Lost in a good book

 

 

I didn't know what to make of this book, but anything that describes my almost constant state is worth reading, and so I picked it up, together with "The Writing is On the Wall - China and the West in the 21st Century" by Will Hutton and another copy of Paul Theroux's "The Happy Isles of Oceania". I already have a hardcover copy but this one I'll take to "Melbourne" to randomly open up and lose myself in between afternoon naps.

Which is just about now after we came back from a full day in town, starting with a swim in the warm-water pool and a lunch of barramundi and chips and salad at the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club. Of course, we also went to my favourite op-shop whose window display had been a beautifully framed painting of "The Lady of Shalott". From High Street to high brow definitely deserved a photo but that was last week, as today the painting had already gone and was replaced by something tacky.

 

 

While in town, I kept an eye on the price of BHP shares. They opened a few cents up, then nosedived by sixty cents which almost stopped me from ordering that second glass of Chardonnay. I had left instructions to sell some at $50.95, only half-expecting that they would go that high after yesterday's close at $50.60. I have just checked and not only had they gone to $50.95, but the rest of my holdings have gone to $51.50.

I know the world has gone mad, but these rapid price swings, all in one day, are even madder. Not that I mind as long as the swing is UP!

I think I take a nap now. I've earned it.

 

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Down and out in Paris

 

 

In 1928, George Orwell went to Paris because he wanted to see what it was like to be poor. He rented a cheap room, ran out of money faster than expected, and ended up washing dishes in hotel kitchens for twelve to fourteen hours a day.

The work was brutal in a boring way. Hot steam, greasy plates, shouting chefs, no breaks. You stood until your legs stopped working. When the shift ended, there was just enough time to eat badly and sleep before doing it again. You missed a shift, you lost the job.

 

Read the book online at here

 

Later, in England, he lived among tramps and slept in shelters because he had nowhere else to go. He kept notes the whole time which he turned into the book "Down and Out in Paris and London", a searing firsthand account of poverty that permanently established his unflinching moral vision and documentary style. Long after he became famous, he never forgot how fragile comfort is or how fast a person can slide from being someone to being invisible.

 

 

I was very comfortable and highly visible during my last visit to Paris, but that's a story for another day.

 

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This incredible country breeds incredible characters

 

When did Benjamin Witkowski interview him?
If "Talc Alf" is still alive, he'd be 99 years old (or 80 ?)

And how did "Talc Alf" finsih up at Lyndhurst? Fast-forward to 7:25.

 

The farther north you go, and the farther out west you go, the more incredible characters you meet. Here is the incredible story of a man who has chosen to live in the middle of the Australian outback. Another Tom Neale, but his "island" is surrounded by sand instead of water.

 

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What piqued my interest was this comment on Robert Cullen's facebook page: "He is [at] currently at Thursday Island visiting family and celebrating his 80th birthday." Who are his relatives on Thursday Island?

(It just clicked when I read Jenny Schram's post on the facebook page: he was a friend of Helmut Schramm who died in 2025 - click here - and Alf's daughter Diat, who grew up at Lyndhurst, now lives on Thursday Island - click here and here and here.)  

 

That would've been in 2006 when he celebrated his 80th birthday on 12 February, according to this airport arrival card I found on naa.gov.au.

 

Ald returning from a trip to the Netherlands in 1972

 

Earlier arrival cards show that "Talc Alf" arrived in Australia in 1957 as a migrant from the Netherlands, and had headed straight for Cooma, presumably to work on the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme which was built between 1949 and 1974.

 

Alf when he first arrived in Australia in 1951, just 25 years old

His wife returning from a trip to the Netherlands in 1970

 

And back in the 1970s he lived with his wife Hermine - who was also Dutch - at 7 Legge Street in Downer in the A.C.T. I must've driven past his place several times on my way to the Old Canberra Inn. The world is such a small place, even in as big a place as this incredible country.

As we approach another heatwave with temperatures in the mid-40s, let's remember Alf's advice; "When it's hot sit in the shade and put your feet in a bucket of water." Thank you, Alf! I might do that right now!

 

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P.S. There are more articles on "Talc Alf" here and here, but here's the catch: both articles mention that he was born in 1945 whereas my airport arrival cards say "1926". Have I picked the wrong Cornelius Alferink? How many Cornelius Alferinks are there in Australia?

 

 

The above Record Search on the National Archives website raises more questions than it provides answers: the first entry shows a "Cornelis A born 22 November 1954" who arrived with his parents; the second entry shows a "Cornelis Johan born 29 May 1945" (which confirms the year given in the articles) who arrived with his parents and three sisters and a brother, aboard the "Johan van Oldenbarnevelt" in 1953; and the third entry shows a "Cornelis Adrianus" who arrived alone on 15 August 1951.

 

The World Until Yesterday

 

 

If you were a frequent air traveller in the late 90s, you would have encountered Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" which festooned the shelves of every airport bookshop. I got my copy at Sydney airport and read it non-stop on a non-stop QANTAS flight to Shanghai in 1998.

 

 

In his most personal book to date, "The World Until Yesterday", Jared Diamond writes about his experiences over nearly five decades working and living in New Guinea, an island that is home to one thousand of the world's 7,000 languages and one of the most culturally diverse places.

Drawing on his fieldwork in New Guinea, as well as evidence from Inuit, Amazonian Indians and other cultures, Diamond explores how tribal peoples approach essential human problems, from child-rearing to old age to conflict resolution to health, and discovers that we have much to learn from traditional ways of life.

He unearthes remarkable findings - from the reasons why modern afflictions like diabetes, obesity and hypertension are largely non-existent in tribal societies, to the surprising cognitive benefits of multilingualism. As Diamond reminds us, the West achieved global dominance due to specific environmental and technological advantages, but Westerners do not necessarily have superior ideas about how to raise children, care for the elderly, or simply live well.

In keeping with my current more earth-bound lifestyle, I found my copy of "The World Until Yesterday" only today in Vinnies' op-shop in Moruya.

 

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Other books by Jared Diamond:
Guns, Germs, and Steel : The fates of human societies
The Third Chimpanzee : The evolution and future of the human animal
Collapse : How societies choose to fail or succeed
Why Is Sex Fun?: The Evolution of Human Sexuality

 

The hills are alive ...

 

 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's speech was music to the ears of those assembled in Davos. As Canadian Carney took his feud with Trump to the next level and President Trump did an about-face on imposing tariffs over Greenland, the rest of Europe's leader seemed to finally have grown balls to stand up to the Donald.

Trump's speech was a familiar blend of braggadocio and bombast. He claimed China, home to the largest wind farms in the world, had none, and told the audience they would all be speaking German, "and maybe a little Japanese" had it not been for the US in the Second World War.

Commerce secretary Howard Lutkin was belligerent at every opportunity. "We have come with a clear message," he said on a panel, sat next to Chancellor Rachel Reeves: "Globalism is dead." European Central Bank boss Christine Lagarde walked out of another event following Lutkin's remarks about Europe.

 

 

But before cutting off Trump's goolies - which remains on the table - next time he opens his big mouth, Canada should cut off his water!

Team Trump is aiming for an outcome of which it seems totally unaware: the destruction of the US empire. Read the headlines: "Finnish prime minister arrives in Beijing for four-day visit to China" and "UK leader Starmer set to visit China to boost trade ties" and "‘Repatriate the gold’: German economists advise withdrawal from US vaults."

As a policy, "America First" appears to have the opposite effect. Global leaders and investors are putting the US way down their priority list.

As for the people in the street, they will no longer believe Trump either. Not after he told the people of Tehran, "Rise up! Help is on its way!"

MAKE AMERICA GO AWAY!

 

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