Wednesday
Month: October 2018
Beds, flowers and Kangaroos.
There have been a few days over the last two weeks when it has not been cold, wet and windy – always windy! Yesterday was no exception with 70kph winds causing concern with dust storms and damage to powerlines and trees in Adelaide. I had concern for two trees but they survived – again. They cause me concern every time the wind blows stronger than usual but they have always survived – for which I am most thankful. The few days I did get out and about we were able to get down to the wetlands and sample the coffee at the new Kiosk. I actually went back down to the wetlands recently but the kiosk was crowded but then it was a nice day with only a limited amount of wind i.e. it was not blowing a gale. The only blessing – if you can call it that – of the wind right at the moment is that it keeps the flies away.
I have been busy with RFDS things this last few weeks. The major thing being organising the catering with the Model Railway Club. This year is their 50th Anniversary and they have organised a big Model Railway Exhibition to celebrate, with clubs and displays coming in from inter-state for the two days. Two funerals and guests at a wedding and I have had myself removed from the RFDS Social Media page. Benji has not been neglected. We still go out for our walks. There is a bit of progress with Benji. I did mention some time ago that for some reason being lifted on to a shoulder drove him crazy and he fought to get down, even to the extent of risking injury. I have never had a dog that didn’t like being carried on the shoulder at times. Annabell and I discussed this and since we really know nothing of his background before I adopted him, we surmised that perhaps he had been abused when in that position. Anyway, I worked on it – and treats helped.
We catered for a function yesterday at Civic Park and I was called from the people working that some forms had been handed to them by the Council and could I come down and collect them. I decided to take Benji with me. This Civic Park function is the culmination of a week in which we celebrate pride in our community and in the park all sorts of things happen with activities for the children. Anyway, what I didn’t know was that this year there was to be a demonstration by the Dog Obedience Group – lots of dogs. Benji was not a happy boy. He gets on well with dogs that come into the house – dogs that I look after – although where the WaWa was concerned that was a sort of armed neutrality. However, back to the park and he started
getting anxious and he jumped up on me, and I bent down and lifted him up onto my shoulder and he stayed, quite happily. Definitely progress.
Yesterday the Pride in the Park function was held in a warm and sunny 26c. I took Benji down to the Wetlands and had a good walk round. I was going to have coffee at the kiosk, but it was crowded and busy – which is good, so I gave it a miss this time. Today when I took him out at 6:16 am there was not a breeze and not a cloud in the sky, which wont last. The expected temperature for today is 34c with wind, -as I said in the first line – always with the wind.. I realise that I am probably a pain in the butt with this wind thing, but in all the years I have been here I have never known it to be like this. Yes we have had a bit of wild weather and high winds from time to time, but this constant wind was never a feature of past years.
This coming weekend we are out again catering at the Model Railway Exhibition. his is over two days and I can help at one but not at the second since we have a Special Service at Church and I will be there for much of the day – lunch afterwards for members and guests.
Wednesday
Wednesday
I don’t feel well………….
It was nice to read in Tales Around the Ranch that the nurses she and Sam were visiting will be all fun and laughter. That’s great and how it should be. Having said that for Denver, I really wish I could say the same for here. The new State Government (Health Minister) , the Nurses Federation and the Ambulance Officers Association are heading for a knock down fight with the Nurses and the Ambulance people threatening to go on strike, work bans etc and general Industrial Action and the Minister threatening them with court action and use powers to stop any Industrial Action. It is not a happy situation. Why has it come to this?? The previous government was a spendthrift government wot does wot Socialist Governments do – Borrow and Spend. The new Royal Adelaide Hospital cost $2.5 Billion and it doesn’t work as well as it was (is) supposed to. The government also forced EPAS ( Enterprise Patient Administration System) on the new hospital and made absolutely NO provisions for paper records. The EPAS system keeps crashing and is unworkable. So – it is costing the hospital millions $$ to have patient records brought from varions places (where they have been stored) to the hospital and take them back again – every single hour of every single day. Ok, you are now saying why can’t they be stored at the new hospital? Well……………. they can’t be. And why not? Well…………there is not a floor in the whole damn hospital that is strong enough to take the weight of the filing cabinets and all the records. Ok does that answer your question? Oh you want to know costs – well current estimate is in the region of $468 million and will probably top over half a billion before it;s through.
EPAS under review | Steven Marshall – Premier of South Australia
Jun 26, 2018 – “EPAS has been an enormous frustration for many clinicians and a rolling disaster for South Australian taxpayers,” said Minister Wade.
But the main problem is that when the previous government spruked the new hospital, they closed down several other medical facilities, despity widespread protests. Subsequently we do not have enough beds to meet the needs of the city – and the State when patients are flown from the country to treatment in Adelaide. What happens currently is that an ambulance is called out, picks up a patient and brings the patient to either the Flinders Medical Centre or the Royal Adelaide and because there is no room, the patient can be left in the ambulance for hours on end. This called “Ramping”and there can be four or five ambulances so ramped. The hypocrisy of it all is that the minister maintains that industrial action puts patients lives at risk and he wont have that, so he will take the nurses to court. However, he has no concern about leaving patients in an ambulance in the hospital ambulance parking bay for hours on end and does not consider that puts patients lives at risk since the engine must remain running to keep the equipment running. I mean don’t you just love the small of diesel fumes when you are sick. The photograph on the left you don’t see anymore It would be nice if we could say because they solved the problem – well they did,- really – they tore down that metal fence and built a wall so it’s hidden from view! Clever eh ?? No, Virginia, this is not a joke..
So what’s happening. Have no idea. A meeting with the nurses and the Minister broke down without any conclusion or agreement being reached, so the Industrial Action is still on the table as is the threat of court action against the nurses federation. Monday is a new day – the start of a new week.
Around the area.
I mentioned before that the day I was outside was a lovely warm, sunny day. The contrast is that yesterday afternoon it started raining, was cold and Adelaide had a major thunderstorm. We got a little bit of a side swipe, some lightening, bit of thunder and some rain. Today it’s dry but cold and overcast – very much back in winter mode although not quite as cold, but still cold. The army has now left their Cultana Playpen so we have a military free month until the next group come over from Canberra. The next group will be the Officer Cadets from the Military College in Canberra who will come here for their final exercise before returning to the College to undertake their final exams. This group will not be out at the PlayPen, but will be under canvas at the showground – same as last time – and they don’t have tanks. Not that we saw much of the tanks this time round. Interesting in that we were told to expect live-fire shooting from tanks and artillery. We heard nothing, but then the Training Ground ( Playpen) is over 2500 Square Kilometers in size.
Much of the last week has been cold and miserable with rain off and on. Also it is now dark again in the mornings since the clocks went forward an hour. My 6am walk with the dog is dark with the light not happening until close to the end of our walk at 7am. The forecast for the week is dull and overcast with possibly some rain. The weekend, however, should be warm and sunny. Today and tomorrow the RFDS Local Group are guests at the new On The Run (OTR) Service Station. Apparently the billionaire owner of the OTR is now a sponsor of the RFDS so we have been invited to the pre-opening tonight and the official opening tomorrow.
The problems and concerns with WordPress are not getting any better and I have to rescue more and more posts and comments from the Spam Folder. In fact most of the posts from Tales around the Ranch, Glasgow Galavanter, Spoon you, My Golden life (sort off because they do vanish and I have no idea where to). These are the main ones but there are others – Scotland with the Wee White Dug, is a frequent visitor to the Spam Folder. I am really thinking of adding a new comment when I reply to people – RFS – Rescued from Spam :o) Always providing that I find them in the first place. Others have either stopped writing or they are somewhere else and I have not found them yet. – but I will. This is only recent and I have no idea why it is happening.
The pre-opening of the OTR Service Station was interesting and attended by the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, The State MP for the area, the Federal MP for the Region, councillors, and business
leaders and the RFDS. It was quite an evening, lots of food, some speeches and some presentations. The Regional Manager of OTR will attend the RFDS Meeting in November and explain to the members how the sponsorship works and how the charity money is distributed by OTR. The RFDS is their preferred sponsor but they have a few other charities that they contribute to.
I have decided that I am well and truly over walking in the morning dark and the sooner we get into summer the better. Apart from being dark, it is cold and windy and not really the best time of the day. It was fine until the clock change. If I leave it until later his biological clock gets put out of whack and there could be an “accident’. When the alarm goes off he’s up and ready to go but he has to wait for me getting dressed – “come on dad, hurry up” . The Wetlands Kiosk has its opening today, so, sometime during the morning I will get down with Benji and have a coffee and a walk – depending on the weather, of course and the length of time I am at the OTR Service Station. I did drive around that way going home from the Service Station last night and there were a few cars and light on in the Kiosk and the area around it getting everything ready for the opening today, I expect.
Wednesday
Lazy Spring Days.
I have not written for a while, mainly because I was reluctant to do so until such time as I knew what was happening with this account. Well that can be summed up in a single word – nothing. I have written twice to WordPress without reply so I have – for the time being – decided to treat my spam folder as an alternate inbox. A sort of halfway house really since posts and comments do appear for a few seconds in the inbox and then dissapear
into the spam folder. Why is it so?? I have no idea!
A few weeks ago Benji and I went out to the garden. It was a lovely, warm spring day – about 28c -. I put up the umberella, brought out my laptop and my Filofax and intended to do some work. I had papers to sort out and a couple of emails to write for the RFDS. Benji plonked himself down on the padded bench until it became too warm for him so he slid under the table where the tablecloth and the umbrella protected him from the sun. It
was such a lovely day and I was sorry that spring and summer could not remain as this was. It will, however get hotter as the weeks go on, so I just enjoyed the day as it was. In the time since writing, we have been back to the Port, but, sadly, not the Arid Lands Botanic Garden, we have spent quite a few afternoons at the Wetlands and a couple of afternoons out at the lighthouse. I found some interesting birds at the Wetlands and put a photograph on line. I thought them to be pretty birds and at another part of the walk one of these birds approached me, then Benji moved and the bird walked away. I have since found out that these very pretty white birds are Feral Geese, and (so I am told) very aggresive. They seemed harmless enough to me. The Kiosk has been opened for an afternoon, selling coffee only and trying to get some feedback before official opening, which is the 10th. October. The above photograph of Benji was taken at what used to be a very popular beach on the way to the lighthouse. It was one of the areas we used to take all the children to fish and play – my sister’s children and my boys. Then it was decided that the point would be just right for the Santos Liquids Processing plant so much of the area was closed off for a long while. Now it is very rarely visited and even then only by people on the way to and from the lighthouse who see the expanse of white sand from the road, or people, like me, who remember it from ages past.
At the Wetlands the birds are slowly returning and we now have two pair of Black Swans. I hope the third pair will return. I did mention the Wild
(Feral) Geese and then there is this fellow and I have no idea who he is, but I have seen him a couple of times at different parts of the area.
I have also been doing some work in the garden. There is an area that has not been neglected but it seemed that whatever I planted there – died. I decided it must be the soil, so I dug it all out, removed it and replaced it with fresh soil toppoed by potting mis and fertilizer. Watered it all in and planted some flowers. They lasted for two days until the next door 87,000 cats dug them up. Kind of them, I thought.. I am not giving up and have bought new plants, posts and chicken wire. We’ll see how that does.
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