Busy July

Wow! July has been a month. Lots of visitors from down South escaping the July cold. Unfortunately it has been unusually cold in most of Eastern Australia this winter and we have not been spared. An oval less than a kilometre from us had a frost last week, the first ever recorded in this district. Needless to say the jeans have been getting a workout and shorts have been finally washed.
Still it was great to have friends from Melbourne, Cullen, Canberra and Sydney. Plus Karissa and I had significant birthdays so multiple celebrations. Went fishing with brother Michael last week and caught some nice bream off the rockwall.
Many political discussions with visitors. General disgust with the whole Dr Haneesh affair. The usual cynicism about Howard’s motives regarding Aborigines and glee over the latest revelations in the Costello/Howard saga.

An Amazing Woman

About a month ago I met Sheila. She is a lady in her 80s who was a Lieutenant in the Australian Army Medical Women’s Service in World War 2. Sheila was in charge of hospitals in New Guinea and has preserved her experiences in a fabulous book called The Lieutenant and the Tin Trunk. Based on her memories and the diary that she kept and interspersed with photographs from the locations where she worked, this is a treasure. The book is written in a style that takes the reader right up to some of the experiences that Sheila had. Sheila’s account doesn’t focus on the traumas (and there were plenty) but reveals the good humour, care and decency that she and others brought to this unprecedented challenge in their lives. The necessity of ‘making the best of it’ meant appreciating the simplest pleasures- swimming, dances, food parcels from home, occasional picture shows in the rain, rides on boats and daring trips into the hills. The value of friendship is at the highest level. To meet Sheila now is a pleasure. The same charm and intelligence that saw her ‘do her duty’ with such evident success as shown in her memoirs, shines through. It is humbling to know that her generation gave so much so selflessly and so effectively.

A salvaged ship, hot rocks and gas.

Time to eat humble pie. On my post of 23 June I proclaimed the Pasha Bulker would not be refloated. I got that one wrong. Today she was successfully towed off the beach. Well done to all concerned. I also said Geodynamics (GDY) who explore for geothermal energy in granite rocks underground would break $2.00 - they did that 4 days later. I also thought Queensland Gas Company (coal seam gas) would hit $3.00 before long. They did that today. So.... two out of three aint bad! Now to celebrate with some Taylors.