Wednesday
Category: House, Garden and Dogs
Sands of Time..
Yes it did rain and we did have some high wind but not quite as bad as was expected. However, it looks like two good driving days to and from Adelaide this weekend. I have had to explain to people why an “Urgent Meeting” takes two weeks to organize. Firstly the rule states that seven days notice must be given and secondly people have to gather not only from across the State but also the representatives from Queensland. The actual meeting is less than a month away but this is business that is too important to be left to that meeting therefore this extraordinary meeting had been called. However, that’s good because it gives me a day in Adelaide to do any shopping that either I want or Annabell wants. The meetings are always on a Saturday and always at 9 am so in order to be there on time, I need to be down a day before, which gives me the day in the city to do what I want. People generally don’t understand that these rules and regulations were written mainly for a European style urban organization with large gatherings of people – suited to the United States, Canada and the Eastern States of Australia. It falls apart somewhat when you have a small and scattered population such as we have in South Australia
Saturday was a glorious day and I was down at the beach as I said. The day was organised by the director of the Whyalla Players and was a promotion for the play (Musical) Mary Poppins. People were just asked to be at the foreshore about 1pm and bring an umbrella with them. I
enjoyed the photo shoot but I was somewhat disappointed by the lack of people. Yes there were enough people to make it worthwhile, but the lack of numbers saddened me, considering the outstanding success of their last production “The Phantom of the Opera” They have been rehearsing for about seven months now and it’s a big production with many singers. After the photo shoot, which was covered by the local paper and the area television station, I drove up Hummock Hill and took some photographs of the area, including one of part of Arrium. The State-wide blackout and the loss of power has cost Arrium dearly. The employees have taken a further 10% pay cut so it’s getting close to the bone and there is not a lot more the workforce can accommodate and still survive. The reason that this was accepted was that it’s better to take a hit and try to manage with less, than try to manage with nothing at all.
I am just a tad frustrated in that this knee seems to be taking a lot longer to recover than I had anticipated. It is still slightly swollen and I still have some residual pain at times and I am not the most patient of people. I am getting out and about and I will be driving to Adelaide, but I have come to accept that during my day in Rundle Mall, I think I may have to have that infernal cane with me and do my best to cope with this niggling pain. Grrr ………
The Echocardiograph was good and everything seems to be in order. I am told that there is a very tiny leak in one of the valves , but nothing to be concerned about. I wont be waiting in line for open heart surgery any time soon.
Two weeks after the blackout and power has finally been restored to most of industry – considering the millions lost by Arrium and the Steelmill, it’s small comfort. Even less of a comfort is the fact that not only is South Australia in decline and being run by a government that have no idea what they are doing, it wont take much more to send Whyalla into decline. The state of the economy, a government and organizations that cannot think of anything further than Bolivar, the uncertainty of Arrium and associated industries and we have a shopping centre that was once promoted as the Largest Regional Shopping Center in South Australia – outside of Adelaide – that is heading towards a tipping point with close to one third of the shops closed and empty. Now, comes the news that at the end of this month another large business will close its doors – more unemployment and an empty (Large) shop. The business – Radio Rentals. Unlike Dick Smith, RR is not going under, it’s just closing its store here through high rents and lack of business.
Wednesday (Different)
Marshal of France
A week after the storm —-Warning Photograph Heavy..
Friday:
Was a near perfect spring day here. Bit of wind but 33c – warm and sunny. That being so I decided that it was time. Got into the car with the Benji and we drove out to the wetlands. I did a circuit of the main pond then did a half circuit and used the new bridge to cut back to the car. I pushed but I didn’t want to push too much. It was slow in places and I rested a little AND thank goodness for drinking fountains for humans and animals. I did not take the cane with me even although it was suggested by certain people that I should. As far as I am concerned, it has served its purpose and will now go quietly into a corner and stay there.
On Monday afternoon I have to go to the hospital for an Echocardiograph Last time I had one of these done I had to travel down to Adelaide to the Flinders Medical Center. Yes we have all the equipment here – we just don’t have the professional people to operate it. Why am I having this done – well the simple answer is that it has been a year since it was last done and my Cardiologist likes his tests. I go see him in three weeks and one hour before the appointment, I go for an ECG – ho yes, he likes his tests :o)
Saturday:
There were more things going on up in the grass so that’s where most people were at the time. The Whyalla Players are rehearsing “Mary Poppins” and they asked people to turn up today with an umbrella and they would take a series of photographs as a promoting thing. That’s why I was down there – no I am not from the players, just an interested citizen with an umbrella.
I didn’t have Benji with me. Only 29c but too warm to leave him in the car – even with the windows cracked open. Was different yesterday – we were out walking and driving with the A/c on.
Nearly back to Normal.
Some of the blame game and the complaints have started already with truck drivers unhappy with the closure of Port Wakefield. Also the Port Wakefield service stations have lost a lot of
money this long weekend. Anyway, one of the complaints is that the authorities were too hasty in closing down access to Port Wakefield despite the fact that the water continues to rise. The weather cleared and there has been an aerial inspection of the damage to the power pylons. In this area alone there were six pylons bent and twisted like children’s toys and overall there were 23 destroyed or damaged pylons in the system. And just to make life interesting – another storm is bearing down on us and should be here by late Monday / Tuesday with an estimated 100mm of rain – Oh Joy!! However, the bulk of the main storm has now moved into Victoria and New South Wales. On the subject of these two States, South Australia is very, very thankful for the teams of Emergency Workers that have crossed the Border to help us out, assist in the clean-up and give our emergency crews some much needed rest. Considering there are state wide floods in both Victoria and New South Wales, the help is more than appreciated. There is to be an investigation into the State-wide blackout and why 1.7 million people were left without power – some for 25 hours and some still waiting for the restoration of full power – Arrium, Port Pirie, Port Lincoln and Roxby Downs for instance. Arrium is just holding things together with limited power. The way things are going in South Australia these days I think we will soon be singing the Depression Song:
Once I built a railroad and made it run
Made it race against time
Once I built a railroad, now it’s done
Brother, can you spare a dime
When Chienne died last year and it was decided that I would get another dog, I made it clear that I wanted a mature dog, not a puppy. I said about 5 or 6 years old would be good. I looked at this Diego (Now Benji) and he at five – going on six , seemed to fit the bill so I travelled to Mount Gambier to have a final look at him and bring him home. Now I know I have gone through this before but bear with me – there is a point. I adopted him and brought him home and Annabell decided that she should give him his name and chose, Benji. We decided that he should have a birthday, and since we had no idea (no papers-on way) when he was born the date of his adoption was chosen as his Birthday. Last Tuesday, the day before the storm, his final papers came from Victoria and I learned that he was born on the First Day of May 2013. In other words, he was a puppy, really. Not what I wanted at all. But although I didn’t really know the difference, my Vet never corrected me or said anything that would lead me to believe me I was wrong and that he was much younger than I believed. However, the rescue group is a small scale operation and funding is what they can raise, so they wouldn’t have the resources to do any investigation and probably accepted what they had been told. What is for sure is that if his real age had been known, yes, it is very possible I would have passed him over and looked for something else, but the universe has a way of arranging these things and I stopped, looked and having looked long enough, I knew he was for me. I did buy him a Birthday Present for tomorrow so I will still wrap it up and give it to him.
There was a very rare occurrence here during the week. A set of smaller fingers got onto my computer – which I had foolishly left open – and wrote comments on several places. Then, having been found out attempted to delete everything as she had been shown in school. I have no idea where she went or what she did, but I will wait and see if there is any fallout and correct and apologies where I can – if I can.
Sun is shining, birds are singing, trees are in blossom – it’s spring!! And – it be 33c in our little corner of the universe. Blue skies for the remainder of the week :o) This time next week – on the way to Adelaide – will probably rain!!
Wednesday
Rachel, Grandma, Cricket and Butterfly
Rachel, I have enjoyed all your posts this year and I have learned a lot. I look forward to reading more of your posts in the coming year. I wish you and yours, Joy and Peace for this New Year – but not just you, to all of your family and friends and also to others who are part of the Jewish Community – wherever you are, Blessings.
Stormy Weather Continues.
Friday 30th September
Yesterday was an odd day in that I was able to post things and get most of the mail through. Today it is a different story. Today there is no mail, no internet and no telephone. I think the clean-up has started today in some areas. We still have 22 major electricity pylons down so that being so I suppose that we should be considered fortunate that we have power for lighting and heating. The Broadband network and the mobile (Cell) phone network are both down. At the moment I am using MS Word and will transfer this to WordPress when the system becomes available again.
The storm may have eased in this area but it still continues in Adelaide and the South East . We have TV and I just saw on the news that a man believed that warnings didn’t apply to him and he tried to drive through flood waters – and yes, he had to be rescued . I think the amazing thing about all of this is the fact there has been no serious injuries or loss of life.
Port Pirie was saved in that the wind eased and the town was saved from flooding although just down the road in Port Broughton, they were not so fortunate and there was a lot of flooding in that little township. I also hear that the Barossa and the Clare areas are flooded. There is serious flooding in many parts of Adelaide – houses and properties inundated.
Optus went down on Wednesday and has still not come back on again. Telstra is on and off and on again, then off. I just wish they would make up their minds. At the moment, it’s off again so no internet and no telephone calls, either mobile (cell) or landline.
All afternoon the clouds have been dark and it has gotten progressively colder as the afternoon wore on. It’s just coming up to 5pm and it has now been raining for the best part of half an hour. It just refuses to give up. Even as little 20-25 mm will be enough, given all that has gone before, to send many small rivers and creeks into flood. There is concern about the flooding of the Port Wakefield river. Normally this is a creek that has very little water in it, but given this volume of rain it can quickly become fairly aggressive as it gathers water from the surrounding catchment areas. If this happens it can flood quite quickly and cut off the main highway at one end of the town. (It’s happened!!)
In Port Augusta there was a fair amount of structural and environmental damage and the Joy Baluch Bridge – the main bridge across the Gulf was closed because of its height and the danger of the high winds. There is another crossing further up the gulf but it is a serious detour to Yorkeys Crossing and round the top of the gulf and back to the main highway.
At the bottom of the Eyre Peninsula, the city of Port Lincoln is still without electricity – or any power. Most of the food has gone and there are now concerns about potable water and there is also concern regarding the sewage systems. A modern Australian city and food relief packages are being flown in – like a third world country in crisis – bread, some package food, baby formula, milk, water etc.
The Smelter at Port Pirie took a hit and will be out of action for repairs for about two weeks. Arrium also took a hit and was forced to close down, at a cost of about six million a day. Andrew, my son, was called out to the mines at Middleback and he and a team were working frantically to avert a mining “catastrophe” (his words) – although what that was I have no idea – he did not
elaborate.
The clean-up and restoration will take weeks, if not months and there will be the usual “Blame Game” My own view is I don’t care about the politicians and their point scoring off each other, but I believe there should be an investigation into why these pylons came down as they did. Trees in the area were unaffected yet these steel pylons, 22 of them, were bent in half as if they were child’s toys and not major carriers of high voltage electrical power lines. I would also like to know, whether it’s good or bad, who supplied the steel for these things. But I think that might be something that we never get to know, but a state-wide failure that put 1.7 million people in darkness is something we should get to know.
Latest: As of 7am this morning the main highway north at Port Wakefield has been closed due to the flooding of the Wakefield River. There are major diversions in place through Two Wells and Virginia for cars, buses and light trucks. Heavy trucks are stuck.
Road Repairs, and Storm Damage
Patience is one thing – having to put up with this constant ache is something else. I do not intend to play at being Gregory House, living on pain killers and a cane. But according to what I am being told everything is progressing well and the residual pain is to be expected for a while. Good Grief, I’m a grumpy, impatient patient!! I don’t know why Benji puts up with me. Annabell – she who follows Rugby – tells me that rugby players are out for a while with a knee injury and it will take a while for the discomfort to fade completely.
I have been looking at Therapy Dogs, South Australia and from what I can see Therapy Dogs are not hospital visitors. I don’t think they go into Hospitals at all – more people confined to their homes, Retirement Homes, Aged Care Facilities plus a list of other activities but , not that I can see, hospitals. Bit sad if that is the case. I found their web site slightly confusing, but perhaps that’s just me.
Couple of days ago there was a fatal car crash on the Port Wakefield Road. It is believed that the car may have been thrown off balance by a pothole. I use that road fairly regularly and was there on Wednesday going down and Thursday coming home and for a main road north, it’s not the best. It needs some serious upgrade. Traveling down on Wednesday there were places where it was like driving over corrugated iron. Some genius came up with a new idea to make bad roads last longer – fill in the cracks with bitumen. Yes, it may well help to make the road last a bit longer but it makes for a very uncomfortable ride. That’s what they have been doing on the Port Wakefield Road but it is now widespread and the Council have been doing it here in a number of our roads – not pretty. It’s like a very old British TV show “Never Mind the Quality – Feel the Width”. Why not repair it – don’t be silly, that would mean diverting money away from the South Road – or even worse – the Money Pit AKA The New Royal Adelaide Hospital. Although, having said that, they did go out and fill in the potholes that caused the accident.
Wednesday: According to all the weather reporters and forecasters we are about to get hit with the worst storm since the 1940s and it starts this afternoon. At this moment it is 7:40 and it is blue skies and sunny – no sign of any storm – hardly even a cloud. At the moment, as far as I can see, the storm is still out on the Great Australian Bight and just looking at its predicted movement, it’s still a long way off. Apart from about 100+mm of rain winds almost up to hurricane intensity are forecast, so that should be interesting.
9 am – It begins. The sun has gone, dark overheads clouds, rolling thunder and in the last few seconds, the rain has started. Nothing much to be concerned with right at the moment. Been looking at the weather map and I think this is all going to pass below us. As far as I can make out there are actually two storm fronts, one coming down from the north and one moving in from
the Bight. I think we will get a fair bit of the rain from both but the major front, the one coming in from the Bight will pass below us and hit Adelaide, the South East, Victoria and New South Wales. The one from the north – seems to be heading above us and into Queensland.
9:50. The rain is crashing down now and the noise in incredible. The thunder seems to have gone for the moment and there is no wind whatsoever. Everything stopped for a while then it started up again bringing hail stones and heavy, crashing rain
Thursday: Shortly after that comment on Wednesday we lost power. This was just restored about 45 minutes ago, so 24, cold, dark hours without power. As far as I can see our location protected us from the worst of the storm. Yes, we had rain, hail wind like I have never seen before but
not as much damage as in other parts of the State. I have two trees down and I managed to start clearing one before the power went out and the saw was useless. Other areas such as Blyth, really took a beating with major damage to property. The massive storm front brought down some 24 electricity pylons and damaged the grid in three areas leading to a state-wide blackout. Power was restored to some parts of Adelaide last night , we came back on line at 4:30 this afternoon but there are still about 50,000 without power further north. The news is that this storm front is not over yet and there is a forecast for more rain and high winds late this afternoon and into tonight. Right at the moment I am concentrating on making sure everything is charged up – just in case :o)
Latest: Reports of suggested evacuations of parts of Port Pirie as the water rises and threatens to flood the town..
Wednesday
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