A bench's dozen

 

The beautiful sunshine called me back to the bench and I've just completed Number 13 which is the Heavy-Drinking Model as evidenced by the long armrests on which to stand the drinks (come to think of it, all my models are the Heavy-Drinking Model! ☺)

 

 

All that's needed now is a quick dab of the old Mission Brown and the drinking can begin!

 

Just came back from town with the blues

 

The Puberty Blues, that is, written by two Sydney girls thirty-seven years ago as 'the great Australian classic'. The book - later made into a movie -scandalised most adult Australians when it was published in 1979, and its 2002 reprint, which I picked up from a Vinnies shop this morning, is still a bumpy ride today.

This later edition has not just one foreword but two: by Kylie Minogue who wrote, "I don't recall reading Puberty Blues so much as devouring it. I was fascinated. The honesty of the story made it hysterical and terrifying at the same time", and Germaine Greer who goes on for much longer - as she's wont to - but can be summed up in her final remark that "Puberty Blues is a profoundly moral story".

The two Sydney girls, Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey, didn't so much write a book as a booklet because it's a mere 115 pages, of which the last two summarise what happened to those true-life characters in later life:

 

Jeff Basin	Heroin habit
Bruce Board	Labourer in Caringbah; unmarried father
Frieda Cummins	Unknown
Dave Deakin	Dead; heroin overdose in Queensland
Danny Dixon	Plumber in steady job in Sylvania Heights
Kim Dixon	Numerous breakdowns
Garry Hennessey	Heroin habit; serving seven-year gaol sentence for armed robbery on a chemist
Glen Jackson	Heroin habit; involved in same robbery but got off; dobbed in Garry and Johnno; father to Vicki Russell's baby
Johnno	Heroin habit; serving nine-year gaol sentence for same robbery
Tracey Little	Heroin addict; admitted to Drug Rehabilitation Centre
Kerrie Mead	Fell pregnant; baby adopted
Cheryl Nolan	Heroin addict; admitted to Drug Rehabilitation Centre
Darren Peters	Heroin addict; whereabouts unknown
Vicki Russell	Unmarried mother
Seagull	Heroin addict and on the run
Steve Strachan	Gave up surfing and started drinking; hangs at local pub
Wayne Wright	Dead; fell from window while breaking into flat to score drugs
Susan Knight and Deborah Vickers	Ran away from school and at eighteen wrote this book

 

If this is an account of growing up in the 1970s, then I never grew up!

 

Rover is roving no more

 

Thirteen years ago, we were celebrating Padma's birthday in the beergarden of the "Adelaide Hotel" overlooking the Moruya River, when a man on a pushbike pulled up for a rest.

He had a tiny Maltese puppy in his backpack which made us talk to him. He turned out to be an Austrian by the name of Robert Krenn who was pedalling from Melbourne to Sydney (a distance close to 1000 km) and who had ridden his bike all over the world with many stories to tell.

We invited Rob to stay with us at Riverbend and he turned up late that same afternoon to overnight in our guest cottage. We talked and talked and became very good friends. And his little Maltese puppy and our dog Malty became very good friends as well! So much so that when it was time for him to leave next day late in the afternoon, we suggested to him that if he ever needed a good home for his little puppy, we would be very happy to take care of him!

Late that same evening, Rob called us from Burrill Lake, some fifty kilometres north of Batemans Bay, to ask if we had been serious about wanting to take care of his little puppy as he felt we would give him a much better home than he ever could. Of course, we had been serious with our offer! So we got into our car and drove north to meet Rob at his campsite where we drank hot tea, walked along the beach and gazed at the stars, and talked some more. We returned home well after midnight with the new member of our family whom we have called "Rover" as he has already travelled so much!

Rover became a great addition to the family and, thirteen years later, is a 'senior citizen' who enjoys his daytime naps and at night still sleeps on our bed between the two pillows, usually on his back with his four legs spread out in all directions, snoring softly.

He's probably the most-loved dog in the world!

 

Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle

 

It's been a while since I've had any inquiries about "Riverbend", let alone offers. Maybe I should get Ernie Dingo to give me a hand?

 

Cheaper by the dozen

 

Under Rover's watchful eyes, I've just now completed my twelfth garden bench (it's amazing how many benches you need on seven acres! ☺)

 

Now that the sawing and screwing is done and the paint is drying, I shall sit in my old Bougainville drinking chair and enjoy a cold one!