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Woke to a heavy frost outside, but the early morning sunshine looking quite spectacular [even if not feeling particularly warm!!]. Not that the sun has yet done much to get rid of the thick coat of frost over Susie’s car. Think she was going somewhere today – if I hear her arising, I shall go and ‘clean’ up the car for her!

Meanwhile, the big clash of the two football giants here in Melbourne today – Carlton versus Collingwood – expecting a crowd of 90,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground [I won’t be amongst them – young Jodie is coming over to watch the game on TV with me].  I’m not really expecting my team to win – not on the basis of their performance last week, a couple of injuries, and the fact that Collingwood have been basically unbeatable this year, sitting comfortably on top of the ladder! Though they are not without some off-field problems – a player suspended, and their captain fined over a minor betting scandal – though I don’t really think that will affect their playing performance today. So in advance, the Blues I expect to be the underdogs [after  badly going down to the ‘Dogs’ last weekend]. As for the Club report – I think I will include in today’s contribution, as my record of their thoughts [it will interest me perhaps in years to come, if today’s first gamer becomes a star of a few year’s time ].  The team remains a relatively ‘young’ one in terms of match experience at the AFL level.

“The Carlton match committee has made three changes for this Saturday’s Richard Pratt Cup match against Collingwood at the MCG. One of the players coming into the side will make his AFL debut in the blockbuster on Saturday. Jarrad Waite, who had hip surgery in Tasmania on Tuesday, will miss the next three matches and he is joined by Jordan Russell and Ryan Houlihan on the sidelines for Saturday’s blockbuster against Collingwood at the MCG. Russell is out of the side injured (general soreness), while Houlihan has been omitted from the side that was defeated last Sunday by the Western Bulldogs. Houlihan will have to wait another day to reach the 200 game milestone, having played his 199th against the Bulldogs. Returning to the team is Ed Curnow who resumed after injury in the VFL last week. He is joined by Matthew Watson, a first-year player whose last AFL game was in round thee, against Collingwood. Watson also played in the round two match against Gold Coast at the Gabba, his only two AFL matches. The other inclusion is Wayde Twomey who was elevated to the senior list this week and is set to make his AFL debut in front of 90,000 at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.\   Aaron Joseph will play his 50th game on Saturday.

Of the 1136 young men to have completed their senior debut for the Carlton Football Club, how many have done so in front of 90,000 people against Collingwood at the MCG? It’s the extraordinary scenario now confronting the Sunshine-born Swan Districts recruit Wayde Twomey, who will take to the hallowed turf wearing the No.39 guernsey made famous by the rebounding Premiership half-back flanker of 1995, Ang Christou.  “What a beauty to start off with,” said Twomey, just hours after he got wind of his selection at a café near Bay Street, Port Melbourne. “I was actually having lunch with my Dad when ‘Ratts’ [Senior Coach Brett Ratten] gave me a call. He obviously knew I was pretty excited about it at the time, because I don’t think I could speak properly after he told me,” Twomey said. Twomey, a seasoned 25 year-old taken with Carlton’s 51st selection in the 2011 Rookie Draft, recalled a discussion with the Senior Coach some six weeks ago, at which he took on board Ratten’s recommendation to work on specific areas of his game. “Ratts told me that I’d been slowly working away on them, and that on the weekend he was very impressed with the way I’d gone about my game. He told me that was what he wanted and that’s why I’ve got a gig,” Twomey said. Twomey’s trek across the Nullabor came at the time he was completing an electrical apprenticeship, when he felt the need to leave familiar digs “and basically live life a little more”. At the time he was chasing the leather for Werribee and on relocating to the west, found a home at Swans. Back in April, Twomey completed his one and only appearance on the MCG, in a Foxtel Cup fixture for the Northern Bullants against Greater Western Sydney. “It made an impact big-time,” he recalled. “I remember walking out onto the ground before the game and thinking ‘How good is this?’ – it was like walking on carpet. But it might be a little different with 90,000 people watching on. “In saying that, I’ve been playing senior footy for seven years now, so I don’t think there’s going to be anything out there that’s going to shock me”………………….That was probably of interest to no one but myself, and maybe in future years, eldest son, and fanatical Carlton supporter, James!  But that’s fine, I’m okay with that J.

It’s 10.35am, the frost is melting on the grass [and car] outside, and the sun continues to look inviting. Time for a brisk morning walk!!!  Weather stayed fine while I was out there, beautiful conditions for a walk.  The birds of the area seemed to be enjoying the weather also – crows, galahs, etc, all in good voice.  However, as the afternoon and evening drew ever closer, that nice weather outlook began to deteriorate. As did the positive hopes towards my football team!!  Today’s game, despite Jodie’s company was not what we had hoped for, and while the Blues were always within touch of the Collingwood team, the lack of good forwards producing consistent results, meant it was obvious that  we could not get over the top of the opposition. Not unexpected, but nevertheless disappointing, and Carlton have now lost five games in a row against our most traditional of rivals. As for the new ‘boy’ referred to above, I would say he earned his spot in the team, and put in a good effort, hopefully we will see more of him.  In front of a crowd of 85,936, the quarter by quarter scores revealed:-

Carlton Blues:                        2.1.13         4.6.30         9.11.65       Final:   11.13.79

Collingwood Magpies:           2.6.18         5.11.41       11.16.82     FINAL: 13.20.98

Jodie left soon after the game ended – she and Ash [the boyfriend] were going to see his team play tonight in the city – West Coast Eagles versus St Kilda. If the Eagles win, they will replace Carlton in the Top 4!!  Thankfully, that didn’t eventuate, and we manage, somewhat undeservedly, to remain in the top four teams, an important aim for the finals series, and the ‘double chance’ it allows at that time.

A rare Saturday night that saw Susie home all evening – I gather she is working fairly solidly on her studies at the moment, and with boyfriend situations currently in the doldrums, the social life might have been put aside, to concentrate on the university work.  She gave me all the paperwork tonight [well, most of it] to allow me to complete her Tax return for the year just ended. In the past, I have usually performed that function for most the ‘family’ although I notice Adam has already received his  tax refund, so he has obviously worked out that it is a much quicker process to do it himself, than rely on Dad!!!  Good for him. Of course, doing all that, I tend to end up neglecting my own ‘return’ which usually gets completed near the end of October deadline date. However, the resolution is to complete this year’s return over the next few days!!

I watched a bit of the Tour de France tonight, and after today’s Stage,  our Cadel Evans remained in 3^rd position overall, with [despite my concerns referred to over the past couple of days] his team, and Australian commentators remaining optimistic that he can still win the Tour at the end of next week!!  I hope that is what I will be reporting at this time next weekend. Cadel Evans has finished second in the Tour de France on two occasions now, both times, only a matter of seconds and minutes separating him from the eventual winner.

 

I seem to have been busy with ‘other things’ these three days, but life goes onwards, the news keeps happening [good and bad] – phone tapping scandals with the Murdoch newspapers in the UK, and no doubt elsewhere gathers media and public outrage, Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott on their own separate campaign travels around the country to either sell the carbon tax, or discredit it, and the Tour de France races through three more stages of it’s cruelling agenda since I was here last!!

Wednesday night saw this writer at another Family History Society committee meeting – it was a very cold and miserable night, and one would have gladly remained at home after the last two nights out, but it was nice and warm in Peter’s home, and the meeting as congenial & useful as per normal.  There are a couple of special functions coming up in the next few weeks connected with this year’s recognition of Sunbury’s 175^th anniversary, part of which I must try and be a participant in.  Speaking of celebrations, my old Church in Ballarat – Neil Street Uniting [or Methodist as it was in those days] is having it’s150 years celebrations late in August to which I also hope to get to. Received an email during the week from the organiser of that event [in response to a query of mine about the occasion] –   

“Thank you for your email. Winston has been working very hard – especially for a 90 year old – obtaining addresses and I know that you and all of your siblings are on our list. Invitations are being sent out over this weekend and included with that is an RSVP slip. You will each receive an individual invitation. When you receive this would you mind completing the slip with names attending. In the mean time I will note, with excitement, your attendance. I know the Kirk name has been linked to Neil Street and my mum often talks about your family and how your mum coped in the small cottage.  I was Laurenne McKenzie – my brother being David McKenzie and my mum Elvie.  You may remember them – I am a bit younger than you”

 I must be honest,  and admit that I don’t recall that family, but then that is no reflection on them, rather than upon  my memory. But it was gratifying to have my ‘family’ remembered. Probably hard to forget us. In those early days, we lived in a small house/cottage in between the main church and one of the original church buildings, and by the time we left for the Humffray Street home, there were eight of us in that small residence –  Mum, Dad, and the six children!!! I am looking forward to that event – wonder how many people I will remember?

As readers will no doubt be aware from my scribblings, last Sunday Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced the Government was putting a price on pollution by introducing a $23 per tonne carbon tax. Whilst the carbon tax is directed at 500 companies who pollute the heaviest, there will be flow-on effects to the rest of Australia. The topic is divisive: some say Australia must get tough on climate change to protect our future; others say climate change is just a scam and gives the Government another reason to drain hard-working Australians’ taxes. Hence the reason for our two leaders running around the nation at present trying to convince that ‘divided’ public that ‘their’ way is the right way. The National Seniors ‘E-news’ this week had the following to say on some points which are probably going to affect me over the next year or so, depending on how my ‘financial’ situation falls.
‘Australians aged over 65 who don’t receive the age pension or hold a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card will miss out on the carbon tax household payments announced on Sunday. National Seniors Australia chief executive, Michael O’Neill, said: “The government has been generous in compensating pensioners and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders with a Clean Energy Supplement projected to be over and above the cost-of-living impact of the carbon tax”. “We are concerned, however, that while they may benefit from tax cuts a single self funded retiree on an income of $51,000 or a couple on $81,000 a year will not receive cost-of-living assistance”. “The extent to which this impacts on these retirees will depend on the arrangement of their financial affairs.” “As debate rages around whether $150,000 a year constitutes a middle-income Australian family, a single self-funded retiree on $51,000 is deemed wealthy enough to resist the price impacts of a carbon tax,” O’Neill said. Retirees below age pension age (65) also miss out. “Retirees on fixed incomes have very little capacity to adjust to unforeseen price increases. Many are already struggling with basic living costs,” he said. The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card entitles low income retirees to cheaper medicines and help with utilities. However, despite rising living costs the card’s income limits of $50,000 for singles and $80,000 for couples have not increased since 2001. Pensioners and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders will receive a Clean Energy Supplement of $338 (singles) and $510 (couples) annually, starting March 2013; and a tax free lump sum advance payment of $250 in May 2012’. [National Seniors, 14 July].

That organisation has prompted a debate on the issue of the carbon tax, and it seems, that as with the community in general, opinions are widely divergent, as the couple of following indicate. Readers are welcome to form their own opinion on the relevance or otherwise of these comments.

1. For those who think the planet has been “raped”, please consider that Planet Earth is a fully self-contained unit. The various elements it contains cannot increase or decrease, only appear in different forms in different places.
    At funerals, we often hear: “Ashes to ashes …. dust to dust. From the earth we came, and to the earth, we shall return ….” The same concept applies to trees, vegetation, clothing, furniture, household goods, bricks and mortar etc. Planet Earth spews forth anything it chooses, at any time. This puts far more carbon into the atmosphere than any human civilisation could manage. “Carbon Pollution”, on which the new Green Pagan Climate Change Religion is based, is nothing more than a contradiction in terms, designed to send people on a fear/guilt trip. Carbon is a naturally occurring element, one of the principal buildings blocks of all forms of life, and not a pollutant at all.
2. I believe that we must support a carbon tax. Global warming is real and whilst we have seen previous earth temperatures fluctuating, by previous coolings and warmings, the impact of industrialisation is hastening the warming process. We need to act for our children and future generations. That is not to say we are not anxious. The combined income limit of $80,000.00 unchanged since 2001 is unrealistic. The tax free threshold is great, but the tax brackets have been shortened so that by $80,000.00 there is no tax break either. Tax reform in the true sense of the word also needs attention.
3. Please don’t be fooled by scaremongering about Peak Oil and Peak Gas. This is just an excuse to charge us all high prices, while the Chinese government is “given” a 50 year supply of natural gas from the Gorgon Project for 6 cents a litre. This is not a misprint. The staff cuts described by Tony Abbott would not take effect in hospitals, schools, public transport or workers in other infrastructure services. They would be applied to Green bureaucrats employed to collect the Carbon Tax. Some of the states of the USA have now rejected Carbon Trading, due to serious damage done to their economies. About 1/3 of the 27 countries in the European Economic Union have gone (or are going) broke as the result of Carbon Trading and the rise of the corporates. Most political parties already have moderate environmental policies in place. Carbon Taxation is not about the environment at all. Many local councils are already extracting methane from landfill and using it as a fuel. Green waste is being converted into Biochar to naturally increase crop yields for farmers.
4. I again strongly recommend that everyone reads the Lima Declaration and Plan of Action on Industrial Development and Co-operation (1975) signed by 178 countries under Gough Whitlam. This has been both the “green light” and the forerunner of enabling the rise of the third world at the expense of the developed nations.
   I think the fact that self-funded retirees cannot gain access to compensation, and the thresholds that have not been raised since 2001, are further proof that the government places little value on the older generations. I am highly doubtful that the compensation package will keep pace with actual costs for anyone. I am expecting double digit unemployment and the imminent loss of the remaining 6% of our manufacturing industries.
   A vote for Greens, Sex Party, Socialist Alliance, Labor and other communists from the far Left will send our nation further down the tube.  At the next election, when emotions are sure to be running high, please don’t swing like pendulums across to the other side and make the mistake of voting for Liberals. They also support corporatisation of the people’s income producing assets and utilities, the ongoing sellout to the third world and are not pro-worker.
5. Unless humans take action to reduce their use of the Earth’s natural resources, the planet is doomed. I cannot imagine the Earth in 150 years time. In just under 200 years humans have raped this wonderful planet of nearly everything. In well less than 100 years, all the oil and gas will have been used up but still some people believe we should do nothing to change our ways.
6. There is a lot Australia can do to reduce damage to the environment without destroying our future and the wealth of our children and grandchildren. There is too much political expediency in the current government position.
    Julia changed her promise as part of the deal to hold onto government at all cost with the support of the Greens.
   Most of Australia’s coal exports are coking coal. This is used in steel making and is a necessary ingredient in raising standards of living in Countries such as China and India. Our thermal coal exports can easily be replaced by overseas coals that produce higher levels of nasty chemicals such nitrous oxide or sulphur dioxide.
   Our focus should be domestic not destroying our exports and wealth. There is no reason why Australia domestically can’t do more to reduce all forms of pollution not just the least nasty Carbon Dioxide which occurs naturally. We should increase renewable power generation options in Australia and if we are “fair dinkum” we should also encourage greater pubic transport usage and less reliance on oil. Don’t forget we have a liquid fuel crisis on the horizon as demand escalates and supply is close to its peak, the price will continue to rise. Our society is currently built on suburban sprawl and high private car usage.
   House and building designs can reduce energy consumption as well and we can plant more trees.
   Lets not have a silver bullet approach to carbon tax and destroy our children’s future.

Some valuable input there, but it’s obvious the public’s perception, though much of it may not be as in depth as revealed by some of the above remarks, is much influenced by the idea of the affect of climate change on our children’s future. Interestingly different points of view about the carbon tax equally suggest the  potential ‘destruction’ of those futures!!! Personally, while I may not like the ‘government’ we have,  I’d prefer to see them get on with the program now created, though ensuring that the outcomes are not detrimental to those who can least afford additional cost of living changes, and generally, let’s see if all the ‘political’ rhetoric actually has some climatically advantageous basis to it. The majority of scientists and economists, as just two of the professional groups involved in advising all sides, seem to be of the view that action is needed,. And now!!  We have action proposed. Let’s give it a go!!!

Back to important things!!!!!  The Tour de France!!  Since I was last here, we have seen Stages 11 – 13 completed, and by earlier Saturday morning, our time, the situation remained as follows.  After losing the yellow jersey over the weekend in the medium mountain stages, Thor Hushovd of Norway,  took Stage 13 in an impressive showing. He finished the course in 3:47:36, ten seconds better than David Moncoutie, whom he passed on the descent to the finish line. Jeremy Roy finished 26 seconds behind for third place. It took over four minutes for the next riders to come in at the finish line. Thomas Voeckler retained the yellow jersey with his finish in the peloton, and he leads Frank Schleck by 1:49 after the stage, with Australia’s Cadel Evans retaining 3^rd position overall.  Mark Cavendish will still wear the green jersey with his 264 points, but Rojas is right there with 251 points. Roy and his 45 points captured the King of the Mountains red polka dot jersey as he took the climb at Belair and the tougher Aubis. As can be seen there are various separate ‘winner’ categories within the overall title of the Tour de France.

The other day, I posed a couple of questions to my brother, Robert. I wrote:-

 I  continue to be bemused by the Cadel Evans saga – obviously, I don’t understand cycling and/or the Tour de France enough – last night’s commentators had us convinced that by the end of Thursday’s stage, Cadel Evans would be wearing the yellow jersey!!! In fact it seems to be a foregone conclusion that he will be wearing it at the end!  Is this all just a beat up [Gillard/Abbott style spin] to keep us all tuned in to see it happen. As the mountain climbs approached – Cadel’s turn is coming, we are told!!!!!  – I hope it is, but to be honest,I wish they would take that kinds of pressure off [if not on him], on us hopeful spectators!!!
I don’t know where he ended up overnight – Radio National didn’t even mention his name in respect to ‘how’ he finished – as for the commercial channels, they have stopped even mentioning the Tour  – too many stage wins by Cavendish and the Europeans!!  –  they don’t seem to think Australians are interested unless we are in front!! 
Apart from all that ‘the man himself’ seems to be enjoying the Tour  – that ‘is’ great to see – and I will keep hoping, and watching, even if the rest of Australia is losing interest!   Same old story –  if he comes anywhere below first, the media & public won’t want to know, if he wins, we will give him a ‘ticker tape’ parade!!   Like our ‘Matilda’  – played a tough quarterfinal World Cup Soccer match the other night, eventually lost to the tournament runnersup [World Cup won by the Japanese girls], but who would know  – if not winners we are not interested!!
 
Enough from my soapbox – enjoy your weekend [on the bike],  [Bill]

A very speedy response from Robert.

Forget the commentators; there’s always an element of beat up and optimism in what they say. I’m sure Cadel Evans is more than happy with where he sits today (only day 1 in the Pyrenees)………………………………………… Agree with what you say about the Australian press only liking winners. Always remember Ron Clarke back in the “60s” (I think) – held every world record for middle distance running, but when he failed to get a place in the Olympics the headline in the Melbourne Herald was “gutless wonder”!   Sometimes think the press and public generally forget how amazing these athletes are. These TDF guys are just so mentally tough; like Jonny Hoogerland who spiralled through the air landing in a barbwire fence after being hit by that press car a few nights ago; back on a replacement bike with the doctor leaning out of a car putting bandages around his legs as he speed along and requiring 33 stitches that night; can hardly walk when not on the bike but is still leading the polka-dot jersey competition (for best climber). These guys seem to operate on the principle; if nothing’s actually broken then keep going! [Robert]

I think that might be enough for this trio of days!! 

Ohh, and daughter Susie was back home some time this afternoon – has a problem with her car, which requires an expensive fix, was not the battery as suggested last week, but something to do with the immobiliser, a part which can’t be easily replaced because the vehicle manufacturers have gone out of business – talking about a Daewoo Lanos Sedan. Also discovered tonight, though not from Susie, that the latest ‘relationship’ was no longer!  She seemed okay tonight. We ate ‘noodle haven’ food, not my first preference, but well, won’t hurt once in a while. Will it??  Stir fry, sweet & sour!

Just down the road from Sunbury, is the small. Township of Diggers Rest  –  in the C18th gold rush days, it was the first major overnight stopping place for the gold diggers heading out from Melbourne to seek their ‘fortunes’ on the goldfields of places further north such as Castlemaine or Bendigo [Castlemaine, was as far as we can gather the first destination  of my original ancestor here in Australia, for the gold diggings in 1854]. Anyway, with Sunbury so close to the town , there are only a few retailers in the town, mostly it is residential and farming these days. A few years ago, the historic Diggers Rest Hotel, located on the old highway, burnt down, and that left only four businesses operating in the town. Well, that number has been further reduced, although I only really discovered the fact yesterday.

The General store and post office went up in flames  a few days ago. Residents in Diggers Rest have been left devastated after one of the town’s few remaining retailers was extensively damaged by fire. Police believe the blaze, which occurred about 4.45am, was deliberately lit. Owner Barry Richards said he came in to organise the home delivery of newspapers to find the shop on fire. He said “There’s not much left in town now.” “There’s a fish and chip shop, another milk bar and a licensed grocer and there was us,” Mr Richards said.  He is hoping to set up a temporary post office with the help of Australia Post by next week. No one was injured in the fire.

The building was 127 years old and served as both  general store and post office for the town. It always concerns me when a post office is destroyed in a fire,  because apart from the building and normal building contents, you can never really know the extent of loss as far as postal articles are concerned this morning. Certainly, in the early days of settlement, without the type of communication we have today,  the loss of some mail could be life devastating for some people – that letter that had been coming for twelve months, that never reaches it’s destination, and so many other unknown circumstances.

The blaze, which occurred on the Old Calder Highway about 4.40am, destroyed four rooms and about 40 per cent of the weatherboard building. It took 40 minutes for more than 40 firefighters from Diggers Rest, Toolern Vale, Sunbury and Caroline Springs to bring the blaze under control.  Fire investigators were at the scene at first light sifting through the debris to determine the cause of the fire. A fire spokesman said afterwards that “The entire building was damaged by smoke and heat but the fire’s only encroached on four rooms”.  “Being of weatherboard and timber construction it (the fire) ran pretty quick, so by the time we got here (4.44am) it was pretty sizeable.  “We were hampered by access to the building being such an old building – getting in through the roof and that sort of thing.’‘ It was hard to estimate a damage bill from the blaze, but said there had been a “complete loss of stock and post’‘.   Another slice of local history lost to the area!

Tonight saw the second of two nights in a row on air at the radio station. Last night’s late 3 hour shift, I thoroughly enjoyed presenting as usual, even if I heard from nobody throughout the evening. It is a show that I hope to develop further over the months ahead, and particularly beyond my retirement later this year. Mean while tonight was ‘Showtime’, and following last Friday night’s visit to the theatre, I devoted a major part of this program to music from the soundtrack of ‘Love Never Ends’ by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Wanted to give my listeners a taste of a wonderful night’s entertainment.  Jayne, our loyal listener from Melbourne’s south eastern suburbs, rang in during the show – she is one that most of us can always count on tuning in, when she is well enough to do so. Living on her own these days, she regards 3NRG as her family now, and often makes the trip by train to Sunbury to join in any functions that might be happening with respect to the station.

In the Tour de France, after a rest day on Monday, and following some of the disastrous incidents of Sunday’s stage, today [tonight] was a tough but relatively incident free Stage 10.  A total of 178 riders took to the start of Stage 10 after Alexandr Kolobnev (Katusha) tested positive for a  banned substance and Yaroslav Popovych (RadioShack) did not start due to illness.  Today’s route took the riders 161kms from Aurillac to Carmaux.  Four categorized climbs—two cat-3’s and two cat-4’s—awaited the riders in addition to the intermediate sprint. Stage 10 concluded as German rider Andre Greipel completed a stunning sprint to the finish to defeat Mark Cavendish, Jose Joaquin Rojas, and Thor Hushovd for the stage victor.  The overall situation after Stage 10, saw  the first five positions unchanged – 1. Thomas Voeckler [France]; 2, Luis Leon Sanchez [Spain], and 3. Cadel Evans [Australia] with the two Schleck brothers from Luxembourg in 4^th & 5^th spot. I made no attempt to watch any of the event beyond about 11pm – would like to, but one needs sleep! And there is little value in my taping each night’s stage, because I would never be able to find time to keep up with each day by trying to watch the tape. So we depend on a few highlights next evening, and do get to enjoy some of the scenery in the first hour or two of the coverage each night.

Found a couple of little interesting bits and  pieces in the current edition of Limelight magazine, which I shared with my listeners yesterday morning.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the historical significance of the instruments that the four members of the Australian String Quartet currently use in their concerts. Well, obviously, they are not alone in making use of historic string instruments.  For the past four years, the Australian Chamber Orchestra  [ACO] has been enriched by principal violinist Richard Tognetti’s $10 million 1743 Carrodus violin, which is rumoured to have been played by the composer Paganini. Now I’m assuming  that the instrument ‘is on loan’ to the orchestra, as it is inconceivable that the orchestra could pay out that kind of money. On a lower level, but equally significant, is the most recent acquisition by the ACO –  a $1.79 million violin made between 1728 and 1729 by Antonio Stradivari, considered to be music’s most revered instrument maker, of whose craft only 650 specimens survive – the Stradivarius violins. I’m surprised there are that many in existence considering some of the price tags that are attached to them.  In fact, this one is actually owned by the ACO – it was purchased through the ACO’s Instrument Fund, making it the only Australian owned Stradivarius.

The other item I found of interest relates to one of Australia’s modern icons – the Sydney Opera House. Despite it’s glamorous and flashy external appearance, it currently leaves a lot to be desired inside, especially in respect to the performance of opera. Performers have complained that they can’t hear the orchestra properly, while singing their roles  –  because the orchestra pit is ‘underneath’ the stage, which prompts Francis Merson in ‘Limelight’ to ask ‘This raises two questions; firstly what’s the point of putting an orchestra where it can’t be heard on stage? Secondly, if the orchestra can’t be heard where it is, what’s the point of leaving it there?’ The other concern is that operas of the scope and size of Wagner’s ‘Ring cycle’ can’t be staged at the Sydney Opera House because there is not enough room!! It is to be staged in Melbourne in 2013, but many argue that our Sydney ‘icon’ should be the venue. I’ve only been to one ‘performance’ and that was a Gilbert & Sullivan Operetta, though I did get the opportunity through an architect uncle to do a tour of the Opera House when it was under construction back in around 1965. Merson’s cutting point is ‘If the government cares about our national icon, then it must ensure its future as a functional opera house, not just as a backdrop for happy snaps’.

And finally, whilst talking classics, I notice there is a new movie in town – a French film called ‘Mozart’s Sister’, which explores the life W A Mozart’s older sister, Nanneri, who was an accomplished musician  in her own right, but whose talents took a back seat to her boy child brother prodigy.  I’m thinking I must make an effort to have a look at that one!,

Following on from last night’s brief look at the Tour de France, the series of crashes which occurred during yesterday’s Stage were even worsened when a media car collided with two cyclists  injuring them both [though I think at least one of them may have continued to race after being bandaged up a little.  Some angry repercussions were likely to follow that incident. The day’s riding saw the emergence of a new wearer of the ‘Yellow Jersey’, and also saw  Cadel Evans slip back a position in the overall ratings, though he still has a week of mountain riding ahead, Evan’s speciality.  Stage 9 results were:

• 1.Luis-Leon Sanchez, Rabobank Cycling Team, 5h 27′ 09″
• 2. Thomas Voeckler, Team Europcar, at 00:05
• 3. Sandy Casar, Fdj, at 00:13
• 4. Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma – Lotto, at 03:59
• 5. Peter Velits, Htc – Highroad, at 03:59
• 6. Cadel Evans, Bmc Racing Team, at 03:59

While the progressive situation sees a change at the top, with Evans now back into 3^rd spot.

• Thomas Voeckler, Team Europcar, 38h 35′ 11″
• 2. Luis-leon Sanchez, Rabobank Cycling Team, at 01:49
• 3. Cadel Evans, Bmc Racing Team, at 02:26
• 4. Frank Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 02:29
• 5. Andy Schleck, Team Leopard-Trek, at 02:37
• 6. Tony Martin, Htc – Highroad, at 02:38

Meanwhile, last night’s British F1 Grand Prix race saw Fernando Alonso win the race ahead of the two Red Bull drivers – Sebastian Vettel and Australia’s Mark Webber, who was ordered by the Team ‘not’ to pass Vettel in the closing stages when he had the opportunity to do so. The reason given – for safety reasons!!

In the meantime, following on from yesterday’s Carbon Tax announcement,  my email inwards box has \being quick to hear from the Liberal Party, keen to let me know what various members of the business community think of it all.

Business Council of Australia  “On a preliminary reading it appears the government’s proposal …will bring a range of additional risks and costs to industry and the economy.”Jennifer Westacott, Chief Executive, 10 July 2011   Minerals Council of Australia  “It will impose the highest carbon price in the world, compromising the competitiveness of Australia’s export and import competing sectors without environmental benefit.”\ “With no other nation implementing an economy-wide carbon tax, this is a dangerous experiment with the Australian economy.” Media Release, 10 July 2011     Australian Food and Grocery Council  “The carbon package – which only provides $150 million over six years in assistance to industry – is not enough to ensure the long-term competitiveness of Australia’s $102 billion food and grocery sector, employing more than 288,000 people.”\  Kate Carnell, Chief Executive, 10 July 2011

Well, I’ve decided to wait and see, rather than adapt the Tony Abbott ongoing opposition to everything – he is really starting to get at this Liberal supporter I think  -when he came on the radio this morning, and immediately starting to talk about lies and trust in respect to the Prime Minister, rather than addressing the issues themselves, I switched him off!!  No more Tony, get off that ‘bandwagon’, you are turning me off through your methods, and approach to this whole question of opposition!  That was how he started last night’s email message, in the same mode of attack and negativity –  it may all be true, but I for one, am sick of hearing this particular message.

“Today’s announcement of the Labor-Green carbon tax sealed Julia Gillard’s betrayal of the Australian people. Six days prior to the last election, she said: “there will be no carbon tax under the government I lead”.  The day before the election she said: “I rule out a carbon tax”.  This toxic tax will drive up prices, threaten jobs and do nothing for the environment……….”

 

I was late to bed last night  – too much international sport on the TV, and I am in for another late one tonight –  but on the radio this time, from 9pm until midnight! Leaving a warm home, to the delights of a Winter’s night in Sunbury. Hopefully the heating system will be working in the studio this time – it wasn’t yesterday morning.

 

 

 

This is a very cold Sunday morning, and the forecasters are telling us that it is going to become more ‘miserable’ as the day goes along. I have just ‘reneged’ on going for a walk – having already being outside today [my 6.30am visit to the radio station[], I do know how cold that wind is, no point tempting fate!! And I’ve just noticed that our Prime Minister is about to speak to the nation with her announcement about the Government’s dreaded Carbon Pricing policy!!!  So I guess as a patriotic Australia, I should tune in and see what the ‘great lady’ has to say!!!!

I actually ended up in front of the TV screen for two hours  -we had the Prime Minister [Julia Gillard], the Treasurer [Wayne Swan] & the Climate Change Minister [Greg Combet] all having something to say  In broad summary, described as a big economic reform for Australia, aimed at creating  a clean environment, leading to a clean emerging future. Basically, the top 500 polluting firms in Australia are going to pay for the pollution they emit into the atmosphere – at a carbon price of $23 per tonne from the 1^st July next year, anticipated to have a 0.7% increase in inflation/CPI . No denial that this will not lead to prices and higher costs being passed onto the rest of the community, eg, some of the estimated costs being $3.30 per week electricity, $1.50 extra for gas, and 80cents per week average increase in costs. The latter tempered to some degree by the decision not to impose fuel tax credits on agriculture, fisheries and the forestry areas,  nor on fuel used by trucking firms – on the latter, would have been a pointless exercise as far as the climate change aims were concerned, would have been simply a revenue raising exercise, as such an imposition would not change the habits of truckies  – they still have to finish their journey!! In fact overall, the pricing scheme will be basically revenue neutral  – in order to compensate households and small businesses, as promised, there will be more money going ‘out’ than coming ‘in’ – the government argues that the aim is to impose the tax on the major polluters, not on the rest of Australia.

So the compensation –  only 10% of households will be worse off, those on household incomes of over $150,0000 [rightly so, in my view].  Of the other 90% of households, the estimate is that the average household compensation will be $10.10 per week, and some of the related provisions will be a 1.7% increase in pensions and family assistance payments, a single income family supplement for households earning up to $150,000 pa,  low income earners will be eligible for a $300 a year payment [not sure what that one was about], the tax free threshold to be increased three times to a level of $18,200, while households and small business will not be required to pay extra for fuel [how the devil will that work?]. On the tax aspect, the government suggests that one million extra people will have no taxation deducted from their salaries, and will therefore not have to submit a tax return annually – as Wayne Swan spelt out, this is major tax reform.  Of course all of these ‘benefits’ are in broad terms – how the individual person or business is actually affected in the long run, may not be as advantageous as this all sounds.

Interested to note that the whole proposal seems to suggest a massive in public sector employment and costs through the creation of ‘new’ authorities to manage all this – a $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation to set up the renewable sector [referred to by Tony Abbott later in the day as ‘Gillard’s Bank’];  an independent body to administer government renewable energy funding;  a new Bio Diversity Fund worth $946 million to be established; a new Climate Change Authority to recommend pollution caps;  and so on – all increasing the size of government.

From the government’s point of view, in summary – two in three households will be no worse off under the carbon pricing scheme [wonder what happened to the 10% figure?], and that those who are receiving compensation represents the targeting of the most disadvantaged groups from price increases. The impact of the policy is on the polluters who are paying.

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement and response to questions, we saw  press conferences from Bob Brown & Christine Milne from the Greens  – I was a bit annoyed for the manner in which Brown [once again] gave the impression that all credit for this policy happening was due to the Greens, and their now powerful position in both houses of Parliament.  Bob Brown  – ‘a great day for Australia, wouldn’t have happened without the Greens and a Labor Government, and the support of the Independents. Christine Milne [his Deputy] noted that this ‘is the moment when Australia turns it’s back on the fossil fuel age’.  Adam Brandt, the Green House of Representative Member for Melbourne – thanked the people of inner Melbourne for electing him as the first Green member of the Lower House, and so enabling  us to help deliver a clean energy policy.  We even had the two Independents [Tony Windsor and Rob Oakshott] who were responsible for Julia Gillard being able to form the minority Labor Government last August, expressing their support for the package.

Finally, a brief press conference from Opposition leader, Tony Abbott – yes this is a world first for Australia, that we don ‘t need~!  Despite all that has gone before, he will continue to insist that millions of Australians will be worse off, and, he said, on the PM’/s own admission, we are not actually going to cut our emissions! Yes 10% will get nothing – but he doesn’t actually mention that 10o% earn over $150,000 per annum!  Abbott was support by his Shadow Climate Minister, Greg Hunt, and Shadow Treasurer [Joe Hockey].  Joe’s comment – the policy relies on a ‘Trust me’ policy!!  Well, no-one expected any element of  support from the Opposition side, and  I don’t think I will even bother to listen to Abbott’s address to the nation tonight. Like the Carbon Pricing Policy or not, something is being done, and at the moment, negativity in the absence of some firm alternative approach is not really favourable to my way of thinking!!

By mid-afternoon, the weather was going down drastically – a visitor from the Church, called by briefly with some reading material for me. Helen likes a talk, but she was in a hurry to get back home and mow her lawn before it rained, but I fear she was already too late!! By now, my attention had turned from politics to sport, with my football team due to be on the field late this afternoon. At least they would have the benefit of playing under the roof!!  Meanwhile, quite a sporty night ahead of me, with a couple of Australian women’s sporting teams representing the country in major events. More on those later, let’s see how the Blues are progressing first  – I shall return  shortly!!

 

A slow start to the Blues, and not good kicking again, in the opening quarter, to hold a narrow lead!  Off to a great opening in the 2^nd quarter, 4 goals in a row, than allowed the Bulldogs to kick 7 in a row!!! What is wrong with the team?  By three quarter time, I’d pretty well given up  – a chance to consolidate a position near the top, against a team that won’t make the finals, and they have stuffed it up!!!  Disappointing effort, second such performance in three weeks!!  Full time. Western Bulldogs 14.12.96 def Carlton 9.15.69. A tough day at the office. The Dogs dominated after half time, led by their hard running midfield. Walker struggled to find space to run into up front while our defenders were under enormous pressure at all times. Jarrad Waite came off with groin tightness and will be monitored during the week. We take on Collingwood next week at the MCG. Quarter by quarter scores.

Carlton Blues:         2.7.19     6. 9.45      8.11.59    Final:  9.15.69

Western Bulldogs:  2.4.16     6.7.43       11.9.75     FINAL: 14.12.96

Better news in the Netball World Championship Final  – after extra time, Australia got up to defeat New Zealand in the closing seconds of the match 58/57.  Not so promising for the Matildas in the Soccer Quarterfinal, down 2 goals against Sweden in the first 15 minutes, but by halftime had managed to pull back one goal, to be down 2/1 at the interval.

Didn’t realise Susie was returning to Bendigo tonight, until she was virtually walking out the door. Then her car wouldn’t start, battery problems, and a call to the RACV was necessary. They got her car going but I was now doubly unhappy about her driving up the highway tonight. Finally left shortly after 9pm, and I would  be watching most of the soccer, with my mind elsewhere!  It was near 11 pm by the time the football match had finished – Australia losing that one, against the more experienced Swedish team, eventually going down 3-1, and so their tournament came to an end. Interestingly, we had the German team & supporters barracking for us tonight – Germany was knocked out by Japan last night, and apparently, if Sweden defeated Australia, they would take Germany’s place in next year’s Olympic Games!  Well, that’s the way it eventuated!! Meanwhile,. No phone message from Susie tonight to tell me she had arrived safely! Had to assume no news was good news!

I suggested this was a blog of politics and sport!  Still have got the British F1 Grand Prix happening, but it looks as though the telecast been received here is a delayed one, with comments on Face Book from others suggesting the race is half over. While in France, today’s Tour de France stage has accidents everywhere at the moment, I’ve never seen so many crashers in this race in so few days of riding.  Chaos at the fear end of the peloton, injured riders sitting on the side of the road, others down the ditch and into the trees, and ambulances on the scene!!  The result of all this saw another of the favoured riders join Bradley Wiggins out of the race.  While speaking of that, my brother sent me a response about my queries on the scoring mechanisms used in the Tour de France. This is what he had to say.

‘On timing, the basic rule is that any group finishing as a bunch gets the same time, largely designed to ensure the yellow jersey in not disadvantaged in the massive bunch sprint finishes. There has to be a distinct gap between riders for a separate time to be recorded; like last night 1st and 2nd recorded a couple of seconds faster than Cadel finishing 3rd, but Cadel’s 3rd just edged out a group containing the yellow jersey – hence that group got the same time and no change in yellow jersey leader and time gap to Cadel. This was the same situation when Cadel won his stage a few days ago; he just edged out Contador and yellow jersey in a tight finishing group. Which is why the mountain stages are important as the gaps between finishing riders are more obvious. Also, if you crash within the last 3 km but are able to finish, you get the same time as the group were with when you crashed.

Think the number of crashes has been primarily down to strong cross winds over the past few days; yes they ride very close together and have enormous trust in each other, but given the speed they are going this can be brought unstuck by sudden wind gusts. Sad to see Bradley Wiggins go out as he was a real contender.

Good to see Cadel getting the better of Contador across the line again last night; is definitely riding with more aggression and finally has a good team (big George Hincapie is awesome rider – had a chat to him in Adelaide). Contador not looking as invincible as he was in recent Giro (maybe he’s stopped chewing that contaminated meat, or just foxing). Fingers crossed, as the real climbing in Pyrenees and Alps yet to come’. [Robert].

It certainly is an odd system, and another form of  ‘gentlemen’s agreements’ that we seem to get in professional cycling. But as I have just seen on the screen, the accidents continue to happen in this year’s race – this one on a relatively straight stretch of road, but obviously a bit slippery from some rain in the area. Ironically, not long afterwards, the sun was shining!! As for the ‘gentlemen’s agreements’, it seems that the peloton has called a temporary truce, i.e., they have slowed down to wait for all those riders who were delayed by the crashes, have joined back up with the main group.  An interesting sport!!!

 

 

 

Did not rush up this morning, and when I did, found that Susie’s two cats were also not interested in moving from their basket in the laundry. They were still there after I had spent researching some hints that had come through from Ancestry.com.  Certainly, the birds outside the back door were taking advantage of the absence of the cats, finishing off some scraps of food that had been left for the felines yesterday!!  By 11 am, quite pleasant looking morning outside –  sunshine, though no doubt probably not that warm, was encouraging enough to invite one for a late morning walk!!

There’s a publication called ‘Platform’ which is put out on an occasional basis by one of our University/FAFE colleges – a copy seems to appear every now and then in the studio at the radio station. It’s part of a ‘Youth Strategy project aimed at ensuring that language and literary skills, which are the foundations for learning, employment, and community engagement, are readily available to all students to develop those skills so that they can participate in life long learning. One avenue of doing this is by giving them the opportunity  to have their work published – and ‘Platform’ allows this to happen. As the Editorial in the latest edition I’ve seen says – ‘Platform is one of VU’s finest outlets for community expression. This is who we are, what we are, collectively willing to share with each other about our inner and outer worlds through our own expressive filters. Together, writers recognised or aspirational or sharing, we paint the pastel picture of our time’.   One of the contributions this time came from Lina Musico, A VCE Year 12 student at VU [Victoria University], called ‘Belonging’, and it began as follows.

‘There is a group of very special people in this world and they all come into a room together a few times a week. These people are of different colours, these people are of different creeds, these people are of different ages, but there is something that brings us all together and makes all the differences go away. These people are the ones I call classmates. We all come together over one common goal. This goal is to better ourselves and to be the best we possibly can be, so that at the end of the year we leave the Adult VCE Program with our heads held high and out certificates in hand. Each of these classmates mean something to me; they are like the family I never really had. My teachers are like guiding parents who only want the best for me. My fellow classmates are like siblings should be, always encouraging and willing to help you out if you are struggling, willing to tell you you’re wrong but it’s okay, willing to back you up when you need it most. This group of very special people understand where I’m coming from and don’t judge me for it, they just accept me for who I am’.

Similarly from a composite group of  students, we read that about ‘A class profile’  ‘There are twenty-six people in our class from ten different countries across four continents. There are four males and twenty-two females. The age range in our class is between twenty-four and seventy-one years old. Twenty-three of us have children. Class members have been living in Australia for between two and thirty-seven years. We have come to Australia for many different reasons. Most of us are immigrants, but nine people came to Australia as refugees. All of us are full-time students and some people work part-time. Everyone lives in the western suburbs, in the Brimbank, Maribyrnong, Hume and Melton areas. People have a wide variety of occupational backgrounds. Some people are professionals like lawyers, teachers and accountants, while others are homemakers and factory workers.

What I get out of these pieces is that regardless of cultural and religious backgrounds, so often those things can become positives rather than the perceived negatives, especially through such things as study, training and sport, with their opportunities to meet new and friendly people, and to develop language skills and a knowledge of those other cultures and their peoples.  Just my little thought for the day!

But we must give a brief update on the overnight Stage 8 of the Tour de France:  Aigurande – Super Besse Sancy (192 km):   Portuguese rider Rui Alberto Costa won the eighth stage of the Tour de France after withstanding a late attack from Philippe Gilbert in the final climb Saturday, while Thor Hushovd kept the leader’s yellow jersey. The race entered the mountains for the first time in the 189-kilometer (117-mile) trek from Aigurande to Super-Besse, featuring a sharp category 2 climb up Col de la Croix and a final climb of 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles).  Gilbert of Belgium made up a huge amount of time before crossing 12 seconds adrift, with Australian cyclist Cadel Evans finishing 15 seconds behind Costa in third place. Surprisingly, Norway’s Thor Hushovd is still one second ahead of Evans and has been wearing the yellow jersey since his Garmin-Cervelo team won last Sunday’s time trial. I’m waiting to a response from my brother in respect to the manner in which the progressive placing system is calculated!!

Cadel Evans attacked on the final climb. A great race animator. Photo Fotoreporter Sirotti.

Looking ahead to this weekend’s football match, the Blues are back on the winners list after a massive victory over the Tigers at the MCG last Saturday. It was a great response after the previous weekend’s defeat however it is now in the history books; the focus now is the Western Bulldogs on Sunday at Etihad Stadium, a late game, starting at 4.40 pm. No television coverage for me, and I doubt I will want to travel into the city at that time, looks like a radio description for me this weekend!  The Carlton team will have a final training session tomorrow morning to which members and supporters are invited. I wonder how many they get along to those sessions? I certainly recall back in the days when Carlton were regular Grand Finalists, and going along to the final training session on the Thursday night before the final, where massive crowds would turn up, and that still happens today for the big matches whatever the team!  I recall seeing a report a few days ago from England, talking about a upcoming soccer match between two English teams [perhaps it ewas a few weeks ago, as that season has finished] – anyway, the report was from a similar training session for one of the teams, and the stadium concerned, seemed to be full, just to watch their heroes ‘train’ and basically run around!!! Fanatical supporters in the UK!

In the office, after yesterday’s rather ‘full on’ effort to print, package and despatch the organisation’s latest Newsletter, it was a relief to have a more ‘relaxed’ mood around the work place throughout today. Certainly, inside was the place to be, with the weather extremely cold and unpleasant throughout the day.

Now of course, everyone is familiar with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s [ALW]  ‘Phantom of the Opera’, which is estimated to have been seen by over 100 million people world wide [I saw two different productions here in Melbourne over a decade] – a love story that is widely regarded as the most successful piece of entertainment in history. Well, ALW eventually created his sequel to that story – ‘Love Never Dies’, and together with eldest daughter Susan, and her Mum, Shirley, I went along to Melbourne’s Regent Theatre tonight to see that show.  Before doing so, at Susie’s suggestion, we visited a popular but relatively small Japanese Restaurant at the top end of Bourke Street,  for dinner – quick service, and for me, a tasty dish, although I must admit, I didn’t really attempt a full-on Japanese meal – didn’t really want to try anything tonight ‘too different’ to my normal tastes, before attending a theatre show!! 

Love Never Dies –  not sure if that was the best possible title – love never dies- it did in some respect, though it was ‘resurrected’ in another direction, but you will need to see the show yourself to ascertain the actual ending!!  I don’t want to give it all away!  This apparently is first new Australian production of an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in nearly 20 years, and Melbourne is only the 2nd city in the world to host LOVE NEVER DIES. A brief synopsis of the Show: –

The Year is 1907. It is ten years after the Phantom’s disappearance from the Paris Opera House and he has escaped to a new life in New York having found a place amongst the screaming joy rides and freak-shows of Coney Island.   From the Gothic surrounds of the Paris Opera House to the dazzling heights of New York’s Coney Island – the Phantom returns. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s spectacular new musical reunites the masked Phantom with his only true love and musical protégée, the stunning beauty Christine Daaé. Love Never Dies is a roller-coaster ride of intrigue, obsession and romance – where little is as it first appears.  With Madame Giry’s help the Phantom escaped the Paris mobs to build a glittering new empire in the new world. For ten long years the Phantom has hidden himself amongst the freaks and sideshows nursing his broken heart and yearning for his true love to return. The performance opens with the tortured Phantom longing to hear the voice of Christine again through the opening song ‘Til I Hear You Sing’

Meanwhile, back in Europe, blinded by money and the bright lights of Coney – Christine, with Raoul and their son Gustave, is lured to America to perform one final time, but unaware that it is the Phantom who has arranged for her appearance in the popular beach resort.  But Christine soon discovers the true identity of the mysterious impresario who has tempted her across the Atlantic. As old wounds are reopened and forgotten memories unlocked – The Phantom sets out to prove that, indeed, Love Never Dies.  The plot is not based on the story-line in the original book by Gaston Leroux, and Lloyd Webber has stated “I don’t regard this as a sequel – it’s a stand-alone piece” but for all intents and purposes, with some of the former main characters involved, it’s difficult to look at it in any other way!

It was interesting to go to a new show, about which one had little idea of how the storyline was going to go, and the glamorous program available for purchase didn’t clearly provide any detailed synopsis – I found a complete Act by Act summary on the internet, but won’t spoil the mystery of the Show by spelling that out here, readers can search for that at their will. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable evening – Susie’s view was that it surpassed the Phantom of the Opera!!  She was quite impressed with the majesty of the stage settings and scenery changes which seem to get better and better with each new show, certainly some spectacular affects on this occasion,  while the voices of the two or three lead performers in their singing roles were absolutely wonderful – not necessarily household names unless you were a regular theatre enthusiasts  but nevertheless magnificent performances –  Ben Lewis as the Phantom, Anna O’Byrne as Christine, Simon Gleeson as Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, Maria Mercedes as Madame Giry and Sharon Millerchip as Meg Giry. The role of Christine & Raoul’s son, Gustave was shared by five different boy actors, not sure which one was performing tonight, but Susie didn’t like him!! Guy Simpson was the conductor of the Orchestra, and their music also formed a major aspect of the enjoyment of ‘Love Never Dies’.  Needless to say, I purchased a copy of the 2CD recording of the show, and some of that music will form much of next Tuesday evening’s Showtime program!

Interesting to note the variety of what is worn to the theatre these days! Of particular amusement were the three scantily dressed young women sitting nearby to us – despite the comfortable warmth of the theatre, it was still a basically freezing night in Melbourne [as we would rediscover on our exit just before 11 pm] – that kind of disregard for the weather was accentuated on our walk up to the car park a couple of blocks from the theatre – nearby was one of Melbourne ‘Nightclubs’ were queues of young people standing around in the narrow street waiting for their turn to gain admittance. It was the girls in particular who were waiting in that crowd, who were virtually dressed in skimpy summer dresses, and generally no apparent warmer clothing [jackets, etc] to cover themselves from the extremely chill wind and typical winter’s night freeze!!! Perhaps they only ‘suffer’ after the night’s dancing and drinking is over, but at the beginning ignore what is to come!!

Relaxing drive home to Sunbury, although light rain starting to fall as we headed out on the Calder Highway – brief stop at the service centre out there, the two ladies wanted some McDonald’s chips!!  I gave that a miss! Shirley had left her car at the Sunbury Railway Station, thankfully it was still there, if not looking a little lonely – occasionally, cars left in the car parks which tend to empty fairly quickly as the evening moves along, can be the target of unwanted attention!  Back home, we received some desperate attention from two cats, which Susie had neglected to feed before she left earlier this evening to meet me in the city, where I had., as usual travelled straight from work.

Close to midnight, but not immediately in the mood for bed, so watched a little of the Tour de France – it was Stage 7 today [tonight] – long flat 215 kms from Le Mans to Chateauroux, which saw 193 riders take to the start. The HTC team which has struggled with their team of riders over past days, timed things well this time, enabling Britains’ Mark  Cavendish to sprint to his second stage win of this year’s Tour.  The second peloton finished the stage over 3 minutes later, with some riders not coming in until 12 minutes behind Cavendish. There was no change to the leading two riders – Norway’s Thor Hushovd and Australia’s Cadel Evans following tonight’s stage.

From the GET UP organisation,  following the government’s sudden decision to left the current ban on live exports of  cattle to Indonesia, and the imposition of  new conditions on live animal exports to that country, we learn that, in their view, there is good and bad news associated with that decision [which incidentally, has apparently upset some members of the Labor Party, concerned that the decision was rushed through without a great deal, if any, consultation, with the Party members in general, there being quite a variation in opinions on the subject.  GET UP wants to continue the campaign within the terms of the lifting of the bans. Over the past weeks, over 245,000 Australians have joined together in this campaign to end the cruel treatment of Australian cattle in Indonesian abattoirs. Together we’ve created the biggest petition in Australian history, and a huge storm in Parliament House. Yesterday’s announcement may be disappointing to many of us, but new animal welfare standards are a step forward in our campaign. In the coming months, let’s continue to keep the pressure up, starting today by calling on exporters to ensure their cattle are only sent to facilities that stun animals.

As GET UP advises –  bad news first: sadly, the international standards the Government has announced do not mandate stunning of animals before slaughter.  Now the good news: the Government has also committed to supply chain assurance, which means that each animal exported will be tagged so they can be tracked from the farm to the abattoir. That’s important because it means cattle producers can now choose to send their cattle only to abattoirs that stun animals before killing. That also means we [the GET UP supporters, and other concerned Australians]  have an opportunity. Some major cattle exporters have already flagged that they will only export to abattoirs with stunning facilities. If we can convince all the exporters to do the same, we can ensure that no Australian cattle are exported to facilities that don’t stun animals.  Currently, no Australian producer meets the international standards the Government has set. However some are getting close, and they’re getting up to scratch so they can qualify for a Government permit to resume exports in the coming weeks.
Many exporters have already expressed their shock to see how their animals were being treated in Indonesia, and some have already committed to export their cattle, only to facilities that stun. The question might be asked – why would exporting companies all agree to promise Australians they will only send their cattle to facilities which use stunning?  GET UP suggests it is because of the ‘Australian public’ that they will agree to the request.
The massive outcry from the Australian public has made clear to industry that the community will not accept a cruel trade. If another animal is exported to the kind on horrific cruelty discovered by Animals Australia investigators, live trade may be banned, forever.  Certainly, if some advocates, such as the RSCPA [Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals] had their way, the existing ban would have remained forever!
Anyway, the Australian Government and the cattle industry know the community will not tolerate that kind of cruelty and if international standards are not complied with, there won’t be second chances. Personally, I have been in two minds about the whole ban, and were it not for the potential dramatic consequences on the many producers and farmers who were going to be directly affected by the whole process, I would have been happy to see live exports stopped. I imagine that the Government was thinking more about the economic and financial implications of continuing with the ban, rather than direct concern for the individual  farming family [unless of course, it was felt future votes would be lost, although the numbers involved were fairly small in the context of the total electorate].

Meanwhile, an interesting email from my brother, commenting on his recent cycling fortnight in Japan, and some views on the current Tour de France.  I always consider Robert’s ‘correspondence’ [the non-personal side of it] worth sharing, and including as a part of my contribution on these pages! So that is what follows.

Hi Bill

 

We got back from Japan early Sunday morning; was a lovely day in Sydney, so did something different and went for a long bike ride!

 

Thoroughly enjoyed the trip – riding was good (lovely roads to ride on, even in the back blocks of Hokkaido) and a good cultural experience (have only ever been to Tokyo before). On the riding side, the bikes we had were okay but not great; Evelyn had trouble with her gears for the first couple of days and ended up switching to the Guide’s bike (he was mostly driving the support van). Was impressed with Evelyn’s riding, particularly on the climbs where she out-paced the other two guys in our small group (she’s not fast on the flat but has amazing stamina when it comes to climbing).

 

On the cultural side, for 10 days on Hokkaido we saw no other non-Japanese and met only one person who spoke English; hence a bilingual guide is sort of essential to avoid a lot of mucking about trying to make yourself understood. Other aspects of our japanese experience were:

 – Every meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner) was some mix of tempura, sashimi, fish in multiple forms, vegetables, miso soup, tea, salad and rice (ate lots to get required carbs) + Japanese beer (which is excellent)

 – Dressing for dinner each night in kimono and slippers or thongs (see attached)

 – naked bathing in communal hot spring baths each afternoon following ride – but usually alone as hotels / inns were mostly empty; became very addictive following a day in the saddle

 – sleeping on futons and sitting on cushions (not chairs) for dinner

 – ritual everywhere about were you can and can’t wear shoes; e.g. at hotels / inns shoes come off at main entry and into slippers; but slippers come off at entry into your room or into the dining room.

 

Eye opener as to the impact the March tsunami has had on Japanese psyche and economy; even up north in Hokkaido the hotels and inns were virtually empty as the Japanese themselves are just not travelling and tourism from off-shore has dried up; hence a number of commercial establishments and restaurants are struggling. As an indication of a shaken psyche, on arrival at one hotel the proprietor (while obviously pleased to see us) said to our guide (in japanese) “aren’t they scared”!

 

Trust that you are following the Tour! Cadel [Evans] looking good and thankfully appears to be showing more aggression than in the past (e.g. in holding off  [Alberto] Contador to the line to win Stage 4). But of course it’s early days. However, the mood is perhaps best summed up by the following quote sent by Dave Olle following Cadel’s win on Stage 4 (Dave is the TopBike guy I did the TdF trip with last year):

 

“Cadel’s first TdF road stage win.  Let’s remember the clichés, take a deep breath and repeat them with me now:  ‘It’s only the first week’, ‘It’s a long way to Paris’, ‘A week is a long time in cycling’ ‘It’s the third week that counts’.  Bugger it, let’s celebrate now.”  

And another little story from Dave about why there are so few French riding in the TdF (Benard Hinault mentioned was the greatest ever French rider; won about 5 TdF’s):

 

“The lack of good French GC riders in the last 25 years’ report:  Our hostess in Hede, Virginie, told us a little story this morning, that was quite revealing.  About how as a child she was taken to the TdF every year, made to sit road side on every stage and watch Benard Hinault fight for the yellow jersey.  Many kids of her era were forced to do the same by, usually, their fathers.  Apparently deaf to their children’s pleas, begging for a normal family holiday, by the beach.  Herein lies the answer as to why no Frenchmen have managed to succeed him.  They all hated it.  
The ‘Badger’s’ successes and his fans dedication, effectively killed the enthusiasm of the next generation.  C’est la vie Frenchies!  (Suffer in ya chamois’)” 

 Meanwhile, an update on last night’s [tonight’s] Tour de France – Stage 6 Dinan to Lisieux , 226.5km – Stage 6 Results     1. Edvald Boasson Hagen Sky Procycling – 5:13:37  2. Matthew Harley Goss HTC-Highroad  3. Thor Hushovd Team Garmin-Cervelo.  The overall situation after six stages remains relatively unchanged – the odd thing about the Tour de France which mystifies this fan, how the relative scores of competitors remain unchanged through many days of cycling. Must get my brother to try and explain it all to me one day!  General classification after Stage 6   –  1. Thor Hushovd Team Garmin-Cervelo – 22:50:34;  2. Cadel Evans BMC Racing Team – 0:00:01;   3. Fränk Schleck Leopard Trek – 0:00:04;  4. David Millar Team Garmin-Cervelo – 0:00:08;   5. Andreas Klöden Team RadioShack – 0:00:10;  6. Bradley Wiggins Sky Procycling;   7. Geraint Thomas Sky Procycling – 0:00:12;   8. Edvald Boasson Hagen Sky Procycling;  9. Jakob Fuglsang Leopard Trek;/  10. Andy Schleck Leopard Trek

Radio Committee meeting tonight – a mighty cold night to be out and about, but things warmed up quickly enough once we got underway. As usual, a very cooperative but usual session, and it is a pleasure to work with such a group this year, hopefully the make up of personnel will remain much the same after this year’s AGM in August.  This ‘Treasurer’ was able to hand over the ‘accounts’ to the President for him to pass onto the auditor tomorrow, hopefully that work will all be completed well in time for the AGM. A bit of [in fact, considerable] discussion about a couple of ‘trouble makers’ in the organisation, and how best to deal with such situations, formed a small segment of the meeting.

Extremely interesting special program of Q & A was on the TV just after I returned home tonight – it followed the screening of a documentary [another one] on Australia’s refugee problems, which unfortunately I didn’t get to see before the panel discussion [but did re4member to tape it].  I was a bit surprised that  there were no Face Book comments from friends about the program[s], but perhaps they wait for yours truly to generate those kind of ‘discussions’!! 

 

 

 

A couple of days ago, I asked friends in Thailand about the weekend’s election, and received an interesting response [dated 5 July]
 
“We have just seen a “democratic thai election”.  The outed former PM – Taksin –  has brought  & schemed
his younger sister to the role of The Prime minister of Thailand.  His motives should have been obvious…but the Thai rice-farmers  of the North-East prefer Taksin’s “vote-buying money”   (to anything we may assume ) to  be a DEMOCRACY  for money hungry Thais.  The Educated in Bangkok preferred the status quo to remain.
Taksin’s plan is, obvious, to now be white-washed clean of all  the corruption charges already proven against him.  His 46 billion baht – of ill-gotten gains, that’s frozen by the Court, to be returned to him.  He will expect the same as his former wife received… with interest.  For him to now return back to Thailand – from his exile, a FREE MAN and so wrongly convicted. In his and his red-shirt employees’ minds. The going price for your vote up here –  in the N.E was 250 baht from the party that eventually won.  I’m crying “poor” as the “man with the money” failed to turn-up at ‘the family’ home by 9.30 p.m. on Saturday night. So we left.
This is only a part of the disillusionment of DEMONCRACY – THAI  STYLE. We had to travel to ‘my wife’s’ village for her to vote. (As with everyone in Thailand) We did the trip on our 110cc Honda. Twenty km along the highway we were hit by a tropical storm that soaked us both for the 25 mins.  Then 10km up the road people are wondering why we are in our plastic raincoats. Her sister waited 5 hours in Bangkok in an attempt to get on a bus.  There would have only been “standing room” on the bus for the 260km trip”. 

[The writer, an Australian married to a Thai lady] who has a lot of respect and admiration for the King of Thailand, who is much revered in the country, however his respect obviously doesn’t extend to the newly elected government & their representatives. I saw Taksins’ sister  being interviewed on the ABC this morning, and she came over as quite genuine and sincere, but I obviously wasn’t aware in much detail of the background to her political family].

The State of Origin rugby league was played tonight  – Game 3 [the decider between Queensland and New South Wales [NSW] – ‘the Blues’ – I decided to watch this game tonight, before switching over to the cycling for a while – barracking for the ‘Blues’ despite getting a bit of ‘ribbing’ from my sister up in Queensland. However, things didn’t go that way for NSW, and Queensland, in front of a very parochial home crowd of over 50,000, went on to win their 6^th State of Origin title in a row!!

Meanwhile, it was Stage 5 of the Tour de France tonight – Carhaix Cap to Frehel, a distance of 164.5 kms. I watched the first hour or so,  and saw a replay of the finish later on – Britain’s Mark Cavendish came from the ‘pack’ to snatch victory for the day’s ride, from a Belgian and Spanish rider. I noticed that there were a number of accidents in tonight’s ride, don’t think weather conditions were that good, and apparently the roads that the competitors ride over in this section of the Tour are quite narrow [certainly the opposite of what we are used to here in Australia].  Cadel Evans [Australia’s hope] came in 11^th position for this stage, and he remains in 2^nd position overall, behind the Norway rider, Thor Hushovd.

I would have liked to have watched the Matildas’ game tonight –  Women’s World Cup soccer game against Norway, in which the Aussies came away with a 2-0 win, and thereby qualified for the quarterfinals  –  next match, against Sweden!!  Unfortunately, with the game on at 2am our time, it was not ‘convenient to be up watching TV in the middle of a working week, at that time!!  At least that match [against Sweden] might be on at a more reasonable for us here in Eastern Australia – 9pm on Sunday night!!  Excellent!

 

 

Highly unlikely, but apparently at 11.32am this morning, a quake measuring 4.0 was felt in parts of Melbourne today, shaking the ground  for about 10 to 15 seconds, with Adam Pascale, from the ES & S Seismology Research Centre said the quake’s epicentre was Korumburra in country Victoria south-east of Melbourne. Mr Pascale said there was also a couple of magnitude 2.8 aftershocks. Twitter users reported feeling the shakes in suburbs across the city.  Mr Pascale said Korumburra had been the epicentre for a number of 4.5 magnitude quakes in recent years, including one in March 2009.  Here in Northcote, a few kilometres north of the CBD, I didn’t notice anything!!

Meanwhile, a news report came through from Afghanistan this morning, of yet another Australian soldier being killed in that ‘conflict’. The newly appointed defence chief didn’t get long in his role, before he had to come out this morning and advice that an Australian commando had been shot in the head while leading his team into a gunfight in Afghanistan.  I believe that now means 28 deaths over there, with the majority of those seeming to have occurred over the past 12 months or so. No doubt, this will result in renewed calls for Australia to get it’s troops out of that country – a difficult call for many reason, however, both the Prime Minister and the Opposition leader continue to insist that we will see the ‘campaign’ through!!!

Speaking of Tony Abbott, he was in my ‘email ear’ again today  –  more on his ‘almost obsessive’ campaign against anything to do with the carbon tax, the details of which will be announced this weekend.

Dear Bill,   Julia Gillard’s carbon tax is a recipe for massive economic self-harm. It will reduce the living standards of average Australians, cost thousands of jobs and destroy the very industries that make Australia a competitive exporter – and all for no environmental benefit.  The Prime Minister assured the Australian people before the last election that there would be no carbon tax under the government she led. Julia Gillard is now determined to foist this unnecessary tax on our country without giving people a say on it.  The Prime Minister’s latest attempt to quell growing community anger about the carbon tax was her announcement last weekend that petrol would be excluded from the carbon tax for some sections of the community. But Labor’s proposal will do little to ease the cost of living hit on Australian families and businesses. And what the Prime Minister did not mention is her deal with the Greens for a Productivity Commission inquiry that leaves open the possibility of more taxes on petrol in 2015.  In my address to the 2011 Economic and Social Outlook Conference in Melbourne last week, I set out the economic case against a carbon tax. In debunking the assertion by Julia Gillard and others that Australia risks being left behind if we do not have a carbon tax, I made the point that:  “…the unilateral imposition of a carbon price will put Australia at a competitive disadvantage compared to countries which are taking no such action. Contrary to the government‘s repeated assertions, there are no countries – none – that are planning to impose an economy wide carbon price, as the Productivity Commission has just confirmed. In the absence of comparable international action, an Australian carbon tax will damage our economy without helping the environment which is why it can‘t be fixed; it just has to be fought.”

Of course, with two sides arguing so vehemently, and both quoting various experts from scientific, environmental and economic circles, it makes it very difficult for the average member of the electorate to know which way to turn, and certainly, Abbott’s ‘scare tactics’ [which even I have to admit is simply what they are – ‘cost thousands of jobs’, etc, etc] are becoming more and more mundane and repetitive – will that tactic eventually backfire on him,  and turn people from his side of the debate? Of course, once the relevant legislation gets through parliament, which eventually it will, particularly with the Green’s support now, the Abbott tactics will perhaps become less relevant as time goes on  – it all depends upon how successful the government is in implementing the relevant policies, they certainly need a reversal of the ‘implementation of major policy attempts since 2007!!

Update on the Tour de France: –  the following report summarises an exciting finish in the early hours of  Wednesday morning [my time – Stage 4 of the Tour de France, Tuesday 5 July].  The three-time winner of the Tour de France,  who is desperate to make up lost time, as well as lost face, was unable to chase down the gutsy thrust for the line by 34-year-old hard-nut Australian, Cadel Evans, losing out in a photo-finish after a 172.5km race through rain and wind from Lorient. \Evans’ performance gave him the lead in the battle for the climbers’ jersey.  In a bare-knuckle scrap, Contador, who attacked initially at 1.3km, could not quite deliver the knockout blow.   Yet he is back in the fight, up off the canvas after taking damaging blows earlier in the tour. He is not going to go quietly, subdued by scandal or adversaries. He may have been beaten on the day but his tour is alive again.  Principal results were:\           Stage four, Lorient to Mûr de Bretagne, 172.5 kms: 1. Cadel Evans (Australia / BMC Racing) 4hrs 11mins 39secs, 2. Alberto Contador (Spa / Saxo Bank) at same time, 3. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz / Astana) s.t., 4. Rigoberto Uran (Col / Team Sky) s.t. , 5. Philippe Gilbert (Bel / Omega Pharma – Lotto) s.t., 6. Thor Hushovd (Nor / Garmin) s.t. , 7. Fraenk Schleck (Lux / Leopard) s.t. , 8. Samuel Sanchez (Spa / Euskaltel) s.t., 9. Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel / Omega Pharma – Lotto) s.t., 10. Andreas Kloeden (Ger / RadioShack) s.t.

Meanwhile, the overall classifications after 4 stages showed us that: –  Overall general classification: 1. Thor Hushovd (Nor, Garmin-Cervelo) 13 hours, 58 minutes, 25 seconds, 2. Cadel Evans (Australia – BMC) 1sec, 3. Frank Schleck (Lux, Leopard-Trek) 4secs, 4. David Millar (GB – Garmin-Cervelo) 8secs, 5. Andreas Kloeden (Ger, RadioShack) 10secs, 6. Bradley Wiggins (GB – Team Sky) s.t., 7. Geraint Thomas (GB – Team Sky) 12secs, 8. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor, Team Sky) s.t., 9. Andy Schleck (Lux, Leopard-Trek) s.t., 10. Jakob Fuglsang (Den, Leopard-Trek) s.t.

Arrived home briefly late this afternoon, before heading back up to the radio station to find Susie had returned from Bendigo – must have just basically travelled up there  yesterday to celebrate her birthday with ‘new friends’ – in any case, it seems she was back for the rest of the week, and although of course, I probably wouldn’t see much of her, it was good to have my ‘girl’ back home!!   In the meantime, another pleasant two hours on the radio, but came out at 8pm to a freezing winter’s night in Sunbury, and the promise of a similar day tomorrow!!  While friends in England [of all places] are boasting on line of the lovely sunny weather they are enjoying [in Cornwall, anyway!!].