Miss. Leonora's First Solo Flight

Now before you are all reaching for your 'Birdwatcher's Field Guide to Australian Birds' let me assure you this is not at all avian. This is Miss. Leonora testing Professor Hedgewick's patent 'Stretchy-rope-swing-thingy' for the first time between two of the 3 Sisters at Echo Point recently.

Braving the elements, and who knows what else, she ascended the human support ladder that the Professor had kindly assembled from bedazzled onlookers and rested her posterior in the 'Stretchy-rope-swing-thingy' and began to swing rhythmically aided by the exuberant sounds of the Katoomba Police Brass Band.

From there it was all plain sailing, or swinging as it were, and these images tell their own story.

However, I do have my doubts about whether the following images are also ones of Miss. Leonora or of a passing fruit bat trying its hand. or rather wing, on the Professor's amazing invention! I shall leave it up to the viewer's individual musings.

Rumble...In The Jungle??!!

Col. Farquhear: Oh dear, is that those dashed jungle drums again causing this vibration, or is it a mini-earthquake??!!

Mr. Hedgewick: It may be just your malaria tremens, Colonel. Try some of this tonic water, it has quinine in it, meant to be good for that sort of thing! And you may as well add a spot of gin while you're at it. None of that tepid English stuff, of course, but proper strong genever from the Netherlands. Puts hair on parts you may not want hair, they say!!

Colonel (warily): Sounds jolly good, Henry dear fellow, but I may just stick to my spring water, I think.

Miss. Isabel V. Franklin: May I try some, dearest Henry, as Daddy is paying??

Henry (surprisedly): But aren't you concerned about the, er...repugnant hair growth Miss. Isabel??!!

Miss. Isabel: Well no, Henry dear, I never allow extraneous hair on my person. Any hair I have will only grow exactly where I tell it to! Isn't that what you do, Henry,...Colonel...??!!

(pregnant pause)

Colonel: Ahh!....Hmm...!! Well, actually everything seems to have been returned to normal now, so I don't think any medicinal remedies will be necessary, thank you, anyway (ahem).

Henry: Certainly, Colonel, I quite understand and I think Miss. Isabel does as well. We'll stick to our spa waters then shall we?

Miss. Isabel (disappointedly): Oh! Not even a little nip then??

Henry: Well, we mustn't spend Daddy's money unwisely, should we, Miss. Isabel?

Colonel (distractedly): Hmmm!..still, it is rather odd that everything seems to be on a slant now, or is it just me??!! I feel like I'm sliding off my chair here!

Miss. Isabel: Goodness, Colonel dear, are you sure you weren't indulging in Daddy's whisky when you dropped by for a tete-a-tete this afternoon?

Colonel: No, I just asked for some barley water and...ohh!...you don't think!...well, what a naughty old fellow your father is, Miss. Isabel!! Dashed old rapscallion like me, what??!!