The weather turned cold today, the winter woollies are on and doing their job, although as usual my feet are cold. The overnight temperature fell to around 2c which was quite a shock. When I went out this morning it was around 8c but the wind was blowing a gale and it felt very fresh indeed. I still wore my shorts but upgraded my shirt and jacket to suit the brisk conditions.

Yesterday a storm came through and it brought with it cold weather from the south of the country, it’s brought winter to Armidale. On my walk this morning there were signs of its passage. Broken branches and leaves piled up under cars and in hedgerows and of course the trees are becoming more naked by the day. The sun was shining, but there was not too much warmth in the shade, the wind blowing against my body gave me a shiver but as usual my bare legs were feeling OK.

As I stroll along I often don’t have anything in particular to think about, I’m usually just looking around being a voyeur of life. I was listening to Don Letts on Radio 6, this morning he was getting in to some Reggae. The colours of the leaves are vivid and with the sun shining the combinations of light and shade coupled with smoking chimneys make winters arrival almost complete. I passed one house that was covered in solar panels, it was a huge array but it was facing east. Beside it there were more solar tubes which were for the hot water system and they were standing proud looking north. There was also a satellite dish on the roof which can only be for Austar TV which is owned by Foxtel.

Suddenly my mind jumped to another time, another place many years ago. At the start of this century I was living on the Gold Coast in Australia and I ended up working at Austar on the help desk in a call centre environment and it was by far the worst job I have ever had. It was soul destroying, both from a customer point of view and management. From the moment you arrive at work your time is monitored, everything you do has a time code and if you stay in one of those codes too long you get grief from the management. The constant complaining of customers was also a drain on the senses and put murder to the forefront of one’s thoughts.

I was in technical support and I had applied for a job on the Internet helpdesk but I got put onto the Pay TV helpdesk for 6 months and that was just purgatory. The team leader was a dope head, I can’t remember her name but she was a lazy bitch like most of the team leaders there. Very few gave a shit about their staff; they were just concerned about KPI’s and stats. So if you actually helped a customer then your KPI’s would look like shit , other “team members” would pick up a call and transfer it within seconds to make their KPI’s look better. If they could take 100 calls a day and help no one in the process then praise would come to them in gallons, if on the other hand you helped a customer resolve a problem your KPI’s would look like shit by comparison and you would feel the wrath of Khan. The whole system is skewed.

My blood pressure was up, I was angry, I was depressed, I was many things and I just wanted to leave but I had just bought a house and my budget was stretched to the hilt and I could not afford to leave. Money was so tight that one hiccup could have made my whole world collapse and so I desperately looked for another job and then one day I saw a job jump out of the computer with my name all over it. It was for a sales estimator in a drawing office with a company called Stratco. Long story short I got the job.

I got a start date and decided to use up all my leave with Austar, I got granted leave ok and off I went to celebrate. The new job started in just over two weeks so instead of handing in my notice I took my holidays that were owing to me. I had about two weeks leave left to take so that worked out perfect. I put in my notice that afternoon and told them that I would not be returning. I got a reply telling me that I would need to work one months notice and not two weeks as I had given them. I said nothing.

I returned to work after my break and got in a bit early so that I could speak to the supervisor Sasha and explain to him that I had a job and I was leaving. Sasha and I often argued but we respected each other and so this is why I went into see him as a courtesy. He told me once more that I would have to stay for two more weeks to see out my notice; I said that I will go home sick for two weeks.

He smiled and laughed and shook my hand and told me to clean my desk and wished me all the best and I left shortly afterwards.

Most days I go out for a walk and sometimes a distant memory reveals itself, triggered by my surroundings or maybe the music I’m listening to at that time. Memories can be wonderful and painful both at the same time but without them we would not be the person we are today; they have made us, moulded us and sometimes they can haunt us but we can control them and use them if need be. We have plenty time for reflection under the current circumstances and for me I’m glad to remember such terrible times because I can see just how far I have travelled since then. And life now is so much better…………

And so today I decided that I will win the Golden Casket Lottery on the weekend, it’s around $4 million Australian, which is just about enough to buy some fish’n’chips in the UK. Nevertheless even although the Australian dollar is pretty weak just now I’m thinking that I could still buy many things here and so as I was walking back from town I was preparing a list of what I think I should buy after the weekend, after the money has been deposited into my bank.

So what is on my list you may ask, well I think I would need to get a car of course because my old Ford is lying in a garage about 600 km’s from here and it is unregistered, so she is of no use to me just now. In the future I’ll hang onto her, and refurbish her to make her brand new once more and I want to do some of the work myself. A new coat of paint, a new gearbox and a complete engine overhaul and she will be ready for another 500,000 km’s.

I will also buy a few more cars in the down the track and I’m thinking of a 2.8 Injection Ford Capri if I can get one. An XD Ford Falcon, Daimler Double Six, XJ Convertible, Range Rover (as new as possible because a new one is around $450,000) A Daimler Coupe XJC,  Granada Ghia Coupe and a Bentley, possibly a convertible, but I’m not sure I’ll just have to see how I feel at the time and of course the price tag.

I will of course have to buy a house or two because I will need somewhere to keep all my cars, but where will I go. I’m in Armidale in NSW just now and I think I would buy a house here and maybe live here for a while until all this virus fiasco dies down, but I would also buy a place up in Queensland closer to my own home where I should be able to find a larger property for the million dollar mark which would be suitable for keeping my new car collection. But I would also like to have a small place near Brisbane city which should be possible without spending too much money. So I’m hoping that by the time I buy the three houses I will have spent no more than $2 million. I would love to buy the Range Rover sooner rather than later but I think I will buy a second hand Mazda or Hyundai in the meantime as a runabout.

Well that leaves me with around $2 million left and if I were to convert this amount into £’s then it would be around £1 Million currently. Most of the cars that I want come from home and so I will have to be in the UK for a while to source them and so I will buy a wee hoose somewhere, maybe in Kilbarchan or Bridge of Weir or one of the smaller places near Johnstone. Most of my friends still live in this area and it would be great to reconnect with everyone and at the same time base myself here for a few months and it looks like I would have to spend around £100.000 to find a nice wee place but that still leaves me plenty to buy my cars, but I’ll need to get them back to Australia.

Then again, I might have to rethink this through a bit more because I seem to spending money at a hell of a rate and before I know it, it may soon all be gone so I’d better hang on to a wee bit because I also want to buy a place in Thailand although I can only buy an apartment there because they do not allow foreign ownership of land. If I wanted to buy a house I would have to buy with a Thai national and they would own 51% and me 49% but I can buy an apartment no problem, but where would I buy?………..Good question………….so many wonderful places there and I can think of three places that come to mind. Number one would be Chiang Mai in the north of the country, number two would be Hua Hin in the south west and finally Nakhon Phanom, which is on the banks of the Mekong River in the north east.

But you know as I write this I’m thinking to myself that the first part of my plan might also be a little crazy, I mean why spend all this money in Australia when I would not be living here most of the time. If I had the means to live in another country then I would be out of here as soon as the virus allows and so I will maybe reduce the allocated budget for the Australian expenditure, however buying a couple of properties would be a good investment and I can rent them out for a little bit of income.

So here’s me thinking that it would be quite easy to start spending this windfall but I think I’ll have to sit down over a few whisky’s and think this through a bit more, but at least it will be fun doing so. All I have to do now is wait until the me boat comes in…………

Another weekend has come and gone and yet it makes no real difference. For months now it has been one long continuous break with no definition between days and so they all just meld together and each day is then punctuated with eating, ablutions, washing and the hunt for food or toilet paper, oh and I do go for a walk every morning which is great because the weather is fine and Armidale is beautiful at this time of year and the autumn colours are just spectacular.

In this state of limbo and as one of the many that are not working or have a regular schedule I sometimes feel guilty that I am basically getting money for nothing and my kicks for free as I lounge at home, but I also know that I am one of the lucky ones and I don’t take it for granted.

I should be doing more, maybe learning a new skill or brushing up on my Chinese language or even begin to write that book that I have always wanted to write, but I think because there is no pressure then I struggle to get motivated for such things and instead my mind wanders to a time when I can once more jump on a plane and travel the world. Or my other great plan is to win lotto, which I may add would be a great thing to do now because I could then buy myself another house and move into it and give my sister and brother in law back their privacy. I have also considered the kind of car I would buy to go with the house and of course this would have to be a Range Rover, British Racing Green of course.

If I could get my inspiration for writing again then I would also be happier because right now my mind is basically a blank. In China I would often find the words beginning to flow over the slightest of triggers. It might be an incident I witnessed, going for lunch or the day the wee cockroach paid me a visit. I started writing about him and the words just kept flowing like a river effortlessly one after another. My friend Peter sent me some of his writings to have a look at and I am always amazed by the colour of the vocabulary that he uses especially since his native tongue is Russian. I really need to find my writing mojo once more and you know I don’t care if anybody likes it because it is not for anyone else anyway.

In some ways I have become used to having so much time on my hands and there is no need to feel guilty because the choice has been taken away from me along with my guilt. I would love to go for a drive but I have no car and due to the current lock down we can’t go anywhere anyway, although there are some folk not really listening to this advice. Maybe I’m beginning to go a little bit stir crazy, who knows…………..

If I had been able to do my last visa run I would have still been in China where life is slowly returning to normal and where my good friend Sissi has decided to go on a Chinese adventure to many of the places I was planning to go to myself this year. I was supposed to be heading off to the north west of China for a few weeks just around this time and so I am a little bit jealous of her. I will definitely return to China next year even if it is just for a holiday and if I am lucky I will get another two year visa. After being back in Australia for 6 weeks now and having time to mull things over I think that I will return to the Orient for another stint, partly because I don’t really know what I can do here in Australia or what I want to do here in Australia. My house becomes available to me in August and if I knew what I wished to do in the future then I would begin my plans but I still have this itchy feeling in my feet and gut that tell me that it is not quite the right time to give up my Oriental dream. My interests lie elsewhere and part of me would really like to experience more of China but I don’t want to go back to the life that I had because in my previous life there I was beginning to fall into a rut and that of course can happen anywhere you lay your hat.

So technically the world is still my oyster but at the moment it is closed for business and I will just have to wait for it to open once more and in the meantime find my mojo.

I find it hard to believe that I have been back in Australia for a month already, the first two weeks of which I stayed at home but since I have been allowed to wander I have been venturing further afield most days. I’ve been going to the shops for supplies and each time I take a different route to get used to my surroundings and to see a bit more of Armidale. It’s not a very big place but when you explore it on foot then it will still tire you out mainly due to the many hills. It would be nice to stop off for a coffee or maybe a bit of lunch along the way but of course we are unable to do so, you can buy takeaway coffee but it’s not the same.

Two days ago I went for a longer walk, for about 15 km and this took me out towards a place called Kellys PLains and then I turned left and then shortly afterwards another left which brought me back in the general direction of the house. The road was a bit busier than I anticipated but the worst thing was the amount of flies, they were just terrible. They buzz around your head constantly and so I ended up waving them away for the most part, I had forgotten just how annoying they could be and so when I came home I went on Ebay and ordered a net that I can put over my head which should keep the flies and mosquitoes away from me nut at least. This is cattle and sheep country after all.

I’ve been reading a few books too, in fact I am on to my fifth book which is 2001 A Space Odyssey, I saw the film many moons ago and I must admit I was left wanting more and was not quite sure what I had just watched, so I thought it was time to read the book and then maybe I will watch the movie once again and finally understand what I had just watched. I think since the start of the year I have read about 12 books.

It’s good to be reading and to be back in Australia, but like everyone else on the planet our lives are in limbo and we are unable to plan anything. I’ve been living like this since I came back from Thailand on the 8th of January back to Suzhou because shortly afterwards China went into Lock down too.

So for four months, for the most part, I have been unable to go anywhere or make plans to go anywhere. There does not seem to be an end in sight to the current situation and the best outcome predicted so far is that in 6 months time we might be able to at least travel within the country but still unable to leave the country but then again where would you go, the rest of the world is in a mess too. So as most people have said they wish they could just skip 2020 and go straight to 2021. Australia has been lucky so far because the numbers infected here a very low in comparison to the rest of the world.

But we must all put things into perspective at times like this, I mean if you have your health then this is a minor inconvenience but if you already have health issues or live in a situation that is not good then this will disrupt your life in ways that most of us would not know about or could imagine. We should use this time to learn something new, or take the time to appreciate what you have. Read books, write down your thoughts, don’t spend too much time on Facebook reading the copious amounts of crap that you will come across on that platform. Don’t believe all the nonsense that you read there and if you see something look elsewhere for confirmation. I’ve tried to listen to Trump some mornings when he is giving his daily briefings but he is such and incompetent fool that after 5 mins I really can’t handle his inarticulate ramblings. I read the news everyday and then I go and do something else and don’t dwell on the global situation, instead I stay with in my own world and make sure that I do my part in keeping our household virus free.

In a few years time when this is a distant memory I hope everyone will have taken something from this experience and that we may grow for the better because of it. One person that comes to mind is Boris Johnson, maybe him and his government might finally see the value of the National Health System in the UK and for once they might spend money on it rather than continue to cut a service that is such a necessary part of the establishment and of the people. His near death experience might just let him see the light.

My third week back in Australia and after a full week of freedom I have clocked up a fair few kilometres walking around Armidale and I was also lucky enough to have my first cooked breakfast this morning, which I have not had in a very long time. Catherine fancied sausage, bacon, eggs, beans, tomatoes and toast for breakfast and I joined her. Stuart is not too keen on this and so there was more for me and Catherine to enjoy. For me I would have also liked to have a slice of Black Pudding which is one of my favourite health foods, but maybe next time, but it was absolutely delicious and I nearly licked the plate clean.

The weather was beautiful today and before I had my cooked breakfast I had gone for a 5km walk around the block and after having such a wonderful breakfast, but maybe not the healthiest, I decided that I would pop down the street to get a few things and so after a shower I headed back out with my backpack on and went for supplies.

I had made a list but as I wandered through the shopping centre I realised I needed a few more bits and pieces but my backpack is too small and so I will go back down tomorrow. I keep seeing things that I haven’t seen in a long time and some things are needed but there are a few things that are maybe luxuries, such as a nice bottle of wine.

Earlier in the week I had gone out for my morning walk and I continued when I got home with my workout, push ups, pull ups and a few other bits and pieces. This was the second morning in a row that I had done a pretty physical workout and so about 30 mins after I had finished I was having a cup of tea and I all of a sudden felt completely knackered, I had run out of juice and I just had to sleep. Part of the reason for this is that I have not been sleeping very well at night because it has been very mild and I have woken up in the middle of the night kicking the covers off. There are a few mosquitoes around and so if any part of you is exposed they will land and have a snack and so when I go to bed I cover up and of course then I wake up many times feeling too hot. Last night was so much better because the temperature dropped to single figures and the window was still open and so when I woke up this morning I was still under the covers and I really felt quite refreshed which is the first time for a few days. In the coming weeks it should begin to become cooler in the evening and for me that equals a better sleep hopefully.

Tomorrow is Monday and I will go out and about and find a different route to take, which is what I try to do each day. I still haven’t been out on the bike yet but hopefully this week I will grab one of the bikes and take it for a wee spin around the block. Of course I can’t go too far due to the current situation; as long as I don’t travel too far from home I won’t be breaking any laws. But as we were discussing earlier this evening, Australia does not have national Covid 19 isolation rules or advice because each state, e.g. New South Wales or Queensland have slightly different rules when it comes to visiting friends and of course this is so typical of Australia. When it comes to a “State of Emergency” there should be one set of rules for the whole country rather than having different rules apply depending on your location.

Day two of my freedom from quarantine and although we are being advised to stay at home I have found a reason to go out, I need a new pair of track pants and some Antibacterial wipes. I took the long road to get to the shops, I may as well enjoy the sunshine and this fine autumn weather, you never know how long this weather will last.

Armidale is relatively quiet but there are still tradesmen going about their business and there are a few semi-trailers still hauling freight. Armidale lies on the New England Highway and is roughly half way between Sydney and Brisbane and from here you can easily head west to access the interior. 30 years ago I got a job driving trucks and I used to leave Sydney on a Monday evening and drive through the night to Tamworth, where myself and Steve would sleep for a few hours in the truck before we started our deliveries to the many clubs and pubs and almost every Chinese restaurant in the district and beyond. After spending most of the day delivering in Tamworth we would head north to Armidale and spend the night here before doing more deliveries in the morning. From here we would head to Inverell, Moree, Narrabri and onto Gilgandra and then the next day we headed to Nyngan before returning to Sydney, this was my life for nearly two years and it was great. It was not always easy but there were many good times and I got to see vast swathes of the country during fires and flood.

So now I am back in Armidale for a short time to sit out the pandemic or until such time I will be able to head north to my home. But as you can see from the pictures it’s not all bad, Armidale is a University Town and there are more millionaires per ca-pita in this area than any other part of rural Australia and it also has the highest commercial airport in Australia. It has a population of about 25.000, so I am happy to be here to enjoy the peace and quiet, to be with family and to enjoy the change in surroundings after being living in a city of 11 Million people in China, such a contrast.

My last day of quarantine and the sun is shining and the birds are singing and I’m looking forward to going out and about. For the last two days I haven’t left the confines of the home and garden due to the news of someone being fined $1000 for venturing out whilst being in quarantine, however they did actually jump in their car and drop someone off.

I landed in Armidale NSW two weeks ago after my adventure flight from Shanghai and it seems such a long time ago, but surprisingly enough the past two weeks have gone very quickly and I haven’t really felt bored but more frustrated because I was not free to wander about. Having our freedom curtailed is certainly a problem for many people right now and they will just have to get used to it.

I guess most of us that look at Facebook see many tales of woe, sometimes something uplifting and often downright stupid and misleading. I saw a friend complaining about the internet being slow and that they could not get a hold of the ISP and they were thinking of changing as soon as they could. The problem here is not to much the ISP but the government infrastructure that the ISP’s use, there is just not enough bandwidth at the best of times in Australia and if most households are going to be on Youtube, Netflix or just the Freeview on demand services then it will eventually grind to a halt in places. So maybe we need to amuse ourselves in a non technical way, like reading a book, writing a blog/diary with a pen, talking to your neighbour across the fence maybe, but make sure you don’t get too close. What did we all do before the internet came along, before smart phones were common place? There is more to life than Facebook.

Now I know this is not easy for everyone to go outside because they not have a garden but if you do venture out to the shops, savour the moment and try to embrace the experience because none of this really wants to go through this wartime scenario again and maybe this might make a few people conscious of others that are already in a shit situation due to conflict, ill health or bad luck. So if your internet is slow, just fuckin’ deal with it and move on.

People are scared of change, scared of the unknown but there are a few out there that are seeing this as an opportunity rather than a disaster and if a few more people looked at it this way they may find themselves in a better place. Learn a new skill from that “BOOK” which you got from the internet. Write a bestseller and live off the proceeds. We all have a chance to learn something new here, to get back to basics, to appreciate what you have or for some what they have lost. If you are just going to complain rather than adapt you may as well just catch the virus and become a statistic and give us all peace and quiet.

So let’s all pray to the Deity the Great Green Arkleseizure to keep us safe because he is the only one that really “Nose” about this virus because as you may or may not know he is the creator of the universe, as claimed by adherents of the faith on planet Viltvodle VI because the Jatravartids of this faith believe that the Universe was sneezed out of the Great Green Arkleseizure’s nose.

Another 3 days and then on the 4^th day I am free as much as I can be. I will have to go down to the Brew and see if I can get some money off the government. I had started and application last week but could not complete it because I needed to show my face at the office which I can’t do because I am in quarantine, catch 22. I am not sure why I had to go down because they have all my information and know where I have been, in fact it is quite scary just how much information that they do have and yet I still need to go in person which now will be more difficult because every man and their dog is going down to seek some reddies.

After breakfast I go for a wee stroll around the block which I think is acceptable and then I come home, have a shower if I’m too smelly, and then ease into the day. I sometimes write as I am doing today or I will read but I try not to eat too much, which is quite difficult when confined within these four walls. For some reason the hunger pangs come round too quick and so I am looking forward to next week when I can go further afield. The TV stays off, although sometimes while having lunch I’ll stick it on but I don’t want to become a couch potato. Next week I’ll be able to go to the supermarket and I’ll just walk there and back, mind you I don’t have a choice……..no car.

I’ve been thinking about China the last few days and wishing that I could catch up with friends for coffee or go for lunch together because Suzhou has opened its doors once again and life is beginning to return to normal. I really do miss the Chinese food, there is such a variety on offer, but I am also enjoying Catherine and Stuart’s home cooking. So many different flavours that I have not had in donkeys.

All movements between states have been curtailed and you can now only cross the state lines if you have a valid reason which at the moment I don’t. Australia is going into total lockdown and as long as people listen to the government and respect the new rules we will still be able to go outside for fresh air, go to the shops and have limited freedom which is better than many other countries. So here’s hoping the eejits listen.

But I am finding it amusing listening to the Great American Leader “Trump” who with every day brings more laughter to the table. You could not write this stuff, he is being absolutely fantastic and with every day we get a taste of the real child behind the public persona. Even his allies are struggling to back his outrageous thoughts but you know the Americans wanted him and they got him and now he is going to kill them. Is this Karma?

I can’t wait to watch “Trump the movie” Trump on Broadway” “I’m going around the Trump” He has given the world so much amusement in recent weeks as he stumbles over every word, the child within is shining through. Many things have been done to bring Trump down over the last few years but no one has had any success even although the proof is there staring everyone in the face, so let’s hope that Covid19 is his nemeses and brings him to his knees………literally.

I got a call back from the doctor today to inform me that Mr Covid19 test that I got last week is all clear and I’m not a Leper. Good news for Catherine and Stuart of course. I was quite confident that I was clear because I have been very careful in China and also while travelling back from China.

So now I have one more week to go to complete quarantine and then I will be able to go out for a stroll unless by that time the government brings in a possible curfew or more drastic measures.

But either way I’ll still sneak out for a walk to the end of the street 😊

One week in quarantine and all is well. We haven’t killed each other yet and I have been enjoying the rich variety of food that Catherine and Stuart have been making. A simple pastrami sandwich with strong Bega cheese, my contribution, has also hit the spot. Most nights there has been a lovely glass of red wine to accompany the meals followed by chocolate, so all in all I am enjoying MY quarantine.

I have technically broken my quarantine by going out for a walk to the end of the street but as their house is semi rural and the chances of bumping into someone is rather small and so I go out early in the morning or late afternoon. To get out the house for a short time each day is just enough to keep my sanity in check. I am also trying to improvise my exercise routine which has been a bit more difficult but I have come up with a few options.

I’ve been in quarantine mode for nearly three months now and my movements have been curtailed because I have been in China for the last two years and I am really surprised at the levels of panic and doom and gloom that I see on social media and on the news. It’s not that bad people, it could be worse, enjoy the experience of living through a pandemic because hopefully we will never see this again in our lifetime.

There are many things and situations that you will experience now that you will look back on in years to come just as many of the older generation remember the war, it wasn’t all bad. Through this we might learn a few valuable lessons on how to live a different more simple life. Maybe you will begin to read books again or draw or just talk and even maybe just maybe we may emerge like the butterfly as a more fascinating and respected creature.

In China more people seemed to be concerned with their health, the health of others and worried about the folk that did not want to stick to the rules of wearing a face mask or flouting the laws laid down to prevent the spread of the disease. In this regard the Chinese authorities didn’t fuck about and took drastic action at times, some of which was just downright dangerous to the occupants. I saw a video of them welding doors shut which is unthinkable. I’m not advocating anything like this but let’s put things into perspective and practice personal hygiene and protect yourself and others.

Most western countries will struggle with government directives because we are used to doing what we want and we certainly do not like to be told we can’t do this or that and many of us will say “I’ll do what I want, you can’t tell me” But to those people I say, “Shut the fuck up and just do what you are told, it’s only for a short time in the big scheme of things and if we all just calm down then we will be able to get on with life as best as we can in the current climate” Panic buying and hoarding is just being selfish and personally I hope that the folk that have a room full of toilet paper suddenly get a severe case of gastroenteritis along with Covid19 just for good measure. May their arse be on fire from now until eternity!