Saturday, October 29

We had our training session yesterday for the work at the Exams, with all the familiar faces fronting up for another year.  Some people are certainly getting old and I wonder how long they will last.  However, they love the extra cash they will earn and the chance to feel useful again.  Or, at least, that's how we feel.

Marilyn finished her stint with the Council election count yesterday; she completed 27 hours and she enjoyed it so much, I think she would have done it for nothing. 

The exams start on November 8th; between us, we have 14 sessions which will keep us busy. 

Friday, October 28

 We're rushing out the door this morning again. Marilyn has been asked to do another half day at the election counting and I have my Poetry group.  We need to be at Launceston College for a training session in the early afternoon as well so life remains busy.

I might try and write a little more about our day when we finally get back home.

Thursday, October 27

There's nothing particular in our lives to celebrate today. Marilyn is happy to be gong off to work but al I have to do is have my eyes checked and my hearing aid adjusted.  Oh, that it's come to this!

One bit of good news is that a juvenile Bar-tailed Godwit has set a world record with a 13,560 Km continuous flight from Alaska to Tasmania.  It took him (her?) 11 days and one hour.  In reading the details of the flight, I find that the bird did not fly alone; it was, probably, part of a flock but was carrying a satellite tag which allowed  it to be tracked. The flock left Alaska on October 11, took a route test of Hawaii and flew over Kiribati on October 19.  About 2 days later it flew over Vanuatu and continued south about 620Km east of Sydney.  On October 23, the bird and the rest of the flock, took a sharp right and arrived in Tasmania on October 25, landing at Ansons Bay in the north-east.

I confess I have never heard of a bar-tailed godwit but from now on it will be top of my Favourite Birds list.

Wednesday, October 26

 Marilyn had a call yesterday asking her to work in the afternoon.  It was the Election Commission, who were about to start counting  the votes in the recent Council elections.  I didn't want her driving home after dark so said I would drop her off.  The building was in an industrial area of Launceston and, of course, there was no parking nearby.  There were hordes of people coming from all directions and Marilyn said there were at least 150 people in the room where she was working and there were two other rooms operating as well.

She finished at 8 o'clock but was back on the task at 8.30 this morning.  She tells me she loves the interaction and conversation with other people (and the wage sare handy too).

There was an email waiting for me when I got home, with the roster for our work at the Higher School examination starting in a couple of weeks so we have a busy time coming up in November.

Tuesday, October 25

We finished watching Karen Pirie yesterday and what a fantastic show it is.  There were three parts, each of about two hours and it was probably the best bit of television I've seen for a long time.  My dilemma about whether to read the book at the same time as watching the show was resolved by the fact that the program diverged from the book quite significantly.  Although they shared characters and the basic premise was similar, they were different enough that I could enjoy both stories without becoming confused.  

It was satisfying that both plots ended up with the same evil character being found guilty.  When it comes to the crunch, we all like to see the baddies brought to justice.

There's no second series on the horizon yet but it seems the writer of the first series has been looking at other books by Val McDermid with Karen Pirie as the main character.  I'm reading the second series of the books at the moment: A Darker Domain, and there are more after that.

Saturday, October 22

I'm bemused by the kerfuffle that's going on in UK politics.  They finally get rid of Boris but replace him with a dim-witted bimbo who has only lasted a few days before being cast into oblivion.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing from her on the news bulletins.  Could she really be as inept as she appeared?  So I checked YouTube so see whether she had always been like this, and she has.  

So, the powerbrokers stir themselves and get rid of her.  And now, seriously, they are thinking of bringing Boris back.  Are they all mad?  What has changed since they got shot of him before?

I think of Nicola Sturgeon over the border in Scotland.  She must be thinking it must be like floating down a river tied to a corpse and hearing the sound of the waterfall ahead.  Cut yourself loose, Nicola, it's not going to get any better.

Thursday, October 20

I drove out of the garage this morning, on my way to the gym, and was surprised to see that the concrete in front of us was covered in bird droppings.  I glanced up at the roof and it was the same.  This could only have happened in the last couple of days because there's been so much rain prior to that the surface would have been scoured clean.  It looked like there had been some sort of Bird Convention but we hadn't heard a thing.

I've noticed seagulls in the area from time to time even though we live a long way from the sea, and they're notorious for making a mess, so they're likely candidates.  

I started reading a Val McDermid book yesterday called The Distant Echo.  It's quite interesting: about a murder in St Andrews in Scotland.  By chance, last night we watched the first episode of a new show on Britbox called Karen Pirie, and it's the same story!  What a coincidence.  Now I don't know whether to stop reading the book in case it spoils the show, or give up the show until I've finished reading the book.  

Wednesday, October 19

 I had to go back to the doctor's yesterday to have the stitch removed from my head where they took the sample for testing.  It was the same nurse, although she didn't remember me.

"Did you have it done here?" she asked.

"Yes," I said. "Don't you remember me? I'm the one with the Sydney Swans hairstyle and the one you thought you had murdered."

"Oh, yes, I remember," she said. "That was a fun day, wasn't it?"

Monday, October 17

I drove past the Anglican Church yesterday and someone has sorted out the notice board.  That someone has picked up from where last week's notice left off and it now reads:

of the shadow of death .....  

I can't remember the rest but it's clearly a bible verse which will mean something to the faithful.  It strikes me as odd that someone would think that last week's message which took up two lines on the board and abruptly ceased in the middle of a sentence, and which was followed, a week later, by a continuation of the same bible verse which took up every available line, would make sense to anyone.

Is it some post-modern approach to religion?  Half-quote something and then keep people in suspense until you get around to finishing the sentence?  I worry about the vicar: watching his diminishing congregation and knowing he'll never turn the rot around.  I suppose, in that situation you'd try anything to get some attention.  Maybe, he's jealous of Fr Rod Bower of Gosford Anglican Church whose noticeboard attracts so much attention.  If so, he's on the wrong track.

Sunday, October 16

 There's a very grand Anglican Church in Longford with impressive grounds and right in the Main Street.  Of course, like manny churches today it has fallen on had times.  Congregations are smaller and there's not the money for upkeep that there used to be.  We sometimes see the vicar out with his mower, trying to keep the grounds in some sort of order.

At the front of the church grounds is a signboard where the vicar, or somebody, puts up notices.  Whoever is responsible likes old-fashioned Bible verses and that's fine; his congregation is probably older and are happy to be reminded of the familiar verses they learnt as kids.

Sometimes, though, things go wrong.  For the past few days the message has read: 'Yea, I have walked through the valley'. What valet is he talking about and what happened in that valley.  I imagine he meant the 'valley of the shadow of death'.  Was he interrupted before he could finish?  Or, is he inviting someone to ask what he means?  In any case it's not a very cheerful quote.

I hope he got around to completing it before Morning Service today, otherwise he might have to answer some embarrassing questions.

Saturday, October 15

The local Stickybeaks Cafe advertises every week on Facebook the current Take-away specials.  I always look out for Lamb Shanks which are slow-cooked for hours and served with a rich gravy.  It's also Archie's favourite because he gets the bone when I've picked it clean.

I don't know what it is about dogs and bones.  When Archie is given the discarded bone, he treats it like a little girl might treat a new doll. He carries it reverently to his bed and carefully licks it all over, looking for any tiny scrap of goodness left behind.  There's a little knuckle of bone on a lamb shank and Archie works on that until he has removed it.  He then lays it aside for more attention in the future.

Sometimes, he'll take the larger bone outside where he can lie on the grass working on it.  When he's tired of that, he'll bring it back inside, struggling to get it through the dog-flap.  At bed-time, he'll try to get it into our bed so that he can access it during the night but has to accept that there are some limits to what is appropriate.   The bone will be the centre of his attention for three or four days and then he'll ignore it as if it's out-lived its usefulness, and he'll patiently wait for Mrs Stickybeaks to put it back on the Specials list.

Friday, October 14

My phone and Marilyn's buzzed at the same time last night and it was a message from sone group called Tas Alerts  telling us to prepare to evacuate.  What?  This only happens to people on Lismore and Warragamba; we live in a civilised part of the world and we're not set up for this sort of crisis.  Jamie rang to say that he had received one too.  

The message suggested we look at their website for 'further advice' and I put in our address.  A map popped up showing the areas in danger. Happily, our street was not one of those.

I knows that Longford has had severe floods in the past; the local cafe has photographs on the wall of previous inundations but at some stage the town was ringed by levee banks; there's one just a couple of streets away.  Unless something cataclysmic happens, the town should be safe.

This morning, the warnings are still being issued but I've re-checked the maps and I'll still go to my writing class.  

Wednesday, October 12

I mentioned to the doctor that I had a sore on my head which wasn't clearing up so she immediately thought 'skin cancer'.  Not wishing to alarm me, she said, 'It's probably nothing but I'll take a sample and have it checked."  Yesterday was the day so I fronted up and the doctor and nurse assured me it was  no big deal and whipped out the scalpel. 

They must have hit a blood vessel as, all of a sudden, I could feel blood running down between my eyes.  "Swabs!" said the doctor and I found myself swathed in blood-soaked bandages.

"It's not a good idea to have a cancer next to a blood vessel," said the rattled doctor. "Oops! I should have said 'suspected cancer'.  

The cheerful nurse tried to lighten the moment by saying, "With the red of the blood and the white of your hair, you could be a Swans supporter," but I wasn't amused.

After all the excitement had died down, the irrepressible nurse commented, "It looks like a murder's been committed in here."  That really cheered me up.

Tuesday, October 11

 We had an hour or two to spare in Launceston yesterday so popped in to the Silos Hotel for a cup of coffee.  As you'd expect, it is a conversion of the original grain silos so is close to the water but in an industrial area of the town: Bunnings is across the road and there is a cement works directly opposite.

We haven't been there very often but it's become a busy hub for the locals.  There were little groups huddled in the lounge having their meetings, we met a few friends from Launceston Grammar who were having a meeting over lunch and the place was a-buzz.

Fashions change and this relatively new hotel seems to be taking over some of the business which the Country Club Casino once enjoyed.  And a good thing, too

Sunday, October 9

Nera flies out tomorrow on a job with Aspen Medical.  This is the company that she works with on the Covid vaccination roll-out but this particular job is a bot different.  She will fly to Darwin and then on to the Gove Peninsula on the east cost of Arnhem Land.  The settlement where she will be based is on an island off the coast, and she'll be there for three weeks.  Very exciting!

When I was at Gib Gate, we had a sister-school at Yirrkala which is nearby to where Nera is going.  It had been arranged by Jimmy Barnes, whose kids were at the school and who was a great friend of the members of Yothu Yindi who were very big at the time.  I was never able to pin down a date for our visit and finally gave up.  

It would have been a great adventure and I would have a lot more to write about in this blog if t had come off.  

Saturday, October 8

We've had to vote in the Council elections this week. I don't remember ever doing this before but, apparently, it has only just become compulsory.  Our Council area covers 5 or 6 towns like Longford, a number of smaller villages and large areas of farmland.  There have been signs everywhere for weeks and our letterbox has been stuffed with brightly-coloured flyers.

The process is interesting: we received our ballot papers in the mail with instructions on what to do.  There were three papers: for Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillor and a little booklet with details of some of the candidates.  I imagine those who were not mentioned had missed the deadline.  Our candidates contained a retired Federal politician, an ex-Tasmanian Premier, various farmers, small business people, hopefuls with a variety of interests, and two Real Estate Agents.  

I had an idea that Real Estate Agents were barred from sitting on Council; it would be like voting the fox onto the Chicken House Committee - an obvious conflict of interest.  However, there they were.

We filled in our papers, sealed them in the envelope, signed a tear-off slip and posted them back.

I imagine, when they arrive at the counting house, the tear-off slips will be removed, we'll be crossed off the rolls and the votes will be counted.  The Government has been advertising for people to help with the count but all you need to do is be fast on a computer using only the keypad - a very narrow skill set.

Friday, October 7

I missed three days of gym because of my morning trips to the hospital and, I have to say, I was noticing the difference.  I made a point of going early yesterday and it was good to get back into my routine.  By chance, I received a reminder from the management that my membership will expire soon and I need to fork out a few more dollars to keep going.  Do I hand over $600 for a year, or $350 for 6 months?  If I go Pay As You Go, it will be $40 per fortnight  ($1040 per year).  What if I get fed up with it and stop going or, worse, I'm no longer able to do it?  So what is the point where a longer-term payment becomes economic?

I think that's a decision for another day.

Thursday, October 6

 I had the last appointment for this round of infusions yesterday although they handed me an appointment card for a return visit on November 1st, so I suspect there is more to come.  It was busier yesterday in the small ward but, for some reason there wasn't the same level of staffing I'd noticed on previous days.  I spoke to the nurse who was plugging me in and she commented that 'they' always get the rosters wrong.

The young woman in the chair next to me seemed to be known to the staff and I suspect she was or had been a nurse in that department.  The woman in the last bed came in in a wheelchair from one of the local nursing homes.  She was very cantankerous and awkward and said, "I'm not sitting in that chair.  I want a proper chair."  They explained to her that they needed to use the medical chair because if she had a reaction to the medication, they'd be able to lie the chair flat to deal with it.  I found out later she was called Charlene.

"No, I'm not lying flat," she complained.  After a bit more argy-bay, she finally gave in and they plugged her in.  A bit later, there was bit of a to-do from her vicinity and I heard one of the nurses telling her that what she was saying was not appropriate, it was rude and aggressive and racist.  I think the nurse was Asian and the old battle-axe had made a racial slur.

Charlene kept up her complaining and eventually the whole emergency team was called out in case she really was having a serious attack.  She wasn't, of course.  The doctor did discover that her blood-oxygen levels were low and suggested he do some proper tests to check whether she should carry a bottle of oxygen.  He got just as much abuse as the poor nurse but he was Irish.

Later in the afternoon, the young woman next to me was leaving and, before she left, she turned to Charlene and said, "I just want to say, Charlene, that you are awful.  You're a horrible person."

I thought it was almost a quote from Muriels Wedding: 'You're terrible, Muriel!"  I haven't had as much excitement in just one day for a long time 

Tuesday, October 4

Sometimes the world hits you in the eye with a surprising coincidence.  I mentioned yesterday I'm involved in the process of being infused with some expensive potion which I think is called plasma.  It's clearly an important element of our medical system but I've never given it much thought.

However, it seems I've upset some balance somewhere.  This morning, on the ABC News, authorities were putting out a call for donors to front up because there is a shortage of plasma.  It can't be a coincidence: the very next day after I have my first infusion, authorities notice there's a dearth of supplies and a call to action is issued. I hope they don't decide to start charging me for the product. now that I've caused a shortage.

Monday, October 3

I had to pop into the hospital this morning for an infusion.  I thought that 'infusion' had something to do with making tea, or some herbal potion prescribed by a witch.  In fact, it's much more scientific than that. I've been having trouble with my right hand: it's very stiff, I drop things and there's persistent tingling along the edge.  I've had it for years but it's getting much worse now.  My GP sent me to see a neurologist, who organised some tests and suggested these infusions might work. I have three sessions this week at the hospital.

It was an early start and they sat me down in a comfortable chair, put in a cannula and hooked me up to a bottle of this clear liquid.  Apparently it's made from blood products and the doctor in charge reminded me that it was a donated product and there might be a slight danger of picking up some horrible disease like HIV.  Bravely, I told them to go ahead.  They said I would have two bottles today and each would take a couple of hours to infuse. The bottle came in a cardboard box and I noticed the first one had a price label - $900!  Where are they buying this stuff?  Would they do better at  Chemist Warehouse?

Anyway, I had my two bottles today and will return tomorrow and Wednesday for more.  Let's hope it has some effect although the neurologist wasn't giving off particularly positive vibes when we last spoke.

Sunday, October 2

I had great hopes for this morning. I was at the gym before 8 and I envisaged the day unfolding before me and that I would have achieved much before crawling into bed this evening.  It's now noon and what have I achieved?

I've scribbled a few words of a story for the Writing Group next week, I've made the bed and that's about it.  Marilyn has promised that we'll have lunch at 12.30 and I expect the afternoon will just fritter away with not much to show for it.