Author: jkirkby8712

My second son, Adam, turned 27 today. He worked overnight u ntil late this morning – I called at the local Bakers’ Delight this morning, and gave him one of Dad’s typical birthday gifts, a book [2 in fact!!].  He was intending to celebrate his birthday by a trip to a couple of pubs in the city with some mates, before they adjourned to the Melbourne Cricket Ground for tonight’s big Dreamtime match at the MCG, and annual game which celebrates Indigenous players in the competition, and generally, promotes the Indigenous cause. The two teams involved in this annual game are Essendon [the team that Adam supports] and Richmond, which both teams [as with Carlton] currently including a number of  Aboriginal players.

I’m finding it hard to comprehend that it is 27 years since that early morning rushed trip into the city, to be present at the birth of my second son.  When I left home nine years ago, it was Adam who came with me  –  not sure if there was any particular rfeason for him doing that, other than the anticipation of more independence for himself – the next 12 months or so, saw my ‘new’ home constantly occupied by groups of young people, mainly girls of course, and I can assure readers that the girls were not there for my benefit, lol!  Adam seemed to be able to easily attract friends, and looking at his birthday greetings at Face Book today, that has not changed much.

At the time of writing, Adam’s team are just behind, halfway into the game, which wouldn’t please him, as Essendon are the favourites. Meanwhile, some 21 hours into the 21st May, we are all still here, despite those ‘Doomsday’ predictions referred to yesterday.  A report I just read is noting that over in the USA where all this forecasting of the end of the world supposedly began, ‘some believers are shutting themselves inside to pray as they wait for the world’s end. Others are meeting with their children for tearful last lunches, and preparing to leave behind pets and be swept up to heaven’. Actually, I think the leader [Camping] predicted that the event would occur at 6pm in local time zones, so I guess that nearly 4 hours later, he must have got his calculations wrong again – he apparently blamed the failure of a similar prediction in 1994 on a mathematical error!!!  Well, say no more!!!

Is there something about Saturday nights that I am never allowed a decent sleep prior to my early Sunday morning radio shows??  Almost asleep at 11.20 pm, when I get a text message from Susan [at a gig in the city] relaying to be, a message from the birthday ‘boy’  –  obviously being a naughty boy, is a little drunk, his team lost,  he has run out of credit and money, and wants’ someone to pick him up from thje local train station at 12.20am!!!  I guess there is only one ‘someone’ available at this time of night, lol, and that happens to be poor old Dad!!! While most of the time these days, with one’s ‘kids’ now all adults, one feels generally unneeded as a parent, but every now and then, you never stop being a father, and doing the things you always did, when they were more dependant upon you!! Oh well, there would probably have been some other reason why there was little sleep tonight – at least this is a legitimate excuse 🙂  Train is due in 35 minutes, better get ready to be on the way!

I see we have some crazy sect [over in the USA I think] predicting that the beginning of the ‘end of the world’ starts tomorrow – 21^st May –  the day those people are calling ‘Judgement Day’.  That is according to Harold Camping, the 89 year old founder of a Christian cult that disseminates numerological interpretations of the Bible to followers via a network of FM radio stations in the US and podcasts on its website. Through a complex series of calculations, Mr Camping has arrived at the date of May 21, 2011 as his so-called Judgement Day, when only true believers will be spared – and that obviously includes ‘his’ believers!! But we have got a bit l,onger then tomorrow – apparently that is just the beginning of the end – the final ‘fiery ball of damnation’ won’t arrive until the 21 October  –  okay, that suggests I will only enjoy 3 days of retirement!!  It seems that ‘Familyradio.com’ claims that God wants us to know exactly 7,000 years after He destroyed the then known world with water [in Noah’s time], he plans to destroy the entire world altogether.

Some would suggest that the world is doing a good job of achieving that outcome itself without the intervention of God!!  Anyway, reading this, I don’t think I will lose anymore sleep than usual tonight, worrying about the correctness of Mr Camping’s predictions. I think of more likelihood is the scientific findings of Australian astronomers, which  recently reported that the universe is slowly fading into the distance. An invisible force thought to be pushing the cosmos ever faster apart does exist –  through a repulsive force known as dark energy which is beginning to dominate over the pull of gravity.  This dark energy idea was proposed by Albert Einstein over a century ago, and this four year study by the astronomers seems to be confirmation of Einstein’s ideas. Well, I’m sure a lot of people will dismiss these kind of scientific findings also. While I don’t claim to understand  this whole thing about the universe, big explosions, dark energy, etc, I would be much more prepared to put my faith in the scientific research, than the fanatical ravings of a crazed old man!

In any case, I’m hoping to have a few good years still ahead of me with some positive reports arising out of medical examinations of the past couple of days!! Following yesterday’s visit to the cardiologist, I met with my eye specialist this morning, and he was equally positive that there were no evident signs of future major problems in that area!   So Mr Camping, at your age, you are probably quite content to die tomorrow, but don’t try and con the rest of us into thinking we have to go with you!  [Incidentally, during this morning g’s eye examination, I was given a couple of doses of  eye drops  – wasn’t actually warned that these might affect my viewing for the rest of the day – I was driving, and did notice the ‘difference’ very quickly, quite a ‘blurry’ experience on the couple of short trips I needed to do during the rest of the day – Bill drove very carefully and precisely, and only for the bare minimum of time required – officially, probably shouldn’t have even done that!!].

Tonight, I’m watching my football team, here at home  – it would have been a good game [I hope] to see for real, but from reports I have heard, all tickets have already been sold, so from a comfort, traffic, and parking point of view, the lounge in front of the TV seems a much better option, particularly as I am  to be joined by younger daughter, Jodie, for company. The only ‘down point’ from that is that she needs to bring James’ dog with her – he has gone away again for a couple of days, leaving his very demanding young dog for everyone else to look after – which usually ends up meaning his 90 year old grandmother!! Jodie is attempting to avoid one night of that by bringing the dog over here!  That’s okay, I hope!!

And the football  – Carlton versus the unbeaten Geelong Cats, whose mentor of 60 years, Bob Davis, died earlier this week, incentive enough for the current top team in the competition to play at an even higher level. A tough game for my ‘Blues’, the coverage of which is going to be about 75 min utes behind real time because the television station’s ridiculous stand on programming!!

Susie was out somewhere for most of the night, but I had Jodie’s company to watch the game, which  turned out to be a very exciting game of football in front of a capacity crowd at the Telstra Dome [the smaller of the two major stadiums in Melbourne]and ended a very  tight match – these close finishes, week after week, can’t be too good for the ‘old’ heart, but as the scores below indicate, things didn’t quite work out the way I was hoping – tonight, Carlton was on the wrong side of a close finish! Had a chance to snatch a win with just over a minute to go, but a kick for goal by our ruckman, Warnock, to take the lead again  from a free kick, went astray, and it was too late for a second opportunity!  That seems to be Carlton’s main weakness at present –  the presence of a tall forward whose marking and kicking is consistently reliable. This was a rather disappointing outcome, although a good effort by the Blues against the top, and still undefeated team. Final scores, Round 0 of the AFL 2011 season –   with Carlton’s progressive figures now showing 5 wins, 1 draw & 2 losses.

Carlton Blues:    4.3.27         8.6.54        11.10.76                 Final:      14.16.100

Geelong Cats:     2.3.15        8.6.54         12.11.83                 FINAL:  15.12.102

Beginning with some Tuesday observations:   I mentioned on  Monday about a  fascinating Q & A program on ABC TV that night, in which I felt that even the two politicians on the panel  deserved a bit of praise in responding to a couple of self-preserving and bigoted questions from the audience!  A Face Book friend, in turn, commented that she was impressed with the two women,  [Judge Felicity Hampel , County Court of Victoria and Anna Rose, Youth Climate Coy], as well as Bill Shorten, the Government Labor Minister. As with myself, she was not however, particularly impressed with John Roskam from the Institute of Public Affairs, or as my friend put it, “the guy on extreme left of screen, from that extreme rightwing think tank was not particularly bright. That think tank guy was a last minute replacement for the tapir they were going to have on the panel” [tongue in cheek comment!!   The other panellist was the Opposition’s Leader in the Eric Abetz.

 A little summary of the ‘conversation’ which followed, by myself and others, follows here, and it basically dealt with the current debate within much of the community about the Chaplaincy program currently operating within Australian government schools. Looking at a program overview, we see that ‘the National School Chaplaincy Program supports schools and their communities to establish school chaplaincy and pastoral care services, or to enhance existing services. This voluntary program assists schools and their communities to support the spiritual wellbeing of students. This may include support and guidance about ethics, values, relationships, spirituality and religious issues, the provision of pastoral care and enhanced engagement with the broader community’.  The program is partially funded by governments, and from 2012-2014 an additional 1,000 schools will be provided with funding to support chaplaincy or pastoral care services.  This funding will be made available to schools, including in regional, remote and disadvantaged locations most in need of chaplaincy or pastoral care services. This funding is in addition to the funding announced by the Australian Government in August 2010 that will extend approximately 2,700 schools, currently funded under the Chaplaincy Program, to 2014. So the Program is funded until 2014, but recent announcements, and statements ‘unwisely’ made by representatives of the program have put under a bit of a cloud in future years.

My response to the remark at the end of the first paragraph was as follows.

“He was probably as intelligent as a tapir!!  I agree with all you say in your first note,   – was impressed by the Judge, with one exception – her knowledge of the Chaplaincy program was surprisingly weak – in fact overall, the understanding of the ‘aims’ of that program seemed to be poorly understood.  The fact that some chaplains have apparently ‘used’ it to try and ‘recruit’ kids to the church  is a sad cause of such misunderstandings [there are always bad eggs in every organisation who refuse to follow the rules] – in the majority of cases, it is a very valuable program for the welfare of our school kids, a godsend to some [excuse the pun] and the fact it is generally associated with the churches should not be used as a disparaging criticism of the value of chaplains. Those attacking it need to talk to some of the families that have benefited from a school having such a person on site”.

My correspondent replied that:  “Yes, tend to agree, for two reasons- if there is no real alternative to a warm, caring, skilled chaplain of any denomination- getting rid of them seems premature. Teachers may be concerned but hardly have the time to address such issues. I think rather, that school counsellers or chaplains should be mature and skilled in emotional issues and be chosen on that basis. I think, and this is second reason I agree with you- that some in our culture now have little actual exposure to the totality of church, Christian culture- although no longer involved in the church, I had years of exposure to intelligent, socially aware, giving people, who would not dream of trying to convert anyone or judging others based on belief etc. So they see the Christian church as monolithic- much as many see Islam in our culture.”

I then responded that your  “Last sentence, good point, we are all guilty at times of assuming impressions of intractability of other beliefs and cultures – usually those impressions are created because of the extreme views of ‘fringe’ representatives of that particular belief. Hence, the developing ‘ill-informed’ hysteria which immediately jumps to the conclusion that the Chaplaincy program is simply a ‘recruiting agency’ because a couple of it’s reps get out of line, or the odd parent decides to kick up a fuss because of some personal prejudice!! Mmmmmm, suddenly wondering here, why am I defending a program I have nothing to do with, lol? Simply because it does far more good than the perceived harm by a few individuals, who often can’t see beyond their own prejudices!

On this topic, the panel was asked by one in the audience  ‘Why is the Federal Government spending more than $200 million on a program that allows vulnerable school kids to be counselled by men who believe most of life’s problems can be resolved by talking to an invisible despot in the sky?’ Some interesting online responses to that question – as indicated above, I don’t believe the Q & A panel demonstrated a complete understanding of the Program, the very mention of, generated such comments as “It’s a disgrace that the Government of an atheist PM, who claims to be the administrator of an “education revolution”, and one of her ministers, Bill Shorten, can promote such inappropriate religious representation in the public school system. Just another opportunity for these parasites to infect young minds with their moralistic imperatives- which are driven by the perpetual agenda to recruit sheep into their churches. How dare the Australian Government direct yet more largesse with taxpayers money at churches. Where does it end? Vast land grants, massive asset wealth, untaxed profits, outrageous fiunding of their exclusive schools, on top of the fees families stupidly pay. And protected paedophilia in return. How dare they…the education revolution that goes round in perpetual circles. And no-one ever learns the truth, or learns from past mistakes and tragedies. The churches DO NOT belong anywhere in public education”.  Or   “I send my children to public schools as a choice to avoid indoctrination, and to have money wasted on chaplains in schools rather than trained counsellors is absurd. They constantly lie, saying they don’t preach but that is not true, they run Hillsong programs, they go on school camps and talk about god. Honestly they say it is optional, should I deny my children the right to go on school camps? This is a revolting policy that is divisive and is very inappropriate in a secular school system. If people want religion, go to church for goodness sake. I hear it is FREE of charge. Why are we tightening our belts on spending yet wasting money on such an awful policy?”

 This latter comment does of course go well beyond the question of the Chaplaincy, and the writer obviously has an inbuilt prejudice to anything remotely connected with a ‘church’! But, nevertheless, he is no doubt far from being on his own in those views, which is all the more of a pity in light of the recent poor publicity given to the program. Another friend expressed the view that  ‘the statement in 2008  by the ACCESSS CEO  [ACCESS is the organisation  that runs the Chaplaincy program] doesn’t help matters much, and muddies the waters further, and helps to erode support – ” Chaplains and chaplaincy have very much been copping it lately as a ‘religious fanatics’ and other similar descriptions, which I prefer not to remember because it upset me too much to read all the negative comments in response to the ACCESS CEO’s latest statement.  Actually my reaction to what she said was “are you with us or against us” because she confirmed all the fears of non Christians that we are in schools to convert – or in her words “make disciples of” students – exactly as you say in your first para Bill.   

THE Christian group that provides religious education and chaplains in Victorian government schools will be investigated after its chief executive told a conference: ”We need to go and make disciples.” The remarks appear to breach guidelines governing school religious programs, which ban trying to convert students to any one religion.  The federal and state governments said last night they would investigate Access Ministries after a recording of the speech by Evonne Paddison was brought to their attention. Despite repeatedly denying that Access Ministries tried to convert students, the recording reveals Dr Paddison told the 2008 conference that ”without Jesus, our students are lost”.  ”In Australia, we have a God-given open door to children and young people with the Gospel, our federal and state governments allow us to take the Christian faith into our schools and share it. We need to go and make disciples,” she told the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion national conference in Melbourne. ”What really matters is seizing the God-given opportunity we have to reach kids in schools’.

That quotation fuelled my annoyance,  but I continue to  support the program,, so long as the guidelines are followed and participants are not on a recruiting campaign. – my understanding is  that recruitment to the church IS NOT the purpose of Chaplaincy – but most of the public think it is, and that perception is doing more harm than good in broad terms in the non-Christian community. And as my second contributing friend said:  ‘That is exactly my impression of what the CEO said – I nearly freaked when I heard it, I can see those against Chaplains thinking that her view is the real one and that Chaplains have all this time been hiding their real intentions which are to ‘indoctrinate’ the students.  Strange thing is though, that it’s only just been dragged to the surface – apparently she said all this in 2008!! – according to the following article, quoted above’.

This is obviously going to continue as a public concern, but the Program itself will continue until at least 2014, unless our atheist Prime Minister has a change of heart, and succumbs to the wishes of what is probably becoming a broad community view these days!   I think I might leave the subject at this point  -that all arose out of my regular Monday night TV viewing!!

It was in fact today,  that I received a brief text message from my second son, Adam, which simply said ‘Bob Davis just died’.  From the ‘ABC Grandstand’ report we read that   ‘Geelong Football Club legend Bob Davis has passed away due to illness aged 82. Known as “Woofa” and the “Geelong Flier”, due to his on-ground speed, Davis kicked 149 goals in 189 games for the Cats between 1948 and 1958. The half-forward won two premierships with the club (1951, 1952) as a player and coached the Cats to the VFL flag in 1963 over Hawthorn. Davis was the club’s best and fairest in 1957, named as captain of the All-Australian team in 1958 and is a member of Geelong’s team of the century. He was an inaugural inductee into the Australian football Hall of Fame in 1996 and represented Victoria 13 times. Although he was seen less often in public in recent years, Davis was on hand at the MCG to present the 2009 premiership cup to the Geelong team coached by Mark Thompson. “The elation that Bob shared with the players that day on the MCG is something that will live long in the memory,” the club said in a statement. “Bob will be deeply missed by all those who loved him, and indeed by all those that have been fortunate enough to know him or meet him”.

My interest in Bob Davis whom I recall meeting at least once [at my Uncle’s funeral in Ballarat a few years ago] was that he was a cousin of my [Uncle] Jack Davis, who was married to my late father’s sister, Margaret. Speaking about Bob during the week,  the AFL’s  chief executive Andrew Demetriou said Davis was one of the key foundation stones on which the game had built its current position.

“Bob Davis was a wonderful player in his time, whose skills and speed saw him star in two Cat premiership sides, won him a place in the club’s team of the century and earned him a place in the Hall of Fame as one of our on-field greats,” he said in a statement. “He coached his beloved club to a premiership in 1963, but perhaps his greatest contribution of all was to take our game into lounge rooms every weekend, as television developed in this country, and forged a powerful bond between our players and our fans.  “With his great mates Lou Richards and Jack Dyer, under the stewardship of Ron Casey, League Teams and World of Sport were a staple diet for generations of football supporters for nearly 30 years and brought our game up close to everyone who wished to be part of it’.  And while I don’t watch any of the ‘those’ kind of sporting panels these days, I do certainly recall lots of enjoyable Sunday lunch time programs, back in the days when Australia’s major football competition was just centred on Victorian teams, and we had six matches every Saturday afternoon – leaving Sundays free for shows such as World of Sport. Meanwhile, as the current Coach of the Geelong team said, Bob Davis was a legend of the club and it’s all the more disappointing for me that I never got the chance to spend much time with him,” he said.  “Everyone speaks very highly of not only his involvement and contribution to the club as a player and coach, but the time he spent at the club when his official duties had ended. It’s just a really sad day.”  It will be interesting to see how this loss will affect the Geelong players when they line up against my team on this coming Friday night –  hopefully, they won’t be too inspired!!

Tuesday night, saw your personal essayist on air for two hours, playing show and other music, and I made a point of featuring two of Australia’s best known soprano and tenor singers [usually best know for their work in opera, and the classics, etc but also fully able to sing some of the great songs from musical shows etc – talking of course about Yvonne Kenny and David Hobson, whom I had the pleasure of seeing on stage last week. Tonight was another one of those radio shows that I thought was ‘a beauty’ with some wonderful music for the whole two hours –  but left me wonderful if I was just listening to myself, in the absence of any feedback!! I do know there are listeners out there, but sometimes it really doesn’t feel like it!

Wednesday, and a quiet day at the office after yet another ‘long drive’ in the morning.. I’m a little worried about the way my car [the work car in fact] is running at present – can’t put my finger on, does doesn’t seem right, and as a consequence, I am avoiding the freeways and doing the long trip across the northern suburbs to my destination. After a few days of this, I’m starting top become a little frustrated at my own decisions to go the ‘long’ way. If things still feel ‘uncertain’ after this next weekend, I will get the car looked at, despite my ‘boss’ not really wanting to spend too much more money on the vehicle before I leave the job! That argument won’t buy with me – I’m the driver, and if something needs fixing, I will be insisting on it whilst I have charge of the vehicle!!  On the way to work, I called in at the radio station – for my now weekly ‘Wednesday’ morning sports report, host Ron having changed his mornings, again! It was an early, and a cold start to the day, although followed by a reasonably pleasant Autumn day –    admittedly, a morning on which I would have preferred to have remained in bed, or at least returned to that place after the radio visit.  Just simply not feeling well, and at the time, was not looking forward to the drive ahead. But with some time planned to be off for medical appointments over the next couple of days, I didn’t it appropriate to take some additional time, so we just kept going. Mind you, it was late afternoon, and almost time for the return journey by the time I began to feel ‘normal’ again.

Meanwhile, my Susie has been in Sunbury all this week – hopefully, that means the Bendigo campus is in mid-semester   break this week, and not that she has simply not returned.  That of coursed hasn’t prevented the accommodation in which she resides whilst in Bendigo from continuing as a financial commitment, whether occupied or not.

A very cold Wednesday – again, a commitment I wish I could have foregone – a General Members’ meeting of the local family history society – as a Committee member, one felt obliged to put in an appearance!! Glad I did, because it was a worthwhile exercise again. Although it meant a late night – home near 10pm., at which point we watched the taped episode of  tonight’s  ‘East West 101’, which again, contained  some superb acting!

Thursday, a short day at the office, in view of an appointment with my cardiologist‘ this afternoon. I’d forgotten how quickly the years were beginning to pass –  Dr Warren noted that it was 4 years ago since that  little ‘stent’ was placed inside my artery to clear up the 80% blockage that had been found there.  Annual visits to the Moreland clinic since then, have noted good progress reports, but this year, everything was ‘apparently’ perfect – cholesterol, blood pressure, ECG tests, etc – all ‘perfect’ says the doc, come back in twelve months!! I don’t mind being told that, and inwardly hope there will be no necessity to shorten the time between visits.

There was an interesting little piece in this morning’s ‘Age newspaper’, about the colour of this year’s Autumn leaves! Apparently, and I can’t admit to actually noticing this, but this year’s Autumn leaves have turned richer in colour, and more quickly this season. According to experts, following a sunny Summer [though not too hot] followed by some good rains and the subsequent cold snap, has meant that Victoria’s deciduous trees are producing  vivid reds, oranges and browns – must have a look at this phenomena  on my next walk through the local parklands.  Quoting from Melbourne University arborist, Greg Moore ‘in species such as claret ashes, liquid ambers and some oaks, the sugar generated by good growing conditions put extra pigments into the cells, which are often deep oranges and reds. The more sugars you have and the colder it is, the more pigments you get…….the sugars provide luscious foliage growth. You get extra pigments and all of those sorts of things, so the canopies [of the trees] look wonderful…………….particularly after struggling for the last few years in the dry [drought]’. How’s this for a beautiful ‘painting’ like description  –  ‘Dr Moore said a highlight was the combination of natives with exotic trees, such as the oaks at Marysville, which survived Black Saturday [Feb 2009]. You get the wonderful crisp greens of the natives in the forests on the hills, then you come into the town, where there might be poplars, elms or oaks, and the contrasting colours are just fantastic.\’.  I wonder if I can get a photo here  –   I’ll try anyway!  –  this picture from today’s ‘Age’ – ‘Autumn in Melbourne 

 I’m aware of a few readers out there who occasionally make the effort to ‘struggle’ through my ramblings and wanderings through these pages!! Although to be honest, I’m not really sure who you are!!!!

Unfortunately, I don’t have the time or the expertise to write the kind of ‘blog’ that would attract a far more wider audience, and probably, I don’t really want to. But I would really like to know just ‘who is reading’ me from time to time

So a plea from your ‘personal essayist’ – reveal yourself!! Tell me what you think, you like, don’t like, want more of, or less of!! No guarantees I will change my style, or could change my style but I have been known to respond to criticism, and try not to repeat the ‘error of my ways’, I don’t like to be told I’ve done the wrong thing twice!!

Anyway people, if you don’t want to respond through this forum, send me an email, Bill always answers his emails, unless they look like junk or spam, or people asking for money – of which Idon’t have much of in any case!! So that kind of request is a lost cause, I’m afraid!!

jkirkby@hotmail.com

A few items in the news gained my attention today, as I also noted there were 156 days to go before my official retirement – as someone would exclaim in an overnight email – Woopeeeee!!!!!!

The state funeral was held in Melbourne today of former boxing champion, Lionel Rose, who died last week, after a long illness  – it was held at the site of many of his triumphs, the old Festival Hall in West Melbourne, and a crowd of 2,000 turned up to pay their respects.    Community leaders have lauded Lionel Rose as a pioneer for Aboriginal achievement, at the former boxer’s state funeral at Melbourne’s Festival Hall.   Aboriginal elder Aunty Joy said Rose – who in 1968 became the first Aboriginal world champion in any sport – had shown indigenous people what was possible. Ms Joy said Rose excelled in the boxing ring at a young age and showed the world the tenacity and integrity of a young Aboriginal man.  “Lionel’s career has been an inspiration for many. “Lionel will be remembered making history and receiving recognition at the tender age of 19. Those momentous times were celebrated with enormous pride. “Lionel also sent a strong message especially to young people around the world to stand up and fight for … your rights and aspire to reach your dream.”
Among the mourners at the funeral are Rose’s long-time trainer Jack Rennie, who attended in a wheelchair, former world champion Johnny Famechon,  Aboriginal fighter Tony Mundine, and my favourite, Jeff Fenech. Rose’s god-daughter Bonnie Anderson sang the Eagles hit Desperado at the service.

Being a keen follower of marathon running, I was also interested [concerned] to learn today of the death of  a former Olympic champion from Beijing [2008] – as the following medias report explains  –   Kenyan Olympic marathon champion Sammy Wanjiru died early on Monday after jumping from a balcony, police said.  John Mbijiwe, the police chief in Kenya’s Central Province, said initial information indicated 24-year-old Wanjiru died after jumping from a balcony at his Rift Valley home, but the death is subject to further investigation.  In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Wanjiru became the first Kenyan to win a gold medal in the marathon, finishing in an Olympic-record two hours, six minutes, 32 seconds.  Wanjiru has had a history of domestic problems. Last December, he was charged with wounding his security guard with a rifle and threatening to kill his wife and maid. He denied all charges and was released on bail. Wanjiru was the youngest runner to win four major marathons. He finished first in London in 2009 and the 2008 Olympics and won twice in Chicago.  He was forced to pull out of April’s London Marathon because of a right knee injury

While it is not really going to make much difference in the short term to Australia’s political future, it was interesting to note that weekend polls are coming up with the extraordinary result of Julia Gillard’s Labor Party falling well behind  the Coalition in terms of popularity – if an election were held this weekend, Tony Abbott  would be our Prime Minister next Monday!!! For many people, a frightening thought!@!!  But for Julia Gillard, her popularity level as Prime Minister is now lower than that of Kevin Rudd, when he was replaced by his own Party in the middle of last year!  However, there ‘won’t’ be an election this weekend  – that is not due for 2 years, and under present circumstances, there is no way Ms Gillard will call one, she would be crazy to do so!! Nor will the Independents or Greens’ members risk losing their nice cosy little positions of power at this point in time.  That’s why I would prefer to see Tony Abbott give up on his short term ambitions, ,and divert away from his constant  ‘attack’ mode, and concentrate on clearly establishing some good strong policies to give the electorate a feasible alternative to what we currently have!

Susie came home from ‘somewhere’ while Q & A was on tonight, and disappeared to her room. I would have happily  given the show away if she had wanted some conversation!  It was in fact a very interesting program tonight with four of the five panellists quite interesting to listen to  – Bill Shorten [Assistant Federal Treasurer], Eric Abetz [Opposition Senate leader], Judge Felicity Hampel [County Court of Victoria] – quite impressive. Anna Rose [Youth Climate Coy], and John Roskam [Institute of Public Affairs] – not very impressive at all!!  I do like to include brief notes on the show’s guests on those nights I get a chance to watch it, so tonight is no exception.

Bill Shorten – before entering Parliament Bill Shorten was one of Australia’s best-known trade union leaders. As secretary of the Australian Workers’ Union he was a major player in the national industrial relations debate and gained widespread prominence for his role on the scene of the Beaconsfield mine disaster in Tasmania in 2006.

Eric Abetz is a Liberal Senator from Tasmania, Opposition Senate leader and shadow minister for employment and workplace relations.  Renowned as a highly committed warrior for the Liberal Right, a reputation he won many years ago as a student politician, he is a ceaseless critic of progressive causes.  Eric was born in Germany in 1958, the youngest of six children. The family migrated to Australia in 1961.

Judge Felicity Hampel SC was appointed to the County Court of Victoria in 2005. In 1996, she was appointed Queen’s Counsel, converting to Senior Counsel in 2001. Felicity was born in Melbourne in 1955, the third of nine, predominantly female children. She has studied, worked and lived in Melbourne all her life. She was educated at Genazzano convent, and Monash Univeristy

John Roskam has been the executive director of the Institute of Public Affairs, widely regarded as Australia’s foremost free-market think-tank, since 2004. Before joining the IPA he taught political theory at the University of Melbourne.
Anna Rose is co-founder and Chair of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) and is a former Environment Minister’s joint Young Environmentalist of the Year. Her passion for social and environmental justice was sparked at the age of 14, when she set up recycling, composting and a school sport called “environmental campaigning” at her school in Newcastle. She became a climate change campaigner after experiencing the drought on her grandparent’s farm in North Western NSW, and connecting the dots to climate change.

The debate and questions covered many a familiar ground but there was one area relating to the ‘chaplaincy’ program in Australian schools which particularly attracted my attention, and on which I made a couple  of comments on Face Book, with a response or two. I briefly look at that in tomorrow’s  entry.

The English FA Cup Final was held overnight – this year’s final described by some as the battle between wealth and poverty –  Manchester City up against Stoke City.  The match began at 12 midnight this morning our time – I saw most of the game, in a fashion, dosed off a few times, but enough to see that Manchester City defeated Stokes City 1-0. Now I didn’t take in enough detail of the match to be able to suggest that the winning team, after scoring it’s goal,  then went into it’s shell, and played boring defensive football for the rest of the game –  although us non-soccer people often see these big matches turning out that way, with just one goal scored in an event such as the FA Cup Final!! That one goal was admittedly scored in the 75^th minute, and saw the Manchester team win  it’s first major trophy in 35 years.

Meanwhile ‘that’ horse ran again yesterday – and won again –  13 wins from 13 starts –  the brilliant Black Caviar. Competing in Brisbane for the first time on this occasion,  in a Group 1 race. A perfect day for trainer Peter Moody –  Black Caviar doing what she always does, winning!  I wonder how long the winning streak of this will go on for – described in one weekend magazine as the ‘Freak on a Streak’. Interesting, even people who know nothing about horse racing are talking about ‘this one’, and as the horse moves towards all kinds of records, it’s a simple fact that the Australian public needs, and loves, a world champion. According to the trainer,  Black Caviar ‘enjoys’ racing, so any talk of retiring her, undefeated, is washed over him – why retire her now, just to gain an undefeated status.  I imagine she will or must lose eventually, but at present it doesn’t look like it.  In answer to suggestions that the horse should run overseas [Hong Kong, Royal Ascot, etc] Moody has a strong reaction to that, and seemed unenthusiastic about such proposals –  “Why is it that as soon as you have some success in Australia you have to piss off overseas? She doesn’t have to go overseas to prove she is number one;  she’s been rated the best horse in the world. She could win the best race in the world at 1am our time and no-one would see it. What’s the point of that? Australian racing has a world champion, we need her to race here where the people can see her”. Good thinking, Peter, I agree entirely. At present, the Australian public loves watching her race – out here!!

Not so pleasant was the news from a jumps race over in Adelaide yesterday – the death of another racehorse, in quite distressing circumstances.  Veteran galloper Ledgers Dream fell during the running of the Dominant Hurdle (3100m) and failed to regain its feet. Chief steward, Graham Loch, told AdelaideNow the ten-year-old veteran broke it’s neck on impact with the ground.  Ledgers Dream is believed to have died immediately, while jockey Marty Kelly was unhurt in the incident. I searched this morning’s newspaper – no reference whatsoever to this incident, have we become so unsympathetic  to the deaths of these beautiful animals?

Now I have been basically alone for this whole weekend – Susie worked most of yesterday, then went somewhere for the night, and while I expect a brief early afternoon ‘visit’ before she goes back to work this afternoon, I seem to be a bit of a ‘lone lodger’ these days!  Two radio sessions today – early Sunday morning as usual, and returning late this afternoon for a program of folk, and big band music, mostly all Australian! I notice the delayed telecast of the Eurovision Song Contest is being televised here tonight – I used to make this an annual watching event, but my interest for some reason has dwindled in recent years.  And after hearing one of radio presenters [who has been in Germany to attend the contest]  tell our listeners who the winner was at the overnight final  – well, I don’t think I will bother again this year.  It’s a bit like the Academy Awards from the USA  – we always have one channels presenting a delayed telecast in our evening ‘prime TV viewing time’ but by the time it is screened, the results have been splashed over all of the other television news reports, etc. As for the Eurovision, our on air presenters didn’t seem to have heard of the winning country, let alone pronounce it’s name – I think I heard the commentators from one of the semi finals predict that Azerbaijan was a possible winner  –  good judgement, as that country from the former Soviet Union region came in first ahead of Italy and Sweden.  Azerbaijan’s Ell/Nikki Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal were the decisive winners of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, scoring 221 points with their entry song Running Scared. Italy’s Raphael Gualazzi (Madness Of Love) took second place with 189 points and Sweden’s Eric Saade (Popular) was close behind, scoring 185 points for third place. I might have a bit of a look J

Had a short look [at Eurovision] –  waited for the winning entry. then switched  over to the French Motor Cycle Grand Prix – strong win to Australia’s Casey Stoner, pleasing result.  Stoner earned his second victory of the season, while Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa fractured his collarbone in a high-speed crash.  Stoner climbed to second place in the overall standings with the win, and is now just 12 points behind defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo of Spain.

I referred yesterday to the story of Jandamarra, the 19^th century Aboriginal rebel, and that relevance to land ownership was drawn to my attention again, in an article that appeared in a recent edition of the ‘IHH News’ [the occasional newsletter of the Indigenous Hospitality House, in North Carlton , an inner Melbourne suburb].  The IHH provides a peaceful and homely atmosphere for Indigenous people to stay at, whilst they are supporting a family member in one of Melbourne’s hospitals, and was created in 2001. The article I’m referring was called ‘Welcome Home’, and was written by a new fulltime ‘host resident’ of IHH, named Miriam, and it gave a new perspective to the whole question of land ownership and rights. I’d like to share it here.

[by Miriam]….”I still have a lot to learn about how best to show love and respect to Indigenous people and  Australian land. Since I did not grow up in Australia it has been a whole new experience stepping into such a complex and often  tragic history of  the relationship between Indigenous people and colonizers. The idea of connection to land is a challenging one as I have little connection to places, having moved almost every 3 years growing up. A few years back I discovered that my mother’s family has lived and farmed a particular area of rural Victoria for several generations – it was a wonderful feeling of connectedness to know I had a history and a story in that place even  though I have never lived there. However I was aware that I could not fully claim a heritage as at some point that land would have been unjustly taken from its original owner, with no treaty involved. This past weekend I went to a conference called Surrender 11, on Christianity and Social Justice, and listened to Wurundjeri Elder Murrundindi’s explanation of his Welcome to Country; he permitted his listener’s to have a sense of shared heritage of the land we were all living on.  It got me to thinking about my desire for heritage around  my grandparent’s farm, and I wondered if I might be able to learn about the history of the Indigenous peoples of that area, and perhaps meet and discuss their heritage in that space and mine, and if it could be shared.  Perhaps I might be able to have my own unofficial ‘treaty’  to permit me to share my family’s  heritage with theirs. I have yet to think through the practical implications of what this might look like or how appropriate it might be, but I am left remembering a comment of one of the other residents:  Working to understand Indigenous connection to land and our part in that relationship helps us think about our own connections and heritage too, and may give us some sort of permission to be part of the story here”.

Thankyou Miriam, much food for thought there and a reminder that these life questions need not be a ‘one way street’, we all possess a heritage of some degree, and while it may not have always originated in the manner in which we would probably look at today, in 2011, it does nevertheless form a part of our own personal history.  

Incidentally, the more ‘formal Welcome to Home’ ceremony [or more precisely ‘Welcome to Country’] has only in recent years become part of ‘cultural practice’  –  i.e., to acknowledge traditional custodianship of the land at the commencement of functions, meetings and presentations of government departments and various organisations. This acknowledgement pays respect to the traditional custodians, ancestors and continuing cultural, spiritual and religious practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and gives custodians or their representatives, the opportunity to formally welcome people to their land.  Further, it provides an increasing awareness and recognition of Australia’s Indigenous peoples and cultures.

 

The other day, after the Federal Budget, I included a few views of different organisations on likely budget outcomes. One group of which I’m a member [the National Seniors Organisation, for over 50s] had their views submitted for members’ advice as well, so I am including them here, as being of a personal interest to me!

Older Australians have emerged unscathed from a budget widely speculated in its lead-up to be defined by tough love measures.  National Seniors chief executive, Michael O’Neill, who attended the Canberra lockup on Tuesday, said older Australians would feel little impact from it.  “For the over 50s, it’s a vanilla budget – nothing terribly exciting or different,” he said.  Amongst the few new initiatives announced by Treasurer Wayne Swan is support for older workers in their search for employment. These include new training opportunities, employer subsidies and a doubling of allowable work hours for disability pensioners of whom, in 2009, almost 60% were aged over 50.   O’Neill welcomed the employment initiatives but warned they were only a start.  “More than anything, real jobs for older Australians will require an attitudinal change from employers, and that can’t be legislated,” he said.  New participation requirements for disability pensions will only apply to people under the age of 35.  A highlight for self funded retirees still recovering from the GFC is the extension of the minimum drawdown concession on allocated pension accounts.  “Missing from this budget are reform measures around long-festering issues such dental and aged care. Seniors expect to see something solid and substantial around these things in the coming year,” he said. 

Meanwhile, highlighting the beginning and ending aspects of Tony Abbott’s response last night, I note from his speech that [beginning] “Mr Speaker, the fundamental test of a budget is how it improves the wellbeing of the Australian people.My three children are still in the education system and Margie, my wife, works in community-based childcare so my family knows something of the financial pressures on nearly every Australian household” [applying the personal touch, perhaps a dig at the PM’s non family status!!], and [the end] “On this subject [the carbon tax proposal], the Prime Minister has compared herself with John Howard and the GST. There is one fundamental difference between them: the former Prime Minister changed his policy and put the new position to an election; the current Prime Minister had an election on one policy and promptly adopted the opposite one.  The Prime Minister should copy John Howard, not just quote him. She and Bob Brown [Greens’ leader] should finalise the carbon tax details including its impact on jobs, industries and Australians’ cost of living and then she should seek the people’s verdict before trying to legislate it. Otherwise, the next election won’t just be a referendum on the carbon tax. It will be a referendum on governments that betray the people. That’s what Australia needs: not a carbon tax but an election. Only an election could make an honest politician of this Prime Minister. Only an election can give Australia a government with authority to make the tough decisions needed to build a stronger country and help Australians get ahead”.  

On this point, which was the major focus of the Abbott speech, I don’t really agree that the Australian people want another election so soon –  sure, the polls might indicate that Labor would lose if an election were held this weekend [there seems general agreement on that], but the Opposition have no power to call an election, particularly without a majority in the Senate, and the Government, despite it’s minority status, has no obligation to foreshorten it’s elected 3 year term [barring disasters of a political nature] –  I feel the electorate would like to see the carbon tax debate conclude, perhaps in favor of the Opposition, but they would prefer to see the present elected politicians sort that out, rather than have another Federal election!!

I shall return, on this day, with no more talk of this week’s Budget, I promise!!! Back at work today [after a ‘reasonable’ sleep], it’s quiet, no major issues on hand, and the weather continues to be cool, wet and somewhat miserable. I arrived to a nice warm office – ‘someone’ left the heater on overnight!!! Glad I don’t have to pay the energy ‘bill’ here, at least!

Watched a movie last night about an Aboriginal man, named Jandamarra, and as the promo suggested, I must embarrassingly admit to not being able to recall being familiar with him! Jandamarra was a 19^th-century Aboriginal station worker who came to lead an armed conflict with white settlers – or as it might be described today, the story of an Indigenous Australian rebel who in 1894 embarked on a 3 year guerrilla war against invading pastoralists, and attracted the whole white population in the hunt for him.

Called ‘Jandamarra’a War’, the movie [or documentary, as we had the voice of Ernie Dingo as narrator throughout it’s duration] was based on the book by Howard Pederson ‘Jandamarra and the Bunuba Resistance’. Now the Bunuba ‘tribe’ I have come across, having regularly played a number of songs recorded by an Indigenous band from that part of northwest Australia [in the Kimberleys]. I found the film of interest, and a grim reminder of the, at times, bitter relationships between the white settlers & farmers, and the local Indigenous tribes. There was retribution on both sides, though the whites generally had the upper hand in terms of retaliation and weaponry[with at times little regard as to who the actual guilty parties were they were hunting down – if you were black and came across the paths of a ‘police’ or station  hunting group, you were likely to suffer for the ‘sins’ of your fellow black man], although Jandamarra and his ‘gang’ evened things up a little bit for a while, when they got hold of the white man’s weapon –  the guns!.

Writing in the ‘Age’ last week, Jim Schembri puts it like this.  “Jandamarra became caught between the culture of his people and the seductive ways of the white settlers, a tension that initially left him dislocated before the rampant injustices being imposed upon the  Bunuba prompted him to wage a war that lasted three years…………………….here are those key moments where his conscience plays havoc with him as his brothers, manacled at the neck, ask why he hold’s the white man’s gun in his hand.  Laced with period photographs and quotes from a fiery newspaper piece demanding the government do something, the film also treads into the highly controversial issue of genocide. [In his book] Pedersen says bluntly ‘There was clearly a war of extermination being fought in the Kimberley’”. As the settlers in those northern regions attempted to protect their livestock and the land they had  presumptuously taken over, so too did the Indigenous population take offence at this intrusion into their traditional land areas and sacred places. As sheep and cattle gradually eroded and destroyed their traditional natural pastures and plant life, revenge was inflicted against these invading creatures,  and then man himself.  All in all, another fascinating, and in many ways, disturbing aspect of Australian history, since the arrival of the white man and the beginning of European settlement in January 1788.

Susan home\, but not – out somewhere tonight with ‘friends’ in the city – in fact I drove her to the train, and was pleased to learn that Jodie would be driving her home from the city, apparently she would already be there.  This house is fast becoming a ‘one man show’ –  and when Susie is here, there are few meals she has here lately. Unexpectedly, since the boyfriend  ‘walked away’ I seem to see less of her than previously! Anyway, plenty of ‘football’ entertainment on the TV – clash between the top two teams – Collingwood and Geelong –  with the latter probably the underdogs, but in a very tight finish, they got up to inflict the first defeat this year on the 2010 premiers.  So now, we have Geelong sitting on top of the ladder  – and their next opponent on Friday night of next week  –  will be Carlton!! I think we might struggle to win that one!!

I spent most  of what is another ‘chilly’ Autumn morning, sitting around in medical facilities  – beginning with a simple and short [I thought] medical consultation over a few matters, but preceded by a wait of over an hour or more before I got in.  I remembered during that time, why over the past 20 years or so, I have generally tried to avoid appointments during weekdays!!! A delay seems inevitable!

Afterwards, the wait at the chemist was more reasonable than usual, followed by a visit to pathology  –  I expected to walk in there to a room crowded with people waiting to have a blood test [my purpose in that visit] but surprisingly, it was all relatively empty!!  That didn’t mean no wait for me  –  I had the usual problem, that the nurse[s] were unable to fine a suitable blood vein from which to draw blood!! That seems to be a regular occurrence for me, and I more or less come to expect it these days  –  I mean, if it took two nurses and a doctor six attempts to get a drip into my arm a few years ago at our major city hospital, what hope have these ‘guys’ got!!  Anyway, by the time all that was over, most of my morning had disappeared – it was a good thing I had pre-planned to make use of one of the multitude of sick days I currently have owing to me, and which in all probability, I will not get to use before I finish work.

In view of the miserable weather conditions outside, I rather enjoyed having this opportunity to be at home for the rest of my day –  apart from catching up on a few tasks, also gave me the opportunity to watch the telecast of Question Time from the House of Representatives. Not always so sure why I bother though.  The attitude that people like the Prime Minister and the Treasurer take towards the answering of questions always disgusts me, in particular, the manner in which they both continually disregard the directions of the Speaker [from their own Party] to ‘keep to the question asked’ in their response, and to refer to other members by their correct parliamentary title.  I get quite annoyed at times with this constant abuse of parliamentary procedures!! But, I’ve been on that bandwagon before  – probably best just to turn off, and my disgust is certainly not going to change anything.  When Labor got back intro office last year, purely on the whim of the group of Independent members whose procrastination delayed the election result for some considerable time, I thought one of the points of agreement had been related to a clean-up of ‘Question Time’ to make it a more effective and relevant part of the parliamentary day  – as far as I can see, the only real change that has been made, is the imposition of a time limit on responses to questions [something that has happened in the Senate for many years]. So the PM and others now have 4 minutes in which they can answer a question put to them, without answering the question!!! Unless of course it’s a ‘Dorothy Dixer’, a question asked by one of their own, that allows the relevant minister to then go into a four minute tirade of supposed achievements!! I notice that those kind of questions seem to make up 50% of  Question Time!!

It’s 3.30pm, as I write this, and outside, the rain is coming down steadily. No doubt, to the north of Sunbury, conditions on the roads will not be good, and I guess I am hoping that Susie is not in one of the vehicles on those roads, although it would be preferable for her to be there now, rather than after dark this evening. With the early wintry conditions we are currently experiencing in this part of Victoria, tonight’s Calder highway is likely to be flood prone, slippery, misty, and generally treacherous.  The only positive aspect about that road is that it is a divided road for the entire distance between Sunbury & Bendigo.  It was a couple of hours later, upon re-reading the text message that Susie sent me late last night, that I realised she would not be returning to Sunbury until tomorrow! So I need not fear her presence on the roads, today anyway!  Well, things change!  At 7pm, she returned home, change of mind, no explanation given

 Meanwhile, Opposition leader, Tony Abbott presented his response to Tuesday’s Budget, in Parliament tonight, and it was greeted by a stony faced Prime Minister and Treasurer on the other side of the despatch table.  In typical  Abbott style, there was much negativity directed towards both the Government and  Tuesday’s budget provisions. One principal point, that I noted was Abbott’s suggestion that the Labor Government of 2011, was so far removed from those  policies and  attitudes that had attracted it towards that strata of society that traditional Labor has so long represented –  families and workers –   has moved so far away from those origins,  that the Liberal Party is these days more representative of the rights of families, etc.  Mr Abbott said his task is not to offer an alternative budget, but to offer the people of Australia a new direction for the future.  He said the rising cost of living is already hurting households and the Government’s budget has only hurt them more. “Families already know what it’s like to tighten their belts,” he said.  “They don’t need Government to do it for them yet the only certainty from this budget is further upward pressure on interest rates because this Government is still borrowing $135 million every single day.”   He will return the budget to a surplus but not with a great big new carbon tax –  in fact much of the latter part of his speech was related to the proposed carbon tax, and a challenge to the Prime Minister to go to an election on the carbon tax proposal  –  on the basis that she won the last election on a promise there would be no carbon tax, then changed her mind, when the new government was elected!

As for my football team, well, after the last four weeks it is appropriate Carlton supporters, not to mention the players, have a weekend off. No game this weekend, will give Carlton people the opportunity to enjoy a stress free weekend after four close games.  It all started with a draw against Essendon, followed by a late come from behind victory against Adelaide after looking comfortable winners earlier in the game. Then the hoodoo breaking, come from behind win over Sydney after the Swans had led by 18 points in the wet, mid-way through the third quarter. To top off the stressful month, it was a nail-biting 3-point win over St Kilda on Monday night. Another come from behind in the final quarter after looking comfortable winners during the third quarter. And after all that, one of my favourite players, Ryan Houlihan is set to make his long awaited return to football this weekend in the Northern Bullants [or Carlton Reserves team] away game against Frankston on Saturday afternoon. Houlihan has not played a game this season after injuring his calf in January and again on his return in late March in a VFL practice match. Houlihan is Carlton’s most experienced player in terms of games played for the Club, having played 195 matches for the Blues since making his debut in round 11, 2000 at Visy Park. We hope to see him back playing with the senior Carlton team within a few weeks, looking forward to that.

Now, recent history is showing that I seldom sleep well on a Saturday night – in fact, lately, any night!!! This weekend probably won’t be any different, and not helped by the fact that the English FA Cup Final is on this Saturday – which for us fans in eastern Australia means a 12 midnight starting time!!! Well, I think I have been watching that particular event since the late 1960s, so I don’t really want to spoil my record –   this year, I see it is Manchester United versus Stoke City, at the Wembley Stadium.  Now that second team is not generally a ‘household’ name over here, not one of the teams that we hear a lot about throughout the English season, and I certainly can’t recall seeing them play in an FA Cup final previously. Anyway, as indicated, regardless of whether I need the sleep or not, I  shall be sitting up here in the early hours of Sunday morning, quietly cheering on Manchester United!!

Well, after less than 3 hours sleep, I was up much earlier [on another freezing morning] than I would have preferred  –  my Friday morning brief visits to the radio station for a local sports report, were now scheduled for Wednesday mornings –  Ron has changed his day, but I had a bit of a wait this morning before he could fit me in, amongst his other regular interviews, etc. I think he is going to want to see me ‘before’ 7am from now on !  Oh well, I do volunteer for these things, so can’t really complain, and if I wish, I have the freedom to cut that little aspect of my radio involvement out.  However, at present [despite the poor sleeping patterns] I’m quite happy  to keep joining Ron for our brief rundown of the local football & other sporting competitions.

I was rather pleased to find a phone message from our Family History Society secretary last night, advising that tonight’s committee meeting had been postponed. We were in for a very cold night after what had been described as Melbourne’s coldest May day for 11 years  –  the maximum temperature didn’t get above 11 degrees Centigrade all day. I actually barely ventured out of the office all day.

The postponed meeting gave me the opportunity to watch tonight’s episode of East West 101 on SBS TV. In response to a question from a friend on Face Book, and the remark that the show must be good if I watch it, I responded as follows  –  ‘it does have a strong element of criminal violence in the show, which I would generally avoid bothering my time watching, but the storylines are usually very relevant and topical, and some of the acting is superb. Usually the storyline revolves around some aspect of racism, different cultures, refugees, etc – this week dealt with the situation of a serial rapist/cum murderer and the problems of many of his victims not been prepared to come forward through shame, etc, or the potential for ‘attack’ on their character by the prosecution. This week the star female cop [actress Susie Porter] is a victim herself of the man she is trying to convict, and she is having trouble practising what she preaches  to other victims, to come forward. I think that line of story will continue next week’

Meanwhile, a columnist from a website called WAAustralia.com wrote the following views about the show which tend to summarise my feelings.

“We’re impressed with the way it examines complexities of Australian life without giving easy answers; we love that it’s a local crime drama that doesn’t make us cringe;  It just hasn’t hit the dizzying heights of popular audience appeal you’d imagine a well-made local crime drama should. It’s disappointing that so many viewers are missing out on such a terrific, satisfying drama series.  Set in Sydney’s western suburbs, East West 101 is centred around Zane Malik, a senior detective of the Major Crime Squad, played by Hany. Malik is a complex character, a practising Muslim who moved from Iraq to Australia as a child. His job is to investigate crimes that span various ethnic groups in the community. While he’s had his challenges in the previous series, in this third and final one he is tested to the limit: a violent bank robbery in last week’s opening episode resulted in a terrible personal tragedy and that’s the driving push of this series.

Smaller crime mysteries also unfurl each episode, resulting in a narrative as tightly wrought as the chignon worn without respite by Inspector Patricia Wright (played beautifully by Susie Porter).  Each episode’s themes are fascinating in the way they tackle those huge world conflicts that happen so far away and which, for many of us, are mere words that flash across the news headlines — Somalia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan. But East West 101’s skill is in showing us how these events reverberate through our own communities and touch upon our own family life, even when we think they have nothing to do with us. It might all sound very serious and intense but East West 101 is, in effect, an excellent, compelling series, noteworthy for its quality, scope and diversity. This last aspect — diversity — is of more significance than I have room to discuss here but it still astonishes me how refreshing it is to see different ethnicities on our television screens, portrayed in a multidimensional way that isn’t tokenistic”.

Anyway, the series impresses this ‘writer’ and I would not be surprised if in next year’s TV awards here in Australia, this particular episode receives some kind of accolade!

Tuesday night saw this writer have very little sleep, if any before 3am, though not for want of trying – I think 3am was the time one daughter finally went to bed. She had gone up to Bendigo on Monday, came back yesterday for some reason, but didn’t get here until  the evening – any conversations I had were through a closed door L from which I discovered she would not be home tonight – I assumed that meant she was visiting friends, but in fact, I discovered earlier this evening from her mother that she had returned to Bendigo this afternoon!! I seem to be the last to become aware of these things!! Anyway, I had hopes of a better sleep tonight  – I knew where Susie was, and there would be no-one wandering around the house opening/shutting doors until the early hours!! And I think I achieved a better night anyway, although a message came through from Susie just before 11 pm  – I’m guessing she must have had a phone call from her mother suggesting that Dad was concerned about where she was!!! “At Bendigo tonight Dad, I did say last night wouldn’t be home, meant the night. Won’t be home tomorrow night either”.  So my concerns on Tuesday night, that she was only spending a day a week in Bendigo, when we were paying rent for a full week or month were unfounded, and this of course pointed to a problem of poor communication – which is as much my fault as anyones!  Communication, or lack thereof, is so often the cause of many concerns in this world of ours, and my simple life is no exception to that!  Even tonight, I somehow failed to read the complete message, so it would not be until Thursday afternoon before I realised she would not be back in Sunbury until Friday!

Let’s move away from that topic, and go back to where we started this day’s ramblings  – the weather! Following on from my comment, a newspaper reporter overnight would write [paraphrased] that  –  Winter muscled in on Autumn more than two weeks early [today] – with thumping rain and pelting hail in Melbourne and snow in the Dandenong Ranges [to the immediate east of Melbourne]. It was the coldest May day since 2000, with a maximum of only 12.2 degrees, and according to the Weatherzone website, it was the earliest in the year that Melbourne has had a maximum below 13 degrees since 1970 [41 years ago]. Autumn has just gone, and if it satays that way, it’s certainly going to be a long winter!!  Victoria’s alpine resorts had up to 15r centimetres of snow today, a mo nth before the normal start of the ski season.  Of course, apart from the weather, all of today’s newspapers were providing a detailed coverage of the Federal Budget from last night. I have to admit, that despite my broad interest in  those events, and the country’s economic situation, I didn’t really read any of that material in much detail. Other things on the mind.