So with fires now threatening Warburton and Daylsford the major headline of the day was that Peter Garret is reforming Midnight Oil for a charity concert to raise money for the bushfire victims. I guess we are getting bored with the fires. I mean, they have been burning for over two weeks now, enough already.
It never ceases to amaze me how superficial people are. We all sat glued to our TVs and computers watching updates about the fires; the death toll clicking up almost by the minute. Over two hundred people have been killed and 10 times more homes have been destroyed. We have been bombarded with pictures of wailing women, men with their face in their hands, people in hospital bandaged from foot to head, burnt out cars and dead livestock. I’ll admit I’ve read articles about fire fighters giving koalas drinks, a man who walked away from his burning property leading his horse - beer in the other hand, the 15 year old who drove a tractor through the fires to save his family. I’ve read these stories with tears in my eyes. I’ve donated money, I’ve lamented the tragedy with my co-workers and then I’ve got on with my life. We seem to revel in the drama, but once we’ve had our fill – we move on. Shame those that lost family/property/skin can’t do the same. And tomorrow will be 38°C so the fires still burning will probably flare up. There isn’t going to be much of Victoria left. It does make me grateful that I live in the inner city and am protected from wild fire by thousands of tonnes of cement and bitumen.
So in 38°C heat the husband, the younger stepson and myself will be attending a heavy metal festival. I’m looking forward to seeing Lacuna Coil – I love them. Also the opportunity to see Nine Inch Nails won’t go amiss. I’m half heartedly interested in seeing Alice in Chains but my greater interest will be in the crowd itself. I love crowd watching at these sorts of things. I will post photos next week.
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Monday, March 2, 2009
How can we dance?
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Penultimate
Apparently today is the second last day of this hellish heatwave. Let's hope the meteorologists are right. It’s almost midnight and it’s still 30˚C. A significant portion of Victoria is on fire: 100 homes have been lost and 14 people have been killed. Meanwhile North Queensland is flooded. Us whiteys should really have thought twice before settling here, we just don’t fit in. Don’t misunderstand me – I love Australia, it’s beautiful, and socially we are better off than most, but the weather!! It’s hell being a Goth when it’s 40˚C! There was a similar heatwave in the early 90’s and I was suffering so much I wore white for a few days (some op shop clothes I hadn’t got around to dying). I haven’t given in this time, although I have spent most evenings and most of today wearing just my underwear - only dressing to leave the house to attend the parent information session at the music school my girl will be attending. It was one of those awful, patronising affairs that made me want to slap somebody. We were asked to introduce ourselves to the person next to us and learn something about them. We then had to tell the class what we had learned. When the teacher was giving us these instructions I almost walked out, that kind of condescending bollocks makes me really angry. I did my best and even managed to smile when the woman I was talking to asked why I didn’t have my daughter with me and said, trying really hard not to sound too cynical, “because it’s a parent information session and we were asked not to bring our kids”. “Oh!” she exclaimed, “I didn’t know that”. “It was in the letter they sent out telling us about today” I managed to sweetly say through clenched teeth. Myself and one other woman were apparently the only ones who did read the letter as all the others had their kids sitting there. Damn I hate it when people can’t follow instructions! (refer to Stupid is as Stupid does, a late 2008 blog) Anyway, I couldn’t decide if it were me or my “partner” who gave the academy award winning performance as she introduced me as “a really nice lady”.
I’m a bit excited to be doing piano with the girl. A year ago I took her to the same music school and we sat in on a lesson. The parents always accompany the child and play along with them. This is apparently so we know what they are doing and can help them during the week. When we got home from observing the lesson I asked the girl if she thought that piano lessons were something she might enjoy. She replied “Oh, I don’t need piano lessons, I can already play!” and proceeded to sit down at the piano, open up the music book (very professional like) then started banging away on the keys. I couldn’t argue with her. But just before Christmas she requested piano lessons. I was really pleased and enrolled her a few weeks ago. I hope she enjoys it. I also hope I get to learn something too; I’d love to be able to play the piano.
So tonight I have watched The Lost Boys 2 (eh), Monster’s Ball (love Billy Bob) and Pretty in Pink (really don’t get Molly Ringwald). I’ve peeled the doona off the child, who was soaked in sweat and probably about to give herself hyperthermia, fed the cat and written a blog. I will now go and have a cold shower and attempt to sleep. Come on autumn, I know you’re out there.
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