Unsure of their gender, I didn't include them

 

 

There I was, sitting in the bright sunshine by the blazing fire outside "Melbourne", when a man clad in a hi-vis vest came walking all the way from the gate hundreds of metres away. "Are you the resident of this property?" he asked. I was, and he handed me a twenty-six-page Census Form.

Census Night is on Tuesday, the 13th of August, but I took my chances, assuming that I will still be around, and began filling in the pages. "What was the person's sex recorded at birth?" Tick MALE, FEMALE, or ANOTHER TERM. "What is the person's gender?" Tick MAN, WOMAN, NON-BINARY, USE ANOTHER TERM (SPECIFY) - leaving space for 18 characters - or PREFER NOT TO ANSWER. As they say, "We live in interesting times."

The preprinted boxes to question 17 "In which country was the person born?" showed what Australia will look like in a generation or two from now, because the preprinted boxes, other than Australia and England, were India, New Zealand, Philippines, Vietnam, and South Africa. Germany, Greece, Holland, Italy, the countries that had contributed most of the migrants in the post-war period, no longer got a mention.

 

 

The two resident kookaburras swooped on me as soon as I had started filling out the form, but unsure of their gender, I didn't include them.

 

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Go straight to page 105

 

For the full-length movie, click here

 

Julian Barnes' book "The Sense of an Ending" was made into an equally gripping and mesmerising movie; however, as always, for me the book, which is very British and very literary, wins out.

 

 

You can read it at www.archive.org, or you can go straight to page 105.

 

 

"Sometimes I think the purpose of life is to reconcile us to its eventual loss by wearing us down, by proving, however long it takes, that life isn't all it's cracked up to be"

I couldn't have said it better myself.

 

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Für meine deutschen Leser!

 

 

Das berühmte Gedicht „If—“ (Wenn—) von Rudyard Kipling ist ein Leitfaden für Charakterstärke, innere Ruhe und Reife, der 1910 veröffentlicht wurde. Mit ihm zog ich für zwanzig Jahre um die Welt - natürlich mit dem englischen Original.

 

Wenn

Wenn du den Kopf behältst und alle anderen
verlieren ihn und sagen: Du bist schuld!
Wenn keiner dir mehr glaubt, nur du vertraust dir
und du erträgst ihr Misstrauen in Geduld

Und wenn du warten kannst und wirst nicht müde
und die dich hassen dennoch weiter liebst,
die dich belügen strafst du nicht mit Lüge
und dich trotz Weisheit nicht zu weise gibst

Wenn du dich nicht verlierst in deinen Träumen
und du nicht ziellos wirst in deinem Geist
wenn du Triumph und Niederlage hinnimmst,
beide Betrüger gleich willkommen heißt

Wenn du die Wahrheit die du mal gesprochen
aus Narrenmäulern umgedreht vernimmst
und siehst dein Lebenswerk vor dir zerbrochen
und niederkniest, wenn du es neu beginnst

Setzt du deinen Gewinn auf eine Karte
und bist nicht traurig, wenn du ihn verlierst
und du beginnst noch einmal ganz von vorne
und sagst kein Wort was du dabei riskierst

Wenn du dein Herz bezwingst und alle Sinne
nur das zu tun was du von dir verlangst
auch wenn du glaubst es gibt nicht mehr da drinnen
außer dem Willen, der dir sagt: Du kannst!

Wenn dich die Menge liebt und du noch du bleibst
wenn du den König und den Bettler ehrst
wenn dich nicht Feind noch Freund verletzen können
und du die Hilfe niemanden verwehrst

Wenn du in unverzeihlicher Minute
Sechzig Minuten lang verzeihen kannst:
Dein ist die Welt und alles was darin ist
Und was noch mehr ist dann bist du ein Mensch!

 

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance to their doubting, too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the will which says to them: „Hold on!“

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds‘ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!

 

 

Heute hängt es in an der Wand in der guten Stube.

 

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Before The Coffee Gets Cold

 

 

In a Tokyo café, four visitors use time travel to confront past relationships, but they must finish before their coffee gets cold. Told with gentle humour and emotional clarity, these stories invite readers to reflect on love, regret, and the small, beautiful moments that shape our lives.

The writer of the book "Before The Coffee Gets Cold", fifty-five-year-old Toshikazu Kawaguchi, has turned the success of his first book into an industry by also publishing "Before Your Memory Fades", "Before We Say Goodbye", "Before We Forget Kindness", and "Before I Knew I Loved You".

 

 

I found "Before The Coffee Gets Cold" in my favourite op-shop. Before I pay full retail price for the others, I'll wait for them to turn up there as well. In the meantime, I have taken this now famous quote from his first book and pinned it above my writing desk inside "Melbourne" ...

 

 

... because "Life is a fleeting dance, a delicate balance of moments that unfold before us, never to return in quite the same way again. Regret is a bitter pill to swallow, a weight that bears down upon the soul with the burden of missed chances and unspoken words. So, let us not leave anything for later. Let us seize the moments as they come, with hearts open and arms outstretched to embrace the possibilities that lie before us. For in the end, it is not the things we did that we regret, but the things we left undone, the words left unspoken, the dreams left unfulfilled."

 

 

Let's drink the coffee before it gets cold. It's International Roast for me.

 

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The Good Life

 

 

Hugh Clifford Mackay, born in 1938, is an Australian psychologist, social researcher and writer of many books, including "The Good Life", from which I have taken the following quote:

"I actually attack the concept of happiness. The idea that—I don't mind people being happy—but the idea that everything we do is part of the pursuit of happiness seems to me a really dangerous idea and has led to a contemporary disease in Western society, which is fear of sadness. It's a really odd thing that we're now seeing people saying "write down three things that made you happy today before you go to sleep" and "cheer up" and "happiness is our birthright" and so on. We're kind of teaching our kids that happiness is the default position. It's rubbish. Wholeness is what we ought to be striving for and part of that is sadness, disappointment, frustration, failure; all of those things which make us who we are. Happiness and victory and fulfillment are nice little things that also happen to us, but they don't teach us much. Everyone says we grow through pain and then as soon as they experience pain they say, "Quick! Move on! Cheer up!" I'd like just for a year to have a moratorium on the word "happiness" and to replace it with the word "wholeness." Ask yourself, "Is this contributing to my wholeness?" and if you're having a bad day, it is."

 

 

"The Good Life" is a welcome and much needed reminder to make the most of life not from seeking happiness or fulfilment as goals in themselves, but pursuing goodness and concern for others. Its valuable analysis draws on Mackay’s wide reading but more importantly his extensive social research and interviews with thousands of average Australians and how they grapple with living a good life.

 

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Amrum

 

For a trailer with English subtitles, click here
For the location of the island, click here

 

Set against the stark beauty of the windswept German island of Amrum in the final days of World War II, "Amrum" is a haunting and lyrical coming-of-age story that examines the collapse of the Third Reich through the eyes of a boy caught between innocence and ideology.

It is nearing the end of World War II and Nazi Germany’s quest to rule the world. Hitler is dead but these residents don’t really get the actual truth of what happened, and at this point it doesn’t matter as much as simply trying to survive with need for bread, food and other necessities. The main industry is growing potatoes and fishing, two things young Nanning, the star of this movie, helps with at the neighboring farm.

He learns how to skin a rabbit and lure an unsuspecting seal to his death among other unsavoury duties. He runs errands to try and get his mother, a Hitler apologist, bread, butter, sugar and other necessities all the while still wearing his Hitler Youth uniform, but not really engaged in the political aspects. We never see him project hate or toe the Nazi line. It is just something young boys were expected to wear.

The film’s focus is on these people who live far from the action, basically clueless to the Holocaust and other atrocities by Germany during the war that will now cast shame on the country. The war may have been very ugly, but Amrum is a beautiful place to grow up, seemingly a million miles away as life goes on, the future unsure, its inhabitants searching for some sort of happiness, and Nanning on the cusp of adolescence.

 

 

I heard about this movie from an internet-friend in my old hometown Braunschweig who thought it was "berührend", and so I started looking for its DVD on ebay.de. However, as much as I would like to see the scene of that symbolic burning of Hitler's portrait on the kitchen stove, an extra €16.99, or $27.70, for postage from Germany to Australia is far from "berührend" and makes me hesitate to place the order.

 

 

Maybe a friendly YouTuber in Germany will upload the full-length movie.

 

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Come In Spinner

 

Audiobook Preview

 

Es gab eine Zeit in der ich immer an dieses Buch dachte wenn ich das Wort "Spinner" hörte. Aber seit September 2025 erinnert es mich immer daran dass ich das dysfunktionale Resultat einer dysfunktionalen Familie bin. Es geschah so:

Ich bin das fünfte Kind, das "fünfte Rad" sozusagen, und unerwünscht denn es war schon schwer genug am Ende des Krieges vier Kinder zu ernähren ohne dann noch ein Fünftes zu bekommen. Vielleicht ebenso unerwünscht wie der Erstgeborene, meinen viel älteren Bruder, dessen Geburtstag im Dezember 1932 war, nur zwei Monate nach der Hochzeit unserer Eltern. Unter den damaligen Zeiten wohl eher eine Mussehe.

Alles was ich über unsere dysfunktionale Familie weiß habe ich selbst zusammengebastelt von den Angaben dieses Bruders, der heute noch in Deutschland wohnt und jetzt in dem Alter ist in dem Mozart schon sechzig Jahre tot war. Er spricht kein English und verweigert sich auch es zu lernen und zu lesen, weshalb er mich bat ihm keine weiteren 'blog posts' zu schicken. Also hörte ich damit auf, wunderte mich aber ob er noch am Leben ist und schickte somit seinem Sohn meine Anfrage. Die Antwort kam ganz schnell, war aber nicht was ich erwartet hatte:

 

"Ja, danke. Ich nehme an, das war Deine Antwort auf meinen Brief, den ich Dir vor 50 Jahren als kleiner Junge geschrieben habe. Dann sprechen wir uns also etwa 2075 wieder. Bis dann."

 

Was hatte er mir vor fünfzig Jahren geschrieben? Und dann erinnerte ich mich an diesen Brief, anscheinend von einem Halbstarken geschrieben, der so blöd war dass ich ihn gleich in den Papierkorb warf. Eine Email kann man nicht in den Papierkorb schmeissen, also schrieb ich zurück:

 

"Ja, aber am naechsten Mal ist es dann "Sie". Das "Du" ist nur fuer Freunde! :-) P.S. Der Brief vor 50 Jahren war so bloed gewesen, dass ich mir gar nicht vorstellen konnte, dass das von einem Goermann geschrieben sein konnte. Ich hoffte Sie haetten sich inzwischen ein bisschen verbessert aber anscheinend nicht."

 

Danach kam dann noch kurz und bündig eine zweite Antwort von ihm:

 

 

Vielleicht sollte ich ihm die DVD schicken von dem Film den man von dem Buch "Come In Spinner" machte. Oder vielleicht fiel der Apfel nicht weit vom Baum und wie sein Vater würde er sich weigern einen Film ohne deutsche Untertitel anzusehen. ("Come in spinner" is a traditional Australian phrase that originates from the game of two-up, meaning an invitation to begin, an expression of welcome, or to go ahead.)

 

 

Oder vielleicht warte ich bin zum Jahre 2075 wenn die Deutschen schon alle Arabisch sprechen müssen und sich wünschten es wäre Englisch! 😄

 

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P.S. Die Anschrift des Sohnes meines Bruders ist "Hauptstr. 99, Borgdorf-Seedorf". Da habe ich 'mal schnell nachgeschaut wo er so gutbürgerlich wohnt, und stellte fest daß das ein Zeltplatz ist - siehe hier und hier. Da ist der Apfel doch ganz schön weit weg vom elterlichen Baum gefallen!

Und dann fand ich noch viel mehr Erstaunliches auf der Webseite vom Zeltplatz: eine Dusche zu nehmen kostet €0.30 PRO MINUTE. Das macht €18 oder etwa $30 pro Stunde. Daran werde ich denken wenn ich am Donnerstag in unserem Hallenbad eine stundenlange Dusche nehme.

Aber es wurde noch verrückter: anscheinend sucht dieser Zeltplatz noch Arbeitskräfte - siehe hier. Die dürfen nicht nur "m" (männlich) oder "w" (weiblich) sein, sondern auch "d". Was ist "d"? Doof? Armes Deutschland! Nachdem sie nicht mehr wissen welche Sprache sie sprechen sollen, wissen sie jetzt auch nicht mehr welchem Geschlecht sie zugehören.

Da bin ich früh genug ausgewandert denn die haben doch jetzt alle einen Vogel, oder? Das sieht man schon an den vorgeschlagenen neuen €-Banknoten - siehe hier - deren 'designs' B, D, H, I und J voller Vögel sind. Die obige Banknote reicht gerade für eine 15-Minuten Dusche.

Das sollte dann aber eine kalte Dusche sein damit man nicht wie das HB-Männchen gleich in die Luft geht wenn man diese Banknotenvorschläge oder dieses neue Straßenschild sieht! Wer die Wahl hat, hat die Qual!

Sieh den ganzen Film hier

Selbst das HB-Männchen hat jetzt arabische Untertitel. Also behalte das Schlauchboot damit du losfahren kannst wenn es soweit ist - siehe hier.

 

These days even the club I belong to is younger than me!

 

Ulladulla Bowlo 1953 - "These days even the club I belong to is younger than me!"

 

True happiness is embracing the little joys in life: the sunrise on a cold winter morning, the first cup of tea, or a truly amazing book. It is being grateful not only for when big things happen, but also for the small satisfactions that you can find every day. Real joy is finding happiness where you are and how you are.

I had all three, the sunrise on a cold winter morning, the first cup of tea, and I even found time to start on a truly amazing book before we drove into the Bay to spend a couple of hours in the warm-water pool, after which we went to Ulladulla for lunch at our favourite bowlo. Even discovering that that club was younger than me couldn't spoil my day!

 

The NDIS, the nation's biggest rip-off scheme - and Labor's creation - currently costs Australia approximately $49 billion to $52 billion annually. It's now more expensive to run than Medicare (~$32–$35 billion) or the entire defense budget (~$51 billion). Despite aggressive legislative reform bills passed by the Albanese government to curb runaway growth, annual expenditures are still projected to rise to $63.9 billion by 2028. With roughly 700,000 participants currently utilizing the scheme, the average funding package sits at $67,000 per person, per year. You couldn't make this up. What a gigantic rip-off!!!

 

It was almost spoilt in the warm-water pool when two "disabled" men, covered from head to toe in tattoos which would've branded them as unemployable long before they became "disabled", showed up with their highly-paid NDIS carers. Their only "disability" was the fact that they couldnt see their own feet because of their gross obesity, no doubt caused by an indolent life and too much booze. They lolled in the pool while their carers, charging $156.16 per hour for 'Other Professional support', where busy scrolling their smartphones. That NDIS needs a good clean-up! Still, I was please to see my tax dollars hard at work.

 

Listen to the podcast here

 

Now that the on-again/off-again 'prospective' buyer is prospective no more and we're staying at "Riverbend", I indulged in a bit more book-buying and picked up "The Philosopher and the Wolf". The 'prospective' buyer's last email read, "Just wanted to stay in touch so you know I have not lost interest. Also I would love to come for another stroll around the property whenever it suits you both." I didn't even bother to reply.

 

 

Instead, I bought some more trees which I will plant this weekend. With a bit of luck, I will still be around to see them grow to their full height.

 

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The Pentagon is the biggest polluter on the planet

 

Listen to an interview with ABC Late Night Live here

 

Journalist Abby Martin and her husband Mike Prysner – a US war veteran - have spent years drawing attention to the wrongdoings of the US military. But when they had kids they turned their attention towards climate change, and just how much pollution the Pentagon is pumping into the planet.

 

 

The result is their latest film “Earth’s Greatest Enemy” and Abby Martin is in Australia for screenings around the country, and to take part in the national IPAN conference happening in Adelaide.

The theme of the conference is Time to Break Free From the USA - Cancel AUKUS and the Force Posture Agreement.

 

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While you're feeling depressed, you may as well watch "Why We Fight":

 

 

"Bullish BHP" or "Bullish BHP?"

 

 

Donald Horne originally wanted to publish his 1964 book, "The Lucky Country" with a question mark: "The Lucky Country?" I have felt the same about the title of this post: "Bullish BHP?"

After steadily climbing over several months to a new 52-week high of $65.98 on 17 June 2026, BHP's shares started dropping and dropping and dropping. Instead of selling at or near their 52-week high, I hung on, hoping each fall would be the last, all the way to Thursday's $56.87.

On Friday they began to recover, with two more small lifts to today's $58.71. Now, CommSec's daily market report suggests that "the stock price may rise from the close of 58.71 to the range of 67.00 - 69.00".

 

BHP Group Broker Consensus Summary 17 July 2026. Source: Market Index Broker Consensus.

 

"Bullish BHP" or "Bullish BHP?" If CommSec is right and BHP shares get back to their former 52-week high of $65.98, I won't make the same mistake and hang on for a few more cents or dollars. I will sell out!

 

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Did CommSec's predictions come true? Here are the next 19 days:
15.7.2026 day's range $60.56-$61.27, closed at $60.56 ↑
16.7.2026 day's range $58.56-$60.65, closed at $59.14 ↓
17.7.2026 day's range $57.00-$57.77, closed at $57.54 ↓
20.7.2026 day's range $57.41-$57.99, closed at $57.54 ↔
21.7.2026 day's range $57.03-$58.29, closed at $58.29 ↑
22.7.2026 day's range $59.42-$60.33, closed at $59.76 ↑
23.7.2026 day's range $60.25-$60.80, closed at $60.63 ↑
24.7.2026 day's range $58.66-$59.80, closed at $58.85 ↓
27.7.2026 day's range $59.58-$60.27, closed at $60.10 ↑
28.7.2026 day's range $58.57-$60.04, closed at $59.37 ↓
29.7.2026 day's range $59.41-$60.77, closed at $60.18 ↑
30.7.2026 day's range $59.06-$59.93, closed at $59.15 ↓
31.7.2026 day's range $60.04-$61.12, closed at $60.31 ↑
03.8.2026 day's range $60.05-$60.72, closed at $60.72 ↑
04.8.2026 day's range $59.52-$60.76, closed at $60.52 ↓
05.8.2026 day's range $61.78-$62.59, closed at $62.54 ↑
06.8.2026 day's range $62.51-$63.41, closed at $62.82 ↑
07.8.2026 day's range $62.13-$63.10, closed at $62.97 ↑
10.8.2026 day's range $63.43-$63.90, closed at $63.52 ↑
And that's the end of the 19 days, but let's continue:
11.8.2026 day's range $63.65-$64.50, closed at $63.93 ↑
12.8.2026 day's range $63.26-$63.88, closed at $63.45 ↓
13.8.2026 day's range $63.00-$63.77, closed at $63.45 ↔
14.8.2026 day's range ............., closed at $..... ↓
17.8.2026
Publication of final results for the year ended 30 June 2026:
18.8.2026

 

Ruhe in Frieden, Schrankenwärter Laumann

 

* 16.1.1942 ✟ 1.9.2023

 

Der wohl bekannteste Schrankenwärter in ganz Deutschland und der Welt, Alfred Laumann, starb am 1.9.2023. Er war 81 Jahre alt.

 

 

Er wurde berühmt durch diesen YouTube 'clip' aus dem Jahre 2006. Damals war er schon für viele Jahre Schrankenwärter in Groß Düngen gewesen, denn laut seiner facebook-Seite schrieb er von dort im Jahre 1997, "Hallo, mein Name ist Alfred Laumann ich bin 55 Jahre alt und komme aus Bad Harzburg. Seit 37 Jahren arbeite ich für die Bahn als Schrankenwärter". Also wurde er Schrankenwärter im Alter von achtzehn Jahren als andere noch von Abenteuern in fremden Ländern träumten!

 

 

Sein Schrankenwärterhaus ist jetzt als Sehenswürdigkeit auf GOOGLE Maps markiert (siehe hier) wo man ihm das obige Denkmal aufstellte.

 

 

Jetzt bewacht er wohl einen Bahnübergang irgendwo oben im Himmel. Ruhe in Frieden, Schrankenwärter Laumann.

 

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