Monday – Mine was pepperoni!!

I seem to be getting a fair amount of jolly jesting about the amount of work I am trying to do here. I'm afraid that I only can do what I am asked to do. You can't say fairer than that then. (Actually people who can't say their "T's" and their "H's" can't say fairer than that then either)

Anyway, determined to earn my keep today, I rolled into work happy and motivated at the sunny hour of seven in the morning. All intentions were good, until I got out the car, and found my lunch had spilled out of its lunch box, and ruined my breakfast as well. Lunch was left over Green Thai Chicken I made the other night, and breakfast was some muesli – or saw dust, I'm still not sure which. That then left me only motivated, but not happy. Still I'm sure that I could volunteer for a lot of work, etc.

We trundled to a couple of jobs, and eventually around lunchtime we found someone who was genuinely ill, and definitely needed some hospital treatment. We loaded this young lady onboard the ambulance and headed to the hospital.

I don't know if I mentioned to you before about the situation with lack of space at the hospitals here. Anyway it is all a political game, and the long and short of it is that even though there are hospital trolleys free – ambulances can't unload until we are given the go ahead. This can vary in how long we wait; although the longest I've ever been Ramped (that is what they call it) is about 1 hour.

Today broke all previous records by a long while. Our sick person waited for a space for 3 ½ hours on the ambulance trolley. She just wasn't sick enough to go to a high priority bed, so we just sat in the holding area with her.

We do unload the ambulance stretchers and wait in an area near the entrance to the emergency department, so everyone isn't actually stuck on ambulances, but just the stretchers.

While we were waiting (alongside 8 other ambulances which you can see in the photo. It isn't the ambulance depot, but outside hospital) for quite a while, along came the shift team leader, and opened his car boot. We all took turns helping ourselves to the dozen or so pizzas that were in the back. How great was that, as that meant I didn't have to eat chicken curry flavoured muesli.

So the day pretty much ended on a high note again. I got some other fabulous news, but I'll save that for another day.

Sunday – Work is getting me down!!! I think not

There is a legend of a highwayman named Dick Turpin, who ended up as Lord Mayor of London. He stole money off people and then ended up as landed gentry and eventually became the Lord Mayor of London. (I know I have paraphrased the story a lot.) Most places in the world, you get paid for a fair days work, and anything more than that is unfair, and you don't seem to be given any thanks, let along money for it.

That isn't the case working for the Ambulance Service here in Perth. Today was a regularly rostered day for me, so dutifully I drove to Victoria Park (about 30 minutes away – just south of the Swan River) for a regular shift. I can't remember whether I mentioned that I have a new location to work from. (No longer in the desert, but right in the middle of the city; however I'm on a day ambulance, so for 8 week, there is no nights – apart from overtime – and the latest I finish is 8 p.m.)

The sunrise was quite spectacular (I have to be at work at 7 in the morning) and I did have to take a photo of it. Anyway, I arrived at work looking forward to a busy day. I didn't have a shirt to iron, as I wore the one from the other day where I only did 1 job in Rockingham. We carried out the checks, and then sat down for brekkie. Sure enough, it wasn't long before we got a call.

The busiest airport in the southern hemisphere (according to their press office) is a small regional airport here in Perth called Jandikot Airport. What contributes to the high volume of flights in and out of the place is the number or Royal Flying Doctor Service airplanes that operate out of here. Each flight can bring in 3 or 4 patients, and that means that there needs to be an ambulance for each patient. At Landsdale we didn't get sent to Jandikot, as we are so far north, but from Victoria Park, it is only a 15 minute drive.

As we arrived at the RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service) hanger, we could see the plane just taxiing in to its stand on the apron. All of the other RFDS planes were there and looked like they had been there for a long while, which means that there wasn't going to be many transfers in the early part of the day. "What a bonus" I thought, as we loaded our patient onto the ambulance.

We unloaded the patient from the aeroplane and took them to hospital, and then headed back to the depot. Once we arrived at back at the depot, we counted 4 other ambulances waiting for calls ahead of us. "It must be a very busy depot" I surmised from that. There were more ambulances at Victoria Park than there sometimes were at Brighton Ambulance Station, and that was a very busy place.

Well, we didn't do anything until about 3 in the afternoon, and that was for a regular patient who really didn't have anything wrong with them. (We took them to hospital, as that is what they want, and that is what the company wants, as they can charge them £250 for the trouble.)

So my day entailed 2 jobs in the ambulance and watching the whole of series 1 of the TV show "The Office", all the while getting paid £15 an hour.

The totals are staggering. Someone who doesn't need hospital should get charged £250 (don't worry, she is a member of St. John's, so she won't get the bill), I get paid £200 for working all day – even though I watched TV for most of it, and the RFDS transfer is also billed to some insurance company.

Dick Turpin probably never took in on day £200 in his money, and he was considered a crook. I wonder what people will call me. Answers on a postcard please!

Saturday – Let me describe my Mansion

It's finally a day off. I've been doing a lot of overtime and paying back shifts in order to get out of the red with the rostering department here. I don't mind, as what else am I going to do on my own? It's too cold to go to the beach for more than a couple hours in the afternoon. It has been raining here like you would not believe. The good thing though is that it is smart rain, and mostly at night. It makes it quite chilly in the evenings.



So what did I do with a day off, I hear you cry? Did he have a long lunch with a bevy of beauties waiting on him? Did he go scuba diving and see some sharks? Did he spend the afternoon watching football in the pub? None of those ideas were as exciting as what actually happened! Well, my day was filled with everything that you want to do on a day off. Two loads of washing with the sheets and duvet from my bed. This then highlighted an interesting problem. The house only came with one sheet and one duvet cover for the big bed.



That gave me a reason to pop out to the shop to get another cover. Interestingly here you don't go to the bedding section of the department store; you go to the Manchester (crazy Aussies) section. Don't ask me why. Anyway, I bought the stuff, and then went to the local cafe for a coffee. When I go home, I didn't have the bedding! What a Wally! Where do you think I left the stuff?



No, not in the coffee shop; but it was at the checkout in Kmart where I bought the stuff. Anyway problem averted as I went and got it.


I've stuck a couple pictures of the palace on here as well. The pictures are a little bit like pictures of a house at the North Pole. I took all 4 pictures standing on the same spot.


By the way if you are in a house at the North Pole, and look out every window, you will be looking south. Also if you saw a bear while you were looking out a window of that house, what colour would it be??


I told you I had too much time on my hands!!!


Anyway; the bear would be white – as only polar bears live at the North Pole!!!

Friday – Anzac Day Dawn Service

I've been in the apartment for a week now. It is fabulous. I may put some photos of it soon. You'll be amazed how big it is. I constantly get lost in it, with the kitchen/dining room/living room all in one area. I'll tell you more of that later.

On April 25^th 1915, 50,000 Australian and New Zealand soldiers waded ashore at a small cove on a peninsula in Turkey, as a place called Gallipoli. The beach was surrounded by very steep dunes, and at the top of it was a large collection of Turkish soldiers. The soldiers were there for about 5-6 months; and an awful lot of them were killed during that time. That is where the Aussie Digger legend came into being.

Every April 25^th there is a national holiday (another one, I know, there hasn't been one for a month, so we need another one) to take time to reflect and remember what the soldiers did – at Gallipoli, and in other wars. The Australians celebrate their remembrance day with dawn services. This day is called Anzac Day (Australian New Zealand Army Corp).

I thought that I would go along to a dawn service and see what it was all about. I went to the Western Australian War Memorial in King's Park for the dawn service. I was joined by (according to the radio) 40,000 others. It was a very respectful service, and very impressive to watch the sunrise, while listening to bagpipes, and a drum tattoo. The service was finished off with a lone bugler playing the Last Post. I was glad I went.

After that I trundled off to work. I was doing to overtime, and it was down in Rockingham, which is about 60 km. away from where I live. I thought that I was supposed to be working from 10 am until 9 pm, but when I arrived, I'd been told the wrong time, and work was from 8 am until 7 pm. As it wasn't my fault, I get to claim for work until 9 – if you can call it work. We didn't do anything until 5:30 pm, and that was just a simple hospital admission. I almost feel bad getting paid $50 (about £25) an hour to sit around all day.

Almost but not quite, and I need the money anyway. 1 overtime shift a week will easily pay the rent for the mansion I am living in at present, and so I'll not have to use my salary!!!

Thursday – It doesn’t seem like anything can be simple

Why is it that just when you think the most simple thing is taken care of, someone – usually unaware of what is actually occurring – goes and sticks their own ore into the situation and makes it ten times worse. I know some people think that it is their problem and they should be managing the situation to the final degree, but in my experience, that isn't the case. Most things move along at their own pace, without too much interference from anyone.

I have been the unwanted recipient of this type of close management of a situation, and making it all go wrong. I'll start you at the beginning of the story. You may recognise little snippets from along the way.

Last June (a long time ago) when I applied to join the ambulance service here in Perth, Jane and I were expecting Analiese in December – I told you that you might recognise a snippet or two. During the interview I mentioned a couple times about the family situation, and was told by the interviewers (all very nice ladies whom I have met here in Perth since, as they work for HR) that there was a intake course planned in November, January, and then in May. I indicated that May would have been ideal as Analiese would have been 6 months old, and we would be raring to go.

Obviously that didn't happen like that, did it? I have been here in Australia since January. Anyway, when it came time to apply for visas for me and everyone else, I was advised (I cannot remember who told me the info and I've been subjected to interrogation techniques that even the CIA would have been proud of) that I should apply on my own, and at a later date Jane and everyone else can apply. Wonderful – Problem solved. Jane hasn't got to worry about Chest X-Rays while being pregnant, and my visa application went straight through.

Fast forward now to the just before Jane came out on holiday please. I lodged her visa application with the company who take care of it, and was told that there were no problems with it. I haven't given it much thought since then. Why would I as the application is just moving though government offices. The other day – while waiting to do something at work – I thought I might ring up and see how we are getting on. This is where it all went wrong. I should have known it when the person who I was dealing with was really chatty, and then changed her tune to quite vague and defensive. "I'll call you back" was the answer I eventually got. "Oh no, there is a problem" I thought, and in the back of my mind I knew what it was going to be.

Sure enough – to make a very long story short – we had been misadvised that Jane should apply separately to me, as St. John will only sponsor one visa application per family (everyone needs to be one the first one). The person who put the stop to the application wasn't party to the discussions I'd had with other members of HR. Anyway after the head of Human Resources ringing me and telling me St. John's don't sponsor dependants to come out at a different time (I am having to be nice, because I need a letter from her department to sponsor me for my permanent residence application – a whole different kettle of fish).

"Just this once we will do it!" I am told.

"Thank you so much!" I grovel.

All taken care of, I thought. It took a day or so of telephone tag to speak to the right people, but it is all done. (Ha Ha – not quite, there is always a sting in the tail)

My phone rang again, and this time it was immigration. "St. John is willing to sponsor your family now – but they are not prepared to pay the costs". Oh well, I had that £500 earmarked for something else, but it is necessary to get it done.

I am £500 worse off, but no more worry for a while. That is good. I am beginning to learn out hear that not everyone and everything is as above board as I had hoped, and people like to know everything. Jane is coming out soon though!

Sorry about the Delay – I’m back again

After a while without a quill and some ink, I'm back again – to pass on my thoughts for the day. I was genuinely surprised that so many people were asking what was happening, and how I have been getting on. I think that to get everyone up to date, I'll fill in the last couple of weeks with everything that's gone on here in Perth.

Everyone enjoyed themselves here for the short break that they had in the end of March/beginning of April. I didn't have to work too much while they were all here. The days I actually went to work were all quite lax, and relaxing, even though we were on the go pretty much all the time. There was nothing spectacular to report that I can remember.

For those of you concerned that I am sleeping under a small piece of cardboard, let me tell you – a big fridge box makes a great bedroom. The mad Chinese landlady didn't take me back – not that I was going to go back to her house anyway. I made it quite clear to her to stop bothering me, and I didn't want to buy her house. Eventually I had to almost spell it out. Her house was dirty, and not really very contusive to restfulness or peacefulness. What with her blustering in, and shouting and carrying on a lot when she did come around.

To ease the housing situation Jane and I decided to look for somewhere to live for when she finally comes out to live in August. (We have decided on a date for her to come out and live.) It turns out that it falls into line with my annual leave, and I'll be able to pop back to old Blighty once more and help out with the final moving plans. If you want to visit us or for us to come and visit during the last two weeks in July – please get in touch soon, as the days are filling up with some very important appointments. (Watching Cricket at Arundel, Weekend at a Health Spa with girlfriends for Jane, Ballet performance for Daisy, and other things as well)

Back to the housing situation – we had been told that it would be impossible to get a fully furnished house/flat at short notice, and we'd be stuck in a contract for a lot of money a week. You must have realized by now that I don't take much notice in what other people say. Anyway – during one particularly wet morning, Jane and I drove around visiting estate agents, and asking them if they had fully furnished flats. There were a few, and so we made appointments to visit them that same day.

I don't know if you have heard, but the housing – especially the rental market – is dreadfully busy over here. That afternoon we made appointments to see all the properties in one of the areas (Scarborough Beach) that were fully furnished. After we looked around some of them (one of the places had been taken between making the appointment, and visiting them), we came to a little apartment almost on the beach. Jane fell in love with it immediately, and I didn't take too much convincing. I'm not 100% sure about what Jane liked, but I liked the dishwasher, and the air-conditioner. No more sweltering while trying to rest for nights (not that I am doing them at the moment.)

So now I am living there, making the place a home. I've moved ambulance stations for the next 8 weeks, and am in a busy city centre depot now. Not that it is particularly busy there either. The 4 days I've worked there so far, I've only done an average of 4 jobs.

Tomorrow I'm going to do some overtime (Kicking the Till Again), and so I've got to nip to the depot to get my things, so I don't have to leave so early to work tomorrow. Keep checking online, I'll be adding as much as possible daily again.