Lucky

Our health service has significant numbers of immigrant professionals from whom we benefit.  At the same time a country such as India appears to be very seriously understaffed.

  This type of strain and deprivation  on 'donor' countries has been aired before today but is now clearly shown up in the crisis in India with staff shortages and resources. 

We have whole branches of care without any locals stepping up or so it seems. Is it because of our small population, or the universities, or a strangle-hold by the medical specialities?

 The situation in church circles has some similarities around clergy coming here to work in the secular society!

 

Plain purl

 The big plane trees are underfoot, also called sycamore possibly. The month of May remains warm.

Winter reading ahead. Richard Flanagan, a Man Booker prize winner, is a writer who is easy to read, quite an amazing introduction for a relative novice to books that say something.

He identifies the themes, dare I say,  of our lived experience, it is uncanny, our same thoughts and reactions on many a page. As well as that are far flung excruciating dramas. Some little scenes are Australian to the core yet universal.

Magic carpet

Bottle recycle. Dont rubbish Australia.  Where are we at?  Because many of us enjoy well- being and the bounty that this island, 'girt by sea', has to offer we can hardly complain when our policies are designed to protect us no matter how self serving, mean spirited, unethical and questionable. 

A love hate relationship grows. Take what you can get out of the place.  Is that why so many citizens are overseas at any one time?  Why the grey nomads drop out and take  endless road trips? 

After years I became more at home with this land but that was of the natural environment.

In Touch With Earth

First of May

May day street march with a red tinge was led by bagpipes, as in Celts, the CFMEU Northern Mining and NSW Energy District Pipes and drums. Several unions were represented.

Strangly, it is the day of Saint Joseph the Worker. 

Tocal

Tocal means plenty in aboriginal language says Wikipedia.

If hotel quarantine is effective, in theory, it makes no difference where  travellers come from, for example from India.

Could be that no where else has yet reached the number of deaths as the USA and flights were not banned from there.  What is our thinking?

We cant cope with a raw medieval type plague situation in the Subcontinent. Who can cope?

Tocal Field Days

Tocal Agricultural College: see today's farming on show!

Retro or pre retro

Spied in old Morpeth town a left- hand drive import.

In earlier days Morpeth was close to where we lived. A vantage point when the Hunter was in flood to see  the river flats and pastures turned into a wide 'lake'. 

 The village seemed just right for day trippers and setting up projects. Campbells store sat and sat unused....if only.... One gallery had existed for a time that was all. 

 There was a miscalculation. It seemed that peak oil, fuel prices, pollution and pressures would lead to city folk being deprived of pastimes further afield and flock to places like Morpeth.. Well, that was 'yesterday' as far as environment.

Be careful what you wish for.  The little village has changed and grows very crowded  has lots of shops selling cuteness and the latest nik nacks  places to eat and relax possibly. An annual jazz fest is set up in back street venues.

The village 'common' was 'saved' but  was appealing as a unique larger set of colonial and church buildings, walkway and trees and grew mushrooms!  Then progress, was the property a sitting duck? Did the church needed to liquidate to pay for its sins?

A large early timber bridge spanning the Hunter was renovated and stands strong and painted white. Thanks to a state dept whose work is usually effective.

Zen

Zen and the art of survival. Today was THE day for AstraZen given in a cheery atmosphere with quite a gathering at the GPs.

Rant

Is it a narrow education, aka economics or is it a religion that stresses personal success and the domination of nature that results in national leaders who refuse to state anything constructive about curbing carbon emmisions and the question of climate change. 

Schooled in some sort of manner they are insensitive to the bigger picture around sustainability and biodiversity.  Lifestyle and productivity promoted to the exclusion of the totally indispensible natural world. That's my leaders.  The Subcontinent knows about this from a conservative  prime minister who has gone along with large risky political rallies and only  toyed with lock down because of the economy  and has disaster on his hands and all our hands as well.

Street art

Indigenous artist working on a bright presentation outside preschool.

Not in my lifetime will global connectedness become a reality. 

A crisis among others gets little assistance while we complain about our 'first world problems'.

  What is a fair thing?

 We have drama over one case of pandemic infection and elsewhere  are thousands of deaths. 

We have the luxury of abundance of caution. 

Earth Day.

Earth Day from the coal capital  Mulubinba. 

TREES are treasure. A mature tree can absorb 21kg carbon a year. This carbon capture sequestration is real. A tree gives 117kg oxygen a year.

Carbon capture projects promoted by the Feds are very questionable. There is failure to bite the bullet.

For goodness sake stop land clearing as a small start.

Art Gallery

Hey! Bird's nest aloft. Years later and that egg has not hatched. It is local art. Does it have some hidden worth? The same as Jackson Pollock at another level.

  We have "missed the boat" over a Jackson Pollock!  Or increase our council rates to raise a few million. Only the national gallery invested in him quite some years ago.

National gallery has outright masterpieces on loan from London for a few months. 

Use those gift vouchers tho Canberra may not be into them really designed to boost economy in NSW.

Yeah nah

Was this that sealing in Roam? Michaelangleo's avant-guard period?

Looks cimilar to a Brett Whiteley.  Art Galllery Newcastle now Mulubinba.

At Newcastle Art gallery.  Koori event with bush tucker and didge.

Hunter valley network

and its not really leaning.

Atop Mt Sugarloaf TV towers have gained height. Commercial type tower shown but strangely two must be essential. No doubling up.

Kpop

Group waiting at a little K-pop store in Sydney's Haymarket.

Shoppers are limited by covid rules and by inclination.  K-pop is a notable new direction in style with gradual change over the years to become is it 'cheaper' but havnt seen it for some time.  SBS was the source. 

An excuse for a Korean meal of nice variety of flavour and texture.

 Korean language is a challenge, with different forms, a total  mystery like all the others. The script is interesting.  Haseyo.

Mt Sugarloaf

Republic

 

The high road.  It is usually rewarding to hear a British spokesperson in interview or in entertainment as their language is pleasant, the expression is nice and seems better than most.   While living in another country there were times with a strong desire to hear a speaker who used familiar language or accent. The same for each and everyone.  Are we all racists?

Links with the UK are not strong not counting high immigration from there. The fact that the country is of interest is beside the point and that a smattering of history and culture has been absorbed and enjoyed by some of us does not count for anything with the UK nor does it make one a monarchist.

 The days of setting up an in-yer-face expat group in London has changed to Australian individuals who find a dominant role say in entertainment or as big-wig at a London university. Then again, we read of supply of   717 000 doses of vaccine manufactured in the UK and almost secretely supplied to us - such largesse. 

This nation is on its own, lost stranger to its Asian neighbours. The UK won't figure with our next generation.  They will be global citizens (hopefully) or sadly US inspired and many of us have arisen from Europe or Asia. So will they have strong support for Australian republicanism? Is that the way ahead? 

Vale Prince Philip.... little did I know.

/

cooking

A rare phenomenon/a from me. A cake baked from scratch. Heirloom recipe and cake rack. Cake mixes are more usual and always work.

Why is doughy bread popular? It has a raw texture of half cooked solid dough.  

This applies to ordinary and inexpensive bread - the staff of life of yesteryear.

Hot Cross Buns from supermarket are typical. Woolworths and Coles.  Not only sold with no regard to their traditional season and with nontraditional ingredients such as chocolate, they are raw and indigestable.

Uncooked dough is imported from Ireland or somewhere and tossed into ovens in the supermarket chains.

It is simple, pay twice as much and choose decent bread.

Bread maker machines are ok, must have grown tired of it along with other routine kitchen tasks.

 How will the cooking stars of TV feel after a lifetime of cooking?  Some of us have seen it thru and have outdone them.

At Merewether Beach.

 Sacred music marked today. What a treasure to have musicians from a composer's birthplace and the same region because the music tradition is familiar to them and performed very well. 

ABC radio gave us Bach today and more. 

 Es ist vollbracht!

 

World Surfing League and Rip Curl Newcastle Cup at Merewether Beach begins today. 

Visiting surfing competitors out of two weeks lockdown to an event that moved to Newcastle because of covid restrictions at the usual destinations while most of our restrictions have lifted which makes us very very fortunate.

Action on a wave while cargo ships wait on the horizon - the line up is a constant.

There is a lot to learn.  Here are some stolen words.

Human nature, when it is seeking power, wants either to play victim or to create victims of others...feeling sorry for ourselves we will soon find someone else to blame, accuse or attack and with impunity!  It takes away any immediate shame, guilt, or anxiety. 

Scapegoating or the creating of necessary victims, is in our hard wiring...the central pattern for maintenance of cultures since the beginning.

..we compare, compete...we condemn...the competitive power game is where it all begins. Freedom from power game is probably the only way out of the cycle of violence.

Fearing and hating on behalf of something holy and noble, the high moral ground, responsible, legitimate, takes away all guilt.

It never occurs to most people that they are becoming what they fear and hate. Projecting Instead of recognizing our own complicity.

 It takes forgiveness and healing. 

 (R Rohr)   

Object of curiosity.  VW fuse and relay box pre electronics. Complexity.

Gender relations need attention now and change will take time.

Don't try too hard, exploit the situation.  Let the political party with the failings lose out.

Our other vital national priorities are neglected and it is all about the fed's issues which are not our problem. The national sphere is over and above gender reform. Multitask.

Reconciliation, Treaty, Climate, extinction rates, proper welfare, social housing, tax reform all completely neglected.

The posturing over health and education is to the detriment of the services when the states do the heavy lifting.

The federal behemoth is redundant. MP with six staffers - give us a break.

Defence, Welfare, treasury should develop other ways of management. 

Trade Relations and Climate change agreement activities are unsuccessful. 

Support the incumbents?  Let them fail. 

Youngsters football, Speers Point. Five a side today.

Very disappointing this structure was perched, with approval from city council, in front of a landmark row of terrace houses. They are unique. A special feature. What was planning dept thinking, nothing meaningful.

Shame it has been destabilised by a week of rain. 

Fools rush in...here goes. Overall maybe we dont yet have the sophistication to manage in a liberated society. 

Earlier conventions around lifestyle, appearance and boundaries have changed. 

Maybe adjustment to this situation has not progressed well enough by either males or females and there is conflict.

Consent is the cry.

Sorrento Moon. News to me after all this time that the very well known song from Tina Arena is about the place Sorrento southern Victoria here pictured on a stunning day.  

On a peninsular, one shore is of the port the opposite shore is the ocean beach.

March 4 Justice and demonstrations nationwide.

In connection, vital groundwork surrounds the raising of boys so the  future generation is not useless and entitled, sexist, violent, superior and all the rest.

Beware of 'The Peninsular'. Dan the steadfast Premier of Victoria and then Health Minister Hon Greg Hunt have been hospitalised. 

Beside this, a rare flesh eating ulcer is endemic.

This pleasant locality almost has it all.

Trumpet loud and clear. 'Markel debacle'... opinion by Halfpenny in SMH well sums up THE interview. Megan was not into compromise in her days in the UK. All family life is an art at the best of times. Her interview presentation was overdone. One question is of their long term happiness.

Strange sculpture.

ABC TV presents Romeo and Juliet, Australian Ballet, Graham Murphy,  magical show with touches of comedy. 

Contemporary ballet has been winning me over but this classical version is not so ludicrous. Sacredness of love...orientalism...more...

Here was retroville with lots of homes from the 1970s or so seemingly in vogue again but probably overlooked by the inhabitants. Who am I to say?

Look up Art Deco is in the air. A landmark in Melbourne.

 Mental health services in Victoria gave life back to my relative. The care is professional. This is very fortunate as an enquiry has been made into areas found wanting and promises made to fix the situation. Mental health is a very worthy cause.

This theatre is rather ornate, of great interest yet .... . The ascent to Valhalla was by way of flights and flights of steps to the realm of Wagnerian opera. 

The beginning of the epic was good to witness, with some ridiculous moments,  but the future episodes better still and singing more way-out as the cycle gradually emerges. 

Surely any bucket list would include Bayreuth Festival....Ballet in Moscow...Opera in .xyz..Bach Fest..

Preparing mussels. Easy enough but a little offputting during an anti-cooking phase. White wine, eschallots, garlic, herbs - thats all. Low fat, healthy, suits semi-vegetarians.

Update.  Mussels are likely polluted with microplastics we are told.  Not much is known about the effects of microplastics on our health. 

Splitting hairs but interesting to know if some oceans are less polluted  with microplastics than others.

Lately news has been news. Well, Murdoch had a normal, i think, background.  His mother was at home in her extensive garden and supported nearby community projects among other interests.

Murdoch News Corp is in the sights of some for issues such as anti intell ectual one eyed opinions.

Answer to the bullish market object  in Times Square and its creator. We dont want to be insular but why are we constantly presented with stuff from the USA?  News. Sure, Texas had a catastrophy, they have my sympathy.

Media is extreme, one eyed, a dominator, presents pressured fraught celebs in sad difficulties and  spreads their sick disease - little things like that!

Who wants to be a colony of the failing super powers? As their physical might falters their media and power to brain wash and reap piles of cash grows and engulfs us all.

More power to those who take media to task. Give them heaps! Fight the good fight one algorithm after another. One dollar after another.