It's a Long, Long Road To Wander All Alone...so I am here. My Diary
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Oh, Wales, beautiful!
Cold and rainy in Melbourne today. We are staying in a motel right in the middle of the nightlife precinct-now, Friday night- we are one floor above a very busy bar, loud is the word!
Tomorrow is our federal election, and- whoever wins- then we will have relative peace, this has been an awful election campaign! Yah to no political advertising in 36 hours!
Have a good one sweet boy!
Cold and rainy in Melbourne today. We are staying in a motel right in the middle of the nightlife precinct-now, Friday night- we are one floor above a very busy bar, loud is the word!
Tomorrow is our federal election, and- whoever wins- then we will have relative peace, this has been an awful election campaign! Yah to no political advertising in 36 hours!
Have a good one sweet boy!
Hey Emma, I'm great thanks. It's a wet day out, but I'll get out for a walk. how are you? 
Loud indeed!! Aha I didn't know there was an election...though I know your Labour party recently had a new leader, replacing Kevin Rudd as prime minister...
I got fed up of the election here back in May...weeks of dreary rubbish...I can't be doing with party politics. Better than North Korea though...
Loud indeed!! Aha I didn't know there was an election...though I know your Labour party recently had a new leader, replacing Kevin Rudd as prime minister...
I got fed up of the election here back in May...weeks of dreary rubbish...I can't be doing with party politics. Better than North Korea though...
Geez, you are well informed! Rudd was replaced by a lady called Julia Gillard- moved to Australia from Wales in 1966, aged 6! Too early to call results so far-hung parliament looks likely, Labour Party, (Julia led) a few seats ahead. The seat of Melbourne has been won by a Green member, which is a bit of a kick in the guts for both major parties. (There hasn't been much between them, a dismal election!)
Have just spoken to my uncle, who is a big Liberal, (Conservative) supporter, and he is sounding pretty depressed.
Had a great meeting with friends today, hope yours goes as well!
Have just spoken to my uncle, who is a big Liberal, (Conservative) supporter, and he is sounding pretty depressed.
Had a great meeting with friends today, hope yours goes as well!
Hi Liam,
How did the meet up with your friend go? We are really lucky in Australia, being so small, that we get heaps of international news. (Not much about Africa though) No-one has won a mandate to rule here- uncharted waters- so it will all depend on how the independant members align themselves. It's been a dreary election. (Like yours) As you say, better than in North Korea. (And many other places) We have been visiting with lots of family today, and it is interesting to see the different interpretations of the results-mostly reflecting different starting points I guess. One of the successful candidates is only 20- he wasn't old enough to vote at the last election. Is voting compulsory in the UK?
How did the meet up with your friend go? We are really lucky in Australia, being so small, that we get heaps of international news. (Not much about Africa though) No-one has won a mandate to rule here- uncharted waters- so it will all depend on how the independant members align themselves. It's been a dreary election. (Like yours) As you say, better than in North Korea. (And many other places) We have been visiting with lots of family today, and it is interesting to see the different interpretations of the results-mostly reflecting different starting points I guess. One of the successful candidates is only 20- he wasn't old enough to vote at the last election. Is voting compulsory in the UK?
Hi,
I had a lovely time with my friend.
Even better, I might have myself a dobro student! She told me that her boyfriend wants to learn to play!
Voting is not compulsory here. I think it should be!
If you really don't like any of the candidates, spoil the ballot...to me that means more than just not turning up at all...oh well.
I had a lovely time with my friend.
Even better, I might have myself a dobro student! She told me that her boyfriend wants to learn to play!
Voting is not compulsory here. I think it should be!
If you really don't like any of the candidates, spoil the ballot...to me that means more than just not turning up at all...oh well.
Hi Liam- the betting agencies have the Labour and Liberal parties at equal odds at the moment. A small number of seats are still undecided- postal votes etc, but it will come down to a very small number of independents. Some of the independents don't sound that great, um, reading about them. If no one agrees, then there will be another election. And then we will all cry!
Liam, I was misinformed- along with most here- when I wrote about Labours loss of seats being attributed to the sacking of the previous Prime Minister. (Rudd) Mr Rudd hails from the state of Queensland, where there has been a massive swing against Labour, but there was an even more massive swing against Mr Rudd within his own electorate. (He hung on to the seat, but more marginal seats in the state were lost)
Apparently he became very autocratic in the end, as well as unpopular with the public, and that is why he got the boot. Two weeks ago, there was a series of leaks-of internal Labour arguments- which have been blamed on him. (He denies it) These were pretty damaging.
Voting is compulsory here for everyone but members of a small religious church, (sect?) who are excused. (They believe that a higher power decides, but have been implicated, both here and in New Zealand, of distributing political propaganda, without identifying themselves, interesting) Even in local council elections, one has to turn up and cast a ballot, or be fined. Occasionally individuals will object by not paying fines, and be jailed for short times. If you don't want to vote, the only out is casting a donkey vote. (Which was very tempting this time)
I hope you are having a good one!
Liam, I was misinformed- along with most here- when I wrote about Labours loss of seats being attributed to the sacking of the previous Prime Minister. (Rudd) Mr Rudd hails from the state of Queensland, where there has been a massive swing against Labour, but there was an even more massive swing against Mr Rudd within his own electorate. (He hung on to the seat, but more marginal seats in the state were lost)
Apparently he became very autocratic in the end, as well as unpopular with the public, and that is why he got the boot. Two weeks ago, there was a series of leaks-of internal Labour arguments- which have been blamed on him. (He denies it) These were pretty damaging.
Voting is compulsory here for everyone but members of a small religious church, (sect?) who are excused. (They believe that a higher power decides, but have been implicated, both here and in New Zealand, of distributing political propaganda, without identifying themselves, interesting) Even in local council elections, one has to turn up and cast a ballot, or be fined. Occasionally individuals will object by not paying fines, and be jailed for short times. If you don't want to vote, the only out is casting a donkey vote. (Which was very tempting this time)
I hope you are having a good one!
Oh, hope it got better! I'm claiming one of those hugs- made my day! I have been shuffling around papers, trying to obscure the fact that I might be slightly behind on my paperwork, (due to trip away) from my darling OH. (I don't want to do it tonight because it is too cold in our study) Hopefully, I can pull the wool right over his eyes!
One of the independent MPs who has won a seat has been accused of threatening to kill another MP. The allegation is probably not quite true, (taken out of context), but he was filmed last night, a very scary tirade at journalists, "Now I've got a bit of power...", Oh no!
I forgot to tell you about our family lunch on Sunday. One of my sisters has to be the centre of attention whenever there is an "outsider" to impress. She has to be loudest, funniest, richest, smartest-you name it, she has some compulsion to be it. It has been this way ever since I can recall.
I had an arrangement to have lunch with some distant relatives on Sunday, and the day before she asked if she could join us, in spite of having seeing them only a week before. (There was a specific purpose to the lunch, some business discussions which didn't involve her) We said it would be lovely to have her.
Luckily the relos picked us up, and the business discussion was over by the time we arrived at the resturant. She sat next to the relos, and arranged her children around them, and commenced on her usual tirade- she is the best mother, makes so much money, and invests this with thought and courage, is so smart, so funny,gawd, her kids are so funny, she was speaking louder, and faster than anyone else, her laughter was almost hysterical!
It didn't matter on Sunday, if anything I was glad to have the heat taken off me, but it has at times in the past. She has absolutely no insight into her behaviour, which is actually reasonably entertaining when one is relaxed. Families!
One of the independent MPs who has won a seat has been accused of threatening to kill another MP. The allegation is probably not quite true, (taken out of context), but he was filmed last night, a very scary tirade at journalists, "Now I've got a bit of power...", Oh no!
I forgot to tell you about our family lunch on Sunday. One of my sisters has to be the centre of attention whenever there is an "outsider" to impress. She has to be loudest, funniest, richest, smartest-you name it, she has some compulsion to be it. It has been this way ever since I can recall.
I had an arrangement to have lunch with some distant relatives on Sunday, and the day before she asked if she could join us, in spite of having seeing them only a week before. (There was a specific purpose to the lunch, some business discussions which didn't involve her) We said it would be lovely to have her.
Luckily the relos picked us up, and the business discussion was over by the time we arrived at the resturant. She sat next to the relos, and arranged her children around them, and commenced on her usual tirade- she is the best mother, makes so much money, and invests this with thought and courage, is so smart, so funny,gawd, her kids are so funny, she was speaking louder, and faster than anyone else, her laughter was almost hysterical!
It didn't matter on Sunday, if anything I was glad to have the heat taken off me, but it has at times in the past. She has absolutely no insight into her behaviour, which is actually reasonably entertaining when one is relaxed. Families!
Families, Part II. (The Dark, the Light)
Dear Liam,
tonight I have spoken with my 12 year old nephew. He asked me why I thought dentists have such a high suicide rate. (I'm a dentist, he is a great picker upperer of odd factoids) I told him that it was probably because they felt isolated and stressed-people coming in telling them that they hated dentists all day, having to deal with people in pain all day, etc.
He asked me if I felt like that. "Oh yeah" I said, "all the time, today I had six people in a row that said they hated dentists"
No, not that he said, what he wanted to know was whether I ever felt sad and depressed, if I needed to talk to him about anything.
Families aren't all bad, I do admit!
Dear Liam,
tonight I have spoken with my 12 year old nephew. He asked me why I thought dentists have such a high suicide rate. (I'm a dentist, he is a great picker upperer of odd factoids) I told him that it was probably because they felt isolated and stressed-people coming in telling them that they hated dentists all day, having to deal with people in pain all day, etc.
He asked me if I felt like that. "Oh yeah" I said, "all the time, today I had six people in a row that said they hated dentists"
No, not that he said, what he wanted to know was whether I ever felt sad and depressed, if I needed to talk to him about anything.
Families aren't all bad, I do admit!
Oh, thanks!
Six miles! I am impressed!
Hope your day got better. I have been writing a list tonight of things I must or should do tomorrow or on the weekend, which is getting alarmingly long. I'm sure in 24 hours I'll be boasting about how much I've got done, wait for it! (Or not!)
I sent a dentist friend a funny little dental clip from you tube to his work email address, (didn't have his personal one), and have recieved this funny little message from him, explaining he didn't quite know what to make of it, and hadn't dared open it at work! I think he might have thought it was something other than a dental video, how funny!
Hope today is great!
Six miles! I am impressed!
Hope your day got better. I have been writing a list tonight of things I must or should do tomorrow or on the weekend, which is getting alarmingly long. I'm sure in 24 hours I'll be boasting about how much I've got done, wait for it! (Or not!)
I sent a dentist friend a funny little dental clip from you tube to his work email address, (didn't have his personal one), and have recieved this funny little message from him, explaining he didn't quite know what to make of it, and hadn't dared open it at work! I think he might have thought it was something other than a dental video, how funny!
Hope today is great!
