Hi everyone. Has it been raining at your place? It has here. So lovely. I am moving this week from a Housing comm place to live with the family for a while. After being on the list for years and living here for only one year, I'm moving out. Why? Well, these are seniors units, very quiet, too quiet. Most tenants do not socialise at all, and are barely seen outside their units. Several times this past year an ambulance has come to take someone to hospital and they have not returned, having been placed in a nursing home because they are no longer able to care for themselves or because they have passed away. I found myself becoming too sad and have to leave. Do you have a similar story? 

Went to a writing (newsletters) workshop yesterday in Daylesford Vic. This is spa and mineral springs country - a great destination for Melbourne folk on weekends.

Met interesting people at the workshop - all involved in their communities in various ways.

"Maureen" writes the newsletter for Hepburn REA  (Renewable Energy Association). That group has successfully organised a "wind park" (two turbines) for their community. They've got past all the hurdles and handed over the project to a "for-profit" cooperative that will implement and manage the wind park. The two turbines will add 4 Megawatts of wind-generated electricity to the grid, meaning 4 Megawatts less needs to be generated from brown coal. That's power for 2000 homes, 14,000 tonnes less of CO2 in the atmosphere.each year.

At around $10 million, this is a big community project, but these folk got their act together and it's all happening - note that less than a tenth of the cost will be spent by government (or rather us taxpayers) on this project, the rest by private investors including a lot of local residents. 

You can view the whole story at www.hrea.org.au .

And yes, I did learn a bit about writing newsletters too!

I recently registered at Greypath and I'm so glad I did, there is just so much variety available - I think I am going to enjoy my relationship with Geypath.

Just wanted to let members know of a website I recently came across Happyhousesitters.com.au If you want to live and travel cheaply why not consider pet/house sitting. It seems like a good way to help others while seeing various parts of one's own city/state and travelling interstate without accomodation costs.

We live on the Central Coast of New South Wales - along with many other retirees of course.  The main reason we chose to live here was to be close to Sydney and its attractions, most important of these being our families - two of our daughters.  One lives in Newtown and the other (and granchildren) at Penrith.  Neither are able to accommodate us for short stays - not to say they should have to, of course, I just make the point as it is the reason for this blog. 

After a bit of trial and error, we have settled on the Great Southern Hotel as a convenient and value place for these short stays.  

The hotel is convenient to Central Station - down to Eddy Avenue, through to George Street and you are there.  About 10 minutes walk if you are slow like me. You can take a taxi of course but it has to go round and round in circles to get there due to one-way streets and such, so if you can make it, try the walk.  The photograph above is taken from Lawson Street, which links Eddy Avenue and George Street, so you can see how close it is. Its address is 717 George Street. 

It is an old refurbished hotel, the rooms are small.  But we figure we are not living there, only sleeping, so that is OK. 

The value is a very important issue to us.  Although so close to Central Station, and the City, we paid $124 for a twin-bedroom and breakfast  - that was it, $124, no extras, for a room for the night and breakfast.  Nice clean room and a good ensuite with walk-in shower, none of these things over the bath that I refuse to use, I find them too scary due to a couple of problems with my feet (mainly peripheral neuropathy) and I don't want to have a fall in a bathroom, thanks!. 

An important point - make your booking through Wotif - http://www.wotif.com/ - they scoop all the best rates and you won't do better than book through them. 

Final important point - I have NO connection with this hotel, except as a satisfied customer.  My wife and I recommend it! 

Finally, after many years, I am reading German poetry again. Ran across two little red German poetry books by ''Goethe'', still using the old German script.

Have no idea where these books came from:  Maybe from the annual fete at the German Lutheran home, maybe from Berlin after WW11, small label inside saying:   Buchhandlung

                           Maruschke & Berendt

                            Breslau, Ring 8

and then on first page, upper right corner:  ''Werner''.

As ''Breslau'' (Bohemia) no longer exists, its name changed to ''Wrodclaw'', Silesia, I'm assuming these books perhaps belonged to a refugee.

One of my favourite poems as a child was:  ''Der Zauberlehrling'' (the student of magic).

Many people may have read the translation where the student, being too lazy to fetch water himself, puts a spell on the broom to fetch water---and so the broom does--endlessly.

Very frightened now, the student splits the broom in half--and creates TWO new brooms!!

Wehe! Wehe!        Oh my! Oh my!

Beide Teile              both parts

Stehn in Eile             stand ready

Schon als Knechte   already as servants

But finally the student is saved by the ''Master'':

In die Ecke                 in the corner

Besen!  Besen!          Broom! Broom!

Seid's gewesen.         Be a has been!

Not only a very entertaining little poem, but also could be a metaphor for ideas taking hold of the world, e.g.strong religions, political ideas, capitalism (with its exessive marketing and consumerism).

Similiar to the broom in ''Goethe's poem'', some of the above ideas seem to take on a life of their own and appear to be unstoppable.

I have never been the one for common sense.  There I was in Urumqi in my flat back again from Australia for another go at trying to pass on English to the kids at no.22 school.  It was Feb and the TV was not on.  I was deperate for company and TV was the only help.  It was marvelous during the weekdays with the kids swamping me and excited to see me but on the weekends oh dear.  No chinese language, no friends, no books only TV.  Who wants a 70 year old old grizzly?

The TV hadn't been paid for 3 years.  I said I would pay!  No action.  Just as I would've gotten TV I lost my cool and sent a letter to the deputy headmaster saying to her "It's war!  If I don't get TV then you'll have to be my lover!"  Unfortunately I described how.

They were very cordial about it.  Actually paid me to the end of the month.  I got to go on the Yangtze in the Victoria which is the boat in the film "UP the Yangtze".  Anyhow my throat couldn't last any longer.  It was car fumes in the still and dust in the wind.