Tag: Justice

Towards the Final Curtain U.

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
I’m only getting out if there’s food..

The weather for the last few days has been quite mild and at 22c  good for wandering around  the lighthouse and the foreshore.. Most of the restrictions have been lifted so it’s

What ?? Get out of the car on to the cold road??? You Jest!!

good to get out and about . However, it was never really much of a problem up here. The kind of restricted period has given me  a lot of time to play with my cameras and I have bought a macro lens for the Canon and ordered one for the Nikon. As I said before, I  have a lot to learn and whilst I have no one here to teach me ( will be better when the camera club starts up again) but I like to potter around taking photographs of things and places that interest me and, of course, lots of photographs of Benji – who even has his own folder on my computer. It is still very cold in the mornings. On Tuesday morning Benji and I went up to Hummock Hill to photograph the sunrise. It was bitterly cold and my hands were freezing. Like little digits of ice! Anyway, I took  quite a few photographs of the rising sun and the surrounding area, but I just don’t seem able to get the setting right for a sunrise. Photographs club starts back next week, so I will  start to get some information that I can put into practice.  I did buy a new Camera Backpack which I am quite pleased with. With the restrictions in place the President of the Camera Club posted a letter, number or colour on the website each week. This week the letter was “J” and Annabell and I came up with a few ideas. I did go to the Shopping Centre and photograph the Jewellers, but I wasn’t too happy with that – I felt it was “Ordinary” and  I wanted something different. In the end I drove into town and photographed the Court House and posted it under the tile “Justice”. Our court house, unlike Adelaide, is  a reddish brick building, not at all inspiring but  I was quite happy with what it represented.

I was not involved at the RFDS Fundraising this weekend but I did drive down to the Cuttlefish Area to  catch up on what was happening. Both days have been very productive both for the  RFDS and the Cuttlefish Dive

the Point Lighthouse

Organisers. It was very busy and despite having extra supplies, the RFDS  was starting to run out. Fortunately by that time things were slowing down and heading towards the end of the day. Benji and I left the Cuttlefish area and drove round to the far side of the point  and  the Lighthouse. I like the lighthouse – it’s a nice drive and  it’s a  quiet enough area and the lighthouse always makes for a good photograph subject.  I have a one-person tent and I was thinking of upgrading this to a larger tent  which would allow me to go off overnight with Benji and a photo trip. Of course we would always be at the edge of the National Park and actually driving through the Park should not be a problem as long as I  keep him in the car when I get out to take any photographs.  All pretty much in the air at the moment – not really the weather for camping.

I went back out and did another round of sunrise photographing, but still not happy with the results. I’ll most likely delete them again. Well,  if nothing else, the delete function on the camera is getting a good workout. Anyway, it was -1c and bitterly cold so I’m not doing that again – at least, not until it’s a bit warmer. Benji and I have not been going out in the

Ada Ryan Gardens

early morning walking because it has been so cold. We have taken our walk later in the day when it’s a bit warmer. We also go wandering in the Wetlands and the Foreshore.  To add to the cold the last two days have been wet. According to the forecast we will have showers  until Tuesday – so not a lot of walking. The Cuttlefish Diving is on again this weekend for a three day period – Friday, Saturday and Sunday (today being Saturday) and the RFDS are organising the catering for the three days. A very busy three days for the crews involved, For the remainder, I have been to the council and the two hardware stores and no indication as to when they will be ready recommence their weekly barbecues.

I include the Ada Ryan Gardens photograph mainly because the Council with grants have been working out there and have spent a bunch of cash to install new  ground lighting. It looks impressive on the council  page so as soon we as get some dry weather I will go out some evening and take photographs of the gardens under the new lighting.

Can it be that it was all so simple then?

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
Ah Australia - 22 million people, 10 Billion Flies
Ah Australia – 22 million people, 10 Billion Flies

Growing up in Scotland was different from Australia. Family and friends lived within walking distance and, since there were lots of people about, walking to and fro to different houses, was generally quite safe – even for a person on their own. Many people and families were out and about after midnight on New Year.  And that was the thing – you walked –  rugged up against the cold. Even when herself and I got married, our house was not all that far from her parents in one direction and my family in the other. When we first came to Australia it was like that here. This was very much a British Community and we all shared the same values and traditions – sort of.  The family all  lived within walking distance and we took turns each year of hosting Christmas and New Year. All this began to change with the depression of 1985/6.  The story takes too long to tell but suffice to say after 1986 everything changed. Most of my family and many of the friends we had made, all  left to find work in other places.  We no longer had family Christmas Dinner together but my remaining sister and I looked after  Mum until she died a few years ago.

I was thinking about that last night and chatting with my oldest son about tradition,  the concept of  “First Footing” and the fact that my father took it

Works for me!
Works for me!

very seriously. But it was not really a problem because the first person to set foot in your house in the New Year was generally a Neighbour, and so they all went first footing each other – then branched out to walks to family. And the Scots who came out here brought these traditions with them – all gone now,  along with the traditions of other communities – The Croatian Club- gone/ Club Italico (now the haunt of a few very old men) the German Club – gone / The Burns Society – gone / St. Andrew’s Association – gone / the Masonic Lodges – gone.  What has taken their place is open all night hotels and pubs, mostly haunted by teenagers who go there with the sole intention of “having fun” and for many of them, having fun is getting plastered ( like the classy lady Suzie81 wrote about some time ago) – although many of them are half tanked before they get there. True, we are not too bad here, but in Adelaide it’s a nightmare – alcohol fueled  violence most weekends in Rundle Street (Street – not Mall) and politicians and police seem to be unable to stop it. Of course having a bunch of Justice Jokers who think a serious punishment is a severe talking to and a three week jail sentence- suspended – doesn’t help.  People have been giving a suspended sentence for killing a person – drunk driving. The family of the victim are outraged – the public are outraged – the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) throws out his chicken chest and talks about a sentence that is ‘Manifestly Inadequate” promises an investigation – then quietly  forgets about it as soon as the furor dies down.  And that’s why we have continual alcohol-fulled violence – consequences for most things is minimal – look contrite, tell the Justice Joker how sorry you are and how you feel for the family of the victim, and Bob’s your uncle – home in time for dinner.

Isaiah 59:11
We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away.

I am so tempted!!!
I am so tempted!!!

Some parts of Australia, mainly inland , have brought in the New Year with temperatures of 50c. We were 44.5c , which Is just a tad warm. I took the dogs out walking after the bite had gone out of the sun, and was silly enough to think that the wind would keep away the flies. As I said, silly decision, and I gave up after about ten minutes. One thing I have never adjusted to in Australia is the continual flies – hoards of the things that follow you around like a cloud. I hate it. I like Australia but I hate going outside and spending half my time batting flies away from my face. As I said before, the  personal fly-nets that fit over your hat are becoming quite popular. It still looks a bit silly, but then people with very painful sunburnt feet think the “English Thing” – wearing sox with sandal -, looks silly  :o)