My Christmas alone

Well, abandoned by family, and now a widower and an orphan, how did my Christmas Day go?

Quite well actually. I went through my normal morning routine. Last night I spoke to one of Ray's sisters and tried to call another, but she wasn't answering. Phyllis and Kosov gave me some liqueur filled chocolates last night, with a card. Sweet.

Kosov left for work at about ten, and on the doorstep was a bag with a card and gifts from neighbour HH, an identical box of liqueur filled chocolates, and small packets of chocolates for the lads. How sweet.

I posted something on Bragbook as a Christmas greeting, the same as I posted here. People seemed to like the Paris 'flash mob' clip. 

Sister called, and has arrived in Newcastle after spending a few days in York. They have a comfortable apartment on the edge of city. It was a nice chat. Jo has been accepted in a performing arts course next year in Ballarat. It seems like they will buy a car for her from their neighbours opposite where they live. The car will have to be moved from one side of the street to the other.  

They will celebrate Christmas with Ray's favourite sister and her daughter at England's Sunday roast time, 3pm. Boxing Day they will party with Ray's youngest sister's son and many family members. 

I needed coffee and surely I can get some in the city. Every big place, and many small, are closed on Christmas Day. I caught the Metro train to State Library, and again became confused with the lifts. A station customer service person wished me Merry Christmas, and we had a nice chat. 

Oh dear, I ended up in Hungry Jacks, is it Burger King elsewhere? I ordered on a screen a cheeseburger, onion rings and a strawberry thick shake. The thick shake was nice. I then ordered an espresso from Jack's Cafe, and took it outside where I sat on a bench, and the coffee was actually quite good. 

Once back home, the day drifted past as I did various things. Phyllis was home, and then went off to meet his cousin and the cousin's friend who may offer him a job. He returned home and went out again to meet up with Miss Capital City of Peru. My plans of some home dusting and cleaning went to hell. I spoke to my ABI Brother, briefly as always. He is used to a family gathering on Christmas Day, so I just checked that he was ok, and he was. 

Phyllis cooked meatballs, fried egg and rice for dinner and we sat and ate it together, along with large papadam each.  National Lampoon's Christmas was on tv. It is not as good as I remembered it. 

So, that was my Christmas Day, one essentially without family, but that will be made up tomorrow with aside from Sister and hers, every other family member. 

Our building's foyer decorations. 

A well rehearsed street performance

 Thelma at North Stoke published this on her website and I thought it was rather impressive, even if it is very wide of the definition of being a flash mob.

Merry Christmas, Season's Greetings or Happy Holidays to you all. 

The Australian problem with Jewish

I lunched with my neighbour HH yesterday. She has a close friend who she has known for over sixty years, and this friend is Jewish.

I broached the subject of the recent racially based massacre of innocent Jewish Australians, and a couple of people from overseas. HH, gave me the Jewish perspective as described by her friend. She said she felt fear, she felt isolated and threatened, with nowhere to turn aside from her own Jewish friends. She felt threat from Australia, which of course was never there.

As the week subsequent to the massacre went on, she was overwhelmed by the public support and love from Australia and Australians themselves.

I further questioned HH. Have you ever heard any multi generational white Australians like us be anti Jewish? No. We concluded we were just not really that interested in who among us are Jewish. Ray and I lived in the suburb of Balaclava for about nine years, surrounded by Jewish people. No one ever told us they were Jewish, but we know many were. There were the funny men a train station along in Ripponlea who walked around on Friday nights in tall black hats and strange clothing, but so? 

While the attack may have been by radical Muslim men targeting Jews, in my view, Australians have reacted with the appropriate sympathy and support; seeing the massacre more as an attack on Australians by radical and fanatical religious terrorists.

Our quite strong gun laws have been found to be wanting. The laws are old and have not been updated for a long time. Guns have moved on to be faster and smarter. New South Wales, where the event happened is going to reduce the number of guns owned from six to four. What a laugh. Two guns, maximum. A single shot rifle and a shotgun is quite enough. There is a polling result with 80% of Australians wanting stronger gun laws. Bite the bullet PM Albanese and take advantage of the situation to restrict guns a lot further. 

Joining a gun club or sporting shooters club seems to be a way around restrictive gun ownership. This needs to be strongly addressed.

The tv broadcast of a memorial one week later was brilliant. I had no intention of watching it, yet I was mesmerised. How this first class memorial, broadcast by tv, was put together in a few days was truly amazing.  Well done, that girl and boy. 

We now need to move on and allow consequences take their course. 

Bits

I leave the home for five minutes, and chaos ensues. Well, I was away for a few hours.

With my able assistant Jass, we have been fighting against the Mynah birds nesting on the balcony below. I shoot at them with a great atomiser bottle, and Jass makes her low growl bird noises at them. While they are a terrible bird, attacking other birds twice their size to defend their territories, and while keep their distance from humans, they have no issue at all with attacking Jass with flying near her as if to attack. She crouches down lower. 

Given one bird is now bringing food for the other bird who must be sitting on eggs, I have ceased my failed deterrence. I wrote a note to the apartment dwellers but I sat on it for a couple of days. Then I saw a bagel sitting near their nest, far too big for the birds to bring up, so I guess the birds are welcome to rear their young on their balcony. 

Friday night I went to a pub for dinner with two friends, a couple, another couple of friends who are partners who I haven't seen for a few years, and three people who I didn't know. I suspect one in his fifties had been clued up that I was 'rich' old widower and was quite forcefully and overtly friendly towards me. He was nice enough, but no. I don't want any kind of personal and proper relationship. 

Not long after I devoured my delicious pork chop with vegetables, I felt social overload and made my apologies and left, to tram home. I'd been there for two hours.

"Annedrew," said Phyllis, once I was home, "we had the balcony door open and a Mynah bird came inside to attack Jass". "Jass cowered while we chased the bird around and eventually it flew outside."

JFC, can't I leave home without a disaster happening. Jass has developed post traumatic stress disorder, not eating properly and will have nothing to do with Phyllis and is spending most of her time in the linen press. She'll get over it. I noticed when she transports a toy around, she has her front legs wide apart, space for a kitten dangling from her mouth. She may be desexed, but I am sure her hormones are still partly working. 

I have ten great nieces and nephews and for Christmas I am giving them a miserly $20 each. Ray's ghost was in my ear telling me to not be so mean, but hey, that is $200. When I was but a lad, I would be grateful for a sixpence.

Today I will have lunch with my neighbour HH, except many cafes around here have closed for Christmas. I will be adventurous and suggest Republic Econmica.  We will need to catch a 58 tram to South Yarra Station.

By the time this is published, Sister, Bone Doctor and Jo will be in York, after spending time in Germany and London. They had one day in London where they all felt unwell, but rallied themselves to see Starlight Express. What they have seen in London in a short time amazes me. My sister is a busy go go person. Fom York they will travel to Newcastle to spend Christmas with Ray's family, visit Glasgow and then Edinburgh for Hogmanay, New Year's Eve. At the age of 18, Jo has already seen so much of the world. I was about 25 before I first went overseas, to New Zealand. 

It is hard to believe that in 2023, we were in England, catching up with Fun60 in York, seeing Ray's family and thinking this will a be final overseas journey. But never say no. My mother died later that year, Ray in 2024 and my stepmother in 2025. By age, Step Mother's 97 year old partner will be next, then my surviving uncle, and next will be me. Cheery thoughts. 

But as I recently remarked on a post by Wise Web Woman, which I did partly hear elsewhere, I am a lucky person to be born white in Australia, had a long and loving relationship with Ray, I'm financially secure and live in a great city, I have a great and large family and some really good friends. And I'm now with the company of Phyllis and Kosov. I really am one of the luckiest people in the world, but why don't I feel like that at times?

Monday Mural

I visited the zoo last week and I did take a couple of animal photos, I took quite a few mural photos, mostly in one area. I've decided to put them in this one post.

A Tasmanian devil.

An African wild dog, and of course a tiger, lion and then a snow leopard. Among other artists, the well known Mike Makatron and Jimmy Dvate worked on this mural.

This looks like a domestic cat to me.

A little whimsy.

A variety of a cat, a blue tongue lizard, a superb fairy wren and rainbow lorikeet.

A Sumatran tiger.

And more Tasmanian devils.

Sunday Selections

I am joining with River and others for Sunday Selections. As the theme goes, unused photos from the past.

This tree is an Australian native melaleuca tree, also known as a paperbark tree. The bark was used by our indigenous fok for many purposes, least of all as being damp compressed to make a form of paper.   

Its bark is lightweight, so no damage will have been done to the car mirror by the fallen bark.

We visited Japan in 2010 and had a wonderful holiday in an amazing country. It is now being overwhelmed by tourists and locals are complaining. We had a laptop back then and it was heavy, but to keep it safe I carried it in a backpack. Before we left we bought a Japanese conversion electrical plug to plug in a power board to give us a few outlets. This is the Japanese plug, and while this one doesn't have an earth pin, they are round. 

But the plug we bought had only the two angular sockets and not one for the earth pin of the Australian plug. I drilled and cut into the adaptor to make a space for our earth pin. It worked. 

Swing the locking lever to the left and pee pee alone. If the lever is on the right, pee pee with a surprise guest.  While the signs are amateurishly done, they are amusing. 

A Christmas table runner appeared on the dining table, courtesy Phyllis. It was creased, so while I haven't ironed for many many years, the iron and ironing board being last used by Ray in April 2024, I got both out and pressed the creases out. The iron steam holes wouldn't work initially, so I put it over the sink and pressed the extra steam button a few times and the jets cleared. 

I think this is a Ford Galaxy, still left hand drive. Why was it in the lane behind our building, I wonder. 

A Buick Riviera. Gorgeous, but I would not want to pay the petrol bill. 

 

The linen press is not a smoky patchy colour. The photo lies. It appears to be well sealed against cat intrusion, but it isn't. Why do Phyllis and Kosov keep leaving the door open? They hadn't. Jass must be able to put her paw under the doors to open them, where she perches on table cloths that will probably never be used again. Some things I can't bear to get rid of. 

There is more than one Speaker of House in Australia's Federal Parliament Senate Chamber, and one is of Aboriginal heritage. I've not heard it mentioned, but it is rather obvious.

I checked with a friend who worked at Optus and apparently this Telstra phone building is still in use for the purpose. Note the blue sign at the doorway. There is a world wide site of corporate logos, with several listed for our Telecom and Telstra, but this is not one of them. Quite curious.

By the look of it, the train driver's window has been stoned. That would be so traumatising for the driver. I expect the window replacement cost would be in four figures. 

Let's get a bit lighter. I love this sign to guide people who have gone to the wrong place to be photographed on the famous London zebra crossing. 

I hate that tram windows are covered with advertising, making it difficult to see outside.

When the tram doors slid open, I initially misread the sign. What??? I don't want a million but just a few would be nice.

It is 9.40 pm, one hour and twenty minutes before my bedtime. Yes, in the late evening I keep an eye on the clock.