A nice day in

Well, the latest newsletter has been ‘put to bed’ and I can relax for a week or two, although I’m always on the lookout for news or interesting items.

I remember back to my first newsletter (June 2015) when I thought that if I got four pages I’d be lucky. We were talking about establishing an incorporated body to take over the running of our council assets - The Soldiers’ Memorial Hall and Talunga Park. In some ways we’ve advanced, and in others, it feels like we’ve been standing still, and it seems we have many of the same issues still not being addressed properly.

The Caravan Park is making more money than ever, and I’m sure it’s due in no small part to our Caretaker Dave Mac - who turns 50 this month. The park always seems to be full and those who stay there long term seem very happy. Many of the residents have integrated really well with the community and several of them are members of various clubs and organisations, we are lucky to have them.

Nowadays the newsletter is more likely to be in excess of 16 pages and there are reports and articles from all over. I try to include as much as I can from The Barossa Council, as I doubt many people have the time (or the willpower) to read through the hundreds of pages of Agendas, Minutes and attachments. Gareth Saunders has taken up the task of sending me a report from the Progress Association and Kath Fisher makes sure we know what the CWA, Red Cross and Friends of the Hospital are up to. Occasionally we get information form the Men’s Shed, but often they are busy off helping people and don’t get time to send things through.

Paula as usual is a fount of knowledge with all things Historic, and this month she told me about a Mt Pleasant connection with Simpson and his Donkey - and how one of the soldiers he took up to be looked after by the medics was Alec Bax - who lived in our house with this parents and siblings. Sadly not even the heroic John Simpson Kirkpatrick could save Alec, and he died shortly after. The Bax family also lost Murray and Ben as a result of the First World War, something that is almost impossible to comprehend now.

Paula also mentioned that it was thought that Captain Starlight visited Palmer (and possibly mount pleasant) when he was getting rid of his rustled cattle. Captain Starlight was the subject of our first Australian Classic movie that we showed towards the end of July, and it went over so well, we will continue it fortnightly - the next showing being ‘The Shiralee’ with Bryan Brown. We supplied hot soup and rolls with the movie, and I will attach the recipe for the Peanut and Chicken soup here, as so many people have asked for it. (If you don’t like things hot, only add half a teaspoon of Cayenne. Also, if your guests are ‘allergic’ to Coriander (Cilantro), omit it. It’s a lovely, tasty soup and freezes well.)

Although the nights have been foggy and cold, the days have been sunny and crisp, and that’s got to cheer you up in these odd times. Take care and stay warm!

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Gotta love technology

Technology is great - when it works. I’m not sure what has caused my latest round of dramas, but I don’t think I’m alone as there have been a few queries on social media as well.

Maybe there are a whole pile of annoyed individuals with ninja tech skills who are stuck at home and have decide to play with us - just for fun. I’m not sure what happened, but several phone calls to Telstra and Apple have indicated that the settings were changed on my emails - and I didn’t do it.

In the meantime, Apple support got me going, and my computer has just downloaded over 30,000 emails and is still going - all but a couple of dozen I have already dealt with. According to Telstra, they’ll just keep downloading until their backup runs out - there could be 60,000…

And all this has come five weeks after the printer dramas - which I have sorted by researching online and purchasing a Brother printer. It has arrived and was easy to set up, although it doesn’t print as nicely as I’d like, it will do. Meantime, we went to Bunnings and disposed of the old printer in their ‘unplug and drop’ bin. A great way to responsibly dispose of e-waste.

So, the newsletter will be out a bit later than I planned, but this is the way we roll, apparently.

Again, it will be much smaller, but we need to keep communications going - especially if all we are hearing is stay home’, ‘practice social distancing’, etc.

Social History

Today the hall was veiled for Anzac Day. Normally, this would have been done earlier, and there would be more, but it’s a little more difficult nowadays.

In the last half a dozen years or so, the traditional Anzac Dawn Service has attracted so many people that we have taken to holding it at the hall. It is usually followed by a gunfire breakfast and a few games of two-up. The hall is bedecked with the poppies, and filled with memorabilia of most of the conflicts our nation has experienced.

As we are unable to do this tomorrow, a movement has been gathering momentum for people to observe this solemn occasion by standing in their driveways at 6am. The ABC will be broadcasting the Dawn Service from the Australian War Memorial, starting at 5.55am (delayed for us), so you can stand in your driveway, and listen to the radio.

This will be an important part of our social history. Even though, around the time of the Vietnam War, Anzac Day and Remembrance Day lost favour with the community, in recent years we have learned more and understand better the significance of remembering those lost to conflict, and those who served, and who are still serving.

The old saying goes that if we don’t learn from history, we are condemned to repeat it. Whatever way you decide to commemorate Anzac Day, or not at all, our thoughts will be with those who suffered, and who still suffer.

If you are standing in your driveway in solidarity with those who choose to commemorate, please send us some photos so we can share with our community via the newsletter, and also by recording this for our history.

mtpleasantbeat@gmail.com

Thank you.

Life in quarantine

There are groups around the district putting together essential information for locals, there will be links added to pages and information dispersed. Hopefully it will be kept up-to-date, and we won’t have to do this for too much longer.

I’ve added a page with quarantine information, that details what I’ve found about those local businesses that are still providing a service.

I also added one called Things to do in quarantine, that has some links on it with some Quite Interesting stuff (that I’ll add to the Quite Interesting page when this is all over).

Sophie Thomson - who has been a great supporter of our local Red Cross branch for nearly thirty years and is a well known Gardening Australia presenter - has put up some videos on establishing gardens. If you are a novice, it’s a great way to get some solid, practical advice.

Maggie Beer has also filmed some videos and I’ve included a link. Taste Australia is a great website to find recipes, and Jamie Oliver’s children also have their own videos.

Keeping your body active is a must. There are some simple things you can do that will assist, and I’ve added a link from Britain’s NHS, which has some good ideas and practical advice.

Clearly you need to keep your brain engaged and there are some really good links from Australia Reads to TED Talks. TED talks particularly cover topics as varied as the design of flags, to housing, to charity, to comedy. The list goes on. Dr Karl is an Australian icon, and he has a great page with information on all sorts of subjects - including COVID-19.

All through this and trying to keep positive is the real fear that so many of our small businesses may never recover, and that makes me sad, not only for those who have worked so hard, but also for our local economy. I am sure w’ll all do our part and support them as much as we can.

It’s a beautiful day for a picnic in the garden.