Month: August 2022

What’s in a name? Well,  Annabella Drummond was the Queen Consort of King Robert III of Scotland.  George Gordon, (Lord Byron), claimed descent from Annabella through his mother,

Catherine, Daughter of Lord Gordon of  Gight. Oddly enough, he (Byron)  married an Annabella – Annabella Milbanke in 1813. She became Lady Annabella Milbanke Byron. If  I have got this wrong I dare say one of you will tell me, but that’s the Wikipedia line that I followed. We generally drop the “a “at the end of the name unless it’s an official document when we have to use it.
The weather these last few days has been  quite unsettled – cold, wind rain and sun. Some moments have been warm and sunny other times, cold, windy and wet. We have still managed to get out and about, so it’s not been bad enough to stop that. Well, yes it did one  day during the week but that was for the evening walk..  We had telephone calls from Flinders today and it would seem that there is some concern with the last set of results so I have to take her to the hospital for a CT Scan on Wednesday 31st. or sooner if there is a cancellation.

The scan will be sent to Flinders and examined.  They will then call us and give us some indication of where we go and what we do from here.   Yes, it had shrunk some but the last tests were inconclusive and  this seems to indicate that it has regained some of what it had lost, so a bit of a worry.  I had organised with Annabell for me to  drive through to Port Augusta one day next week, so  that’s now on hold.. Nothing particularly special, I just felt like going for a drive and taking Benji with me for a litle while. Next week is going to be a sort of busy week in that I have to stay close incase there is a cancellation and they can take Annabell quicker than planned – I have to be close to get her to the hospital. if required.. So if all goes according to plan I can think about driving through to Port Augusta  probably next Friday, Well, that’s  the legandary  Plan A !!

We had a lunch at church today and afterwards I  put Benji in the car and we drove through to Iron Knob about 35

miles North-West of here. Still fairly flat as much of South Australia is. At the far end of the drive are the Middleback Ranges and there were once two mining townships that dominated the area – Iron Knob and Iron Baron. Iron Baron is gone – nothing remains and the entire township was bulldozed.  The Knob was saved from destruction and is still  a town – sort of. If you have ever seen  film of some of the poor towns in Mississippi or elsewhere –  then you have an idea, very run down, unkempt and  quite a few uncleared ruins. The workforce that are required for the mines are bussed to the place and bussed out again.  We once had a preaching place out here but that too is gone.

I was sitting with several people after church on Suinday and  two of us were discussing the changes that had taken place over the last twenty yerars or so and how the  church has declined as the town itself has declined. It was then pointed out that we should look around us and consider who – if any – would follow after us.  We continue to decline and despite all our efforts, there are no young people to follow after us. Most churches within the city are much the same.  There is new industry planned for the future but  but we have a Socialist Government  so we have to wait and see. There are some changes in the near future, Bunnings is planning to move here as is Spotlight and  some of the empty shops in the Centre have been filled or are currently in the process of being filled, so it’s not all gloom – we’ll get there.  Ah this weather. I am so looking forward to complaining about the heat  :o)

 

The last two days have been really good. The rain vanished for a couple of days and we had really nice weather for a change. Still

cold at times but  warm at other times. The temperature these last few days – and again tonorrow – was 20c.  Not as warm as we would like but at least not  freezing cold like it has been. I took advantage after church today and went out for a wander with Benji. It’s been a while since we went out to Point Lowly and the lighthouse so that’s where we went.  Ovedrall, a nice drive  – warm and sunny.  Since we adopted him, Benji has loved to go out in the car but he has never been a  “poke your head out of the window” kind of dog. He’s more of a “I’ll just curl up here on the fornt seat and watch you drive”. But he like being in the car and we try to take him out with us as often as we can – and he really doesn’t mind if he is relegated to the back seat, just so long as he is with us. Sometime we go out and it’s “Lunch for three” .

The road out to the Point Lowly turn-off was pretty busy and I was wondering why – then I remem,bered it is the week-end of the  Show (Local Fair) and this is the first real show since the pandemic. I would like to go but I wont go on my own since Annabell is not able to go. We used to run a tea, coffee, cakes and sandwiches Marquee but  during the downturn of industry  some years ago we lost a few of our members and we just didn’t have enough people to erect and  the marquee , set it out with tables and chairs brought from the church,  urns and the Fridges – then dismantle it all at the end.         Well,  let me quality that – we certainly did

have enough people – but I should have said – young  fit and healthy people. We ended up recruiting family and friends – mainly  males. Also we were running out of ladies to  spend an entire week baking and then spend time, making  drinks and sandwiches.

We decided that after 24 years of doing this,  it was time to stop. We did one more year to make the 25 and then we did no more.   The marquee was sold as was much of the equipment. It was a lot of hard work and whilst it might have been rewarding, it was still long hard work from  8am to 9pm.

Apart from the traffic up to the turnoff, the drive to  Fitzgerald Bay was fairly quiet and Benji was curled up  and strapped in to the front seat  I drove out to Douglas Point and the Shingle Ridge and we walked around there for a bit. From there we drove out to the lighthouse and had a bit of a wander around there. The front area of the lighthouse is closed off with fencing as work is being done on the platform and the base of the lighthouse.

We didn’t spend too much time at the lighthouse since I needed to get home and start helping Annabell get dinner for the family ready. I do most of the work Monday to Saturday but she does Sunday Dinner for the family and I TRY (note the capitals) not to interfere,  just offer assistance.

Monday and a change  in the weather again. We seem to be back to winter and it’s cold and raining – fairly heavy at times.  I spent much of the day at the hospital waiting to

see an eye specialist. We do not have any specialists here – they just come up every now and then and hold a clinic which is always very busy.   The last photograph is Port Pirie from the lighthouse area. Port Pirie looks close enough but to get there is is about 175 Klms  Up and across the top and then along one side of the gulf from here to Port Augusta, then  down the gulf again from Pt. Augusta to Port Pirie. It’s a long drive. For some reason two posts wont allow me to reply. For reasons unknown my reply has been rejected.  So if you have noticed my lack of comments, this could be the answer.

Well, I have joined the ranks of the gullable and I have been scammed. I told  you that I had ordered a new 18-140mm lens for my Nikon but the company

has still not sent it and I am still waiting. I have found out that they have done this quite a lot and there has been many complaints against this company, but still nothing has been done and they still continue to advertise. I have written and there has been no response, so  unless I start legal proceedings and – really – just talking to a lawyer will cost more than I paid for the lens, I just accept my loss, give myself a slap on the back to the head and get on with things.  Needless to say that I have not got my lens – ho well – you lives and you learns and I learned to go to a well known and recognised company next time. Having said that, next time might be a while  – this time cost me enough.

As I said last post we have the date for the  clinic in Adelaide regarding Annabells  health. However, I do not believe that I  said that the clinic will be by telephone. That should be interesting.  Annabell is doing well. She has an infection at the moment, but nothing to be too concerned about and it is being attended to.  The weather this last week has been C.W.M.  ( cold, wet and miserable) but I have still managed to get out with Benji most mornings. I just make sure that whilst he is in the stroller he is well rugged up and protected from the cold.  I was asked recently if, when we were in Adelaide,  seperation anxiety was a concern. I said it was but Annabell helps me cope with it.  :o)

Going back to the weather again. I go out with Benji at 6am, and this morning was – in fact the last few mornings have been – quite mild. I work at my desk and I am finding that

as the morning wears on, it gets colder. We did get out to the garden and get some work done for a  little while. At about 3pm it started to rain and the rain stayed on, sometimes quite heavy until about 6, which means it had stopped by the time I wanted to take Benji out for our evening walk. The evening walk is a walk in that  Benji is not in his stroller. However, the evening walk is only about 3/4 of  of a mile – which he can do rather than the 2.5 miles in the morning. The early mornings have been beautiful and the dawn has been  worth getting out for. I would like to be at Point Lowly or even at the Wetlands for the sunrise, but I have still not got over that seizure and don’t stray too far away – just in case…  The afternoons are ok and when it’s calm  the boy and I get down to the Ada Ryan Gardens, Oh and I need to mention that this is not a people chair that Benji has taken over – this chair was  bought for him. The old red one that he used to catch the sun was getting a bit  tattered, so we dumped that and bought him this new one. You may notice that he is not settled down to get some sun – that’s because he is protesting. He may not look like he is but he is..  The shadow from the  umbrella was blocking his sun – so I had to go over and move the chair so that he could have his full sun.

The weather at the moment is strange. According to the Tuesday weather forecast, on Wednesday there was to be sun – no rain and no wind. The heavy wind warning was for the far west coast. Got up Wednesday and it was a bit of a wind when the boy and I were out. It picked up and by mid morning it was  almost gale force and that lasted the entire day. We didn’t go out last night. This morning, Thursday. not a breath of wind, very calm and  clear sky. We finished our walk and we were only just home when the rain started. Where the heck did that come from – there was no rain forecast. I think the forecasters need a new  Ouija Board. According to the long range forecast, Spring and early Summer are to be wet with the possibility of flooding. Great.. that should make Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland very happy!!

News continues to come in  about the major fires and the searing heat in Europe as well as  the temperatures across much of the United States. The UK and Scotland in particular,  are quite the opposite from South Australia – our houses were designed and built to withstand the heat, and are shockingly cold in  the winter.  Houses in the UK and in particular Scotland, were  built for the cold and  people suffer badly when there is  high heat, with little or no way of cooling houses down and to either heat up or cool down –  the costs are prohibitive . Our government and  the the weather people have  suggested that all of this is coming our way in about three months or so- only we will also have further flooding to cope with as well as the excessive heat.  I have complained about the cold this last week or so and it has been very cold, because the skies are clear so any heat that  is generated during the day is not being held in and thus  vanishes in the night and early mornings.

We have have looked after Dougal from time to time. Ina, Dougal’s mom ( who has the  P.S.P.) has been moved into a nursing home. This is sad but  Sam is over 80 and not really able to look after her as she needs. She will get all the help  in Copperhouse Court and Sam can visit her every day if needs be – Copperhouse Court is here.

Flinders have been in contact with us and confirmed our appointment for 2nd August, but no admittance time yet. So, everything is going pretty much ahead and we will head off to Adelaide on Monday 1st August. I would like to get away fairly early because there are some places I want to go to before we settle in the Lodge for the  rest of the day. ( This never happened!)  At the moment the hospital are going to call us on Tuesday to discuss the final arrangements and times.  In the interviening time I had to make a quick trip to Adelaide so  that meant getting home on the Friday and driving to Adelaide again on the Monday.

The drive down with Annaberll was  quiet with no drama. Much of the road works are starting ti wind down, so not many delays. Annabell was tired so once we had settled in and I unloaded  the car . Instead of me cooking in the guest  kitchen we decided just to order meals from the  main kitchen. Anyway, the`Good  Old   “Fish and Chips” were on the menue so we settled for that. We were upstairs again so I was able to  pop outside the door and feed the Cockatoos, but only on the Monday night. Tuesday and  Wednesday were raining so no birds. On the Monday, however, I had the  Cockatoos perched on my shoulder which was quite exciting. Sadly – no photograph..

I took Annabell to the hospital on Tuesday and stayed with her until the nurse collected her. I was told to come back in about 4 hours. I walked up to the train station and took the train back in to the city. I didn’t do a lot but I did have a good wander thriough town and bought  the things I wanted to set up my Filofax for  next year. Now that this is done, I can put it aside and leave it there until mid-December.  Wednesday, being a “rest day” Annabell felt she had rested enough so we went into town and took the train to the Elizabeth Centre. We had a slow wander from point A to point A ( Elizabeth Centre is a  large square)  She managed to get some things as did I We had lunch at the Elizaberth Centre which was not as good as we had  expected it to be – Annabell didn’t finish hers. Back at the lodge she settled down while I went to the guest kitchen and cooked dinner for us.  Annabell settled down whilst I packed the car and oput away as much as I could.  We were upo early Thursday morning, finished packing

the car and clearing up,  locked the room, leaving the keys inside. By 6am we were on our way home. I like to leave that early because where we are means crossing one of the bussiest roads in Adelaide, and I need to cut across it. At 6am it’s  reasonable and I am able to get over without too much trouble, then head  through the City Centre and oput to  Port Wakefield Road and head north to Port Wakefield. Having made a few stops we were home by 11:50. Benji was very glad to see his peepel home again.

It was a good three days and we are delighted to say that the treatment seems to be working and the cancer has decreased. We have to go back in  six weeks for an update and a consult