First day in London

It was about seven-thirty when I awoke the next morning. A cup of tea and half an hour later Mum and I were on our way down to breakfast. The breakfast room of the hotel was the basement level. It was tiny. I couldn’t he having a quick look into their kitchen on my way to the continental breakfast buffet. It was clean and all stainless steel but I questioned their washing and sanitising process with the breakfast dishes. I put it out of my mind (my work is dull enough as it is without doing it on holiday), and buttered my toast. After breakfast Mum and I wandered into town.

Our first stop was the Buckingham Palace ticket office. We purchased tickets for the 11 o’clock entry and then went for a wander around St James Park and watched the squirrels. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Buckingham Palace is the most impressive palace I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a few!). I couldn’t say there was one thing that didn’t amaze me, from the carpet to the ceiling it was stunning. That isn’t even taking into account any of the history or moments of the palace that I’ve watched on the telly. We ambled around listening to audio tour and taking our time, taking our time to soak it all up. We saw an exhibition of the Royal Faberge collection which consisted of some delicately carved and super expensive ornaments including quite a few of the trademark eggs. It was impressive. It took around two hours to go through the ‘guest wing’ and before we knew it we were standing on the steps overlooking the rear garden. After a few photos we headed down one of the winding paths, past the lake and out of the palace grounds.

After a quick lunch in a pub we once again wandered off through the narrow streets. We ended up in Westminster, by the cathedral to be exact, and went in for a look. It was impressive inside but the view from the tower was even better. From the top you could see most of London, the classic skyline all around with 360o views. From the top you could see the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, the dome of St Paul’s and even Buckingham Palace. It was windy at the top, but the sunshine shining down made it an even better view.

We couldn’t stay up there for too long as we had an appointment. Laura was paying for a treat for both Mum and me. Afternoon tea at Browns Hotel, one of the poshest establishments in London. The spread was impressive, three tiers of scones, sandwiches and cakes. And of course tea. We spend the rest of the afternoon sitting in the luxurious surroundings and eating all we could. After going through two set of tiers and two tea pots full of tea, it was time to head back to the real world. And we wandered out the land of top hats and into the one of baseball caps.

The flight from Brisbane

I was excited when I arrived at the airport. Dad dropped me off around nine at night. My flight was due to leave a little before midnight so we were in plenty of time. After one last coffee I said good-bye and wandered downstairs to start the customs process. It took hardly any time at all. In fact I spent more time filling in my form than standing in line. Before I knew it I was through and browsing in the souvenir shops on the other side. I toyed with buying a camera duty-free but in the end, even the tax free prices were too much for me to part with at that time. After much umming and ahhing I wandered over to the gate.

I was the first one to arrive so I sat down, took out my book, and started the wait until it was time to board. The crowds slowly gathered and before long the announcement came over the loud speakers that it was time to board. I joined the queue and presented my ticket and passport to the lady at the gate. It always surprises me that you have to show it before you board the aircraft, especially in an international airport when you’ve already gone through security and customs, the airlines mustn’t have much faith in airport security. Of course, this part has nothing to do with security and more to do with keeping the general public in a prolonged state of fear in order to push government policy and politicians’ agendas, but I digress.

I’d like to say the flight was long and uneventful. It was long but not uneventful. Unfortunately. After dinner was served and the free alcohol was given out the guy in the seat behind me started to make a fuss. This involved kicking the seat in front of him, grabbing through the seats in front of him and yelling at the top of his voice to the people sitting in the seats two rows ahead. Unfortunately for me, I was stuck right in the middle of all of this. And doubly unfortunately for me, the flight crew did not want to do anything about it, no matter how many times me, and the person sitting next to me pushed our ‘call’ bells. Despite a few indifferent warnings from one staff member, the man behind me did not change his behaviour. For the next six hours I had to listen to him yell for more whiskey (he obviously couldn’t hold his drink, but the crew kept serving him until about four hours into the flight). He at least stopped trying to reach through the gap between my (and my neighbour’s) seat. This could have been because the last time he did it I grabbed his arm and tried to tear it from his shoulder bending it around and down in the process, but I’m not sure. I was glad when the captain’s voice came over the speakers that we were now going to land. The man behind me didn’t stop yelling all the way down and even out into the terminal. The crew smiled at him and said a cheery goodbye as he left. It’s a shame that the crew didn’t show the same courtesy to the other passengers when we were in the air. I swore then that I would never fly Malaysian Airlines again. It wasn’t just their service, but also the way they showed complete disinterest in the thoughts and feelings of the people sat near the drunk, and just appeared to want a peaceful flight (from where they were sitting down the cabin).

Unfortunately this promise was broken four hours later when I boarded my next flight to London (but I swore to not go with Malaysian Airways once this holiday was over). The next flight was a lot better than the last. I still didn’t get any sleep, and my seat was next to a bulkhead so I had half the leg room of all other passengers (including those in the rows) but at least I could sit without someone yelling behind me. In the following 12 hours I watched the Harry Potter. Harry Potter movies to be more exact. Movies 2, 3, 4 and 5. I also watched several episodes of the Simpsons, the Big Bang Theory and several mind numbing episodes of some other reality TV show about a someone with too much money and no brain. After what seemed like an eternity (as I’d had to resort to watching the reality TV show) the plane touched down in London. It was good to get off the plane. I walked through customs and then had to wait about half an hour for my bag to come through. After that I was out into the main terminal.

It was the faces of Mum and Aunty Carole who greeted me at the Arrivals gate. It was good to see them and despite not sleeping for the past 48 hours, I was happy. We caught the Tube into Victoria Station and had dinner in a pub nearby. Fish and chips and a pint of Fosters never tasted so good. I told my story to sympathetic ears and we all agreed that the flight crew should have drugged the man to keep him quiet (we didn’t, but it would have made my flight easier). After dinner Mum and I said goodbye to Aunty Carole and wandered off to find our hotel. A quick look at the GPS on my phone and we were winding our way through the busy streets of London. The hotel was a simple one but the bed was comfy and the shower hot. After climbing the 99 steps up to the room (over four storeys) it was very welcome.

Holidays!!!

After four years the time has now come. I'm off on holidays! It's been a while. So I'm looking forward to it. My plan is to do a tour around the Baltics and a bit of Scandinavia.

Suit Up!

Yesterday me and the EH admin had the important job of going through the disaster response kits and updating them. This involved making a list of everything in the kit such as high-visibility jackets, overalls, clip boards, pens and helmets and seeing that it was all there. On this occasion it was.

Getting Closer

As I said before... Vrooooooom!

Down on the Bogger

This machinery was used to collect all the mined rock. The front bucket flips up and over living the rock to the carriages waiting behind. This is apparently the only working one in the world as they have now been banned as they were very dangerous.

Going underground

While up in Tennant Creek I decided to do a bit of sightseeing. This is me out the front of one of the many mines that are found in the Tennant Creek area.

Vrooooooommmmmm!!!

Almost got to tick one off the bucket list. 40km/h short!

Hot Kebabs

I don’t know what I was expecting when I rounding the corner and started down the little lane behind the shops. The complaint said that there had been a load of meat left outside at the rear of the shop for the afternoon. I don’t know why it was the last thing that I was expecting. I thought that it would just be a complaint by a neighbouring shop owner; just an unfounded dispute where one side thinks it would be more inconvenient for the other part for the health inspectors to come around and inspect. I didn’t expect that I would go down that alley and find two and a half pallets of meat sat out the back of the shop.

Of course, that’s exactly what I found. The pallets were just sitting there. I walked up to them and had a look around. It was meat alright, some defrosted, outer temperatures well inside the ‘danger zone’. I went inside the shop and talked to the manager. Delivered by mistake, meant to go to the other store, no time to move it, thought it was still frozen… The usual excuses were given, none of which changed the fact that there was nearly three tonnes of meat sat outside in the sun. In the end the decision was down to a combination of temperature and time. The time was about 6 hours. The temperature was from frozen to the low teens. I called my boss. It was a lot of meat and the first time that I’d dealt with anything like this. I was glad that my boss agreed. The meat that had defrosted must be put in the refrigerator straight away while the meat that was frozen may be put into the freezer. This was based on the supposition that the meat would have been within the ‘danger zone’ for less than two hours. I left the shop as it was being loaded onto a truck to be taken to another store.

The next day I had to follow up. It was not what I expected. The meat had all been put into the freezer. That along with another couple of inconsistencies within the stories made the next decision tougher. I went back to talk to my manager. Due to the uncertainty and non-compliance with the previous directions, we were to seize all the meat. All two and a half tonnes! The owner wasn’t happy but we had no choice. We taped up the freezer where the meat was all stored to await the 72 hour appeal period. It was a stressful week of waiting. Each day I thought that I would be getting a phone call from the local courthouse saying that I was expected in court to present my case to the magistrate. I was surprised that the call never came. Even so, I spent that week writing up detailed statements and notes regarding the seizure. All reasons and actions had to be justified with legal justification. I couldn’t wait for noon on Friday the 13th. That’s when we would be able to collect the meat and dispose of it. The appeal period would be over and only further investigation, clarification and education left to do.

As the clock hit 11:30 am I started to relax. It was the time for action. We parked the ute behind the shop and started to load. It took us nearly three hours to load all the meat onto the ute and then stack it in the bin. We filled the bin up and still had a ute load left. It was almost two and a half tonne that we disposed of in the end. It was all taken down to the local tip and buried in the rubbish.

It certainly was a waste but really there was no excuse and it had to be done. The owner and his staff should have known better. From what I hear this is one of the biggest seizures that has happened in Alice Springs. It isn't over yet. There are now further interviews to conduct, reports to write and education to be conducted to ensure that this kind of thing doesn't happen again.

To Coober Pedy

I hadn’t been back in Alice Springs an hour when Stewart said that he’d like to head down to a place near Coober Pedy to look for a legless lizard. We were driving back from the airport and I must say that I didn’t think much of it at the time. A round trip of 1400 kms is a long way to go just for a little lizard, even if it is a legless one. Despite the distance and my initial uneasiness about putting the kilometers on my car, I agreed to drive down there with Stewart.

It’s always interesting to go out with Stewart as you get to see some weird and wonderful creatures that you otherwise would not have even the slightest chance of seeing. These things you need to look for! The drive down there was long and tiring, but the passing scenery and the book on tape kept interested. It’s always amazing to see how the landscape changes. Around Alice Springs it is hilly with a few low trees. As one drives south the scenery changes into sand country with dunes and spinifex dominating the landscape. All too soon though this changes to rocky woodland then open plains with vast treeless expanses stretching across the horizon. Around Coober Pedy though the landscape gets even more unusual. There isn’t a tree to be seen anywhere on the land. Large heaps of dirt (left over from the opal mining) are piled everywhere with new ones being made every week means that it is a continually changing the landscape. These large heaps become the dominant feature. On an open plain with a few rocks lying around the place even a mouse walking across it would be the dominant feature. For that reason, Coober Pedy seems to be another world. The native Coober Pedians make it even stranger.

We stopped just outside Coober Pedy and had a poke around. After a bit of searching and a lot of swearing about the flies, we found the legless lizard that we were looking for. After taking a few photos we were on our way back into town for tea. It was a long but eventful day.

The next day we were up early with the hope of having a look around the town and surrounding landscape. Unfortunately it had rained overnight which made me a bit apprehensive about driving over the roads. We drove out along the main road that heads off to Oonadatta and stopped just after the dog fence. Driving along I could feel the mud sticking to the wheels of the car. When I got out and over to the dog fence to take a photo and then walked back to the car and had grown by two inches. I didn’t think driving to the ‘Moon Plains’ would be a smart idea. Especially in my car that, while I had every confidence in the vehicle, wasn’t equipped for off road travel. That’s the trouble with getting blow outs and being bogged in the work vehicles (which has happened quite a bit over the past couple of weeks). It makes one quite uneasy about taking a two wheel drive vehicle with road tyres on muddy corrugated roads. The high clearance doesn’t help with those sorts of drives. We didn’t get to see the ‘Moon Plains’. I don’t know how moon like they are (apparently it’s just a wide open are with small rocks everywhere) but it will have to be left for another trip. I think that if it hadn’t had rained I would have gone on it. The road wasn’t that bad just sticky. It wasn’t as bad as driving on black soil but it might have been further down the road. I didn’t want to risk it.

In the end Stewart seemed happy enough to carry on and even happier when we found a little dragon on our way back. That was another new tick for him (and me). It was a big drive as we arrived back in Alice Springs just as it was getting dark.