Monday, June 6

The weather gods continue to cause havoc and Tasmania is gearing up for the expected damage.  The TV is announcing that evacuation centres have been set up and there are flood warnings for all the major rivers.  Even our little creek, which is dry most of the year, is a torrent.  In the midst of all the water, the sprinklers attached to our septic system are running happily adding their little bit to the saturated ground.

I'm reading the biography of Bob Hawke written by Blanche d'Alpuget.  It's an easy read and, because, we lived through that era, it's very interesting.  No doubt, Blanche has put on a certain amount of spin but she certainly captures how popular he was with most elements of Australian society.  Not so with Paul Keating.  He is not portrayed very well, although his undoubted intelligence and economic wizardry are treated in a positive way.

When you're living through a period like the Hawke years, you accept or complain about the decisions made by the government but, thirty years later, you can often take a wider view and see the decisions in a longer-term context.  There's no doubt we often get exercised about day-to-day situations which seem important at the time but are of no consequence when looked at thirty years on.