Author: jkirkby8712

After a visit to the dentist this morning [for a minor matter], and a bit of shopping, etc, I spent about 3 hours today ‘working’ for my recent employer, online, dealing with various financial matters. They [we] are still in the middle of interviewing candidates to fill my role – in fact, I will be returning in person to Northcote, again tomorrow, to be a part once more, of the interview panel. While this extra piece of ‘income’ will be handy, I will be quite happy to see that appointment finally as soon as possible, so that I can sever my ties with my former workplace for good!! I suppose I could have kept working full time until this process was over with, but as indicated ion various occasions over recent months, the decision to finish on the 18^th October was made many months ago, and I decided to stay with that.

Susan worked another 6 hour shift today, and then went into the city this evening – in fact, I had a rare request to drive her to the railway station, as she was travelling by train to whatever her destination was.

Yesterday’s mail, which I didn’t get until my return from the city, included that long awaited ‘Concession Card’, something, that as a retiree, I am now entitled to – officially have being since 19 October.  The PCC [Pensioner Concession Card] – not a name I like, mainly because I don’t like being categorised as a pensioner  – even if that’s what I am.  So given that, and my ‘current’ distaste of my current status, I will nevertheless be sure to take advantage of the range of concessions on various government and other items as far as cost is concerned.  Unfortunately, as I discovered today, such concessions are ‘not’ available from my dentist. Hence I didn’t make any further appointments after today – will be content to use the facilities provided by the Community Health services which did me know harm when I utilised them in 2006 during a period of retrenchment at that time. Anyway, amongst other things, the PCC provides concessions on such things as public transport, car registrations, utilities, and so on  – I guess I will discover various ‘advantages’ of being in this position, as time goes on!

A Thursday night at home  – last week, with the radio committee meeting to attend, I forgot to tape that night’s episode of ‘The Slap’, and was rather annoyed – guess I could have found the episode on the internet had  I looked!  However, home tonight, allowed me to watch the only two ‘series’ I currently am keen to keep up, and they screen consecutively on a Thursday night [the night of the week which has traditionally being ‘meeting night’ for me over the years. These days, it’s generally just three Thursdays per two monthly period, a much better arrangement!   ‘The Slap’ tonight was quite a dramatic episode, and was covered by an interesting review in the ‘Green Guide’ [The ‘Age’ weekly television guide] and gives a clear indication as to where the episode was going to head  –  a question of split loyalties.  It was an impressive episode……………………………………………………………..  “Until now, Hector’s father, Manolis [Les Marinos] has been in the background but, that’s about to change. Episode six centres on the grey, stumbling paterfamilias in what is a relentlessly heartfelt instalment of this excellent drama. His health failing and contemporaries dying, Manolis is a broken soul, resented by his recriminatory [and frankly, horrid] wife, Koula [Toula Yianni], and embittered about the principled refusal  of Hector [Jonathan  LaPaglia] and daughter-in-law Aisha [Sophie Okonedo] to forgive Harry [Alex Dimitriades] [for the slap]….though Harry, it seems, has other reasons to be running scared. The traditions to which he clings mean little to those upon whom Manolis has to rely. The funeral of a family friend all but crushes Manolis’s spirit and he takes flight to his old Richmond stomping ground, where a visit to old friends serves as a stark reminder of the diminishing choices left to him. Gracefully but uncompromisingly, director Tony Ayres doesn’t sugar-coat the reassuring narrative about migrants who make a better life for themselves and their children in Australia, or what happens when the expectations of parents become burdens their children resent”…………………perhaps I didn’t need to copy all that, a more brief précis of tonight’s episode could just as easily be ‘Elderly Manolis hates what the incident at the barbeque   –  [that ‘slap’]  –  has done to his family’.

Finally, some news from my football team, something that’s limited in the off-season!   Carlton’s alignment with the Northern Bullants has developed further with the VFL Club confirming a name change to the Northern Blues and the team playing more games at Visy Park [or the former Princes Park] in 2012. In addition to the name change the Northern Blues will wear a navy guernsey for all games played at Visy Park and a red guernsey at Preston City Oval and away games where a clash guernsey is required.  The name change reflects the association between Carlton and the VFL alignment club and also further promotes the club as part of the northern region of Melbourne. This is an important part of the role of the Carlton Football Club in the northern suburbs, particularly with junior clubs and the Northern Blues will have a stronger connection with the community in this area. The Club will retain its history and the Preston Football Club (PFC) will be acknowledged on the guernsey, together with the recognition of the Carlton Football Club as part of the transition to the Northern Blues.

 

One shouldn’t read a sequel to an earlier book, which has not been read, however I broke rule, and late today, completed another book by Di Morrissey – ‘Follow the Morning Star’.  I  guess it’s classified as a romantic novel, but it is the historical aspects that Di brings into her stories, that attracts me to much of her writing.  Basically, this one tells the story of Queenie Hanlon who has a perfect life. She’s the mother of two adoring [adult] children, the wealthy owner of a thriving outback station, and the wife of handsome busman TR Hamilton. Then one day, Queenie’s perfect life comes crashing down. Her bitter and vengeful brother returns from Italy to lay [a fraudulent] claim to his inheritance, her precious daughter is seduced by her uncle into giving up all Queenie’s strived for, and her beloved TR is injured in a riding accident and can no longer recall the life they once shared. I guess I’ve been in the mood for a bit of light reading over the past few days, and this book fitted that category perfectly. Even had the kind of ending I like in a good ‘romance’!!!

Fierce storms and heavy rain were predicted for later today, with warnings of flash flooding in parts of the city later this afternoon. In fact it was a beautiful day, quite warm, though a little humid which suggested a change was coming. I managed to get into the city on one of the evening trains before any change occurred, but as I was walking down St Kilda Road past the Arts Centre, I noticed that there were thick black clouds heading in from the west.  Presumably it all came through while I was in the Melbourne Recital Centre at tonight’s concert – thankfully when I came out, while it was raining lightly, it was obvious by the ground conditions that the rain had been quite heavy earlier. Later on tonight, as I prepared to go to bed, it was raining fairly steadily outside  – don’t mind listening to it, when one is secure inside one’s home.

The concert I went to tonight, at the Melbourne Recital Centre [where else!!] was a recital by the Swedish mezzo-soprano singer, Anne Sofie Von Otter, her debut appearance in Australia.. While she is essentially a classical singer, her repertoire does extend to other genres, as tonight’s concert would show. I have being playing her songs from the album she recorded a few years ago with Elvis Costello called ‘With The Stars’ on which there are some absolutely beautiful contemporary songs she performs. So it was from that album that I was attracted to purchase a ticket for tonight’s performance. It also featured her long time associate, the pianist Bengt Forsberg, one of Sweden’s leading pianists. In fact tonight, we probably a bit more from Bengt than normal, because apparently Sofie had a slight infection of some sort [she called it as Chinese bug] and he played a few extra solo piano pieces from time to time while Sofie sat to the side enjoying the music as we were. Perhaps some in the almost full auditorium might have felt a little cheated, although I don’t think they really missed out on too much singing from Sofie, which during the first half, included songs from composers such as Carl Neilsen, Wilhelm Stenhammar, Edvard Greig, Jean Sibelius [note the strong Scandanavian connection there] as well as Schubert & Liszt. The music of Percy Grainger, Gershwin, Paul McCartney and others provided a different touch to the second part of the program, not the least of which being the fact that most of the first half was sung in Swedish [I assume that’s what it was?]. The concert was preceded by a talk by a woman named Andrea Katz, which I found a waste of time – she was difficult to both understand and/or hear properly, and to be honest, I turned off her, and read my program, what she had to say, it was simply to much effort to try and follow.

I was initially a little offput by Sofie – a tall blonde haired lady, who wore a greyish top covered in silvery pieces, with a long dress which came from just under her ribs to the floor, coloured pink, with patches of white patterns [flowers perhaps]  – not by her singing, but her apparent lack of interaction with the audience. She did seem to warm up after a while, a bit more responsive to the applause, perhaps it was just the fact that she was feeling a little unwell, and certainly when she began to sing some of the more operatic numbers, one could see the ‘acting’ side of her performance come out more.  I think for the first few songs, she herself was a little bemused by the audience – slow to applause, because of an uncertainty and presumably unfamiliarity with the songs she was singing –  no one wanting to clap until  they were sure the song was finished!! Everyone awaiting a start from someone else!

Anyway, this is the way Sofie was described, in a bit of a bio –  Acclaimed mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter will perform an intriguing selection of songs showcasing the great diversity of her skill as a vocalist as well as her incredible capacity to share great emotion with her audiences. Anne Sofie von Otter’s broad repertoire has played a key role in sustaining her international reputation both as an operatic force and as an artist who loves to add her own interpretations to great popular songs.  Born in Sweden, Anne Sofie von Otter’s studies began in Stockholm and continued with Vera Rozsa at London’s Guildhall before she became a principal artist of the Basel Opera. Her international career has now spanned more than two decades. Equally active in opera, concert, recital and recording, and noted as one of the most versatile artists of her generation, Anne Sofie von Otter appears regularly on the world’s major stages and boasts an unrivalled personal discography.

Now while many of her songs tonight were not sung in English by Sofie, we were given the opportunity in the Program guide to see the English lyrics, and I’d just like to share one of those with my readers here. It was from Carl Nielsen [from Denmark] and his Sommersang [Summer Song] which was one of a collection of six songs to text by Ludvig Holstein, and as you will see from the words that follow, a text teeming with Summer’s promise and bounty, from early apple blossoms to the nightingale’s song in the summer night [remembering that the poet is speaking of the northern Scandinavian kind of summer!] – only at the end is there some concern about the elusiveness of summer, which is apparently not an unusual theme in a Nordic song!

Summer Song

Filled with flowers flushes, branch of apple tree.

Deep and blue the heavens, warm and pure and free.

Through the blooming flowers Honeybee is

humming, Giddy from its load –

Ah, the summer powers!

Dreamily you’re coming down along the road?

Flowers’ pleasant fragrance carries far away.

Cuckoo in the distance calls the livelong day.

Listen, from the dingle

Where the runnel’s running, ringing out of sight,

Nightingale, though single,

Trills its long and stunning song throughout the night!

Westerly the breezes, through the corn and grass.

Rolling plains bring promise, riches they amass.

Showers, gently vented over gold that’s growing,

Falling from she sky –

Pollen smoke is scented, as its waves are flowing

Over flow’ring rye.

Ah, the summer powers. Full of longing love,

Dream of beauty rises into clouds above.

White as swans it’s beaming like a beauteous jewel

In the depth of blue –

All the earthly dreaming

Of deep joy’s renewal never can come true.

 

Of course, there is the Spring season too, where we in Australia are at present, and this time, the composer, Edvaad Greig has put the muisic to the words of Aasmund Olvasson Vinje’s ‘Vatren’ [or ‘Spring’]….something else I would like to quote here.

Spring

Once again I have seen winter

make way for spring;

The hedgerows which once bore flowers

I have seen blooming again.

Once again I have seen the ice

flow off the land,

The snow melt and the rapids in the stream

cascade and break.

The grass becomes green

and is made rich with flowers;

again I have heard the spring bird sing

to the sun and to summer.

Again I immerse myself in the springlike vapour

which fills my eyes,

again I would find myself a home there

and lie afloat.

Everything that spring has brought me,

each flower I pick,

I believe was the soul of a forefather,

dancing and sighing.

Therefore I have found a riddle amidst birches

and evergreens in spring;

therefore the sound of the flute I have carved

seems to me like weeping.

Translation, 1993, Dr. David Fanning. Reprinted by kind permission

of Deutsche Grammophon GmbH Berlin / Universal Music Australia

. Now I must confess that I didn’t see the end of Sofie’s concert. I had a wonderful seat just 5 rows from the stage, though usually I prefer to sit up near the back of a concert hall, and on this occasion, it would have been preferable  – simply because I knew I was going to have to leave early in order to catch the last train to Sunbury, not having made other arrangements.  The first half went longer than I expected and by the end of the interval break, it was obvious I was going to have to walk out in the middle of one of her closing songs [and there wax no way I would do that] or leave early before the final bracket began. Sadly I had to miss the last few songs for that reason [and they were probably all sung in English]. It was at that point that I discovered that it had been raining quite heavily whilst the performance had been going on.

Meanwhile, I shall keep my eyes open for a ‘professional’ review of tonight’s concert, if one appears anywhere! What followed was a comfortable trip home [to Sunbury] on the Bendigo train, though outside it looked anything but comfortable –  wet, damp and humid conditions, a lot of moisture around!

 

I had a rare quest on my radio show last night – New Zealand expat and member of the Sunbury Uniting Church – Dell came in, ostensibly to promote the Giant Car Boot Sale & Stalls happening there in a couple of weeks, but perhaps of more interest to our listeners, play some songs by that wonderful young Kiwi singer, Hayley Westenra. She had sung the New Zealand National Anthem prior to the recent World Cup Rugby Final, and I’d commented at the time to Dell how impressed I had been with both the French and Kiwi anthems  –  two of the most inspirational national anthems going around these days! Of course, I had to introduce Dell to the program, by playing an abbreviated version of her anthem [which she promptly stood to – very patriotic indeed!!].

Some news from Federal Parliament today, which will no doubt please half the community, and displease the rest.   As AAP reported, the Australian Senate today passed bills that will make the nation’s 500 largest polluters pay a tax on the carbon they release into the atmosphere. Prime Minister Julia Gillard had promised not to push for a carbon tax during elections last year, but has since said it is Australia’s best option. Australia is one of the world’s worst greenhouse gas emitters per capita because of its heavy reliance on abundant reserves of coal to generate electricity.  “This reform is right for our country’s future, it’s the right thing to do,” Gillard told reporters Tuesday.  So beginning July 1, next year,  Australia’s largest polluters will pay 23 Australian dollars ($24) for every metric ton of carbon gases they produce.

While members of the public applauded when the bills were passed with support from Gillard’s Labor Party minority government and the minor Greens party, the opinion polls continue to show the tax is unpopular.  Critics argue that Australian businesses will become uncompetitive because the carbon tax is too high. The Australian Financial Review newspaper reported Tuesday that in Europe, where a system of trading carbon credits is in place, businesses will pay between AU$8.70 and AU$12.60 a metric ton because carbon prices have crashed to four-year lows. Gillard, whose government faces elections in two years, is hoping that the tax does not prove as unpopular as the polls suggest. The government is also hoping that many people will even consider themselves better off under the tax because many will get assistance to offset higher utility bills. “I understand this has been a bitter debate and there are Australians who still view carbon pricing with a great deal of anxiety,” she said.  The tax will be the government’s main tool to achieve its target of reducing Australia’s carbon emissions by 5 per cent below 2000 levels by 2020.

And the Opposition view, expresses rather clearly, it’s ongoing opposition, in the following words  –   about which we have constantly being reminded adnausem   for over 12 months now  ‘Today Julia Gillard and the Labor Party have confirmed in law their betrayal of the Australian people.  The carbon tax is a toxic tax based on a lie from a Prime Minister who promised days before the last election “there will be no carbon tax under the government I lead”.  This new tax is a blow to the future of Australian manufacturing and a new burden for families struggling under cost of living increases. The tax will increase but the so-called compensation won’t.  On the Government’s own figures, three million Australian households will be worse off under the carbon tax. In the absence of action by other nations, all that the Gillard Government has done today is export jobs and emissions overseas. Julia Gillard has no mandate from the people for this new tax.  At the next election, we will seek a mandate from the Australian people to repeal this tax. The Coalition’s position is principled, it is clear to all and it will free the economy from the red tape, costs and job losses that the carbon tax will produce.  I friend on Face Book [who is very Labor orientated] expressed his delight at an ‘historic’ occasion for the Government.  I had to respond that such a description probably depended on your interpretation of ‘historic’.  There have been so many arguments over the last few years both for and against this carbon tax, and the whole question of climate change, that it is very easy for ordinary people such as myself to be completely taken in [or, alternatively] bamboozled by the spin attached to many of those arguments.  Certainly the official Opposition trend of attack has become a bit worn and ‘jaded’ by now, and I’ve resigned myself to a ‘wait and see’ situation  – accepting that something needed to be done, something has been done – let’s see how it all turns out. I’m not convinced at the government side of the argument, but equally, I’m not ‘impressed’ by the Opposition approach, basically, neither side has produced an adequate, easily understandable argument that I should be supporting one or the other. My fear is that the issue has been forced through by the Government, irrespective of possible consequences, because it was a policy that Gillard could  then claim to have succeeded with. I just hope that on the more important issue, to my mind, of our refugee policies, that a similar outcome is not achieved. That would be a true disaster for our Australian culture of humanity and compassion, which sadly has been eroded away over the past decade by the attitudes that our governments have been pushing on how we should treat refugees and asylum seekers!! 

The other ‘big news item’ of today was something I found rather distasteful  –  I know nothing about the detail of the ‘Michael Jackson’ trial, but I found the outcome, announced today [or Monday in the USA I believe] to be a case of power and wealth determined to ensure that somebody took the fall for Jackson’s death, rather than accept the fact, that perhaps his own lifestyle and ‘habits and addictions’ were the real cause!! But who am I to say that?  When Michael Jackson died two years ago, fans around the world erupted in a torrent of grief and anguish. Today, there were apparently hugs, tears and shrieks of joy amongst the fans [and family] outside a Los Angeles courtroom, after the jury found Jackson’s personal physician guilty of involuntary manslaughter over the singer’s death.  As reported officially, ‘Dr Conrad Murray looked like a defeated man before the jury spoke, his eyes vacant and lips pursed as he sat in the downtown Los Angeles courtroom in front of pop icon Michael Jackson’s family, his own loved ones and cameras beaming his fate live around the world. The look remained when the 12-member jury’s verdict was revealed while Jackson’s sister, La Toya, sitting in the second row of the public gallery, let out a loud shriek.   Murray, a 58-year-old Caribbean-born cardiologist earning $US150000 a month to care for Jackson, was found guilty of the pop star’s involuntary manslaughter. The jury’s verdict was swift – less than nine hours of deliberation after a six week trial – but not as speedy as the burly LA County Sheriffs who moved in behind Murray, guided his hands behind his back and slapped on handcuffs while Judge Michael Pastor was still addressing the court. “We can wait a few moments,” the judge told the sheriffs, who stepped back, but kept Murray cuffed.   Murray faces up to four years’ jail, however just as Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and other LA celebrity inmates have shown, California’s crowded jail system grants non-violent offenders early release.   I personally hope that is the fate given to Murray, who faced an  impossible task of being found anything else but guilty.

On a more personal front, I went back to ‘work’ today for a short visit of 5 hours – to assist in some interviews for my ‘replacement’  –  interviewed three ladies, at the conclusion of which there was no general agreement as to one or other was completely suitable. One quite experienced candidate would in fact have suited the situation, however there appeared to be an ‘unspoken’ fear by the two people who would have to work with her, that her experience, etc would eventually lead to her giving the impression of ‘taking over’, another example of the kind of paranoia that I was glad to get away from when I left!  I had in fact been surprised at the three names chosen for interview, as having read a number of the potential applicants before I left a couple of weeks ago, I had felt there were better qualified applicants.  I guess that was proven out, when it was decided to hold ‘more’ interviews this coming Friday, another three, which by coincidence included those I’d felt should have been seen in the first place. Of course, I do need to keep in mind – it is not me who will have to work with the successful applicant!

I actually travelled to Northcote and back by train today – took me back 6 six years to when I would undertake that trip on a daily basis, although admittedly on an earlier [and later, for the return] train. I’m certainly glad that I made a change to that routine – I continue to see people get off the trains at the same time every evening who were doing the same thing, six years ago – to me, that kind of monotonous never- change situation was somewhat depressing to think about, but for many people, they probably spend a working lifetime with the same routine, year after year after year.  While I had some unwanted disruptions to my working life from time to time, through retrenchments, etc, and did change the genre of jobs, work locations, means of getting there, etc, on many occasions over 46 years, I think I preferred to have done that, in preference to never changing anything.  Probably worse off financially and in terms of future security, however, that was my choice, and how things turned out. Anyway, those two train trips today gave me an excellent opportunity to do a bit of reading. After finishing Di Morrissey’s excellent latest novel the other day, I immediately came across another of her novels which I’d not previously got around to reading, and against plans to the contrary, immediately got my nose into it  –  one of her earlier books ‘Follow The Morning Star’ published in 1993.

 

 

As I’ve noted previously, I have so many plans of things I need to do, want to do, and for all intents and purposes, have ‘all the time in the world’ now to get on with them. Yet it seems there is something I’m going to have to come to terms with –  the feeling of guilt when I get up on a Monday morning, [a time that for 46 years has been a working day], and sit down for the first hour or so with a cup of coffee, and a book. I love reading, yet at the moment, I still find myself feeling I should be doing something else right now. I guess that kind of ‘mood’ will pass as the days and the weeks themselves pass. Admittedly, as in the past, it is always difficult to put down a novel of Di Morrissey. I bought this particular book last Friday, and now only have about 80 pages to read. It’s a story that creates lots of emotion, and in line with the theme itself, is giving this reader much to think about, in terms of what I have done with my life, and what I would like to do with it from hereon in!  Perhaps Di’s novel has come along at just the right moment in my ‘new’ life!

I stopped reading for a couple of hours, and went out into the front garden, where I tackled some more weeds. Good for the garden, perhaps not so advantageous for my back! J  Meantime, I’m a little surprised I’ve not heard from Jackie for a few days – my understanding is that she wanted me to assist with the interviews tomorrow for my replacement – if that is still the case, I would have liked to have had copies of the applications of the prospective interviewees before now  –  Jackie works by doing everything at the last moment. I’ve always taken the opposite approach!!   Will have to contact her later, if I’ve not heard anything soon!

Late this afternoon, after another spell in the garden [back this time], I eventually came to the end of Di Morrissey’s book ‘The Opal Desert’, which is in fact her 19^th novel in 20 years of publishing., as one of this country’s most successful writers. I recall seeing a documentary about her a few weeks ago, more of a personal reflection of her lifestyle as an author. She was quite responsive to her readers, as I discovered a couple of years ago, when I wrote to her after reading one of her books. I didn’t expect a reply, but eventually, one came. Just 10 days later –  “Hi Bill…not sure if I answered your lovely email with all the festive onslaught! Glad you enjoyed The Silent Country and hope you work your way through the rest of them! There’ll be a new book out this Nov. cheers and Happy New Year.  Di”

Di Morrissey began writing as a young woman, training and working as a journalist for Australian Consolidated Press in Sydney and Northcliffe Newspapers in London. She has worked in television in Australia and in the USA as a presenter, reporter, producer and actress. After her marriage to a US diplomat, Peter Morrissey, she lived in Singapore, Japan, Thailand, South America and Washington. Returning to Australia, Di continued to work in television before publishing her first novel in 1991. Di has a daughter, Dr Gabrille Hansen, and Di’s son, Dr Nicholas Morrissey, is a lecturer in South East Asian Art History and Buddhist Studies at the University of Georgia, USA. Di has three beautiful grandchildren: Sonoma Grace, Everton Peter and William James Bodhi. Di and her partner, Boris Janjic, live in the Manning Valley in New South Wales when not travelling to research her novels, which are all inspired by a particular landscape

Anyway, after reading ‘The Opal Desert’ I sent her another brief message, this time   –   ‘Hello Di,   Thank you for another beautiful novel  – have just finished ‘The Opal Desert’, a great story, and one which came along at a significant point in my life – just retired and busy reflecting on what I have or haven’t achieved, and where my life will go from here. Your story of Shirley, Kerrie and Anna was the perfect form of inspiration to help me deal with the next stage of my life.  Thankyou again, so many passages in this story, left this reader quite emotional and reflective,  from Bill Kirk, Sunbury [Victoria]’

Di Morrissey returned to outback Australia with The Opal Desert. It follows the story of three women from three different generations with unresolved issues in their lives, Kerrie, Shirley and Anna meet in the fictitious NSW town of Opal Lake.  Kerrie, in her 40s, has just lost her famous sculptor husband who had been the centre of her existence and for whom she made many sacrifices and she now finds her life has lost direction. Shirley, approaching 80, was betrayed by her lover many years before and has retreated from the world, becoming a recluse living in an underground dugout. Anna, 19, has a promising athletic career but is torn between the commitment to her sport which could carry her to the Olympics, or enjoying life like other young people. The friendship that develops between these three women, who meet in the strangely beautiful but desolate landscape of the opal fields, helps them resolve and come to terms with the next stage of their lives. And it was that very theme  which had quite an affect on myself, and the kind of doubts, or apprehensions that I currently have following my retirement from employment.

It has been a warm day, and the time I spent out in the garden left your writer, a little sunburnt, and a little back weary as well. It might have been nice to be able to spent the rest of the afternoon and evening resting up with another book – in fact I found two of Di Morrissey’s other novels, in the form of paperback editions which I’d not yet got around to reading. While there were other books in transit that I really should get back to, I was tempted to stay with the same author for a few days. However not tonight –  I had a spot on air at the radio to attend to, three hours from 9pm, and that would go ahead as per normal, with the program having been drafted up last night.

I wonder why it is that Saturday nights are always my worst nights for sleeping  –  when I always have an early start committed for the Sunday morning?  Last night was such an occasion, woke up numerous times during the early hours – first occasion, switched on the TV in time to watch the concluding stages of the Four Nations Rugby League from the UK between Australia and England [won by the Aussies 36-20], and then an hour or so later, awake again, this time watched one of those overnight product promotional programs, which pushes the one item for 30 minutes or so. This product was quite interesting – a bench top cooker that could virtually do any style of cooking you wanted, in the one pot, saving cooking and cleaning times etc – all sounded very good, priced at just under $200 plus another $30 postage, which seemed to be the only way you could purchase. I decided that something like that would suit my needs perfectly, and would keep my eyes open in the stores here, for anything similar.

Anyway, as for the sleeping, eventually gave any attempts to go back to sleep away – at 5am, got up, and watched a rather interesting though at times confusing speech on ABC 24 taken from recent ‘Festival of Dangerous Ideas’ held at the Sydney Opera House. Later on in the day, I switched the TV on to that channel again, and found  some further highlights from that Festival, this time, a debate about the morality of the media. A number of speakers were participating, including Bob Brown, leader of the Greens Party, who I found to be  the least believable and the most obviously biased in the arguments he was putting up. As far as he was concerned, if one section of the media was immoral in it’s practices [eg the Murdoch regime] that automatically placed all sections of the media in the same ‘boat’!! Typically one sided view of this now powerful politician, whom one has to hope doesn’t achieve too much more of that power. I feel he and his Party could be dangerous for Australia’s future such is the often ‘extreme’ nature of some of their policies.

Eventually,. I headed out to the radio station  –  classical music on air from 6.30am until 9.00 am. The rest of the day – a warm day with the threat all day of  storms and rain –  I spent at home alone. Didn’t know when to expect Susan back [from Bendigo where I now knew she had gone yesterday] as she had indicated she’d not be home for the evening meal  – yippee, a bit of voluntary information!!

I’m currently in the process of a major clean –up, the present task to sort and/or discard the many magazines of different varieties I have on hand. As with books, these are not the kind of possessions I can easily get rid of, and I’m actually in a bit of a quandary, as to just what I should discard, and what to retain. I guess they represent  a picture of the kind of aspects of life that I have been interested in, or have in the past, taken an interest or involvement in. Not that I am likely to read any of them again, but to my mind, it seems an inappropriate action to throw them out!  But like everything else, they take up space, something I’m beginning to run out of, and which it is highly likely in the future, there will even be less of should I downsize my living arrangements. As the great Shakespeare character said ‘to be, or not to be’!!.   I am getting rid of my accounting magazines, the bulk of which contents have never been of much practical use in respect to the accounting work roles I’ve undertaken over the years. But their ongoing receipt was a part of the rather steep annual subscription one paid every year to remain a member of the professional organisation. Mind you, there were always still topics of interest in each edition but with my pending ‘resignation’ from the CPA, I want to really put that part of my life well and truly in the past – I guess you could say I have ‘tired’ of accounting and finance, except where it is now going to personally affect this writer.  Anyway, to get back to what I started, I’m presently surrounded by stacks of magazines, etc, on all manner of subjects. Perhaps a local library or hospital might be interested in them, for waiting rooms etc, although in general, I doubt that many of the topics would offer any real degree of broad interest to the average ‘waiting’ reader!!

Late yesterday, Adam sent me a message re his day at the cricket  –  I’d not been able to get over to see his game yesterday, the first day of a two day match played over 2 weekends – he was playing in a town called Wallan, located on the old highway between Melbourne and Sydney, and as drive of about 40 minutes from here. I do recall driving Adam over to the ground for cricket matches some years ago before he had a driving licence, and that usually meant being present for the whole afternoon’s play, unless he was able to arrange a lift home with one of his older teammates. Anyway, last night’s message was to let me know, that his team [Sunbury’s senior team] had batted today, and completed a score of one wicket for 147 runs, a great effort. Unfortunately, the one wicket out was that of Adam – he opened the Innings, and managed to score a total of 18 runs, which I imagine was probably part of a reasonably decent opening partnership. A pity I’d not seen him batting this time. At the finish of the first day’s play,  the opposition were 2 for 20, a good position for Sunbury to be in.

Meanwhile, I’m scanning through what will probably be my second last copy of ‘INTHEBLACK’ which is the monthly publication put out by CPA Australia –  yes, there are topics of interest in it, but as suggested above, with my resignation from the CPA at the end of 2011, I will discontinue with the magazine itself also, simply too many other areas of life I want to allocate my time to from hereon in. Many of the articles are about people in the industry, and the achievements they have made, and the positions that they have ended up – the kind of bios my son was looking for a couple of years ago when he wanted books about successful people!! Similar stories and bios appear in a monthly supplement magazine called ‘The Deal’ under the publication of the ‘Australian’ newspaper. These days, a high number of such stories involve women, such as one I’ve just read in ‘INTHEBLACK’ about Elizabeth Ann Macgregor, originally born in Dundee, Scotland, and since 1999, being the Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. Very interesting storyline!

An organisation that I support [in a very modest way] is ‘Frontier Services’, which I have referred on these pages on previous occasions. During 2012, it will be celebrating the work that has been done over the past 100 years to support the people of remote Australia. Those celebrations will reach a climax on the 26 September with a special commemoration  at the Dallas Brooks Centre in Melbourne,  recognising 100 years since the establishment of the Australian Inland Mission. It was on the 26^th September, 1912, that the Rev John Flynn presented a proposal to the Assembly of the Presbyterian Church which resulted in the establishment of the Australian Inland Mission. Flynn’s vision for a ‘mantle of safety’ – enabled by the resolution of the Assembly on that day – created a network of pastoral care and social services for the people of outback Australia. In 1977, when the Uniting Church was established, the inland missions of the Presbyterian, Congregational and Methodist Churches were combined and given the name ‘Frontier Services’ – the name Flynn himself used to describe the work. Today, Frontier Services is still providing the services and support people need in remote Australia. A Commemorative Book is also to be produced, and it is planned that the people in that book will demonstrate two luminous qualities that characterise the people of the outback and the staff members of Frontier Services who have walked beside them for a hundred years – resilience and compassion.

A reminder of Frontier Services’ work –  it is the major provider of aged care, health and community services, and pastoral support to people in remote Australia. The organisation’s staff deliver a range of services including residential and in-home aged care; remote nursing and health clinics; assistance to isolated families, including childcare and early childhood education; migrant settlement assistance; student accommodation; provision of short term volunteers to assist families in need; and, pastoral support.  Many of these services take the place of non-existent or inadequate government support, and as a Not For Profit, it relies entirely on donations and the sale of small items such as especially printed Christmas cards, etc.

Meanwhile, I notice that Queensland is celebrating it’s second annual Grandparents Day today, launched last year, and aimed at providing an opportunity for grandchildren, children and the community in general, to thank grandparents for their love and support. As far as I’m aware, Queensland is the only state where this occurs, in Australia. An interesting innovation, I just hope it’s not just another excuse for yet a further ‘commercial’ grab  at sentimentality and the developed need for additional gift giving, etc! At this stage I’ve heard no mention of the idea spreading outside of the northern state.

Late tonight,  I was listening to a piece of music which brings back a few memories – an orchestral version of the theme music to ‘Blue Hills’. Now Blue Hills was a midday radio serial on the ABC, which while I seldom heard it, was listened to religiously by my mother .  The famous opening signature tune was taken from a short orchestral piece called Pastorale by the British composer Ronald Hanmer, who, until he moved to Australia in 1975,  had no idea that his work had been used by the ABC and had become so famous in Australia (although few Australians could have identified its composer). He later re-worked this short piece into a longer orchestral work titled Blue Hills Rhapsody, which he recorded with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, who were in fact playing it tonight. The play, Blue Hills,  was written by Gwen Meredith, and was about the lives of families in a typical Australian country town called Tanimbla. “Blue Hills” itself was the residence of the town’s doctor.  It was broadcast by the  ABC  for 27 years, from 28 February 1949 to 30 September 1976. It ran for a total of 5,795 episodes, and was at one time the world’s longest-running radio serial. Each episode lasted  just 15 minutes.  I imagine that when it ended, would have been a sad day for my mother!  The playwright, Gwen Meredith, died in 2006, at the age of 98.

Today was perhaps a sample of what was ahead of us this summer, as thousands flocked to the beaches,  and the patrons at Flemington Race Course was able to enjoy a beautiful day for the last day of the Flemington Spring Racing Carnival..  I decided to spend my day with tasks in the house, after a brief walk in the morning, and a little amount of  work in the garden. Susie away most of the day  – at her part time job at Bakers’ Delight, and then she headed off again late afternoon, noted that she not be back until tomorrow. As usual, no indication as to where she was going, although I suspected that perhaps this was her final trip to Bendigo to collect her belongings that remained up there in the accommodation she had barely used over recent months.  That ‘assumption’ would be confirmed through another Face Book exchange between her and James  – she was in Bendigo.  I just feel it would be ‘nice’ to be told of trips like that occasionally!

One of the highlights of today’s racing, was the running of ‘Black Caviar’  –  going for her 16^th win in 16 races, that  target was reached in a canter, as the horse sprinted  away from a small field of opposition over the last 200  metres. – as one report would later describe the performance – “Black Caviar rakes in another $600,000 with a 68.34 sec stroll” As she coasted to victory in front of a record Stakes Day crowd of 85,112, Black Caviar kept the milestones turning over, and her unbeaten winning spree of 16 in a row, now places her equal 5^th for all-time unbeaten winning streaks [a long way behind the Hungarian mare ‘Kinesem’s’ 54 wins!]. Now in her sights is ‘Mainbrace’s’ unbeaten record of 17 races straight in the 1940s in Australia and New Zealand, while her prizemoney currently sits at $4.4 million! Jockey Luke Nolan [supported by trainer Peterf Moody] said todayt that the pressure associated with riding Black Caviar was the weight of people’s expectations. Just like me tuning in to particularly watch this horse run, so too have the crowds at the  meetings where she competes been vastly increased, simply because people are coming along  to watch this horse win. Nolan said “You don’t want to disappoint anyone who has come to see her. She has a faultless record and we very much want to keep it intact”.  Moody commented in an interview, when asked how disappointed he will be when she eventually loses a race with the reply that he loses races every day, and the real disappointment will be felt by the fans out there!

Unstoppable: Luke Nolen onboard Black Caviar will take on the world. Picture: Colleen Petch. Source: The Sunday Telegraph

 

Watched a bit of television tonight, including one of those family history shows that are all the rage these days  – this one of particular interest, as it featured one of my favourite athletes, runner Cathy Freeman, as she traced the stories of her ancestors, most of the details of which she had not previously been aware. As one reviewer wrote in one of this week’s TV guides about the program ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’  ‘Family histories are like car races and opening ceremonies – they get much more interesting when things go wrong. There was certainly plenty wrong in the back story of Cathy Freeman’s family, starting with the fact that her parents, Cecilia and Norman, met a Woorabinda, an Aboriginal settlement in central Queensland, where every aspect of the residents’ lives was strictly controlled. Cecilia was even obliged to write seeking permission for her and Norman to visit their families for Christmas [it was refused]. Through a visit to her aunt in Cherbourg [Queensland], Freeman discovers more about her paternal grandfather and local rugby league legend Frank ‘Big Shot’ Fisher, together with her great-grandfather Frank Fisher, Snr., who served in the Australian Light Horse during World War I. As a ‘half caste’, however, his pay was withheld because he ‘could not be trusted to spend it wisely’’  I must say that I liked Cathy’s ‘genuine’ reactions to many of the findings being presented to her – such a refreshing change from the ‘acted and over exaggerated responses of some of the celebrities that appear on this program, especially if they are an actor anyway. They put me off the show – that, and the fact, that the availability of the research and family information is made to appear so easily and inexpensively obtained, when of course those of us who are genuine genealogists, know a completely different story!

 

Following my visit and participation [as a Volunteer] in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, at which event Cathy Freeman won Gold in the Women’s 400 Metres race, I wrote my memoirs of the occasion, and after Cathy’s race, I wrote: “There was no sudden self-congratulatory chest thumping, jumping up and down, waving of arms, pointing of the solitary finger to the sky, no immediate outpouring of exuberant emotion, screams of unbounded joy [all of that came from the 112,000 spectators at the Park, and millions around the country]. Cathy Freeman simply sat down on the track, beyond the finishing line, humble in victory, silently contemplating what had gone before, what she had just achieved, , the fulfilment of a dream that turned her world upside down and around. “I just had to sit down”. Her opponents, one by one, quietly approached her, a congratulatory touch on her shoulders, a private word of praise, as Cathy sat there, for what to those of us watching, seemed like ages, as she fought to control her emotions. And then she asked the officials if she could run a lap of honour!!’ ‘I am very relieved it’s over, I made a lot of people happy tonight, especially my family……”  Later that October, at a welcome back to her home town, in Mackay, North Queensland,  Cathy would say “Part of being who I am is knowing where I came from, so it was not really just me who won the gold medal, it was you”. Well in tonight’s program, she learnt a lot more about where she had come from, and immediately ‘shared’ her gold medal with those ancestors who had contributed to her being what she was. Quite a moving program tonight, which added to my admiration of this wonderful Australian ambassador.

I heard Susie drive out about midnight last night – assumed she was driving down to the service station for a coke [her addiction\] or something  – think I was awake for a brief while afterwards, but didn’t here a return, though on awakening early this morning again, I noticed the house was in darkness so assumed, again, she had returned at some stage. This morning, I noted on Facebook that son James had missed the last train to Sunbury, and was calling for suggestions as to what his alternative was [other than a long and expensive taxi journey]  – the suggestion was to catch a metropolitan train to Watergardens [the end of the metro lines, about 20 minutes from Sunbury], and Susie noted his remarks on Face Book and offered to go and pick him up.  So that was her reason ‘this time’ for disappearing in the middle of the night.  I felt rather good, after reading that, about the brother/sister co-operation!  I have a feeling that will occasionally be my option on some of these upcoming weeknights when I have a concert in the city to attend which finishes too late to allow me to catch the last train to Sunbury [10.15pm Sunday to Thursday], though I think on those occasions I will probably drive the car to Watergardens, and train from there and back, rather than depend on one of my ‘kids’ to come and get me!!

Anyway, enough of my little family ‘trivia’ to start off today’s contribution!!

I received in the mail, my annual CPA [Certified Public Accountant] annual membership renewal yesterday. At a cost that keeps going up each year  – this time $630 for 2012 –  I’ve decided that in view of retirement, I really don’t need [or particularly want] that membership any longer.  It has helped that the cost over the past five years was met as part of my salary, but from now on, I feel it is just too much money to pay out on something that I will seldom if ever have any further need of. And while I guess that over the past thirty years, the qualification has assisted in obtaining most of the jobs I’ve had, not really sure that most of the material I studied for all those years, and which the bulk of the organisation represents, was a great deal of value in the roles I undertook which were in total roles in the government, municipal and/or not for profit environments, as distinct from a strict commercial and business accounting area. I was never really that interested in the business side of accounting, and as indicated by my career, have concentrated on the community service areas of work provided by the above environments, and generally, most of those areas had a different accounting direction where the prime motive was not one of achieving profits for shareholders and other owners. So yesterday, with all that in mind, I attempted [unsuccessfully] to get onto the CPA by phone & internet to formally submit my resignation.  While that ‘message’ will get through eventually, I had no luck with that first attempt – even the web site was totally ‘user unfriendly’ when it came to finding means of ‘leaving them’!!  Perhaps that might take the best part of the next six months, while they chase me for my 2012 subscription!

Speaking of trains earlier, I notice that the metropolitan network and major regional centres are soon to be all; fully covered by the presence of Police Protective Service Officers [PSOs], part of the present State Government’s commitment to make our rail network safer for the travelling public. A vigorous recruiting campaign is currently underway to build up the numbers of PSOs, aimed at providing the means of tackling crime, violence and antisocial behaviour on the rail network. While the first two aspects are serious enough in their own right, it is probably the third area which is the most common, and causes the most concern and anguish for many passengers, particularly on late night trains to outer suburban and regional areas. At present, Sunbury is not on the metropolitan system, but that will soon change, with the extension of the metro electric trains rail link to this town.  In many ways that will be an advantage, particularly in overcoming the problem faced by my son, as referred to above –  we will at least trains travelling from the city at a much later time of night.  However, apart from the potential creation of major traffic flows concerns here in Sunbury when that happens [and that is a whole separate issue on it’s own], one of the concerns here in Sunbury, when the extension was first announced was that because we would now be on the ‘end of the line’ as far as the metro trains were concerned, that would attract more antisocial and potentially criminal elements to this area – something which has proved a concern in the past to other suburbs on the ‘end’ of the train journey. Hopefully, the PSO system will extend to Sunbury and subsequently cause some easing of that kind of concern.

On a similar issue, I notice a report that our State Government has  allocated a $200,000 Grant to install Closed Circuit Television [CCTV] in Sunbury’s shopping district, and this will hopefully ease the concerns of some residents about community safety in the town, especially after dark. While I don’t consider that there are a large number of such instances, certainly the perception is there from when they do occur, and with Sunbury’s central shopping area used by many locals day and night, the CCTV should hopefully a little extra of community comfort and feeling of safety when using and accessing those areas, even such a simple thing as walking from the train station late at night to one’s car, which at the time it was parked, may have been in a full carpark, but by late night, is generally isolated in an empty parking area!  A good move!

After a visit to the Bendigo Bank [3NRG matters], I then spent an hour up with the admin team at the radio station this morning chasing up a couple of matters, and then on my way to the local cinema, made the ‘mistake’ of perusing the book section of the Target store, and subsequently walked out having spent $60 I’d had no intention of outlaying that morning!!!  One of them, at the discounted price, I just had to snap up, the latest novel by one of favourite current Australian writers, Di Morrissey – she has to be a favourite, because she replied to me after I wrote to her, commenting on one of her earlier novels!.  This one – titles ‘The Opal Desert’, as per normal, set in Australia, aimed to tell the story of three women, facing uncertain futures, who come to form an unlikely friendship in Australia’s remote opal fields. By the time I retired tonight, I’d got through to page 139, another activity I’d not planned for today!!  The beauty of being retired with the ability [within limits] to choose one’s activities from one day to the next! The other book I purchased, of a much ‘heavier’ nature in all respects was called ‘After Words’, featuring a series of post- Prime Ministerial speeches by someone who was probably my most least favoured Prime Minister of recent decades, namely PJ [Paul] Keating. While I’ve never really had any desire to read a  biography of Keating [though I do have one on my shelves not yet tackled], I thought that this selection might be more easily read and interesting because it formed a series of separate speeches and/or addresses on a range of subjects. No doubt, once I get started on that publication, readers will hear about bits and pieces from it!!  In the meantime, I shall continue with Di Morrissey and complete a couple of other books before I get stuck into Keating.

My disappointment of the day was to call into the local cinema around midday, intending to have a look at the film about Damian Oliver’s Melbourne Cup victory of 11 years, which occurred a few days after his brother was killed in a riding accident – ‘The Cup’ – alas, I left my run to late, the screening of the film [here in Sunbury] finished last Wednesday!!!I shall have to find it in the city somewhere!

Didn’t waste the rest of my day however –  went for a walk, with the magpies once again dominating the environs at this time of day, and spent an or so out in the garden.  I have a big job to do there, particularly in the back yard, which unlike the front garden, has been sorely neglected over the past year or so. I have to admit, that while years ago, I could have managed the task ahead of me without any problems or effort, at present it feels like I have a mountain to climb. However with time now available, we are going to approach this one task at a time, while trying not to stress ‘too much’ about the big picture scenario. My aim is to have things the way I want them by the end of summer!

Susan had worked today, and went out again this evening. So another meal alone, a bit of TV, and some Di Morrissey reading, but I must admit to having some feelings of loneliness tonight. However, we allow that to pass, and move on!! 

Before concluding, earlier in the day, I noticed the report that the Federal Government had announced on Wednesday that it would be abolishing the age limit for superannuation guarantee contributions. The changes will take effect on 1 July 2013. For many years now, employers have been required to contribute 9% of an employees’ gross salary or wages to an agreed superannuation fund. The changes were added to a deal which boosts the super guarantee of all workers from that  9 per cent to 12 per cent. The increase in the super guarantee will take a few years to add significantly to older workers’ nest eggs, so removing the age limit on super contributions is a real win for Australians looking to retire in the next short while.  Of course, we are reminded that It’s possible we shouldn’t be jumping for joy yet – the package of superannuation reforms is tied to the government’s mining tax, and if the mining tax is not passed then the superannuation reforms will not go through. This is because the Mineral Resource Rent Tax (the mining tax) will be used to partly fund the boost in superannuation. We are told that the government has done this for two reasons. The first is to ensure that some of the mining tax is going directly back into the community, and the second is to make it more difficult for the opposition to oppose the mining tax.  Be that as it may, the original plan was to simply increase the superannuation guarantee contribution age limit to 75. But when Bill Shorton announced the “historic” changes on Wednesday, he stated that “Australians should not have to work hard and retire poor”. The Federal Government announced on Wednesday that it would be abolishing the age limit for superannuation guarantee contributions. The changes will take effect on 1 July 2013.  The question I am left with, relates as to whether this is all too late for people such as myself who have just retired or are considering doing so?  I doubt these ‘great’ Labor  benefits will do anything for this writer!……………………………………………..

 

 

I should have gone to the Kyneton Cup yesterday. The horse I selected to win, yesterday morning at the radio station, came home. But of course, whenever that happens, Bill doesn’t have a bet on it!!!  That’s the way it goes! In fact of the three selections I gave on the radio, two of them won, and my suggested second place in a third race, won also!! However today, my first ever opportunity to have a look at the traditional third day of the Spring Carnival with Oakes Day, the  essentially fashion and ladies’ day dominating the scene, in some quarters, at the expense of the races.  I have admit that my interest was more with the horses!

Another dull and overcast day, although they are promising us a hot weekend, one prediction being the warmest days since March. We shall wait and see.  Most of the first part of my day was devoted to doing a few online jobs for the VPTA  – hopefully action on my replacement will commence next week with some interviews, to which I believe I’ve been asked to participate in. I also had some preparatory work to get organised for tonight’s radio committee meeting. In between all of that, we did manage to get a bit of a walk in. A good time to go for a walk if you like solitude – not many people around, and most of the activity around the local walking tracks comes from the birds in the area, although even they tend to be less active in the middle of the day, and at present the magpies seem to constantly be the most active of the bird life, whatever time of day it is.

As mentioned yesterday, I caught the train into the city late afternoon to visit my favourite little concert venue – the Melbourne Recital Centre, though not to attend  a concert in the main ‘Elizabeth Murdoch Hall’ tonight, but in the smaller ‘Salon’ as it is referred to. This part of the venue is generally used for the smaller musical ensembles, and/or the shorter one hour concerts, as is the case this evening  – a one hour performance from the Firebird Trio consisting of two regular members – Josephine Vains [on cello] and Benjamin Martin [the leader, on piano] together with guest violinist, Roger Jonsson.

The Salon was set up in a nice cosy little three sided arrangement, intimately close to the Trio, with no set seats for one’s ticket – get there early enough, as I did of course, choose you own seat of preference. The program was called ‘A World In Music’, and featured a varied selection of music for piano, violin and cello. One of the planned items on the agenda was by the composer Joe Chindamo, whose jazz music I have often played on the radio, so I was particularly interested in coming tonight to hear the classical side of his work. Upon arrival, I discovered a change in the program, and his work was not to be played.

Anyway, the program opened with a  Piano Trio by a composer from Catalonia [Spain] whom I was not familiar with – Gaspar Cassado [1897-1966), and much of his work was created during the time of Franco’s dictatorship in Spain. Not surprisingly, this work, in three movements was rich in Spanish ornamentation and expression, and I enjoyed the music. Though again, I found myself right from the beginning of the program, feeling quite tired, not helped no doubt by two consecutive poor sleeping nights, and at times, I almost had to consciously keep myself from drifting off  – didn’t want to succumb to that embarrassment!

Polite applause at the conclusion, the players off the stage briefly, then back for two items  – a short work by Sir Edward Elga called ‘Salut d’Amour, which seemed to be over before it began. That was followed by the replacement composer instead of Chindamo – one Terry Riley [b. 1935] who apparently rose to prominence among modernist music circles in the early 1960s. His composition called ‘Salome Dances for Peace’ was initially written for the Kronos Quartet, but with the composer’s permission and approval, our pianist [Benjamin Martin] rearranged the composition  for a piano trio, as played tonight. Speaking about the piece, Martin said ‘I thought that it should be a ballet about Salome using her alluring powers to actually create peace in the world, so Salome in this case becomes like a goddess who – drawn out of antiquity; having done evil kinds of things –reincarnates and is trained as a sorceress, as a shaman. And through her dancing, she is able to become both a warrior and an influence on the world leader’s actions’.  Interesting summation. The work tendered to have similar techniques in sound to people like Phillip Glass, whose music I also play quite a bit, especially when I want to present something ‘different’.

Another short off-stage’ break for the Trio, and then it was back for the Frank Martin [1890-1975] composition ‘Piano Trio on Irish Folk Tunes’, written in 1925. I don’t know if the composer and pianist are related, that was not referred to. I’ve recorded or copied some of Frank Martin’s music from a vinyl recording I was given, to a CD, so I was familiar with this man, who was a contemporary of Stravinsky, perhaps a reason why his name is not as well recognised as other composers. His namesake writes again, in the program notes –  ‘The work has  an interesting genesis in that Martin was originally commissioned by an Irish-American patron to write a trio on Irish tunes, presumably along the lines of Danny Boy. However, Frank Martin – inspired by his immersion in Parisian culture between 1923-25 and certain Irish folk melodies that he found in the Biblioteque National des Paris – produced a complex contrapuntal and modal work that resulted in the patron refusing to pay’. However, Martin apparently persisted with what he had created, being a composer more interested in validating his works, rather than popularising them. Good for him! It was music to appreciate, with or without a knowledge of Irish folk tunes, and ignoring the fact that most of them incorporated into the music, I didn’t know or recall!

I didn’t wait around to join the musicians in a drink and a chat, not really my scene or style, and like the concert of a week or so ago [the percussion music], I had enjoyed both the music, and the shortness of the performance itself, which apart from anything else, enabled me to catch an earlier train back to Sunbury –  the Bendigo 8.15pm departure!!

That was last night.  Tonight – Committee Meeting for the radio station.  Meanwhile, thankfully, after spending most of the afternoon cooking a roast, Susie was around for a meal tonight, which I managed to have ready and prepared in plenty of time for a reasonable departure to the meeting. That activity [the meeting] occupied a full 2 hours, and once again, it was a good feeling to be a part of a cohesive and cooperative management team. Whilst I can’t admit to having a complete understanding of all aspects of the purchase, the station has undertaken a number of useful technical innovations over the past 12 months or so, and administratively, is operating in a most effective manner, a substantial improvement on the earlier years when I  first became a part of the operations. True, there are still areas of concern which I believe [and continually raise as points of issue] need further attention and improvement, not the least of which relates to programming and the  attitude and approach to their role by some presenters. Whilst it is true that we are all very much volunteers, to my mind, that is never an excuse to avoid trying to sound and present as professionally as we possibly can. That view is not always agreed with or held by all of us occasionally. A side of the station that I will continue to push for in terms of culture and attitude.

 

 

 

 

This morning was the 3^rd in the last four mornings that I have  up to the radio station before 7am – this morning, just for my weekly Wednesday 10 minute local sporting results segment, on Ron’s program.  After a very poor night’s constantly broken sleep, it was the last thing I felt like doing, and before I actually got out onto the road, was thinking seriously of making this a phone ring-in segment rather than actually going up to the studio. It made sense in many ways, and in fact, after this morning’s visit, Ron asked me if I’d prefer to do the report by phone. We decided to play it by ear – take each week as it comes, and he was happy with that arrangement. Certainly, it was another commitment that I didn’t like to break, and while Ron continued to be on air, and wanted the segment to continue, I’d stick with it. In the end, I was usually happy to be up early, a quiet time of day when certain jobs could be attended to with still the whole day ahead.

A couple of ‘distant’ relatives that I have met over the past year or so, both have birthdays today, and I remembered to send both Alma and Leslie, living in different parts of the UK, an appropriate greeting this morning.  Interesting response from the latter  –  “Thank you cuz. Will be spending it at work ! ♥ ♥” .  In the past twelve months or so, I have through my family history research come across a number of ‘new cousins’ of various degrees of connection, etc. Has been an interesting time.

I made reference at the conclusion of yesterday’s entry to the Reserve Bank decision to cut interest rates.]  Australia’s biggest home lenders cut mortgage rates soon after the central bank reduced the cash rate for the first time since April 2009. Westpac took just 15 minutes to pass on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) 0.25 percentage point rate cut in full on Tuesday. It will lower its standard variable home loan rate (SVR) to 7.61 per cent from November 14. Westpac is the nation’s second biggest mortgage lender by market share, Bank of Queensland (BOQ), and Commonwealth Bank (CBA), Australia’s biggest home lender, followed suit, cutting their SVR to 7.61 per cent and 7.56 per cent respectively. BOQ’s rate cut will take effect on November 11, and CBA’s on November 4. ANZ Banking Group and National Australia Bank (NAB) said their interest rates were under review. This followed on from  the decision yesterday by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to cut interest rates for the first time since April 2009, and handing borrowers ‘a win’ on Melbourne Cup Day.  The central bank eased the official cash rate by 25 basis points, down to 4.5 per cent.  Prime Minister Julia Gillard had earlier declared that all banks should match the RBA’s reduction. “Australian banks should pass on this interest rate cut in full,” Ms Gillard said.\ “I said this morning on the media that if the RBA cut interest rates today Australian banking customers would be looking to their banks to cut interest rates in full.  “I believe that’s what the Australian people want to see.”   In a report on AAP by economist Garry Shilson-Josling, he writes that 

‘The interest rate cut announced by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday was well anticipated in financial markets. There was some doubt among economists as to its timing, though almost all expected the move in the cash rate to 4.5 per cent from 4.75 per cent to come either this month or in December. The cut was the sixth consecutive move in rates on the first Tuesday in November, the day the Melbourne Cup is run.  But this timing is not due to any attempt by the RBA to make up for the losses most punters rack up on the notoriously hard-to-pick horse race. In fact it’s because the quarterly consumer price index (CPI) figures are released at the end of October, and inflation figures often confirm a course of action the RBA has been considering. That was also the case this time around. In its announcement, the RBA said the economy was facing “moderate growth overall”, with strong mining-related investment being offset by caution among households and the high exchange rate. “Accordingly, the Bank’s current judgement is that inflation is likely to be consistent with the two to three per cent target in 2012 and 2013, abstracting from the impact of the carbon pricing scheme,” the RBA said. The RBA said the 4.75 per cent cash rate had been “mildly restrictive”, in response to its earlier concerns that inflation was tending towards the top of the target range, or even higher. “With overall growth moderate, inflation now likely to be close to target and confidence subdued outside the resources sector, the Board concluded that a more neutral stance of monetary policy would now be consistent with achieving sustainable growth and two to three per cent inflation over time,” the RBA said.

There was no direct pointer to the likely path of rates from here. The weakness in the non-resources sector could prompt further rate cuts. Some evidence to support that possibility emerged even as the RBA’s board met on Tuesday morning. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released data showing the price of established homes had fallen 1.2 per cent in the September quarter to be 3.3 per cent down from their peak last year Those figures confirmed monthly figures from RP Data on Monday, showing a fall of 0.2 per cent in prices of all dwellings between August and September, to a level 3.6 per cent below last year’s high. Earlier on Tuesday, the Housing Industry Association (HIA) said the number of new homes sold by large building firms fell in September to the lowest level in over a decade. At the same time, though, the mining boom is not going away. Before the next RBA board meeting, the ABS will release its survey of business capital spending, which should confirm the once-in-a-century, economy-stretching splurge on fixed capital is still under way. Most likely, the RBA has not decided what it will do next and, like everyone else, will now focus on the flow of economic data before it comes to a firm view.’

Meantime, here in Victoria, and in the Melbourne area over the past few days, we have seen a number of tragic car accidents involves young people and families, most of which it seems could have been avoided. Sadly, while these are generally referred to as accidents, in many cases, they occur as a result of one party breaking the traffic laws in some manner, either through carelessness or inattention, or outright criminal disregard for the relevant road rules. There is a huge outpouring of grief and comment whenever one of our soldiers is killed in Afghanistan, and yet there are regular much larger and tragic statistics arising from our ‘peaceful’ roads every week, and in most cases, those ‘accidents’ receive a paragraph if they are ‘lucky’ in the daily media!  This situation never ceases to disturb this writer, something I’ve commented upon numerous times in the past.  While on another sad aspect of current news, we have been hearing overnight and reading this morning of  the sinking of another boatload of asylum seekers.  The boat, which left from Cilacap in Central Java with a crew of three, was carrying about 70 asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Iran. It capsized near Nusakambangan Island between West Java and Central Java about 5am local time (0900 AEDT) on Tuesday after taking on water for about two hours.  It is reported to have left Cilacap at 2am and around 3am their ship leaked. At 5am, their ship already sank and was found by local fishermen.  The refugees were believed to have mostly come from Iran and Afghanistan and were heading to Kupang initially, and then to Australia

On December 15 last year, up to 50 people died when their wooden boat was smashed into pieces on Christmas Island’s rocky shoreline. Another boat, carrying 92 asylum seekers and two crew, was intercepted off the Australian coast last Tuesday and that was the sixth boat to arrive since the federal government was forced to abandon its Malaysian people swap deal because of a parliamentary impasse last month.  Surely, better efforts must be undertaken to create safer pathways for these people, to avoid the necessity of getting onto leaky boats and/or paying exorbitant amounts to people smugglers in the hope of getting to Australia. It is simply not good enough for the immediate Opposition response to the latest tragedy to emphasise the blame on the people smugglers –  instead of constantly calling for the turning of asylum seekers away, we need a more humane approach to the processing of their claims and even finding a means of getting them here to Australia from places like Indonesia and Malaysia ‘before’ they get on those boats. That is at least an attempt to help these people. Merely creating policies to ‘stop the boats’ does nothing to help desperate people in need of assistance and a safe place to live. Sadly, many Australians will disagree with any suggestion of bringing refugees into this country, but be that on their own conscience [if they have one], we must do things better here in Australia!

Now the day after the Melbourne Cup, the little rural town north of here holds their annual Cup –  the ‘Kyneton Cup’  –  I would in fact have gone up to Kyneton today, for an afternoon at some country races [though the Cup has a city standard field], but with a concert ticket in hand for a 6pm start in the city, can’t do both!!  Kyneton will have to be another day – in fact, Ron at the radio expressed an interest in going to a future meeting up there, when I saw him this morning!   Actually, it would not have been a very warm day up at the windy Kyneton Racecourse – we seem to be heading back towards a much cooler kind of Spring weather, not exactly wintry, but I must admit that the heater has been off and on over the past few days!!  And while there didn’t appear to have been any rain in the city this evening, when I got back to Sunbury at around 9pm, on the train, it had obviously been raining quite a bit in the town.  As for the concert, we’ll summarise that tomorrow – the musicians were the ‘Firebird Trio’!!

 

Not a very good sleep, and your writer was back up at the radio station by 6.30am –  no need to be there, as I had no commitment to the station, just a commitment to myself, and my annual little visit for an hour at this time each year, to present my little Melbourne Cup Preview.

Which I did  – went through the whole program of ten races, giving listeners my selections for what they are worth, of the nine non-Cup races, and then after a bit of music, we looked at the Cup field itself, which is listed below.  Also, I was lucky enough to have recordings of the closing stages of the first eleven Melbourne Cups trained by Bart Cummings, starting with Light Fingers in 1965, plus one or two others –  Rising Sun in 1954, and my favourite Cup Winner, Rain Lover, the winner in 1968 and 1969.

Melbourne Cup Field 2011

1. Americain  –  G Mosse [A De Royer-Dupre]
2. Jukebox Jury – N Callan  [Mark Johnston]
3. Dunaden –   L.Lemaire  [Mikel Delzangles]
4. Drunken Sailor – D Dunn [LM Cumani]
5. Glass Harmonium – Ms L Cropp [MD Moroney]
6. Manighar – D Oliver [LM Cumani]
7. Unusual Suspect – B Rawiller [MC Kent]
8. Fox Hunt – S De Sousa [Mark Johnston]
9. Lucas Cranach – C Brown [Anthony Freedman]
10. Mourayan – J Bowman [Robert Hickmott] [SCRATCHED]
11. Precedence – D Beadman [JB Cummings]
12. Red Cadeaux – M Rodd [Ed Dunlop]
13. Hawk Island – G Schofield [CJ Waller]
14. Illo – J Cassidy [JB Cummings]
15. Lost In The Moment – W Buick [Saeed Bin Suroor]
16. Modun – K McEvoy [Saeed Bin Suroor]
17. At First Sight – S King [Robert Hickmott]
18. Moyenne Corniche – B Prebble [Brian Elison]
19. Saptapadi – C Symons [Brian Elison]
20. Shamrocker – L Nolen [DT O’Brien]
21. The Verminator – C Newitt [CJ Waller]
22. Tullamore – C Munce [Ms Gai Waterhouse]
23. Niwot – D Yendall [MW & J Hawkes
24. Older Than Time – T Clark [Ms Gai Waterhouse].

Disappointment of the day came for popular jockey Craig Williams, who was to have ridden international visitor, Dunaden – in fact he had a number of rides on Cup day, but yesterday lost an appeal against a suspension for careless riding at a country race meeting a couple of weeks ago.

Anyway, before we proceed any further, here are my tips for the 2011 Melbourne Cup:

• 1^st: NO. 9 – Lucas Cranach
• 2^nd: No. 14 – Illo
• 3^rd: No. 7 – Unusual Suspect
• 4^th: No. 17 – At First Sight.

I would like to see JB [Bart] Cummings win his 13^th Melbourne Cup as a trainer – he has two chances in today’s race –  one of my choices, Illo, and Precedence. We shall return later in the day with an outcome – Melbourne Cup, worth $A6 million, and run over 3,200 metres, at 3pm Eastern Australian Summer time. Some of the family are coming over to watch the race with me, later today, as is our annual practice.

10am: a scratching in the Cup – No. 10 Mourayan

Well here we are back, it’s early evening, and it all feels like a bit of an anti-climax with the Cup over for another year, monies won and lost [all the latter for me], a new hero in the records, and the closest finish in the history of the Cup. For your writer, it was a pleasant afternoon – for the first time for many years, the whole of the family came and joined me at home, to watch this year’s Melbourne Cup, and a number of the other races on the program –  all four ‘kids’ [I’d not expected the boys but both apparently decided family was the preferred option this year], together with their Mum, Shirley, her mother, and Jodie’s boyfriend, Ash. As usual, Mrs Seipolt brought over a pile of food [I’d being told there was no need to do anything in that respect], and during the course of races, we conducted the usual of mini family sweeps on both the Cup, and some of the other races associated with the day. And as usual, while I provided the majority of the ‘funds’ for that, nothing came back to me in return[none of my horse ‘came in’] while Shirley seemed to take off the major share of winnings, yet once again!!!  But it was a fun afternoon, and I enjoyed having everyone together for a change. 

And the race result!  Well ‘my’ predictions of this morning, didn’t really come about, not surprisingly  – the Melbourne Cup with a big field of 23 well credentialed horses is never an easy race in which to pick a winner [is any race??].  Another French horse, with French connections won the 151st running of the Melbourne Cup in a photo finish from Red Cadeaux, with Lucas Cranach third in another photo from favourite Americain [last year’s overseas winner].   Champion Australian jockey Craig Williams has had his heart broken after Dunaden, the horse he was set to ride, was awarded the race in the closest finish in Cup history.   Williams was suspended the week before for careless riding and failed in his bid for a stay of proceedings pending an appeal. Replacement jockey Christophe Lemaire timed his run perfectly to reach the post almost simultaneously with Red Cadeaux. Might you, this is not to say that Dunaden would have won if Williams had been riding, but that is the general perception anyway. It certainly was an exciting finish with a number of fast finishing chances, and the decision on the photo  took an eternity while it  was heavily scrutinised. The crowd, which had roared as a wall of runners all had their chances in the closing stages, held their breaths as the results board remained blank. The photo, shown on the big screen, had many predicting the first dead-heat in Cup history, but the judges were finally able to separate the two horses by the barest of margins.  American had retained favouritism for the race despite the fact Dunaden had beaten him in Europe. Dunaden had a greater weight advantage this time, allowing the French stayer to repeat the result. British trained Red Cadeaux was having his first start in Australia and very nearly won for trainer Ed Dunlop at his first attempt. German horse Lucas Cranach completed the European trifecta for Lee and Anthony Freedman, and as indicated earlier in the day, had being my selection to win the race.

Meanwhile, the sky over Flemington, and Melbourne in general,  threatened all day, but the rain failed to fall and the track was upgraded to a good three. Concern rippled through the camps of the European raiders, who almost every year campaign to have the track softened up to suit their horses. I notice that the rider of American commented after the race on the hardness of the track. Anyway, here is the finishing order of this year’s competing horses in the Melbourne Cup.  Those horses highlighted were the four I had in my top four placings!!!  I didn’t lose too much money – not a big better, but then, I didn’t win anything either.

2011 Melbourne Cup Results and Finishing Order

Finish	No.	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Weight	Margin
1st	3	DUNADEN(13)	Christophe Lemaire	Mikel Delzangles	54.5	3-20.84
2nd	12	RED CADEAUX(15)	Michael Rodd	Ed Dunlop	53.5	0.1L
3rd	9	LUCAS CRANACH(11)	Corey Brown	Anthony Freedman	53.5	1.4L
4th	1	AMERICAIN(14)	Gerald Mosse	Alain de Royer Dupre	58.0	1.5L
5th	6	MANIGHAR(20)	Damien Oliver	Luca Cumani	54.0	2.7L
6th	15	LOST IN THE MOMENT(3)	William Buick	Saeed Bin Suroor	53.0	2.8L
7th	8	FOX HUNT(18)	Silvestre De Sousa	Mark Johnston	53.5	2.9L
8th	23	NIWOT(9)	Dean Yendall	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	51.0	3.7L
9th	7	UNUSUAL SUSPECT(7)	Brad Rawiller	Michael Kent	54.0	3.8L
10th	17	AT FIRST SIGHT(10)	Steven King	Robert Hickmott	52.5	6.5L
11th	11	PRECEDENCE(2)	Darren Beadman	Bart Cummings	53.5	6.6L
12th	4	DRUNKEN SAILOR(8)	Dwayne Dunn	Luca Cumani	54.0	7.6L
13th	21	THE VERMINATOR(4)	Craig Newitt	Chris Waller	52.0	7.8L
14th	22	TULLAMORE(12)	Chris Munce	Gai Waterhouse	52.0	7.9L
15th	18	MOYENNE CORNICHE(16)	Brett Prebble	Brian Ellison	52.0	8.0L
16th	19	SAPTAPADI(21)	Chris Symons	Brian Ellison	52.0	8.1L
17th	24	OLDER THAN TIME(19)	Tim Clark	Gai Waterhouse	51.0	8.6L
18th	13	HAWK ISLAND(17)	Glyn Schofield	Chris Waller	53.0	8.9L
19th	14	ILLO(1)	Jim Cassidy	Bart Cummings	53.0	14.9L
20th	2	JUKEBOX JURY(6)	Neil Callan	Mark Johnston	57.0	16.7L
21st	20	SHAMROCKER(23)	Luke Nolen	Danny O’Brien	52.0	17.0L
22nd	5	GLASS HARMONIUM(22)	Lisa Cropp	Michael Moroney	54.0	17.1L
23rd	16	MODUN(5)	Kerrin McEvoy	Saeed Bin Suroor	53.0	25.6L

And while all of this was going on,  the Reserve Bank of Australia which always meets on the 1^st Tuesday of the month [it was not a holiday in Canberra], decided in their wisdom to reduce interest rates [though I’m sure they were not actually making that decision whilst the Cup was in progress!].  We might make a brief reference to that decision, and it’s potential outcomes, tomorrow.