In just over a week, we will hold ANZAC Day – for those of you in Europe – that is our Remembrance Day (although we still recognize that particular day) and for my American Friends I think the nearest thing is Veterans Day. However, it is the day that we remember the Australian and New Zealand men and women who fell in battle to preserve the freedoms that we take for granted today. I have often argued that this is not a glorification of war, far from it. ANZAC Day is a time of Remembrance and Thanksgiving – remembering those who did not come home, 
who paid the ultimate sacrifice for us and a time of thanksgiving for all the men and women who did come home and whom we honour that day. Generally, after the dawn service, all the former service people and their families head off to the Returned Serviceman’s League (RSL) for breakfast. I have never gone because I am not ex-service and and I don’t deserve to be there with them. Those of us in that situation generally head off to Maccas and have breakfast there. Last year herself was unwell, so I just got a take-away for two and came home. When I was in Adelaide I walked through West Terrace Cemetery and the Military Section. Whenever I walk through a Military Cemetery I am always reminded of the words of Eric Bogle – the Scottish/Australian songwriter and singer and his words from ” The Green Fields of France”
But here in this graveyard it’s still No Man’s Land
The countless white crosses in mute witness stand
To man’s blind indifference to his fellow man
And a whole generation that were butchered and damned
Tomorrow is Good Friday and our service will take place at 10am. I will be leading this service. Saturday I have a RFDS function. This was fun to organize since I have two functions running at the same time. The majority of people will be at the foreshore at the big function and I have a team at the smaller function. I will be doing the smaller
function until lunch and then heading over to the Foreshore to assist if required.
The back garden is still a disaster area but the front is doing well. The Sturts Desert Rose is producing flowers, the Sturt’s Desert Pea is growing away good style and the three small conifers I planted some months ago are still with us. They have not really grown much, but at least they are still alive – which is something. I would like to redo the plot with new topsoil so I might give that some thought and see if it will improve things. But I think the important thing is to make it dog proof. I think part of the trouble in this area of the back is that the dogs are doing their thing to help by personally watering the plants. The experiment with the propagation sand was a bit of a fizzier. I have bought new fencing which I will put around the area I want to plant in. It should be high enough to keep the dogs out and let me have the fun of watering things on my own – without any help. When we finished the function at the Hardware Shop, I made my way to the Foreshore to assist at the other function and was there until after 4pm. So, from 08:30 – 4:00 it was a long and tiring day. I was quite happy to get my feet up for a bit.
Sunday evening and we have the Clan for Dinner, which is something of a tradition. Well I think it’s a tradition with everyone that has children – they grow up – leave home then came back each week for Mum’s Sunday Dinner. I like this because it’s what we used to go with our parents when we were children – every Sunday we would take turns visiting the relatives and finally, after a while, they all met at our house – about every five weeks or so – and yes, we have been round to the boys places for dinner. I like that.
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