Hmmm, 24th of May 2015. Today is the 70th anniversary of Mum and Dad’s wedding. Seventy years!

Above is the cover of the second volume of my photo collection (it’s a wraparound cover). Copies can be ordered at approx. A$25 each plus postage, which within Australia is $11.

I’m well into the next volume.

___________________________

I’ve had a fairly detailed read of the book, The Barefoot Boys of Werribee, and I’m very disappointed to say that we, our family, Dad, Mum, me, are not mentioned at all. I’m quite surprised, because we were there for a long time – 1955 to late 1959, and Dad was a pretty outstanding bloke, someone I’d have thought was very memorable. We were very involved in the home and integrated with the boys, so I’m surprised that we’re not mentioned.

There’s a brief mention of another man, Ron Limb, as farm manager in the late fifties. Well, that can’t be right because Dad was farm manager then. I do remember Ron Limb but he was a church minister.

Likewise, I recognise several of the boys’ names from that time, but there are other names mentioned as being there when I was there that I don’t remember at all. There’s a list of some of the teachers’ names at Wundowie school but it doesn’t include two names that I remember strongly, in a good way.

I wish I had photos of the time. There must be some – Dad was always taking photos, but I don’t know what’s happened to them. Probably “donated” to the Battye Library behind my back by my close female relative. No need to ask or tell. She has form.

I may try to contact the author of the book to see about incorporating some of my memories in a possible second edition, but I doubt there would be one. This is a very specific book.

____________________________

I’m trying to make myself pick up the phone and make a move on that Mercedes in Melbourne. It’s a big purchase and I’m nervous about making a mistake. It would involve making an air trip to Melbourne, finding some accommodation there, picking up a car I’ve only seen on the web, trusting the car sales company that it’s mechanically good, then setting off on a long driving trip in winter on the east coast. Nothing wrong with that, it’s not difficult, but I’m always worried about health problems these days and I don’t have the stamina I used to have.

It also occurs to me that if I had to sleep in the car on the way back over the Nullarbor, I wouldn’t have power for my CPAP machine. I would need to sleep sitting up. Can be done, just not ideal.

I was remembering recently that in the ’90s, for some reason, I had to walk home late at night from work at Channel 7 in Dianella to Trigg. That’s a long walk, around 8Km! I think I was car-less for a few days for some reason and got a lift to work, but there was no lift home available at 11pm, so I just decided to walk it. I also remember once walking home from Stirling train station to Trigg on a Sunday because the buses didn’t run. That was more than 5Km. Oh, I sure wish I had that ability now.

_____________________________

My newest watch. Pretty snappy, eh?

Must have cost a lot? Well, how about $18, including postage from Hong Kong. It’s big, bold, heavy, but I quite like it. It’s immaculately made. How can they do it for that price? The postage alone in Australia would probably be nearly that.

Look what it says under the PM on the left. It’s comical. This is actually the mode button. It all works well. I’m very satisfied. There are lots more designs for a similar price – I might choose another one. I like watches and $18 is not a big risk.