I think the Anzac Day thing is over the top. It has become almost like a sort of national cult. I've heard so many cliches and platitudes about Australian values and reference to sacrifice for freedom that I can't get through the day without making comment.
For starters let me say my grandfather served in the Australian Army spending more than 1000 days overseas including the Western Front and the famous vctory at Villers Brettoneaux. He died when I was 5 or 6 years old and I have scant memory of him but he has always been revered in my family and I always felt family pride in his service particularly when I was young.
Growing up in the 1950's and 60's Anzac Day was important as the country was still quite raw following WW11. Many of my friends fathers were ex servicemen. Anzac Day was when most of these blokes got together with their old mates and marched with due solemnity for those who died in the war. My parents were teetotallers, as were both sets of of grandparents. There was a lot of boozing following the marches, and in my family it was said often it was not a day to be driving on the road as there were many drunk drivers. Anzac Day was given the respect it deserved by my family but we were not active participants. It was a public holiday, everything was closed, although I'm not sure about the pubs. I don't think there were any football matches or horse racing.
Most of those old servicemen have since passed. There's few WW11 guys remaining, a few from the Korean war, some Vietnam vets, and now of course some from Iraq, Afghanistan, and some other sortees in Timor and the Solomons and other peacekeeping. But there's nothing like the numbers of returned servicemen as there was when I was young.
This past few years we have been celebrating the Centenary of Gallipolli and Anzac Day, starting in 2015 with 100 years since Gallipolli. I think the first Anzac Day was in 1916 started as a recruitment drive for more enlistment, the war in 1916 going badly for Britain and her allies. This was war on an industrial scale with soldiers of both sides as fodder for destruction. It makes me sick to dwell on it, especially as it began with a feud between the royal rulers of European nations. It seems to me it marked the beginning of the end of European colonialism.
As I see it WW11 was really just a continuation of WW1. The allied victors of WW1 rearranged national boundaries in Europe and the Middle East largely based on economic advantage with sanctions on Germany that gave rise to such political unrest that before no time it was on again. This time on a bigger scale with improved tecnology in armaments and aviation.
But I did not start this to give my small knowledge of history. I have trouble with the notion that these servicemen died to give us the freedom we enjoy today. In my view they died because of bad/sad political ineptness and poor military strategy. It freaks me out thinking about it.
And I grieve equally for the soldiers of Turkey who died defending the their shores from the invading British. I have German ancestry as well as English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish. Probably my ancestors were killing each other on both sides in both wars. I grieve for all the poor bloody soldiers of every nation who died fighting probably because they had to or be branded with white feather or imprisonment. It was not their fault.
What about the freedom of the refugees we have imprisoned on Manus Island? Where is our sacrifice for their freedom?
I bought an Anzac badge for ten bucks from the man selling it the street at Emerald. I went home and had a close look at it. All proceeds go to the RSL Patriotic Fund. That worries me that word 'patriotic'. I would have preferred it said all funds go the spouses and children of killed or incapacitated servicemen/women. I googled the RSL Patriotic Fund. There was a lot of stuff that didn't say much but it did say it has assets of $640 million. I hope they use that money appropriately. I was in the post office the other day and they were selling teddy bears dressed in military uniform complete with a row of badges. I didn't check where that money was going. And there were two up coins and Anzac biscuits for sale also. It's become almost as bad as Easter eggs at Easter.
And our local MP Jason Wood sent out a glossy brochure with two photos of himself promoting Anzac Day. I agree with a letter in the local paper objecting. It said,
"My grandfather and his seven brothers, all veterans of Gallipolli and Flanders, would be turning in their graves. They would be aghast that a commemoration dedicated to them and their comrades would be used as a political drawcard in this way."
I'm sure our fallen heroes would also turn in their graves if they could hear the revelations of the Royal Commission into the banking industry. What values exist there?
I think this Anzac thing has gone way overboard. Blind patriotsm is a mindless thing. Australians are no better or worse than people of other nations. We are blessed by good fortune to live here but that is no reason to denigrate othe nationalities by banging on about our values and how special we are.
Let's move Australia Day to April 25 and drop the Anzac. We can still celebrate our fallen heroes as part of it. And we have remembrance Day in November too.
I would be happy lose Anzac Day. It has become a festival for self aggrandisement and political mileage.
Yes, time to move on.
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Killing Me Not Softly
I didn't get much sleep last night. I opened my inbox to find my monthly invoice from my phone company at the farm. It was twice the amount for the previous month, which was twice the amount of the month before, which had been about the same for some years.
I switched over to the NBN about a month ago when we came back from Tassie. I did this at home too with a different company. This entailed a huge amount of time on the phone to both providers as I grappled with instructions and entered codes and hooked up wires here there and everywhere. Then the next day the thing was not working and I'd go through it all again. It seemed I spent all my spare time on the phone day and night, and eventually it all seemed to be working and stay working.
Then the first invoice came on the farm account, as I said double what I normally pay. Of course I queried it, on the phone again, queuing and holding and eventually speaking to a lady in the Philippines, where also all the technical support people had been located. I said it seemed I was paying for two systems. She said they could not do a revised invoice but if I paid it and it was found a credit was due it would come off next month's invoice.
In all the hitches to get the thing working it was discovered the modem they had sent me was faulty and would not cooperate so they sent me another. I hadn't paid for the first modem, it came no charge as I had taken a bundle package with a two year contract. After we were successful with second modem the lady asked me to send back the faulty modem so as I wouldn't be charged for the second. I did this and photographed the postal receipt and tracking number and emailed it to the company.
So when the new invoice came last night with the second doubling of price I examined closely and saw that I had been charged $189 for the second modem and still as best I can know was being charged twice, once for the old system and then the new, plus other charges I have no knowledge of what they are.
So today I'm on the phone again talking to a person in the Philippines who tells me I have to pay for the replacement modem as there was nothing wrong with the first one. Go figure. She acknowledged it seemed I was being billed twice for the phone service but said they couldn't do another invoice, best I pay and a credit can be made if it is due on next month's account. I said I'm not happy with that as I was told that last time and it didn't happen. All this took considerable time, as she put me on hold and talked to others and eventually I had to hang up as I had meeting to attend at 10am and a lot of picking to do.
So what now? I pay by direct debit from my business account on 6 May. So I rang my bank and asked them to stop authorization on that debit. The guy did this then told me it did not guarantee they wouldn't take the money as big companies have tokens they share, and if my bank cancelled the token for that debit which he did, the company could borrow a token from another company and still make the debit from my account. I was incredulous at this but he said sorry that's how it works.
I'm at a loss to know what to do. If I pay there's no surety that I'll get any credit on the next account or that it still won't be double what it used to be. And if I look for another company, say the one I have at home whose billing has been smooth, they'll slug me for hefty fee for exiting before my two year contract is up, or hardly started. And I'll have to go through all that technical stuff again.
I had to get this off my chest in the hope I can go to bed and not stew with anger again, tossing and turning. Fair dinkum, this episode and the media reports of the Royal Commission into the big four banks and all their schistering leaves me convinced that this country is stuffed and there is little trust left. I have found it a challenge to not use offensive language in my phone calls and in this post.
I switched over to the NBN about a month ago when we came back from Tassie. I did this at home too with a different company. This entailed a huge amount of time on the phone to both providers as I grappled with instructions and entered codes and hooked up wires here there and everywhere. Then the next day the thing was not working and I'd go through it all again. It seemed I spent all my spare time on the phone day and night, and eventually it all seemed to be working and stay working.
Then the first invoice came on the farm account, as I said double what I normally pay. Of course I queried it, on the phone again, queuing and holding and eventually speaking to a lady in the Philippines, where also all the technical support people had been located. I said it seemed I was paying for two systems. She said they could not do a revised invoice but if I paid it and it was found a credit was due it would come off next month's invoice.
In all the hitches to get the thing working it was discovered the modem they had sent me was faulty and would not cooperate so they sent me another. I hadn't paid for the first modem, it came no charge as I had taken a bundle package with a two year contract. After we were successful with second modem the lady asked me to send back the faulty modem so as I wouldn't be charged for the second. I did this and photographed the postal receipt and tracking number and emailed it to the company.
So when the new invoice came last night with the second doubling of price I examined closely and saw that I had been charged $189 for the second modem and still as best I can know was being charged twice, once for the old system and then the new, plus other charges I have no knowledge of what they are.
So today I'm on the phone again talking to a person in the Philippines who tells me I have to pay for the replacement modem as there was nothing wrong with the first one. Go figure. She acknowledged it seemed I was being billed twice for the phone service but said they couldn't do another invoice, best I pay and a credit can be made if it is due on next month's account. I said I'm not happy with that as I was told that last time and it didn't happen. All this took considerable time, as she put me on hold and talked to others and eventually I had to hang up as I had meeting to attend at 10am and a lot of picking to do.
So what now? I pay by direct debit from my business account on 6 May. So I rang my bank and asked them to stop authorization on that debit. The guy did this then told me it did not guarantee they wouldn't take the money as big companies have tokens they share, and if my bank cancelled the token for that debit which he did, the company could borrow a token from another company and still make the debit from my account. I was incredulous at this but he said sorry that's how it works.
I'm at a loss to know what to do. If I pay there's no surety that I'll get any credit on the next account or that it still won't be double what it used to be. And if I look for another company, say the one I have at home whose billing has been smooth, they'll slug me for hefty fee for exiting before my two year contract is up, or hardly started. And I'll have to go through all that technical stuff again.
I had to get this off my chest in the hope I can go to bed and not stew with anger again, tossing and turning. Fair dinkum, this episode and the media reports of the Royal Commission into the big four banks and all their schistering leaves me convinced that this country is stuffed and there is little trust left. I have found it a challenge to not use offensive language in my phone calls and in this post.
Saturday, April 14, 2018
Climate Change
I heard on the radio discussion about the record high temperatures, mid-high 30'sC, this week in Northern Victoria. This prior to the cold snap today, as I write we have fire blazing following cold wind and hail.
It prompted me to recall the Four Corners program on the ABC which screened before we left for Tassie last month. The crux of this was accounts by farmers that harvests were earlier now than say thirty or forty years ago, namely wine growers and cherry orchadists who both said harvest was now three to four weeks earlier.
This concurs with my experience. We used to start picking beech foliage mid to late November. Earlier than this the new foliage was too soft and would not hold up, in as far as keeping in water for the florist. I notice that in the last few years we are picking beech in late October. This means these deciduous trees are shooting bud weeks earlier in October than they used to.
I had to laugh today. After a week of unseasonally warm to hot weather breaking records for April, I was in relaxation mode this morning it being Saturday. The forecast cool change and my free time led me to climb into the roof to look for the dead rat/mouse that was the cause of the foul odour in my office for some days. No sooner had I got up the ladder and through the man hole there was a huge torrential rain with hail that made so much noise in the roof cavity that I was totally unnerved.
I searched for the dead animal and found a decomposing rat embedded in an insulation bat. Down I came with detritus in a plastic bag. I went outside. The deluge had washed out channels in our driveway and blocked drains sending water where it was not wanted. I could see dripping from the spouting when I took the ladder I had used to get into the roof outside, so I used to it inspect the downpipes. Blocked. Full of leaves and ice from the hail. My hands felt like they would freeze off as I cleared the crap.
From heat and sweat and a hard week there I was nearly bloody freezing.
It prompted me to recall the Four Corners program on the ABC which screened before we left for Tassie last month. The crux of this was accounts by farmers that harvests were earlier now than say thirty or forty years ago, namely wine growers and cherry orchadists who both said harvest was now three to four weeks earlier.
This concurs with my experience. We used to start picking beech foliage mid to late November. Earlier than this the new foliage was too soft and would not hold up, in as far as keeping in water for the florist. I notice that in the last few years we are picking beech in late October. This means these deciduous trees are shooting bud weeks earlier in October than they used to.
I had to laugh today. After a week of unseasonally warm to hot weather breaking records for April, I was in relaxation mode this morning it being Saturday. The forecast cool change and my free time led me to climb into the roof to look for the dead rat/mouse that was the cause of the foul odour in my office for some days. No sooner had I got up the ladder and through the man hole there was a huge torrential rain with hail that made so much noise in the roof cavity that I was totally unnerved.
I searched for the dead animal and found a decomposing rat embedded in an insulation bat. Down I came with detritus in a plastic bag. I went outside. The deluge had washed out channels in our driveway and blocked drains sending water where it was not wanted. I could see dripping from the spouting when I took the ladder I had used to get into the roof outside, so I used to it inspect the downpipes. Blocked. Full of leaves and ice from the hail. My hands felt like they would freeze off as I cleared the crap.
From heat and sweat and a hard week there I was nearly bloody freezing.
Tuesday, April 03, 2018
Cricket and Footy
I'm very happy that Sth Africa is leading Australia 2/1 in the current test series and has set a target of 612 for Australia to win the fourth test and level the series. Not likely as there are only four sessions in which to do it, as if. I have no comment to make that can add anything to the recent ball tampering controversy. All I can say is to repeat that I have barracked for whoever it is Australia has been playing for many years, right back to the Waugh captaincy era when the rot set in. It has been no surprise that the team finally disgraced itself totally. Let's hope this can be a watershed and our national team can rebuild sportsmanship and humility into their philosophy.
Football. I listened a little bit to the commentary on 3LO on Sunday. It was most refreshing to hear Stan Alves, ex Melbourne captain and Nth Melbourne premiership player, and St Kilda coach. Stan was a bit of a hero of mine in my later adolescent years, the late sixties. As a wingman at Melbourne he held his own and even excelled against the strong opposition of the day at Richmond and Carlton. He was fast and skilled with real spring in his boots and kicked with precision.
Stan gave me one of my fondest football memories, a humourous one. I think it was 1972, a MFC practice game. The previous year Melbourne recruited "Diamond Jim" Tilbrook from Sturt in Sth Australia. I think he may have come over mid or late season with huge publicity surrounding his debut, in which he kicked four goals from memory but was pretty quiet for the rest of the season. There was big publicity about him the following season with expectation very high once he'd had pre-season with his new team and had settled in. With a mate, I think it was Ian Sinclair, we went to a Melbourne practice match which in those days were played at the Albert Park ovals. It was an intra club game as they just about all were back then, and there were two teams, one in red jumpers, the other in blue. It was a mix of experienced and young hopefuls all trying to impress to get a game in round one. There was hardly any crowd and we were on the wing where the ball came close to the boundary right in front of us. Stan, was engaged in a struggle for the ball, outnumbered by opposite jumpers. "Diamond Jim", on the same team as Stan, came thundering in, huge chest, muscles and eyeballs bulging, and barged through. He was so desperate to get a kick he paid no mind to jumper colour. Stan went arse over and landed prostrate not more than 10 feet in front of us. Tilbrook took off with the ball and kicked it. Stan drew his knees up inside his arms and just sat there for a few seconds watching the play. Then shaking his head he said with exasperation, "SHIIII....IIIT."
Diamond Jim played 50 odd games for Melbourne but never displayed the South Australian form that saw him a pivotal member of the Sturt team that won 5 premierships in a row '66-'70. Stan's last season at Melbourne was 1976, Bob Skilton's last year sa coach, when they narrowly missed the finals by percentage, I think beating Collingwood at Victoria Park in the last round. Nearing the end of his career Stan took up an offer to join Nth Melbourne and played in their 1977 premiership. I was so happy for him when he leapt excitedly from the stage with his medallion after the presentation.
Stan was a brilliant footballer, and I still love his style and comments on the radio.
Football. I listened a little bit to the commentary on 3LO on Sunday. It was most refreshing to hear Stan Alves, ex Melbourne captain and Nth Melbourne premiership player, and St Kilda coach. Stan was a bit of a hero of mine in my later adolescent years, the late sixties. As a wingman at Melbourne he held his own and even excelled against the strong opposition of the day at Richmond and Carlton. He was fast and skilled with real spring in his boots and kicked with precision.
Stan gave me one of my fondest football memories, a humourous one. I think it was 1972, a MFC practice game. The previous year Melbourne recruited "Diamond Jim" Tilbrook from Sturt in Sth Australia. I think he may have come over mid or late season with huge publicity surrounding his debut, in which he kicked four goals from memory but was pretty quiet for the rest of the season. There was big publicity about him the following season with expectation very high once he'd had pre-season with his new team and had settled in. With a mate, I think it was Ian Sinclair, we went to a Melbourne practice match which in those days were played at the Albert Park ovals. It was an intra club game as they just about all were back then, and there were two teams, one in red jumpers, the other in blue. It was a mix of experienced and young hopefuls all trying to impress to get a game in round one. There was hardly any crowd and we were on the wing where the ball came close to the boundary right in front of us. Stan, was engaged in a struggle for the ball, outnumbered by opposite jumpers. "Diamond Jim", on the same team as Stan, came thundering in, huge chest, muscles and eyeballs bulging, and barged through. He was so desperate to get a kick he paid no mind to jumper colour. Stan went arse over and landed prostrate not more than 10 feet in front of us. Tilbrook took off with the ball and kicked it. Stan drew his knees up inside his arms and just sat there for a few seconds watching the play. Then shaking his head he said with exasperation, "SHIIII....IIIT."
Diamond Jim played 50 odd games for Melbourne but never displayed the South Australian form that saw him a pivotal member of the Sturt team that won 5 premierships in a row '66-'70. Stan's last season at Melbourne was 1976, Bob Skilton's last year sa coach, when they narrowly missed the finals by percentage, I think beating Collingwood at Victoria Park in the last round. Nearing the end of his career Stan took up an offer to join Nth Melbourne and played in their 1977 premiership. I was so happy for him when he leapt excitedly from the stage with his medallion after the presentation.
Stan was a brilliant footballer, and I still love his style and comments on the radio.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)