This little green frog decided to sit on Caleb's window on Saturday night!
Monday 30 November 2015
Lake Tinaroo
Saturday was the MAF Christmas BBQ up at lake Tinaroo. Eating aside, we spent all day in the lake swimming, kayaking and 'tubing'. One of the engineers owns a speed boat and was happy to drive it all day for our entertainment. Even the little kids were able to have turns in the speed boat. Ruben thought it was fantastic. Capsizing in the lake off the tube was the funniest thing I have done in a long time!
Monday 23 November 2015
Caleb's graduation
Caleb graduated from junior school today. He will move up to middle school next year. There was a formal presentation for all the kids graduating and they all received a medal and a certificate. Our academic year runs the same as the calendar year so we are almost at the end. School finishes for 8 weeks on the 2nd of December!
Monday 16 November 2015
The Lagoon
We spent all of Saturday afternoon at the Lagoon, a free public swimming pool. It's designed to keep the public off the beach which is off limits due to crocodiles. We arrived at lunch time and didn't leave until after dark. It's interesting watching all the people. Note the well covered Japanese tourists taking pictures of the swimmers!
Saturday 7 November 2015
Arnhem Land
Some time ago (and I won't say how long, because it's a bit embarrassing how long it has taken me to blog it) I spent a week in our Programme in Arnhem Land. For those who have no idea where this is (which is probably most people - most Australians don't really have a clue) it is here:
Pretty much in the middle of absolutely nowhere. We are here:
and most Australian's think we live in the middle of nowhere...
Arnhem Land is populated largely by what the Aussies call 'indigenous peoples'. The main people group that MAF works amongst is the Yolgnu (almost like that, except it should have a funny kind of 'n' with a tail, that I don't have on my keyboard).
It was quite an eye-opener. Although physically it is in Australia - and my bank card works there, and they have the same supermarket as we do - it is very much like being in Africa in Australia. This is the guest room where I stayed, and the house it adjoins to:
Quite Africa-ish!
Although the government pays significant amounts of benefits to all indigenous Australians, there is something about the culture that traps them in a cycle of poverty. Similarly to many African cultures, 'your money is my money'. A colleague told me it is not unusual to see folk getting money from other's pockets to pay for their shopping in the supermarket. As far as I can see this caters to the lowest common denominator. Alcohol is also a significant problem, which compounds the issue. If your money is my money, and I want to drink, then I can drink as much as I like using your money.
There are a few things the government has done to try and combat these problems. For example many of the government benefits are loaded on to a 'Basics Card', which can only be used to buy food and other necessities. In addition, people need a licence to buy alcohol. I am not sure how that works in practice, but it seems to be some kind of addition to your driving licence. Not sure how you get one...
The other thing I have noticed (both there and in Cairns, and presumably elsewhere within Australia) is that many 'bottle shops' are drive-through only. I guess the idea is that this prevents those without vehicles (most likely to be indigenous) from buying alcohol. I have to say I am not quite how the government gets away with these kind of schemes in these days of 'human rights', but I guess it must work to a certain extent.
For reasons that I don't quite understand, the men seem culturally 'unsuited' to regular work, so if there is any 'earning' going on, it is by the women. However, apparently they also struggle to work regular hours and, again like Africa, there are always funerals happening - which seems to take up vast amounts of time. We employ a couple of local ladies in the hangar, but we can only ever do it on a casual basis.
It seems the 'Aboriginal problem' is highly complex, and will probably take us years to understand. It seems that no one has found any solutions that might make things better.
It also seems that the area is very 'spiritually dark'. There are two main townships - Nhulunbuy, where most of the white Australians live - and Yirrkala, where most of the indigenous folk live. The MAF staff are spread around both. I went to dinner with one family who live in Yirrkala, and they were telling stories of the 'scratchings on the window' and the cold chills that pass through the house when there are long and loud funerals in the locality, and the 'ancestors' are being called upon. I think you probably need to have a pretty strong faith to live and work there.
I was up there to help with preparation of the 2016 budget and to see how our new Finance Manager up there was getting on. These are the MAF offices at the airport (the hangar is a couple of hundred yards away):
And this is the newest addition to our fleet in Arnhem Land:
For those who are interested in these things, all the MAF aircraft currently up there are GA8s (GippsAero 'Airvans'). A kind of boxy thing, that seats 8 people. Ugly, but effective :)
I did manage to jump on one flight. Here are a few photos:
MAF operates in partnership with Laynhapuy Aviation ('Laynha') - a 'community airline'. The company and aircraft are owned by the 'community', but basically operated by MAF. So all the aircraft in Gove (the name of the peninsula and airport) are Laynha aircraft, and all the MAF aircraft are stationed out in various local communities. Very tough places to live!
The only thing of any substance in the area is the Rio Tinto mine - there was also a refinery, but this was closed in the past couple of years, which has had a significant impact on the area:
The local environment - not dissimilar to photos you will have seen of me travelling in Africa (but with added crocs, snakes and spiders for good measure):
This is the kind of community that we fly to. You can see the village in the foreground, and the airstrip in the background:
Coming in to land - a dirt airstrip, so very much an African-feel:
Just to prove I was really there...
Pretty much in the middle of absolutely nowhere. We are here:
Arnhem Land is populated largely by what the Aussies call 'indigenous peoples'. The main people group that MAF works amongst is the Yolgnu (almost like that, except it should have a funny kind of 'n' with a tail, that I don't have on my keyboard).
It was quite an eye-opener. Although physically it is in Australia - and my bank card works there, and they have the same supermarket as we do - it is very much like being in Africa in Australia. This is the guest room where I stayed, and the house it adjoins to:
Quite Africa-ish!
Although the government pays significant amounts of benefits to all indigenous Australians, there is something about the culture that traps them in a cycle of poverty. Similarly to many African cultures, 'your money is my money'. A colleague told me it is not unusual to see folk getting money from other's pockets to pay for their shopping in the supermarket. As far as I can see this caters to the lowest common denominator. Alcohol is also a significant problem, which compounds the issue. If your money is my money, and I want to drink, then I can drink as much as I like using your money.
There are a few things the government has done to try and combat these problems. For example many of the government benefits are loaded on to a 'Basics Card', which can only be used to buy food and other necessities. In addition, people need a licence to buy alcohol. I am not sure how that works in practice, but it seems to be some kind of addition to your driving licence. Not sure how you get one...
The other thing I have noticed (both there and in Cairns, and presumably elsewhere within Australia) is that many 'bottle shops' are drive-through only. I guess the idea is that this prevents those without vehicles (most likely to be indigenous) from buying alcohol. I have to say I am not quite how the government gets away with these kind of schemes in these days of 'human rights', but I guess it must work to a certain extent.
For reasons that I don't quite understand, the men seem culturally 'unsuited' to regular work, so if there is any 'earning' going on, it is by the women. However, apparently they also struggle to work regular hours and, again like Africa, there are always funerals happening - which seems to take up vast amounts of time. We employ a couple of local ladies in the hangar, but we can only ever do it on a casual basis.
It seems the 'Aboriginal problem' is highly complex, and will probably take us years to understand. It seems that no one has found any solutions that might make things better.
It also seems that the area is very 'spiritually dark'. There are two main townships - Nhulunbuy, where most of the white Australians live - and Yirrkala, where most of the indigenous folk live. The MAF staff are spread around both. I went to dinner with one family who live in Yirrkala, and they were telling stories of the 'scratchings on the window' and the cold chills that pass through the house when there are long and loud funerals in the locality, and the 'ancestors' are being called upon. I think you probably need to have a pretty strong faith to live and work there.
I was up there to help with preparation of the 2016 budget and to see how our new Finance Manager up there was getting on. These are the MAF offices at the airport (the hangar is a couple of hundred yards away):
And this is the newest addition to our fleet in Arnhem Land:
For those who are interested in these things, all the MAF aircraft currently up there are GA8s (GippsAero 'Airvans'). A kind of boxy thing, that seats 8 people. Ugly, but effective :)
I did manage to jump on one flight. Here are a few photos:
MAF operates in partnership with Laynhapuy Aviation ('Laynha') - a 'community airline'. The company and aircraft are owned by the 'community', but basically operated by MAF. So all the aircraft in Gove (the name of the peninsula and airport) are Laynha aircraft, and all the MAF aircraft are stationed out in various local communities. Very tough places to live!
The only thing of any substance in the area is the Rio Tinto mine - there was also a refinery, but this was closed in the past couple of years, which has had a significant impact on the area:
The local environment - not dissimilar to photos you will have seen of me travelling in Africa (but with added crocs, snakes and spiders for good measure):
This is the kind of community that we fly to. You can see the village in the foreground, and the airstrip in the background:
Coming in to land - a dirt airstrip, so very much an African-feel:
Just to prove I was really there...
Wednesday 4 November 2015
Bethany
Bethany turned 13 last weekend, so we now have 2 teenagers in the house! She had a birthday party with friends from school. We did a scavenger hunt in the mall. Not something we have done before, so I was a little nervous, but it seemed to go down well. Each team had some money and a list of items to buy like a pink pencil; something with an animal on it; something for $1 etc..They also had a list of thing to photograph like one team member wearing high heels or silly hats. The last list was things to collect like 25 cents from the floor, an old receipt, a discount coupon and so on. One girl said she was going to do the same for her birthday and another said could Bethany have the same party next year. I thought this was good feedback. We finished up with frozen yoghurt and then back to our house for pizza and a movie. (Why do Dominos in Australia sell a large pizza for $5?? That's roughly £2.50 per pizza. I don't think you can even make them for that price)
Ruben
After coming out of the bedroom where he has been 'helping' daddy wrap presents:
Ruben: "Mummy, can I have just one square of your chocolate?"
Me: (Knowing what he's been doing) "but I haven't got any chocolate"
Ruben: " Yes you have, we just wrapped it"
And the other day.
Ruben: "Mummy I want to be big"
Me: "You're getting bigger every day"
Ruben: "But Caleb's getting bigger too"
Me: "Yes, but you'll catch up with him one day"
Ruben: Mummy
Me:"Yes Ruben"
Ruben: "Could you ask Caleb to stop growing so I can catch up with him"
Tuesday 20 October 2015
'40'
It was my 40th birthday this weekend, slightly disturbing, so lets move on quickly. I think the best way to handle age is not to think about it too much.
We spent the day on Fitzroy Island out on the Barrier Reef. We caught the 8am catamaran out to the island which proved to be a rather bumpy ride. It was only a 45 minute journey but that was enough for both Bethany and Caleb to make full use of the sick bags. Still, once we got there it was all forgotten and we had a great day swimming, snorkelling, kayaking and jumping off the pier (the pier bit was Caleb...) The weather was great apart from a random half an hour when there was torrential rain. We discovered the best way to keep warm was to stay in the ocean. There were sharks in the water (only small ones) the man at at the Kayak kiosk told me. Still as Caleb shouted as he jumped off the floating trampoline, "You only live once!" We came home very tired and some of us sunburnt. Ruben is very keen to go back on the bumpy boat! His stomach seemed to have no problems.
We spent the day on Fitzroy Island out on the Barrier Reef. We caught the 8am catamaran out to the island which proved to be a rather bumpy ride. It was only a 45 minute journey but that was enough for both Bethany and Caleb to make full use of the sick bags. Still, once we got there it was all forgotten and we had a great day swimming, snorkelling, kayaking and jumping off the pier (the pier bit was Caleb...) The weather was great apart from a random half an hour when there was torrential rain. We discovered the best way to keep warm was to stay in the ocean. There were sharks in the water (only small ones) the man at at the Kayak kiosk told me. Still as Caleb shouted as he jumped off the floating trampoline, "You only live once!" We came home very tired and some of us sunburnt. Ruben is very keen to go back on the bumpy boat! His stomach seemed to have no problems.
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