Benji – Page 12 – Edgar's Page

Benji, WaWa, Dump and Sons

12/06/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

First an update on Benji. We have only recently realised that the WaWa does not attack Benji when they are outside. They wander around the place together, they find good spots in the early winter sun and sit down together. They actually play together outside. However, when they are back in the house all bets are off. The WaWa – as far as we can ascertain – is the defender of Annabell against everyone. When anyone comes near her the WaWa positions herself in the front and sits on Annabell’s foot – ready to attack anyone who threatens. Take that a step further and the WaWa is the protector of the house – her mission if life is to protect the house and protect Annabell – even against me. If I go into the kitchen to talk, the WaWa will rush in, position herself between me and Annabell, with her back paws on Annabell’s foot. If I go to Annabell’s room, the WaWa will come racing up the hall – barking all the way – run into the room and position herself between us. Thus, the WaWa sees Benji as a threat to her mistress. The difference between the inside and the outside WaWa is amazing. And we have only just cottoned on to this.

The workmen came yesterday (Tuesday) and worked for a couple of hours. The reason it took so long was the “hidden obstacles”. I knew there was a concrete slab at the back but what I didn’t know was how far it extended since the previous owners had covered up that area with topsoil and gravel. It took a fair chunk of time to remove that. However, even the workmen were pleased with the result and I now have a “workable”area. I did say that I don’t have plans, but I do have ideas – whether they work or not is a moot point – but I think they are good ideas. However, the next task is to have the back fence repaired and I am not certain when that’s getting done.

My son wanted to borrow my trailer, which meant a trip to the dump to get it emptied then take it over to his place. On the way I picked up my other son who was going to help me. Well we did

The WaWa we are looking after for a few months

that and drove to Andrew’s place to pass over the trailer. Instead we stayed there and helped him clean up. John and I loaded the trailer with all the green waste ( tree and bush cuttings) and was in the process of trying to tie it down when Andrew decided to tell us that he has a portable green waste shredder in the garage. We will draw a curtain on the next ten minutes but I understand a shearer passed by and blushed. We emptied the trailer and

The Foreshore - My Picture — The Foreshore – My Picture

used the shredder – much better. Took the trailer to the dump and guess who had not brought any money with him?? Guess who paid the dump fee?? Well I suppose fathers have to be useful for something :o)

Sunday 12th: Benji was in a strange mood this morning. Don’t know what happened but he was covered in tattoos, smelled like a distillery and was reluctant to get out of bed. Finally got him out and the morning walk took twice as long because he kept stopping and was determined to water every tuft of grass. He’s a worry.

Oh a quick PS. I think we might have the WaWa for a tad “longer than the “few months”. In the current economic climate it may take Sooah and her husband longer to get back to Australia.

Benji aka BJ

05/06/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

As promised my concerns about Benji. Benji, as you may know, is a rescue dog. The sudden death of my girl, Chienne, really floored me. I loved her so much and I wandered around not really bothering about things. Annabell decided that I needed another dog. She said that she could not bear to see me so unhappy – so I started looking. I did look locally but they all seemed to be big dogs and I didn’t want a big dog. I looked on line, confining my search to South Australia. I finally found one that I liked the look of so I asked for more information from the rescue group. I was given information regarding the current location of the dog and a little bit about him, temperament, size and age, desexed and micro chipped. Also clearance from the local Vet. The thing was his location was some 950 klm away. If I wanted this dog it would mean a thousand miles round trip. Well, I liked the look of the dog, his size and temperament, so a road trip it was. He was currently in foster care so I had to wait with the rescue people until the dog arrived. On October 10th 2015 I took the dog into the car and started the drive home. On that return journey I did something I promised myself I would never do – drive the steep descent from Crafers at the top of the Adelaide hills, down to Adelaide — In The Dark! This is the scene of so many accidents that I find it uneasy during the day even – but at night! Well here I am writing this so I guess you can take it I survived the journey. We got home and Benji soon became part of the family. We even had to look after another dog – Yogi – and he and Benji got on famously together – a little bit of early settling out borders – but they get on really well. It was fun taking both dogs out walking. We had a lot of trouble getting his microchip registration changed but we worked through that and this was finalised in late April this year. Of course he was registered with the Council and introduced to the Vet, who gave him a clean bill of health. Since then he has put on a little weight and filled out.

Benji settled in well with all the members of the family – everyone loves him and he is a quiet lovable, Staffy-Jack Russell Cross, quite settled and I believe, quite happy. That was until recently. Yogi – as I said – was no problem, the problem is the WaWa. She is causing Benji untold strife, grief and stress. Yes I have shown photographs of them together and seeming friends, however, photographs can be deceiving and the only reason I was able to take that photograph was simply that I had food they both wanted so they were “close” rather than “together”. The WaWa attacks Benji and nips his back legs. He will not defend himself and at times he has leaped from the floor up into my arms to escape from her. He is more than twice her height. weight and probably three times her strength but he is scared of her. It worried me and last night it scared me. I went outside and as usual Benji followed me. He was slow so I turned round and bent down to pick him up – he cringed and wet himself. To say that I was stunned is an understatement. I feel that all the work I have done with him since I brought him home is being undone. I am at a loss and don’t know what to do. People have said that the solution is simple – get rid of the WaWa. I cannot do that! I made a promise and I have to keep it. I am also told that he will not defend himself nor will he attack the WaWa unless put under extreme pressure because domestic male dogs wont attack a female. We did not go out for our walk this morning. I got up, got dressed and ready to go, but he would not come – he refused to move and after last night I had no intentions of trying to make him go out, so I just left him where he feels safe – on my bed. I have no idea what his life was like before me – well before the foster care – but he was five when I adopted him last year and that’s a long time if he had a hard life. It’s a worry, a real worry.

Disappointment, hospital and garden disasters

05/06/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

email Emails are the strangest things. If you send a nasty message to an address you will have a reply with in the hour. If, however, you send an email that requires a 10 second “yes ” or “no ” response to the same address, the chances of a reply are fairly remote. Strange that!! I was waiting for an email that never came and I fear is unlikely to come now. Oh well, things happen – or in this case, don’t! Disappointment aside, it has been a busy week visiting people in hospital and one in Palliative Care. Accident in town and elderly lady killed in a car collision. Actually as a passenger she survived the collision but died in hospital. Car accidents and rushed to hospital are not great for an 85 year old. Don’t know if anything happened yesterday but the Royal Flying Doctor Service flew in late at night. There is still an air of – depression is too strong a word – but more a feeling of unease about the future. Many people, despite the assurances in the press, don’t really trust what they are being told and although there seems to be more orders, four and a half billion dollars, is a lot to try and pay back. Also the company is up for sale and the fact that the good Arrium is be sold off first leaving the steelworks and the South Australian Mining Operations – which are the loss makers in the business – to bring up the rear and whoever thinks about buying the steelworks and the mining operations will have to consider the massive debt that goes with it. The administrator believes that the company will be on the market in July and that the steelmaker could have a new owner by Christmas. There are interested parties – so we are told – but six months before we know anything.

For a number of reasons the back garden is not a place to wander in the dark. It is so overgrown now that I fear for my safety. I think there might be lions in there hiding in the undergrowth. Between a whole host of things I have let it become very neglected. I would show you photographs but I wont because it is so bad I am ashamed to let anyone see it. Even when I brought in the

How blue the water looks. This is the Spencer Gulf. Not my photograph — How blue the water looks. This is the Spencer Gulf. Taken from the Hill. Not my photograph

workman to give me a quote to clear it and I explained to him what I wanted done. Anyway he did give me a quote which I found quite reasonable, so, he is coming with his equipment to clear the place and take everything back down to the bare earth. Once that’s done I will then decide what I want done with the area. I have plans – well ideas more than plans – but it will mean a trip to Adelaide (Bunnings) to get the things I want. Why not shop locally, after all we have three big hardware stores here? Very simply they don’t have what I want, whereas I know Bunnings do. Ho yes they can order it but it takes ages and costs more and then they slap on a delivery charge. Much better to empty the trailer and go to Bunnings – yes, it’s a 370 mile round trip, but worth it.

I have another funeral to prepare for but at least I have enough time to get things set up, printed and collated. It will all have to be done on my printer again and I will have to charge for the ink – it’s too much otherwise. With any reasonable luck we should have the church photocopier repaired and returned by the end of this week. But once again almost an entire ream – 400 – printed sheets and there was some wastage this time – I printed some sheets in the wrong sequence – oops. Busy few days with the workmen coming on the Tuesday and the funeral on the Wednesday. The photograph is the Whyalla shore taken from the Lookout on the Hill. I think it was taken only a few days ago when we had some sun between the rain. I took some photographs down at the wetlands of the birds and the ducks. Haven’t sorted them out yet. Benji is having a hard time at the moment. We have not been out for a walk this morning. I will detail this in another post.

Travels And Breakdowns

16/05/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

I was going to quote Robert Burns again about the best laid plans and such like, but decided not to. You probably know it anyway. My plan was to drive to Adelaide, stay two nights in Adelaide then drive to Mount Gambier, visit the sailing ship The Lady Nelson, then out to the Umpherston Sink Hole Gardens, then the Englebrecht Caves. Busy day planned, but none of that happened. Left home on Wednesday morning and drove to the Tin Man and the stop for fuel and food. From there I drove to Lochiel. The reason for Lochiel was simply that I had been up since 5:00 to take Benji for his walk before driving off at 7am, so by Lochiel I was a tad weary and wanted some air (rain) and some coffee . Got back to the car and it wouldn’t start. I had brought the charger with me so after a bit I was able to get the car started and continue on my way. A short while later, at Port Wakefield I had a similar problem. By this time I was getting a bit concerned and began to notice things, like the way the car surged when I put on the lights. I decided not to go shopping as I had planned but drive directly to the hotel. Driving through the city of Adelaide was a nightmare for me and I was scared that the car would suddenly stop at one of the many sets of traffic lights. Booked into the hotel then came back out to get my cases. I called Annabell to let her know what was happening and that the battery had really cut out and I could not get the car open – pressed button – boot would not open – pressed button – car door would not open, so I could not even get to the charger. Was talking about things when Annabell cut through my rant with the words “have you tried using the key?” You can imagine how disappointed I was when the ground below my feet did not open up and swallow me to hide my embarrassment nor protect me from the hysterical laughter that could be clearly heard coming from my phone. You can bet your very last penny that she wont let me forget this in a hurry.

In the mid afternoon I walked into town and did some shopping. The evening was fairly quiet and I spent much of it watching a movie. Thursday I left the car and took the train and bus to Norwood – most of the storm damage had been cleared. I spent a few hours there, had lunch and made my way back to the city center. Friday and the car refused to start so I was forced to call out the RAA again. The mechanic examined the battery and that was good and the alternator seemed to be good, but something was draining the battery and we had no idea what. I did have a battery charger with me and decided that if the need arose I would use that, but driving through the center of Adelaide was again scary and I feared at every set of traffic lights. I was glad to reach Gepps Cross, which is the northern boundary of the city and leave the traffic lights behind. Fortunately I had enough fuel to get back to Port Wakefield where I knew there was a good garage if I needed it. I expect there are good garages in Adelaide but I have no idea where. All that surrounded me were FFOs – Fuel and Food Outlets. I used the charger at Lochiel and Port Wakefield on the way down but I did something wrong in Adelaide and drained it, hence the RAA call. I telephoned Annabell to let her know that I was coming

Showers creeping over the Adelaide Hills

home. She suggested that Benji would be pleased because he had been sulking and hiding for the last two and a half days – poor thing. I was disappointed because there were things I wanted to do on the way to Mount Gambier and in Mount Gambier itself but I felt if I was going to break down it was better to break down on the way home than to break down on the South Eastern Freeway. As it happened the car drove quite well and I was able to stop for a little while in Port Augusta. Tomorrow I will take the car to the garage and book it in for a complete service and find out what the power draining problem is. – Hopefully it’s something simple.

Wind and Weather

10/05/201611/05/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Saturday 7th.

It has been raining since the early hours of this morning and it has not let up yet. It’s not heavy, bounce off the roadway, kind of rain but it is constant and it is steady. Needless to say we did not go for our morning walk and by the looks of things the Wetlands are out for the time being. Still, good rain and everyone is quite happy. The forecast for the weekend for our region is rain for most of the next two days. Have to say though, I was supposed to be at Mount Gambier this weekend – postponed until next week, so hope the weather is better for visiting the sailing ship and the gardens. I would also like – on the way through- to stop off at Padthaway Estate Winery. Rain kept up until about nine(ish) last night and I took Benji out for a walk. Forty minutes later and we just got within 100 yards of the house when it started again – fortunately slowly.

Sunday 8th – Mother’s Day

Now it really is bouncing off the roadway. It’s 4am and it’s pounding down and there is a very strong and high wind at its back. Looked at the weather forecast for today and it tells me that it will be cloudy with periods of rain and a temperature around 20c. Probably all this will kick in at dawn but in the meantime, Welcome to Mother’s Day !! It went on most of the day and when it did stop there was a high wind. This morning ( Monday) there was no rain to speak of but there was a very high wind and a bit of a battle walking with Benji at 5:50am. We drove into town to do some things and on the way back – it really started to rain. We just made it in when it when it became dark and then really came down; heavy bounce of the roadway rain and a driving wind. That was about an hour ago and now, looking out, I think of the old song – “Blue skies smiling at me, nothing but blue skies do I see”. Weird weather!!

We, as I said, took a fair belt of rain and wind but no real damage other than some minor road flooding. Elsewhere, when the storm really hit, there was serious flooding, power lines down and trees down cutting off roads in Adelaide and Norwood. Several thousand were left without power before the lines were repaired. For us, storms either go above us or below us, very rarely do we ever get caught in the actual path of a storm. If the storm front is big enough, we get a bit of a side-swipe, but nothing really major.

Bluechickenjay wrote a post recently about stats and I agree with much of what she wrote although she talks about 50 visits and she’s quite happy whereas I have never had fifty visits in me life :o) – Well that’s not true – there was a lot of kind and lovely people who visited me and left kind words when Chienne died so suddenly last year. She is right in one respect that it really is not about the numbers. If that were the case I would have left long ago. My Mother’s Day post had three visits and one (1) comment. In these last few weeks I have been touched by the departure of CDL and I thought that would be a good time for me to go also, but here I am, still here.

True to say I am not frightfully good at this but I enjoy doing it and it is not about numbers – it is something I like to do and I felt that I would miss it. However, having said that, I still think the life span on this is drawing to a close – the sands of time are sinking.

Mount Gambier Part 1

28/04/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

I was reading up about the wawa recently in the and the page on the History of the breed began with the words “If you have ever had a Chihuahua then you know that they are not hard to love at

all ” and I couldn’t help thinking to myself – Not this one – this is the sister of the wawa from Hell who currently resides in Arizona and who had another go at me last night. Fortunately I got my fingers away in time. I tell you, it’s going to be a long four/five months. On the other hand, Yogi goes home tomorrow and I will be sad to see him go – he has really been no bother at all to look after and as I said before after a few territorial adjustments Yogi and Benji have got on very well these last two and a bit weeks.

Talking to Andrew last night and some things have been sorted out at Arrium. Andrew is back in there again to continue on with the original contract,( which has been restored) but the Administrator is really going to have to do something about the management culture at Arrium which uses all sorts of tactics to avoid paying bills for as long as possible. This, in part, accounts for the fact that suppliers are owed so much money and some of these supplies are vital to the continued operation of the plant. If the administrator does not sort this culture out then it leaves the door open for this whole drama to repeat at some future date. I also think some members of the management have to realize that SA stands for South Australia, not South Africa. Today is ANZAC Day and for the first time in many years I did not attend the Dawn Service. Yes, I set the alarm; yes I did get up and dressed, but two faces looked at me expectantly and were quite excited because this was the time I usually take them out. My logic was that the Dawn Service will be crowded, no one will miss me and I really should not be going to MacDonalds for Breakfast afterwards, and I delivered the ANZAC Service at Church on Sunday; so yes, I put on my jacket, put on the leashes and the three of us went out together and I thought, “that’s as it should be!”

Tomorrow will be my last morning walk with Yogi and when I come home I will have to gather all his gear – bedding etc., and have everything ready when he gets collected. It has been interesting with the two dogs walking and tonight it will be just me and Benji again.

Urgent email arrived late last night to inform all members of the Commission that there is no accommodation within 50K of Mount Gambier. This is due to the ANNUAL Jazz Festival which takes place on that weekend. I put the word annual in capitals to emphasise it since the Mount Gambier people who arrange all this should have known that the Jazz festival was on that weekend and

The Lady Nelson - Mount Gambier — The Lady Nelson – Mount Gambier

either changed the venue or altered the date of the meeting. There is nothing in Penola and I am not going to Naracoorte (109K). I have tried a number of places and I still have two to answer this morning – Dartmoor and Nelson. both across the border in Victoria. Heck at this rate I could have just about driven to Melbourne and back. Nothing available at Nelson but I seem to have managed to get accommodation at Dartmoor Vic., which is about 55k from Mount Gambier. That’s not too bad. I can still visit the Sailing Ship The Lady Nelson and the Umpherston Sink-hole Gardens on the way through to Dartmoor although I am so glad it’s Dartmoor Victoria and not Dartmoor England. However, if I get there and I meet anyone called Baskerville I’m out of there !! As far as I can see for a small rural settlement it has a lot of interesting things to offer and I hope my camera is kept busy

Could we start again, please?

24/04/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The first creditors meeting was held the other day and the term “Business as usual” was challenged with one supplier suggesting that means he keeps suppling to
Arrium and Arrium continue not to pay him. Already he is owed $700,000 and on these figures he wont survive for much longer. He was only one creditor and there are many that are owed a lot of money by Arrium and if the company is to survive the suppliers have to keep up with supplies, but still not get paid – yet. One supplier has said that he will supply until he reaches the stage where he has to borrow money to pay his people – then he will pull out because he is not going to allow his business to go under for Arrium. On the other side there is a suggestion that with profits of over $35 billion a year, the Robber Barons could write off the $1.8 Billion owed by Arrium. However, taking into consideration the Bank love of money ( we only made $6 billion this half year ; we’ll have to increase charges and close down a branch or three), this is unlikely to happen. There will be another Creditor Meeting in four weeks and that will be the crucial one – at least that’s what the talk is. There is still a great deal of uncertainty and some people have lost jobs due to a downturn in sales as people are restricting their spending.

This is our last weekend with three dogs. Friends return on Tuesday so we hand Yogi back. It’s been a good two weeks and after a bit of initial territory disputes, Benji and Yogi have got on very well together. It has been interesting to take them out walking and watch them walk side by side – like brothers :o) We had Benji at the Vet the other day. Nothing serious; just that I noticed him limping when we were out walking so I wanted it checked out. I sort of knew what the problem was and really I just wanted it confirmed. He’s fine but we believe at some stage a toe on his back right paw was damaged or broken and this has caused the nail/claw to grow at an odd angle, which, as he fills out is causing a bit of discomfort when he’s walking. We will keep a close watch on that nail/claw and ensure that it is cut often and if it gets too much then we can think about surgery and have the claw/nail removed. And yes, he is a tad overweight – 600gm. With Yogi gone, this will bring us back to two dogs. If anyone has any ideas about what to do about a constantly yapping wawa, my nerves and I would welcome your suggestions.

Most of today (Saturday) I was involved in a fund raising event for the RFDS. We did fairly well I thought. No idea how much we raised but

The toy at the bottom of the steps behind the wawa is the hand puppet

it was a reasonable day and I was glad to see that people are still supporting us. However we were steady but not as busy as we have been in the past. My son is still continuing with the Local Office and at the moment things are being sent up to him, but the long term outlook is that he will have to move to Adelaide, although the major problem will be his house. The chances of getting it sold are remote at the moment – and probably for some time, so Adelaide could be problematic.

I have been “playing”with the wawa – sort of. Sooha left a whole bunch of toys, one of which was a hand puppet. I was able to put that on and play with the wawa for a while until Benji thought enough was enough and I was paying too much attention to this female “it’s my daddy – not yours” She is still yappy but she is starting to settle down a bit more now but still very “protective”of Annabell, and that’s probably a good thing. I can touch her and scratch her ears, ( the dog, that is!!) but I am still very wary of her.

I have just about completed the front area with the 20mm Tregalana stone and the two raised flower beds. There is an area behind me (where I took the photograph) that is under the shade of a tree and I’m thinking it might be a good place to put in a third raised bed with ferns. I think there is enough shade for them to survive. I need to be sure because ferns are expensive here. Going through my very strange mind this last little while has been a song from J.C. Superstar and the words:-
“I’ve been very hopeful so far,
Now for the first time I think we’re going wrong
Hurry up and tell me, this is just a dream
Or could we start again, please?

Our woes continue

15/04/201615/04/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Do not believe anyone who tells you that small dogs – such as a small Chihuahua (short coat) are a push over. Having had this little one for 36 hours I can tell you that her teeth are like needles. I am just praying that a) she settles down soon and b) that we don’t run out of bandaids for my poor fingers. I understand – it is scary for her, her momma has gone, she is with strangers and they have a great BIG dog ( well to her he’s big) and this is a scary big place. I did feed her this morning and although I got a ‘back off’ kind of a growl, I did managed to scratch an ear without having my fingers covered in blood again. No they are not big bites, her teeth might be as sharp as needles but fortunately they are not big and besides I bleed a lot.

Sunday and she is starting to settle down and perhaps tomorrow I might remove the bandaids. If nothing else it will help in not having to type words twice due to the mistakes I am making because of the bandaids on the tops of my fingers- and stop laughing, this is serious!! Anyway, from one to three dogs in one fell swoop. Benji, Kongsoon and now Yogi, Benji is, of course, our boy, Kongsoon is the little one that we have taken in and Yogi is a friend’s dog we are looking after for a week or so. I hope I survive. It’s just unfortunate timing. We had arranged to take Yogi months ago, but the collapse of Link Engineering and the problems with Arrium meant that people lost jobs and we took in Kongsoon because her family has to go back to South Korea and re-apply. Link Engineering was their sponsor and their employer. They could have re-applied here but the danger with that is that if it was refused they would have to leave the country and be unable to reapply for three years. By going back to South Korea on their own and re-applying there, if it is refused, they can apply again in six months. Immigration rules I do not understand..

Some of the subcontractors and suppliers are back in the plant but others who have biggish projects have had their contracts terminated by the Administrator because in the present climate he cannot justify the expenditure. Logicamms is one of those. Logicamms have contracted for a new large project in Adelaide and Andrew will be doing work for that. At the moment material and design specs will be sent up but that’s only short term – long term they want Andrew to consider re-locating to Adelaide. There has been what has been called a Bloodless Coup at Arrium. The Company (Arrium) appointed its own Administrator and he has been working with the the government, the local community and the creditors to stabilize Arrium and see what can be done to keep the company operating. The banks and the AWU (Australian Workers Union) were unhappy with this and, despite being warned by the government to stay out of it ( which they ignored) moved in, sacked the Arrium appointed Administrator, appointed their own Administrator and, in essence, seized control of the company. Robber Barons – generally known as Banks – and a Union working together – that’s scary. The contractors are still in limbo and some are owed many thousands of dollars. Everything is an absolute mess but the new administrator is moving to reassure everyone that the intentions are good and they have the future of the company and the city as their foremost concern – but it’s still a mess and the creditors, mainly the banks, are pushing for a forensic investigation of the Arrium Board’s financial accounts.

** Arrium’s wrathful lenders are working to convince the steelmaker’s latest administrator to bring forward a forensic investigation of the company’s accounts to assess whether or not there are grounds to pursue its past management or board of directors. The agreement between “incandescently furious” debt and bond holders and The Australian Workers’ Union that resulted in Monday’s change in administrators is said to include a concession that will bring forward a forensic assessment of the Arrium accounts.** From the Financial Review.

Sad and doleful tidings

08/04/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Well, things are going from bad to worse. An American company offered to bail out Arrium to the tune of $1.4 Billion Dollars – $950 million and the remainder raised by Arrium Shareholders. The financial backers and creditors of Arrium rejected the deal and trading was halted on Arrium in the Australian Stock Market. It’s not looking good and there is now talk of the major banks and

Dick Smith - empty and gone. — Dick Smith – empty and gone.

creditors extending a $400 Million loan to Arrium to try and pay off some of its debts, but the sting in the tail is that the Banks and Creditors will appoint an Administrator. We have had politicians, senators and others here all day and there was one thousand people strong rally and march through part of the town – mainly around the CBD and the main street. And no, I was not involved in either. I was at the hospital with Annabell and later in the afternoon we had Benji at the Vet for a check-up. We don’t know about injections and I have not managed to get much information from the rescue people so what we decided is to leave him for the moment and in a few months we will give him the five-in-one injection. Overall his health is very good although I did get a bit of a slap on the wrist because he has put on weight since his first visit in November of last year. I find this difficult because he is well exercised – walks close to 60 miles a week – with me – is not overfed and does not get a lot of treats. And it’s a walk, not a casual stroll – with a few stops along the way. Anyway, I’ll have to cut down his food intake a little and get his weight down. Today (Wednesday) is not helping since it has been chucking it down for most of the night and it’s still raining.

Our major employer – Arrium Mining – has gone into Voluntary Administration with debts of over $4 Billion, $3 Billion of which is owed to the banks, over $1 Billion owed to other creditors and $500 million owed to the Staff. Things are not looking good and trading has been suspended. But what gets me is that the management have run the place into the ground, it owes money everywhere, but somehow it’s the Government’s fault. And the reason it’s suddenly the government’s fault is that the Federal Treasures and the Prime Minister didn’t visit with their cheque book and hand over a free of any interest cheque for $5 billion and bail the company and its management out right there and then. Well it probably is the government’s fault and I just don’t understand how these things work. Things are not looking so good and there is now open talk of a break-up of the group and parts being sold off. It is a very worrying time for everyone and $5 Billion is a lot to make up and in order to save the company and 8,000 jobs, the major loss making steelworks may have to be sacrificed. On the news tonight the government pleaded with Arrium management not to put the company into Administration, but the banks put pressure on the management and they caved in and appointed an approved Administrator. In these last few days I have met some of the people who were with Link Engineering and have lost their jobs. One family was the son of one of our families at church.

The new lady dog will arrive tomorrow at 8am. Sooah and her husband have to clear out the house this weekend so she is bringing me the lady tomorrow. Her name is Kongsoon, which is not too bad. The name, I found out means “Little Bean” Sooah is of the opinion that she is coming back so really we are only fostering her dog for a while – at least that’s the plan. We’ll see – I hope she is right but I have my doubts at least for the present. Well, there you are! I thought we were safe since my son didn’t work for Arrium however, he is a Systems Engineer with Logicamms and now that Arrium is in Receivership all contracts have been suspended until further notice. Arrium cannot pay the contractors until the Receiver has completed his investigation and authorities the money to be paid. Andrew is still being paid, of course, but the company now has someone sitting around doing nothing – and getting paid. This being the case, they want him to go down to Adelaide and assist with some of the projects they have down there – at least until Arrium is up and running again and authorized to pay out the cash to its contractors. However, the company have asked him to consider re-locating to Adelaide. So the Arrium crisis is having an effect on us.

Getting things done

02/04/201602/04/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Although most people are wearing the “Brave Face” there is a depressed aura about the place. There are empty shops in the major shopping mall and more to come – Dick Smith – Sazzi Shoes – Mensland – Spotlight- Thompson and Waddington ( Optician) – Link Engineering – Martelco Plant Hire – and our major employer, Arrium Mining ( Former BHP Steel) is hemorrhaging cash and trying to negotiate with State and Federal Governments for a major financial bailout. They asked the employees to take a 10% pay cut but they voted against doing so because they had just been awarded a 3% pay rise, and that was to be scrapped so in essence what they were really asking was for the workers to take a 13% pay cut. It effects us all but we will lose two families from the church because they were sponsored by Link Engineering, which is now no more. Both husbands were employed by Link and without employment they have to go back to South Korea and they have been here for three years. I realize that these names mean nothing to you, but names are not really important because what they represent is people loosing jobs. Link Engineering and Martelco Plant Hire are not recent start-ups – they have been around for a good while The upshot of part of this, however is that I may be getting a second dog. One of our Korean couples has a small

dog and they cannot find a home for it so it’s either surrender it to the RSPCA – the Council Pound ( Kill Pound) or put it to sleep. Sooah was told by one of the older ladies that she should talk to me and ask if I would be willing to take her – yes it’s a girl – I had a talk with Herself and she agreed that we would take the dog. We don’t know the dog’s name but if it’s a Korean name, we’ll have to change that :o)

Robert Burns wrote in “To a Mouse” – ‘The best laid schemes of mice and men gang (go) aft agley (astray) and leave us naught but grief and pain for promised joy” and Easter was sort of like that. I had plans – Thursday, take trailer to dump and empty same – go to sand yard and fill trailer with 20mm stones, (1 ton) come home, lay out weed matting and start to spread out stone, going back for further loads as necessary. Good Friday – Church / R& R. Saturday, back to work/ Sunday, Church and Family / Monday finish off and tidy up. One of our (older) ladies died and we had to organise a funeral. I designed and prepared the Order of Service after I was notified on Tuesday Evening. Discovered that the church photocopier was gaga, so all the printing had to be done here on this computer and my printer. Funeral was on Thursday. Good Friday and everything closed. Now move to Tuesday of this week – chucked it down most of the day – Wednesday Medical appointments for Annabell, so now here we are on Thursday and I am about to go outside and connect the trailer. Hey, it’s only a week late :o)

Sand yard, one load of stone laid – back to sand yard, second ton, not laid, need more weed matting. Will carry on Friday after medical appointment. So yes, it will take a while but I will get it done and I hope it will look nice when it’s finished. I will brighten up the area by having at least two medium size raised flower beds and fill them with potting mix and then, of course, some flowering plants from the Garden Center, then sit back and watch them die – which is about normal for me. Actually, a good start was to get the plants home in the car without Benji chewing them.

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