Tag: RFDS

Play Pens and cancelled functions.

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
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The Air Ambulance of the RFDS

The RFDS have a very busy period this weekend and today they are out at an auction in another part of the area – yet another property that has been taken over by a compulsory purchase order for use by  the military. This is even more land that is now closed of to the  rest of the world so the military can play their games in an area larger than most European  countries. I said this to a military person and the reply was ”  have you any idea of the range of modern tank shells?” My reply was , ” no but  do they cover an area larger than say, Holland, Belgium, Denmark?”  The SA Government Web Site extolls the virtues of South Australia as a  Defence “friendly” State with the largest land testing range in the world – 127,000  square kilometers and to that we can add another 24,000 square kilometres that they now control in this area. Not a bad play pen for a defence force smaller  than that of  Switzerland.

The sun has not been shining for the last two days and it’s still not shining People are out at  the Auction and I’ll be interested in hearing how that went. I have my  thing tomorrow and again next Saturday. There is another function this Sunday, but I’m out of that one.

Saturday:

Pause, think.
The cupboard on the right is now gone and I have that area to use.

I decided, after consultation with the trader, to cancel my  event for today. It’s chucking it down  and the wind is playing havoc in the area, so there would be little or no protection. I sent the girls home. I went our to the other function that we were also running and having navigated my way through ( a power boat licence would have helped) a sea of water and mud, saw nothing there and departed. There is no cover there at all so if that group decide to do that, a) I think they would be foolish and  b) they could be setting themselves up as potential clients of the  RFDS  because we are on our way to breaking even more records. I used to say that “we don’t do floods, just big puddles”  – this last month I am not quite as sure as I was.

I will be heading off to Adelaide in the morning so Herself will feed and water the dogs for the next two days.  The electrician has completed the work so I will have to give John a call and get him over to help me move the  big old cupboard and get it to the dump. So now that that’s done I can think about what to do with the space and I will have a look for a good sized toolbox that will fit in that area and can hold all the barbecue tools. Should be a good asset to the area and part of my rehabilitation of the  place, and it’s good to get rid of that redundant  electrical wiring. It’s getting there…slowly

Coffee Clubs and Medication…

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Herself was called in to see the doctor today and will have to go back again next week. .  A few years ago she had a mammogram and they found a suspicious lump. That led  to weeks of trauma  as we went from one set of tests and biopsy  to a another and different set of tests and a biopsy. They finally came to the conclusion that it was a benign cyst – which, to say the least – was something of a relief. Well she went for another mammogram last month and they now want to see her again and that’s why we went today. However,  with the new rules there needs to be a female nurse present  and she was not available so we have to go back again next week. I know you will wonder why I keep saying “we” but herself is slightly disabled and does not drive, thus I have to take her.   More than likely that it will be the cyst showing up again and they want to check it out – at least that’s what we hope it is.

We’ve put the lounge back together again and I’ve moved out the extra chairs back to garage until next time. I generally cover them in plastic sheeting to keep  most of the dust out. Now the coffee group has moved on to a new venue for July and it will be some time before they are back here again.  However, not as long as one would imagine since a few of the ladies are in nursing homes, or  retirement villages and don’t have the facilities to be able to hold the group where they live.Actually when you think about it, it’s not so bad and supper is always interesting- some of the ladies are really good bakers.

Have completed the Agenda for the Ordinary  Meeting  and the Agenda for the Annual General Meeting. We have an Ordinary Meeting to tidy up any outstanding business before  we  hold the AGM with  the Rep.from Central Operations in Adelaide assuming the chair as all positions are declared vacant. I really don’t know how I would manage all this without my Filofax –  between that and work and medical appointments,  it helps to keep me to keep track of everything and I have it synchronised with my computer. It keeps me sane — Well we won’t go too deeply into that!  The only problem is that I have to send either to the UK or the USA (mostly USA) for refills.Well, it’s cheaper to buy the inserts from the USA and pay postage costs than it is to buy them and have them posted from Sydney.  Strange, but true…

Coffee Clubs and Medication?????  I thought coffee was medication  :o)

Ladies groups and dog walks :o)

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
The New Look
Next stage is the area at the very back – at the green fence

It’s good to be back home again. Adelaide was just fraught with problems, and not just driving ones either. Governments aren’t the only organisations that are metro centric, it’s just the whole South Australian culture and the way South Australia has developed as a one city state with everything being concentrated in that one area. The meeting scheduled for here in October has been rescheduled back to Adelaide, which didn’t really surprise me.

I find it interesting that Google Earth is still operating on maps that have been out of date for the best part of five years. I say this mainly because it is showing the South Road as it used to be before the major construction and upheaval began.  Tuesday and Wednesday for the next two weeks I hide in my room, or go for very  l  o  n  g  walks with the dogs. For the next  four weeks herself is hosting the ladies group  (18) on a Tuesday Evening and a Wednesday Morning. However I get the fun job of rushing around setting everything up for her on Tuesday afternoon and then put it all away on Wednesday afternoon – if I am home.

The weather has been dry  but cold, particularly in the mornings and at night. Adelaide Airport had to be shut down and traffic diverted for several hours the other day as fog blanketed the area. We had some fog here but nothing as bad as Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills area. I bought new beds for the dogs and they have adapted to them quite well. They are much thicker padding than the old beds, so they seem to like that idea.  This is also good because the little man seems to spend a lot of time in his bed sleeping.

Got a request for the RFDS to do a catering function next week so I have been busy today trying to organise people for that. I have four thus far and I think we may well be able to manage on that.  Should be a fun day.

House phones and Teddy Bears

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

It’s been an interesting few days  without the house phone. The calls were supposed to be transferred to my mobile (cell) but I only got some and I know that I did miss several – a couple that I shouldn’t have missed. Oh well  things happen.  Anyway, the landline was repaired today so we’re back in business.

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Me and my Teddy Bear

I don’t know what’s wrong with the little man at the moment. There appears to be nothing amiss, yet he just stand there and “cries” and I have no Idea why. I lifted him and sat with him on my lap for a little while and he seems to be ok. Perhaps he was just having a “Moment”   He was ok when I took them out for a walk a little while ago and I didn’t even have to carry him, so he seems to be fine. I will have this weekend at home and the following weekend back in Adelaide.  There are a few things that I should mark down and make sure that I get this trip. I also want to  go out to the far end of the city and visit Alan in his new place. I haven’t told him I’m coming so it will be a surprise for him. Certainly it’s a long way but I will be staying in town overnight so it’s not too bad. I can still get back to the city in time to get the things I want and then settle down in my hotel. With any reasonable luck the conference on Saturday morning should be over by lunch and I can get back home before it gets too dark.

Politics dominates the news and has done for some time. We have a very unpopular government, which, if the current polls hold up, is heading for a historic defeat at the General Elections in September. I understand the Prime Minister was offered a Job with the White Star Line. They wanted to know how good she was in moving deck chairs.  The best description I heard of our government is that it’s like being on the last hours of the Titanic : the Third Class Passengers realise they’re locked in and there’s no escape while upstairs the first class passengers are running around trying to decide what dress to wear.

The downside of spending the next weekend in Adelaide is that I will miss two RFDS events. I will also miss an event organised  by the ladies group – one which I have enjoyed every year for quite some time. Herself is not letting me forget THAT too easily. However, I cannot not go to Adelaide. I put in an apology for the last meeting I cannot afford to miss two meetings – at least not one after the other.

Old dogs care about you…

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
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I sat down on a box and she just came and sat next to me.

This Elderly Lady appeared in my driveway and I talked to her. She looked  fairly well cared for and she had a collar, but no tag. I didn’t like the idea of this lady wandering around the streets so I invited her in for a meal and refreshments, She was gracious enough to accept.  I called the SADR and their advice – since she was a lost dog not a dumped or surrendered dog –  I had to call the RSPCA – which I did. All in the lady was with me for quite a few hours until  the RSPCA came.  You know how some dogs “touch” you – well this one did for some odd reason and I advised the RSPCA that if the owners did not come for her I would like to be notified with a view to adopting her. Then I put my arms around her and gave her a cuddle and she let me.  Good  for her (but  sort of sad for me!) the RSPCA called back later on that afternoon to let me know that the  dog and owner had been reunited. I do not know what kind of dog she is but I  really liked her – and – oddly enough – my Terrorist didn’t go for the stranger. Sniffed about then wandered off  back to his house.

Even herself was taken with her and she is not a dog person. She had been out all morning and when she came home and was dropped off, the dog went to her then sat down next to her. Certainly she went home (the dog that is) but I am happy with the  thought that if she gets out and wanders away again, she may well wander here and that’s good because it  will be a safe haven for her.

It’s now been two days since Adelaide changed its plans so that’s a positive step. Perhaps I will get home on Thursday after all. It’s not too bad in that the first session on Monday will not happen until the late afternoon, which gives me time to get down and do any shopping I need to, or want to.  I miss out this year because the district conference has been postponed to the 15th of June and the  “President’s Workshop” a two day course at  RFDS Central Operations takes place on the 17th & 18th June. I will miss out because  it’s too close after the State Conference, the District Conference, fuel costs, travelling expenses and hotel bills and I don’t think I could really justify another four days of hotel bills and fuel costs. At the current rate of exchange it’s about $US6.10 per US Gallon. Not to mention the 560 mile round trip each time.  It’s just much too much.

RFDS and a quiet week

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

DSC01444I planted them, fed them and the rain watered them – I have neither looked at them nor gave them any attention since. Well, they are still alive, so I suppose that’s something. I’ll wait and see what happens. They are arid lands plants so they should be able to survive although I have my doubts about this soil of mine. I am beginning to think that the previous owners made the soil sterile because there were no plants or grass or anything green when we bought the place – just horrible dirty black  redgum chips everywhere and lots of concrete. The area that I have  “rescued” was one of the areas that had the redgum chips and no plants

I did send in an apology for this weekend.  think I have done enough travelling for the moment and I will be in Adelaide for the last week of this month. A week away from home and I would like to have one of my dogs with me but I’m sure Herself will look after them. It would be nice company but I don’t think the hotel would be all that impressed. Well, ok – it’s not the other side of the planet,  only 280 miles away, but still and all – I’m your actual ” Homie”  and although I do not mind the  occasional trips to the city, five days is pushing it a bit  :o)

Today (Thursday) I am at the Airport for a Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Open Day.  One of the medical aircraft will be flying in and  guests will be shown around the aircraft, talk to medical personnel,   and have  lunch. Our  support group here have raised $125,000 over the last four years, which is enough to equip an aircraft with the necessary medical equipment. I think we have done well for such a small group of people. It is the 85th Anniversary of the Service and there will be a presentation with invited guests including the Mayor and members of the council.  Other than this, a quiet week, for which I am thankful.DSC01422

The dogs are well  and the little man has been incredibly energetic these last few days. We have been out for walks and I have not had to carry him once. Although I think the morning is the best time of day for him. Alan is back in hospital again and from what I hear, not too good.

As it happens I will most likely be seven days away. The scheduled by-monthly conference takes place on Saturday 1st. June, so it seems to me to be somewhat pointless to drive 280 miles home on Thursday to drive 280 miles back again on the Friday, then drive 280 miles home on the Saturday afternoon – 840 miles driving for no really good reason – not to mention the fuel costs.

Sunset, dogs and trees

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
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The end of the Road – Really!

I went looking for some polystyrene this afternoon and discovered that the pet shop has a sale on this  Thursday and one of the items is a collapsable ramp that I can put outside so the man can walk up  rather than jump up the stairs. I know I am probably going slightly overboard but  he’s my man and it’s  part of my job description to look after him. Anyway, depending on how the unit looks  and works, I might end up buying two.

My car goes in for repairs ( excuse me, didn’t you do that last week?) and hopefully the fuel gauge should be fixed. First time was to determine the problem (took about an hour) Parts were ordered and I took the car back  at the end of the week ( Last Friday) but he couldn’t do the job because my son, who borrowed the car for a while, very kindly filled the fuel tank – and you can’t  replace things in the fuel tank when it’s full of fuel. I have had to drive around for a few days and today is the day it goes back in to finish the repairs. I don’t think it should take all that long to do and I should have it back by lunch. – Car back and repaired…

Went down to the sale and had a look at the dog ramp, which wasn’t too bad. Didn’t get one though because  they decided that this – and a few other things – were not part of the sale. Anyway, came up with a new idea. Went to the garden shop and bought kneeling pads and wrapped them in  carpet and they fit just neatly and let him get on and off his bed without trauma. Good. However, herself decided that they were not good enough so she got out her sewing machine and, using some spare material she had left over from something, made two “pillowcases”  One to  put the pads into and one to change. This is the person who just “tolerates” the dogs, but  maintains she is not a “dog person”. This is the same person who went to the craft store and bought a heap of material and made a dog coat for the little man when we first rescued him  – he had to have all his own coat cut off because it was so matted and she didn’t want him to be cold. But, she doesn’t really like dogs all that much  :o)

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Messy Native Trees

This weekend we have a fundraising venture for the Royal Flying Doctor Service at the “Collage of Technical and Further Education” – TAFE. It’s the first day back for the new semester so the collage  will put on a  barbecue lunch for the students and staff.  We will cook and serve it and TAFE will give us a donation. I think it is going to be a very busy month.  And the Saga of the Native vs Exotic Trees still continues. If you look at the mess and look over the road not only is there a mess, but nothing else grows near it.  I don’t like native trees planted along  pathways and medium strips.

Dogs, fires and funerals

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
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The Fighting Temeraire

Since I came back from Adelaide the weather has been pretty hot – in the mid 40s, so the dogs have been inside much of the time.  It has been an interesting few days – Thursday I drove back – Friday  I was at a function at the Golf Club where we were presented with a cheque for $10,000 as a donation from Arrium Mining to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Saturday we did a fundraising event and I was told that one of our parishioners had died.  This was not unexpected but came much quicker than anticipated. On Sunday I was asked if I would prepare the Order of Service. I said yes, then I was told that the funeral would be on Tuesday (Today) – which gave me one day to get into town, select the paper  for the cover from the stationers, design the Order of Service, Print the cover, print the inserts. fold collate and have it ready for the Service today = all 130  Orders of Service. So it’s been a  kind of hectic few days and the joy of the concert has already receded into the distance. I have a Filofax and without it I would be lost. I need it to keep track of what I am doing, and if I called into work – where I am. For me, it’s not some kind of statement it is a necessary means of keeping track of what I am doing. I have, over years, tried other methods, like a PDA, but I gave that up and went back to pen and paper, I sort of toyed with the idea of a tablet, but decided I could not really justify it and I honestly do prefer my  Filofax.

The hot weather over the last few days meant that the Bushfires in three states flared up again. The fires in Victoria came very close to the City of Melbourne. Here in South Australia we remembered mountain firethe Ash Wednesday Fire of 1983 which tore through South Australia and Victoria and killed 75 people, including 17 firefighters. Two firefighters have been killed in Victoria in the last week by falling trees. Apparently, the fire just north of Melbourne is now under control and people are being allowed back into their homes. The Grampians Fire is still burning out of control and has joined up with another fire. There are about 400 firefighters and water bombers fighting that one. The interesting thing is that many of these men and women fighting the fires and  standing into danger are unpaid volunteers. We have a dual system, one paid and one manned by volunteers. The Metropolitan Fire Service  (MFS) is based in the city and is staffed by paid personnel while the  Country Fire Service (CFS) is staffed by volunteers. It’s compromise between the State Government and  some 430 rural communities – the government supplies the engines and the  equipment – the volunteers use it.

Change is good – or so I am told.

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

stressMy life has undergone a bit of a change. On 31st. December we  locked up the church and the hall, made our farewell to the Session Clerk and set off home. We had only just finished lunch when we had a telephone call to tell us that the Session Clerk, Mrs. Mashford, had had an accident and was waiting transportation  by the Air Ambulance to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, some 450 klms away, where she would undergo emergency surgery. It seems she had fallen at the back of her house and had broken both legs and injured her back. At least that was what they thought – one was definitely broken but the other one was too badly swollen to tell and x-ray. The Royal Flying Doctor (RFDS) Air Ambulance arrived at 5:20 that evening and she was transported to Adelaide. She was made comfortable and they did the operation the following morning. She has fragmented one ankle and that required the parts to be brought back together, plates inserted and screwed into place. Her back is just badly bruised so no problem there. The other leg is very badly swollen and they still cannot tell but they suspect that it also broken.   So why does that mean changes for me? Simply we are a small church without a minister and the day to day running of the church and the services are undertaken , in turn, by the three elders – Mrs. Mashford, myself and my wife.  My wife is unable to travel so she does not go outside of town. Helen is the Commissioner for the General Assembly and I am the Commissioner for the Presbytery. With Helen out of action, the rotation becomes one service every other week instead of every third week. At a bedside meeting, I was elected as the Commissioner for both Assembly and Presbytery – as allowed for by the Code of Practice. Between that and having to take a service every other week, really adds “interest” to things.

The dogs are still inside but with the installation of the  magnetic flyscreen across the door, we are able to leave the door open and let them wander in and out as they wish without attracting a horde of flies. The little man had no problems and simply head-butted his way through once he saw me walk through it. Chienna was very reluctant to try it so  I had to work with her a few times and let her watch the little man do his thing before she was comfortable enough to push her way through on her own. The magnets ensure that the screen closes – like a door – behind them.

I am finding that more often than not these days, I have to carry the little one for part of our morning walk. He is 12/13  and although he starts off well, full of energy and enthusiasm, he begins to fade after a while. Like the song says – He’s not heavy, he’s my brother. He is one of my associates and if he needs a bit of a rest, well that’s ok, he’s not heavy.

All very interesting, really!!!

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

What’s interesting?  Well to send a few hours writing  and placing photographs  and save to drafts, then come back a little while later and press trash instead of edit.  Oops. It said I could recover it but I could not for the life of me find out how to do this, so I’ve sort of given up. And the oddest thing is that I cannot remember what I was writing about – well I sort of do to  a point, but it’s long gone now. However, it does give me a chance to talk about  the South Australian Dog Rescue. A dog was recently rescued from the pound – which as I said before is a kill pound.  This poor Poodle was  really in such a mess it was difficult to imagine how any person.with any degree of compassion,  could allow this to  happen. The fur of the animal was so badly matted that the vet  was  present when the groomer started to cut the coat. The matting was so bad that the poor animal is left with bald patches on his skin because the intensity of the matting had pulled the roots of the fur out in these places.  The vet  believes that the fur will never grow back in these areas. The dog will stay with a foster carer for a few weeks until it recovers then it will be vaccinated and desexed and once it is over all that trauma it will be put up for adoption.  Until then, it will stay with a foster carer. I have a friend who has recently adopted a dog and the  even after  quite a few months the dog still has  marks where it was chained up around the neck.No, don’t ask me how people could be so unkind, I honestly do not know. My friend and her husband are over the moon with their dog and were pleased to get the  adoption papers  last Thursday. I will take it out for a walk for them tonight along with one of my own – my son will have the other one.

We had a fundraising event for the Royal Flying Doctors Service (RFDS) yesterday and although I do not know at this stage how we fared, I should imagine we did well since we were very busy. The SADR had a stall not far from us. It was a lovely afternoon and a very flat out busy three and a half hours – 5pm – 8:30pm. I should say that the event yesterday was the Christmas Pageant and we were at the After-Pageant Fare in the gardens.

Before going out to the gardens  I spent the morning and early afternoon in my garden. I decided to remove the old edging, which was looking a bit “faded and Jaded” After ripping out the old edging I discovered that the bolts I had were too big so I will now have to wait until Monday to get into the hardware store and get the right size. Not to worry, it will look nice when completed.  Anyway, with a sort of unhappy story to start off with, I thought I would  insert a photographs of a ‘ Man in His Office”