Something old is new again...

As you know I've moved to Brisbane, and since being here I have 
discovered a few things that bring back some wonderful 
childhood memories.

Play the player below and think about where you would hear the 
sound on a day to day basis...

I know you'll say the sports field, but unless you're e ref or 
player, then you're not really going to hear this regularly every 
day.

It's a whistle alright, but if you're from Melbourne like I am, then

it was a part of the white noise that was the background to your

daily life... up until about 20 or 30 years ago that is.

In my youth we enjoyed a twice daily domestic postal delivery

service... and whenever the postie placed letters into your 
letterbox, he blew a burst on his official GPO issued pea whistle. 
GPO being the acronym for General Post Office... the name used 
before it became known as Australia Post and started become 
so much more than a letter delivery service.

But the postie wasn't the only whistle blower that I remember so 
well. There was also the Train Guard. The guy in the back end 
of the train who's main job, it seemed, was to hang out of the 
door at stations and blow his whistle, as both a warning to the 
people on the train and the station to stand clear, and to signal 
to the driver that it was all clear and safe to pull away from 
the station. 

Oh and of course on the major intersections of Melbourne's CBD 
when the police were on traffic duty... trying to keep trams, 
people and motorists from getting tangled up in a big mess... 
especially those motorists performing a traffic manoeuvre unique 
to Melbourne (well in Australia it is) called a 'hook turn'.

 A brilliant solution to ensure that drivers turning 
right don't impede a tram's progress. 

Anyway, I honestly can't remember the last time I heard a 
whistle being blown in the normal course of my day... until I 
arrived in Brisbane that is.  

It's not a big deal of course, but when you hear something you 
haven't heard for such a long time, it really doe evoke some 
memories of a long gone era... well for me it does.


I ride the trains to and from work each day and I hear a 
whistle being blown by staff on the busier stations. The first
few times I heard it, it sounded very strange, foreign in
fact, yet very familiar at the same time. It really did stir
up some very old memories.


The other thing that's stirred up memories was organising this;

A pile of packages ready to post.


I used to love, as a kid, getting a package in the mail from
my Grandmother or Great Aunt. Every birthday they would
send me a card in the post, and sometimes even a package.
It was always so exciting to get and even more exciting to open.


Well the other day I went and bought mailing boxes so that I 
could send some little gifts I bought for my younger kids and my 
two grandsons... but it wasn't until after I was back home and 
wrapping the gifts, writing the cards, packing the boxes and 
addressing them, that I realised for the first time what it must've
been like for my Grandmother to be doing the same thing for me 
all those years ago. It really was a special thing to do... very 
satisfying. I looked at each one after addressing it and I could 
transport myself back to when I was about 5 or 8 or 11 years old 
having just received a package in the post. Wow... it really felt 
good to know that the same feelings could well be evoked in 
some kids a long way off from where I am.


So there you go... a bit of a light post, excuse the pun, but I just
wanted to share it with you.


Cheers.


   

Bullets...

I suppose I've stayed hidden away long enough

and it's about time I did more than just skulk

around the edges of the blogosphere.

Skulk...? Now there's a word you don't type very

often.

Here's a pic of a skulk to go along with what

you've just read.

So... bullets... well here they are;

Since last we spoke...

• I have relocated to Brisbane from Melbourne.
• I did it for my career. (too broke to retire, too old to get a different job).
• My father died... step father actually... but he was in my life for nearly fifty years.
• We had bad history, but managed to be civil to each other after I became a grown man.
• His final act before his death was to use his Will as the ultimate slap in the face for three of his four step, and his two full blood children. He divided the estate, a portion of which was my mother's legacy, 50/50 between one of his step children and his ex but never married to, girlfriend... or partner if you prefer. A bitter unfeeling man to the end.
• I did, however, admire his strength and sheer will (different will) to fight hard against the cancer that was taking quick control of his body.
• I had declined a request by my sister to speak at his funeral... I felt hypocritical being there.
• I drove up here (Brisbane)... and on the way my car 'did a wheel bearing' outside a town called Narrabri.
• I got it fixed but had to postpone my furniture delivery along with power connection.
• The day I arrived in Brisbane my car 'did the other wheel bearing'.
• I moved in three days before I was due in the office, and five days later than planned.
• Unpacking as one conducts a productive life is near impossible.
• Learning to live, temporarily, without some of the basics of life isn't as difficult as I expected it to be.
• There are many meals one can make, and eat, without the aid of modern appliances, cutlery, crockery or condiments.
• If one is prepared to wrap just about anything in a lettuce leaf (Cos if available) then one can enjoy food made from at least five of the six food groups. (If you count mayonnaise as a food group)
• Eating with your hands whilst leaning over the sink eliminates the need to buy dish washing liquid.
• MB has completely lost recognition of who I am.
• She loves her new life and is obviously happy and settled and most importantly, well cared for.
• Butch is the rock that forms the secure base to my entire existence... I'd be hopelessly lost without her.
• I have just returned from working in South Africa, Mozambique and Perth.
• Brisbane is wetter than Melbourne... it all falls in a much shorter period too.
• My house doesn't leak.

There you go... you're basically up to date

and so I will endeavour to resume posting

regularly.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers.

My new abode.

It's smallish, but it will serve me well.

A Silent Tribute...

I should've said this a while ago...

"Excuse me...!

Just what are they trying to say?"

I'm sorry for my absence... I should be

back soon.

Cheers.