A Good Laugh

When Rickyralph visited last January he brought a few books with him that he thought I might like to read. I'm about 50 pages into Bill Bryson's 'Down Under' and I'm finding it humourous, as Ralphie said I would. It was published in 2000. Bryson, an American, talks about his experiences visiting Australia, and his research into its history, culture and customs. He doesn't hide his admiration for the uniqueness of our flora and fauna, the harshness of our geography, and the contrasts and oddities. He brings a comedic tone while giving so much information at the same time. Most entertaining. I've lived here for almost seventy years, did Australian history at school, and have traveled quite widely, yet I feel almost like it's new to me because he has a different slant on so much, from our discovery, settlement and exploration to our development to wealthy nation. From the first penal colony, established where Circular Quay now stands, to modern Sydney with skyscrapers looking out to the opera house across the harbour, the two sides connected by a massive steel arched bridge, in not much more than a couple of hundred years.

What's prompted this post was a paragraph relating to the Sydney Opera House. I'm not permitted to copy from the book (copyright law) so I'll tell you by my recollection. The concept of the Opera House was pushed by a chap called Sir Eugene Goossens, who was then the head of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. A competition was held to find a suitable design but after assessing many entries no winner was decided. A famous American architect was consulted to choose a winner. He sifted through all the entries and selected one by Danish designer Jorn Utzon that had been previously discarded by the judges. 

It took 15 years to build. It cost 14 times the initial estimate. When the book was written, 2000,  Utzon had never seen the finished product. He was sacked from the project in 1966 when a change of NSW government came at election.

Curiously, Goossens never saw the finished product either. He was discovered, in 1956 at Sydney airport while passing through customs, with a large quantity of pornographic material and was invited to take his sleezy continental habits elsewhere. He was, in one of life's small ironies, unable to enjoy, Bryson says, his own finest erection.

You do have to laugh.

 

Observations

The raging floods in Queensland and northern NSW, as far down as Sydney now, fill the bulletins, along with war in Ukraine. The floods are as devastating as bushfires almost to property and infrastructure, and comparable in numbers of lost life, human and animal. And war is war wherever it is. What disturbs me most is the destruction of residential areas and the killing of civilians. Total madness.

I almost feel guilty living here in SA, no rain, no drama. We missed the big storms back home in Victoria in June. Last winter was very mild. We had very little hot weather the summer just gone. Maybe our turn will come and the next lot of disasters will be close. I certainly hope war never comes to our part of the world. I guess nuclear war in Europe could erupt any minute and missiles from anywhere could destroy us all, but I have lived with that possibility all my life. I'm lucky to have lived as long as I have. I didn't think I would outlive Shane Warne.

We have a state election March 19. There are similar issues here as in other states, with controversy on traffic congestion, ambulance ramping and inadequate emergency beds, over development, the environment and climate change, the economy and housing affordability. The electorate Finnis, where we live, is a safe Liberal seat, the incumbent will most likely be returned. I haven't actively sought information yet but the Labour leader Malinouskis has impressed me when I've heard him talk on radio. I'll probably vote for an independent candidate,and preference Labour but there's still over a week yet to make up my mind.

The roof restore people who are booked to do our roof haven't fronted yet, despite the work being programmed for February. We did get a phone call late January saying they ere a bit behind due to COVID and they expected to get to us late Feb or early March. I'm getting a bit anxious because I know there's broken tiles here and there and I'd like it done before serious rain comes. If we had a deluge I think we'd be in bother, and it could happen; although this is a fairly low rainfall area storms are possible anywhere and the two words CLIMATE CHANGE are front and centre daily. We're looking forward to going away touring for a couple of weeks after the roof's done.

We've put a new vegie bed outside my office window. This faces north, is protected from the south wind by the house and will get all the winter sun. I sowed silver beet into pots in January and transplanted the seedlings into this bed a week or so ago. It's a wicking bed, sealed underneath with plastic sheet as it's on concrete, and watered from the top by a pipe taking the water down to reservoir of scoria screenings. The moisture then comes up by capillary action to the plants roots. That's the plan. It's my first experience with this so I'm treating it as an experiment. Come spring, after we've had plenty of silverbeet to eat through the winter hopefully, I'll put climbing tomatoes in which should thrive in this hotspot and grow right up to the eaves and give shade to my office next summer. 

Because this spot is warm from the concrete and bricks of the house I've also put Zuchinnis, sown in January, into large pots there. They are already producing fruit. The idea was that being new young plants they should produce longer into the colder weather long after the older plants out more in the open have finished. These have produced prolifically but are starting to wane. I even sowed some basil seed on March 1st, and lettuce and coriander, into pots with the same thing in mind, to get them up and strong in March and April, so that we have late harvest as the older stuff finishes. The lettuce I'll plant out in the beds where the basil and zucchinis have been in the original beds. 

I put broccolini seed in in January and I have planted the seedlings outside in the gully area among the pumpkins which are finishing. They are thriving. For the first time I think I've observed a benefit from European wasps. They hunt around the broccolini and mint out there and eat the the cabbage moth grubs. Jury still out but looks like that is so. Another observation is the very small numbers of mosquitoes around. I would have expected masses of them here where we live near a river and lagoon but there's hardly any. Back in Gembrook any water left in buckets would soon be crawling with wrigglers but not so here. None.

Yesterday I noticed two black cockies flying over. They haven't been around for months. Neighbour Mark, a keen birder, told me they gather here in the autumn in big numbers and stay for a while, there were large flocks of scores of them after we came late last March, then they leave to breed elsewhere, not far away on the Fleurieu where there are heaps of pine trees that provide seed for feed. While here they feed on she-oak seeds. The New Holland honey-eaters have been sparse also but were here in big numbers in large groups before pairing off for mating.

Another observation I made to Lib the other day was there's absence of slugs and snails here in our garden. I don't know why but I've not seen a one in the time we've been gardening here, and no damage. A blessing, considering the rats and birds have tested us.