The latest report on net zero

is showing net negative. Why can't the government and the media just give up on the idea and actually do something useful?

Apparently we could build eight hospitals and four hundred aged care facilities each year for what the net-zero policies are costing us. If that is really the case then I suggest it is time to start building.

I am in no way opposed to the idea of caring for the environment. I know that questioning the "net zero" idea leaves me open to the idea that I am a "climate denier" and much more. I am not. No, I am not.

I think we have a climate problem. I think we have a population problem. I think we have a people problem in all sorts of ways. I think we need to think about our life style and more.

Why do we still allow people to own 4WD vehicles in the city? Why in fact do we allow many people to have cars at all? Do they really need them? I am told yes they do. They are "necessary" for carting the kids to school and after school activities, going to the gym after work and doing the weekly shop. Even while people are saying that those whose jobs tie them to a desk are demanding the "right to work from home". 

The reality? The vast majority of children in this state live within walking distance of their schools. For those who do not there is public transport or government supplied school buses in rural areas. How often do you really go to the gym after work - and do you really need to go to the gym or do you do it because it is "the thing to do"? Walking to the bus stop to catch the bus to work everyday might be a better (and much cheaper) option. Oh, sorry! That takes time does it? You didn't get up early enough? You haven't got the kids out of bed early enough? 

It all did happen once but we now seem to believe that the world has changed so much that cars are essential...and too many people believe that the electric vehicle is the answer to all this. Really? Have you actually looked at the environmental damage caused by creating one and then maintaining it? Is it really any better than any other sort of vehicle? 

China's one child policy was a social disaster but surely we can encourage people to limit their families to a policy of "replace yourselves" to just two children? Isn't that responsible?  It is surely responsible from the "net zero" point of view? Maybe not you say? It is just a thought.

It just frightens me to think of the money being poured in to a fantasy, the idea that this country can achieve the unachievable and do it ahead of everyone else. The idea that we will be held up as an example of how to do the impossible in a morally and financially responsible way is laughable...if the politicians were not so serious about causing the destruction of it all.

The answers may not be simple but I do know that politicians and all those with their financial interest in "net zero" are failing to do the one thing that could be done and might have a small but real impact. Please, could we plant more trees? Could we plant a lot more trees? Could we plant the other plants to go with the trees? That may not be "the answer to everything" but it might help - just a little bit more than that electric car.  

Most of us rate privacy as

important. We want our own space or spaces. Yes, we might share them with "family" or "significant others" or whatever the term is these days but not with strangers.

Now there is apparently a move to build "apartments" with not only no kitchens (already apparently common) but with "shared bathrooms". There is even a claim that this is what people "want". These places will apparently have to have spaces like "roof top barbecue areas" and they will need to get "direct sunlight for at least two hours a day". 

I can really see these moves working - not. The news comes as we are about to have the Annual General Meeting for this group of units. This is something that must be held by law. It will be held next week in the middle of the afternoon. This is what suits the company which is supposed to oversee the management of the external areas of the block. That is understandable as they work office hours but it is awkward for owners.

I have not been here a year yet. I have not even met everyone who owns a unit (renters are not eligible to attend) and I am not aware of all the issues which might come up. It was therefore good to talk with the man opposite when he actually stopped and asked if I was aware of the meeting. I told him I was and that I intended to attend it - via the phone option. He has offered to take me instead as it will give me the opportunity to meet some of the other owners. I have,. reluctantly, accepted. I do not want to get involved in what are obviously ongoing arguments about exterior painting, gutters and fences. His own remarks suggest he has more than a modicum of commonsense about these things but will he be outvoted on who gets the job to replace the fence or whose exterior gets painted first. (His argument is that the latter gets done in strict rotation and according to a schedule - not because someone wants theirs done now.) 

I will also go because the contract to mow the "lawns" has failed. On my return from "holiday" I found the areas we are paying to have mowed had not been touched. They are now almost knee high in weeds and it is no longer safe. Even with the rain we have had the ground is not soft enough for me to remove the weeds and the rest of it looks dreadful. My view on this is that the management company we pay a hefty fee to should have dealt with this weeks ago. They apparently knew what was happening and did nothing. One of the owners is making demands of any contractor which simply cannot be met. The contractor is not her personal gardener but she treats them as such and complains if her demands are not met. She is the one who needs to be pulled into line. Will it happen?

I hope something is done soon. I may need to get my long suffering BIL to do my bit - and too bad if the owner who demands so much does not like my bit looking a little tidier than hers. The whole area really needs to have a proper grassed area put in but the expense is something not likely to be acceptable to owners who just want to put out their hands for rent money.

Yes, we have this and other problems here. I thought of this when I read the proposal for "shared" bathrooms and kitchens and other spaces. This is not co-housing Danish style. It is much more likely to be a slum style disaster in waiting.  

Should Rudd "retire"?

For those of you in Upover and Elsewhere I will probably have to explain who Kevin Rudd is. He is Downunder's Ambassador to the United States of America. 

When it comes to diplomatic posts there are none considered more important in Canberra. It is a post which should only be given to someone with outstanding diplomatic skills, personal relationships and understanding of both national and international affairs. 

Although his supporters may try and suggest otherwise Rudd has none of those things. He was perhaps the worst Prime Minister we have had in recent years. The complaints I heard from colleagues when he was Prime Minister, people who actually had to work with him and his parliament on a day to day basis, have never been equalled. They may not have cared greatly for other Prime Ministers from both sides but they actively disliked Rudd. 

Rudd became Prime Minister, lost the position to Julia Gillard, and then won it again. He used tactics that still cause concern in Canberra today. They will likely go on causing concern. When he lost the election, as it should have been lost, he gave a lengthy self-serving speech. It was not the "gracious" gesture many claimed it to be. He knew exactly what he was doing. 

He refused to believe his political career was over. He knew his attempt to become Secretary-General of the United Nations was doomed to failure.  He was trying to pave the way to eventually becoming President of the Labor Party in Downunder.  It would have been a very powerful position in his hands and the current Prime Minister was having none of it. How to get rid of the threat? Offer him an Ambassadorship he could not refuse, the top post in diplomacy.

He had already been highly and very vocally critical of the now President of the country he was being sent to. That alone should have been enough to question his suitability for the position. Apparently it was more important to see him sent abroad than risk his interference here.

The exchange between PresidentTrump, Prime Minister Albanese and now Ambassador Rudd might be amusing to many but it also shows there is a problem.  Our Prime Minister is still supporting his old foe. He does not want him back here causing problems. He is still telling the world that this man is doing a great job.

In reality he is doing a very poor job. He has not been able to make the connections he should be making in Washington. One of his predecessors played golf with the President. It is most unlikely such an invitation will ever be willingly extended to him. That they loathe each other is all too obvious.

He could be removed from the position. It would be a very political move, an acknowledgment he cannot do the job. This is unlikely to happen but it is there as a possibility. He should be aware of that but he would probably laugh it off if someone suggested it to him.

If he had any self-awareness and he really did care for his country though then he would announce his retirement. It is time for him to go and that would solve the problem he presents for the rest of us.   

 

  

Could we have some plain English please?

I have been struggling through a document intended for people with disabilities. It is something I should have been able to read quickly and easily. 

The document relates to the problems at a sheltered employment centre for people who, for the most part, have intellectual disabilities. Some of them will be able to read the words. Others are not able to read at all. It is doubtful any of them will understand what the document means or how it relates to them.

I have more than one university level qualification and I struggled to understand what the document was saying. The person who gave it to me, the mother of a person who works there, does not understand it. Her husband, well used to dealing with bureaucracy in his own work, is also struggling.

I have gone further afield in an effort to find out just what is going on. Nobody seems to know. Those responsible for the document are not answering questions apart from saying, "We have sent the necessary information out."

In the middle of it all there is a statement suggesting the person who has received the document should ask someone else for clarification. I very much doubt they got as far as that. The document runs to three and a half pages of bureaucratic rubbish. They are simply trying to say, "Your employment here is at risk because we owe money. We are doing the best we can to sort it out. We will keep telling you what is happening." 

It is not the only such document I have been reading. The other relates to the AGM for the residents in this group of units. The agenda for this runs to many pages. As I only moved here earlier in the year I am unfamiliar with what might be ongoing issues. Perhaps they will be cleared up at the AGM. I will attend that out of necessity but, as a new resident, I have very little idea. I do not even know the people who have nominated for positions. It is not for want of trying. I have simply not even seen them to introduce myself.  The language the document is written in is not encouraging. There are details lacking but it is still far too long for anyone to take in quickly. 

I suppose I have always tended to write things too concisely. Perhaps it has come about from not having the physical capacity to write rapidly and legibly. I would like to think it has also come about because I want to be understood. Yes, I know I write "run on" sentences and I witter away here but if I need to write something for everyone to understand I can do it concisely and in plain language. 

Is it too hard for the very people who should understand the need for plain English to write it for those with learning difficulties? 

"Exterbadant" is not a word

you will find in a dictionary. Some will argue it is not a word at all.It was a word in our house when I was growing up - and it still surfaces occasionally. 

Where or how it came about I am not sure. It had multiple meanings. If the prospect of something pleased one of us kittens there was likely to be an enthusiastic "exterbadant!"  It was certainly seen as a substitute for words like "far out" and "blast".  We were told that the former was "inappropriate" and the latter was considered to be a swear word by our mother. That the Senior Cat had been known to mutter "blast" on occasion was not mentioned. 

Oddly our mother joined in the use of the word occasionally. It was not often but if she said, "No it is not exterbadant" or "I want it done exterbadantly" then we knew that something was unacceptable or had to be done immediately. I doubt she ever used the word in a positive context. It was almost certainly a source of irritation to her. 

Yes, it was a word with many potential meanings. It depended on context. Perhaps that is why it faded away to no more than the faintest ghost of a use?

As a family we played with words. We still do. Punning is definitely a family thing. There was also "verse and worse" and the discovery of new words. The Senior Cat would sometimes tell us about words he had come across as he finished his third year of English at the university. We thought it was "unreal" that this sort of thing happened in our house.

I find it difficult to keep up with the abbreviations and slang used by teenagers. Some of them take pity on me and explain but most of them indicate that their language is none of my business.  

I wondered about all this again yesterday because I pulled out something I wrote some time ago. On the first page, set in the sixties, I talk about the young hero's mother going "ballistic". It is appropriate to the time but now I wonder what a modern child, who is not a lover of words like the Whirlwind was, will make of it.  Will they "dig it" or just think it is "far out"?

Childhood vaccination rates

are apparently falling. They have been falling since Covid. The level needed to ensure that as many people as possible are safe is apparently around 95%. This apparently ensures that the very small minority of people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons are protected by the vaccination of the rest of us.

If my mother had been solely responsible for the vaccination of me and my siblings then we would not have been vaccinated. Our mother's "Christian Science" beliefs did not allow for vaccination. It was the Senior Cat and my godmother, a nurse, who saw to it. I sometimes wonder whether my mother's choice of her very close friend as my godmother was subconsciously influenced by another subconscious desire to ensure the safety of her children.  Whatever it was we got the jabs available at the time. Now we get other jabs when our GP deems them necessary and because we do believe that immunisation is a valuable weapon against some forms of illness.

The article in this morning's paper was therefore something I viewed with curiosity and alarm. There is apparently a growing "anti-vaccination" movement on social media. It is going beyond the disproven and dangerous belief that vaccinations cause autism and brain damage and even SIDS - sudden infant death syndrome. 

There is a "no jab, no play" law in this state. In a nutshell what it says is that a child under six must be vaccinated in order to attend day care, pre-school and so on.  There are now sites on social media advising parents how to provide false medical certificates to suggest their child has been vaccinated. Some parents are agreeing to vaccination schedules they have no intention of carrying out. They are suggesting alternative "natural" cures for potentially fatal diseases like whooping cough.  They are using AI and Chat bots to deliver false information. Ask the "right" questions and you can obtain a "yes" to the idea you can be arrested for feeding your child the ingredients in a vaccine.

My mother had a cousin who was rarely mentioned. I have written about him elsewhere. He was intellectually retarded and lived in an institution for such people. He was financially provided for, indeed we were the beneficiaries of his estate when he died but we were not even aware he was still alive. It is something I still feel angry about because the only thing I remember about him is from my early teens. We went to visit his parents for some reason and he happened to be there. We only glimpsed him briefly as he was sent to his room. Later we were told that he "does not learn very well because he had a high fever as a result of a measles vaccination. It's why I did not want you children vaccinated."  This was actually incorrect. He had not been vaccinated at all.

There will always be people who will put their children at risk. When they start to spread misinformation and put others at risk then we have an even bigger problem. I hope we can get back to that 95% which will protect the most vulnerable, those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. 

    

The "social media ban"

about to come into existence for those under sixteen is now becoming more widely discussed.

I suspect many people believed it would not happen. They did not believe the government would be so foolish as to try and implement such a ban.

Whether it is foolish or not is yet to be seen. The idea that, on a certain date in December, you can simply stop young people from accessing any form of social media is yet to be tested. To hold the "big tech" companies responsible for implementing the ban is also something which has yet to be tested.

I use social media of course. This blog is part of social media. I have a "Twitter" account - used largely for keeping up with world news as it is given to most people. (I have other sources as well but it is useful to know what the general public has access to and how it is being said.) I have a Facebook account which I use mostly to keep up with friends overseas. I don't look at it all day or even everyday. The same is true of things like "Linked In" - which is something I mostly forget to look at. 

Now I am wondering how the government plans to ensure that, as a user of all these things, I am not under that delicate age of sixteen. How will they know that, at sixteen, I am somehow suddenly sophisticated and mature enough to use social media wisely? How will they know that I will not suddenly spend excessive hours on the now new and addictive platforms that make up social media?

At sixteen I should be preparing for my last years at school. I should be doing extra work to pass the examinations needed for my future. I should not be distracted by something new...or should I? 

Too much already happens at sixteen, not least the ability to get a licence to learn to drive. That is a huge distraction. There is also the business of increasing sexual awareness and relationships. Sixteen year old students want increasing freedom from parental controls and much more. 

There is also a demand in some quarters to give sixteen year olds the right to vote. Just imagine the knowledge of a sixteen year old who has to rely on what their parents and teachers tell them about politics and the world. They will be so well informed - not. I don't know of one teenager who regular reads our state or national newspaper - unless it is the sports section at the rear of the state paper. They rely on the "news" from radio or commercial television but like to believe they are well informed. At least access to social media has provided a bit more (mis)information. 

Perhaps the ban will work in the way it is intended. Some will find their way around it. There is always the possibility that some will find other sound sources of information too.

The ban is an attempt at social engineering on a large scale. I have no idea if it will work or not. The idea that it will halt teenage suicide and cause teenagers to become more socially aware is something I am prepared to hope for but I will wait and see what happens before I pass judgment. 

  

Roadworks along a shopping strip

are always going to be disruptive. Add in other issues and those owning businesses along it are going to suffer even more financially than they otherwise would.

There is a once popular shopping strip in a beachside suburb which is dying because of a lack of planning and a lot of arrogance. The local council decided that the area needed to be rejuvenated and uplifted. The state government decided to halt the trams which run through it to the beach. Nobody can get in and out easily because of the roadworks.

It has brought many local businesses to their knees. Now too many of them are not surviving. 

The area is a curious one. It has the air of an English seaside town in some ways. In others it is very definitely the sun and surfing and sailing of Downunder communities. There are everyday shops such as a greengrocer, a chemist, the bank, the supermarket set back from the street, a shoe shop and so on. There are shops which sell clothing and footwear, a cinema, places to eat and more to buy food you can take down to the beach. There was even a bookshop and, around the corner, one of the few places where knitting wool can be bought. The beach end has an entertainment area with one of those fountains which spring up as you walk past. There is a playground for the children and the library off to one side. Just a little further on there is the jetty and a sandy beach.  

It should be a good area in which to run a small business in summer. Yes, there are some problems with alcohol and drugs but the local community has endeavoured to keep those at a minimum. 

Right now it is apparently almost a ghost town. I have not been there since Brother Cat last brought his family over and we went to watch a Christmas parade several years ago. I hear things about it occasionally from friends who like to swim there. 

No, that should be "liked" not "like" because there is another problem. There is the algal bloom affecting the coastline which makes safe swimming impossible.

All these things mean the area is dying, as it is dying in popular areas to the north and south of it but not at the same rate. The road works, the new paving and the supposedly smart new entrance to it all which is still being built have had a disastrous effect on it all.

This has been going on for months and will likely go on for months more. Nobody working on these projects seems to be in any hurry to finish them. The landlords are still demanding rent. The council is still demanding rates. The shopkeepers still have all the other bills to pay...and the number of customers has decreased and decreased and then decreased again. 

I wonder at the time all this is taking. I suspect I could go down there each day and find road workers standing around. They are in no hurry. They will still get paid. 

When it is all over no doubt the Mayor and the Premier will congratulate each other and there will be a party to reopen the strip. I will then wonder what has happened to those who are not invited to the party, who have had to go and who are wondering how to pay their debts.  

Unpacking is much more difficult

than packing...or so it would seem. 

Is it the jet lag or is it something else? 

The little case I took away with me is sitting there only half empty. The washing remains undone. I keep telling myself I must do that today. There is not a lot but I am not a cat with a lot of clothes.

So, what went into the case? Well, yes there were clothes. There were the essential clothes so that I could go out and about without being arrested for indecency...and that was it. I packed presents for friends. Those t-shirts with Mr Percival on the front were vital for young friends. I packed calendars for other friends. Calendars last twelve months and, given early enough, people are unlikely to buy their own. I packed a ball of wool and the needles for the mittens to knit in the evenings...and they are done and given to the intended recipient. There were more Downunder books for Upover friends.

You think I am going home with less? No, of course not. On the last morning but one I bought socks for myself and Middle Cat.  I bought books I cannot get here. (No, they are not banned books! They are craft books that will not be published here and may never see a library either.) 

I found two yarn shops and failed to visit a third. The third is supposed to be well known. When we found it the place was closed and quite possibly inaccessible even when open. I went to the alternatives by accident. One was in London and I plan to let them have a pattern when I have rewritten it. The two workers in there were very lovely people indeed. The other was in Cambridge and next door to the cafe where I met my friend A.... It was sheer chance, serendipity chance, we happened to see it...actually Middle Cat saw it first. We had to go in of course. I came out with yarn for my friends S... and I... and another skein for me. No, I did not need it but it was a souvenir of my time in Cambridge...along with a set of post cards which were far superior to the usual scenes. 

I don't know what has taken up so much space though or why I have failed to unpack after four days...perhaps memories take up space and I do not want to lose them? Today I must unpack and put those in a safe but visible place.  

Searching for missing children

must be one of the most difficult and, all too often, heartbreaking things the members of the emergency services need to do.

While we were away a small boy disappeared from outside his grandparent's home in the north of the state. He was four. They searched for some days, called off the search and have now resumed it. They will be looking for a body now.

There are some strange things about this particular case. There is no suggestion of any sort of foul play. He is simply missing. According to the reports in the media his grandmother saw him playing in the dirt around five o'clock. When she went to call him in for his evening meal at five-thirty he was no longer there.  A tracker found one shoe print, just one, but there has been no other sign to suggest where he might have gone.

Why would a small boy wander off when he had been happily playing in the dirt? Why would he wander off at a time when he was likely beginning to feel hungry? Why was only shoe print found and not a print for the other foot? What happened to the other prints he must have made?

Hours and hours and many dollars have gone in to the search for him but nothing has come of it. Police say his family is cooperating fully and they have no reason to believe there has been any sort of interference. I cannot even begin to comprehend what they must be thinking and feeling.

The place where this little boy went missing is remote. It is harsh, hard country. It gets very hot in summer and even on days in autumn and spring. It gets very cold at night. The people who live out there are normally resilient, independent and often able to turn their hands to anything. Children are normally safe playing alone outside. Despite all the tales of snakes and spiders and other dangers most children, even those of four years of age, know something about all this and often know how to avoid harm. There is no evidence of dingoes being around and no cries were heard from the child. He has simply disappeared. 

Years ago there was a story in the paper about the brother of a former premier of this state. He had gone missing in a notorious location in the north. They had searched for him at the time, searched within a fairly confined area because he could not have gone far. They had never found him. All the years later they found his skeleton in a tree. There was evidence to suggest he had broken his leg but somehow managed to climb the tree. For some reason the trackers and the tracker dogs had not located him. It would have been an appalling ending to his life but the family at last knew and could lay his remains to rest. 

With the little boy they cannot yet do that. It is a reminder of how very hard the remote areas of this country can be.   

The return of the hostages is not

the end of the story. It is not a solution. 

I was watching the crowds last night and, for all the excitement, I sensed anxiety as well. 

They are right to be anxious. Israel is releasing prisoners who will be more determined than ever to get their way. Hamas is still armed. Hamas is still in control of the Gaza strip. 

Yesterday Hamas was still killing other Gazans who were not cooperating with them. Hamas was beating young men to death, young men who do not want to fight or be part of the plan to destroy Israel. Hamas has not given up on that - and they won't.  Despite the so-called "recognition" there is no Palestinian state for now. Hamas is not going to cooperate with the Palestinian Authority. To do so would mean giving up power and agreeing to a two state solution. That is never going to happen. 

The Gaza strip has to be rebuilt. Without a proper and stable government it is a situation ripe for yet more corruption. It is likely billions of dollars will be wasted and a few will become very rich while the majority continue to live in poverty. That alone is a situation which will allow Hamas to continue to stir up discontent and hatred towards Israel.

And then there are the hostages. Right now there is euphoria that some of them have survived even while the deaths of others are acknowledged. Many people will see it as "heart-warming" when pictures of the hostages being reunited with their families are shown. It is all too easy to forget that these hostages have survived yes, but they have survived appalling physical and psychological conditions. It is not going to be a simple matter of "they are back with their families and normal life can resume". Life for them will never be normal again. It will not be normal for their families. They may never be able to work or function normally in society.

I am not cheering the release of the hostages. I am grateful some of them have survived but I hope it will not be impossible for them to live again. I am worried by what Hamas will now attempt to do. It may not come immediately but I do not believe they are really ready to negotiate a lasting peace.  I would very much like to be proven wrong though.  

I am already missing

the quiet of London traffic. This may sound strange to Upoverites but the number of electric vehicles in London does make the traffic much quieter. There are very few motorbikes there too. That also makes a difference.

I know I will go on missing the way the traffic gives way to pedestrians. For a slow cat like me this is much appreciated. I am happy, or as happy as I will ever be, to cross roads there. The pedestrian signals last longer and the roads are narrower. It all makes for comfortable walking. 

I will miss Kensington Gardens. It was a short prowl from where we were staying and it was a joy to take Middle Cat there. She needs to take move some photographs from her phone to elsewhere because she kept finding new leaves, new colours, another squirrel or two or three. She also photographed the signs about the trees so she can bombard our Premier with "what can and should be done" instead of cutting down trees for a golf course that locals will not even be able to play on. No, don't ask. It upsets both of us too much.

I am also going to miss M&S crispbreads. They are excellent. I will be less inclined to miss their ready meals. They are very good indeed but one between the two of us was enough and they tend to be heavy on the pasta. (This is understandable. I like pasta but in small doses.) 

Then there are the museums and the museums and the museums and the libraries and the libraries and all the history right around you wherever you go. Sometimes you need to look for it but it is there.  I was a little perturbed by how little history Middle Cat knows. Like me she did almost entirely a limited history of this country. I went on to read books and more books. I did a unit of economic history in high school with nothing more than the book to guide me but Middle Cat went on to do physics and physiology, chemistry and biology. Our interests are different but she was still fascinated by the cobbled streets in Cambridge and the college greens.  Such things do not exist here. It will take another six hundred years at least!

Today I must unpack properly...but it is tempting to repack the case and depart.   

Jet lag is

no joy. The return journey to Downunder was also to be endured rather than enjoyed. 

This was especially so because there were two very loud and very talkative young males behind me. They kept demanding alcohol and were eventually denied any more. This did not please them but, fortunately for the rest of us, they did not become aggressive. I imagine they are nursing fine hangovers today.

My BIL, bless him, had turned the hot water back on. A hot shower made me feel strong enough to heat some soup and unpack some of the luggage before I crawled onto my sleeping mat at just after 8pm. Although feeling very tired I only slept on and off. This morning the bread I had left in the freezer proved to be inedible and there is no cereal left. I had also left a small carton of milk in the freezer. It proved drinkable but I need to do some shopping.

 

Ah.... I managed to go shopping for at least some more milk, some orange juice and some actual food. I will need to do more tomorrow but it will do for now. 

The really important thing is to put the local SIM card back in the phone. I need to pedal around and get my BIL to do that for me as it is much too fiddly a job for my paws. The rest of the day will involve some unpacking and tidying up - if I can stay awake!

 

 

 

  

We spent the last day in London

 At the British Museum again. It was not planned but Cousin T…had called us and suggested we might like to meet for a very fancy afternoon tea at a nearby restaurant. 

Middle Cat and I decided the museum was the best option for prior entertainment and spent a long time looking at things Egyptian and avoiding the bookshop. This was essential as there is no time for a visit to the post office in the morning.

It was late and Middle Cat was so tired we caught an Uber back. 

I think we are pretty much packed. I will schedule this for the morning 

This is our last day in London and

 And this means packing and making sure we don’t leave anything behind and double checking everything is ready. 

Middle Cat has ordered transport to the airport because she won’t cope with the train and the fact she has bought a set of pan pipes to add to the tshirts and hoodies she has bought for the men in her family. Yes we are going back with more than we came with. I just hope the books don’t weigh too much. 

When she is sorted out we might take a trip out!

I caught up with an old friend

 Today. I have not seen her for many years and she had never met Middle Cat but they were talking like old friends in no time at all. I almost felt out of place as they teased one another. The meeting had serious moments as well because I needed to catch up with news of other friends and, all too often, they are no longer with us.

I then went to a meeting with one of my colleagues while Middle Cat went for a snooze 

It was a curious train journey back to London

 Yesterday because we caught an earlier one than we planned and could have travelled for nothing. Our tickets were never checked at all. Perhaps it was because we were the last passengers to leave the train and it was a long way up the platform.

A

The reason for travelling earlier was so that Middle Cat could get the journey over in the morning and sleep for part of the afternoon. We were returning to the same place as before and they were very good about allowing her to go to bed almost immediately. She slept for a while and I went off to get a suitcase. Yes, we need another one. The small backpack i brought with me objected to the idea of carrying books.

Middle Cat surfaced a bit later and managed a short prowl in the sun while we picked up some milk and orange juice to add to the water supply.

Internet has been down but here you are now 

We go back to London

 Today but I would happily stay here in Cambridge if I could. Middle cat has not been well enough to do what we planned and she is feeling very anxious about the trip back. I am feeling equally anxious about her being able to manage it. Hopefully Singapore airlines will be as good getting back home as they were getting here.  

I feel at home in Cambridge though and even managed to give directions to two tourists yesterday. I think they thought I was a local.!

I am going to miss not seeing my friend A… She is so easy to talk to and it is so good to be able to talk about things that matter to both of us.

Thank goodness for email!

It was wonderful to meet

 A young person in real life after hearing about her for almost twelve years. She was just as I had imagined her and as excited to meet her me as I was to meet her. I suppose I knew we would both have no problems connecting as she is one of those people who loves to read 

.

It was very difficult to make sure I did not take up too much of her day. I would have been very happy to spend a lot more time with her.

Other than that it was a very cool and windy day. I met Middle Cat again at the market where she was looking for more fruit. Plans to go to the museum again did not come to anything because she was not feeling like prowling the distance. We might get there today if she feels more comfortable.

Cambridge is a very good place

 In which to find people I know.  Of course this was purely by accident.Middle Cat had yet another trip to emergency but didn’t want me to go with her so I prowled off with plans for some touristy type exploring. It didn’t quite happen because I was passing Trinity when a voice behind me said hello and there was a member of staff from my university days. 

He is retired from teaching of.course but he was in Cambridge to do some research on a topic he was “just interested in “ and had been staying with a friend. He was heading home that afternoon but did I have time for a chat?

I gave up the idea of prowling in the rain and we spent a long time together in a tiny coffee shop instead. I will regret not seeing the library exhibition but it was good to catch up on some news.

Today is reserved for another catch up with A… and her granddaughter 

We strolled down

 To the Cam late yesterday afternoon. I needed to convince Middle Cat people really do punt on it.  She was fascinated by the quite large number of people who were being treated to a rather chilly ride. 

We declined all offers to take us on to the water at any price. It was more fun to watch the tourists. Of course we are also tourists but not in quite the same way. We at least speak English of a variety the locals understand and, despite being lost yesterday, I managed to give directions today.

I spent some hours with my dear friend A… and her family as well. It was such a privilege and I had to be careful to remember they were not on holiday.

It was wonderful to meet

A… today.  I was well aware that people you meet “online” can be very different in “real Life” but A… proved to be as warm and friendly as I hoped when we finally met. It was an added bonus for Middle Cat as well as she was finally able to meet her. Three hours of conversation was much too short.

After A… had left Middle  Cat and I prowled slowly around a small corner of Cambridge. We did not get far because she kept finding more things to photograph. I really needed a tour guide for her!

We padded back to the rather swish place we are staying in for a short break before heading out to find the inevitable M&S and food for the rest of our stay. That was more of an adventure than we planned as Middle Cat insisted we turn the wrong way to get back and we ended up at what felt like the opposite end of the central area.

We eventually made it back with good directions from a bus driver who had just finished his shift.

And yes I did go in to the wool shop next to the cafe where we met A… and I bought a small souvenir skein of wool. 

We made it to Cambridge

 And hope to catch up with my friend A… today. The place we are staying in is in the centre of the city and we both enjoyed a good hot shower this morning. 

Now we need to get a map and go for a proper prowl of the immediate vicinity. Middle Cat knows nothing about any of this so I will have to do some explaining.

One small squirrel and i

Had a conversation of sorts yesterday. He, or maybe she, was about to rapidly disappear up a tree in the park when it halted and gave me what seemed to be serious consideration 

. What was I doing there? Well actually squirrel it was a very pleasant afternoon and I needed the sunshine for a little while. The rest of the afternoon was spent observing people and dogs. It may have been a Monday but there were still plenty of dogs taking their owners out for a walk.

I also found the playground but did not venture in as it was full of children being busy and noisily enjoying themselves. It was a very good alternative to all the museums we have been visiting. 

The rest of the day was quiet and needed to be because we had both succumbed to a bug of some sort. This morning things are better. This is just as well because we are off to Cambridge this afternoon where we will meet my friend A… and do some more exploring.

We are going squirrel watching

 Today according to Middle Cat.

We intended to do this yesterday but neither of us felt very energetic we also thought there might be too many people in the park for successful squirrel watching. There being no wild squirrels in Downunder they are something of a novelty for her. She intends to go armed with pencil and paper. I may just people watch and make notes for a response to a paper on disaster relief. The paper was interesting and well written but failed to mention communication issues. Writing a full response will have to wait until I am back at work. The squirrels on the other hand need to be seen now.

Catching up with an old friend

From university days was interesting. She is retired but still involved in the local school. It was interesting to hear her say that she was glad she was not teaching any more.

I know I have felt that way for some time now. It will be interesting to hear what a young friend has to say about her school next week. There are definitely some differences between the system here and back in Downunder. 

We spent a couple of hours chatting before she had to leave for another appointment. The rest of the day was a wipe out as  Middle Cat and I sneezed and snuffled our way through it. This morning has been much the same but I think I am starting to feel better. I don’t want to waste our time here!

Middle cat has gone to get some more milk and we might go to the park if is not raining.

A quiet day in London

 Or it would have been except for the road works outside the place where we are staying.

We both have colds and needed a quiet day after all the museums and galleries so we went out and did some washing at the launderette mid morning. Middle Cat had another snooze as well. 

This afternoon we prowled slowly around to the little corner cafe we had been to with cousin T and his partner. We indulged in hot chocolate and shared a little lemon cheesecake which was not too sweet.

We again considered a visit to Peter Pan but it was startling to spit with rain so we decided to take a very slow walk back here and leave the work men to get on with the job .

Today I plan to catch up with a friend from university days.

The British Library

 Is a place where I could spend many hours with a reader’s ticket. The sight of so many people staring earnestly at the screen of their laptops and iPads is enough to give the book lover in me a very strange feeling  as you realise they are accessing material held there.

Sadly the things we really wanted to see were not on display as the areas were closed. Nevertheless Middle Cat took several photos of the King’s Library stacks and I have plans for a project around them. We came.back early as she was struggling again but it was a good trip even though the stop at the railway station did not include a successful booking of tickets to Cambridge for next Tuesday.

We both have colds, no doubt caught from other people on the buses. I think today will be a quiet day.

The National portrait gallery

 Was on the agenda for today. We managed to get there without getting lost and spent a great deal of time mixing with the rich and famous. 

I think Middle Cat was surprised by the variety there is hanging there. It is a very good way of learning a lot of history. I marveled again at how uncomfortable some of the early clothing must have been to wear. It is also remarkable how the children were made to sit for some of the portraits. 

I bought a postcard for the library staff but it will probably arrive after I get home. I would have preferred to buy one of the paintings but the price was likely more than I would be able to afford even if they were for sale.

Having walked so far we.checked out the ice cream shop on our way back but they don’t take cash so we went to the M&S food shop on the corner and brought a little tub of salted caramel instead. It was very good.

The evening was spent catching up on some work while Middle Cat watched video clips and kept falling asleep.

The small child at the bus stop

 Who was screaming his head off was hungry. His very anxious mother was trying to calm him without much success. She explained they had been to a nearby hospital for some reason and he had not had anything to eat.

I took out the small cheese sandwich I had with me and offered it rather hesitantly but it was received with relief and gratitude. There w as instant silence . I have never seen a sandwich disappear so quickly.

As they boarded their bus the mother gave me a hug and the small boy finally gave me a smile.

Yes, London bus stops can be very intimidating places. 

Downunder has made a mistak

 In recognising Palestine as a country. It goes against international law and the rules about what constitutes a country.

I do not know much about international law but I do know that there need to be several things present. One of these things is a recognised border. There is none. This is not simply about the disputed areas but the fact that there are two distinct areas.

It brings us to the second point and that is the government of these areas. They are not under the control of one entity and they have not been elected by one group of people. The Palestinian Authority and Hamas are separate from each other.

A country also needs to be able to defend itself and they have no armed forces. Hamas is armed but it is armed by external forces which have an entirely different agenda.

Those things are just a start. 

It all suggests that the recognition has more to do with our internal politics than what might be best for the people of Palestine once it does become a country. Our Prime Minister is working for his own benefit again.it is not surprising but it is yet another reason for concern.

The Natural History Museum is

Best avoided on Sundays I think.

Middle Cat wanted to see the dinosaurs and the David Attenborough exhibition. She thought she could manage the journey to and from so we prowled over there above eleven. As I expected it was very crowded and very noisy. We did manage to see a bit past adults getting in the way of small children but I have been there at better times. It makes me cross and irritable when tourists with cameras think they have priority over small children who really want to see things.

We eventually gave up and went to the Science Museum. If you don’t know London then I need to explain this is conveniently in the next building. It was busy but quieter. We spent some time looking at planes and computers with Middle Cat sitting down at frequent intervals. She had to lie down when we finally arrived back here. Today we need to get her a better pen for drawing. It might make her feel less frustrated.

I have been scribbling down ideas for new knitting patterns and other works of a more literary nature. It is too difficult to write much on the iPad 

Rachel Sale’s idea

 For the museums of the future is something that I find attractive. It is simple.

Yes we were back at the V and A yesterday. It took a while to get there because Middle Cat is not fast in the morning at any time and right now she is struggling to do much despite her protestations to the contrary.

We did get there for a second time however and did a bit more prowling. On the way out we came across the learning centre area. As former teachers we found that interesting. One program was of particular interest to me as it was concerned with the relationship between physical and knitting. We were both interested in the primary school project encouraging children to create sounds and relate them to pictures as well.

The other area of interest at the end of our time there however was the temporary installation of modern work. Much of this was self indulgent in the way art all too often is but Rachel Sale’s approach to the idea of future museums was very different. I like the way she has attempted to involve everyone who might be interested. Look up the Blue Print project if you are interested and see a very different sort of blueprint for the future. It has given me an idea for a project being developed by several of us for next year.

More to come later.

Oh London bus drivers

 Must really love us. They keep assuring us we are in the right place to catch the next bus. It doesn’t always happen that way but we have found some interesting things on our way. 

If we were the other side of Kensington Gardens I would have found it easier to work things out but Middle Cat had other plans. We can try again tomorrow perhaps. The weather is due to change and I think she should see at least one outside attraction today.

We did prowl into Waterstones and get a map with bus routes on our way back.That should help. I have not forgotten the number 14 and 73 routes either.

More tomorrow and I promise better posts when I have a proper keyboard.

The Sargent Exhibition

  At Kenwood House was on the agenda yesterday. Cousin T….and his partner picked us up because they both wanted to go too.

I had not realised just how many portraits Sargent had done in charcoal. There were over 700 and this was a selection of the American heiresses he did.I think I prefer them to the paintings as they are less stiff and formal.

The real treat was revisiting the Rembrandt self portrait though. R… and I both feel the honesty in it is almost devastating. Rembrandt is verging on old age and he.has just lost his last child. His eyesight is failing and he is in dire financial straits but he is still painting and capable of revealing so much.

I also felt so relieved to be among the greens again after such a dry winter in Downunder. The variety here is so much easier to look at.

Today we are heading back to more “culture” or perhaps natural history.

London buses

 Are providing us with a great deal of entertainment. Yes, we got lost yesterday. It took us far too long to get to the Victoria and Albert as we ended up going to the terminal and back.

We had decided to do the trip in order to find out how to get there and discovered that the locals get lost too.

We will be returning them again of course because, like the BM, we have barely scratched the surface. Unfortunately the fashion gallery is closed so I have missed out on the very early textiles but there was still some interesting William Morris work on display.

Getting back was an even greater challenge because of the big anti Trump demonstration but we eventually managed an Uber at a reasonable price with the help of a lovely West Indian midwife who called one for us and stayed chatting until it arrived.

Today we are going to Kenwood with Cousin T and his partner. Tomorrow it may be back to the museums!

We explored Foyle’s

 Yesterday because I needed to buy books for young friends. We managed a bus in both directions but it was also a lot of walking. I am finding the changes in the population mix very interesting.

Today will be a decision between a return to the British Museum or finding our way to the museums in South Kensington. I think it will be the latter.  We will go back to the BM later.

Middle  Cat is coping by sitting down often and.talking to all dogs and people insight!

Exploring the British Museum

 Property would take years but I prowled in yesterday and spent seven hours on the upper floors.  Middle Cat trailed along and will need to add more data to her phone as she oohed and aahed over various things and took photos. She also added some photos to mine so I have a visual record of some things I think I can use for knitting inspiration.

I have long wanted to see the Tompion clocks they have there.His skill as a clockmaker was extraordinary. The wood wheel clocks were also so good to see.The Senior Cat always wanted to make one but felt the gears were beyond his skill level. Looking at them I could only wonder at the skill involved in cutting the wheels, especially out of the very hard timber needed topping prevent warping.

I have a photo of a particularly fine “body chain” with the links made of gold and hope to create something to remind me of it. So much of the work there could still be worn today. Even some pieces three thousand or more years old looked strangely up to date.

Middle Cat is coping by sitting on the walker frequently but we had another early night 

Exploring the bus system

 Yesterday I have discovered that Middle Cat finds it too difficult to get on and off. I find it extraordinary that she is less mobile than I am. Plans for exploring London by bus are now on hold. We might try the Tube today but it would mean walking to Queensway to get the direct line to Tottenham Court Rd.If she can manage it then we can spend hours in the BM.

There are many other places I had planned but some of them will be inaccessible for her as they have too many steps or too much walking.

I went twice the distance yesterday. Late in the afternoon I went to the little shopping street near the hotel and finally found a few postcards for people I cannot email. Today I also need to find a post office and some stamps.

Writing this on the iPad is very difficult but at least you know I am alive.

Today we ventured further afield

 And used a bus but Helen found it much more difficult than I did together on and off. This going to be a problem. She also needs to stop and rest frequently. We went to South Kensington and had a light lunch in a cafe before going into M&S,s food and picking up some salad for another meal.

We came back by taxi to a new room here.it is on the ground floor and the bathroom has a walk in shower which is so much more accessible.Helen had a snooze while I went to try and get a screw top bottle opener. I was not successful but the lovely Afghan refugee looking after the hardware shop offered to open the screw top on th water bottle at any time!

I also bought four postcards. Some of you might be lucky but they are hard to find. When Iwas last here they were cheap and plentiful. 

There will be more witterings later.

We are changing plans

 And not doing all the planned travel because Middle Cat is not coping with the idea of our next destination which was York tomorrow but that means a train ride and two changes on a Sunday. I do know what Sunday trains can be like. 

We have to find out if we can stay here for longer or get somewhere else— proper posts will have to wait until I can access a proper key board 

We spent yesterday at the hospital

In the emergency department and have nothing but praise for the much maligned nhs. The staff are definitely overworked and underpaid!

Middle. Cat. was given very thorough attention. It may have helped that we had come by ambulance! All this was due to her fall in Singapore. We left the hospital almost twelve hours later with a diagnosis of a mínor but very painful crush fracture in the base of her spíne. 

Today we need to make some decisions about the rest of.the trip.

Today we fly to Heathrow

 It is a very long trip of course but not as bad as it once was. This time we are in the air for about fourteen hours. Middle Cat will need at least a day to recover so it is a good thing we have four nights before we need to go to York 

We’re having a difficult time

 But it is interesting. Middle. Cat had a fallbut fortunately break anything, She is finding it difficult to get around,

We went to    a  Chinese Medical Centre and they were very kind and very thorough but it took them three hours before they were satisfied..

We were going to spend the day with my good friend R… but she had left a message to say her father had died very suddenly. We did not want to intrude on her family at this sensitive time.

We did see her today and she told me she is happy and glad he went so quickly. She was still very anxious I should see my goddaughter and the new baby. He is a delight and it will be so good for them to have him in their lives right now now.

We have not seen much of Singapore but I am still glad we made the stopover.

Tomorrow is the long flight to London and I am not. Looking forward to that, especially for Middle Cat but she wants to go on!

Singapore is so clean

 And tidy too. The only rubbish seems to be cigarette butts and the occasional piece of paper 

On the train people give up their seats to the elderly and disabled or parents holding children It is very different from Downunder.

We had a traditional meal with our friends yesterday and a lot of conversation with it!

I am writing this on the iPad but it is not easy 

We are in singapore

 And have walked too far Middle Cat has done too much so we’re having a quiet day with my friend. R.

The days of big department stores

are over it seems. There was a nostalgia piece in our state newspaper yesterday. It was written by one of our local columnists and former radio personality. He is well known for "stirring the pot" on occasions. He can be very abrupt, indeed downright rude at times but he was spot on yesterday.

He wrote about how people "dressed up to go to town". This was at a time when the central business district was also where you went shopping for anything not locally available. There were no "shopping centres" or "shopping malls". They simply did not exist. The population was very much smaller then than now.

I remember the "dressing up" bit. My mother and my grandmothers would wear "best" dresses, stockings, hats and gloves. In winter they wore wool overcoats over dresses or skirts. Mum's mother wore a corset to "hold herself in".  The Senior Cat would wear a suit. My brother wore his school blazer over a white shirt and tie. We girls were in our second best dresses rather than our Sunday dresses. Our shoes would be polished.  We would not even have questioned if we might wear our comfortable home clothes.

In the city there were "department" stores to visit. I remember them well. They each had a flavour of their own. Myers had a "bargain basement" where Mum would pick up the remnants of fabric she made her every day clothes. Just before I began at teacher training college she picked up two remnants and made me the two dresses that lasted me, along with a single winter skirt, all through my three years there. The remnants cost 95c and $1.20. The skirt, a pleated one, was "on special" at a very upmarket tailoring establishment called "Fletcher Jones". It cost $12 and last me through for nine years. I had to endure hemlines going up and down!

David Jones was considered more "classy". They had someone playing the piano near the books on the ground floor and haberdashery was hidden on the sixth adjacent to the auditorium where the Book Week display would be held.

John Martin's had the Christmas Pageant. We knew about that but we were never in the city to see Santa Claus arrive behind all the floats. It was not until we were adults that we went to see it - or watch children watching it. I went once with Ms Whirlwind and several of her classmates. It was enough. 

There was Cox Foy's which had a sort of fun fair on the roof. In all the years it was there I never ventured that far. I did not like the basement of Harris Scarfe's. It felt as if it was going to fall in on me.  They were along the same street which has now become a pedestrian mall. The buses no longer travel along it. You are much more likely to be hit by someone illegally riding a skateboard. 

There was the Arcade with the only restaurant I ever ate in as a child and the lane which led to the main bookshop which published our school text books and the place which sold the "pineapple crush" drinks we were allowed to have just that once on a very hot day. 

All of those things are long gone. Myers and David Jones are now filled with tiny areas that sell individual brand names. John Martin's and Cox Foy's no longer exist. They have gone along with Miller Anderson's, Moore's on the Square and Peoplestore's. 

I am not sure we are any better off now. The big shopping malls seem soulless to me. I traverse them reluctantly wearing jeans. I don't own a dress and I have no dress up sort of gloves or a dress up hat. Stockings? Please do not mention them! 

   

Is immigration too high?

I cannot answer that question. There are too many variables for anyone to give an accurate answer.

Is immigration necessary? I can answer that question. Yes, it is. How many people we allow to enter the country is not the question we should be asking. We need to ask, "Why is immigration necessary?"

One reason of course is our aging population. More and more people are living longer and longer. That is true everywhere. My godfather died just last week at the age of a hundred (and five months!) He was an old man, a man who should not have lived as long as he did given his war service and the injuries he sustained then. Excellent medical care helped as did a caring family. 

Even people with no family to care for them are living longer but they often need extra help, perhaps to stay at home or to live in a facility for older people. It means an increase in things like age-related dementia and the need to care for those who acquire it. 

We need help with the delivery of all sorts of services and skills like building housing. Those things are very obvious.

We do not need more yoga teachers however much we might argue that yoga is good for our physical and mental health. We do not need hairdressers or manicurists or any other similar skills.

We also do not need people who are not going to integrate into our society and accept our laws, our Constitution, or our culture. It is time to stop thinking about "multi-cultural" affairs and think about a cohesive society. This in no way should stop someone retaining some aspects of their birth culture inside their own homes, aspects which do not break the law of this country. It should not prevent us from enjoying a greater variety of cuisines or a range of other cultural activities. Such things add to the capacity of everyone to accept one another. The idea that these things should in any way take priority over the laws and Constitution or the foundations on which this country was first built is wrong. 

What we do not need are laws and policies which encourage or even prevent people from integrating into society. This happens all too often.

We are also far too ready to accept people into this country and then expect them to work at the low level jobs that those who were born here do not want to undertake. Surely we should be asking questions when a plumber who has qualified in England cannot get a job as a plumber here? Why does a doctor who qualified in Scotland choose not to come? Is it because of all the difficulties put in his way? Why is an engineer from Taiwan (with excellent English) driving a taxi? There are plenty such examples to be had and it is time to do something about it. We need to recognise and acknowledge their skills and do so in a timely fashion.

We also need to insist that at least some of the unemployed people here are not able to simply appear to seek work. They need to actually seek work and accept work which is offered to them. They need to actually attend and finish training courses. Many do of course but those who fail to attend and finish training courses and then accept jobs which are offered them are making it much harder for everyone. It also means increasing immigration in ways which may not be best for society. 

Any "multicultural" approach must also recognise that there is no single "indigenous culture" and no single "indigenous language". What was there when white settlers arrived was a very diverse range of cultures and languages. What often remains now are no more than remnants and even those are often so tainted by interaction with others they would be unrecognisable to those who lived them two hundred and fifty years ago.  Yes, it is hard to realise how much we have lost but what are we actually trying to retain?

Claims that we are some sort of "highly successful multicultural society" are something we need to which we need to give much more thought. It might be that it is the very thing which is causing division rather than cohesion. 

Research grants are available

 if you wish to study something a little different.

There was a recent report about the Downunder Research Council handing out millions of dollars of research funding and what the money would be used for - or at least some of the money.

Some of these grants seem a little odd to me. One university has been given $752,000 to "examine the form and development of Chinese temple theatre architecture in mainland China".  I am sure this is research of great importance and that the Chinese government is delighted someone is interested enough to follow up this very important topic. It will no doubt have a great deal of relevance in modern Communist China and here.

Then there is the $216,000 grant to "explain how the Asterix comic book series is relevant to the cultural history of France". Well, I quite like Asterix so I suppose there is something in this which is important enough for such a large grant.

More importantly there is the $458,000 to "understand gender inequality in opera". I am sure that is absolutely vital research for the preservation and development of opera in general.

All this matters because another university has been given $909,000 "to determine the optimal length for on-the-job napping". I was not even aware that this sort of thing was done let alone that it was so important. Yes, I know Winston Churchill was said to have short power naps but how many other people do?

But then there is the $1,293,000 to "improve understanding of whale watching tourists". This must be a massive business to need this sort of funding.

Yes, please pardon the sarcasm. I can think of better things to do with the money that is apparently available. (If we are doing social science research then a better understanding of the value of libraries, who uses them, how and why would be a very valuable piece of research. It may remind government why they need to be funded and kept open,)

It is difficult to take the above examples as serious, academic research of value to the wider community. They may be topics of great interest to someone and they have obviously managed to write a research proposal to that end. It is claimed they were "vigorously peer-reviewed" but I would ask, "By whom?"  

Volunteers are an essential

part of our society. There was another call for volunteers in our state newspaper yesterday. This was not a call for volunteers for a specific group but a more general one. 

It did not surprise me. It is becoming more and more difficult to volunteer.

No, you cannot simply put your hand up anymore and say "Yes, I'll help." 

I volunteered again this year at the state's annual agricultural show. It is the big event for the state's agricultural industry and is a very important event for farmers and others. I was working in Handicraft, an area which would seem harmless. 

Not so. I had to have an up to date "Working with Children" certificate from the police. I also had to complete a "Safe Work" certificate for the organisation. We could not be on the premises without these things and we had to wear our own safety vests at all times. It all sounds perfectly reasonable doesn't it? 

It is also something, apart from the safety vests, which was only brought in three years ago. Yes, it has been a sudden and apparently urgent requirement brought in because there have been changes to legislation which make it necessary.

There are problems with this. The Working with Children certificates may deter anyone who has been convicted of a relevant offence from applying for one but not someone who has not been caught. This will always be a problem. The certificates are expensive to get and not all organisations are willing to pay for them so the expense can mean some potential volunteers will not be willing to pay for these themselves. In my case the organisation which runs the Showground was willing to pay for them. It is a not-for-profit charity but it is also an essential part of the state's agricultural industry. Should the government be demanding the organisation pays or should they waive the fees? It is something which causes debate. I did not see or interact with a single child over the entire week I was there. Children are not permitted to be in the area at that time. So, why the need for a certificate? It is another thing which causes debate.

The Safe Working certificate is very basic commonsense. Mine notes I achieved 100% in the test you need to pass. It was not difficult to do. I do not know who wrote the test but it reads more like "we need to do this" than any serious attempt to ensure people know the rules.  Even so it will have taken time to develop, almost certainly by a volunteer committee of some sort! 

All this is simple compared with the hoops some people must jump through in order to volunteer or encourage others to volunteer. You want young people to join the church choir? It will go all the way up to the Archbishop or the Moderator or the Deacon or something else according to the denomination. Work with Scouts or Guides? Oh the paperwork! Help with Meals on Wheels? The "food service" training needed! Hear children read in the classroom under the eye of the teacher? Training days on top of all those checks! Teach English to migrants? You need a National Crime Check for that. Work with vulnerable NDIS recipients? We will throw everything at you and see if you can pass.

I suspect people give up. It is all too difficult, especially when time is limited. There are other things to do. The ability to commit to regular hours each week is more difficult than it once was. Put all the other barriers in place as well and it is too much to handle. 

Yes, I do understand the concern for the safety of others. There are "bad" people out there ready to take advantage. They are also a very small minority of people - and they have not yet been caught. The vast majority of people will do the right thing. We just need to let them do it.

 

 

Eating on the footpath

is not something I can remember ever occurring when I was very young. We children did eat those currant buns outside the bakery in the place where I was born, of course we did. It was fun to get a small, warm bun and eat around the currants and lick our sugary fingers in a most unhygienic fashion. 

What did not happen was adults "having coffee" sort of sitting. It would not have been legal to place a table and a couple of chairs on the footpath and let people sit there. Even the "beer garden" of the local pub was hidden away. Eating and drinking in public like that was something which simply was not done. There were in fact very few places to eat out at all. You could get something like "fish and chips" but pizza and "burgers" were unheard of. 

Fish and chips of course came wrapped first in plain "butcher" paper and then in a double layer of yesterday's news. You tore the top open and dived in. It did not happen often. I could probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I did that in childhood.

I still don't eat out very often. It will be interesting to see how Middle Cat and I cope with this while we are away. It might be why we decided we wanted "self-catering" accommodation in some places - no, not just because it is cheaper. It may actually not be much cheaper. 

What we will not be doing is sitting at a table located out on the footpath somewhere. The weather might be against it but it is also something that we are not used to doing. We might well do it in Europe where, at least in the south, it is much more common. It is unlikely we will do it in Scottish rain.

There are a great many places here where it is possible to eat outside. I wonder why people want to do it in the immediate area because the cafes concerned all seem to be close to busy roads. Why eat to the smell of car fumes and the sound of car tyres swishing past? They are no quieter than it would be inside. There are people passing all the time. Why would you want to have to constantly shift your seat so someone can move through the area? 

There is also the issue of food and drink falling on the surface others are walking on. Perhaps European cafe owners are more aware of that or people are tidier or the seating is arranged differently. I do not know. The last time I was in Europe was many years ago and the weather was not conducive to sitting outside.

It is a while since I have properly been on a picnic too. Middle Cat and I would take the Senior Cat out to the beach occasionally but he found it easier to stay sitting in the car. We would eat fish and chips there so he could watch the waves and the boats coming in and out. It was something he loved to do and actually found very relaxing.  That is the way a picnic should be. Middle Cat and I have occasionally found the need to get a drink and something small to eat but we have not sat outside a cafe to do it.  We find a quiet spot and watch the waves or the birds or just enjoy the greenery. 

I wish I understood the attraction of eating outside a cafe like that. It is so different from the occasional picnics with Grandma and Grandpa. The tartan rug would be spread out. Grandpa would light a fire in the hole he had carefully dug and make tea for the adults. We children would be given home made lemon cordial. There would be sandwiches out of the wicker picnic basket. We would brush away the ants and bury all the "rubbish" in the fire hole at the end of it all. Grandpa would stamp on the earth over the hole to be certain the fire was out. Around us there would be bird song and human chatter. 

I think I prefer that to the sound of car tyres and people moving irritably past me on a crowded footpath. This is not Europe where one can find a small cafe without main road traffic rushing past.  

When did school based "therapy" become

a "thing"? 

I can understand the need in some situations but it appears to be more than some schools can handle. They are not specialist schools with a team of on-site trained staff.

I had a long and generally very happy association with several schools for children with both physical and intellectual disabilities. Two of those schools had a wide range of physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy available at school during the school day. The staff worked with children individually and they came into the classrooms to help with issues we had. I worked with them to set up the physical means by which some children were able to communicate without speech. Through it all I knew that this was all highly specialised and individualised therapy designed to allow a child to function at their maximum capacity. It was hard work but it was rewarding.

Doing away with specialist schools meant those services were no longer available on site as they had been. Providing those services is much harder, much more expensive and by no means always as successful. How can it be when teachers without specialist training are expected to observe and describe issues and work with the therapist and parents as well as child to bring about a possible solution to a problem? There can be no quick discussion with the occupational therapist during a lunch break or a call to the physiotherapist because a seating issue has occurred. It is much more likely you will need to wait for several days and then only meet if the time is made.

If  you talk to anyone it is much more likely you will find yourself talking with the support worker provided for a child who is finding it difficult to emotionally or psychologically cope with school. Even that may not occur. Those workers are only there with the permission of the school anyway. They are not there as of right and they can be asked to leave at any time.

I suspect most schools are willing to have such workers there. It will often be a matter of "if anyone can help..." but they can only be there under certain conditions and they must be "within line of sight" - or able to be seen at all times. Yes, some come into the classrooms but others need to work elsewhere. You cannot have a child trying to concentrate on standing upright and being watched by other children who should be concentrating on a maths lesson. That child needs to be out of the classroom - for their own sake as much as the sake of the rest of the class. 

Apparently schools can now have many such therapists visiting the school and there are still many parents who need to take their children to physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy away from the school. It is just one of the many problems which have increased since the closure of specialist facilities.  

 

  

So they want a "bedroom" tax?

I had to move out of a "four bedroom" house to a "two bedroom" unit which is about a quarter of the size.  It was difficult. I gave away a great many books I would have preferred to keep. I also gave away many things of great sentimental value. I knew it had to be done but it was hard to do.

I had no choice about moving out. Brother Cat, Middle Cat and I tried to work out how to keep the house with the idea that Youngest Nephew will need somewhere in the future but we could not do it after the Black Cat's demands were met.

I know that I would not have felt happy living alone in a house that size when there are families who need housing. It would have felt morally wrong to me. I know I am lucky to be where I am, to have a "roof over my head" but it does not feel like "home".  But, I am also not happy with the way the house was sold or the fact that it will almost certainly be knocked down a few years from now and two small dwellings put on it.

People do want to keep their houses. They want to keep them for a variety of reasons. Around the corner from the old house there is one which is currently rented. It belongs to a man who lost his wife at a young age. The house belonged to her parents and she had grown up there. He is away teaching in the country now but, when the time comes, he will return to the house and his memories of his partner. Two doors down from there the house on the corner has been empty for more than a decade now. Occasionally someone goes in and mows the "lawn" - really just weeds. It has long since ceased to be a tax issue. The family apparently does not want to sell "Dad's place". 

There are three houses with single residents in that same street. All of them are elderly. They have long since lost their partners but they do not wish to move.They are comfortable there. Around the next corner there is someone who cannot move out of the house. It would leave them homeless because of the terms of the will. 

On one corner of that street a house is being built. The architecture is not in keeping with the rest of the district. It has at least five bedrooms, a garage for two cars and parking for more. The house has been lying there unfinished for over a year. 

I could go on. In every street there is a house which would be ripe for the government to bring in a "bedroom" tax because the houses are not being fully utilised. 

There are people I know who would like to move out but the cost of moving out is also high. There are all sorts of taxes and charges to be met. "Downsizing" costs too much both financially and emotionally. It is not a simple matter of "finding somewhere smaller". If you have lived in an area all your life, or at least for the majority of your life, your services are here. You know your doctor, your shops, your neighbours and more. Moving somewhere else can be very hard to do. It was why I worked so hard to find something within a certain radius and why others do the same.

When things like a bedroom tax are raised little or, more likely, no thought it is given to the psychological as well as the practical side of all this. A bedroom tax sounds like a good idea perhaps, a good idea until the social and emotional implications are considered. 

I stayed within the area and it is good to be able to go into the local library or the post office and have people address me by name, to be able to go on caring about some of oldest and frailest of residents. I may not do much to actually help but if they want to chat for a few minutes in the shopping centre I know it is important for them. Yes, at times it drives me mad. I want to get on - but then I think it might be me one day.

I will shortly be away travelling for five weeks and I have mixed feelings about leaving the familiar safety of this area, a place where I understand the traffic flow and know where help is to be found if I need it for myself or others.  I will miss seeing people I know.  Travel will be good for me but moving permanently against one's wishes is something else. Bedroom taxes might sound as if they are part of the solution to the housing problem but there is more to housing than the number of bedrooms available.   

Saying "thank you" to the police

has been under discussion after the deaths of two police officers in a neighbouring state. 

The two officers were allegedly shot and killed by a man who apparently calls himself a "sovereign citizen". As I write this the heavily armed man is still on the run. He is apparently an excellent bush man who knows the territory around his disappearance and knows it well. 

It is an appalling situation for all concerned and a reminder I would much rather not have of how dangerous the job of policing can be. 

While this has been going on the police union in this state is making demands which cannot be met under current funding. Their leader is criticising the senior management over the type of policing model which has been put in place and more. 

I do not know as much as I would like about this but I do know that, for the most part, members of our police force are not trained to communicate as well as they might be. They are trained to do things in ways which I find unacceptable but there may be good reason for this.

I remember when, because they could find nobody else, they came to inform the Senior Cat of his cousin's death. They came mid-evening. The Senior Cat was getting ready to go to bed. He was ninety-four or five at the time, a frail old man on a walker. There were two officers, one of them a woman who told him calmly and sensibly what had happened. She used words she had obviously been trained to say. They were adequate in the circumstances and "correct" but entirely lacking in empathy.  She was doing her job, a difficult job.

All that was not a problem but what was a problem was that the male policeman refused to sit down even after I asked him to do so twice. He stood close enough to be a threat and made no attempt to say anything. I doubt it was intended but it was intimidating rather than reassuring. It is likely he behaved this way to be ready to restrain the Senior Cat or myself if necessary. I can recognise that but it did not help, especially as I then had to make a call to a cousin in another state and inform him so cousin D's sister could be informed. 

This approach is typical of our police force. They lack training in communication skills and it seems they are trained to put up a sort of barrier between themselves and those with whom they are dealing. This is not simply imagination on my part because a member of the force who had transferred from Manchester actually raised it with me one day on public transport. It is rare to have a casual conversation with any member of the police force here.  On another occasion I nearly got myself into trouble for intervening when another of the force was getting irritated with someone. I had to point out that the person they were questioning did not understand the question being asked. A little training in asking questions might help but it seems they get none.

The discussion around the issue yesterday revolved around members of the public not thanking the police for doing their job. It's a fair point but it is difficult to do when they stride through the shopping centre and snap out their order for a takeaway coffee without making eye contact. Communication is a two way thing and our police need more training in that. It will make their job much easier and perhaps there could be a campaign to get the general public to say "thank you". 

All that said if you live in this state and you are going to the state Show this week there will be police around. Perhaps you could give them a "thanks for your service" and see if it helps them?