Today our fortnightly meeting was held in the Ipswich Mall of all places to challenge ourselves and maybe to attract some new blood into the group. So we really were speaking in public and I really had to concentrate to make sure I didn’t swear because sometimes I just do.
Everyone got up and gave a speech and the topics were far and wide and the sun was shining. A pleasant change being outside rather than stuck in a stuffy room. A very successful day.
The video is a bit shoogly to begin with -:(
My topic was the Cochrane House Hotel, a place where I spent a considerable amount of time and it was a little bit hard to condense so many years into 10 minutes but I think they got the gist of the place. Some of the best years of my life were spent there and there were a few unhappy memories as well but luckily they disappeared into obscurity……..
I arrived in Australia in 1988 and I stayed in Armidale for the first 12 months with Catherine and as it was a small town it was not easy to find work but I managed to pick up one day helping to unload the art from the truck to the gallery and I got my picture in the paper 😁
I wish I could go back to that version of me and explain and advise me of a few decisions that were going to be made along the way, and what roads I should take and not take and the ones that I end up taking.
Some paths I took should have been avoided at all costs and opportunities that were offered should be taken.
Ah well C’est La Vie!!
It’s a pity I can’t just reformat this life and then reinstall with knowing.
After buying a 30m roll of storm water pipe I realised that my initial solution to fixing the water coming from the central downpipe was not going to work, there would have to be too much digging and the length of pipe would exceed 40m which is also the length of the trench……..way too much.
Plan B is simpler, although it means modifying the existing downpipe and changing its direction to the east instead of the current westerly position. Before I do this I will have to put up some cladding in the overhang where the top and bottom halves of the house meets. Once this is done I then have to figure out how to get two lengths of 6m downpipe to the house, way too long to put into the trailer.
I’ll take back the storm water pipe to the store and see if they can do me a deal on delivery because it normally costs $60 which is more than the cost of the pipe.
A few days ago I water blasted a section of the deck out the back of the house. After leaving it to dry for a few days it looked like the water blasting had worked a treat stripping back the layers of grime, sun damage, lichen and old oil from the surface. I used one of the small rollers attached to a long handle and coated the timber with a coat of Ultradeck Natural oil and the results are great. I will need to give it another coat, maybe two, but the winds over the past few days have been horrendous and there is shit all over the surface so I will have to wait. These high westerly winds are common at this time of year and can be destructive.
You can see the difference between the old and the new and I’ll do the next metre next and hopefully get away with only doing half of the deck, at this stage I just want to protect the timber rather than it look all hunky dory and pristine.
Sunday morning was fresh and dry and the sun was shining, summer is upon us……..I think spring will just take a holiday this year. I’m enjoying exploring the streets of Ipswich; I used to hate cycling around here but in me old age I enjoy the leisurely riding style these days. I hadn’t planned any particular route but I found myself heading towards the bike path near the showground and so I cut down there and onto Briggs Road which took me passed the Ipswich Cycle Park, I’d never noticed it before so I wandered in. There are two circuits; one is 400m and the other just over 1000m. The surface is great, really smooth and instead of a Velodrome style the road is undulating and kidney shaped. I did one circuit but this is not my idea of fun, riding a bike as if I am a hamster does not appeal. There were a few Lycra clad Mamils “middle-aged man in Lycra” I’m not one of them.
You tend to find that there is a direct correlation in the amount of Lycra that a rider wears and the arrogance and stupidity of the rider.
Tomorrow I have to get up early as I will be driving for another bus company for the next few weeks. I still haven’t won the lottery and so this is the only way I can save up for me trip in January where I am hoping to go to Egypt and Thailand.
Well when I woke up this morning the rain was bouncing off the roof, it has been a long time indeed. I’m not complaining and in many regards I’m very happy that the rains have been slight this winter because stress levels are low.
Two years ago there was flooding and so having a week of rain this year after three months of dry weather is seen as good for the garden and the water tanks and so in moderation there is relief and joy.
I dug a new trench for the second downpipe on the front of the house in preparation, I still need to get some PVC, but the trench seems to be working well this morning pulling the water to the front of the garden and away from the corner of the house.
In doing this I’ve decided that the lawn will be getting transformed into a new space with plants, bushes and shrubs and in doing so this will be less grass to cut. Win win.
The rains also brought in the Cockatoos, haven’t seen them in a long time although you do hear them most days. All I had to give them was a piece of bread and I know that giving them bread is frowned upon but this bread is full of grains. He took it out of my hand and sat on the balustrade eating it slowly, taking each deliberate bite with dexterity and purpose. I’d forgotten just how large these beautiful birds are. I was having a thought, wondering if this was the same guy that used to visit years ago, he does look familiar 🤔
Noo I’m 64, I’m a perfect square, I’m a perfect cube I am 2 to the power of 6, I’m 64 bit, An old git. A Commodore, I am Nintendo.
So I’ve done no bad, But sometimes I’m sad, ‘Cause ah canny eat chocolate, Ma body reacts, Eyeballs filled wi’ goo, Ma stomach churns, Mair methane than a coo.
I still ride ma bike, Can still get it up a hill, But no need for a blue pill, Just Telefast.
Ma nose… a snot depository, Reigning for hours, Hankies in abundance, Cupboards foo, And many shares in Kleenex too.
Health is important, Maintain the diet, Maintain the regime, Feed the mind, Protect your knees, Protect your core, Protect your integrity and even more, Don’t suffer the fools, Do not engage, Control the rage. Embrace your age, Use your wisdom, Learn every day, Leave your comfort,
But I wonder… Now that I’m 64 have I become a bore? Or have I always been? Do people find me a chore? Is that how I’m seen? A stupid old man with oot a clue,
But you know what?
Ah don’t give A Fuck! I like me and that’s all that matters, And if the illusion shatters, I care not a jot...
Well it’s August and still no rain, although there are a few clouds kicking about. It’s been really cold in the mornings, there’s even been a few frosts which have numbed my fingers when I’ve ridden to the old bus company.
I’ve done more riding of the bike than walking recently and it’s been rather enjoyable, keeping to the side roads and bike paths. Last weekend I cycled around 30km, today I only managed 15km. I woke up with a sore head after a very restless night’s sleep and I can only blame it on the generous whisky that I had. The Campbeltown whisky is 57%, so it’s a bit bitey.
I had a spicy vegetarian pizza for lunch and scoffed the lot, nothing better than junk food to make the body feel better. After lunch I had a snooze to try and finally get rid of that niggling headache.
And so to the jobby on the driveway. Well the dog must be a new age thinker or maybe a Buddhist because it’s shit was lying in an East West alignment which is why I’m thinking that. It was also placed exactly in the line of the tyre tracks of the car which also makes me think it’s a sneaky wee bastard.
Well here are a few pictures of the plants in me garden that think spring has sprung to take your mind off the wee jobby.
I stopped for lunch in Tenterfield on my way to Armidale today, catching up with Catherine and Stuart this weekend. Last time I was here, unbeknownst to me, I had caught Covid on the way back from the UK and so I drove down one day and back the next.
This time I’ll be here for the weekend, maybe head home Monday or Tuesday… See which way the wind blows.
The roads were busy up till Warwick and then I managed to get passed the bulk of the traffic and it was pretty good after that.
Not much colour in the countryside, it’s looking rather dry for most of the way here, but the old Ford’s looking good 😁
Stopped at Balancing Rock for a wee photo opportunity and I think it turned out quite well.
Now if I had fallen down the rabbit hole I could think that the lone gun man that took a chunk out of Trump’s ear was a Maga employee undercover that was sacrificed to help and embolden the man’s presidential campaign or we could say that he was just a bad shot, either way it’s a bad day for the world that he didn’t hit the target.
A missed opportunity!!
The world is in turmoil and as America deficates on the rest of the world this Teflon Don is now almost definitely going to get into power.
This narcissist, this Fucking Moron, Grifter has conned most of America and I find that absolutely staggering and very worrying at the same time.
I’ve never held them in high esteem and the prophecy of “Back To The Future III” seems closer now than ever.
As the world sits back and watches the unravelling of this war economy, the death spiral you could say, wondering who will be next to suffer if this Fucking baw bag gets into power.
We can only hope that if another opportunity arises that the outcome might be better.
Continuing on the renovation work around the house, well I started them over three years ago now and it’s about time I did a bit more and maybe finish. A lot has happened in that time and the reason for the delay is down to the flooding that took place over two years ago, it put me in a very bad frame of mind to the point where I just wanted to up sticks and leave but the house didn’t sell thankfully.
Circumstances and the gods railed against me and so here I still am in the same house which I happen to like. Your mental health is very important and mine took a tumble after the rains came. A few months later when I took the house off the market I went on an adventure travelling through five countries and nearly killed myself in the process, life has a habit of making you focus.
I had to go the brew the other day and the young lassie is asking me what job do I want to pursue because they need to find me a full time job, they are not happy that I work part time and get a top up of the dole, Big Brother is not liking my lifestyle.
I told the young lassie that I live a very simple life, she said “That’s great, I wish I could” I tell her I live from week to week and don’t have the money to do what I want and I do want to work because I need money to do a few things. My car is nearly older than her for Christ’s sake.
Like many people at the moment you have to make choices on how you spend the money you get and budget as best you can and give up on those little luxuries that you might indulge in on a regular basis. My simple life is good at this moment but I do worry about the future.
In the meantime I’m back working downstairs in the garage. I’ve started painting the workshop and laundry side and once that is done I’m going to gyprock and insulate the eastern wall because in the summer the heat is intense and in turn it floats through to the rest of the house and I’m also going to install a small air conditioner in the rumpus room because last summer was so hot and humid, so I’m hoping that this will make a difference. How am I paying for all this when I’ve just said I’m skint? Well the Queensland government has given electricity rebates and I’m using that to cover the expenses which is great and it will make the cooling of the house easier when the insulation is installed. Win win..
I still have a small amount of paint left and I have plenty of architraves in the garage, so all I really need to get quickly are a few brackets and shelving to finish off the workshop.
Sunday morning a bike ride was in order and I went a bit further than last week, just under 30 km. I didn’t do much for the rest of the day, finished off my library book and watched a bit of TV. Oh I cooked up some chilli and it was pretty tasty.
