Tag: Wild Weather

Stormy Weather. Welcome to Spring

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
I just knew it would be elaborate.
I just knew it would be elaborate.

On the way back from hospital this afternoon I pulled in to the Wetlands to see how the bridge was going. Glad to say that the bridge is now in place but there is a lot of work to be done on the “Approach Roads” on either side. I still think the Forth Bridge was built faster.  This could take a while because of the other news. Things are going from badder to worser !! In the wee small hours of the morning, when the whole wide world was fast asleep, some people  broke into and raided the Council Depot making off with a large quantity of steel.  ** stop laughing, this is serious** According to the newspaper report they – whoever ‘they’are – helped themselves to a quantity of steel valued at over $3500. I didn’t know we were so short of steel around here that we have to resort to lifting it from the Council Depot. I can think of many things that one could steal if one was that way inclined, but steel would not figure in that list, but then  who knows why people steal things.

I am progressing fairly well and although there seems to be some bruising that has developed in the upper thigh area,  I expect that’s fairly

Setting up the "Approach Roads"at the new bridge
Setting up the “Approach Roads”at the new bridge

dsc01947 normal given the nature of the operation.  I am able to move a lot easier now and I have actually been out driving with the Benji. Cannot take him out walking quite yet but I can have him in the car with me and he’s happy with that. He likes being in the car – which is just as well at the moment.  The difficulty is not driving, the difficulty is getting in and out of the car  :o) I went down to the church today and helped a little with the Annual Fete. Couldn’t do very much but did what I could and sat down a lot.

I went for my follow up visit to the surgeon this afternoon and he is pleased that everything seems to be progressing well. There will be some residual pain for a while but in about 4-5 weeks it should have

Somewhere, underneath this is a WaWa
Somewhere, underneath this is a WaWa

cleared completely. I am walking a lot better than I was a week ago and the bruising I was told came from the tourniquet  that was used on my upper leg. Other than that, it’s all good. I am just so very disappointed that the garden has been neglected for a while,  but once I am active again I will soon bring it back under control and get on with the work I was doing. Apart from which it has been raining a lot this past week or so. Adelaide coped a bashing and  took a month worth of rain practically overnight. There is damage and widespread flooding in and around the city. I understand Victoria, or parts of that State anyway,  is also taking a bit of a beating, and once this front is clear there is another not far behind it. Welcome to Spring!!  What you see here is the damage to one of the major roads through the Adelaide Hills and this is going to be out for several months.  We are untouched. I think this system went below us hitting us with  heavy rain that our storm drains were able to cope with. I understand there are flood warnings for areas of

Montacute Road, Adelaide
Montacute Road, Adelaide

Victoria, Bendigo, Ballarat and several other places. I hope Bev and the Doc are ok.

 

A welcome break but hard work.

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

Summer in Scotland
Summer in Scotland

“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

Attack Helicopter
Attack Helicopter
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.