Of course, when Marilyn saw them pulling up stumps, she stopped to say Hello and came back to report that they were from Burnie and were camping here because the fellow had been going in to hospital each day! That sounds familiar ….
I wandered down to introduce myself and found out that he and I were in the same situation. He had just finished a course of 39 treatments but we had never met up at the hospital as his appointments were all around lunchtime and mine were concentrated in the early morning. The hospital in Burnie doesn’t have the facilities to provide radiation treatment so patients from that area are offered a daily bus journey to and from Launceston. It takes all day so Peter decided he would be better to set himself up at the caravan park for the 8 weeks.
Sadly, his treatment has not been easy for him. He has suffered badly from side effects particularly in his ‘waterworks’ as he called. He has been running to the toilet with little notice and has had a very bad kidney infection. He was very distressed and couldn’t wait to get home. I’m sorry I spoke to him as I have convinced myself this is a breeze and I’ll sail through with no problems. Anyway, I’ve had 18 ‘zaps’ now and only have 19 to go. That's why I've called this episode 'Half way there .....'. Cross fingers, it’ll be fine.
Marilyn had a call last week from one of the tutors she worked with at Grammar. A few of her old staff were getting together for lunch and were keen that she join them. She was delighted to be asked and was pleased to see them again, especially as she was treated. It’s wonderful that she has not been forgotten by her girls and tutors (both female and male).
We spent a few days in Deloraine this week. There was morning tea to celebrate the opening of the new staffroom and the Principal, Anne was keen that I be there so that my involvement could be acknowledged. We also wanted to spend a bit more time sorting out our storage and moving a few more things from the house. Deloraine’s Youth Drama Festival was on again. This Festival has been held for over fifty years and attracts groups from all over Tasmania. It runs over 5 nights and a matinee on Saturday and is a good example of what makes Deloraine such an extraordinary town. Marilyn only managed to make the Tuesday performance (while I was at Rotary) but she does make an effort each year to show her support.
Jamie and I went to the (real) football today – a pre-season soccer match between Melbourne Victory and the Central Coast Mariners. It was a good match with a reasonable crowd but no goals. Isn't this a great picture for a Caption Competition? "Wasn't me!"Aurora Stadium is designed mainly for AFL matches but is a great venue for soccer as well. Like Victoria, Tasmania is obsessed with AFL and the state government spends millions on bringing top teams here for matches. In fact, the government sponsors the Hawthorn Football Club so that they will keep their connection with the state. There seems to be an economic benefit but it just seems odd that taxpayers’ money should be spent in this way.
It was decided, apparently, years ago that Hobart would be the venue for top-class Cricket, and Launceston for top-class AFL. Each city now has a very good venue for its allocated sport. But the old North-South rivalry has kicked in and the people of Hobart want AFL matches there as well. I suppose that’s OK but the government will now allocate more millions to upgrade Bellerive Oval, the world-class Cricket ground, so that two or three AFL matches can be played here each year. That money can only be spent once so what other area will miss out – Health or Education, perhaps? Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad (or something like that).
On the way to the soccer match, we passed a political rally. We have a Federal election coming up on August 21st and all the candidates are striving to get their faces better known. Hadspen is on the boundary between two electorates: Bass, whose current member is retiring, and Lyons which has been represented by a member of the Labor Party for many years. His name is Dick Adams and he is a very large man. Those of us who remember Monty Python call him Biggus Dickus, but a sign in a nearby paddock has taken the cake for slightly smutty humour. .
There’s a clever double, double entendre in this sign as a candidate in the Bass electorate is Geoff Lyons. Now, is it the electorate LYONS which needs a new representative, or the candidate Geoff LYONS who needs a new appendage? Maybe we’ll never know.
Thanks to Jamie for the photographs taken with his new Fuji camera with 10x zoom. My little Canon would not have been able to get anything at the distance we were from the field.
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