Wet Week, Flocked Flowers and Prison

This week's been "The Wet Week" - we had 4 inches (100cms+) in one night. Not many people get 4 inches a night. The pool filled up and I had to pump it out twice. I found out from Little Lord Fauntleroy that when this happens you have to "deflock" the pool to get all the sediment out.

I realise that this 4" is common in places such as Manchester and Birmingham but in Paradise, this is unusual. It seems that Australia is a land of contrasts. We even have a lady female Prime Minister. Actually Julia is doing a reasonable job and is proving far too much for Abbott (the Opposition or "Oppo" for short) who was "too flocked" to visit the boys in Afghanistan after attending the Conservative Conference in England. Here's how Gillard's Girls saw Julia in Afghanistan in "Friday Mash" (www.fridaymash.com/).

"We were all so thrilled to see you in Afghanistan with the diggers. Having seen you cuddling up to those hunks over there Mildred said she was thinking of making a visit and becoming the most explosive device ever to get laid in that country."

More bumper stickers and some good advice for passengers conveyed in a sensitive and thoughtful way.

This week it's time to recognise that there are some problems in paradise. Last night, someone lopped off the flowers in front of the house and threw them over the fence, particularly galling as we heard them and thought it was just someone wending their way home after a night out. Mrs K put them in a vase so at least we get to enjoy them. Guess who's going to wait up next Saturday night? Still on a positive note, this time of year in Brisbane is simply glorious - look at the carpet of flowers on Baroona Road. How can we not like this.

More seriously, someone's boy (39 years old) got 2 years for burglary this week and yes we know him. This is what a few beers and a lack of "nouse" does for you. There is no doubt that there is a tipping point or inflection point in people's lives. In the space of a month or so, we've also learned first hand how people have experienced drug and alcohol abuse and the terrible downward spiral that can lead to. Is locking people up the answer? I don't know although I know that there are more than a few people who should be taken off the streets, but maybe not for lopping off flowers. On the other hand....think about this wonderful woman:-

A 2003 article in the Melbourne newspaper The Age (see link below) said: "Few can rival Dame Elisabeth's enormous contribution. Her interests are so many they need to be alphabetically catalogued: academia, the arts, children, flora and fauna, heritage, medical research, social welfare. Many of Melbourne and Australia's most cherished institutions, from the Royal Children's Hospital to the Australian Ballet and the Botanic Gardens, have benefited from her involvement. But Dame Elisabeth also devoted herself to less popular causes: prisoners, children in care, those battling mental illness and substance abuse."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Murdoch_(philanthropist))

Keep Well, Stay Safe.

Kidner Jeremy and Mrs K