Riding along...

I truly can’t get my head around all that’s happening and sometimes I feel like I’m living in an alternate universe.

Some things about COVID-19 are really stuffing up businesses, jobs and how we get on day to day, but sometimes I think people are using it as an excuse to act badly, or not act at all. For a few minutes of positive reaction, it seems some people are willing to do anything.

Promises have been made, but there are big ones that don’t seem to have been followed through. So many of those affected by the fires are still waiting for claims to be assessed and buildings to be approved. There are great people out there still providing support, and some wonderful initiatives have occurred, but there is still a long way to go.

We are apparently living in a time when although so many need succour and support, others display the most dreadful acts of selfishness and stupidity. It is often said that the culture of a place is influenced from the top, and I believe that. The next month can’t come soon enough as the horrible and cruel words and deeds from across the world seep through so many other places, and people adopt this aberrant behaviour because it suits them now. When we look back on these times, what will we remember? That people pull together - because that really is human nature - not this terrible stuff playing out on TV and social media.

And back at home deals are being done. Rebekha Sharkie and her offsider have added their vote to the coalition’s and many of those degrees under the ‘Humanities’ banner have had their fees increased dramatically, whilst those subjects that fall under STEM (Science, Technology & Mathematics) have had their fees cut. So, many people can’t see the problem, but think on it.

The dictionary definition of ‘Humanities’ - One of the main branches of learning. A scholar of the humanities studies history, literature, the fine arts, and philosophy. Or Wikipedia - academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. ... The humanities include the study of ancient and modern languages, literature, philosophy, history, archaeology, anthropology, human geography, law, politics, religion, and art.

Those finer things that make us ‘different’, that define us as living, thinking creatures. Search online for those courses covered under ‘Humanities’ and you might be surprised at just how wide they reach.

But of course, these ‘arrangements’ can’t be seen in isolation, and even though things are denied in the media, a cursory glance at the local paper will see initiatives that are suddenly given the green light. One in particular is the most asked question in our little town (apart from “when will my road be graded?” in winter!), and that is “When will the Amy Gillett be finished?” The news was released this week in a media release from the Adelaide Hills Council. (see attached)

I think this is a great thing, and fervently hope that the leg from the edge of the Adelaide Hills Council to Mt Pleasant will follow shortly. It is a paltry amount, and important to those in the hills, but was delivered at what cost? To those who cannot afford the new fees, and the cost of the devaluing of those humanities subjects, we can only wait for the fallout.

Just remember, that many of those making the decisions for our country were the beneficiaries of the largely ‘free’ education in the 70’s and 80’s.

Too much on!

It’s been a full few weeks, and this week is the most hectic.

Our renovations continue with the two arched windows being installed yesterday, so we are now able to see the front footpath for the first time. The office extension was added around 1969, and last week at the History Soup ‘n Cinema event I met someone who used to work there before the extension was added. I am hoping to have a good catch up with her to find out how the two rooms would have looked back then. This Thursday we are having a Slice ‘n Cinema afternoon, showing the Australian movie ‘Malcolm’. It’s very funny and uniquely Australian. See the events page for details. These movie events will continue fortnightly until further notice, so if you can’t make it this week, try and join us in the future. It’s a great antidote for COVID-19 restrictions.

SACWA Craft sessions started back last week and we had the funniest morning, and then adjourned to the bakery for lunch. SACWA welcomes anyone who wants to learn new crafts, we are an inclusive bunch and enjoy passing on our expertise and helping newcomers.

Tonight I travel to town to join the SACWA Marketing group to brainstorm more ideas about how we can overcome the shortfall caused by the cancellation of the Royal Show, losing us our major fundraiser for the year. I helped in the kitchen last year and I have to say, it was all go, go, go!

I will be typing up the newsletter over the weekend, so if anyone has anything to add, you need to get it to me by tomorrow evening. Electronic articles are preferred, but if you have something typed, or a photo that needs scanning, that will be OK.

Try and stay warm today - the next few days look so much brighter, and with some good rains in the past week, the farmers may even have something to smile about.

A nice day in

Well, the latest newsletter has been ‘put to bed’ and I can relax for a week or two, although I’m always on the lookout for news or interesting items.

I remember back to my first newsletter (June 2015) when I thought that if I got four pages I’d be lucky. We were talking about establishing an incorporated body to take over the running of our council assets - The Soldiers’ Memorial Hall and Talunga Park. In some ways we’ve advanced, and in others, it feels like we’ve been standing still, and it seems we have many of the same issues still not being addressed properly.

The Caravan Park is making more money than ever, and I’m sure it’s due in no small part to our Caretaker Dave Mac - who turns 50 this month. The park always seems to be full and those who stay there long term seem very happy. Many of the residents have integrated really well with the community and several of them are members of various clubs and organisations, we are lucky to have them.

Nowadays the newsletter is more likely to be in excess of 16 pages and there are reports and articles from all over. I try to include as much as I can from The Barossa Council, as I doubt many people have the time (or the willpower) to read through the hundreds of pages of Agendas, Minutes and attachments. Gareth Saunders has taken up the task of sending me a report from the Progress Association and Kath Fisher makes sure we know what the CWA, Red Cross and Friends of the Hospital are up to. Occasionally we get information form the Men’s Shed, but often they are busy off helping people and don’t get time to send things through.

Paula as usual is a fount of knowledge with all things Historic, and this month she told me about a Mt Pleasant connection with Simpson and his Donkey - and how one of the soldiers he took up to be looked after by the medics was Alec Bax - who lived in our house with this parents and siblings. Sadly not even the heroic John Simpson Kirkpatrick could save Alec, and he died shortly after. The Bax family also lost Murray and Ben as a result of the First World War, something that is almost impossible to comprehend now.

Paula also mentioned that it was thought that Captain Starlight visited Palmer (and possibly mount pleasant) when he was getting rid of his rustled cattle. Captain Starlight was the subject of our first Australian Classic movie that we showed towards the end of July, and it went over so well, we will continue it fortnightly - the next showing being ‘The Shiralee’ with Bryan Brown. We supplied hot soup and rolls with the movie, and I will attach the recipe for the Peanut and Chicken soup here, as so many people have asked for it. (If you don’t like things hot, only add half a teaspoon of Cayenne. Also, if your guests are ‘allergic’ to Coriander (Cilantro), omit it. It’s a lovely, tasty soup and freezes well.)

Although the nights have been foggy and cold, the days have been sunny and crisp, and that’s got to cheer you up in these odd times. Take care and stay warm!

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Blog Day Afternoon

It’s funny, but while everyone else seems to be binge watching their favourite shows, we haven’t really changed our habits at all. Haven’t even watched any movies (if you know me, you’ll know about my DVD habit!), although I confess to watching a stack of YouTube videos. Lots of Graham Norton - especially when people like Judi Dench are on, and Celeste Barber ‘challenge accepted’. I am trying to get over my horror of housework and actually do things like ‘dust’ and ‘vacuum’, two concepts mostly foreign to me. I remember a quote from ‘The Naked Civil Servant’, who once admitted that he never dusted (I think Peter Goers has also admitted as such, as well as an unhealthy obsession with Op Shops…). And whilst we’re on quotes - Beau Brummel said, when asked what he thought about vegetables, that he “once ate a pea”.

The sad part about cleaning and organising is, that once you clean one bit, another bit seems to have attracted all the stuff you just got rid of, and with Op Shops being closed at the moment, there is a steadily growing pile of plastic bags that I will have to hold onto until I can sneak them to Vinnies.

We are also having fun with the renovation of the house, and restoring the front facade. Although it won’t look quite the same as it did when it was built in 1868, it will be pretty close. The portico will look much the same, but we’ll only have the inner doors, rather than the banks doors, and the two side arches will be open, not windows. (The other arches that people passing may notice are actually where two arched windows were. They will be reinstated, and we have one on the left hand side of the house for reference.) These will be open because we will be adding a verandah. There are other houses like ours, of the era, where verandahs were added, as it didn’t take too long for European imports to understand that our summer was a lot hotter than the northern one. This journey started more than three years ago (if you don’t count the years we had to save up for it!), and it’s nice to se it underway. Our builder is one we’ve used before and he’s keen to see the house restored as well. There have been a few hold-ups, namely the fires and COVID-19, but it’s now well underway and the first concrete pour should commence tomorrow. Meantime, we’re busily planning our first front yard, and just how many plants we can pack into a really small space!

So, for your viewing pleasure, check out these offerings from YouTube, and have a great afternoon.

Not my problem

So - my internet issues appear to have been fixed. And it wasn’t by Telstra. Don is a Barossa Councillor, so their meetings, like a lot of others, are online. One of the techs was visiting to hook him up with a monitor, so he could be a part of the meeting. All good, he did it quickly, efficiently, and gave Don a quick run-through. (I hope Don took notes - Mr Technology often has issues with tech instructions!), then he said (because I only got off the phone while he was there) that he knew exactly what my issue was, and asked if I wanted him to have a go. At this stage, after five weeks and 6 loooong phone calls, I was ready to try anything. Two minutes later it was all done. We could hardly believe it, as we’d copied the text of the dialog box telling us there was another computer using the same IP address, and during one of the phone calls had told the Telstra tech all about it. We rang Telstra back while he was there, and cancelled the order. Crazy. No Christmas card for them this year!

Anyhow - apart from techies - so many people are working from home, or have lost their jobs completely. My heart breaks for the artists and artisans, who are almost always the first affected by anything like this, and the first we call on to help put on a benefit - are of charge, of course! (Because, you know, exposure!) I hope we stop taking people in the arts industry for granted. They are the ones who feed our souls. They write the words that we need when our hearts are breaking. Sing the songs when we need to feel happy, and create the images that inspire us. We really need to remember this. We also need to remember to not go to work if we feel crook. The hospitals - whilst having to deal with the fallout from the pandemic, are really glad that the ‘flu cases are way down - what does that tell you? If you feel crook in the future - stay home!

And if you just can’t stop doing what you’ve always done, sometimes the world benefits. Sportscasters normally don’t appear on my radar, but I think some of them have won new legions of fans. Watch these from mrandrewcotter and Rugby Media, and then watch all of their others. So funny.

Penguin Race

Saturday night in Tooting

Company meeting

Hunger hurdle

That's life

I am still waiting for the modem Telstra seems to think will fix my computing woes - in the meantime, I’m still hot spotting and hoping my phone doesn’t run out of data. Yes, I know I could ring and ask for more, but I think I’ve spent enough time on the phone.

A few interesting things in the district lately - not COVID-19 related - including the partial dismantling of a part of the railway line in the Barossa, to accommodate a roundabout.

As you know, I am all about my own district and not as enamoured of others that seem to have had large bites off yummy pies over the years, but I was dismayed to hear about this. Railway lines are a great part of our history. Without the rails, much of the outback would never have been further explored, and certainly not serviced. The local line - ours included - were a major part of our social history, and once dismantled, will never be reinstated.

Take a cue from Peterborough and Terowie. The two towns were amazingly crucial to our links with the eastern states. When all lines were different gauges, thew places are where cargo was swapped and dispersed throughout the state. If you ever have the chance to visit Peterborough, stay in the old Railway Carriages and check our the Railway Museum. In small rural towns that are struggling, keeping these assets are paramount, and it would have been a much bigger drawcard if the link between Peterborough and Tarcowie had remained.

in the past there was a wine train that operated spasmodically in the Barossa region, and although it eventually proved unviable, it will never be resurrected now. I feel it was shortsighted of the state government to pull up the tracks - even though the proposed alternative was much more expensive - that history is gone forever. With the Angaston Rail Precinct now a reality, expansion has effectively been squashed. With drink-driving a bigger issue than ever, the business model of catering for people who want to tour the wineries without driving seems a pipe dream. Of course, apart from the few high-end places to stay in the Barossa, the rest of the accommodation could do with an upgrade, or it will continue to benefit more from local traffic than the overseas visitors they are aiming for.

In the meantime, as the daily briefings from the US seem to get more bizarre, it’s worth watching Chas and John try to make sense of it all on ‘Planet America’, on ABC and iView.

Gotta love technology

Technology is great - when it works. I’m not sure what has caused my latest round of dramas, but I don’t think I’m alone as there have been a few queries on social media as well.

Maybe there are a whole pile of annoyed individuals with ninja tech skills who are stuck at home and have decide to play with us - just for fun. I’m not sure what happened, but several phone calls to Telstra and Apple have indicated that the settings were changed on my emails - and I didn’t do it.

In the meantime, Apple support got me going, and my computer has just downloaded over 30,000 emails and is still going - all but a couple of dozen I have already dealt with. According to Telstra, they’ll just keep downloading until their backup runs out - there could be 60,000…

And all this has come five weeks after the printer dramas - which I have sorted by researching online and purchasing a Brother printer. It has arrived and was easy to set up, although it doesn’t print as nicely as I’d like, it will do. Meantime, we went to Bunnings and disposed of the old printer in their ‘unplug and drop’ bin. A great way to responsibly dispose of e-waste.

So, the newsletter will be out a bit later than I planned, but this is the way we roll, apparently.

Again, it will be much smaller, but we need to keep communications going - especially if all we are hearing is stay home’, ‘practice social distancing’, etc.

Social History

Today the hall was veiled for Anzac Day. Normally, this would have been done earlier, and there would be more, but it’s a little more difficult nowadays.

In the last half a dozen years or so, the traditional Anzac Dawn Service has attracted so many people that we have taken to holding it at the hall. It is usually followed by a gunfire breakfast and a few games of two-up. The hall is bedecked with the poppies, and filled with memorabilia of most of the conflicts our nation has experienced.

As we are unable to do this tomorrow, a movement has been gathering momentum for people to observe this solemn occasion by standing in their driveways at 6am. The ABC will be broadcasting the Dawn Service from the Australian War Memorial, starting at 5.55am (delayed for us), so you can stand in your driveway, and listen to the radio.

This will be an important part of our social history. Even though, around the time of the Vietnam War, Anzac Day and Remembrance Day lost favour with the community, in recent years we have learned more and understand better the significance of remembering those lost to conflict, and those who served, and who are still serving.

The old saying goes that if we don’t learn from history, we are condemned to repeat it. Whatever way you decide to commemorate Anzac Day, or not at all, our thoughts will be with those who suffered, and who still suffer.

If you are standing in your driveway in solidarity with those who choose to commemorate, please send us some photos so we can share with our community via the newsletter, and also by recording this for our history.

mtpleasantbeat@gmail.com

Thank you.

Sometimes words aren't enough

Yesterday four people went to work, for one of them , it was his first day. Last night their loved ones were mourning their loss, and it’s probably safe to say, most of us were in shock.

It started as a routine traffic stop, a speeding driver, but because the speed was excessive, the car would be impounded, so back up was called for. The group was in the emergency lane of the freeway, lights flashing, and because of the current situation, the traffic would have been much lighter than normal. And then the unthinkable happened and a large semi struck the group killing all four of the police officers. Somehow, the driver of the speeding car managed to escape injury and left the scene - after taking pictures which were later uploaded to social media. Apparently, the driver of the truck suffered a ‘medical episode’, the details of which are yet to be determined.

My husband was a cop, and my eldest son still is. Don served for nearly 40 years, and some of the places he went and things he was called upon to do were horrific and dangerous. My son still faces these situations.

Most cops we know joined the job to help people, and there’s nothing more satisfying than being able to make someone’s day better. To do good, to uphold the law, to keep the peace. Sometimes it’s a thankless job, especially when dealing with people who are not at their best, and even though it can sometimes be very dangerous, none of us expect that it will end in death.

To all those who are feeling vulnerable and fragile today, who are facing their jobs with a little less confidence, and perhaps viewing the people they deal with a little less favourably, we feel your pain and acknowledge your fears. We hope your shift ends positively, and that your loved ones never have to face what has just occurred in Victoria. Stay safe.