A cool 33 here in the tropics. The weather is insane. And now we have the earliest cyclone for an El Niño year out in the coral sea, currently heading for Cairns or Cooktown.
A cool 33 here in the tropics. The weather is insane. And now we have the earliest cyclone for an El Niño year out in the coral sea, currently heading for Cairns or Cooktown.
Maybe the earliest in Australia, but not in the region. One of my students in Vanuatu had a category 5 over his home island (Pentecost in Vanuatu) about 6 weeks ago!
Just talking to son of very old friend: he and his wife, kids and some grandkids live in Cooktown. So far so good but here’s hoping that landfall doesn’t hit there..as he said they need the rain but the roof is even more necessary
I have just discovered one of the trees in my backyard lost a branch in the gale force winds we have had. Fortunately I have a friend with chainsaws and the ability to use them safely who will deal with it for me. I only need to get my act together and do some Christmas baking for him.
I spent today in the country with my chainsaw wielding friend who has been asked to cut down a line of pine trees by a local farmer. The agreement is that my friend will cut the trees down and may sell the wood to anyone wanting firewood for next winter. I spent my time gathering pine cones into a sack to give to my neighbours across the road Christmas. (we usually exchange a small gift). At the beginning of the day I was a bit stiff, but by the afternoon I was feeling great. Tomorrow we are going back and I will fill another sack.
It's amazing how much physical work like that can lift my mood, which has been rather bleak.. I am going to sleep well tonight.
Another you-beaut day in sunny Sinny. 35 in the city & 36 @ Parramatta where I attended a baptism at St-Pat’s-in-the-West. A slow train trip there & back because of weekend track work but train aircon was working well and it beat being on the road with heavy traffic & frazzled drivers.
And there's a fire ban in place here. I can bbq using gas provided that I stay with the bbq the whole time. No bbq with charcoal. Apart from the general imposition of the ban, there has been a grass fire in a park at the nearby public hospital which must have caused some concerns.
That’s bloody scary. At least bugger-all grass around the colony’s apology to Queen Vic for the attempted assassination of her least charming son @ Clontarf by a well-intentioned but bungling Fenian…
Anyone heard from Barnabas Aus? I think he lives near the fires in the Hunter Valley. There has been some very scary footage on the news the last couple of days
Forecast high today is 29c with squally thunderstorms and possibly hail - which sounds like a weird combination to me - although the latest forecast did omit the hail - which makes more sense.
Yes. The hailstorms in Brisbane are one of the more frequent reasons for a pause in any cricket test match being played there. The visiting team often can barely believe what they are seeing.
Anyone heard from Barnabas Aus? I think he lives near the fires in the Hunter Valley. There has been some very scary footage on the news the last couple of days
Fires were on the opposite side of town from us. Having been through similar circumstances several years ago Mrs BA and I were closely monitoring happenings. We had been planning to attend the funeral of a parishioner's husband in the neighbouring town, but I was feeling really off-colour with the heat, so we didn't go. Apparently, as people arrived at the church the first smudges of smoke were on the horizon and by the time the brief and simple service was over, there was a raging inferno bearing down on the town.
Similar to our experience from six years ago, much of the damage to houses was caused by ember attack, where the burning fragments had lodged in the roof space and smouldered for hours before breaking into flame. The neighbouring house to one of my fellow churchwardens was destroyed in this manner. and in another case the roof of a house which once belonged to teaching acquaintances of ours was severely damaged over twelve hours after the main blaze on that street was extinguished. The tyre dealership which was so dramatically burned down is our regular dealer and inspection station. Lovely team of blokes, so there is a concerted effort from the community to help them rebuild.
I was doing some much needed organ practice this morning at my church which is an Op/Thrift and coffee shop during the week. I was playing over music for Sunday and Christmas Day, registrations and intros etc. It was a great morning with several people complimenting how nice it was to hear the organ etc and even humming along. The highlight was a young mother coming to the front and pointing out the pipes to her 7 or 8 year old son. The look on his face was delightful when I played full organ. I had no idea I would 'reach out' so many this morning.
Indeed! I had wondered if Andrew Nethsingha might have got a gong for the music at the Coronation, but apparently not, although the ABC got one for his part in the proceedings.
On a rather less elevated plane, a friend who was for many years organist of St Patrick's C of I Cathedral, Armagh has been awarded the BEM.
And a Happy New Year to all of us, with a special well-done to DtM. Dull and grey here, much as Christmas often is. Our usual morning coffee shop was closed, and the coffee from the cake shop (an old-fashioned suburban one) around the corner was indifferent.
And a Happy New Year to all of us, with a special well-done to DtM. Dull and grey here, much as Christmas often is. Our usual morning coffee shop was closed, and the coffee from the cake shop (an old-fashioned suburban one) around the corner was indifferent.
Thanks for the greetings @Gee D and I wish you and Madame a safe and happy 2024. The cooler weather has been a blessed relief from the recent heatwave. A quiet Christmas and New Year for us. I seem to have acquired some sort of virus - headachey and intermittent feverish spells - which the GP seems to think is nothing serious, but it is lingering.
And thanks to you. That virus sounds very unpleasant. We're glad that so far we've missed covid and most other nasties doing the rounds. Perhaps the cool and rainy weather will slow down any spread. We're finding retirement (not complete for Madame) very enjoyable after years of solid work. No great plans, thanks to covid, but particularly at this time of the year, just sitting quietly on the terrace with a cup of tea nearby is easy to take.
My life is too hectic to pop in much but I think of you often. Currently I'm living in two homes, one on the Sides of The Zed and the other Beyond 45, where I am now. Frantic gardening has left me stiff and sore and another couple of days to go (heading off down the bank shortly, and need to buy a chainsaw soon).
The day job is hugely busy, as busy as I've ever been, but if results are measurable then the results at present are deeply encouraging. My current research/writing project has been on hold over the Silly Season, but I scratched a couple of paragraphs together yesterday, and have an interview with an Information Source tomorrow.
Kuruman is equally or more frenetic and has just headed off to the office (that used to be mine but I flick-passed to her) after a ten day break (some of it on the Sides of the Zed).
Keep well, stay cool if you can (not a problem here ... brrrr) and be kind to yourself and others (and this hurting planet).
I had the worst Christmas day ever with a friend I have known for about 43 years. Out of the blue he brought up something he says I said/did
to offend him over 32 years ago that he was still very angry about. My memory of the incident varies from his, but I was so shocked by the virulence of his verbal attack I remained silent. He drove me home because he had given me a large picture which he insisted was too big to be managed on the bus. On the way home he missed a turning into the arterial route for my street and again started swearing angrily, before realising there was an alternative a couple of hundred metres further on.
I'm sorry to hear about your friend @Huia. Do you normally have concerns about his behaviour, because from what you've described it sounds rather like he might have dementia. That might be because I work for a dementia charity so maybe see dementia where it isn't, but at the very least it might be a good idea to suggest he goes to the doctor for a check up.
Thanks Sarasa, that did occur to me too (he's 80) but I don't think I'm in a position to make any suggestions to him. I know he does have a friend who is closer to him than I am and with whom he has more contact. I am thinking of contacting him.
On the other hand I know that since I was raped I don't handle being around angry males very well so I may be overreacting.
Sojourner, MaryLouise and GeeD, Thank you all. I thought I'd responded, but when I checked I realised I hadn't actually posted it.
I've decided not to follow up to check dementia because he is in an eldercare village where he has constant contact with nursing staff. He also has a good doctor whom he visits regularly and a very close friend he visits regularly who has his Enduring Power of Attorney.
All of these people are in a better position than I am to ensure he gets the best help available, if indeed he has dementia and not just a bad temper. I would probably be just painting a target on my back and he may even suspect I would be doing it to get back at him.
I am still sorry for the loss of a friendship though.
@Huia that is awful ... a horribly long time to store up a grudge. I think you need to pamper your self with something to remind you that you are not the person he makes you out to be
Yes, I think the impact was partly because of how long ago he was angry and he never even hinted at it before. It made me question all the Christmas days we had spent together in various parts of the country as he moved around with his work, and wonder why he invited me to share his Christmas (he's gay, so it was - or I thought it was - a friendship between two people who shared some of the same interests).
Zappa, thanks, the pampering is a great idea and co-incidently my brother in Chicago has just sent me 4 large bath bombs for Christmas. His timing was brilliant - I must send him more Whittakers chocolate. (I'm trying to make him realise what he's missing and come home. ).
Is it possible that if your friend does have some form of dementia, that his perception of the timing of the "offence" is distorted (as it might be when someone talks about what they did in the war as if it happened last week), and he thought it was more recent than it actually was?
Small comfort I know, but might it be an explanation?
With age the distant past becomes more immediate than the present - I remember my mother asking why it was she could remember things from 70 years ago more clearly than last week.
I doubt @Huia 's friend has been brooding all these years, in fact had probably forgotten it, until the vagaries of memory suddenly served it fresh. That, and the decay of the filters on speech and behaviour that can also come with aging.
Firenze, thanks for that - I know what you mean about memories suddenly surfacing, seemingly out of nowhere. Brains are weird and they get weirder as we get older.
Meanwhile it's a clear, sunny day and I'm doing some gardening before it gets too hot.
We're at 16°C right now, @Huia and I've just watered all the pots because by mid-afternoon we will be up to 32°C and sweltering. Then a big drop in temperature and rain for a couple of days.
Comments
Absolutely!
Mrs Beakey, that peanut chocolate is a particular temptation of mine. Luckily the slabs are much smaller than they were when I was a child.
Maybe the earliest in Australia, but not in the region. One of my students in Vanuatu had a category 5 over his home island (Pentecost in Vanuatu) about 6 weeks ago!
I spent today in the country with my chainsaw wielding friend who has been asked to cut down a line of pine trees by a local farmer. The agreement is that my friend will cut the trees down and may sell the wood to anyone wanting firewood for next winter. I spent my time gathering pine cones into a sack to give to my neighbours across the road Christmas. (we usually exchange a small gift). At the beginning of the day I was a bit stiff, but by the afternoon I was feeling great. Tomorrow we are going back and I will fill another sack.
It's amazing how much physical work like that can lift my mood, which has been rather bleak.. I am going to sleep well tonight.
I miss those glorious thunderstorms- we don’t get many here in the north.
Fires were on the opposite side of town from us. Having been through similar circumstances several years ago Mrs BA and I were closely monitoring happenings. We had been planning to attend the funeral of a parishioner's husband in the neighbouring town, but I was feeling really off-colour with the heat, so we didn't go. Apparently, as people arrived at the church the first smudges of smoke were on the horizon and by the time the brief and simple service was over, there was a raging inferno bearing down on the town.
Similar to our experience from six years ago, much of the damage to houses was caused by ember attack, where the burning fragments had lodged in the roof space and smouldered for hours before breaking into flame. The neighbouring house to one of my fellow churchwardens was destroyed in this manner. and in another case the roof of a house which once belonged to teaching acquaintances of ours was severely damaged over twelve hours after the main blaze on that street was extinguished. The tyre dealership which was so dramatically burned down is our regular dealer and inspection station. Lovely team of blokes, so there is a concerted effort from the community to help them rebuild.
On a rather less elevated plane, a friend who was for many years organist of St Patrick's C of I Cathedral, Armagh has been awarded the BEM.
Happy new year!
Thanks for the greetings @Gee D and I wish you and Madame a safe and happy 2024. The cooler weather has been a blessed relief from the recent heatwave. A quiet Christmas and New Year for us. I seem to have acquired some sort of virus - headachey and intermittent feverish spells - which the GP seems to think is nothing serious, but it is lingering.
How have you been going with the fires?
My life is too hectic to pop in much but I think of you often. Currently I'm living in two homes, one on the Sides of The Zed and the other Beyond 45, where I am now. Frantic gardening has left me stiff and sore and another couple of days to go (heading off down the bank shortly, and need to buy a chainsaw soon).
The day job is hugely busy, as busy as I've ever been, but if results are measurable then the results at present are deeply encouraging. My current research/writing project has been on hold over the Silly Season, but I scratched a couple of paragraphs together yesterday, and have an interview with an Information Source tomorrow.
Kuruman is equally or more frenetic and has just headed off to the office (that used to be mine but I flick-passed to her) after a ten day break (some of it on the Sides of the Zed).
Keep well, stay cool if you can (not a problem here ... brrrr) and be kind to yourself and others (and this hurting planet).
to offend him over 32 years ago that he was still very angry about. My memory of the incident varies from his, but I was so shocked by the virulence of his verbal attack I remained silent. He drove me home because he had given me a large picture which he insisted was too big to be managed on the bus. On the way home he missed a turning into the arterial route for my street and again started swearing angrily, before realising there was an alternative a couple of hundred metres further on.
Over a week later I still feel shaken.
Fortunately I spent New Year's much more happily.
On the other hand I know that since I was raped I don't handle being around angry males very well so I may be overreacting.
You aren’t overreacting.
He gave you an unnecessary and unsolicited serve totally out of left field and you are justifiably shaken up.
Maybe he is starting to dement but whatever stay out of his way for now: you don’t need or deserve this.
You have my sympathy.
I've decided not to follow up to check dementia because he is in an eldercare village where he has constant contact with nursing staff. He also has a good doctor whom he visits regularly and a very close friend he visits regularly who has his Enduring Power of Attorney.
All of these people are in a better position than I am to ensure he gets the best help available, if indeed he has dementia and not just a bad temper. I would probably be just painting a target on my back and he may even suspect I would be doing it to get back at him.
I am still sorry for the loss of a friendship though.
Zappa, thanks, the pampering is a great idea and co-incidently my brother in Chicago has just sent me 4 large bath bombs for Christmas. His timing was brilliant - I must send him more Whittakers chocolate. (I'm trying to make him realise what he's missing and come home.
Small comfort I know, but might it be an explanation?
IANAD, etc.
I doubt @Huia 's friend has been brooding all these years, in fact had probably forgotten it, until the vagaries of memory suddenly served it fresh. That, and the decay of the filters on speech and behaviour that can also come with aging.
Meanwhile it's a clear, sunny day and I'm doing some gardening before it gets too hot.