It is going to be difficult to top this one in 2012.

Francesco Schettino, the captain of the stricken Costa Concordia, answering the charge that he abandoned his ship before seeing to the safety of his passengers, is quoted today as claiming that he “tripped and fell into a lifeboat”. 

Poor man. The only alternative left to him after this cruel trick of fate was to direct operations from shore.

It has just ticked over 30,000. Apparently I’m still as popular as ever.

There are large sections of this 5 acre property that demand regular mowing and slashing. Fortunately, Christopher still enjoys nothing better than watching his old-man wield a petrol line trimmer and ride about on a lawn tractor.

So far, so good. I have to mow. I have to look after Christopher. Christopher likes to watch me mow. I get two jobs done at once and he enjoys himself.

The problem has been getting his ever-increasing bulk and the wheelchair that supports it close to the areas where mowing has to be done so he can see what is happening. On a sloping block, this is never easy, and becoming harder.

Here is what has normally happened up until now.

1. I lift him into the passenger seat of our little Subaru Brumby 4WD ute.

2. I lift his wheelchair into the back of the ute and make sure we have requisite supplies – glucometer; jelly beans; food; water; insect repellent.

3. We drive down to the area to be mowed. I park the car, set up the wheelchair on an-almost level spot (and believe me, a little bit off-level is too much), hopefully in the shade and lift him out of the car and into the wheelchair.

4. I walk back up to get the mower; drive down and do the mowing; keeping an eye out for the arranged signal (he lowers his head) if his blood sugar is low.

5. When mowing is complete, I drive the mower back to the shed, walk back down and get him and the wheelchair back in the ute and we drive up to the house where I lift him and the wheelchair one last time.

Now, however…

1. I push him up the ramp into the 2WD KIA and strap him in.

2. I drive down the very steep driveway to the newly leveled turning pad at the end of the dirt track on the block. Turn the KIA around (WHICH I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO DO BEFORE), back him out and park him on the beautiful flat surface under deep shade trees and go and get the mower.

He gets a good view. I can quickly get him under cover if it rains and I DON’T LIFT ANYTHING!

The dawn of a new era in our daily lives.

Our new turning/parking platform

enjoying the view

Our total for 2011 was 2318mm (about half of which was in the first 3 months). Total for 2010 was 2985mm.

Audible have it as an MP3 download, or you can purchase the CDs for higher quality audio.

We drove for several hours this past couple of days for Christmas visits and listened to Stewart’s mesmerizing rendition in the car as we travelled. His rich Shakespearean voice characterisations are a treat and, as he leads you through Ebenezer Scrooge’s ‘dark night of the soul’, you can’t help but feel the power of Dickens’ narrative genius and identify with Scrooge’s need for redemption.

Having read many wonderful stories to my children over the years, I envy Patrick Stewart’s great talent.

And this amazing little device might qualify as a pre-digital-age equivalent. In practiced hands, it really seems  to be able to do ‘magical’ things.

Here again is the picture I posted yesterday, in case you missed it.

Guess what

And this is a picture of the man who made it…

This is Laurie, going strong at 85 years old, demonstrating his piano paying thingy. His wife Pat is supervising. He gave one of these thingys to the Kraals, his Montville neighbours. I had a chat with him on Monday to get the story.

Laurie and Pat

He fashioned a copy of the original device he first heard being used when he was 14 years old in 1940. An Australian sailor (Laurie doesn’t remember his name), home in Melbourne on leave was entertaining a boarding house full of civilians with one of these. It enables anyone who is capable of picking out a tune with one finger to sound like an accomplished piano player by filling in the chords. Laurie was so taken with it, he measured it up and made one of his own. Because there was no plastic available in 1940, he had to improvise the little finger studs with tubing from a motor car windscreen wiper vacuum tube!

Someone very clever came up with the original.

9:00am: A beautiful morning on the Fraser Coast.

11:00am: This is the view back towards Fraser Island from the northern tip of Point Vernon. My dinky little camera can’t resolve the image very well at this distance – you might just be able to make out the kilometres of white sands on the largest sand island in the world.

Fraser Island from Point Vernon

If anything, the smorgasbord of architectural styles along the Point Vernon Esplanade is the worst I’ve seen in Hervey Bay. There are a few quaint and elegant buildings in keeping with the area, but there are also some big, ugly, lumpy brutish buildings which grumpily shout to the world that they cost a fortune when they were built in the last boom…and are for sale now.

Not only that, but at low tide the whole area pongs! A whiff of salty, mangrove can be quite alluring, but it doesn’t take much of the slightly rotten smell to be just too much.

Maybe I am getting tired.

3:00pm: I sat on the beach for a while contemplating life, listening to the gentle lapping of tiny waves on the pristine beach. The vast stretches of sand were almost deserted except for 3 small children paddling happily at the water’s edge with what must have been their grandparents.  Suddenly, the large woman began lecturing her 10ish year-old grandson about how to use her mobile phone. Apparently, it had rung and he had picked it up, not knowing how to answer it. She stood there for ages pushing buttons, obviously trying to return the missed call, then proceeded to lecture the poor kid all over again before waddling back down to the water. Maybe she is expecting a call from Henry Kissinger. Anyway, ruined the mood for me.

5:00pm: I wonder if ‘Walshie’ and ‘Paolo’ are cousins?

Cousins?

8:00pm: One final look back at my apartment block. My waiter this evening was me.

Australis Resort, Torquay - my light shining on the second floor

I leave in the morning. It’s been fun posting Today in Torquay each evening. Thanks for reading.