Friday, May 18, 2007
In the news
In the news in NT this week:
First an "only in Darwin" moment - I love these!
ABC radio news:
"A demonstration is going on outside the building where an international conference on uranium mining is being held today in Darwin," ..... reports from the site... " About 8 protesters have gathered outside..." etc. Eight! Eight protesters is a newsworthy event here.
Next - the dark side of Territory news
A 25 year old Aboriginal man bashed and raped his grandmother who was in a wheelchair. Oh yes, she had only one leg, having lost the other after an accident. Actually he did it twice. The first time he was supposed to be wheeling her home when he took a detour into bushland. When she asked where he was going, he said "to get a root". She did not report the incident as she was too ashamed. The second time he did it in a more public place and when he bashed her she screamed. This alerted bystanders who dragged the man from on top of her.
In his defence his solicitor said the man was sexually frustrated after his wife left him.
Well now, isn't that a good excuse!
He received a gaol sentence of 10 years for his crimes and will be eligible for parole in 5.
Hmm, I reckon I could have thought of a much more appropriate sentence... something requiring an amputation without benefit of anaesthetic perhaps?
...and the nice side of Territory living
Government House was open to the public today. I went along after work on a warm dry- season evening and walked up the red carpet to receive a kiss of welcome from the Governor's wife. The gardens are filled with garish, clashing tropical blooms - red, purple, orange and yellow, glowing against the deep greens of a rain forest background of palms, ferns and raintrees.
It's a modest, tropical design home dating from the 19th century, made of local stone and timber. With only four main rooms, surrounded by wide stone verandas, it's somewhere you could almost imagine living; not imposing or stand-offish in any way, just beautiful, comfortable and relaxed.
Afterwards I had a seafood dinner on Stokes Hill Wharf (a Darwin institution) among crowds of locals: families, groups of friends, couples, and a few tourists, all soaking up the peace of the tropical evening.
Although I guess I must have felt more tranquil than some, for amongst the lone diners, I appeared to be the only one who didn't feel the need to resort to a conversation with an absent friend via mobile phone!
Finally a unique work moment:
A report this week at work, written by one of our Aboriginal liaison officers, contained the sentence "we was as happy as a mob of galahs in a gum tree when we got that motor going again."
Ahh, the Northern Territory - you gotta love it!
First an "only in Darwin" moment - I love these!
ABC radio news:
"A demonstration is going on outside the building where an international conference on uranium mining is being held today in Darwin," ..... reports from the site... " About 8 protesters have gathered outside..." etc. Eight! Eight protesters is a newsworthy event here.
Next - the dark side of Territory news
A 25 year old Aboriginal man bashed and raped his grandmother who was in a wheelchair. Oh yes, she had only one leg, having lost the other after an accident. Actually he did it twice. The first time he was supposed to be wheeling her home when he took a detour into bushland. When she asked where he was going, he said "to get a root". She did not report the incident as she was too ashamed. The second time he did it in a more public place and when he bashed her she screamed. This alerted bystanders who dragged the man from on top of her.
In his defence his solicitor said the man was sexually frustrated after his wife left him.
Well now, isn't that a good excuse!
He received a gaol sentence of 10 years for his crimes and will be eligible for parole in 5.
Hmm, I reckon I could have thought of a much more appropriate sentence... something requiring an amputation without benefit of anaesthetic perhaps?
...and the nice side of Territory living
Government House was open to the public today. I went along after work on a warm dry- season evening and walked up the red carpet to receive a kiss of welcome from the Governor's wife. The gardens are filled with garish, clashing tropical blooms - red, purple, orange and yellow, glowing against the deep greens of a rain forest background of palms, ferns and raintrees.
It's a modest, tropical design home dating from the 19th century, made of local stone and timber. With only four main rooms, surrounded by wide stone verandas, it's somewhere you could almost imagine living; not imposing or stand-offish in any way, just beautiful, comfortable and relaxed.
Afterwards I had a seafood dinner on Stokes Hill Wharf (a Darwin institution) among crowds of locals: families, groups of friends, couples, and a few tourists, all soaking up the peace of the tropical evening.
Although I guess I must have felt more tranquil than some, for amongst the lone diners, I appeared to be the only one who didn't feel the need to resort to a conversation with an absent friend via mobile phone!
Finally a unique work moment:
A report this week at work, written by one of our Aboriginal liaison officers, contained the sentence "we was as happy as a mob of galahs in a gum tree when we got that motor going again."
Ahh, the Northern Territory - you gotta love it!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Holiday snapshots
I'm standing on a 3rd floor balcony overlooking the traffic on Parramatta Road with the Sydney skyline etched in the mid distance, when, right in front of my face, a huge maple leaf dances by on an air current. It eddies and swirls, twirls, lifts and drops and eventually settles on a balcony two doors away from me. Suddenly the air space above the street is filled with drifting, dancing leaves. They come singly and by twos and threes, nature's ballet, three floors above the noise and fumes of man's invention.
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An old woman, proud of her last shreds of fierce independence, little vision or hearing left, every step a slow agony, waits fearfully for the day when she must admit defeat and accept the ignominy of allowing others to provide for her most intimate needs. Every day survived to lay at last on her bed and sleep, for a few hours free from pain and confusion, is a hard won and hollow victory.
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A tiny fireball of energy, small, hard, tough, fast and inexhaustible throws his arms around me and says 'cuddle' as he head-butts my glasses from my face; while his sister, his antithesis, soft, tiny and delicate crawls quietly into my bed at night to snuggle down and sleep without moving till morning and the big sister, the responsible one, the carer and nurturer waits her turn to gain the attention she too wants but is too shy to demand.
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.......................................................................................................................................................................
An old woman, proud of her last shreds of fierce independence, little vision or hearing left, every step a slow agony, waits fearfully for the day when she must admit defeat and accept the ignominy of allowing others to provide for her most intimate needs. Every day survived to lay at last on her bed and sleep, for a few hours free from pain and confusion, is a hard won and hollow victory.
.......................................................................................................................................................................
A tiny fireball of energy, small, hard, tough, fast and inexhaustible throws his arms around me and says 'cuddle' as he head-butts my glasses from my face; while his sister, his antithesis, soft, tiny and delicate crawls quietly into my bed at night to snuggle down and sleep without moving till morning and the big sister, the responsible one, the carer and nurturer waits her turn to gain the attention she too wants but is too shy to demand.
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Labels: Holidays
