tell a Model A related story

[woofa.express]

Working in Sudan was an eye opener.

During the ‘70’s I worked on the Darling Downs and ‘77’ we had yet another drought so I took a job spraying cotton in Sudan, North Africa. I arrived in the capital of Khartoum via London and Cairo on Air Sudan, flown by an Australian pilot whose hand luggage included a new motorcar tyre. Khartoum is a city of some 5 plus million located where the Blue Nile, from the SSE and White Nile from the SSW join.
What I remember about Khartoum was the overbearing smell of urine when the day warmed up, the magnificent London Plain Trees lining the banks of the river and General Gordons all steel boat moored there. Even the window shutters were steel to block incoming lead projectiles. Gordon was in Khartoum to rescue part of the British Army and many civilians. Then General Kitchener had gone to rescue him. Churchill, (the one we know from both first and second wars) was fighting at Omdurman (10 miles north of Khartoum).
When I first arrived in Khartoum I stayed at the Excelsior Hotel. There I remember a technician tending a telephone junction box with coloured wires protruding everywhere. When I left, 3 months later, the same man was sitting at the same junction box with coloured wires protruding everywhere. In addition I remember work been done to the external walls. The scaffolding was 4x4 wooden planks and that was okay but they were secured together with G clamps. I woodent have climbed them. I remember to the hotel bar with bullet holes in the wall behind the bar left from a previous coup attempt and meeting John McKeachie (pilot from Myrtleford) in that bar.

This cotton was irrigated from the Blue Nile. This river supports an extensive irrigation area known locally as the Gazera. Featureless of terrain and landmarks, local navigation was difficult. Just cotton, cotton and more cotton, In 90 fedan (acre) blocks. Farming was all by hand, that is no tractors or cotton pickers. Nothing but hoes and shovels. Each farmer was allotted 10 fedans. With five fedans he was compelled to grow cotton and the remainder grew what he pleased. They mostly chose groundnuts which we call peanuts. Spraying the cotton was easy apart from the difficulty in identifying the blocks which were all laid out exactly the same. Easy except for the kids throwing stones at the aeroplane.
Housing was either adobe or straw, depending on the status and wealth of the home owner. Our quarters were adobe and our meals and conditions very basic but of a higher standard compared to that of the locals. The operator I flew for was a national company, set up by a British operator. They had 12 aeroplanes. Pilots were New Zealanders, Dutch, a Spaniard, a Dane, English, a Lebanese and myself. The kampong (village) where we were based was about 50 minutes flying south of Khartoum and I have forgot the name. (It was 45 years ago). It was a wonderful experience. Never the less I was glad for only a short period and to arrive back in Australia were life is mostly orderly.
One of the English pilots was Dave, who was in his mid 20s. A very inconsiderate, poorly mannered and a selfish fellow. He considered himself a bit of a photographer, he took photos and sent film back to mummy in England so she could have it developed and view his job in Sudan. A Dutchman who owed him a considerable disfavour was Gerard Post. Well Gerard figured on a good way to fix up this selfish bastard. He took the poms camera to a brothel, took two very revealing photos of complying and willing girls and replaced the camera from where he got it. I reckon Gerard got even when his mum received these prints back from the photo shop.

[woofa.express]

Written for my local car club magazine.

Italian auto designers Vincenzo Lancia and Pinin Farina.

Vincenzo Lancia was born in 1881, Italy. He started his working life as a bookkeeper for and Italian bicycle importer and developed a skill for design and construction. At 19 he became chief inspector with Fiat, then to test driver then again to racing driver and with great success.
In 1907 he built his first motorcar; the 12hp Alfa and much of this technology has continued to be used in todays vehicles. He produced many models that few of us would have heard of today however many of us would have heard of “Pininfarina” which he and his buddy Battista (Pinin) Farina founded. (Pininfarina was acquired by Mahindra in 2015.) Much of the development of Pininfarina is complex and of little interest to us so there is no point in me including it. During the 1930’s they built bodies for Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Cadillac and Rolls Royce plus others. They became the first coach builder to make unibodies, ie a body without a frame. They continued production during WW2 until their factory was bombed by the allies.
At this time of writing Pininfarina had produced some 74 body styles for companies mentioned above plus Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Nash, Peugeot, Ford, Volvo, Austin and Mitsubishi.
In 2021 Pininfarina had 700 employees of which 36 were designers. Remember it’s Indian now.
Lancia died in mid-life, 55, with heart attack.
I have acquired all of this information from the internet encyclopedia Wikipedia. This is a brief report only for a comprehensive one would be far too extensive and much of it meaningless to us. However you can go to this internet encyclopedia and read it yourselves.

[woofa.express]

It's Men’s Shed Time.

In my little town of Tocumwal NSW our shed is open twice each week. If that’s too much we need not attend each open day and if it is insufficient provided there’s 2 of us we can open it as required.
It has been handy for me with all their equipment and tools. Stuff I wouldn’t buy for use at home plus there are 2 members who have the skill to assist and tutor. And willingly. That’s handy for me because the piece of equipment I handle best is a chainsaw. When I have nothing to make, modify or repair I attend simply to drink coffee. Four members are retired farmers who had been my clients for 44 years and one who was a mechanic and frequently did work for me, so I have known some for a long time. Two others are farmers from outside this area and farmers are my favourite people. Besides they grow the food that is put on my dining table. Of the balance of 14 none are fairies or bureaucrats. There is no duck shoving for authority. That’s great. If there is a men’s shed near you, do consider joining.

My stories will conclude with explanations on where many every day quotations came from, that is until I exhaust my source who is my friend Ann.

Bread was divided according to status.
Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf,
The family got the middle, and guests got the top, or ''The Upper Crust''.

[sdpet56]

My father gave me his 1930 Model A 5 window coup before he passed from bone cancer...We were all at my parents house and I needed to get out of the house for a bit...I went out to the garage and my granddaughter was with me...
Payton was 8 years old and said "Beepa, that car is old, how old is it"?
I said it is 87 years old
Payton---Wow, that is old
Me---Yes it is
Payton---I want to learn to drive in that car
Me---You might be better off learning to drive in a modern car
Payton---Why
Me---The Model A has "Armstrong power steering"
Payton---I don't get it
Me---Laughing, You will when you start driving it

[katy]

Originally Posted by woofa.express

Bread was divided according to status.
Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf,
The family got the middle, and guests got the top, or ''The Upper Crust''

I've heard of people that won't eat the crust, they cut it off and discard it, saying it's only fit for hogs.

It's Men’s Shed Time.

Had to look that one up.

[Jim Brierley]

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Woofa, I have enjoyed your writings for a long time now, and certainly hope you don't run out of gas!
If you think scaffolding held together by clamps is scary, you should visit China where their scaffolding is made of bamboo and fastened with twine! Kathy and I went to a Worlds Fair in Canada several years ago and laughed at one of China's displays, yep, bamboo scaffolding, just like we saw in China. Another thing we saw in China was a crew of maybe 8 men loading a dump truck with sand, using shovels! The truck looked like a K model IHC, made here in the 50's. They were building a tourist area, nicely done with concrete, divided into auto, bike, and pedestrian sections. The concrete was mixed by a large mixer, similar to ones used at home here in the States!

[woofa.express]

Thanks Jim for your comments. It's gratifying to receive positive feed back.

The Australian 27 th Model A meeting was held only a fortnight ago at Goulburn NSW. This is grazing country, primarily sheep. It became trendy some years back to build a big monument in many towns to bring the attention of visitors to an industry or prominent feature of that location. Thus the big ovine. Wagin in Western Australia maybe offended and claim theirs to be the first. Other “big” attractions are the big pineapple. I think this was the first although our little town of Tocumwal may dispute this as we have the big cod fish. There is the big banana and the big prawn and for you American readers that is a shrimp.
I didn’t get to attend this meet at Goulburn but by the look of a video on YouTube it was a success- even without me.
You too can watch it on YouTube and the link is below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvBMA-XnYhE

The 2024 meet is at Maryborough Queensland. It’s a delightful old town, a 3 hour drive from the state capital, Brisbane. Even less time in a Model A.

I have posted another of Ann’s supplied quotes below.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies.
By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it.!
Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water!"

[mercman from oz]

Big Merino Sheep - Goulburn, NSW as mentioned by woofa.express

[mercman from oz]

Not to be outdone by Goulburn, this Big Ram is at Wagin, WA as mentioned by woofa.express

[woofa.express]

This is interesting. Do take the time to read it.

I have long doubted sufficient electricity to power electric cars but didn’t know the magnitude of this. The following is an email I received illustrating this. Whilst the prediction is American the same scenario applies world wide I believe.


Japan's Toyota -- is currently the world's largest automaker.

Toyota and Volkswagen vie for that title each year -- each taking the crown from the other -- as the market moves.

GM -- America's largest automaker -- is about half Toyota's size --thanks to its 2009 bankruptcy and restructuring.

Actually -- Toyota is a major car manufacturer in the U.S. In 2016 about 81% of the cars it sold in the U.S. came off American assembly lines.

Toyota was among the first to introduce gas/electric hybrid cars with the Prius twenty years ago.

The company hasn't been afraid to change the car game.

All of this is to point out that Toyota understands both the car market and the infrastructure that supports the car market and probably understands better than any other manufacturer on the planet.

Toyota hasn't grown through acquisitions as Volkswagen has, and it hasn't undergone bankruptcy and bailout as GM has.

Toyota has grown by building reliable cars and trucks for decades.
When Toyota offers an opinion on the car market it's probably worth listening to!

This week Toyota reiterated -- The world is not yet ready to support a fully electric auto fleet.

Toyota's Robert Wimmer (head of energy & environmental research) said this week in testimony before the U.S. Senate, "If we are to make dramatic progress in electrification it will require overcoming tremendous challenges - challenges including : refueling infrastructure/battery availability /consumer acceptance / and affordability.”

Wimmer's remarks come hot on the heels of GM's announcement that it will phase out all gas internal combustion engines (ICE) by 2035.

Tellingly, both Toyota and Honda have so far declined to make any such promises.

Honda is the world's largest engine manufacturer (when you include : boats / motorcycles / lawnmowers / etc) Honda competes with Briggs & Stratton in those markets amid increased electrification of [traditionally gas powered] lawnmowers / weed trimmers /etc While manufacturers have announced ambitious goals just 2% of the world's cars are electric at this point.

Buyers continue to choose ICE over electric because of: price /range / infrastructure /affordability / etc. Only a small percentage of people would choose an electric car unless forced to buy.

There are 289.5 million cars just on U.S. roads as of 2021.
About 98 percent of them are gas (petrol)-powered.

Toyota's RAV4 took the top spot for purchases in the 2019 U.S market -- Honda's CR-V is second and GM's top seller (Equinox) comes in at #4 behind the Nissan Rogue.

GM only has one entry in the U.S.top 15.

Toyota and Honda dominate - each with a handful in the top 15.

Toyota warns: the US electrical grid and infrastructure simply aren't there to support the electrification of the private car fleet!

A 2017 U.S. government study found we would need about 8,500 strategically-placed charging stations to support a fleet of just 7 million electric cars. That's about six times the current number of electric cars.

But no one should be talking about supporting just 7 million cars……………

We should be talking about powering about 300 million within the next 20 years if all manufacturers follow GM and stop making ICE cars!

We are gonna need a bigger energy boat to deal with connecting all those cars to the power grids - a WHOLE LOT bigger boat

But instead of building a bigger boat we may be shrinking our boat.

Power outages in California and Texas have exposed issues with power supplies even at current usage levels.

Increasing usage of wind and solar, -- both of which prove unreliable -- has driven some coal and natural gas generators offline

We will need much more generation capacity to power about 300 million cars if we're all going to be forced to drive electric cars, and we will be charging them frequently.

Every roadside gas station must be wired to charge electric cars and charging speeds must increase greatly

Current technology allows charges in "as little as 30 minutes" - but that best-case fast charging cannot be done on home power. Charging at home (on alternating current) takes a few hours to overnight and will increase the home power bill.

That power, like all electricity in the United States, comes from generators using: natural gas /petroleum/coal/nuclear/wind/solar/or hydroelectric sources.

Even half an hour is an unacceptably long time to spend charging. It's about 5 to 10 times longer than a gas pump takes Imagine big rigs with much larger tanks.

Just imagine the charging lines that would form every day if charge time isn't reduced by 70 to 80 percent!

We can expect improvements but those won't come without cost.

Electrifying the auto fleet requires massive overhaul of the power grid and an enormous increase in power generation!

Toyota has publicly warned about this twice while its smaller rival GM is pushing to go electric.

GM may be trying to win favor with those in power in California/ Washington and in the media.

Toyota's addressing reality, and they know what they are talking about!

Toyota isn't saying none of this can be done………….
They are saying ‘that conversations are NOT anywhere near serious and will NOTproduce meaningful results’!

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by woofa.express

This is interesting. Do take the time to read it.

I have long doubted sufficient electricity to power electric cars but didn’t know the magnitude of this. The following is an email I received illustrating this. Whilst the prediction is American the same scenario applies world wide I believe.


Japan's Toyota -- is currently the world's largest automaker.

Toyota and Volkswagen vie for that title each year -- each taking the crown from the other -- as the market moves.

GM -- America's largest automaker -- is about half Toyota's size --thanks to its 2009 bankruptcy and restructuring.

Actually -- Toyota is a major car manufacturer in the U.S. In 2016 about 81% of the cars it sold in the U.S. came off American assembly lines.

Toyota was among the first to introduce gas/electric hybrid cars with the Prius twenty years ago.

The company hasn't been afraid to change the car game.

All of this is to point out that Toyota understands both the car market and the infrastructure that supports the car market and probably understands better than any other manufacturer on the planet.

Toyota hasn't grown through acquisitions as Volkswagen has, and it hasn't undergone bankruptcy and bailout as GM has.

Toyota has grown by building reliable cars and trucks for decades.
When Toyota offers an opinion on the car market it's probably worth listening to!

This week Toyota reiterated -- The world is not yet ready to support a fully electric auto fleet.

Toyota's Robert Wimmer (head of energy & environmental research) said this week in testimony before the U.S. Senate, "If we are to make dramatic progress in electrification it will require overcoming tremendous challenges - challenges including : refueling infrastructure/battery availability /consumer acceptance / and affordability.”

Wimmer's remarks come hot on the heels of GM's announcement that it will phase out all gas internal combustion engines (ICE) by 2035.

Tellingly, both Toyota and Honda have so far declined to make any such promises.

Honda is the world's largest engine manufacturer (when you include : boats / motorcycles / lawnmowers / etc) Honda competes with Briggs & Stratton in those markets amid increased electrification of [traditionally gas powered] lawnmowers / weed trimmers /etc While manufacturers have announced ambitious goals just 2% of the world's cars are electric at this point.

Buyers continue to choose ICE over electric because of: price /range / infrastructure /affordability / etc. Only a small percentage of people would choose an electric car unless forced to buy.

There are 289.5 million cars just on U.S. roads as of 2021.
About 98 percent of them are gas (petrol)-powered.

Toyota's RAV4 took the top spot for purchases in the 2019 U.S market -- Honda's CR-V is second and GM's top seller (Equinox) comes in at #4 behind the Nissan Rogue.

GM only has one entry in the U.S.top 15.

Toyota and Honda dominate - each with a handful in the top 15.

Toyota warns: the US electrical grid and infrastructure simply aren't there to support the electrification of the private car fleet!

A 2017 U.S. government study found we would need about 8,500 strategically-placed charging stations to support a fleet of just 7 million electric cars. That's about six times the current number of electric cars.

But no one should be talking about supporting just 7 million cars……………

We should be talking about powering about 300 million within the next 20 years if all manufacturers follow GM and stop making ICE cars!

We are gonna need a bigger energy boat to deal with connecting all those cars to the power grids - a WHOLE LOT bigger boat

But instead of building a bigger boat we may be shrinking our boat.

Power outages in California and Texas have exposed issues with power supplies even at current usage levels.

Increasing usage of wind and solar, -- both of which prove unreliable -- has driven some coal and natural gas generators offline

We will need much more generation capacity to power about 300 million cars if we're all going to be forced to drive electric cars, and we will be charging them frequently.

Every roadside gas station must be wired to charge electric cars and charging speeds must increase greatly

Current technology allows charges in "as little as 30 minutes" - but that best-case fast charging cannot be done on home power. Charging at home (on alternating current) takes a few hours to overnight and will increase the home power bill.

That power, like all electricity in the United States, comes from generators using: natural gas /petroleum/coal/nuclear/wind/solar/or hydroelectric sources.

Even half an hour is an unacceptably long time to spend charging. It's about 5 to 10 times longer than a gas pump takes Imagine big rigs with much larger tanks.

Just imagine the charging lines that would form every day if charge time isn't reduced by 70 to 80 percent!

We can expect improvements but those won't come without cost.

Electrifying the auto fleet requires massive overhaul of the power grid and an enormous increase in power generation!

Toyota has publicly warned about this twice while its smaller rival GM is pushing to go electric.

GM may be trying to win favor with those in power in California/ Washington and in the media.

Toyota's addressing reality, and they know what they are talking about!

Toyota isn't saying none of this can be done………….
They are saying ‘that conversations are NOT anywhere near serious and will NOTproduce meaningful results’!

I read an item just this morning about a problem transporting electric vehicles from the factory to the dealer. It seems these vehicles are so heavy the transport trucks can't carry a full load because their trucks would be overweight (the limit is 80,000 lbs.).
The proposed solution? Raise the weight limit! Highways are already crumbling from heavy trucks so let's make them heavier!

[woofa.express]

This is a messy report written for our local motor club. It was written over several days so contradictions may occur. Sorry

Screen Shot 2022-10-09 at 06.39.00.jpgHow goes the price of fuel in Australia.
The charts here are from only 7th April this year. The price of fuel was then 92 USD for a barrel of oil, WTI or West Texas Intermediate. We had to pay $1.33 AUD for 1 USD. That made the price, in AUD $122.
On June 9th the oil price had risen to $110.79 USD and we paid $1.39 for each dollar American. This made a barrel of WTI $153
Now today 5 October a barrel $86 USD and the AUD is at .64 we pay $132 AUD.
Where will the AUD be in the future? How about the USD and barrel of oil. Chrystal ball stuff. Too many scenarios.
Some points of interest. We are paying a high price because of the Russian embargo. Russia is generating considerable exchange because of this high price, and this is for all energy sales including coal. Also some world governments took advise from a little girl with pig tails who has become a millionaire.

What will determine the future price. War? Unstable governments causing currency fluctuations? In our case, declines in volume or price of coal, gas, iron ore or agricultural product.

Left chart, USD/AUD, Right chart. Oil, WTI price

I concluded this report on 9th October and much has happen since I started. Saudi and Russia have become somewhat more aligned. OPEC has reduced production and I see oil has taken a big rise of 4.6%. Iran has proposed a Caspian States Union. Russia has blamed USA for the sabotage on Nord 2 and there is circumstantial evidence to support this and likewise USA is blaming Russia.
OPEC has agreed to reduce oil production by 2 million barrels each day!
Political instability reigns, particularly in western democracies and so does civilian unity. Wasn’t stability and unity when the world leaders were Regan, Gorbachev and Thatcher?

Pigtails has now advocated nuclear for France. In todays Fairfax news papers

[woofa.express]

Water, it’s your friend until you get too much.

We are to have a family reunion in Brisbane this coming weekend. Second son who we call Moo is here from Honkers and all others are flying in with the exception of Gary and Patsy. We drove up, usually a 900 mile journey. We did this in our younger days in a day with four kids in the back of the car or 5 hours in our Cessna. Now we have no aeroplanes (all sold) we drive. What became 1 day became 2 days but this time 3. Diversions with flooded rivers.
It goes like this. Sometimes the water in the Indian ocean to our west is warm. It’s referred to as the Indian Ocean Dipole. If it’s negative, that is cooler in the west, that is on the east coast of Africa. Thus the east Indian Ocean is warmer, that is on the west coast of Australia. This brings about rain across our inland. The water to our east, the Pacific Ocean, is somewhat similar. If the water in the west of the ocean is warmer than that in the east ocean it is called La Nina and brings wet weather.. This year we have a double whammy with both oceans warm against our coast. It is not only wet but we have flooding and thus the 3 day drive to Brisbane. The 900 mile drive became 1,200. This wet season looks set to continue. Farmers were having a good growing season, one can tell by the smile they were presenting. But that has all changed. They are pumping water off their crops night and day and the smile gone. For many of them this winter crop, cereal and canola, represents their annual income.
When cool water is on our east coast the condition is called El Nino or the coming of the boy child (Christ). A term coined by the Spanish speaking fishermen on the Pacific coast of South America. And in the Indian ocean it is called positive Indian Ocean Dipole. Positive to Africa that is.

Now from my friend Ann. Useless information. Quotes you hear but never knew how they were derived.
There is an old Hotel/Pub in Marble Arch, London, which used to have a gallows adjacent to it.
Prisoners were taken to the gallows to be hanged.
The horse-drawn dray, carting the prisoner, was accompanied by an armed guard, who would stop the dray outside the pub and ask the prisoner if he would like ''ONE LAST DRINK''. If he said YES, it was referred to as ONE FOR THE ROAD. If he declined, that Prisoner was ON THE WAGON.

And the dead, unrelated to above, were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up.
Hence the custom of ''Holding a Wake’'.

[woofa.express]

Rural towns are Congenial.

Nyngan, population 2,000, is a rural town, about 350 miles north west of Sydney. Sheep, cattle and cropping are the farm produce on which the community lives. Nyngan has, like all country towns, no rush, no crowds and folk have time to chat. It has town pride and very obviously leadership. It has a good feel about it.

Cobar is a mining town, about 80 miles to the west of Nyngan. Silver, lead and zinc. These three minerals mostly go together. Apparently these minerals have now been found near Nyngan as well which has created both excitement with some reservation in the community. Excitement for the wealth they will generate and disappointment that the workers will be fly in / flyout and leave very little in this little town. It’s a practice in many mining communities, but I do note Cobar has many permanent miners who live in their town.

Like most all inland towns it is situated on a river; the Bogan River. It was and still is their water source. Like many other inland towns built on a river it floods after a deluge. This last happened in 1990. The town was evacuated when the water left little breathing room between the floor and the ceiling.

Like all country towns there is good community spirit and bonding, Cobar being no different. Residents from here fetched all clothing, linen and other cloth items, washed and ironed them then returned them. That has never been forgotten.

I don’t often get to Nyngan or Cobar but enjoy a stay or stopover when I do.

Picture below was sourced from the internet.

[woofa.express]

This is a contuation from the previous story

So Gary is not Robinson Crusoe.

We have arrived in Brisbane and are staying in the suburbs so have nothing breath taking to report. I was about to post my findings, but have received one comment in particular from a friend about my story on Nyngan and Cobar. I will publish part of that in leu of my next story which is on my urban findings.
In addition to publishing in this forum I send a copy to about 60 private folk. They and others get back to me with their comments. Here’s Ken’s. He had been an enterprising contractor living and working in the area I live. Tocumwal. He is now living at Port Macquarie on the NSW coast.

We spent a time in Cobar on our return from the Northern Territories and enjoyed it, you are right on the money, the people welcome a chat and look you in the eye and say gooday when they see you in the street.
Here in Port Macquarie both males and females cast their eyes down as you walk towards them, they don’t want to engage with anyone unless it’s via their unsocial media. In cafes here you see people sharing a table saying nothing to each other and just showing small pictures on their mobile devices to each other,
Mostly without comment or a smile.
I would much rather live in Tocumwal than here but we have agreed not to move house again as it is too costly and disruptive.

So Gary is not Robinson Crusoe.

[woofa.express]

Screen Shot 2022-10-20 at 07.51.24.jpgAgain this continues from the previous story.

The story of country, rural and outback living was not intended to continue on but I have had so much feedback or support from readers I am publishing two of these comments in addition to Ken’s yesterday.

1. A good reason not to move from the small town situation. Of course most of us know that, and people from the cities, keep saying how wonderful it is, where we live. While I do agree with them, I try to gently tell them that this is normal, as opposed to where they live. Don’t tell too many people, though!

2. We have lived in the, Riverina, Carrathool, NSW, Gympie, Moura and Ayr QLD and have found Cobar to be the best and friendliest town and district. As a rule we have found when moving to another district that the people don’t have the same interest as one have become used to. So many people are disappointed when moving to the coast only to find they are lonely and many move back. I’ve warned many a person to move if they need to but don’t sell their original residence or property initially and rent instead until they are sure they have made the right decision.

I once worked with a WW2 pilot who was a hero in his local country town. He moved to the Gold Coast where he died with knowing very few people including his neighbours.

I can say country living is not as status competitive as it is in the city and doesn’t drain your bank account as quickly. Life is calmer. I know several who have moved to the “fashion coast” only to return.

THERE IS NO RELIVANCE OF THE PICTURES TO THIS STORY. THEY WERE INTENDED FOR A FUTURE STORY. I've really messed it up.Gary.

[woofa.express]

So here is the story pertaining to the pictures of the previous story.

What of man’s future?

We are in the city of Brisbane preparing for a family reunion. Our son Michael who has lived in Honkers for many years is here with his wife who is here with their kids who are here in school. Our 3 other kids and their kids are to fly in from the south to join us.

I got side tracked from the very start didn’t I?. That is not my story. I am about to write about people who frighten me when I think about the future. The fashions. The attire. The tattoos. The facial makeup on the girls even school age. And the addiction to electronic games and frivolous electronic communications. Now more and more middle aged folk and oldies seem to be reliant on these “make me feel important” devices.

Folk with mortgages feel the need to have a new motor car to complete their feeling of success and importance. The need for indulgence, the expectation of entitlement and western prosperity to continue.
The growing gap between extreme wealth and poor leading to more and more dependence on government which is clearly leading us to socialism. The gullibility and blindness of people who are influenced by government and media that compete for control of our minds. These “head in the clouds folk” need to be taken to a farm yard to get some turkey shit between their toes.

But not everything is bad. It is pleasing to find some good young types in society. Thank goodness. My next story won’t be critical like this one, but a nice story of enjoying life in retirement.

Picture of girls with nose rings in an endeavour to emanate our close relatives. Even bluies dimples won’t restore her beauty.

[Jim Brierley]

Things are pretty much the same everywhere. We live in a SoCal wine growing area, we are on a short dirt road with 15 homes on our street, plus 2 more across Brierley Creek.
It is a great neighborhood, we all get along fine, help each other out and even have a yearly Christmas party! we are just outside of Temecula, a city of 113,000 people, about 10,000 when we bought our property in 1985. Most people are not quite as rude as those spoken about above, it is a tourist town, so two different types of folks, vastly different. I walk with a cane, and a noticeable list to one side, and am constantly amazed at how helpful people are, opening doors for me, carrying packages into the post office, etc. One thing is that it is mostly the mid to older people that are the helpful ones. The tats and nose rings are just as ugly as anywhere, I assume those people don't have mirrors in their homes, so don't realize how bad they look??? Lord help us!!!

[fried okra]

It's a changing world for sure.

But my parents probably said that back in the 1950's.

But seems to get worse as times change

[woofa.express]

This story is a doosey
Why is legal jargon so gobbledegook.

When I was a school kid I can well remember being taught “William the conqueror 1066”. No teacher ever told me who this William fellow was and it wasn’t until I was in my 40’s did I discover he was a Froggie who invaded England. He claimed he had a right to the throne and todays royals have descended from this fellow William. It is all quite fascinating stuff but a school kid has no idea where Hastings is (where the battle occurred) or where Normandy is (where this froggy came from). And does he really care?
As a result of this invasion we coped a complex way to speak which still exists today in the legal industry. I found the best explanation of this history on the internet which I have copied and pasted below. End of chapter 1.
The dawn of a new world.
Occasionally one hears of a brave new sole who endeavours to push shit uphill with the endeavour to introduce plain language into legal speech and legal documents. The legal industry has resisted this and I think it is so they can be consulted (additional business for them) to explain to us ordinary mortals just what this confusing stuff really means.
Well there’s being a breakthrough. The New Zealand parliament is legislating to address this stupidity and turn legalese to language we all understand. Hooray! It’s being supported by the left pollical parties and resisted by the conservatives. I agree with the lefties on this one. Where did I find this report?- in the Russian Times. No I am not a commo, I also read the Washington Post, the UK times and our local The Australian.
Does this complex legal jargon effect you. Most probably yes, it does me. I don’t read the legal jargon in the small print of an insurance policy informing me that I maybe prohibited from being paid out in an insurance claim. Betcha.
Here are two footnotes.
Firstly from the internet and secondly on another piece of legislation from New Zealand.

Also an interesting apple pie chart
of how the English language is composed.
Because the key is difficult to read here it is. Purple is from the French. Blue is Latin. Green is Germatic and others. Red is Greek. Brown is others and yellow is unknown.

Now 2, an interesting further tale on New Zealand. Dairy product is the largest export and thus their big national income on which they are dependent. They have legislated to tax the farmer because the cows fart. Make sense to you? You must understand that parliaments are made-up of mostly sensible people who gather together and make stupid decisions.

because the pictures wouldn't copy adjacent to the paragraph to which they pertain here they are at the bottom. You'll work them out.