I left the house on Saturday night after spending the whole day relocating the contents of the shed to higher ground. I wore wellies and an old weatherproof jacket that I once used to use on the boat, bright yellow so it would be easy to find me if I had collapsed anywhere. Mick (neighbour) was extremely stressed but for myself I was just tired and seemed to be taking things in my stride but it was when I finally got to relax that the gravity of the situation began to set in.

I never emptied the shed when I returned to the house after my travels and so I moved everything to the deck on the back of the house. Everything downstairs including blinds and curtains were taken down and moved upstairs in the off chance that the predicted flood levels might not happen. So many amendments to the anticipated levels, so no one really knew what was going to happen. The rain had been relentless over the past week and as much as 700 mm had been recorded in places near home. The dam levels went from 56% to 162% in just a few days, so it was very worrying.

On the Sunday I went back to see what the damage was and I was very calm and my frame of mind was “what will be, will be.” The rain had stopped of course and the humidity was through the roof. I picked up a Vietnamese Baguette and headed for home. There was still water over the road but it was quite far from the house and so as I turned into the driveway I was pleasantly surprised to see that instead of utter devastation, instead I had a very large water feature on the back lawn……….however there was about 400 mm of water up the side of the shed.

Debris littered the park behind the shed and there were lots of passion fruit bobbing around in the water in the garden, I even saw some small fish that must have thought it was great to get out of the confines of their creek. But all in all I had escaped the heartache and cleanup that I was half expecting to come home too. Mick’s house had water go underneath up to about 1200 mm and he lost tables and chairs, but he was also very relieved to see that the water had not reached the second floor because he has no insurance and he would not find it easy to recover as he is 74 years old. I was very glad for him because he was so worried when we left here the previous evening.

Of course there was no power, it had been cut as a safety precaution……….water and electricity don’t mix. The power was off until Friday afternoon and so I stayed with Peter and Cheryl, but I commuted each day back to the house which was a round trip of over 100 km and the wee car got quite the workout and was not happy.

I came home on the Friday evening and I must admit it was great to get back into my own bed and have a good night’s sleep although I wasn’t looking forward to the week ahead trying to put everything back where it should be. I’m getting too old for this shit. Both Mick and myself were saying that we don’t ever want to go through this again and so it might be a case of selling up and moving to higher ground. I’m over 10 years younger than Mick and I am absolutely knackered, not sure how he is holding it together.

The rain had been constant for days, torrential with very few lulls. As much as 700 mm fell in some places due to a storm system that was static for the days and the result of this is major flooding once more.

Memories of 2011 haunted me and sleep eluded me too. The water came up to the second storey of the house and after listening to the media it seemed we were in for a repeat. Two days it took to get the shed emptied of valuables and raised up to the house deck. Everything from the new renovation downstairs had to be brought up to the second floor. I raised everything as high as I could and then packed the car with clothes, computers, tools and as much as I could get in.

Peter and Cheryl were kind enough to give me a bed, however they live about an hour away and as I left the house with the trailer on the back the rain was like a waterfall battering down on the car.

Getting out of Ipswich was a problem as most of the roads were cut off. Once I made it to the motorway anything over 80 kph was scary, so much water falling and also lying on the road, aquaplaning was the norm.

When I finally arrived I could hardly keep my eyes open or walk up the steps for that matter, I was knackered.

It’s been raining for days and the rivers are rising quickly and it ignites the memories of eleven years ago when I got flooded and had to leave my home for ten days, I really hope I don’t have to go through that trauma once again.

Since I returned to the house in July 2020 I have slowly renovated the house which in some parts is reaching completion and to have it all damaged would be heart breaking to say the least. I’ve spent so much time and effort and money to get it this far.

Last week as I drove to the shops the wee car just died and I coasted to the side of the road. Lights were on, ignition turned on, fuel ok and yet she wouldn’t start. No spark apparently. I called the road side assist crowd, the RACQ, who arrived after about 30 mins or so and after about 10 minutes told me that the distributor had no doubt shit itself as there was no spark being produced. He ordered a tow truck.

It arrived after a further 30 minutes or so had passed and the driver was very friendly although the facial tattoos made him look more like a mugger than helper, but he was polite and efficient and soon the old Ford was on the back of the truck being whisked off to the garage.

I had no choice but to drop the car at the service centre and then return in the morning to see if they could fix her for me. I was not very keen in leaving the car overnight outside the garage but alas I had really no choice.

To much relief, she was still there in the morning and even better she was in one piece, which made me feel very happy. Corry, the service manager eyed me up as he drove passed me, no doubt thinking to himself, “Why has this old bastard parked his car there?”

I explained to him the circumstances and he seemed to lighten up a bit but he told me that it might be a few days before I would get the car back as they were extremely busy…….this was fine with me.

The following day late in the afternoon I got a call to tell me that it was indeed the distributor that had died and it was going to cost $700 to repair………………..Fuck……………..but I have no choice because if I attempt the repair the car would either be off the road for weeks or more possibly, never fixed.

I also got a new fuel filter fitted and when I got the car back it feels as if there is way more power, she is more nimble and it feels as if she can breathe better which I am very pleased about. This problem with the distributor has been in the background for some time I think. I can remember before I left in 2016 going to work one morning and the car cut out for a few seconds when I was on the motorway and it scared the shit out of me because I was in the outside lane. Last year there were four occasions when she wouldn’t start and so I am thinking that I am lucky to have gotten this far with the old distributor because I can’t recall changing it before in the car and it has done around 450,000 KM.

What a sad country America is, no pathetic I think may be a better word because after everything it has done in Afghanistan it is now using some of their money to give to the families of the 911 event that took place, an event that America brought upon itself by invading umpteen countries and starting proxy wars all in the name of democracy. The people of Afghanistan have nothing and they are starving and dying of cold.

It’s no sooner left one war and it is now gearing up for another which might unfortunately involve the rest of the world and as usual the fight is never on American shores, always at arm’s length so that they can sell their propaganda to the sheep that blindly believe that America is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

The amount of money that America made from that one event is staggering. The amount of death and destruction that America unleashed is incalculable. In their own minds they had carte blanche to do and go wherever they wanted feeding the war machine, if only they had spent a fraction of the defence budget on education and the poor then maybe America might be in a better place. The country is falling to bits and the debt ceiling rises every year and the only way they can escape it so they think is through the war machine…….fuckin’ nutters!!!

The war economy has once more found a foe to focus on and as we all know the west is always right and the east is just always wrong. Nothing changes. I would say that America is the greatest threat to the world order at the moment and it will do everything in its power to prove that it is still number one and I think that unfortunately for it, it ain’t. I thought Trump was mad but Biden is just as bad………

How can anyone believe the “Intelligence” coming from America after the deceit of the past, after all it’s not a word that I would associate with America, most Americans I have encountered in my life ain’t that smart and you only have to reminisce over the Trump years to understand what the majority of the country is like, a mixture of Deliverance and Evangelicals that believe in a book of fiction. It’s fuckin’ scary!!

American allies are slowly being drawn into a downward spiral as they are sucked into the scary American paranoia. Don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t trust Putin as far as I could throw him but you can understand is apprehension in regards to the NATO situation, I’m just glad that some European countries seem to be taking the initiative such as France and Germany. I’m disappointed that the UK is not doing more to try and deescalate the situation and this is no doubt because Boris is trying to take the focus off himself to try and save his job, sending British troops and armaments is not really sending a message of dialogue me thinks.

I obviously know nothing about the inner workings of the world powers but on the surface these disputes are all smoke and mirrors while something else is taking place in the back ground which will no doubt come to light further on down the line unless of course someone pushes the button. Some folk some where are making shit loads of money that will be as usual Tax free.

I once was windswept and interesting………

My hair was long, they called me shaggy,

It was the 70’s and ma jeans were ripped and frayed and oh so baggy,

Ma hair was curly, black and long,

It stuck to ma beard and kept me warm,

Young and naive, the world was my oyster,

A coming of age, no haircut for years,

Still can’t believe all those stupid fears,

The music eclectic,

Zeppelin, Floyd, Grandmaster Funk,

The beginnings of rap and the beginnings of Punk,

Glam rock, Prog rock, folk and disco,

And all the wonderful music coming from Frisco,

Got my first job, got my first car,

Bought my first pint and played pool in the bar,

Smoked my first joint,

Lost my virginity too,

Scary thing is she’ll be a pensioner noo!

Some memories still vivid, and a few regrets,

Can’t believe I was so stupid and yet,

Here I stand.

They still call me shaggy,

Although my hair’s fucked off,

I wus in tatters,

It was traumatic,

No more locks knotted and tangled,

Afro comb in the bin,

Sad and embarrassed,

Confidence shattered,

But why had it mattered?

But now it’s cool,

More so in winter,

No expensive shampoo,

No hair dryer too,

Just a chamois and polish,

Or a beanie or a hat,

And for the most part I think I’m happy with all that.

A few things have happened over the last few weeks, let me see. I got an interview with a local bus company and started with them last Monday learning school runs for the upcoming school year. The amount of paperwork that had to be done and the amount of time focused on procedures that to me seemed obvious, but as we all know these days we have to assume the individual is completely stupid and so tell them every crumb of info and then if they break any of those rules down the track you can penalise them because they signed their life away under pages and pages of fine print. After the first day of training I was ready to leave because something did not sit with me very well and my gut was screaming at me to get out before it was too late. I left this morning after one week.

It was good to get to drive a large bus again and there is a sense of pride and achievement being able to navigate such a big beasty through suburbia consisting of tight turns and narrow roads…..I still have the knack.

From the beginning there seems has been pressure to be at the company’s beck and call, stories from the other drivers telling me how they were always under pressure to get between jobs and in doing so some have incurred speeding fines, this is their problem of course because if you are the driver you are in charge. I don’t want pressure.

The horror stories of certain schools where the children should be put in cages bound and gagged rather giving them a bus with actual seats. And it’s up to the bus driver to keep control and as we all know that in this day and age nothing can be done.

I called another company back that contacted me last week offering me an opportunity and made an appointment with them this week. They have a very different operation and the job would initially be on call rather than definite hours. So money is not guaranteed every week; however it is walking distance from the house, I could jump on the bike and be there in 5 mins.  The buses are smaller; usually 22 seaters and you would have someone on the bus with you to keep an eye on the kids which appeals to me. This takes a bit of pressure away from the driver and I think makes the job more appealing. I don’t have a job with them yet but I will go and see them on Thursday morning for a quick interview and test drive and all going well I’ll start there.

I was worrying about what I would say to the Operations manager this morning because I did not want to burn any bridges just in case I need to go back. I told them that I have a friend in a small construction business that needs help for a few months and so it was with regret that I had to leave, however they did say I was welcome to come back in the future.

A sense of relief as I drove from the depot, feeling as if the shackles had been removed from my gut once more. Maybe I’m just allergic to work!

Other things that have taken place; well I got a mole removed from my neck and got some stitches…….I get them out on Friday.

I found a very large Bunya nut in the back garden; it was the size of a rugby ball and weighed about 5 to 6 kg. The Bunya Pine is in the park at the foot of the garden and has a habit of dropping these rather large “Acorns” and they can kill.

I found a couple of chickens in the yard one day, not sure who owns them but I don’t want anything to do with them. They seem happy to come and go as they please.

The New Year came and went, another day another year treading water hoping that the future may have chance for the world to get back to a semblance of normality. I’m only thinking this for complete and utter selfish reasons; I just want to travel once more because it’s been way too long. I have no real desire to travel within Australia partly because it is too expensive and to be honest I would rather be globetrotting.

In the meantime I have to deal with reality and that means finding a job so I can cover the basic expenses and I am hoping to do this by gaining part time employment. It’s great being off and I could do this for a few more months to come but I am just digging into funds that I would rather put to better use in another country.

I have applied to a few of the local bus companies as they do many school runs and this amounts to about 20 hours a week which will be sufficient to keep the wolves at bay. One application was to a Catholic school and I was quite shocked when they sent me the application form because on the first page I had to sign my life away to some guy called God, apparently he published a book of many rules and according to the school you must follow them to the letter before you can be considered for employment at this school. I have a problem with this…………..how can this school demand that all its employees must believe in god…………this is no different to another employer saying that only fat guys that are not gay can apply for this position. This is discrimination, religious discrimination. How hypocritical of them, which is no surprise really, because I cannot believe for one minute that everyone at this school follows the doctrine outlined in this document and I am sure some of them will be influenced by the other guy known as Satan: who was a marketing ploy set up to encourage parishioners’ to return to the church ‘cause it needed money………..Give us money and God will protect you against Satan………this sounds like the American economic plan which they have used for decades.

It never ceases to amaze me how billions of people around the planet read the same book and believe it’s contents to the letter, and no wonder America is a hotspot for religious nutters when half the population think that Trump was sent by God to save them……..fuckin’ numpties……..

I find the application form absolutely fascinating and ridiculous at the same time. It’s an insight into another world that interests me but have no desire to be part of. All through my life I have had dealings with people of a religious persuasion and I can honestly say most of them will get agitated before me when it comes to a discussion of beliefs. Every religion has its “outs” as it were, the Catholic faith has the ultimate process of wiping the slate clean………..all you have to do is confess your sins and say a few words and then you can go on your merry way and many religions are the same. This was why Catholic girls were so popular when I was at school.

I could ramble on for hours and give examples of my views but life is too short.

So what will 2022 turn out to be like? Will we still be talking Covid or will we have moved on…….I’m going to be pessimistic and say that I feel that I will be sat here in 12 months time and that my passport will still be sitting in the drawer and I will be wondering if I will ever get to use it before it expires in 2026.

In 2022 I want to explore,

In 2022 I want to do more,

This hiatus has been way too long!

So dust off that passport,Live for today,

Pack a big bag and get on your way,

Plan for the future and make a wish,

That 2022 disnae turn oot to be pish

The past three weeks has gone so quick but I have managed to get some things done and I have easily slipped into the semi retired way of life.

I’ve been to the library and picked up a few books.

Early morning walks have been extended.

I’ve managed to spend time in the garden and slowly slowly parts of it are taking shape.

I’ve been out on the bike a few times and even tried one of the longer routes although I did take the shorter option because I ran out of puff…….however next time I go out I’ll do the longer run.

I ate my Fray Bentos Steak and Kidney pie…….delicious…..

This morning I caught up with my mate Peter and we did a short bush walk, it was fairly easy but it was great to catch up after many months and put the world to rights and also make fun of a few of its inhabitants.

Only complaint so far is that the temperature is rising most days, today it says its 36c outside and I am just not in the mood for that, mind you I think it’s more the extreme UV which is the problem. Thankfully inside my blacked out house, all the curtains are drawn, it’s around 27c which is way better. Last year I was working and used their air-conditioning which was so cold I usually had to wear a jacket because it hovered around 22c which felt like winter.

The local bird life seem to be happy that I’m around more often……….for one thing they get fed more regularly but more importantly the bird bath is kept topped up with fresh water and not allowed to stagnate. It’s a ceramic bird bath and it sits in full sun, it’s hot to the touch and the water is rather warm but they still seem to enjoy it. I think they prefer it more in the winter because it will be like a hot spring.

When I went to fill it up today I discovered that my 3000 LT water tank was empty. I didn’t put the hose away yesterday or shut the valve off and so I’m not sure if it drained during the night or I have used that amount of water however they are forecasting rain in a few days so it should fill up fairly quickly.

Not having to be anywhere in particular is great, I can have a siesta and finish whatever I am doing tomorrow if I wish……I like that.

I applied for my Bus Driving Authority which allows me to drive school buses and the like and I’m thinking of doing this after the New Year. I only want to do some part time work and most of these positions are part time, although they usually are split shifts but if I work close to home then this should not be a problem. Driving is easy and I don’t have to think too hard when I do it and the bus runs are straight forward and there is no pressure to battle the clock so I think it will be OK. Peter has been doing this for the past 3 months and quite enjoys it and the money ain’t bad.

I also sent my reply to Kirk at Tradelink and cc’d in my old manager and the state manager and more or less asked him why he lied……..no response yet or fallout to report. I’ve attached the email below:

Hi Kirk,

I got a response from HR within about 30 minutes after sending my feedback, they said “Thank you” However it seems that you gave Tradelink Ipswich some feedback of your own about my comments, trouble was what you told them was absolute rubbish. I’m curious to why you would do that…..

I went into the store a few days after sending the email and got treated like an absolute leper. It seems that they got the impression that I said how bad Ipswich Tradelink was and that I would never want to work there again. They were not very happy with me at all………

To resolve this issue I forwarded the email that I sent to you to my Ipswich colleagues……they too were confused as why you told them a load of bollocks. I can only put this down to the two reasons; You don’t particularly like me or my big words in my email confused you……..either way the guys I worked with for 12 months at Tradelink Ipswich understood what I had to say.

Let me make this a bit simpler for you…..I enjoyed working with my colleagues and friends at Tradelink Ipswich and I will still keep in touch with them. However I feel that the pressures put on them are too much at times and some of the processes seem antiquated. My email was a criticism of Tradelink and not of any individuals, well maybe Gary for sending the termination email. These criticisms that I made offer suggestions which you can either choose to ignore or thank me for my input.

What I do not like is someone doing a character assassination on me while using a fabrication from their imagination……..

Merry Christmas,

Campbell

Up early and into Brisbane to go for a wee ride round the river. I seem to get slower and slower these days but I don’t care if was a lovely morning and I even stopped at the bridge cafe, the coffee was very good.

I only did a short run but I think I will do the longer run next time…. Maybe this week.