Naked

I do not care for nakedness, except in very few men who would not be over the age of thirty. Actually, not even then. I would rather see a man in underwear, with the promise of what is hidden for later discovery.

Elisabeth wrote a an interesting post about nakedness. http://www.sixthinline.com/naked/

The photographer of mass naked people, Spencer Tunick, will be in Melbourne soon to take photos of naked people on the rooftop carpark of an inner suburban supermarket.

The supermarket, Woolworths, ran a mile from such a thing, but coyly suggested the problem was lack of parking for customers. It subsequently correctly judged public opinion and the photo shoot will go ahead. The space is limited, so expect only hundreds of naked people, not thousands.

Be prepared to see lots of fat saggy old arses, draped curtain backs, skinny legs, fallen chests and tits, cellulite issues and tuckshop lady arms. (tick all for me, except cellulite and tuck shop arms)

That is a horrible thing to say, though perhaps true. It is not easy being older and seeing your body deteriorate but that is what happens, so don't fight it. Just relax into your older body. You are still you and you are liked for what you are in the blog community and probably in real life too.

Some countries in the world, such as Japan, seem to have much less of a problem with nakedness, of the old and young.

Payola and blog comments

When we bought our new dishwasher a month or so ago, the sales person mentioned that it came with an offer of $100's worth of Finish (that's a brand, not the people of the said country) dishwashing powder. Fortunately I remembered this as there was no mention on any documentation. It took a bit of time but I found some relevant links online. I filled in rather a lot of information and a couple of weeks later a large box arrived containing 128 dishwasher tablets, a large bottle of rinse aid, two dishwasher scale cleaners, not a great problem for us with our soft water, and a dishwasher deodoriser.

We are rather pleased. Of course always looking out for cheap Finish dishwasher tablets, the sums don't really add up for us, but still, it is good. Thanks to whoever paid, Bosch or Finish.

I am not making any attempt at connecting the above with the below. 

The Blogger comment problem has been solved but it won't happen automatically. The default setting is now that you don't receive comments by email, to comply with European Union legislation, so far as I know.

Here is what you need to do if you want to receive an email with the comment when someone comments on your blog. Sorry, if you quickly understand, but I am writing this to make it as simple as possible. 

Open you blog dashboard, that is where the compose button sits and all those buttons are on the left, along with the list of your posts, published and drafts. Go down to Settings and click, then Email. If you were receiving emails of blog comments, your email address will be there in the box next to 'Comment notification email'. Delete your email address within the the box and at the top right, click 'Save Settings'. It has been suggested that you should close down and restart your computer. Do so if you wish. 

Then, go back to where you were at, Settings/Email and add your email address to the box 'Comment Notification Email' and again click Save Settings.You will receive an email and within the email there are two options. Select 'Subscribe'. Voila, you will now receive an email when someone comments on your blog. It may take a little time to start working though.

If you don't receive comments normally and want to,  just go to same place and add your email address. 

A movie and our lives

I am not sure if I mentioned it already, but a couple of weeks ago Oldest Niece held her engagement party come housewarming party. We attended. It was perfectly organised. The weather was cold but there was adequate indoor and outdoor heating and a marquee. Lots of finger food followed by an adequate buffet meal. Drinks of everything supplied, except for light beer (frowning face emoticon as I could only have two glasses of wine because R hates to drive at night and someone had made him a very strong cocktail)  She takes after her mother, Ex Sis in Law. She gets parties right and doesn't spare the expense. We stayed from about 5.30 to 8.30 and of course the party really kicked on after we left. Nephew and his wife left about the same time, we chatting to her as she waited for Nephew. You know you guys are my favourite uncles, said she. I didn't say, but, Well, love, you only have one other, ABI Brother. Tradie Brother is your father in law. We gave Oldest Niece an engagement present of a few $00. We've bailed her brother and sister when they were overseas and travelling and left it as a gift. Just because she is a bit more responsible and has her act together, why should she miss out? Two weeks later, we are are still waiting for a text, call, note, card or some kind of thank you for the substantial gift.

Not too long after, Hippie niece with the twin daughters who has left her partner and is living at home, against chemist advice, bought some cold medication. She had a psychotic episode and was ignoring the twin babies at early in the morning while she slept on. She ended up in the local hospital psyche ward.

R was called on to help. One day he set off from home at 4am to look after the twins for a couple of hours, and another day, at 6am. Hippie's Niece's mother and step are juggling their lives and the same, Ex Sis in Law comes pretty close to be being the twin's main carer. Pretty hard for a grandma to take on semi permanent caring role for granddaughters. Of course I feel awful, as I have to work and cannot help, but then what use am I with children. R is the go to person for competent childcare, but he will be 70 next year. He is not a young man.

Since our friend died, we rarely go out for dinner but we did catch up with several people we know one night, including our dead friend's partner at The Dick pub a few weeks ago. It was nice.

Our dead friend used to always host a large afternoon tea at home on Queen's Birthday holiday, and his widower continued the tradition. It was, Ladies, please bring a plate*, and the tradition of scones, ham jam and cream did not happen. Apparently Fijian Indians are not expert in scone making. Who would have thought! While I wasn't there as I had to work, R went and enjoyed himself.

Mother has been in a private hospital for three weeks. She did not exactly go home last Saturday. She has gone back to to ABI Brother's place. Her target was to get off Panadeine Forte. She has, but the end result is not clear yet. At one point her blood pressure was over 200. At another point, it dropped below 100. One night in hospital, her temperature rose to 39 degrees, resulting in bells and whistles at the hospital. Her temperature was quickly lowered with your basic Panadol. She was a difficult patient at the hospital, but the staff were generally pretty good especially, as she said, the overseas born staff. One Anglo Aussie left her room with the advice, You'd better cheer up love. Mother has many old age problems and they can't be cured by doctors or drugs but while frail, she otherwise quite well. ABI Brother has just been brilliant with her, ignoring anything she moans about and just gets on with looking after her. Mother thought the foreign born nurses were much more caring and kind. That would be, Mother, because they are more tolerant of your nonsense.

But to give you some context, Mother was just brilliant after Acquired Brain Injury Brother rode his bicycle out into lanes of highway traffic in an apparent suicide attempt. Maybe a suicide attempt. He can't remember and we don't know. She was so dedicated to his recovery, so he does owe her. Mother was just as brilliant when her partner died, Step Father, who himself were great to my brothers and sister in their growing years.

How did my once smart and vivacious Mother end up being a moaning and whining old woman at the age of 84. Often enough we hear,  Sometime I think I'd be better off dead.

Moving on. Last Saturday night we caught up at the Elsternwick Hotel with our dead friend's partner, his rather luscious and stylish young Indian student boarder, our dead friend's brother and his wife, our Hairdresser Friend and our acquaintance from Beacon Cove and his Indonesian born partner. It was an absolutely lovely night, and we took no notice of France defeating Australia in the footyball on the big screen.

Last week R was so stressed by a visit by a plumbing firm. I'll save that for another post.

On this day, the 17th of June, the rain fell hard, the wind whipped around us so strongly. Fronts of rain beat upon us. What to do on such a day? Turn up the aircon by 1 degree, or even 2 degrees and stay at home? We went to town to see a movie. Movie review coming up soon. (the movie review came up first)

Next Sunday it a visit to The Bellarine to see Little Jo perform in her theatre group's annual concert and the Sunday after Oldest Niece is cooking us dinner in her new home to celebrate her 30th birthday.

* For you foreign types, 'Ladies bring a plate' is a long held tradition in Australia where, unlike in some European countries where the host of a gathering supplies everything, including alcohol and cigarettes, guests bring food and perhaps a bottle of wine along to a gathering, rather than the party host supply everything.  Of course the joke is that new Australians take the phrase literally and bring along an empty china plate.

Blame the other woman

I cannot believe what I am reading. Has the clock been turned back 40 years, when my own mother verbally laid into the woman in a public place on the street, the woman who went on to become my step mother? With both in their eighties now, they are pleasant to each other when they are at family get togethers.

This won't be meaningful to overseas people but Australians can't help but know about former Federal Government Minister Barnaby Joyce, his former staffer who became his lover and their child. He has left his wife Natalie.

Natalie has gone down the age old road of blaming 'the other woman', and not her husband. There was a danger I would show you minimal media snips and getting it out of context. I am putting larger snips. You be the judge.

Dearest woman. Your husband is never seduced by an evil, sex hungry power seeking woman. It is your husband's choice and his decision. Having said that, my god the male urges can be strong, but the sign of a good man is that he is able to control these lustful urges. (I am the last person to lecture anyone about that), but the point here is about blame. I've never blamed anyone else but myself for my indiscretions and nor has R for his.

From The Age.

After months of silence, Natalie Joyce, the estranged wife of the former deputy prime minister, has decided it's time to speak up about her "two-year" ordeal after her husband's affair and the birth of Sebastian.

In an interview appearing in July's Australian Women's Weekly – which Mrs Joyce and the publication are at pains to point out was unpaid – she's admitted to watching the infamous interview Barnaby Joyce and Vikki Campion gave to Channel Seven's Sunday Night program earlier this month in exchange for $150,000.

"It was all we could do to watch it without throwing a brick at the TV," Mrs Joyce said, calling the interview "an absolute disgrace".

And she places the blame squarely at the feet of Ms Campion.

"I wasn't surprised she sold their 'exclusive' story, and certainly not surprised the $150,000 went to her child, but it begs the question, if Barney agreed to be a part of it, how could he allow his four girls to be overlooked?

Tea with the Dames

While they weren't huge belly laughs, myself and R and the audience constantly giggled and laughed through most of the movie Tea with the Dames. It was very enjoyable and I've never known time when watching a movie to fly past so fast. Ok, it was a short movie.

It is not a movie as such, but more of a documentary about four English actors who have been granted Damehoods for their services to their crafts. They meet for a catch up every so often and this time it was filmed.

Everybody probably knows Dame Judi Dench. I adore her and I have seen her many tv shows and films over many years. Her late husband, Michael Williams, was also an actor. She is on the far right in the video still below.

Far left is Dame Maggie Smith, best known in recent years for Downton Manor and I believe Harry Potter.

Standing on the left we have not only a Dame but a Lady as well, Dame Joan Plowright, once Lady Olivier, wife of Sir Laurence Olivier. I remember her best in a movie from years ago called Drowning by Numbers, where three generations of women killed off their husbands. Somewhere Baroness comes into her titles too.

The last, standing on the right was not know to me at all by name. However, as soon as I saw Dame Eileen Atkins, I recognised her as the actor who plays Doc Martin's aunt in Doc Martin. She has been in many other shows too.

If you have the chance to see it, do so and I doubt you will regret it. Unlike many trailers, this one does not give much away.

Marriage Poll

It is not something I thought about until recently, but what an odd thing it is for women to change their surnames when they get married. It just seems so possessive. I own you, you take my name. That's my opinion anyway.

While Oldest Niece is engaged to her partner of ten years, I doubt she will change her name when and if they marry. Their children have his surname.  Nephew's wife didn't change hers when they married. Ex Sis in Law did when she remarried, perhaps because she wanted to be rid of her former married name, my surname. Little Jo got both surnames of her mothers as a surname. It was supposed to be hyphen free, but I see a hyphen has been appearing of late.

Speaking of surnames, Hels' post on surnames was quite interesting. Extra interesting to see my surname in the post.

But here you go. You female readers, older or younger, would you now change your name and of course you are of the age when you first married? That's confusing. In 2018 society you are the age when you married.

The poll is anonymous but you can confess and rant in comments. Perhaps you still have the name of your former husband who you are not great friends with or even detest?

I am not sure if this poll will work, so if the post disappears, don't worry. I will try again.

Online Survey Software

What it is like to live with me

Look, this tv show has that woman on it, said I. R was perplexed.

There are many women in the world.

The boss one in the old people care facility place. She played a similar role in a comedy.

Err, yes, you are right.

Silence.

R then replied, Moving On, that was the name.

I googled. No not Moving On, although I am reminded what a great tv series that was. R, that British comedian woman was in it. The one who was on what's his name's show. (I meant Stephen Fry but I could not think of his or her name or even the name of the show, QI).

A minute passed.

Jo Brand.

You've got it now. You were close dearest. It was Getting On, not Moving On. Did you know before Jo Brand entered the entertainment business, she was actually a psych nurse.

Yes.

Doesn't that bloke in the show look like the Australian actor Lucky Grills?

Maybe not really.

There was no reply. I left him in peace with the Shakespeare and Hathaway, which I am half watching.

OMG, Doc Martin's wife in the show too. Later I worked out Louisa's real name is Caroline Catz.

And she who began it all, a very fine and restrained actor, Vicki Pepperdine.

Revisiting Docklands

Melbourne's Docklands redevelopment has generally been seen as a failure. Even the optimistic proponents suggest it will take a decade or more to come together. I first heard that about a decade ago, and it hasn't happened yet. You can make cities and towns and do them well, rather than allowing them to naturally grow, but neither has happened here.

The main problem was the almost carte blanche given to property developers. I suppose there was an overall plan, but you wouldn't know it. It is transforming over the years though, from an open windswept place to to a series of wind tunnels around buildings. There are so many new towers since I was last there and took any notice.

It is sometimes referred to as Divorcelands, where men who broken up with their partner go to live the high life. At other times it is referred to by another name, .....lands, that rhymes with dock.

Of the few apartments we have looked at there, they seem to be very small and the buildings like rabbit warrens.

No, not good value at all. The developers are holding the prices high for new apartments and sales off the plan*, but as soon as the new owner settles the money for property, they find it is not at all worth what they paid for it.

I think people have moved into this one, but there are still some finishing touches happening.

Diagonally opposite the shopping precinct known as Waterfront City that doesn't have a waterfront, a new park has been built. Not a bad effort.

The observation wheel behind Waterfront City.

Ah, but whoever is not as generous as it or they may seem. The new park is actually the roof of an underground car park.

Did you hear about our earthquake, disastrous for this building.

The developer must have liked the idea of a variation on London's Walkie Talkie building. I hope care was taken to not let the building (good read) fry things at ground level. 

There is quite a bit of public art, but I think it is a little like putting lipstick on a pig.

I am not convinced we are in the bush.

I can't remember why we went to Waterfront City but we found a very good deal on a small suitcase to use for one or two nights away. It has already been to Sydney. These animals are, I forget the word, but they move, not animated, is it animatronics?

Three times tram tracks have been moved at Docklands, no doubt to suit developers. I kind of like the old disconnected tracks remaining.

As a tram approaches these lamps in the bollards light red to warn pedestrians to look out.

The studios of television Channel 7, Melbourne.

I have no patience with commercial names for sporting venues. It is Docklands Stadium to me. It's been Telstra Dome, something else and is now Etihad (Airlines) Stadium. It rather divides the city proper from Docklands.

These have been here for a long time.

Is that colour menopausal mauve? The tent like sculptures are new to me.

One of Melbourne's ultra sleek and modern trams.

Here comes my tram. The free City Circle route provided by these around 70 year old W trams, is like a Q instead of a circle, with the tail of the Q being Docklands. God, I'd forgotten how noisy they are inside, and out.

* Off the plan means buying before the building is built and saving money in theory as you only pay State Government stamp duty, that is a tax applied to the purchase of a home, on the land, not what will be built there later. There are exemptions for old people downsizing, help for some if it is their first home and I think now overseas buyers pay higher stamp duty.