Scammers

Trish and I were sitting back watching TV yesterday afternoon when the phone rang. The person on the other end said she was selling raffle tickets to aid the Queensland Fire Brigade. She talked about the fires in Victoria and the cost that had been to the state and to the fire service down there. She mentioned that the Queensland Service was also in need of money and would Trish buy some raffle tickets?

It sounded a bit dodgy to me so Trish told the person we had already made donations elsewhere! The person then hung up.

Today we saw this article in the local paper regarding scam phone calls made yesterday with people 'selling' raffle tickets.

A piece of the article appears below:

I received a call yesterday afternoon from a woman she believes was involved in the scam.

The woman said she was collecting on behalf of the Queensland Fire Service.

“She asked if I was aware of what was going on in Victoria and said they needed money,” Ms Pearson said.

“The lady then said the Queensland fire brigade was struggling too and needed more money.

“At the time I thought she sounded a bit dodgy, and when she asked if I’d like to buy some raffle tickets or make a donation, alarm bells started ringing.

You can't be too careful!

The death toll has now risen to 181 with even more victims expected to be found as more and more fire ravaged areas are opened up for vehicles to use again.

Fires Continue To Be All The News

The death toll from the bush fires in Victoria is currently 173. Fires are still burning. The Melbourne Newspaper "The Herald Sun" website is here for people outside of Australia to catch up with the very latest. This touching photo has been taken from the 'Herald Sun' website as was the photo below.

All our friends and relations in Victoria are safe. Russell who lives down in Drouin not far from where the fires were spent much of Saturday afternoon on his house roof with a hose putting out burning sticks as they fell from the sky from the incredibly hot fires nearby.

Our daughter Kate said the fires were within a couple of kilometres of her suburban home. Trish's brother lives at Beechworth in North East Victoria where the fires are still burning out of control. Fortunately current winds are blowing the fire well away from the township so they are safe for the time being.

The same cannot be said for the town of Healesville not too far from where I used to teach many, many years ago. The town is under threat right now as I type. Healesville is where you find the world famous "Healesville Sanctuary". Here is a link to their website.

Meanwhile on the Sunshine Coast we have had our hottest day for the summer with 33 degrees (about 94 Lou Ann) yesterday but the almost 70% humidity made a feel a lot hotter than that. The pool was a great spot to spend much of the afternoon.

Last night we watched the movie "Australia". We found it entertaining. The movie covered a huge number of story lines: the stolen generation', the attack on Darwin by the Japanese, Aboriginal folklore, Australian scenery, racism, Australian outback life. As long as you didn't take it too seriously it was a fun yarn. I am not sure there were Japanese troops on an island just off Darwin at any time during WWII let alone at the time of the bombing of Darwin but as I have always said, "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story!"

The cricket is on TV again this afternoon so I will be happy. We also expect to have a rainy night tonight, it has been quite dry for the last week or so.

And Now Sunday's News

Life continues to bubble along with things to do, sport to enjoy on the TV and new movies to watch. Our Grand daughter Charli has just started "Three Year Old Kindergarten". All pre school activities such as Play Group, Kindergarten etc help to promote social skills and assist children in their smooth transition into future school life. Charli's mum and dad are both teachers so she gets to participate in all things which prepare her for school.

Just have a look at the size of the 'back pack'. Chiropractors must rub their hand with glee when they see children with huge school bags like this, their financial future is assured!. Our daughter Kate was a little disappointed when she said good bye to Charli as she had to leave and all she got in reply was a cursory look from Charli as she said "Bye Mum" and went back to concentrating on her play dough!

And as you can see below, James (though not old enough to attend just yet) isn't going to find Three Year Old Kindergarten much of a hassle either!

The news of the moment here is the weather. While northern Queensland is drenched with floods (some areas experienced falls of 14 inches of rain in the last 24 hours) Melbourne has had a day where the temperature got to 46 degrees (almost 115 degrees Lou Ann). Serious bushfires broke out across the state taking an estimated 40 lives and destroying hundreds of homes. I took this screen shot (above left) at 5 pm yesterday and shows the then current temperature in Melbourne.

There were fires close to our daughter's home in suburban Melbourne and there was some consternation there as you can imagine. It is going to be 24 degrees there today (high 70's) and much cooler. There might even be thunderstorms later today.

Our news here is the pavers surrounding the pool. We had them laid about 3 and a half years ago and already you can see the aggregate showing through. A representative from the company which sold them to us saw them Friday afternoon and believes it looks like we got a crook batch .... but what is to happen about we don't know just yet.

I have been busy with the Bellvista Community Association Blog page and have been trying to shift it to another account. I have also constructed a simple but effective Bellvista Community Association web page and have distributed it to a few of the members of the committee to seek their feedback.

I Just Love this, Thanks Keith!

Bob feared his wife Brenda wasn't hearing as well as

she used to and thought she might need a hearing aid.

Not quite sure how to approach her, he called the family

Doctor to discuss the problem.

The Doctor told him there is a simple informal test the

husband could perform to give the Doctor a better idea

about her hearing loss.

Here's what you do,' said the Doctor, 'stand about 40 feet

away from her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone

see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and

so on until you get a response.'

That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and

he was in the den. He says to himself, 'I'm about 40 feet away,

let's see what happens.' Then in a normal tone he asks,

'Honey, what's for dinner?'

No response.

So Bob moves closer to the kitchen, about 30 feet

from his wife and repeats, 'Brenda, what's for dinner?'

Still no response.

Next he moves into the dining room where he is about

20 feet from his wife and asks, 'Honey, what's for dinner?'

Again he gets no response.

So, he walks up to the kitchen door, about 10 feet away.

'Honey, what's for dinner?' Again there is no response.

So he walks right up behind her. 'Brenda, what's for dinner?'

(I just love this)


'Bob , for the FIFTH darn time, CHICKEN!'

Time For Another Post On My Blog.

The weather here has remained showery but warm, the humidity is still reasonable high but we are getting regular showers of rain over night. The rain further north has been torrential and some places have received 20 inches of rain in 2 days from Cyclone Ellie. Fortunately it wasn't very destructive as far as cyclones go.

Not a lot has been happening, just 'the usual'. Another 'brew' is on, the lawn has been mown, I have been to Computer Club.

I have been disappointed in the slide scanner I bought especially the Vista driver which came with it. I have been in contact with the supplier and it is being returned in the next day or so.

The Bellvista Community Association had a meeting on Monday evening which I attended. They are looking to create a web presence so with the showery weather outside I put my head down and have created a simple web site for them. You will need to click on the picture for a larger view. Then click on 'Back' to return to this page.

It is pretty easy to do as current day software almost makes the web page for you. Most of it is wysiwyg, which means "What You See Is What You Get". There are quite a few web templates available for download so it is just a matter of typing the info in and adding a few pictures and before you know it the web page has been created!