It was a cold one predicted for Bathurst on Friday morning… -5c! I even had to wear bed socks [gasp horror shock!] No snow, but there was a fantastic frost to keep out of [laffs]. I much prefer this cooler weather than our stinking-hot summers… tis one of the joys of living in Australia.
It has been very refreshing reconnecting with some good friends again this week, after they have recently experienced some major stresses in their lives.
Great to re-watch some of the classic 1969 TV episodes of Monty Python again… SBS Viceland (one of our TV channels) is airing 2 or 3 episodes a week. Bought back great memories of the very first time I ever saw – or had even heard of – Python. In my 3rd year of High School (1979), they used to play videotaped episodes on the school Library TV at lunchtimes… my very first memory was of the "Village Idiot" falling off a fence! I had no idea what it was all about back then (I'm sure that was most peoples' initial reaction upon seeing Python for the first time, let's be honest!), but I laughed my head off, because it was so randomly absurd – right up my street, sense-of-humour wise.
"I must complain about all the sex on TV... I mean... I keep falling off..."
I'm looking forward to getting the I'net back on at home, hopefully next week (fingers toes and [edit] crossed!) – with a reliable provider this time! Sitting in the Library downtown, using their Wifi with my laptop, I hate those grots who sit next to you in their neighbouring cubicle and endlessly sniff… do I have to bring them bleedin' tissues?!? Gagh!
I suddenly felt very old, when I read that Jordan Vincent turned 21 this week! Who? Her dad has been chronicling her journey online, ever since she was diagnosed with brain cancer aged four. I first bumped into them online, when she was about eight, and her dad and I have kept in touch since then – one dad to another. She's a real fighter and inspiration, despite some really tough times together as a family.
The 3rd Ashes Cricket Test played out this last few days – Aussie Aussie Aussie! I honestly don't follow/watch much sport at all in general, but then there's the cricket… [grins]. I used to row in a school "Eight" (we were grotty Public School boys, who used to whip the butts of the Private School elite, much to their embarrassment, and our pride! We were just a good crew – our coach was an ex-Olympic rowing coach [we were so lucky there!], and our best time in practice was something like 10 seconds off Olympic time! Not bad for a bunch of mismatched 16-yo schoolboys, who rowed well together as a crew! Hahahha)… and I played soccer (football) at left-half, as an older teen. Sailing was my other sporting passion… alas, all of these are long in the past these days. I always loved to play cricket (when I could, which was not very often), but I was pretty hopeless at it, to be honest – my highest batting score was just four runs [laffs]. I love to watch surfing too… but my actual experience of board-riding was of spending more time IN the water than on it… [laffs]. All good fun and great memories.
Watching the English bowler Jofra Archer is a pleasure… ba$tard! [laffs]… then there's those norty rain and bad light delays… summer in England, hey?!
Then there's the Aussies bowling England out for 67 off just 27 overs… wOOt. Our bowlers and catches were a-maze-ing! Tis the lowest English score against Australia in an Ashes series! What a great game.
THEN there's the a-maze-ing batting from England's Ben Stokes, who helped win an unwinnable game – amazing day of cricket! The Third Test had it all. Following on from that amazing tied World Cup Final the other month, plus the Aussie ladies victorious in their Ashes series – what a English summer of cricket it's been. But the Men's Ashes aren't decided yet, boy-oh! [laffs]
Then there was the annoyingly-repetitive 30-second TV ad that played twenty times in a row, after the end of every over… definitely NOT great… there's one advertising 'suit' who surely lost his job over that debacle. Is it any surprise why I don't watch much TV anymore…?
Then there's the Friday evening series of five bizarre hoax/prank calls from an unknown number I received, of a 4-second recording of someone being violently ill and then hanging up… the calls annoyingly woke me up from my pre-cricket nap, basically. Oh woe [laffs].
MS stuff… walking down to the library the other day, my left foot was very "Foot-Droppy", so I had to concentrate to keep it from dragging away under me at times (causing a trip or fall!)… thank goodness for "Brian" my walker! I got to-and-from downtown without any incident, thankfully… stoopid foot drop and MS! It's all so frustratingly random – all was fine with my walking at home this evening – go figure! "The person who limps is still walking".
I bumped into the old jazz bands' drummer downtown last week… the poor bugger suffered a nasty fall out on his farm, and broke a disk in his back! Blimey! He's up and about OK, but still under heavy pain meds, poor bloke! Reminded me of when my own dad broke a bone in his back, saving someone from drowning whilst out sailing in the early '60's (before I was born, apparently). My dad the hero!!! In those days, to fix a broken back, they simply wired the bones together! He spent the rest of his life (wholly mobile, thankfully), explaining to x-ray technicians what the piece of wire in his back was all about [laffs]! Speaking of the jazz band, I haven't been able to get out to see a "Pengopuss" performance in ages, unfortunately. They're good people.
I was hoping to post this rambling prattle [laffs] on Friday, but a minor 'flare' of my [cough] back end saw me housebound for a few days, dammit – so very frustrating feeling housebound again, albeit for a few days! I've not even been able to get out to order my groceries online for home delivery, nor get my new I'net organised and paid for – D'oh! I definitely do NOT want to be downtown and be "caught short" wholly unexpectedly without warning… it has happened previously on rare occasion, and it's horribly humiliating. My 'back end' issue seems to be clearing up now tho, thankfully. My doctor wants me to have another iron infusion tho… my iron levels seem to be getting a bit low again… that's something I definitely want to keep on top of, as it's what caused my last visit to the hospital. Even iron supplements I've been taking haven't really helped me at all. Stoopid anemia. Tis one of the reasons (along with MS lethargy) why I've been sleeping so much as of late… it seems whole days seem to get missed, somedays! Pah. But I'm OK, honestly!
Speaking of visiting my specialist… I noticed the cracking in the walls in his rooms were getting worse – one of the joys of those older houses that keep shifting their foundations, thanks to our severe ongoing drought. It's happening to a lot of places around town, unfortunately… not dangerous, it's just the way it is here at the moment, unfortunately... the clay base shrinks when it gets so dry! He said that a piece of cracked plaster fell off the wall in the middle of a consultation with a patient – not a good look, we both laughed! He's a good bloke, and a good doctor, for which I'm very thankful for.
Musically, a bit of background 'burbling' sounds from Pink Floyd's last instrumental album, "The Endless River" (2014). Later it was early Rolling Stones, then The Who – go figure [laffs]. I'm so thankful for the amazing-quality sound-bar speakers I was given a few months ago, as I can listen to all of my diverse music (4,000+ albums' worth!) from my external hard-drives thru my laptop, without needing it to be loud at all. Phew.
Peas bee with ewe
Mal
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