Quorn – Edgar's Page

Lovely weather and visiting dogs.

14/01/2019 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

This is the photograph that I submitted for critique and whilst they waxed lyrical about each other’s photographs they were not thrilled about my photograph – bad lighting, poor composition, were two of the comments and when it came to scoring, it didn’t do well at all. I am not averse to criticism, even negative can be helpful, if done correctly, but they just didn’t like this and there was no constructive criticism. Anyway, I’m fairly comfortable with my photographs. I agree they could improve but not this way.

Got back from Adelaide last night. Was midnight before I got home and close to 1am before I got to bed and then back up at 5;45 to take the dogs out. It took me a while to settle the dogs down when I got home – you would think I had been away for weeks instead of just one day. I had to have everything done on the one day because I needed to be back for Annabell’s medical appointment. It was a fairly good trip – and I got everything that Annabell asked me to get for her but when it came to me – fail. David Jones has very little in the way of Organizers, or inserts these days, Kikki.K had nothing, Typo had nothing, same story at Officeworks, which I did find surprising. I have some things coming from the USA so I

shall just have to exercise patience and wait until they arrive before I can finish the change-over.

I did, however, get Annabell a new cookbook.

We bought an air-fryer and although it has a small cookbook along with the instructions, Annabell wanted something more so I looked for an Ari-Fryer Cookbook for her. I got this at Dymocks in Rundle Mall. We have no book shops at home. The last one closed down years ago. Yes the newsagent sells a limited number of books and the library has not caught up with Air-Fryers yet. Come to that, neither has Dymocks and there were only four books to choose from. Even in Adelaide many of the bookshops have closed down -Dymocks, Borders, Angus & Robinson, were the main bookshops in Adelaide. By contrast, Dymocks, the remaining bookshop, was crowded and many of the customers were young people. Anyway, I got her a cookbook and she is quite happy with it.

We have a Nursing Home here but the beds are very limited and it is not unusual for people to be sent to care in other places where a bed is available. This could mean they are sent over 100 miles away. If you remember I did visit one of our congregation who had been sent to a nursing home in Quorn which is about 90 miles from here. We have another person who has been sent there and I am going to visit him early next week.

The four Test Cricket matches against India have ended with a well deserved win for India. There’s no question of the fact that India really dominated the entire series and in all honesty should have ended 3 1 instead of 2 1. India dominated the last Test Match from start to finish and should have come away with a win, but bad light and bad conditions means that the match was abandoned and it became a draw. Be interesting to see how they do with a different set of skills in the ODI (One Day Internationals) ( Not very well, I fear!!)

In ten days from now we would have had Dougal for three months in what was to be a week to ten days visit. Anyway, he went home today. I took him round to Sam this afternoon. I think Dougal was glad to be home and glad to see his people. I’ll miss him but it’s nice to be back to me and Benji again. I think Benji will be quite happy and we had a good walk – just the two of us – this evening. We should be clear now until sometime in December when we get Yogi back for a bit. You never know, we could have Dougal back for a few visits if Sam has to go back to Adelaide for tests.

Walks, Fete and and second dog.

08/10/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Getting much lighter in the morning, but not all that much warmer. The days, however, are warmer and we had a little taste of summer when the temperature climbed up to 35c. That was exciting!! The following day it was 28c then fell back to normal early spring temperatures of 20(ish). However, high 20s – low 30s and the flies are out in force already. One of the advantages of the light in the morning is that a number of Kangaroos have been gathering at the far end of the fence line. Not that we get anywhere near them as they bounce off before we get even close enough to take a photograph but, still, it’s nice to see them and take what photograph we can. I carry a Nikon with me, it’s not really up to serious photography, but it is easy to carry around. When I go to Mount Gambier I generally take the larger camera with me..

Our clocks went forward an hour so it’s back to dark in the mornings. We had a few days of really nice spring weather then back to sort of late winter – cold, wet and miserable. Today (Saturday 7th) it had been raining much of the night and it’s still raining. We did not go out for our walk this morning, but he still got his morning treat – which I thought only fair because he was up and ready to go. The church mini Fete took place today and given the early heavy rain we were concerned that it might have to be cancelled again. However, by 7:30 the rain cleared and the sun shone brightly. The Fete was well attended and overall we raised over $1400. I paid for it in that I was on my feet for much of the day and my knee has been playing up something shocking. This evening I lay down and read a book – vegged out I think.

A recent comment mentioned the surprise that Mount Gambier is over 1000 miles round trip. This is part of the problem living in South Australia and partly why it continues to be

One of the gorges through the lower Flinders

underdeveloped – the tyranny of distance and a lack of a major water supply. Just driving to the Lighthouse and back is nearly 50 miles. This distance will take you from Glasgow to Lochearnhead or from Edinburgh to Callander ( give or take a couple of miles) Some of you may remember that one of our elderly ladies was moved from here to Quorn Hospital because there were no beds at any of the aged care facilities here. I visited her several times as did some of the other ladies – a round trip of 145 miles. For me the problem is that we here are “inbetweeners” too far north to get the benefit of the rolling landscapes of the south, and not far enough north to get the benefit of the rugged mountain country of the Flinders Ranges. To get to either means several hours driving and of the two I prefer the Flinders Ranges.

For the next three days I will have two dogs. When Ina had to go down to the hospital in Adelaide, Irene – a mutual friend – looked after Dougal. Irene is not in town any more so when I was round there the other day getting some things for the Fete, Ina talked about her need to put Dougal into care for a couple of days. I said she was not to do this and she was to bring Dougal round to me and Annabell and I would look after him for the two days. I went home and told Annabell what I had done and she said “good, Dougal is a lovely Shih-Tzu and should be no problem”. Ina brought the dog this evening and after she went home, the three of us- Benji, me and Dougal went out for a walk. Dougal and Benji hit it off and currently they are wandering around outside like old pals.

Dogs, Emus and Daleks

16/04/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

On Saturday 8th April, there was a tribute music festival to a local singer who died recently and, whom I am ashamed to say, I never heard of. Anyway, the RFDS was asked to provide the Barbecue for the event and we were happy to do this. I was not rostered on but I went up in the early afternoon to see how things were and if they needed anything. Everything was ok, but I was still very concerned because over in the far corner was this creature. They said it was “Friendly”but I was unaware that there was such a creature in the universe as a “Friendly Dalek”.

The warm weather looks to be over and we have started to hit the skids as the temperature for the coming week does not rise above 26c. The mornings have been a bit on the cool side so I should think about changing into a heavier jacket when I take the dogs out. Probable a good thing that the trip to Quorn took place when it did and when the weather was warm and sunny.

After church today we had a management meeting, so it was a while before we came back home. One would have thought that we had been away for years, WaWa went ballistic, the tail going like crazy. I bent down to pet her and she practically jumped into my hands, so I picked her up. The tail was still going and she licked my face and my head and my ear and my face, then my neck and all Annabell could do was stand and watch in amazement – this was the WaWa that just two months ago would have torn my fingers (and she did) to shreds if I tried to touch her. After a little while I decided enough was enough and I wanted to go and look after Benji – he is not being neglected. The WaWa is an “inside”dog and I

spend a good amount of time outside and Benji is always with me. The beach is with both but Road Trips are me and Benji. In fact it has been warm and sunny outside and the Benji and me were working in the garden for the morning and early afternoon – until Annabell came back from the Coffee Ladies. Next week is to be in the mid 20c, so we might be able to get out and about for a few hours. I think sometime next week a second trip to Quorn might be on the cards. This might be the last one because I think the lady was only booked in there for four weeks and that’s almost up. We don’t know what will happen after that. Quorn only accepted her on the understanding that it would only be for four weeks. At the moment Quorm will be very busy with the Easter Traffic and the Pichi Richi Heritage Steam Train running over the entire long Easter weekend.

Victoria may have Kangaroos, but we have visiting Emus. Thus far this week we have had three different pairs of emu wandering the streets. The police, along with Wildlife Protection have had the task of getting them back into the wild. Motorists were not “emused” at the traffic chaos they caused. These photographs are from the” Whyalla News” Whilst they were here they decided that since it was a nice day they would have a wander around the beach – more problems for the local police. There was one just around the corner from the house that the RSPCA and the Wildlife people were trying to get into a pen and then back into the bush. And no I did not take the camera since I figured Cortza and her people had enough to do without me getting in the way with a camera. As it turned out the Emu had a slight injury which Cortza wanted checked out by the Vet before they released in back into the bush.

Swans, Beach and a Day Trip

08/04/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

There are now four pairs of Black Swans at the Wetlands

Up until fairly recently there were areas that were a sort of sanctuary – Benji went there and the WaWa stayed clear. One of these areas was my bed. Benji curled himself up at the back of my legs and slept there. However, over the last week or so the WaWa has become my BFF and she now— gasp— sleeps with me. Thus my bed is no longer a Benji Sanctuary and if he goes up on the bed she stands and barks at him. Oddly enough, she is quite calm sleeping close to him at night – although she is closer to me. She still walks quietly beside him when we go out walking in the morning and at night. I know it’s old hat but still no word about if or when Sooah is coming back and this Friday it will be a year since she left Kongsoon (WaWa) with us. It could be months or it could be another year, or never, we just don’t know. However the WaWa is settling down and we can do a lot with her and the coffee ladies have sort of adopted her and when I

kept her in my room, they asked for her, so I let her out and they were happy with her running around them and letting them pet her . Everyone has noticed the difference in her this last while back.

For a while there was only one pair of black swans at the wetlands. Now there are four pair and we really do hope that we will get to see some little black swans in the not to distant future. Today at the beach much of the seagrass is back but there was more than enough clear sand to be able to play in and we even got to go into the water for a bit, although Benji is not keen and I had to coax him. Next time we go down with the intention of going into the water, I’ll take some treats with me and see what we can do. Other than that it was a great afternoon and the dogs enjoyed playing and chasing in the sand.

Due to lack of aged accommodation here one of the ladies from our church has been moved to Quorn – about 80 miles ( 130 klms) away. One of her friends wanted to go and see her before she went home to Adelaide tomorrow, so I decided to take her. Lovely day, good drive and a fun-filled conversation.It’s not something I can do every few days or even every week, but I will encourage people to visit her as often as we can so that she does not get depressed by feeling isolated, particularly as she has no family here in Australia. The drive from Stirling North to Quorn is not the easiest of drives for us “Townies” with the long winding country road through the Pichi Richi Pass, and the lower Flinders Ranges, but it’s not too bad – bit tight in places, but not too bad. The lady we went to see was bright and cheerful and seems to have settled in fairly well. She has a room at the Quorn Country Hospital and she says she is well looked after and the staff are friendly and very nice. It is a typical, single level, country hospital. It was a good visit and the only tears were when it was time for us to leave and make our way back home. When a bed is available here she will be moved back – but she understands that this could take a while. We did a bit of shopping in Port Augusta before heading back home.

Casablanca, Benji and a Road Trip.

18/02/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The temperature over the last few days has started to climb a little and today (Wednesday) was 38c However it is not expected to get too hot for the next few days and over the weekend. That being so, we might actually be able to get out. Wherever we go out of town it is a long drive. I had thought of going to Quorn in the Flinders Ranges, which is about 120klm from here. In the other direction there is a drive to Cowell which is about 110 klm and a direct road. The disadvantage of Cowell is that there is really nothing to see on the drive down there, whereas the drive to Quorn means going through the Pichi Richi Pass and Woolshed Flats which are both interesting. However, we will not be going anywhere until this weather calms down.

My top three movies are: – 3. A man for All Seasons. 2. The Man who would be King. 1. Casablanca. As John was growing up he would sit on the couch with me and we would watch Casablanca together. Of course, as he got older he understood that Rick’s Cafe was simply a studio set in Hollywood. However, in Casablanca, Morocco there is a Rick’s Cafe – opened in 2004 and based on the movie fame – and he was quite excited when the tour of Morocco included lunch at Rick’s Cafe in Casablanca. However, when they got there it was Ramadan, so no Rick’s. However the King of Morocco had decreed that during Ramadan all Muslim owned businesses must close but non-Muslim owned businesses may remain open with limited hours – so his tour group had lunch – at McDonalds. Fourteen thousand miles to have a Big Mac!! He was not impressed, but we (Annabell
and I) unkindly thought it was hilarious. They didn’t even go to Rick’s so there are no photographs. To say he was disappointed is an understatement but, he got over it and really enjoyed the tour of Morocco and the Tea Ceremony they went to. He also sent me a photograph which I showed to

Annabell. She said it was a good photograph of John. A few minutes later I showed her the photograph and she said it was a good photograph of John. A few minutes later I showed her the photograph and she was slightly irritated and said that she had said twice already that it was a good photograph of John. So I very gently asked “I wonder what that is over his right shoulder?” “Oh – is that Gibraltar? ” “Yes dear, that’s Gibraltar”

We didn’t go for a picnic but we did go for a drive around the area. We were away a couple of hours and I thought what’s not to like – Lovely (tad warm) day, the car, me, my dog and Sinatra.

The weather forecast for next week looks interesting so we should be able to get out somewhere. This morning ( Saturday) I took the dog out for his morning walk and just about froze — gollleee – it was cold and the summer jacket I had on was a waste of time as the wind cut right through it – one and three-quarter mile and every foot of had me thinking “I should have gone back to bed this morning” I mean, I get up and get dressed and out we go at 5:40am and the only time we don’t go out is if it’s raining. I look forward to coffee when I get back from our walk – he gets his treat I gets me coffee!

Being a nice afternoon I decided to take Benji out for a bit of a drive. We drove out to Iron Knob a mining area about 55klm, north-west of here. Once upon a time it was a thriving community of 3000 people but those days are gone and it has a population of less than 200. The town – what’s left of it – is very run down. Most of the shops are closed, the school is closed, the pub is gone and the only Petrol (Gas) Station is closed and overgrown with weeds. Its sister town – not too far away – Iron Baron – again a once thriving mining community has completely gone; there’s nothing left of that. Beyond Iron Knob there were several pastoral areas, but our government seized them in compulsory purchase and made them part of the extended army play-pen. When we set out I foolishly thought that there would at least be one shop still open. The Inter-state Highway – National Highway 1 – passes across the top of the Eyre Peninsula and it passes the far end of Iron Knob and right on the corner, where the Iron Knob Road joins the National Highway, is a Petrol (Gas) Station. It is a service station,with food and drinks and I always thought was ideally placed to pick up trade from tourists, locals and trucks traveling the Inter-State. I thought that at least would survive, but I was wrong and it’s an overgrown junk heap. I thought this was quite sad.

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