Month: November 2020

Sunday 29th & Monday, 30th November 2020

The cool change is here, for now anyway. Sunday is big breakfast day. Well big for us anyway. Fried egg on a hash brown with grinder salt and pepper, plus fried fritz with Rosella tomato sauce.

N.B. a few points here.

1.  It HAS to be Rosella tomato sauce. because it’s the tastiest. I’m guessing lots of salt and am also led to believe if you want to continue enjoying it, never go to the factory. Mind you that was from my mother over 50 years ago based on a CWA excursion to the factory. So chances are Rosella have whipped themselves into gear since then.
2. These were ‘McCains’ hash browns. Passable but the ‘Birdseye’ are much better tasting. and they hold together better.

Sun coming and going. Jeans on. (not shorts) Clean up morning.

Comes lunchtime, Bruce and partner and middle daughter and her dog ‘Beau’ are off to Largs for a walk. Do we want to come? OK. We will catch up. We are called and told where their car is parked and where they will be walking. We go past the Palais at Semaphore to the Largs Pier with Kiosk, overshoot and do not spot the car, so our walk turns into a drive along the foreshore all the way to outer harbor, the passenger terminal (was it ever used) and to the entrance of the Yacht Club.

We return, find the car about 200 metres south of the Largs pier and kiosk so park and walk to the kiosk, order a Combination Yiros, get the pager and ‘Can you wait outside please? Covid?’

As we loiter, who approaches from the north but the happy foursome led by Beau at the ready. They order. Food, chat, icecreams, scenery.

A Trike

The building across the road.

Same trke from the back.

You can almost see the old Ford Pick up. Almost.

Two ‘Sportsmen.’ Early models.

Sigrid Thornton in disguise, with excessive sun protection.

The happy bunch …

… from both sides.

Same building as per previous but closer. Her shot. Mine was the distance one.

If you squint, these are sails on surf riders or whatever you call them.

Bloody big dog.

Sea gulls a plenty.

Back to cars, more scenery, home.

The Palais from a distance.

The Palais closer.

The Palais, even closer.

The Palais Entrance.

Other features of the foreshore and Semaphore road.

Old Valiant. Joy and nostalgia.

The Bower Cottages on Bower road. Bit blurred. You get the idea.

Port River going into West Lakes.

Call from Phillip. Are we going to Brenton Parsons 70th Birthday celebration at the Sussex Hotel, Walkerville? Yes. We must.

N.B. Brenton picked up the nickname ‘Snips’ a long time ago. Well he was already Snips when I first met him in 1973.

The core was in the beer garden and we were inside till a few left and the numbers dropped outside. (bloody covid)

Now … Here is a small bunch of people with several I had not seen for over 40 years. They attended this icon of a man’s 70th birthday, we gave him ‘a dozen’ (rowing tradition) talked a little, people left and I took NOT ONE photo!! Idiot.

breathalyzer blows .045. Bit close so Anne drives back to the Villa where the other Ann has created a Fabulous Feast of beef and carrot in succulent juice with potatoes a la peas and spices AND roast chook etc etc etc. Wines, a single but large glass of port and we are home for showers and bed.

Tomorrow the car goes to the auto electrician for the reversing camera.

Also, although I have not raised the flag on the van since we got here, the pole will have to go up and with a different day because, Monday 30th November is St Andrews Day!

Is there no end to the joy.

Cheers.

Monday, 30th November 2020

Up early. Bring the blog up to date and THE FLAG.

The national flag of Scotland is the Saltire. It is made up of a great white cross which spans diagonally across the flag on a blue background. This was the supposed shape of the cross that St. Andrew was put to death on and therefore the flag is also known as the ‘Cross of St.

Considered the unofficial national flag of Scotland, The Lion Rampant historically and legally belongs to a king or queen of Scotland. According to an Act of Parliament passed in 1672, it is an offence to fly this flag, unless on a royal residence or with the permission of the monarch.

N.B.  St. Andrew’s Day.  Feast day.  Saint Andrew’s Day, also known as Andermas is the feast day of Andrew the Apostle. It is celebrated on 30 November. Saint Andrew’s Day is Scotland’s official national day. It has been a national holiday in Romania since 2015. Wikipedia   Date: Monday, 30 November 2020.  Celebrations: Bank holiday (in Scotland)

It’s St Andrew’s Day on the 30 November. He is the patron saint of Scotland. He is also the patron saint of Romania, Greece, Russia, Ukraine and Poland. Patron saints are chosen to be special protectors or guardians over things.

So, St Andrews was a very busy chappy.

Aiming for 8.30am at Roxen Auto Electrical, 388 Grand Junction Road, Mansfield Park, 8244 0244, ‘John’ near the corner of Hanson road but there is no approach/parking on GJ Road , so turn South onto Hanson Road, then first left then left again. We are approaching from 163 GJ Road so it is a mere 3 minutes.Yep. That easy.

We went from a ‘Can you put on a new reversing camera and monitor to alt 1 then alt 2 then down to, ‘can you fix this one?’ I think it was all just too hard and complicated. So we drove out 20 minutes later just as we had driven in.

Back home for something more constructive. Breakfast. A drive with the landlord to a shopping centre Port Road, with a Standom Smallgoods and a reasonable buy up of exotic meats, followed by a Coles then a coffee and toasted sandwich shop.

You can always spot an Asian Store.

Two Fat Chooks

Foodie Boy Asian Kitchen

A Torana SL!!

And yes! Bunnings for a return and NO sausage sandwich. Only weekends. Bummer.

Home. Washing serious as in bed day. Also tinkering and time to play with Bruces new UHF walkie talkies and my oldest set (about 10 to 12 years from Dick Smiths) which I think are just HF or something incompatible with UHF.

Anyway, the Dick smiths won’t talk to Bruce’s or my car UHF CB, from hereon known as ‘the truck’ for simplicity.

Now some luck with an old set of MotorolaT5419 Walkabouts I got cheap at an op shop in Peterborough. They will talk to the truck both ways, but they will only receive from Bruce’s but not send. Here is where we had to go to school. When all else fails, read the instructions and also google.

Anyway, we are currently learning about CTCSS and DCS. Also  the op shop Motorola’s manual refers to Interference Eliminator Code. Anyway, see how we go tomorrow.

Tonight chicken Schnitzels from Standom Smallgoods roasted seasoned potato cubes, carrot and broccoli, plus fresh pineapple dessert and adults red processed grape juice.

Half way through ‘The Equalizer’ but switched off for continuation tomorrow night.

Time to crash.

Friday 27th & Saturday, 28th November 2020

40 degrees today !

A call from Ken to touch base. We cover all sorts of subjects including combination weights of both car and van. Interesting discussion to be continued.

We do what we have to do till 1pm then go into ‘Friday’ mode.

Lunch at the Birkenhead Tavern. Normally chockablock but now lots of space between limited tables and we are the second sitting. First was 12 to 1.30pm and we are 1.30 to 3pm.

Chicken Parmi just $19 with the seniors 20% off. Steve W was the booking agent and organizer for the day. It was a pleasant day when I could drive home. (!??) One light beer and one red wine with a small top up over nearly 3 hours. Home with scenery along the way. At the port so most scenery is nautical.

Quiet night. The usual. Film? Pixels.

Cheers.

Saturday, 28th November 2020.

Again supposed to be 40 degrees ish today or near.

A trip to Bunnings for all sorts. A strip of metal and bolts for me to stabilize the ramps for the container and Bruce goes for a base for his new (to him) clothes line.

Also, masks, Yiros, Vietnamese veg cakes and coffee.

Home. Bruce is off to an open inspection. Some of us still work.

Various stuff on the computer etc. Anne had a good break from me and stayed inside to watch TV while I held the fort (van)

Evening meal is our turn. Healthy so did a top notch salad with all sorts including capers and goat feta but not the walnuts and Meredith Park goat cheese I requested. Also a hot spud for all participants and heaps on smoke salmon. The sauce was a creamy concoction with wasabi. The red wine worked with it.

Films were Robin Hood Prince of Thieves with Kevin Costner and others including Morgan Freeman and also, by flicking we covered Skyfall.

Cool.

Night.

Wednesday, 25th & Thursday, 26th November 2020

Up late-ish 8.15am. On the computer. My master up at 8.45am. Visiting someone and something today, amongst other things.

Late start but we visit Robin and Jenny. We go a different way. A short cut, which requires a 90 degree turn and a ‘U’ turn of about 3 kms. We finally arrive and are treated like undernourished royalty. The platter never emptied. They keep a diverse selection of birds and gazing out the window, Anne says, ‘I think one has got out of the cage.’ The reply is, ‘No. That is the captain. He is wild but drops in to say hello to the others’. The obvious question,’ Why, ‘captain?’ and the response, ‘Because he always lands there on the boat.’ Makes sense.

We get onto the subject of walkie talkies. So Robin shows me the smallest ever set. They are for kids but actually work.

Chat, chat, chat but must move on to the container. We dump two small boxes of quickly chosen ‘we don’t need them’ items and pick up the battery from the stored car and battery charger. The car will have to be moved to get to other things we want but the flat battery will have to be charged to get the car mobile. While there, I look and plan a method to anchor the ramps to the container as the front wheel drive has an annoying habit of spinning the ramps out at the crucial moment if you drive up slowly.

The unfortunate alternative is to take a run up, but seeing as how there is about 200mm left right front and back, it is a nerve racking experience. I have only done it once and if was a pure fluke, and I know it. Anyway, I have a cunning plan.

Takeaway to home for a quick and easy. Landlord is heading to the beach for exercise. We are heading to the shower.

They return. Red wine.

This is a slow, maintenance period of unspectacular odds and ends. Hang in there. We will hit the road again.

Good night.

góða nótt

(Icelandic)

It doesn’t sound anything like you would expect. Google up the translation.

If you haven’t been to Iceland, firstly, ‘GO!’ It’s amazing. Secondly a handicap is you cannot say, I went to Granada or Lisbon or St Andrews because you can’t pronounce the names of the towns.  e.g. Svalbarasstrandrahrepper or Neskaupstadur. I skipped the accents over the letters. Look at Good Night translation and use your imagination. But go there! Eat horse. It’s every bit as good as beef. I wouldn’t do the putrefied shark though. I have heard not one good word about it. I will happily try something psychologically uncomfortable  as long as it tastes OK. Rotten, ammonia stinking, foul shark. Now where’s the joy in that?

Cheers.

Thursday, 26th November 2020

Well I’ll be! Another late start. Me about 8am ish. She? 8.50am and only inaudible noises that I believe, started as a word but by the time it got to me was …. well, an ‘inaudible noise.’

Charge battery today and look for a piece of metal for the ramps. Didn’t charge the battery and didn’t look for metal. That gives a hint of how the day went.

Cleared the Post Box, restocked the red grape juice and had a coffee and toasted ham and cheese sandwich at the North Adelaide bakery.

Looked at places for a hair cut for Ann. All around $50. Ended up at Arndale shopping centre and managed supermarket shopping and a $33 hair cut. Home for showers.

At 5pm ish, I empty the back seat and we are all off to ‘The Villa’, that is Phillip and Ann’s place in Ovingham.

The three ladies stay at the Villa and share an Oyster Bay bubbly. We three chaps are off to Adelaide Rowing Club for a beer as the usual Adelaide University Boat Club is closed due to covid.

About to leave, we call the famous Rose Garden and order take away Thai. We pick up and take home to the three other hungry people. Fab meal. Good drinks.

Now this dy had lots of nice pics to be had, including River Torrens etc. Now The question is, why didn’t I take any? Derrr. I forgot.

Cheers.

Monday, 23rd November 2020

Overcast and just 24 degrees. Not so bad. Late start. 9am and still no movement from the other end of the house. (van)

Another lazy morning. Friend Fi Oakes, ex-Dili now of Huddersfield or specifically Marsden to be accurate. saw some ‘mockups’ I posted from 2011 and thought it was a ‘thing’ I do regularly. Well I do it every 9 years apparently. Anyway she fancied one so I whipped this up and posted it.

We stayed with her last year for a few nights and had a great time.

Anyway, I had to remember how to do it and with a little stuffing around and a few hours, it was done. FYI The hardest thing is to come up with the direction real person is looking and their disposition as in happy, solemn etc. Colouring is a question mark but I can usually change the colour. Not my best work but not half bad. That’s what took late morning and early afternoon.

The landlords were out and it is very windy, so we decide against a self hair cut outside the van and are off to Arndale Shopping centre for a cheap Chinese hair cut. $12. Then coffee, then cheap Chinese neck and shoulder massage, $25. Massage was twice the cost of the hair cut but four times the time. so, technically the massage was double the value. Hair 5 minutes, Massage 20 minutes.

Home. Showers, left over chicken and salad, drinks, Arnie movie The Last Stand. Done.

Oyasumi

(Good Night – Japanese)

Tuesday, 24th November 2020

ANOTHER lazy morning. Up at 8.20am. Still at the computer 10.30am. Breakfast at 11.15am.

Should ‘de-slack’ today and do some serious stuff.

Had a hands on look at the broken tail light. Tricky one to doctor. Have heard there is a kit that can be purchased. Two car places and no such thing except for a kit to do a chip in the windscreen.

So I go home with a tube of silicone and a fuel additive to clean injectors.

On the way home, we saw three jet trails I thought too close together. I know there are big spaces between usually but this looked just wrong.

Indian chicken Korma cooked by dynamic Anne, some white and red as well as port while we watch ‘Paul’ then dream time.

Cheers.

Saturday, 21st (covid lockdown Day 3) & Sunday 22nd November 2020

Overcast and predicted 38 degrees. The perfect day to be outside? I think not.

We have planned a bit of a work day today. just a ‘gnats’ too hasty me thinks to work on a mongrel day of 38 degrees? Nup. No ‘workies’ outside today.

Play with the computer in the air cond, the ladies did what ever, had lunch, the Landlord had an appointment re auction. We reconvene for evening meal and The Da Vinci Code. Asleep in the chair. Day over. How slack.

Sunday, 22nd November 2020 (1st Day after end of Lock Down)

We wake, out of lockdown.

I am copying files to two back up drives. That is because when we take off again I want one complete set left in Adelaide ‘just in case.’ This is not a quick or easy process.

10.30am I call and yes, the pub is open. Yes you can book for four. No you can’t book for 12.30pm. There are two sittings. 11.45am to 1.15pm or 1.30 pm to 3pm. 11.45am please. So we finally meet the Webbers for the first time since March at the Arab Steed and enjoy eating to excess with just two Guinness’s.

Marching orders 1.15pm so we march (drive) to Bocelli Caffe Ristorante about 5 blocks down also on Hutt Street for one more drink, cake and coffee. Excellent afternoon then home about 4.45pm. In transit we call the landlord and they will be home in about an hour, so we go to the local Chicken shop and buy a big roast chook cut into eight and a medium chips enough for 8 people.

Food, talk, lounge for big screen action. Best is John Wick but doesn’t start till 10pm, so I get my copy and we watch it at 8pm instead.

Bed. Sleep.

We will have to hit the road soon for a change of scenery and description. This is getting as boring as facebook.

Dasvidaniya.

(N.B. Dasvidaniya in Russian means goodbye. Dasvidaniya is actually two words, not one: до (until) and свида́ния (meeting / date).)

Thursday, 19th & Friday 20th November 2020

We wake in the lockdown. It’s not quite prison, although I have never been in prison. I have visited in prison but not as a fully fledge member of the club.

A very easy morning and the landlord has made lunch which is serious leftovers of the birthday party meal which was Filipino Chicken Adobo. Very tasty and including my favorite food group, potatoes. Well do you know how many different types of potatoes there are? They deserve their own group.

I bring to the inner sanctum and its big screen (70 or 80 something inches) a memory stick full of MY premium/first choice movies of which a hand full do not work and have the ending .avi The non workers include RED and Mr Right.

No end of tweeking will make them happy.

Bruce opens two new birthday presents that appeared on the front door step thanks to ebay. A tyre pressure monitor with 6 sensors for car and single axel van. Second, a rear view camera for the back of his van.

We watch RED 2 but should have watched the original RED first for the flow.

Evening meal should be light so we have pumpkin soup. However, we added buttered toast and left over pizza followed by birthday cake and … don’t forget the cheese and bickies with grapes and almonds. Yes light. (sort of)

For the evening, we watch Monuments Men and part of ‘Bedazzled.’ The 1965 version with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore but, snuff the film third way through because it is 10pm and ‘more mature’ people need more sleep, besides a couple of beers, a bottle of red and a couple of small ports will promote snoozing.

Till tomorrow.

Friday, 20th November.

I wake and to quote Elwood Blues, I was ‘on a mission from God.’

Googling ‘convert avi to mp4’ gives me a few possibles. I download one and put both RED and Mr Right in it and push the button. I have other things to do luckily because about an hour later, it finishes. Problem. RED has no sound. The program prompts me and I change settings with a good result.

However I have not tried it on ‘the big screen’ so we shall wait till lunch time which is rapidly approaching.

Lunch is hamburgers from my lovely with a few exotic additions including her home made salsa and avocado amongst other things.

Yes. The movie Red works well and is enjoyed. The day progresses in a lazy fashion and we also watch Jeremiah  Johnson and Mr Right as we finish another delicious Filipino Chicken dish only this time it’s Chicken Caldereta.

Chicken Caldereta (Kalderetang Manok) – Kawaling Pinoy

www.kawalingpinoy.com › … › Meat and Poultry

Tuesday 17th and Wednesday 18th November 2020

Morning was domestic. (bliss?) Lunch time was an on mass all four of us off to a shopping centre near by in Port Adelaide. A ‘Take Away’ covid hot spot had previously been declared in the suburb and although we are well removed from that spot, we choose to wear masks. It is my first experience wearing one and I am thinking laterally. I soon find decorative masks such as the Aussie flag etc. are hard to find (we didn’t find) and anything past the plain 50cent mask is expensive and high maintenance. i.e. they have filters and they must be washed regularly. As opposed to 50cents and toss is a better option.

Underpants and socks (I am a size 7 to 8 and the range on the pack is size 6 to 10 so I buy a pack of the expensive bamboo ‘spiffies.’

Coffee, nibbles home. We wash our purchases and the socks are perfect … for anyone size 9 or above. Next time I will play bogan. I will pull the pack apart in the store and measure it on my foot. Uncouth you think? I now have five pairs of very expensive and un-wearable socks, but I am ‘couth.’

Lazy night.

Ba Toba

(“Go to sleep” in Dili Tetum although having said it for 18 years I have never written it down. It may have an ‘r’ on the end.)

Wednesday 18th November 2020

What a day. Full of twists and turns. I have fasted for my blood test and am running on water. It was good as water goes but by now I have usually had a cup of tea with a scotch finger biscuit followed by breakfast of either muesli, fruit and yoghurt or egg on toast. Not today. Just water.

So we see the clinic we usually go to in Ward Street North Adelaide is not listed but 262 Melbourne Street North Adelaide is. I call on the free number (for Australia) and am told Melbourne Street is open from 8am. OK. Open. I am sure it would be at the city end but we go to the ‘burbs’ end to make sure we do not miss it. It is at the city end.

We wait patiently for the guy to pull out of the only park for miles (kilometres). It is not a park. He was there illegally. Guy behind is council. He lets me have his park because I guess he can park on the Adelaide oval if he wants, Thanks good council worker. (There you go. There is one.)

They are closed. So … so far the photo of this Fichus tree out the front is the most successful event of the morning. Glad I phoned up. (!!??)

Bugger this. Let’s check out the usual Ward Street. There it is! It IS open.

In we go. Turns out it is a cunningly named clinic the same as the Melbourne Street only different.

‘Is this the same clinic brand as Melbourne Street?’ No.

‘If I use you is there any problem with the doctor?’ No.

‘Can you take my blood?’ Yes.

So finished there, around the corner to NHSA to pick up scripts.

While waiting, I spot this product. I hold it up and ask, ‘How long before it starts working?’ Two out of the three staff laugh out loud. 66% success isn’t bad for me.

This is the Pharmacy mascot. I didn’t know they had to have them.

A bit of street art. They are prints stuck to the wall and they are excellent. They are around town.

We cross the road to the Commonwealth bank and …. it’s gone!? Closest one Northpark. So first the North Adelaide Bakery for coffee and we share one of the best ham and cheese toasted sandwiches in town.

We are pulled up at the lights and a bus pulls up. The camera focuses on my dirty window and not the sticker on the bus window. Another reason for washing them I guess. FYI the sticker on the drivers window of the bus reads …

‘Do NOT enter bus through window.’ I wonder how many misguided people it took before they decided it was necessary for that sign?

Northpark. A small eatery has not only opened on the outer wall of the centre but obviously has also secured the right to encroach on the car park. Maybe they score high with their name.  ‘Little Eataly’ as opposed to Little Italy. Me personally …. it better be bloody good food to get me to sit in the car park under the banner EATALY.

This little old blind lady was sitting at the entrance with her cane in a precarious position across the path of many. I was toying with the idea of giving her a couple of bucks when I realized she had only paused  her tirade which included ‘the swinging of the stick’ and a lot of load ranting. In the mean time the security guards were on the phone. I guess even security guards  have to be careful with how they handle a female, blind, nutter to the satisfaction of all the do-gooders. I do apologise for lack of video. It was spectacular but I just wasn’t quick enough. By the time we left, she had gone, presumably removed. The photo below was the calm between rants.

Oh. I didn’t give her the two bucks.

Running very late to drop into the container then on to mate Des to check out his renovations and have a good chat after a long break away. So late we skip the container and go straight to Des’s. We will go to the container on the way home.

Des’s dog was born in Loxton at Rick and Di’s place.  Both Des and I were at the birth and while Rick handled the delivery, I am proud to say I assisted.

He was given a name at birth but was renamed ‘Puppea’ by his master. By the way, he is a Cornish Terrier.

It would be ridiculous to try and show what Des has done since he bought the place a year or so ago. Four garages, shade houses, multilevel stairs BUT above all, the very clever theme of minimum maintenance to compensate for a long hard working life.

Having now more or less finished the house, on to his stage two of retirement. Buried under these covers and a bit of junk is a Lincoln Continental, I think around 1970. A bit worse for wear but generally fully contained and in running order, this magnificent old beast is looking for a good retired motor mechanic. Now what a coincidence. Des qualifies across the board! P.S. The Lincoln is not alone.

Now the visit was limited and marred. As we pulled into the drive way, I get an sms from Loxton to say, ‘Turn on the TV.’ We didn’t but then the phone rang and all notices were the same. LOCK DOWN from midnight.

So our planned long and relaxed visit got shortened to about 1.5 hours. Bummer. We left, skipping the container and heading for the only two supplies we were short on.

First Diesel. Done. Second, we had let the meat run down as we do from time to time. We freeze all but like to replace it regularly, so we were down to about 10 sausages two chops, a kilo of sausage meat and a haggis. No. Two.

The meat was a one hour line up and a limited choice. Technically, I could go out the next day and buy it, but we wanted to stick to the lock down and while we could go out, we didn’t want to.

Now, we are very lucky, Des, Rick and Ken all immediately offered to accommodate us with van space for the six days. We were very grateful. All three would have been ideal places. However, while all three had there unique advantages, and we appreciated that, the fact that we were already off the road and it was I think around 4pm, there would have been a lot to tidy up, pack up, hitch up and travel to, to relocate.

So as we were temporarily camping at friend Bruce’s place till we could take off on a Robe jaunt with friends, it seemed the less stressful and straight forward to stay put. The logic was, even though we had been sharing facilities, we took the following attitude. The authorities want everyone to ‘stay home’ to isolate virus if any, within that house hold. If we had been boarding at Bruce’s, this would be our home. OK, so we’re living in the ‘flat’ out the back, but we have been ‘boarding’ there.

So we stayed.

Bad news. Bruce’s Birthday party of 10 went down to four. Good news. At least he had four. By the way, Bruce is not short of food or drinks. He had catered for 10 people.

Cake…. good one as well.

Had to make do for a candle so my fire lighter covered that.

We had a birthday party and had a good time as the clock ticked towards midnight.

We went to bed content and woke up in lockdown.

Monday, 16th November 2020

Did ‘things’ in the morning, then off to town for a few chores.

Clear the post box on the way in. There was a degree of trauma involved in this simple exercise. Anne comes running. ‘The key is stuck in the lock!’ The fix included a postal lady with blue gloves, a screw driver and WD40.

Of course we all know most problems can be fixed with Duct Tape or WD40. If it moves and it shouldn’t, use the Duct Tape. If it should move and it doesn’t, use the WD40.

We get a park for one hour at $5.40. I notice motor bikes can apparently park on the footpath for FREE. So is that fair? I say NO.  So why not charge the bikes and lower the price of parking? End up collecting the same. Everyone wins. (except the bike riders)

Then we went on to the camera store that got me a quote to fix our K5 Pentax camera. It is all but new and it stopped working. It can be fixed but it will cost about $600, but it will then be worth double that.

So anyone who wants a damn good camera cheap, let me know.

However, it’s not worth us fixing it.We already have two cameras. So, for us it would be a spare until one of the other two cameras dies. So if it takes 6 years for one of ours to die, then the K5 may only be worth $300 by then. So we would have spent $600 for a $300 camera.

Also I was after a lens, but it was not available.

So this was a waste of time except the shop is next to the Haighs chocolates shop. One of us loves Haighs. Use your imagination.

Next down Regent Arcade, past the sealed entrance to the down stairs old tea rooms …

… to the Adelaide Hatters because I heard a rumour.

It’s true. This is a Carlos Santana hat with his symbol on the band. However, I’m still holding three hats so I didn’t buy it.

Back to North Adelaide for a coffee at the NA Bakery.

Then heading home, I spot this. It is electric, but like a mini ‘Chopper’ it has a fat rear and narrow front wheel with front sloping forks. (and pedals!)

Home to shower and change then back to North Adelaide for a 75% girls dinner. I’m the other 25%. We meet Liz at Tania’s place. Tania cooks up a storm with tasty herb roast chicken, egg plant, fresh asparagus and cream potato. Also, white bubbles, Shiraz bubbles, Shiraz without bubbles and port, also without bubbles.

The night was laughs, good memories, bad news regarding others and discussion on how we are effected by the new covid outbreak in Adelaide, plus, plus, plus. A good time was had by all. This was a reunion of ex dili-ites and I didn’t take one photo. Bummer.

Home, perchance to dream, to snore, to nightmare, to toss and turn, or a bit of all or part thereof.

Aban (tomorrow)

Saturday, 14th and Sunday 15th November 2020

Lucky we did pack early yesterday because we are late starters. We tend to drag our rear ends. Never the less, we pull out from Levi Park a mere 45 minutes late. straight to our new ‘secret’ park.

That night we are invited to attend a triple purpose social get together. First, a Filipino fun night including dancing and …. what is that thing where a bunch of people line up 7 across and 7 rows deep, go through a repetitive step system to Nutbush City Limits until it stops?  (not me by the way).

Second a Halloween night.    N.B. Apparently Filipinos have a different Halloween night.

Third, friend Bruce’s birthday. Age? Getting up there with the rest of us. Celebrated with three others on the night.

Eats, drinks, home bed, sleep.

Sunday, 15th November 2020

Slow, slow morning. Spent the afternoon watching a plumbing repair exercise punctuated with a few beers.

Just the sort of day I love. Slow and uneventful.

Home, then …..

News!! Covid outbreak in Adelaide. Northern side. Apparently an outbreak from a worker at an isolation/quarantine hotel.

JUST HOW BLOODY STUPID can an individual be? After all we have been through, a worker in a very high, high risk environment drops the ball. It should be treated as a criminal act.

Twats, twats twats.

We had family coming from Perth for Christmas and then we were going to go across the Nullarbor. We have been waiting since March and now had a hope.

The only hope is if they clean it up Mucho Pronto in 24 hours and we get our credibility back.

No! It’s not ‘Good Night.’

Thursday, 12th and Friday, 13th November 2020

Rainy morning. A little pottering around. Multi-skilled Mick is doing scones. They arrive at 11am and we hop in. Fabulous! Combinations of conventional strawberry jam and whipped cream, steamed fruit etc etc. We decide to call this lunch and return to the vans at 1pm.

A bit wet. Just a bit of drizzle from time to time. I have a doctors appointment Friday morning at 10.10am and lunch at 12.30pm so we get a start on packing up as we are pulling out of Levi Saturday morning.

Main, full length side shade and end shade down and folded. Chairs and tables packed in the tub of the car also with the shades as they are not quite dry yet. That will do for today.

Started the sorting of paper work. That lasted 5 minutes. Not the worst job, To me it’s just short of unblocking a toilet.

Off to ‘The Villa’ (Phillip and Ann’s house). The two ladies, Ann and Anne, stay with a bottle of bubbly Shiraz and we, ‘the boys’ Head for the usual Thursday night haunt AUBC. (Adelaide University Boat Club.) It’s a well supported club bar ran by popular man about town (or part of town mainly between the River Torrens  and St Peters) Brenton Parsons, better know by closer friends and colleagues as ‘Snips’ and hence the reason it is called ‘Snips Bar.’

I, with the driving short straw have my two light beers and Phillip two not so light drinks. When your driving, it’s amazing how you can stretch out a drink Roughly, two drinks for an hour and a half.

Back for a scrumptious evening meal prepared by Ann (without an ‘e’) complimented by a couple of Shiraz and a visit to the Port Barrel, which means I lose a stripe and am demoted from driver to navigator and that’s only if the GPS fails.

Home. Shower. TV. Bed. Sleep.

Friday, 13th November 2020.

Unlucky for some? Load of crap. We maybe stub a toe or scratch a finger or stumble on a raised paver every day, but if it happens  on Friday 13th, it was the dark forces. Two words. ‘GROW UP.’

Here is far too much information on the dribble date…

“Long considered a harbinger of bad luck, Friday the 13th has inspired a late 19th-century secret society, an early 20th-century novel, a horror film franchise and not one but two unwieldy terms—paraskavedekatriaphobia and friggatriskaidekaphobia—that describe fear of this supposedly unlucky day.

The Fear of 13 …

Just like walking under a ladder, crossing paths with a black cat or breaking a mirror, many people hold fast to the belief that Friday the 13th brings bad luck. Though it’s uncertain exactly when this particular tradition began, negative superstitions have swirled around the number 13 for centuries.

While Western cultures have historically associated the number 12 with completeness (there are 12 days of Christmas, 12 months and zodiac signs, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 gods of Olympus and 12 tribes of Israel, just to name a few examples), its successor 13 has a long history as a sign of bad luck.

The ancient Code of Hammurabi, for example, reportedly omitted a 13th law from its list of legal rules. Though this was probably a clerical error, superstitious people sometimes point to this as proof of 13’s longstanding negative associations.

Fear of the number 13 has even earned a psychological term: triskaidekaphobia.

Why is Friday the 13th Unlucky?

According to biblical tradition, 13 guests attended the Last Supper, held on Maundy Thursday, including Jesus and his 12 apostles (one of whom, Judas, betrayed him). The next day, of course, was Good Friday, the day of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Though Friday’s negative associations are weaker, some have suggested they also have roots in Christian tradition: Just as Jesus was crucified on a Friday, Friday was also said to be the day Eve gave Adam the fateful apple from the Tree of Knowledge, as well as the day Cain killed his brother, Abel.

The Thirteen Club

In the late-19th century, a New Yorker named Captain William Fowler (1827-1897) sought to remove the enduring stigma surrounding the number 13—and particularly the unwritten rule about not having 13 guests at a dinner table—by founding an exclusive society called the Thirteen Club.

The group dined regularly on the 13th day of the month in room 13 of the Knickerbocker Cottage, a popular watering hole Fowler owned from 1863 to 1883. Before sitting down for a 13-course dinner, members would pass beneath a ladder and a banner reading “Morituri te Salutamus,” Latin for “Those of us who are about to die salute you.”

Four former U.S. presidents (Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison and Theodore Roosevelt) would join the Thirteen Club’s ranks at one time or another.

Friday the 13th in Pop Culture

An important milestone in the history of the Friday the 13th legend in particular (not just the number 13) occurred in 1907, with the publication of the novel Friday, the Thirteenth written by Thomas William Lawson.

The book told the story of a New York City stockbroker who plays on superstitions about the date to create chaos on Wall Street, and make a killing on the market.

The horror movie Friday the 13th, released in 1980, introduced the world to a hockey mask-wearing killer named Jason, and is perhaps the best-known example of the famous superstition in pop culture history. The movie spawned multiple sequels, as well as comic books, novellas, video games, related merchandise and countless terrifying Halloween costumes.

He doesn’t look ‘A happy chappy.’

All sorts of negative vibes in this display.

What bad things happened on Friday 13th?

On Friday, October 13, 1307, officers of King Philip IV of France arrested hundreds of the Knights Templar, a powerful religious and military order formed in the 12th century for the defense of the Holy Land.

Imprisoned on charges of various illegal behaviors (but really because the king wanted access to their financial resources), many Templars were later executed. Some cite the link with the Templars as the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition, but like many legends involving the Templars and their history, the truth remains murky.

In more recent times, a number of traumatic events have occurred on Friday the 13th, including the German bombing of Buckingham Palace (September 1940); the murder of Kitty Genovese in Queens, New York (March 1964); a cyclone that killed more than 300,000 people in Bangladesh (November 1970); the disappearance of a Chilean Air Force plane in the Andes (October 1972); the death of rapper Tupac Shakur (September 1996) and the crash of the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the coast of Italy, which killed 30 people (January 2012).

Sources

“The Origins of Unlucky Friday the 13th,” Live Science.
“Friday the 13th: why is it unlucky and other facts about the worst day in the calendar,” The Telegraph.
“13 Freaky Things That Happened on Friday the 13th,” Live Science.
“Here’s Why Friday the 13th is Considered Unlucky,” Time.
“Friggatriskaidekaphobes Need Not Apply,” New-York Historical Society.”

Like I said, a load of crap.

Back to reality. Up early to continue packing. Mat up and locked away, still damp screens into tunnel boot but top left off box to let them dry out, support ropes and stakes out, awning lowered and washed, awning rolled up after drying. Done.

Off to doctor for my 20,000km service.

That is, prescriptions , in particular high blood pressure and cholesterol on a ‘reg 24.’ FYI a ‘reg 24’ as specified on the prescription means all repeats can be taken at the same time, so I receive 6 months of tabs for touring convenience.

Paperwork for a blood test to be carried out after that dirty, dirty ‘F’ word, Fasting.

Two referrals. One to the skin chap for the annual burning of the blemishes and skin cancers. Second to the mob that does the sleep apnea test. I did it a year ago but one of the leads came unplugged from the magic box and it didn’t work.

Done. Prescriptions in and collect next week. Coffee at North Adelaide bakery then back to van for pick up.

Ann arrives, My Anne is of course already there. Liz arrives and chauffeurs us all to town where I am dropped at the 7 Stars for my lunch and the remaining three ladies go to their little froggy place. Apologies. Their favorite French restaurant.

The 7 Starts is always good. We all hopped in so quickly, I didn’t even take pics of the food. Well not ours anyway. I did get the next tables monster dish though. I don’t know what it was but it looked painful.

All this by the way is, as you should have noted by now, day to day dribble. We are  not travelling so no new and exciting places. Never mind. That’s coming up in about 9 days.

Lunch done, we repair to Lucia’s at the Central Market for an exemplary caffeine fix, a wander to Charlesworth Nuts for some roasted and salted Macadamia nuts, Gods gift to the nut lover. I also score some up market tasty meat goods. Gourmet Wagyu Burgers and free range Moroccan lamb kebabs. Free Range? What the hell is that?

Bruce drops me at the Mall where I meet with Anne and Liz. They are in hot pursuit of a phone for Liz due to a little mishap a few days ago. The line at the iphone place is far too long so they are looking at JB Hi Fi. No good for Liz but I got the TV lead a wanted.

On to Harvey Norman with similar luck, except we did have to pass the brass pigs so you have to do the ‘cutsie’ thing with them.

Back to the iphone shop because the line is shorter. 5.50pm and some thoughtfully masked iphone reps come down the tail end of the waiting line to say the shop is closing soon … ‘so unfortunately we will not be able to sell you anything today.’

Here the rep is letting this man who had lined up, know that he can’t get in. You can tell by his stance, he is either delighted and totally understands, OR he is going to vomit OR wants to hit someone but is annoyed that the rep is a young lady and not a viable target.

N.B. To explain it my way, they were saying, ‘We are going to close now so even though you have been waiting and want to give us perhaps $1000 each, you 6 people can bugger off because we are not interested in your money. We are the GREAT iphone network and you little people will have to crawl back at our convenience and see if we will then take your money. Now go away little people!’ I may have dramatized it just a smidge but where I come from, in business, if someone wants to give you money, you let them.

Personally I would have politely told the iphone rep to keep their lovely little iphone and gone straight to the android store.

Anyway, a wander down Kintore Avenue past the war memorial, and Governent house towards Liz’s car. I squint through the Govs fence and see a rock in the back yours with a commemorative plaque showing the exact location of Adelaide’s first Gaol. Nice to know if …. Well will I ever have to tell anyone that?

By the way, back in the mall I spotted a lovely old building. At a tight squint you can see the ‘Balfours’ name up the top. This must have been the building for Balfours bakery, although as a kid, I remember the outlet was much closer to King William Street.

Liz drops us and meets van park neighbours Lou and Mick. Liz goes and we join the neighbours for very late 5pm drinks (7pm) and score a marvelous home made lasagna and salad meal. So good I wolfed it down not pausing for a traditional food photo. I can describe it though. ‘Damn good!’

To bed for an early pack up tomorrow.

Bon Nuite.