Monday 6 April 2020 – seven years in this house to the day, although it was a Tuesday when I took possession in 2013. I remember it well, as I took delivery of a pile of boxes five square and five high, about 125 of them. I was just about exhausted after weeks of preparing to move, then doing the job. I never want to go through that again.

Seven year itch? No way Jose, no way would I move from this house. I can hardly believe how perfect it is for me, only 100m from the Cornerstone pub, a Dome restaurant, a small shopping street with a Coles supermarket and beautiful lakes and parks only 250m away. Only 1Km from Jindalee Beach, although I could wish for easier access to it. I could also wish the pub and cafe were open, but we’ll have to wait a while, eh?

And the house itself, the first house I’ve ever owned where I feel proud to have visitors, where I don’t feel I have to apologise for the oddities. Where visitors say, “Oh, this is nice”, as soon as they enter. Where I have room to do most of the things I want to do. Where the garage is at the back of the house, not dominating the front view. Where I have a roller door at last.

Where I have ducted air conditioning, quiet and effective, switchable to zones so it isn’t wasted. And a professionally installed reticulation system to do the watering for me. Where I have a full sized laundry with a bench, even if it is cluttered with tools and junk.

And best of all, spare bedrooms and a second bathroom for a guest or two, something I’ve always wanted to offer.

It seemed a bit remote when I first moved here seven years ago, half an hour from anywhere, but I’ve got used to that and with the freeway being extended and the trains coming to a new Butler station since I got here, transport is a breeze.

Nope, at the end of my life, I’ve finally landed on my feet in a very pleasant place. I’ll never move from here except in a box.

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You think my hi-fi system is big? How about this? There would be more than $100,000 worth there, I would guess.

Compared with: Advertised on Facebook Marketplace last week, “High end Sony surround speakers.” High end? Yeah, compared to plastic computer speakers, I suppose.

In the photographic line:

A Pentax lens also advertised on F/B Marketplace in Perth, as Pentax Takumar 50mm lens, mint condition, $350. Whaaat?

This is a screw mount lens, which means it dates from the 1960s. You can see its condition – mint? And the price? He’s dreaming. It’s not worth even $50. Worth a try, I suppose.

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Just making a mussaman curry, from a kit including a star anise, a cinnamon stick, a large dried chilli and coconut sauce. I’ve added cubed steak, red onion, spring onion, brown mushrooms and sliced baby potatoes. It’s simmering away and I can smell it from here. Yum. See, I do cook, occasionally.

I’m also roasting a large aluminium container of cubed and sliced vegetables. It costs $5 and I get three serves from that. Cheap eats.

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Listening to the radio just now, I realised there won’t be an Anzac Day dawn service this time (on the 25th, for my overseas readers). Anzac Day is sacred in Australia and many people actually go to Turkey, to the cliffs at Gallipoli for the ceremony there. To cancel is unheard of. I’ve never known it happen in all my 73 years.

Instead, someone came up with the idea of getting anyone who can play any instrument to stand at the front of their house at 6am on the day and play the Last Post. Doesn’t matter that it’s not a bugle, anything will do, a kazoo if that’s all you’ve got. 6am.

The president of the RSL was interviewed and he said they did a search a couple of years ago to find 100 buglers in WA, and they not only found 100, they found more. I always wondered if the ability to play a bugle was dying out, but it seems not. Good stuff.

I’m not sure if I’ll wake up – yes I will, I’ll set the alarm – but it’s possible we may hear the sound anywhere in the city. Interesting.

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Donald Trump, President Trump, you have blood on your hands. The blood of thousands of Americans who have already died from the Covid-19 virus and the many thousands more who will die in the next weeks and months. Donald trump, you are a mass murderer.

It’s the same for all the Republican presidents in the USA. They all get things disastrously wrong. George Bush Jr sent America back into Iraq and Afghanistan at the cost of at least 5,000 US servicemen’s lives (and women) and at the incredible cost of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Afghani lives. This is mass murder!!! George Bush snr sent the US and the world into Iraq in 1993 to get Saddam Hussein, on the basis of faulty intelligence! Yes, Saddam invaded Kuwait, but it was proven he did not have weapons of mass destruction. It was wrong information. Hundreds of thousands of lives lost on both sides.

On top of this, something like eight, or is it eighty, US ex-servicemen commit suicide back in the US every day! These deaths are also on the hands of the Bushes. How can they sleep at night (well Bush Snr sleeps the sleep of the dead, obviously, but Jnr is still “Mister President” and lapping it up.

Democrat presidents are elected and have to clean up the mess. Bill Clinton got the budget back into balance. Barack Obama is widely regarded as one of the greatest US presidents of all time.

Now we have this pathetic excuse for a man-child in office, with a vocabulary of about 200 words, an inflated view of himself, who has utterly failed to lead in this crisis and actually stymies efforts by people who do know what they’re doing.

They’ve got to get him out. Got to get rid of him. He is incompetent and unfit for office. He is mentally ill. Surely the impeachment process allows for his removal?

Unfortunately, if he goes, we get Pence, the religious nut case himself. And if he isn’t available, we get “Moscow Mitch” McDonnell, the president of the senate. He’s a nut case too.

I actually hope they all get the virus and die. It would save thousands of lives if that happened and someone competent replaced them.