Life

My beloved Dad died in May, after fighting bowel cancer for two and a half years.

It still doesn't seem real, that he's not here anymore. Life is cruel sometimes.

Floods and flu epidemics

Poor Townsville in far North Queensland has seen a year's worth of rain in a week. Thousands of homes were flooded, dam gates opened to full to let the waters out that were at 200% of capacity.... it's feeling very much like the Brisbane and Toowoomba floods of 2011 all over again.

I feel for family and friends caught up in the floods up there. 😢

 

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For the history people out there (me included) this article is of interest!

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-05/the-deadly-spanish-flu-and-qld-nsw-border-closure-100-years-on/10781296

When people think of the Spanish Flu, they tend to think of the Soldiers coming home from WW1, but Australia (along with most of the world) was affected by this deadly flu epidemic too. All my life I've been aware of the border points between Queensland and NSW, as well as SA and WA. Many times as a kid, when we'd go down south to visit family, we'd have to go through the checkpoints along the border - not that they were still in action (ie they weren't always manned when I was a kid), but there was also no other way to cross the border, so through the gates you went.

It's interesting to find out WHY the gates were put there!

Australia Day, Movies, Books

After a somewhat long break from blogging, I'm giving it a go again. The weekend just gone, we had our National Day (Australia Day).

I've been recording movies on Foxtel - January was Western Month - and I've been trying to watch a movie a night, when I'm able, as the weather here is far too hot to do much else!

Last night's movie was a Jimmy Stewart film called "The Far Country". Not one I'd seen before.

Today's film isn't a western, but is a Katherine Hepburn film - "Suddenly, Last Summer". Also has a relatively young Elizabeth Taylor in it 😀

I have to admit, I am enjoying the films.

I've also been building a library for my books. Kmart sell $15 flat-pack bookcases. They only have 3 shelves, but at least I can stack them. I've missed reading my books, as they've been living in boxes the last few years.

I'm working my way through "The Diary of Anne Frank" currently. Given that the weekend also saw the anniversary of the liberation of the Death Camps so many decades ago, I thought it an appropriate book to read. Every time I step back in time to that Secret Annex with Anne and her family, I learn something new, despite knowing how it ends. It is a book that stays with you. 

I'm going to try and keep a record of movies and books I get through, as a way of giving myself incentive.

Last time I was in Brisbane (around October), I went for a walk around New Farm (one of my favourite historical places to walk), and took these photos. This is down near the old Woolsheds, where there is a walkway now.

BOOKS READ                              The Diary of Anne Frank
MOVIES WATCHED                    "The Far Country", "Suddenly, Last Summer"