RFDS – Page 4 – Edgar's Page

Cuttlefish and Cold Water

09/07/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

As I mentioned in another post, the Royal Flying Doctors Service (Support) were catering for a three day diving course about 3 million miles out of town, in the middle of nowhere, right next to the sea and very little shelter. Man it was cold. Well, ok, a slight exaggeration on the millage, but it was a long way out of town. The dive was organised by the “Experiencing Marine Sanctuaries (EMS) Group” to view the Giant Cuttlefish in their

natural environment and to give people the opportunity to interact with them. The water in this part of the gulf is very clear and most people used a boogie board to allow them to get face down in the water and a snorkel for air. The more adventurous had weights and got down among the creatures – there were hundreds of them. They are a strange creature – weird looking with the ability to change colour at will to attract females. The EMS Group kept trying to persuade us to leave the catering Gazebo, don a wet suit and get into the freezing cold water. Oh did I ever mention that I do not have masochistic tendencies, plus the fact that it was quite cold enough where we were thank you. I actually would have gone with them but not without any preparation – like very warm clothes to change into and a cup of our own hot soup afterwards. They are going to run the course again next year so I may well take the opportunity to go out with them then. Also this is the first time we have been involved with this and we didn’t know what would be required. Next year we will be better organised. Like with the Operators- Advertising was not all that great and on the first day people bought their own food because they didn’t know we would be there. Apart from hot food we also provided, hot tea, coffee, chocolate and hot soup. There were three dives each day – 10am / 12 noon / 3pm. It was cold and colder when the wind

was coming off the water. The Cuttlefish mate in the cold water during winter.

The election goes on and will continue for some time yet. We still have no outcome although it is looking more likely that the government will survive – just – and that it may well have a workable majority although the wheeling and dealing with the independents continues.

I did say that the rain had passed and it has – sort of. It’s still wet but the rain has been reduced to a drizzle with the odd overnight shower, which means that garden work is mostly out for the moment. The army are still here and we have a group catering for them at their camp in Jubilee Park. I don’t have anything to do until Saturday week.

The WaWa continues to attack Benji and Benji will not defend himself. Annabell and I have decided that if Sooah does not return to Australia, then we cannot keep the WaWa. It would not be fair on BJ. The WaWa is a friendly, playful little thing and is all over me when I come home after being out for a few hours. I can play with her and I can “fight”with her, but she hates BJ with a passion. I also have a fear that BJ will snap and retaliate and really cause some serious injury – and that bothers me more than a little because a snap and injury could well change the whole nature of Benji and I really don’t want that to happen. And to make matters worse, Sooah has not been in contact with us so we really don’t know what is happening.

Since writing this Sooah has been in contact with us and we now know what is happening. Her husband is still working on brushing up his English and should be good enough to get through

the English Test and all being well she hopes to be back in Australia by October of this year – or very shortly afterwards. That’s fine and gives us something to work towards. I have also been to see the Vet and sometimes next week we will get the WaWa up there and perhaps see if we can get a muzzle small enough as a temporary measure and protect Benji. Meanwhile we have a water spray bottle to use, also as a temporary measure. We have tried that already and she definitely does not like that.

A welcome break but hard work.

24/06/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

I know, hard to believe, but it’s raining again. By this time I expect your thoughts are along the lines of “I wish he would just shut up about that rain” Well, I just wish it would stop raining for a while – I’m getting waterlogged. To add insult to injury it’s cold – freezing really. This is not surprising because the fiction writers that forecast the weather have said cold, wet with the possibility of snow in the Adelaide hills this weekend. In Scotland it rains from time to time and one of my most loved definitions of Scottish weather comes from a Ken McClure book

“Fenton’s Winter” where the two main characters are in Edinburgh sheltering from the rain in a doorway. One says to his mate “All this rain – do you think maybe God has something against Scotland?” His friend’s reply “No – I think it’s a character development agreement He has with John Knox. I mean, lets face it, if we were enjoying ourselves we’d feel guilty!”

But if it rains so much how can we tell the difference between winter and summer ? Oh that’s easy – in Summer the rain is actually quite warm – wet, but warm, whereas in winter the rain is very cold, and we have a special name for it – Snow.. I know, Scottish people joke about the weather all the time, but what else can we do ?

The seriousness of the weather is such that the Adelaide central bus station has said that it will stay open all night during the extreme weather. It will provide a place of warmth and shelter for the elderly and the homeless. There will also be food and hot drinks provided. I have to say that the Bus Station has gone up in my estimation of it. There is flooding in most areas in Adelaide, expected flooding in the Adelaide Hills and still looks like snow in the wee small hours. But we have been told to brace for wild weather over the next few days. Like the weather we have had thus far has not been wild enough?

Tomorrow (Friday) we have been asked – at very short notice I might add – to organise catering for part of the army group that has taken over parts of the town. Presently there are about 4000 Military Personnel, soldiers and admin. here in town. No we are not catering for all that lot – but we are catering for about 200+ who have organised a “Show and Tell” day at Civic Park . The bulk of the Army Group are stationed at Cultana – which is the military playpen of about 2090 square km. and that’s only part of it. Anyway it’s part of the main training area for the 1st. Brigade, 7th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (7 RAR) as well as units of the Australian Light Horse – so a lot of soldiers wandering around the town. Annabell has medical appointments tomorrow so I can’t help out until later in the day. On the Sunday, we have organised a Cake Stall so that should be interesting. I wont be at that! This is being held in the Stratco (hardware company) carpark. Oh Annabell is making

Mr. Spananberg considers adding a new tool to Student Behaviour Management — Mr. Spanenberg considers a new addition to Student Behaviour Management

cakes and biscuits (cookies) for

Some of the group ) my photograph) — Some of the group ( my photograph)

this, but I wont be there other than first thing in the morning to take her things down to the RFDS stall.

Next weekend ( 1st. 2nd. 3rd. July) we are catering for a big diving course being held out at Point Lowly – about 30 km from here. I am there on the Saturday and I have to pick up a couple of people and take them out there. We are three groups, one Friday, one Saturday and one Sunday. I have the Saturday group. Our contribution to Central Operations will be $45,000 this year – which is pretty good for a small band of people. It’s been a lot of work at times but we have the highest number of RFDS landings in Australia – 573 this year. It’s not that we have a lot of sick people here but if there is an accident or an emergency in a community hospital further north, the RFDS will pick up the patient and bring them to the nearest major hospital – us. It may well be that all we can do is stabilize , call back the RFDS and get the patient off to the Flinders Medical Center or the Royal Adelaide Hospital for specalised treatment that we cannot provide. So a lot of that accounts for the large number of landings.

Raining Still.

18/06/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Well, we survived the first really Major rain storm of the season. Sadly, however, so did that blooming stringy bark gum tree. I felt sure it would fall down – it’s half dead and hanging over the road – but no, it’s still there. If they work the same way as Adelaide we’ll have to wait until it falls down and kills or injures someone before anything gets done. The reason for that is simply if councils decide a tree is dangerous or dead and causing a hazard and decide to remove it, you can bet with certainty that there will be a protest group and demonstrations against the council and the workmen. Just about two years ago when we did feel the brunt of a serious storm, which caused some flooding and widespread damage, trees came down all over the town. Once the place had been cleared up and regenerated the question arose on which trees to replace the removed trees. The council looked over Australia and decided that it would plant Illawarra Flame Trees, ( from New South Wales) which were colorful and more suited to an urban environment than the Gum trees. Two of our council members organised a protest again the council using “exotic” trees instead of the trees that were native to this area. Thankfully we got the Flame Trees. The storm Damage photograph shows part of the main road through town – Nicolson Avenue – both sides of the Avenue were blocked to traffic for a while. The good thing about the Flame Trees is that they will allow other things – like grass – to

grow alongside them. They don’t kill off everything around them the way Eucalyptus Trees do.

Taking the back down to the bare earth had a few problems – it became a sea of mud during the rain storm, so everything is halted until the ground dries out. That means not moving the second shed for the time being. Perhaps by the weekend things will dry out. However, there are two functions one church and one RFDS. I have to attend the Church function but son John is helping to run the RFDS function. The new concrete pathway is being laid out and the cars will no longer be able to access the church grounds for at least a week. That should be fun! Been raining off and on for most of the day. Managed to get out with Benji for a little while between rain showers. It was still raining but kind of spot raining rather than real rain so it wasn’t too bad.

Saturday: Yes, well, so much for drying out at the weekend. If this rain keeps up I’ll go fishing or swimming out back. Yes it is Saturday and yes it is still raining. Not quite sure if this is merely a continuation of the original rain storm, or new rain. Just before it started to get really dark yesterday ( about 3:30) I took Benji out in the car and we went driving to various parts of the area and took photographs of the town shrouded in rain and mist. I also took a photograph of the storm drainage area, which is pretty full at the moment and probably today is in need of its own drainage area. I dare say the developer intends to finish off the drainage area and extend it to the pipeline for the wetlands – in the fullness of time.

Have concerns that both functions for today might be canceled – well the Barbecue for the RFDS at any rate mainly because there is no shelter at Mitre 10 and although the function at the church is under cover ( in the hall) this continual heavy rain will probably deter a fair few people

considering that they will have to walk in all the rain to get into the church since the grounds are blocked off to cars. Nipped down to see how the group were doing at the Barbecue at Mitre 10. Not all that good from what I saw. Just John and the team – no people despite the fact that Mitre 10 have a big sale on.

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.

The WaWa we are looking after for a few months

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?

Computers and Bushfires

26/12/201526/12/2015 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Hmm.. As I suspected my BSL was much higher than it should be. I got a lecture about health and chocolate so he upped my medication to give the insulin a better chance of controlling things.

That’s how it will be for the next six weeks then back again to ensure that I have behaved and the medication is doing its job. Provided both issues are in sync I can drop back to maintenance level. Finally, I have a full email system back in action. I bit the bullet and installed Office 365. Cost me the office 2016 that was already installed, but there you are, if I wanted Outlook and a mail system, it had to be done. Everything seems to be up and running up to a point – the point being the recreation of my address book, which I will do tonight.

You load 365 and what do you get

An Office Suite and deeper in debt

Oh St. Peter don’t you call me

I can’t log off

I owe my soul to Microsoft

Ok, being silly but all is done and everything is up and running again, so I no longer have any excuses. Hopefully this new system will stabilise everything and I wont have the problems I had in the past – like mail vanishing into cyberspace.

The Vet is closed down until Monday 4th January. If we do have any problems there is another Vet in town that we could go to, but I always think that is fraught with danger in that once you go

Never doubted it Mr. Vader - Sir..... — Never doubted it Mr. Vader – Sir…..

there you might not come back. Mustafa has been closed since 11th December. I went up to see the Grooms at Fussy Dogs and explained that Benji is a rescue dog and I have no idea how he would react around other dogs – I can only go by how he reacts around me and the family. She said she would accept him and see how he went. I took him up yesterday and, well, chuffed ( means really proud/happy) just about says it all and he related well to the other dogs. The girls were quite fond of him and said he was a lovely pup easy to work with.

We had Christmas Dinner at my younger son’s place and all the family were there. It was a great day and I allowed myself one small glass of wine – since I was driving. Don’t like Coke-Cola much so drank lots of iced water. It was a long, hot, day and by the time I got home I could barely keep my eyes open. West to the Watchnight Service, then home then up at 5:30 mainly because someone felt that since it was light it was time for walking – so we did. I am still having problems with the Victorian Registration people and I still have not received any paperwork from them with regard to Benji. However, I have been in to see our Council and I will fill in the forms for them and for the Victorian Registration people and they will deal with it. In the meantime I need a Statutory Declaration signed by a J.P. and they will register the Benji with a note of his registration re the address on his microchip. If no success, we may have to think about a second Microchip.

Just thought I would mention that it has always been our tradition that the Christmas Offering is a Retiring Offering, people decide to leave something or not. We did announce that the retiring offering this year would go to the Royal Flying Doctor Service and a respectable amount was handed over to the RFDS Treasurer.

A devastating fire along the Great Ocean Road has caused widespread damage with over 110 homes destroyed. A difficult area to get into and a major tourist attraction. I have only traveled a short distance along the GOR when I was in Drysdale and it is a beautiful area. This main fire and some other fires are still burning in Victoria but New South Wales and Victoria are working together on containing them. There are over 500 firefighters trying to control the major fire on the Great Ocean Road I think this is going to be a difficult fire season.

Benji, Trees and Firefox

24/10/2015 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Sunday; and for the first time since we adopted Benji, we had a family dinner. This meant that for the first time the two girls were here with Andrew, Trish and, of course, John. I was a bit concerned about how Benji would react to the girls and how the girls would take to Benji. As it happened, my concerns were ill-founded and everything went smoothly with the girls and the dog taking to each other quite well. Overall it’s been a very quiet week and not a lot has happened really. I worked at two fundraising ventures for the RFDS, with a third one this weekend. Herself has been busy writing letters to all the other churches and inviting them to the 36th Anniversary Service of the Women’s Association. I have also found ( well I knew, really) that, since my unexpected stay in hospital at Christmas, some of the temporary restrictions, plus all the medication, I have put on weight. This I am unhappy with, so back to my diet again and get rid of the extra kilos. Once we get into spring and the winds start to abate I should like to get back out on my bike – and yes, before you ask, I am very much a fair weather biker. There is a dedicated Bike Track down at the Wetlands but it’s like everywhere else here in spring and summer, the flies become a nuisance. I sometimes find that rather than deter the flies, the personal fly-spray seems to attract them.

Haven’t done much outside other than never-ending sweeping. I have an Australian White Cedar which has to be – more than gum trees – the messiest tree in

Australia. I have spent days on end sweeping up the mess from the Cedar and can well understand why the council had them removed many years ago. Pity they replaced them with gum trees. These berries, or whatever they call them, come down in the tens of thousands and clog up everything and cost the council a fortune to clean up the mess and unclog drains. The other problem is that everything about them is toxic – the berries and the leaves. This gentleman in the photograph, in Adelaide – has a problem with the White Cedar in the front of his house and the fact that the berries are all over his garden and he has two young children. Many councils are undertaking programs to have the White Cedars removed. The photograph is from the newspaper and I thought it best to block out faces. I need to get a quote for the trimming back of the one I have, which in the last year has just about doubled in size. Other than sweeping, I have had words with herself about just where she wants the washing line. I think she wants it moved back to where it was. Certainly the crazy area is closer to the door but it is now over hanged by the Ceder – tree – branches – birds – washing – thus it has to be moved. In the short time that I laid down the weed matting and placed in the stones, the place was covered in “Berries”. Fortunately I have a blower that is powerful enough to move them but not so powerful that it moves the stones. Herself could not believe the amount of “Berries ” cleared in a a few hours, so I can well understand the Adelaide Father’s concern for his children. For me, well Cedars of Lebanon I could live with, Cedars of Australia, not so much.

This last week has been a week of on-going frustrations with the computer and more than ever I realise the truth of the saying “To err is human, but to really stuff up takes a computer”. It’s been a week that saw my Mail Server crashing ( Outlook Express) the crashing of Firefox, which meant a delete and then a fresh install, and just general frustration. I gave up banging my head on the desk, put the lead on the dog and we went for a drive to the wetlands to watch the swans. That did help and I came back, fixed the computer and got back to work.

Comments, bridges and dogs

14/07/2015 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

I believe it was something in the order of $A69 Million that was spent on the hospital and I still have to go to the Flinders Medical Center (FMC) in Adelaide for an echo-cardiogram. Well that’s not strictly true ( would I lie??) I could have it done here, if I am prepared to wait Monday 7th September until the specialist comes up from Adelaide. When I discovered that, I contacted my Cardiologist and let him know and he had his secretary organize the exam for next Wednesday ( now tomorrow) – in Adelaide. The specialist only comes here once every three weeks (for two days) – hence the overflowing appointment book. But fear not – the State Government are borrowing a bunch of dollars and building a $2.4 Billion Hospital In Adelaide making the Adelaide Hospital the Third most expensive building in the world:

1	One World Trade Center	New York City	104	541 m	2014	$3,900,000,000
2	Palace of the Parliament	Bucharest	12	84 m	1988	$3,000,000,000
3	Royal Adelaide Hospital	Adelaide	11	41 m	2016	$2,100,000,000
4	The Palazzo	Las Vegas	53	196 m	2007	$1,900,000,000
5	The Shard	London	73	306 m	2013	$1,900,000,000

Since this list was produced there has been a bit of a cost blowout and the project is about six months behind schedule. But that’s ok, Like most Australian Labor State Governments, they will borrow and spend and then blame the Federal Government for not giving them enough money – so although they cannot manage their budget – it’s all the Feds. fault. It’s like Greece – it’s always someone else’s fault.

Last night was the Annual General Meeting of the RFDS and as of last night I am no longer Secretary. I had been having discussions with Suzzanne over the last four or five months and she was willing to take on the position. However, a new position was created for me, that of Assistant Secretary with the idea that I will help Sue over the next year to get her settled in and then at the AGM next year, pass everything over to her and bow out. Anyway, we presented Central Operations with a cheque for $38,000,oo, which is a really great effort considering that times are pretty tough in SA at the moment with the highest unemployment in the Commonwealth – and getting worse . Andrew’s ( my younger son) partner had been told that the bank will be closing down her branch by the end of the year, so she will be redundant. Falling revenues means that the Fed Govt are cutting back in all areas of service, but we are still going to spend $17 Billion on new Fighter Aircraft that we don’t need and a further $22 Billion on submarines that we don’t need – we can’t not let the boys have their toys – only these particular boys don’t want some of the toys but the govt. are getting them anyway. That $40 Billion alone could could be a great help in bringing the budget back into the black. I have to confess that our Prime Minister is not the sharpest knife in the drawer The only time he should open his mouth is just to change feet. Although having said that, the opposition is not all that much better.

We bought two new beds this afternoon, so Chienne has a place to relax wherever she wanders. We also bought her two “hoodies” fleece lined. It is getting cold and Chi. is no longer a young thing and if they keep her warm, that’s great. The weather has been bitter with snow on the Adelaide hills. Didn’t last long, of course, but long enough for the early risers to get up there and to experience actually being outside when snow is falling. We have had some wild weather of late – well some parts of the state have we’ve just had cold and rain. The wild weather is mostly at the bottom area of the State – as it generally is. We very rarely get the wild weather experienced by other areas.

I am starting to get just a tad concerned. Comments that I know I have written seem to have vanished – who knows where! I know I wrote a comment on the Galata Bridge but it’s no where to be found. I don’t know though, perhaps I pressed delete instead of post – don’t think so but I guess it’s possible. If so – sorry!! Also I am finding things that Outlook has been “hiding”from me. I have only just read ( actually five minutes ago) that dear Gracie is blind and I understand the problems that this will cause, but apart from these nasty corners that kept trapping him, The Man managed fairly well ( we wont talk about the head-butting of Chienne) But it’s concerning in that I don’t know if its the computer the program (MS Outlook Express) or simply me going senile. I think it might be me – well that’s what the voices are suggesting :o) It’s a worry…

Rain and Gala Night.

20/06/2015 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

There are times when I think Mother Nature goes out of her way to contradict me. Only the other day ( yesterday in fact) I was saying that the rain seems to pass away from us and today – yes — it’s chucking it down. Tonight is the Mayoral Gala and apart from Showcasing arts and performing talents, it is also a fundraiser for the RFDS, so we have to be there – not everyone but enough to make a recognised appearance – Red RFDS Shirts and badges. We will also have a Merchandise Table and an Information Table. Not sure when it finishes but I don’t think it will be too late.

As it happened we did finish fairly early but I have to say it was a great night, very much enjoyed – I just need someone to explain to me how six girls from the Dance School can stand in a line on the stage wearing tap shoes and tap out six different rhythms at the same time :o) As far as I am aware we did fairly well and all the proceeds of the night will be donated to us – which is fantastic. In the last five years we have raised over $151,000 for the RFDS. I think it was great that the Mayor chose us as the preferred organization.

Annabell and the ladies held their Annual Brunch. This raises funds for our local Hospital Cancer Support Unit. This year they raised just over $900 and at their meeting this afternoon they decided to make the amount up to $1000, which, really, is a fantastic effort for a few hours but then the ladies put on a great spread and it is always well attended. Not much out of the South-East, but then I never really expected any anyway. When they say that they are going to “Rationalize”what they mean is they will abandon everything outside Adelaide. They have done this in the past so they kind of have a track record. I think they get nose bleeds if they move out of the city limits. Yes, I know, I am being unkind – I’ll feel bad about it later – probably.

It has been raining off and on for three days now. No flooding to speak of but we did have a couple of mini storms when the rain was so heavy that it

Yogi - Our friend's dog — Yogi – Our friend’s dog

overflowed the gutters which means water everywhere. These mini-storms didn’t last long – a sort of cloud burst if you like – but both of the water tanks are full. Everything outside is wet and damp and I’ve had Chienne in here with me. The noise was too much for her and she started to get anxious so I gave her half a tablet to calm her down. I made up a bed for her on my moon chair (bucket chair) then covered her with a blanket. She lay there for most of the night.

PeekaBoo - I see you. — PeekaBoo – I see you.

Next week we will be having Yogi back again. Fay was recalled to the Breast Cancer clinic and now has to go down to Adelaide for further investigation, so we will have Yogi to look after for a few days. I took herself to the clinic today and it will be three weeks before we get any results but we don’t foresee any problems. I head off to Adelaide on Tuesday so I’m looking for calmer weather. I think some showers on Wednesday but if we leave early enough we should be clear of the area before it becomes a problem.

PS: Yesterday I went back to the Art Center to be presented with a cheque by the Mayor as the funds raised on the Gala night for the RFDS.. Had to leave where I was, go the to toilet in the Art center and get changed, then get on the stage for the presentation – photographs and interview – which was pretty cool!

Games, Betting Tips – and Bunnings.

03/12/2014 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

One of the saddest things in Australian Sport took place this week – a Batsman playing for South Australia was hit with a Cricket Ball and was rushed to hospital where he died two days later. No doubt, when the dust settles and the period of grief in the International Cricket World has run its course, there will be an full analysis and investigation. I suspect that much of it will revolve around the standard – or lack thereof – of protective helmets but it will be interesting to see if the Australia obsession with speed and bounce will come under scrutiny. I doubt it and if anyone does mention it, they will be ignored because speed and bounce wins games. When Australia was on the receiving end of this they turned it in to “Folklore”and anti-English sentiment – The Devil himself would have been more welcome than Jardine or Larwood. It was called “Bodyline” and in this day and age we have gone far beyond that and although Larwood was the fastest bowler of the day, modern bowlers are trained and taught and work to achieve speeds that Larwood never even dreamed of in 1938. Current speeds are up to 102 miles per hour and the best Larwood ever achieved was believed to be 80 miles per hour. Commentary is not how well the bowler bowled but what speed he bowled at. But it must be said that Australia is not alone in this obsession with speed and bounce and regrettably it has become endemic. Larwood did settle in Australia in 1950 after his cricket career was over and was warmly welcomed by the people. Cricket is a game that once had gentlemanly traditions, but commercialization of the game has subsequently tended to elevate the principle of “win at all costs” above traditional ideals of sportsmanship. Feed the masses – “Bread and Circuses” Once you got match commentary – now you get commentary and betting tips.

Today is the Christmas Pageant and we are running a fundraising for the RFDS at the “After Pageant Fair”. As I recall, we did fairly well at the Fair last year. We have another fundraising event on Sunday, but I wont be doing that. Like other groups in South Australia we are running out of volunteers. It’s the same people doing more and more and most of us are starting to get tired – well, I know I am, considering everything else in my life at the moment. Up early this morning and put the car out on the roadway so that I can get the RFDS Trailer out and Frank can get in and collect it sometime this morning. At the end of the day, it will be brought back here because this is where it’s stored. I believe the Pageant was very good this year. – I wouldn’t know since we never get to see it :o)

We had an exciting thunderstorm last night with a lashing of heavy rain. Chienne was medicated and The Man slept through it all – as he generally does. Fortunately the weather for this coming weekend will be warm and sunny with no hint of rain. This will mean a fairly pleasant drive down to Adelaide and an equally pleasant drive home the following afternoon. This is the last for the year and I have one more trip to make, but that is for other reasons. However, once this weekend is over I hope to get back outside and get to work on cleaning up the garden and finishing off some of these projects – that would be nice. My plan is to detour on the way down to an area called Parafield where there is a nice, big Bunnings store. It’s over 260 k away from here but it’s the nearest one there is.

Field Days. Shows and Hospitals

27/08/2014 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Royal Adelaide Show — royal Adelaide Show

Mid-July and August are the traditional “Show or Field Days” period. I think for America it would be about equal to the State / Local Fair. The Royal Adelaide Show is about on the same par as your State Fair. We have just completed the Eyre Peninsula Field days in which we exhibited the RFDS Aircraft Simulator. This brought a lot of interest and has really proved a great way to bring the work of the RFDS closer to the people. It helps to give them more understanding and adds to what they already know about the RFDS and how it operates. We have had people come into the simulator and tell us that they have been in an aircraft but didn’t know much about it at the time. I had one lady who pointed to the Humidicrib and told her daughter that she spent the first hours of her life in one very similar. Not that the last weeks or jaunts out of town have been associated with the RFDS but I just thought I would mention it since they are just about over and the simulator is on its way back to Adelaide. I Believe it will be a feature at the Royal Adelaide Show.

After a long hard look at the little we have managed to do regarding the vine and associated garbage, we came to the conclusion that our little brush cutters are not really making much of an impression. That being so we called in the services of a gardener and with his better tools, he believes he can have it all out and the ground cleared within half a day. His price to do the job was fairly reasonable.

I was at a fundraiser for the RFDS last night and I have another one this morning and I have to honestly say that for the first time ever, I really don’t feel like it. I think all this running around is starting to catch up with me. That, plus the ton of paperwork that I need to catch up on. The paperwork can be done in fairly short order -it just needs time to get it done..

Can't you let me sleep in peace?? — Can’t you let me sleep in peace??

It’s still cold so the dogs have been sleeping in my room at night. I came home from the fundraiser, put the fire on and brought the dogs in. The man curled up on the second bed with foam underneath it and went to sleep. Chienne did her usual wandering about before she settled down. They slept through until 6am when I got up. They both had their sticks – I hand fed The Man – then they went back to sleep. Half their luck!! Opps, he’s snoring. Never heard him snore before. Must be having a good sleep.

It’s been over a week since I last looked at this and I am pleased to say that the vine and the other stuff has been cleared – well the plant stuff that is. What we discovered underneath everything is that the previous owner – or even before that – had used it as a rubbish deposit. There is just so much garbage behind the garage that he will need to fill a trailer and get it all to the dump – old tyres and metal of all descriptions. It will take a trailer to clear it away before he can even start the new fence.

Most of the paperwork I have completed and have started to catch up on everything. I still think I will continue my “Sabbatical” for another week, or at least a couple of more days before I allow myself to be out of the house. I have one more serious piece of paperwork to get done and I will do that over the next two nights. Actually I have written the paper just need to sort out a couple of things before I send it off.

Oh the joys of it all. Took Herself to the hospital to see her diabetes person and she recorded a blood pressure reading of 230/90. The Practitioner came out to see me and suggested that we go from the hospital to see her doctor – the hospital will phone ahead. Well, did this and her BP was 235/90. Of course, Herself just can’t see what all the fuss is about because she feels perfectly well. Brought her home then took her to the hospital today and her BP was 156/90, which is fairly good. However, Dr. is concerned so he is sending

her for an ultrasound. So much for my quiet, recovering days. Oh well….

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