5/15/10

Homecomings have been in the wind today. The first was a national homecoming, as a local heroine sailed into Sydney Harbour after months at sea, circumnavigating the world alone! Jessica Watson is only sixteen so it's been a tremendous achievement. There was a lot of controversy about her voyage  before she went. I think the population was evenly divided between those who said 'Go for it, girl!' and those who thought it was a crazy, foolhardy thing to do. My mind was on her parents. They must be remarkably in tune as both of them said 'If she wants to do it let her try!' I can't imagine many parents being so trusting or risk-taking. I was certainly one who thought the whole idea should be shelved and I couldn't help feeling that her parents were just after publicity. It's a strange thing, really..... if she'd drowned at sea (and that was on the cards as her craft rolled over several times) they'd now be pariahs, almost considered murderers. But because everything's gone well, they're being feted and described as wonderful parents! Nothing can take-away the bravery and ability of the young girl though. I'm shortly going to switch on the TV to see her gala arrival in Sydney.

In our own little uneventful lives another homecoming has taken place. Rebecca, Brian and Blake have just arrived home from three weeks in NZ. I'm always relieved when people are back in their right slots! I could certainly never have mothered a Jessica Watson! We haven't seen Becca yet as they left NZ at 2.0.a.m. our time this-morning and they're all sleeping it off. We'll see them tomorrow, and give back their little dog, Banjo, who's been with us for three weeks.

5/14/10

The British coalition has been on my mind again today. Not because I'm in a particularly political mood either. In fact, my approach has been very frivolous. As I saw them walking together towards the dais (what's the plural of dais, please? There were two of them!) Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum came to mind. Both David and Nick are the same height; they were both wearing matching 'business' suits and ties; they're both of an age. And, from a distance they really looked like twins. Terrible Twins? Only time will tell.

But these frivolous thoughts were mot my only ponderings today. We had a run-through of my Australian melodrama at the Cricketers' Arms today. We were a small band but enthusiastic. Pam Boyd and I have decided to co-direct! (See the connection!) She wants to concentrate on the Aussie touches ..... the slang, etc. And I want to direct just because I want to direct! So we're in double harness and I think both of us are wondering how it's going to work! I visualised the play when I was writing it, but she has the stronger personality and more original ideas.

Pam

I once worked in double-harness as the co-President of a social club, and I resigned after only a short time because I found the situation intolerable after a while. So watch this space!

5/13/10

As usual, I lay in bed listening to the BBC last night and I heard a most interesting talk on the role culture plays in education. The speaker was referring to the cultures of various races, and he was concentrating on the cultures of Asia. He was visiting a school in Silicon Valley in the US, where nearly all the successful students come from an Asiatic background, including India. Of course, the standard of the area was high as most of the parents were academics anyway, but it was the proportion of Asian students that were at the top that struck me, because here, in Australia, we see the same statistic. Whenever newspapers publish the photographs of exceptional students most of them are Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian or Korean. Yet I believe intelligence is pretty standard throughout humanity. The speaker 'last night' put it down to the culture. Basically, he said, people of European descent worship at the shrine of individuality; students are encouraged to 'do their own thing'. In Asiatic countries students are brought up to consider themselves as part of a group and a family. They see their parents as fellow-travelers in the business of education. Thus, they are more biddable and willing to submit to hard work. If they succeed the whole group succeeds.

I was reminded of this when I read someone else's blog this-morning. (And I apologise for not recalling the name of the writer.) He wrote of the 'Broken Window' approach, which is said to have improved crime rates in New York. Rather than wait for serious crimes to occur, the police jump on lesser infringements, such as window-breaking, thus nipping crime in the bud, literally. It seems to me that the urge to break windows, scrawl graffiti, and generally be 'agin the government' stems from the cult of individuality. No doubt the perpetrators are 'finding themselves'! I'm quite sure young people in Asia commit petty crimes too, but do they do it to the same extent? I doubt it. They may riot for want of food etc, but pure self-indulgence must be rare. They don't break windows in a mood of 'this is me!' surely!

I was at Harry's school this-morning, helping with reading exercises and I found myself in a room buzzing with life and activity, but full of 'individuals' vying for attention. And I wondered.........

I have to admit that I belong to the 'individualistic' society too. I don't see myself as part of a group as much as an individual. And I know worries have arisen about Japanese children, for example, being hounded to succeed, and suffering from mental stress. But surely there's what my mother always called 'a happy medium' somewhere.

I hope Harry finds it!

5/12/10

Politics have been uppermost in my mind today. We had our budget yesterday evening so the papers have been full of pros and cons. It appears to be steady as we go for people like us; in fact, pharmacy items are going to be cheaper.The main thrust is taxing the mining giants enormously, and that could easily backfire. Already some of them are threatening to move activities to more friendly countries!

Then, of course, I've been captivated by the news from Britain, where I was born. I go to sleep with the BBC on every night, and it's still droning away when I wake in the morning, but I wake up with a start if anything of interest to me is mentioned. Consequently, I heard Gordon Brown's 'retirement' speech when it happened, which was deep in the Australian night. I found it quite moving, particularly as he must be such a disappointed man. So now we'll wait for the two parties in the Coalition to start squabbling!

I conducted my U3A Poetry group this-morning. Our numbers were depleted through holidays and sickness, but we still enjoyed reading and discussing. I took along two very different poems, one by Walt Whitman and the other by Joyce Grenfell to analyse and others brought their own choices, from C.J.Dennis to T.S. Eliot. I had to spend the afternoon in town having ultra-sound tests done on my carotid arteries. Because I have problems in my legs, an additional test was deemed necessary. It's quite unnerving hearing the blood surging through ones body!

5/11/10

We had our Choir Practice yesterday afternoon. We're fortunate because we have our practices at Lois' house and we look out over her delightful view at the same time as we sing. (A view ruined by those awful overhead wires! Australia's slow in getting them underground.) I was late getting there as I got a lift with a friend who was delayed. The reason for this is that my car is being used by Greg, whose own car needed repair. On top of that Malcolm reversed into a truck the other day! So that was out of commission too! Fortunately, he found the identical piece at a Car Wreckers so he's saving a lot of money doing the repairs himself.

Though Gordon Brown in the UK is definitely not one of my favourite people, I feel very sorry for him at the moment. He was in the shadow of Tony Blair for years and he took over the job of PM when things were bad. Not only that but I think he probably has an unfortunate nature. He may be a saint but he comes over as very brusque and demanding and he doesn't seem to look people in the eye! The state of British politics is appalling all round. It seems a little known lesser politician who didn't get that many votes is the most powerful man in the country at present.

As for the loan to Greece.... that makes me feel very uneasy. It's being loaned money when it's already in debt! How is it ever going to climb out of the mire? Not only that but the populace wont stand for too many privations and I foresee riots etc in the future. If Spain and Portugal go the same way the EU will unravel and a noble idea will have come to nothing. All very disturbing.

We have our Budget Night tonight. We're told not to expect any handouts, but this present government is so unpopular at the moment that I think there's bound to be a sweetener in there somewhere!

5/10/10

 

I've just been gardening. Even after all these years in Australia I just cannot get used to winter in the sub-tropics, and preparing for it brings it all to the forefront of my mind. There's no 'dead' time of the year here. Of course, we miss the excitement of snow, the tingle of real cold, the delights of an evening before a blazing fire and the ecstasy of Spring, but I still get a thrill out of knowing that the 'leggy' flowers I've slashed this-morning will bloom again for me in winter! I shouldn't really call it 'gardening' though; it's 'postage-stamping' because that's the size of our little patch. It's a wonderful sun-trap in winter though and we often sit out there in the sun when it gets chilly indoors. Australian houses are draughty in winter. They're designed to keep the air circulating in summer and so they're not ever really cosy. We have a staircase leading down into our lounge, too, so that's always a source of draughts. However, who's grumbling? Our winter season is June/July/August but chilly weather lingers on a month or so after that. Our winter is the same length as an English summer, and we all remember how short that is! (Sorry!) I hate winter clothes, though. I always feel ten years older when I'm rugged up! Now I'm off to 'season' my wardrobe, packing away the really summery clothes for a while. Very virtuous!

5/9/10

I'm certain this is true. And today is a case in point. I'd just cleaned the house and I was in the middle of a pile of ironing when Harry and Max arrived for a Grandma School lesson. I didn't have time to ask myself whether  or not I was happy! And, sure enough, when all was quiet and I became contemplative I discovered I'd been utterly happy for an hour!

 Not much of a first entry but I'll improve!