A Sombre Time

It's been rain and floods of biblical proportions in Central Queensland over the last few weeks.  People have been evacuated, some have lost everything, businesses are awash and roads are cut causing Outback towns and a major city to be isolated.  Now the floods are heading our way.  The Darling Downs city of Toowoomba was hit by a huge surge of water yesterday.  People had no time to prepare...it was totally unexpected.


There was a horrifying situation caught on camera yesterday.  We could see three people trapped in their car which had been washed off the road by an enormous wave of water.  The woman in the passenger side had her head in her hands in despair.  The car was slowly sinking.  The next shot showed the three had managed to clamber out and onto the roof of the car...two adults and a child.  The news helicopter notifed the SES and we heard later that one person was airlifted off in a very dangerous operation.  We then heard that the car had disappeared with the two remaining people.  I have never seen anything so terrible in all my life and felt absolutely powerless...those poor, poor people.

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Now the Government, Council and SES (State Emergency Service) have put Brisbane Metro on flood alert, especially residents living by the Brisbane river and creeks.  During 1974, a massive flood devastated the city, which is built with the river running through the middle of it.  To prevent such a flood happening again, Wivenhoe dam was built miles upstream. 

Not so long ago, Wivenhoe was nearly empty...we were on very severe water restrictions and had suffered years of drought.  Now, the opposite has occurred.  The dam is more than full, all flood gates are open and water is pouring into the Brisbane river.  However, the Lord Mayor is stressing that although there will be flooding, it won't be as bad as 1974.  But he has warned people to be on alert and to prepare their properties and effects for the worst.


The Government has instituted a warning system where residents are notified by mobile phone that there is a flood alert in their area.  My granddaughter received such a message yesterday and although she was aware of the danger, she appreciated being contacted.

So...is this phenomenon a natural disaster caused by "global warming", climate change or just the usual cycle of drought/flood that happens once every hundred years or so?  Who knows?  The boffins all have their theories, the churches have their beliefs and there are the pragmatic souls that put it down to the vagaries of nature.  

Whatever the reason, people suffer and our hearts go out to them.  That is evidenced in the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal which so far has reached just under $30 million.  That is only a drop in the bucket (no pun intended) to what is needed.  However, Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State has generously offered much appreciated support and Queensland thanks the US for this welcome gesture.


Although this all sounds rather parochial, we are well aware that there are other disasters of equal and greater proportions in other parts of the world and our hearts go out to those who are suffering.  It is a sombre time indeed.  But taking a leaf out of the book of the hardy souls in these disasters...we just need to get on with it and try to put lives back together as much as we can.  Unfortunately, for some, it is too late...

Dear Blog...

It has been so long since I posted that it's taken me half an hour to find out how to sign in!

I must apologise, dear Blog, for my shameful neglect of you and all the friends you have found for me.  I have no excuses, just reasons which I won't bore you by listing.  Let it be said that life has been hectic.

On with some of my doings of the past little while...

I spent Christmas and New Year in New Zealand with my family.  Queensland has been a trifle damp for the last couple of months so it was lovely to see some sunshine for most of the time I was there.  I flew in mid afternoon on Christmas Eve and was met at the airport by my brother with my mum and stepfather.  

Christmas Day was spent on my cousin's farmlet...an absolutely idyllic spot with a lovely lake.  We had a rather peculiar game of cricket, by peculiar I mean there were no rules and one was batting until sick of it.  (I missed every ball...par for the course).  There were lots of laughs and plenty of bubbles...which didn't really help the batting average. 

A couple of days later we drove 2 hours north to see Brooke and Harry at their father's place.  Most of their family were there and we had a lovely afternoon.  They, too, are on a farm which runs right to the beach with the house on a hill giving the most wonderful outlook of the ocean and outlying islands.


New Year's Eve was quiet...out for dinner and then home by about 10.30 pm.  None of us could be bothered staying up until midnight but Harold set the DVD to record the celebrations at Sky Tower, Auckland's casino, which we watched the next day.


I must admit I was pleased to get home to my own bed and to the cats.  I put them in the cattery...much to their disapproval, they wouldn't look at me when I said goodbye.  Anyway they were as pleased as I was to be home.


So, dear Blog, that is a little of what I've been doing.  Even my book was placed on the back burner until the craziness of the silly season passed.


I'm still working and really enjoying it.  I get asked, in total amazement by some, why I'm still working.  Well, it keeps my brain active; I work my own hours (except leading up to Christmas, when the hours were loooong, to get the work out); I enjoy it and I have the most wonderful lifestyle because it's very well paid and besides, what else would I do?  Talking of well paid...I had a lovely fat payrise plus an unexpected bonus for Christmas...why would I give that up?


Now I'm planning my next trip.  A friend and I are talking about taking a week long trip out west (once it stops raining...in the Dry Season, hopefully) on the Spirit of the Outback.  So we are going to meet in a couple of weeks to organise a time that suits us both and go from there.


The next overseas jaunt is the very strong likelihood of a cruise...I'll keep you posted on that one.

Below are a few photos taken in New Zealand...

 One of NZ's native birds, the tui or parson bird, so called because of the tuft of white feathers at the throat.  This one is feeding from the nector of the flax flowers.

 This is the flower of an enormous water lily called the Victoria lily.  The alien looking growth behind the flower is a new leaf pad, which will be about 2 - 3 m across when it opens fully.

  

My brother cooking bacon and eggs on the barbecue on Boxing Day.

I took a liking to this fish and the feeling was mutual!

But there's no love lost on this guy, a 5.1 m salt water or estuarine crocodile, originally taken from Darwin Harbour and now residing in a suitable habitat in Auckland, New Zealand.

Harry and Brooke with their great grandmother.

Pidgin English

On Tuesday night I was watching QI hosted by Stephen Fry.  QI is a quiz show with a difference.  First of all, it has a very catchy reggae signature tune and secondly it has a panel of four who are nuts.  The idea of QI is that the panel are asked a question, something like "Why don't pigeons like the movies?"  The panel can be right or wrong but they must never be boring, hence QI - Quite Interesting.


At the end of this week's show Stephen gave us a piece of useless but quite interesting information.  According to him, and who knows how he found out, but during an eclipse of the sun some years ago, an Australian Aborigine, when asked about the eclipse, replied, "Kerosene lamp belong Jesus gone buggerup."


Now, I quite liked that and before I went to bed last night, posted the definition on Facebook.  No explanation, just that.  This morning I had three comments.  One from my daughter (whom you may know as Flossy) who asked if I had been drinking again (charming), another from Liz (Finding Life Hard ) who said it made perfect sense to her and third comment from my grandson in Holland who replied with a comment which was worse than the pidgin English.


So, out of those three, one knew what I was talking about...which goes to prove that 1 out of 3 people is as warped as I am.


And the reason why pigeons don't like the movies?  Disregarding the weird and wacky answers the panel came up with, apparently they see movement a lot faster than we do.  As one panel member commented, "Going to a movie for a pigeon would be like watching a slide show".