House, Garden and Dogs – Edgar's Page

Towards the Final Curtain F

November 17, 2019November 17, 2019 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Well, that’s Mount Gambier over for another year. The trip was interesting, to say the least. There was a fatal car smash at the dreaded junction of the Inter-state Highway and the Copper Coast Highway, with the rescue helicopter called in. The traffic was backed up for miles in all three directions. The elderly female driver died at the scene with the husband air lifted out by the Rescue Helicopter. He died a few hours later in the Royal Adelaide Hospital. This is a dangerous intersection and I have had a couple of near misses myself with drivers coming off the Copper Coast Highway and either not seeing or ignoring the give way signs. The Inter-state has “right of way”. The State Government and Federal Government have allocated funds to try and fix the problem but there seems to be no sense of urgency and the construction wont start until

You can see the buildup of traffic. The only alteration to this photograph is my erasing of the reg, plate

“sometime” in 2020. Still, as it’s not in Adelaide, no one worries much. Between the detours and the delay, I was about two hours down. Generally, I shop off for a break at Port Wakefield, but considering the volume of traffic going through because of the accident, delays and diversions, I decided against stopping and carried on to Adelaide. Thursday was not too bad with regard to the weather. I was able to get some shopping done in town and at the Central Market.

At about 10:30 I started to get a bit weary so to bed I went, only to be rudely wakened at 3am with thumping, banging and loud, continuous screaming. Next thing I saw the flashing blue and red reflection on the window blind (police car) – more banging- bit more screaming – a female screaming like a banshee, lots of voices, some sharing their innermost thoughts, then quiet. By then I was wide awake and although I sort of dozed off in fits and starts, I never really got to sleep again. It was either a domestic thing or a sex thing. Don’t know and never asked. At 6am I was showered, dressed and booked out. By 6:30 I was on the road again – and it was raining.

The drive on the freeway to Tailem Bend was not one of the best drives I have had recently – it didn’t just rain, it poured, with the windscreen wipers sometimes having difficulty in coping. Fortunately, there was not a lot of traffic on the freeway at that time in the morning, which was just as well, considering the conditions. First time I have ever driven in the daytime with headlights on. By the time I reached Tailem Bend the rain has eased off – not stopped, just eased off. I did, however, get my usual photograph of the River Murray. The Murray is looking ok,

but the dull overcast conditions gives you some idea of what the weather was like. More rain on the way to Mt. G. but at least it was a lot lighter than on the freeway. Mount Gambier was not so great this trip. The cold and the rain caused a few electrical failures in Mt. Gambier, one of which was the heating in the hotel. Second concern I have had here, one last year and not another one this year. Perhaps time for a new hotel. One of our members is in Hospital and is not expected to survive. It is really a waiting period. All of his family are there, and no visitors are allowed, other than family. It has been a week since I returned from Mt. G. and I really expected to be called down to Adelaide.

Fires continue to rage out of control in New South Wales and Queensland with five lives being lost. Here in South Australia we had a bush fire in the bottom area of the peninsula outside Port Lincoln which was bad enough to put Port Lincoln under threat. Fortunately, that one was brought under control and extinguished reasonably quickly.

The weather here at home has been cool to cold but that is about to change as the forecast is a rapid climb in temperature to 43c on Thursday. Joy!!!

Wednesday

November 14, 2019 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Hahndorf to Tea Tree Plaza to Home.

November 5, 2019 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Leaving Hahndorf we headed in the general direction of Adelaide. After all the uphill and down dale and round every corner, the drive out of Hahndorf really floored me. Flat, good road. and within less than ten minutes we were on the approach road to the South Eastern Freeway, direct to Adelaide then through town to Tea Tree Plaza. A brief stop at Bunnings for young John (not me!!) and on to the shopping center. I had been given direction where I should find the shop that I wanted, but I’m stuffed if I could find it, and no shopkeeper in the area had ever heard of it. Anyway, by this time we had to set off for home. I drove to Port Wakefield then had to stop. I had to hand the driving back to John. Generally, I wear dark clip-on shades when driving during the day. I did not for three days. I had my eyes tested last week and asked for my driving glasses to have an anti-glare coating. This was done so when I picked up my glasses on the Tuesday I did not wear any protection from the sun, believing that the anti-glare coating was all I needed, and to be honest, it seemed to be. Wednesday we left and I drove to Adelaide. Thursday we collected the car and although John was driving, I was sitting looking out without any clip-ons. Thursday was a 39c day. I continued like this throughout the day, and took over the driving at Tea Tree Plaza. By the time we reached Port Wakefield my eyes were so strained and painful, to continue driving was dangerous for both of us, so John took over the driving. I went into my bag and got the face cloth from my wetpack, poured cold water on it and washed my face and eyes. I put the clip-on shades back on. By the time we reached the Tin Man (245 k) my eyes had calmed down and I was going to take over the driving again, but John decided he would drive us home – which he did. I felt bad about that but I really did believe that the anti-glare coating would be sufficient. I was wrong. I have eyes that are sensitive to very bright sunlight, which creates a bit of a problem – although I have shades of different degrees of darkness scattered all over the place, house, bedroom, car, garage and some float around the sheds

If I could I would take him with me – always.

The scenery on the road to Lobethal was incredible, but with the narrow roads and no stopping areas (unlike Scottish Highlands Roads) I was unable to take photographs. Mind you not that they would have been much

good with trees blocking much of the view. With John doing his thing at several Beer Places I was able to have a quiet wander around Lobethal. Here I came across the white church and the foundation stone dated 1921. The place was a Uniting Church Building but since the Uniting Church did not exist in 1921, the original church was something else. My smartphone was not being very smart so I had to wait until I came home. As it turned out the white church was founded in 1921 as Tweedvale Presbyterian Church. Tweedvale is the name that was given to Lobethal during the anti-German feeling in WWI. It reverted back to its original name Lobethal by Government Decree in 1934. So the White Church began life as a Presbyterian Church. The Presbyterian Church had existed there since 1869 but it was 1920 before they had sufficient funds bu build their own place.

This last week has been the first mini heatwave of the season with the temperature peaking at 39c on Thursday. Friday was 34c and on Friday afternoon the thunderstorm started and it rained. Saturday morning and was still raining, so we were unable to go out for our morning walk. Benji is curled up in his bed so I don’t think he was too put out. The rain continued until early Sunday morning and by the time I got up it had stopped. We did go out and it was interesting to see that the ground is so dry that the water in the pit had already started to soak away into the soil. In some communities in New South Wales, water is being shipped in because their own source of water has dried up. I feel for our fellow citizens but am thankful that we still have a good supply of water and decent rains to back it up. Having said that, it did rain in New South Wales and Queensland over the weekend. Not enough to break the drought but very welcome none the less. Anyway, it was a nice two days away, but nice to get home again. However, this coming Thursday (7th Nov) I head off to Mount Gambier.

Lobethal to Hahndorf

November 1, 2019 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The largest Brewing Company is owned by the Japanese, but that aside, South Australian “Beer” is actually a lager beer, which the boys don’t like. Andrew has a list of the Microbrewery places in South Australia. They consider Lobethal to be one of the best. Actually I think almost all of the beer manufacturing in South Australia is foreign owned. I liked Lobethal., a quiet place, not very overtly German, like some of the other towns in the area – particularly our next stop. I had a wander around the main street, which for a weekday, was very quiet. I did, of course, find the little white church and took photographs of the 1922 foundation stone. Around the place there were many posts and posters highlighting the benefits of the Lobethal Lutheran School. All this came about in 1838 when George Fife Angas left South Australia to recruit prospective colonist for the new Province in South Australia. A number of Lutherans were anxious to leave the town of Klemzig In Prussia because of persecution by the King of Prussia. They were led by their Pastor, Augusta Ludwig Kavel. They settled in a small parcel of land by the River Torrens which they called Klemzig after the town they had left. Over the years the area has been absorbed into the City of Adelaide. The second wave of German Settlers move further into the interior of the colony and purchased land there. There were a number of settlements of which Lobethal and Hahndorf are

The old church bell at the white Church- Lobethal

but two. With the anti-German feeling during the World War One, many of the German names were abolished and changed – Lobethal became Tweedvale. Most of the names were changed back by government decree in 1934 all except Petersburg. Petersburg became simply Peterborough. In 1934 when the other towns were allowed to return to their original names, Peterborough decided not to and to remain as it was. Interestingly, the first ever Lutheran Church in Australia was built in Lobethal and the 1641 Bible of Pastor Kavel is kept there. Not too sure about that so I will have to do some searching.

We spent some time wandering around Lobethal before heading off to Hahndorf for a late lunch. John had been there before so he chose the place where we would have our meal. We had a quiet walk through the local area before entering the “German Arms Hotel” Hahndorf was one of the areas settled by the German Settlers who became prosperous in the new settlement. The South Australian Wine industry, the largest in Australia had its Genesis here with several German families who realised that the cool climate of the Adelaide Hills was perfect

for growing grapes and producing wine. There are a large number of Wineries in this area and I am led to understand the the Wolf Blass Gallery and Museum will be built at Hahndorf. Unlike Lobethal, Hahndorf displays its German Heritage in a number of ways, not the least of which is its food and restaurants. Having been here several times, John took me to the German Arms a German Bierhaus and Restaurant. Because of

the long drive ahead of us we settled on Lemonade ( boo — hiss) John ordered a Trio of German Wurt with some sauce, -which he said was really good. I was less adventurous and had a Chicken and Prawn Pasta with a really nice cheese sauce. The portions were very large and I was unable to finish my meal. The staff did offer me a take-away box, but I felt it was a long drive and quite warm – too warm to carry in a car for 550 kilometers. Not being a food blogger in any way shape or form, it never really occurred to me to take photographs of our meal. The place was really nice, the staff friendly, the service excellent and it just had a really good atmosphere. I would have liked to have spent a lot more time there.

Leaving the German Arms carpark John set the Tom Tom for Tea Tree Plaza. I needed to go there to get some things for the

Lobethal: Car park at back of the Bierhaus — not customers.

church before heading home. As I said in the previous post, our drive through to Lobethal and then to Hahndorf was uphill, downhill, narrow roads, sharp twists and turns, well, less than ten minutes after leaving Hahndorf we were on the approach road to the South Eastern Freeway and a short while later at Adelaide. I asked John why we didn’t go that way in the first place, “my way was more adventurous”. Sheesh…

Wednesday

October 30, 2019 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Adelaide and Lobethal

October 26, 2019 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

For the last two days John and I have been in Adelaide and elsewhere. I needed to go down to Adelaide to get some work done on the car. I could have had the parts sent up here by freight and asked my mechanic to do the work, but in this instance even my mechanic advised me to go to Adelaide since the cost of transporting the parts up here was be more than the parts were worth. So to Adelaide I went. John wanted to come with me in the hope that if the alterations were done in time we could head out to Lobethal. He wanted to visit the Lobethal Bierhaus to get beer – yes you read right – it is a microbrewery and the boys, John and Andrew, really like the beer, so when they are in the vicinity ( or even just in Adelaide) they head to Lobethal and the brewery.

We didn’t get away from home until after 1pm. – Wednesday is Coffee Ladies morning and I take and collect Annabell. This meant that it was after 6pm before we got to the hotel

and booked in. The reason for the Wednesday departure is simply that the car was due at the workshop at 8am. With the temperature at 34c we drove with the A/C on for most of the way, stopping at the Tin Man and – briefly – at Port Wakefield. We arrived at the hotel at just after 6:16 pm and booked in. We also discovered that Bunnings (Mile End) was open until 9pm, so after getting the bags out of the car and into the room, we headed to Bunnings. I had a few things I needed to get as did John. We got what we wanted then headed back to the hotel for dinner. John had a beer with his dinner, which he suggested was only marginally better than water with food colouring. The food was very good and I enjoyed my Shiraz. My reason for staying here is simply that the garage where I am taking the car is just along the road.

Thursday morning and after a good sleep in a very comfortable bed I got washed and dressed and took the car to the workshop at 7:45. At 8am the mechanic came out and we had an inspection of the car exterior. That done I went back to the hotel for a coffee. The alterations didn’t take long at I had a call just after 9:40 to tell me the car was ready for collection. We collected and paid for the car and with John driving we set off. The temperature being 39c, we drove with the A/C on. I was very thankful John was driving because Lobethal is up in the Adelaide hills, narrow, climb hills, descend hills, twists and turns the whole way and from where we started to arrival in Lobethal it was a good hour of concentrated driving.

As it turned out the Brewery was closed, but we met a man and talked to him and told him where we had come from, so he went and spoke to the boss, who came out and invited us inside. They were closed and only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but he said that they always look after their faithful customers so he was quite happy to get

An interesting selection if you like Beers.

John what he wanted. I telephoned Andrew and asked is he wanted anything so we bought two bottles for him. The bottles, by the way, are 2 litres each. Before we left we were taken for a brief tour of the distillery, which was really interesting. Storing the big bottles in the car and packing them with towels and clothes to keep them safe, we had a wander around the town for a little while. I found an interesting church – Lobethal Uniting Church – with a foundation stone dated 1922, so with that date it means that it started out as something else as the Uniting Church did not exist then. My thought was for a Congregational Church but I decided to research when I came home.

Towards the Final Curtain E

October 19, 2019 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Some more firefighters from South Australia headed off to New South Wales to assist the men and women who are battling against the fires in that state, Things are not good in NSW or Queensland and we understand that at least one of the fires in NSW, one that destroyed property, was deliberately lit. A friend in Scotland expressed surprise at the ages of some of the vandals here in South Australia and only a few days ago police arrested vandals, who smashed up a take-away window at McDonalds got inside smashed up chairs and threatened staff with knives – the oldest was 13, the youngest was 10 and two of the offenders were girls. And this happened in Port Lincoln. I mean it is reaching the stage where people break into your house – your fault for not having your property better protected. What’s the government doing??? not a lot, really. We have a government that is bent on achieving a balanced budget and creating a budget surplus and

they don’t really care how they do it; they will cut the funds to whoever, schools, hospitals, courts, police; sell off what they have to sell off in order to achieve that goal. And having managed to get themselves hated by just about everyone in the community, they will get kicked out at the next election and be in the wilderness for the next 20 years. The government announced today that it is closing off 60 beds at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and 10 Beds at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital at a time when Ambulance ramping is at an all time high. They maintain it is a operational decision and not a cost cutting exercise. Likewise, the selling off of the Transport System to a Private Operator – operational efficiency not a money grabbing exercise. South Australia is changing and I don’t feel it’s for the better. We have not reached the British stage where members are hurling abuse at each other across the floor of the House.

Now that her eyes have settled down I am taking Annabell for eyes tests this afternoon. She will be tested for reading glasses and she will be thankful to be able to read again. She misses not being able to sit and read at night – sometimes she even puts the light on o:) I am still having difficulty adjusting to seeing her without glasses. Next week there will be a Special Church Service to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the founding of the Women’s Association here. Annabell is the Secretary but not being able to see properly nor read, she has had to let other people do the work. However, she will have her new glasses by early next week so she should be ok for the Service.

Justice as she is spoken in Horstralya! _ He lost control of his Lamborghini, crashed it into a shop front, killed a young 15 year old girl and seriously injured her friend (girl) who was with her. Was arrested and charged with careless and dangerous driving. Has been charged in the past – has a record of bad driving, has 18 expiation notices against him. Had his driving license removed. Went to the judge and asked that his license be returned because his wife is 8months pregnant and he needs to drive her to medical appointments. Police objected but the kindly judge reissued his license, but told him he is only to drive to the hospital and back home – not to drive elsewhere. Yeah – right !!!!! Seems to me if he can afford to buy and run a Lamborghini, he can afford to pay for a Taxi. There have been protests in Post Lincoln against the rising youth violence and as one protester said, “the police arrest them and the court tells them they are “naughty” and puts them back on the street”

After the nice temperatures of 31c we have gone back to winter temps again with a cool to cold 17c – 14c and while in some places that might seem like a nice day, here it is cold. The wind is a cold wind keeping the temps down. Never mind the climate crisis, there are now a number of towns in New South Wales and Queensland that will run out of water if there is no rain anytime soon, and others who have less than a year supply of water left. Australia is not the “Lucky Country” that it once was. P.S. I know, I know – I am growling!! Sorry.