty with a death grip on the steering wheel holding us all up going down the hill.

Same was true of the run from Yarramalong to the triangle with the few obstacles bypassed and we arrived at the triangle at 10:55am. Morning tea was accompanied as usual by the normal banter and outrageous commentary with normal PC rules out the window (if any of us actually had one that is)😀

At 11:25am I called the ride, to be completely ignored by all and sundry. I tried again, this time with accompanying arm gestures with the result a handful of riders started to don riding gear, the rest carried on as if they had all the time in the world. By 11:30am maybe two-thirds of the Ride was mounted, engines running but there was still those who had not even begun to get ready with one even racing off to the loos. Bugger it I thought and with a nod from the Ride Committee we rolled out leaving the recalcitrant few to scramble.

I actually managed to remember the Jillby road sufficiently to not over coke the right angled bends in Dooralong and give a bit of warning to the following riders of the right turn into Durren. The roads were clear, dry and the pace was brisk, even the gravel section presented no challenges. The road down the hill towards Morisset was a delight, smooth, twisty and dappled. However in the light of our slightly fragmented departure from the triangle I decided to include an impromptu regather at the M1 junction where we waited, and waited and waited.....

Finally, with the group getting restless, another bunch of riders appeared, bringing our number to maybe 18, clearly corner marking had broken down at some point. Hey Ho and away we go, no point in waiting for Godot is there?

The run down Wyee and Ruttleys roads was slow, held up by busy traffic, the Pacific Hwy was only marginally better. Elizabeth Bay Drive is residential so it was with some relief we reached the entrance to the SCA and paused to regather.

Cool, we hadn’t managed to lose any more riders so we set off into the SCA where the road twists and turns, dips and climbs and cambers are random at best. However eventually we were greeted by the vista of Frazer Beach and pulled up into the carpark managing to occupy 80% of the parking spaces. Halfway through lunch another 6 riders rolled up with stories of tours of Cooranbong (why the hell did they take that turn off Mandalong Rd 🤔) and Budgewoi. We filled the available picnic bench and the stairs and still had riders eating standing up. I did notice no one was up to intruding on the couple on the other picnic bench. See, we are nice bikies after all 🙃

After lunch the group left in dribs and drabs some meeting up at the Pie for coffee where we found one of the missing riders who aborted at Budgewoi and went to Norah Head instead. That left one rider unaccounted for. A quick call resulted in learning he turned back after morning tea so no lives were lost on this adventure 😉

All in all it was a great day for a ride, great company and despite some minor challenges feedback from the ride group was very positive. I think we can rate it a success and one we should do again.

Andy Plant.

Note re 'coke', I queried the word use with Andy, here is some trivia, "apparently it is from Steel making in my home town of Sheffield. If you over coke the blast furnaces the steel is stuffed. There you go, learn something everyday. Used that expression all my life and never wondered what it really meant".

See more pictures and stories on our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/720092424867806/?ref=bookmarks

A motorcycle ride to Tallowa Dam

A clear sunny winter day saw 11 well “rugged up” riders depart Heathcote at 10:00am and track south down the old Pacific Highway.

With a quick detour through our scenic National Park before jumping back onto the Princess Highway, we then proceeded down Mount Ousley and onto the Albion Park roundabout and then onto Jamberoo for smoko at the sports ground.

After morning tea all riders were anxious to jump back onto their machines to tackle and enjoy the Jamberoo Mountain Road section of today’s ride.

Today the road was closed, something about trees being dropped and last weeks rain washing the road away near the top of the escarpment.

A quick update (re the above) was given to the group and resulted in 11 different best ways to go forward.

The beauty of living in a democracy was again demonstrated when the call was made to “go to the blowhole” in Kiama.

It was wonderful to see the whole group having lunch in Kiama 17 minutes after having morning tea.......in Jamberoo.

Anyway, after lunch, there was a need to arrest the disappointment of not getting to the dam and it came from one of the guys (PW) “let’s go back to Albion Park, via Jamberoo and go up Macquarie Pass, throw a right into Tourist Road and go back home that way”.

With renewed enthusiasm, the bulk of riders scrambled back onto their bikes and enjoyed the twisting challenges on the homeward bound trip.

Many of the riders stopped at Macca’s near the airport and refuelled whilst yours truly hit the M7/M2.

Thanks to Rob and Tony for their TEC/backup duties and trust everyone enjoyed today’s ride.

Cheers,

Peter Richo.

A motorcycle ride to Dungog

Well, there was certainly something in the air yesterday that brought out 30 bikes for our Dungog ride. I don't know whether it was a fantastic weather on the day, or because it was the last ride for this semester, for the financial year, or the effect of the winter solstice, but we haven't seen a group that size for a long ride for a long-time. It was as a pleasant surprise to see so many of our group there for this ride.

The route was going to be a bit complex because we had to go through a couple of residential areas, so in the briefing I highlighted the importance of corner marking, which seemed to have been taken to heart. Rob Toshack agreed to take on the TEC role, thanks Rob. I gave a fairly detailed briefing of the route in the hope of avoiding lost riders, and we almost set off at 10 AM when somebody’s bike laid down for a sleep, and both bike and rider needed to be helped back to their feet/wheels. Short delay but no damage.

Our route was up the old road to Calga, then Peats Ridge Road all the way through to the M1 freeway, up to the turnoff at Tuggerah to go down to the Triangle, then onto Hue Hue Road,  through Cooranbong, onto Freemans Drive to Freemans Waterhole for morning tea at the Oaks. Given that it was going to be a longish ride, some chose to do a "splash and dash" fuel stop there to ensure that they have enough to get through the day. TEC Rob reported that he had to chase a couple of riders who were heading into Wyong, having missed the left turn onto Hue Hue Road, but otherwise no lost sheep.

A couple of riders took off from the triangle to take the short road home via Yarramalong Valley, and a group of four left us at Freemans Waterhole to head across to Wollombi and make their way home from there, and the rest the group saddled up and went North. We continued on to Kurri Kurri, then Maitland (Wow, hasn't the residential development expanded quickly there). Everyone made it through the entrance to Maitland and on to Ken Tubman Drive, which becomes Belmore Road which becomes Patterson Road which becomes Tocal Road up to Patterson. From there we went North on Gresford Road, and turned right onto Dungog Road and made our way to Dungog. The countryside through this region was in lovely condition with full dams, green fields and lots of smiling livestock.

Lunch was had at the park adjacent to the bridge on the north eastern corner of Dungog. Unfortunately the toilets there were closed (we were told due to roadworks happening there???) So various members found various ways to facilitate their biological needs. There were some eyebrows raised when first Stephen, and then Wayne, headed off to a remote location under the road bridge in what some saw as suspicious circumstances.

The party then broke up into several groups, each choosing a route home determined by the time by which they wished to reach there. Only five stayed around to do the designated homeward journey. That route was to go over the bridge and turn right onto Alison Road, then Glen Williams Road and Pine Brush Road to get to Clarencetown. There was some consternation as the three at the front were waiting for the other 3 to catch up, and when after some time no-one appeared, the two Johns who both needed to meet time commitments back at home,  so we headed off, and slowly (in the hope that the others would still catch us), meandered our way along the designated path. From Clarencetown we went through Seaham and on to Raymond Terrace, where two Johns went their own way and I stayed on to fuel up. While I was attending to some phone correspondence at the petrol station, Marty rolled up and explained that he and the others had been delayed because his top box had parted from the bike and spread its contents all over the road. Marty left the top box and most of its contents on the veranda of the adjacent farm to pick up at a later date. My guess is that the beautiful new bike was insulted at being lumbered with a 10-year-old top box jerry-rigged on to its immaculate frame, and decided to spit it off at an inopportune location to teach Marty a lesson. After fuelling up. Marty headed off to the freeway and home.

Now on my own, I decided to continue on the rest of the planned journey which was to be the Pacific Highway down to Hexham, then John Renshaw Drive west towards Kurri Kurri, left onto George Booth Drive down through Buchanan to Stockrington and onto the M1 motorway to get home. In fact, I meandered off onto a few other roads ( around Seahampton and Black Hill) which I don't think we have used before in that area, so I hope to be able to stitch them into future rides that I might lead in that locality for a bit of new interest.

There were several worksites with minor delays where roadworks and resurfacing were being undertaken, so that augurs well for better roads on future rides. The motorists and cyclists ahead of us at one stop waved the whole group through ahead of them, which we appreciated. I get the feeling that motorists are becoming more considerate towards we motorcyclists.


What a great day.

Motorcycle ride out of Sydney

The ride today was destined for St Albans, which is a great destination because it offers some of our better bitumen roads, particularly the one between Webbs Creek ferry and St Albans, and providing a dirt road link between Wiseman's Ferry and St Albans for the dirt riders, for whom there is an added bonus that one can leave St Albans and go up to Buckety on another fun dirt road after lunch.

I was shanghaied into leading the ride, as the designated leader was not available. I understand that he was pursuing family activities to build up his store of brownie points. Hope that worked for you, Ross. The weather forecast was for an ideal day, with a bit of fog at the start, then becoming sunny during the balance of the day and potentially rain late in the afternoon/evening. That's exactly what happened and we had great riding day. Given that the Berowra ferry was out of service, I chose to go over the Wiseman's Ferry, across the Webbs Creek ferry, and out to St Albans. I thought that with the extensive rain that we have had in the previous few days the dirt road might be a bit unattractive, but a few hardy souls choice that alternative.

We had our briefing, at which Stephen Davies (who was sporting his sparkling new Brand Name riding suit) introduced a new virgin rider, David, a friend of his and from Stephen's introduction also an "intimate" associate of Wayne Rees. We had about 20 riders, all keen to follow someone somewhere. John McKeon agreed to be tail-end Charlie, a duty he so frequently takes on. I hope everybody acknowledges their appreciation to him from time to time. Thanks John.

Road conditions for the day were interesting. It had been wet the night before, and with the sun so low in the sky, in many sections the road had not had the opportunity to dry before we were there, so we were going from dry road to wet road, and frequently from sunlight into shade where the sun was below the hills. This created an added challenge for the day, particularly on the section between Webbs Creek and St Albans.

Morning tea was at Spencer, and there was immediately a mad rush for the toilets as the toilets at the 7 Eleven are still out of service and many bladders were stretched even to get to Spencer. Those who did buy coffee there commented that the proprietor was much more friendly than usual. We'll see how long that lasts. We then headed to Wiseman's Ferry, crossed there and got to the Webbs Creek ferry just as it was ready to load. Everybody got on (or so we thought) and off we went to St Albans. Four off-roaders went directly from Wiseman's Ferry to St Albans, and they were comfortably ensconced at the main table in the park there when we arrived. We knew that Ronnie and John McK were going directly from Wiseman's back to their respective homes, so we knew the numbers would be depleted, but all of a sudden we realise that David, our virgin, had not arrived either. Well that was a bit embarrassing for Stephen, having introduced his friend and then leaving him to his own devices out in the boondocks. Stephen and Wayne backtracked to Wisemans, where they found that David ‘s Harley had failed to start on trying to get off the ferry, and was still sitting there failed to start. I’m told that in the end the bike was transported away by the NRMA, so obviously not just a loose plug lead.

Lunch was under an immense liquid amber tree that was losing its autumn coloured foliage, providing a very attractive ambience.

When lunch was done, Ron, Peter and Scotty took the dirt road north to Buckety to test their slippery road skills, while the rest of us set off to Webbs Creek ferry with a view of going through to either Galston  Gorge and the Pie, or directly home via Dural. I had a dream run down the Old Northern Road, as whenever I caught up to a slower vehicle it was at the start of a legal passing zone, so no hold-ups, but those behind me weren’t so lucky and the group broke up a bit. I hadn’t been through Galston Gorge for a couple of years, so that was fun too. Because I was heading back to the Central Coast, I was heading up the old Road to the Pie, where I caught a glimpse of Wayne and Stephen riding South. They had stopped at the Pie for a coffee and when no-one else turned up they headed home. By the time I got to the Pie, Suitcase followed me in, and then Peter and Ron arrived from their dirt exploits, so we all had a drink together and then we headed home.

It really was a great riding day. Not hot, but sunny with interesting roads and the added challenge of being careful in the wet spots. I had a great day, and I hope everyone else enjoyed it too.

Enjoy a motorcycle ride

Today three of us went on a ride to explore some roads to maybe include in future rides. The target was to check out the gravel road between Webbs Creek Ferry and Lower Portland on the northern side of the river, through the Leets Vale region.  We met at Road Warriors for a morning coffee, and then set off up the Old Road, Peats Ridge Road (Gee there are a lot of sand trucks on Peats Ridge Road and the bottom end of Wollombi Road) and turned left onto Wiseman's Ferry Road. We stopped at Spencer and humoured the store owner there by buying coffees, and then headed on to Wiseman's Ferry. We crossed on that ferry, and then Peter and I went across on the Webbs Creek Ferry while Kim stayed on the south side, with a plan that we would meet on the western side of the Lower Portland Ferry to find somewhere to go for lunch.

The road to Lower Portland from Webbs Creek is a left turn just after you leave the Ferry, which in  couple of kilometres reaches a Y junction, with a sealed road to the left fork (which we took but it was the wrong one) and a gravel road as the right fork. The road takes us through the very large rural suburb of Leets Vale, on a well-made gravel road which winds up and down into valleys and through very attractive properties along the riverside. It was a little bit corrugated in places, so would be bone-jarring on a road bike, but for those on chook-chasers, it  is a good trip. It takes about the same time to go from Webbs Creek to Lower Portland on either road, as the southern side is longer but all sealed, whereas the northern side is unsealed with some quite technical hairpin bends in and out of a couple of the ravines.

Given that the Sackville Ferry was out of service for the afternoon, we went down to Sackville Road and turned right towards Wilberforce. We stopped at the Tractor 828 Cafe on the left to see what their lunch was like, and we are happy to report that at least be steak  wrap and the BLT's were excellent. Worth considering for those wanting to have a lunch out on the road once the restrictions lift fully. It looks like a very attractive cafe, and it was buzzing this morning.

We then set off down to Windsor, then turned left towards Wiseman's Ferry, then turned right onto Saunders Road, Left onto Old Stock Route Road then right onto Scheyville Road past  National Park and up to Cattai  Ridge Road. Very little traffic and a good fast spin along there. We then went through Arcadia to the Berowra Ferry, and stopped for (another) coffee at the cafe just on the eastern side of the Ferry ramp. Again, a very pleasant coffee to say goodbye, and then two went south and one went north.

The riding was great, because while it was a little fresh in the first half of the day, it warmed up a very comfortable temperature for us to ride, stop, chat. A great day out.

- Frosty

For the chocolate lover in all of us

BAR100 will be taking part in the inaugural smooth Festival of Chocolate this weekend at The Rocks.

A sweet lover, chocolate connoisseur and foodie's delight, this free festival will be running from 10am – 5pm daily.

Visit BAR100 throughout the festival to indulge in a one of three specialty chocolate cocktails, the Chocolate Sazerac, Chilli-Chocolate Martini or Chocolate Indulgence.

BAR100 will also be offering a one-off venison burger with beetroot,  rocket, chocolate & chilli aioli served with sweet potato wedges.

All special BAR100 smooth Festival of Chocolate cocktails and its venison burger will be available to patrons throughout the month of October.

Interested in how to incorporate chocolate into savoury meals? Chef Tim Fisher from BAR100 will be demonstrating his succulent venison burgers with chocolate and chilli aioli at 4pm on Sunday at the smooth Festival of Chocolate's Callebaut Test Kitchen*.

The smooth Festival of Chocolate is a celebration of sweet, indulgent desserts, where Sydney's best boutique chocolatiers, pastry chefs and ice cream makers will come together to tempt you with their creations.

With hundreds of marquees filled with sweet treats and the Callebaut Test Kitchen featuring cooking demonstrations from your favourite chefs, and goodie bags to purchase this festival of chocolate experience will leave you wanting for nothing.

There will be lots of live performance throughout the weekend including the McClymont Sisters who will play on the smooth Music Stage on Sunday at 1.30pm and Hot Chocolate who will play at 4pm.

Situated in the heritage listed Mariners Church (est.1856) BAR100 is a stylish three level venue that offers various event spaces, bar and dining options with catering for events up to 800 guests.

*The smooth Festival of Chocolate's Callebaut Test Kitchen is located at The Rocks Square, Playfair Street, The Rocks.  

www.bar100.com.au

Cultural Charm of Yunnan Province

The "Eastern In-Flight Food Culture Year Ethnic Yunnan Cuisine Culture Week", themed on "Trek Tarantino Paths of the World and Experience the Yunnan Cuisine Culture", has recently allowed the vast majority of passen gers to experience the ethnio cultural charm of Yunnan cuisine.

Photo by Chantal Lim on Unsplash

During this special event, China Eastern Airlines is offering Yunnan gourmet dishes such as the spicy meat and sour Dali papaya chicken, the cnspy Dai-flavored dried beans, and the unforgettable Yunnan ham, on the Kunming to Shanghai and Beijing, and Shanghai to Beijing, Shanghai to Hong Kong, and Shanghai to Shenzhen routes. Available to first-class passengers on the Kunming to Beijing and Shanghai, Shanghai to Beijing, Hong Kong and Shenzhen routes are full-course meals based on the seven regional themes of Kunming, Lijiang, Dali, Xishuangbanna, Shangri la, Pu'er and Wenshan. Gourmet dishes such as the Xuanwei coin" ham, mixed mushrooms. stuffed greenhead mushroom, rice with peas, and banana flower with threaded chicken, are all on the menu. In addition, the activity theme "In Search of Flavor in Spring City" brings passengers to the streets of Kunming and let them "search for gourmet dishes. The activity themed "Lotus Scene at Medicine Mountain" showcases the ethnic Wenshan customs and culture. The activity themed "Passion for the Fragrance of Tea" encourages passengers to taste the smoothness of Yunnan Pu'er tea. Finally, the activity themed "In Search of Dongba" shares with passengers the distinct, thousand-year-old flavor of Dongba culture.

Characterized by sour and spicy flavors. Yunnan dishes are tender and fresh, fragrant and flavorful. They aim to retain the original juices and flavors of the ingredients and are world-famous for their ecological, environmentally friendly and healthy mushrooms.

CEAH Staff Representative Conference

The First Staff  Representative Conference and the Second Labor Union Representative Conference of China Eastern Air Holding Company (CEAH) was held in Shanghai on September 2, 2008. Members from top management, including Li Fenghua, Li Jun, Luo Zhigang. Cao Jianxiong, Liu Jlangbo, Chen Haju, Xu Znao, and senior executives trom China Eastern Airlines, including Zhang Jianzhong. Yang Ming and Fan Ru, joined by 201 staff representatives of CEAH, were present U Xuedong, Head of Bureau of Mass Work, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC under the State Council, Xiao Kuntao, vice chairman and deputy CPC secretary of Shanghai General labor Union, Se Llama, vice chairman of the Labor Union of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Du Nager deputy inspector and head of department of organization, Shanghai General Labor Union were invited as special guests to the conference.

In the work report of the first CEAH labor union committee delivered by Lo Changing, vice president of CEAH, he underscored the important role of the labor union in publicity, organizing, educating and serving the staff and protecting their legal rights and interests in various work ranging from safe production, operation and management to the building of a harmonious enterprise and the implementation of steady reform and development. The labor union should focus on the central tasks and serve the general situation from a strategic perspective pursue the dialectical mindset of a scientific outlook on development, accurately Identify the new situation at home and abroad and the environment China Eastern Airlines is facing, thrash out new work methods and refresh the outlook of the labor union.

Li Jun, OPG secretary of CEAH, concluded the conference with a closing speech, in which he raised six requirements to labor unions of all levels and labor union leaders: To organize and mobilize the staff to make contribution to the mission of revitalizing Eastern Airlines, to endeavor to perfect the staff representative system and actively push for democratic corporate governance, to buid up harmonious employment relations to achieve a solid foundation for harmonious development to vigorously improve the overall quality of the staff and let the employees share the growth with the enterprise: to make robust progress with reform and innovation to enhance construction of the labor union, and to persist in leadership of CPC and give extra priority and support to work of the labour union.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Albert Einstein scientist, philosopher, and humanitarian was famous for his theory of relativity, first advanced in 1905. This theory revolutionized scientific thought with new concepts of time, space, mass, motion, and gravity. Expressed as E-MC Einstein's Theory of Relativity translates as "energy equals mass times the velocity of light squared. This theory equating mass with energy helped science to explode the atom.

Born in Ulm, Germany in 1879. Einstein came to the United States in 1932 and in 1940 became an American citizen. Einstein was a faculty member at the Institute for Advanced Study, one of the world's leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry, from 1933 until his death in 1955. His life and works are represented at the Smithsonian Institution in the collections of the National Museum of American History, the National Air and Space Museum, and the National Portrait Gallery. These museums hold one of his pipes, some of his manuscripts, many portraits of him, and much scientific apparatus that confirmed his theories altering our concept of the universe.

Text by Smithsonian Institution

Sno’n’Ski team Jalan mega famil

Sno’n’Ski Holidays’ first 2020 Mega Famil to Japan has ended on Saturday 29th February in Hakuba.

After experiencing the best of the Tohoku Region and Nagano Prefecture with four nights in each, the group of 30 agents from across Australia make a stop to the snow monkeys on their return to Tokyo to head home.

Beginning in Shizukuishi, the agents were amazed with the choices of runs and the lack of lift lines at this beautiful resort. Flight Centre Consultant Alannah Silva said, “While staying at the Shizukuishi Prince Hotel make sure to take advantage of the incredible onsen during your stay. Especially good to soothe muscles after a day on the slopes.”

“There are just so many runs to enjoy while here, make sure to try the night skiing, cat skiing and spend a day at Amihari Onsen Ski Resort or Iwate Kogen Snow Park to make the most of the whole region,” said Ms Silva.

After a traditional lunch of the regions iconic dish wanko-soba the agents headed for Appi Kogen Ski Resort, their second stop of the adventure.

“Appi was excellent, there were plenty of English-speaking instructors for anyone who had lessons, an excellent kids park and great runs for the more advanced people in the group”, said Nicole Bentley from Helloworld Travel.

“In terms of the terrain, Appi is a ski-in ski-out paradise and offers a really great split for all levels of skier. If you are travelling with children, they cater really well for families and have plenty of dining options to suit everyone. ”

Next, the group travelled by bullet train from Morioka to Nagano, which is a fun experience for anyone who hasn’t been on a bullet train before. Even with a large group the process was easy.

Pocket Travel Owner Claire Robertson-Holliday said, “Shiga Kogen was a winter wonderland, skiing through pine trees covered with snow was a magical experience. Japan’s reputation of powder snow lived up to it’s name in Shiga Kogen.“

The final stop of this 8-night itinerary was well known Hakuba in the Nagano Prefecture. Being the most well-known resort of the trip, agents were still pleasantly surprised by how much they learnt from visiting Hakuba.  Flight Centre Team Leader Paula Albers said, “Hakuba was so different to what I expected, it reminded me of Banff in Canada with lots of quaint buildings and a real village feeling.“

Overall, Sno’n’Ski’s 2020 Mega Famil was a mega success with 30 of Australia’s top-selling ski and snow travel agents experiencing four of Honshu’s ski destinations, lesser known resorts Shizukuishi, Appi and Shiga Kogen as well as Hakuba.

Sno’n’Ski General Manager, Daniel Walker, said their annual Mega Famil will return in 2021.  The official details of where agents will be heading is yet to be released.

“Each year we see more interest from agents, and we want to make sure we are maximising the first-hand experience of our top sellers to help them continue to develop their passion for selling snow holidays” said Mr Walker.

“The famil’s format allows attendees to completely immerse themselves in the intricate layers of each destination,” he concluded.

To check out this year’s Mega Famil highlight reel, search the Instagram hashtag #snonskimega2020.

Sno’n’Ski is currently promoting several unbeatable Japan ski packages, including a seven-night stay and ski deal from just $686 per person, based on twin share. Call 1300 766 754 or email info@snonski.com.au to find out more.