Costly non-electric clothes drier

In January 1975 we were on leave from Papua New Guinea and decided to buy a grand old colonial house in the suburb of Bicton.  We were the second owners of this house which was built in 1897. 

At the end of ’75 we returned to Western Australia and moved into our house.  It was still partially furnished with some interesting pieces including a piano, appliances, furniture and personal letters and diary of the previous owners.  A simple clothes drier was in the laundry and I have found the same one on a site in the USA for sale for AU$ 942.00.  It seems that the drier is almost 100 years old and still in good shape.  

'Tell 'em they're dreamin'

Joan gets a new resting place

Yesterday we; daughter Helen and I, transferred soil from a plant pot to a larger pot and planted a new rose in the new pot.

The original pot’s soil contained my wife Joan’s ashes and in shifting the pot in the garden, roots were damaged and that rose eventually died.   We visited a nursery and found an identical rose, planted the rose in the larger pot.  Had a glass of champagne with Joan and Helen reminded me that when it is time, I shall join Joan in the new pot.

The rose is an ebb tide florabunda 

Click to enlarge

New rose

The original rose

Farewell Albert

My long time friend Albert passed away last Wednesday.  We had know each other for 55 years  starting when we were Heads of our respective primary schools in Papua New Guinea.  My school was on a beach around 15 miles from Albert's, and on weekends I would often cycle along the beach to spend time with Albert in his one room accommodation.  After a few years we both transferred to different areas of PNG, but caught up again each time our paths crossed back in Australia.  Albert lived in Sydney and I live on the other side of Australia in Perth.  In recent years we regularly kept in touch with Skype and Apple FaceTime.  

About a year ago Albert was diagnosed with Leukaemia and we talked up until a week ago; he from a palliative care unit.   He was 78, just a year older than me.

Click to enlarge photo.

Albert in 1962 in Papua

Western Australian elections

Well, the state elections for this state of Western Australia are over and the Labor party has won in what has been correctly called a landslide.  The incumbent government of the Liberal Party took a punt on joining with a very controversial party, One Nation, in a preference deal.  One Nation  is a Donald Trump style baby party with the party’s leader, Pauline Hanson espousing Donald Trump like pronouncements about race issues, vaccination and an embarrassing praise of Vladimir Putin etc etc.

A major road project commenced in the lead up to election day is to be cancelled in the next couple of days.  

The controversy about this road project is a fair bit of NIMBY (not in my back yard) both from for and against people.  The project was a plan to ease trucking traffic on a highway and extend a freeway road through some wetlands and through a suburb with a six lane highway estimated to serve around 5,000 trucks a day. 

Part of the bush-land clearing for the 5 kilometre freeway extension known as Roe8.

click photo to enlarge

6 years

Saturday 25th was the 6th anniversary of my dear wife Joan’s death.  

Is 'anniversary' the right word?  Anniversary sounds like a celebratory word.

I miss her terribly and still feel her presence in our house.

Martin, Helen, Joan and Kev. Circa 1985