Lack of gratitude

Our friend is still in hospital with diabetes related problems. He has suffered from non healing nasty sores on his legs, a skin graft, golden staph, sepsis of blood, a bad reaction to antibiotics. He can't walk, although hopefully he will be able to once the other issues are dealt with.

His Fijian Indian partner visits the hospital daily and gives good care, but he is being very sullen. As I say to R, you can get away with being a petulant young black queen when you are young, but it does not work when you get older, like over 50. He is ignoring us. I always try to find a reason or excuse for people's bad behaviour, and this so annoys R. Regardless, being rude to people if you are struggling a bit with life is not the way to engender sympathy, comfort and help.

Christmas for our friend and his partner and the various visiting relatives of his partner from Fiji and New Zealand did not turn out as planned. Our friend asked if we had some free time, could we take his partner's brothers out somewhere once his partner went back to work.

Many people I have come to know on the internet have been so kind to us. It is time to return the credit for no immediate reward.

Both blokes are actually our friend's partner's cousins, but as their mother died young and they were reared by his mother, they are considered brothers to him.

One is a retired Fijian policeman and the other a motor mechanic of the old school variety, both of Indian heritage.

They were nice, but the small talk was a bit hard at times. Gabbling away is useful at times, as is silence. We took them to Altona for lunch, had a wander on the pier and the streets, some lunch, and then to Williamstown, with a visit to the shop that stinks of patchouli and another pier walk. We watched tourist boats arrive and depart. It was quite a nice outing. We then took them to see their brother's partner in hospital, who was not at all well back then.

Our friend's partner, never said a work of the thanks. A few days later, we dined at a pub with him and the brothers.  He was pleasant then. I ignore his moods etc, but R gets rather hurt by his behaviour because R cares. I don't. We have since left a message for him, asking him to join join us last Saturday night for dinner at The Dick, but he didn't respond.

I don't really like Norfolk Island Pines. We felled a big one that stood mid boundary between us and our semi detached neighbour in East Malvern. I climbed up the tree with an electric chainsaw and cut the beast down. Finally felling the trunk, it nearly fell on the power lines of our neighbour. Where the trunk landed left a big dent in the lawn. But they aren't such a bad tree beachside.

Out on the the Altona Beach Pier.

Now at Williamstown this was once a timeball lighthouse tower. I did note the details at the time.

Many year ago I blogged about the same when we took R's sister in law and her husband there, when they were our house guests.

In Williamstown, we watched from the pier tourist pleasure craft arriving and departing from the pier, including a sea plane.

Nelson Place in Williamstown is quite lovely, but ever so busy with tourists and locals. It has some great old buildings.