It's Official

I will be leaving the Goldfields in December and heading home for a real sea change. My new school will have ocean breezes to cool it down.

Balzano Barrow Race

Runners and walkers of all shapes and sizes covered some 25kms this morning, pushing barrows.

It was the annual, Balzano Barrow Race. Some ran as teams, the more hardy (or should that be foolhardy) ran the whole way themselves pushing a barrow.

Balzano, an old Italian prospector from Kalgoorlie's vibrant past, recorded his life in the Goldfields' in a journal. The race is a celebration of all those prospectors who did it the hard way, pushing barrows from one end of the Goldfields to the other and back again. Balzano may not have been the most successful prospector, but he left a legacy that is still remembered today.

Car Christening - Goldfield's Style

Orange, really orange!

My car inside and out is the colour of the Goldfields'. Travelling on my first gravel road out here was an experience. Not to be readily undertaken with a stock standard city saloon; one of those four wheel jobs or a uit would have been a better option......oh well.

130 kms north of Kalgoorlie, I drove into Menzies; the town hall and tourist bureau being the only buildings of any substance. From there I headed 51kms west on the Sandstone gravel Road.

I was keeping a promise to myself........ a visit to Lake Ballard to see the famous sculptures by

British artist, Antony Gormley. Photos of these sculptures are often featured on tourist brochures for this region and I heard the sculptor speak on a national art program not too long ago.

The video features only three of his 51 sculptures scattered some 10kms across the lake and I broke a number of obvious safety rules to photograph them.

I was warned by three tourists who had already viewed them to watch my footing on the muddy flats. It is quite slippery and to be alone and break a leg out there in the middle of the salt lake would not be very sensible. I had taken water with me, but not really enough for a long hike with Chardy. The reflection from the salt was another thing I had not considered. Sunscreen is a must.

The Plot Thickens

According to the report in the, "Kal Miner" any request for compensation for the power surge should be directed to the Water Corporation. It was their contractors digging a street away from mine. Ho ....hum nothing is ever straight forward.

Power Action?

It seems the newspapers had not heard about the Power Surge until yesterday when my young neighbour, Krysten, called the, "Kalgoorlie Minor", and told them our sad tale of woe.

Their reporter, Charlotte.......... phoned Western Power, (Synergy) who informed her 18 households in Piccadilly St had been affected and someone would be in touch with the residents soon. The paper goes to print with the story tomorrow and hopefully within a day or two we will be hearing from our energy supplier about compensation.

Hm.......... I wait with bated breath.

When a picture tells the story.

Sleeping rough

Yea....the weekend

It's strange not having a TV chattering away in the background. I can't quite bring myself to buy one yet, though I could not do without something to let me know what is happening in the outside world......so I have invested in two clock radios. One for the lounge the other for my bedroom.

Kalgoorlie is certainly summer bound as Chardy's early morning water experience clearly shows.

Not the only one.........

As I suspected it was a, 'Power Surge" which caused the loss of my appliances.

It seems that the power was switched off sometime yesterday morning. The problems arose when it was reconnected. Boom!

My neighbours lost their computer and washing machine (not a good thing when you have two very young children). Others, I've heard of at least 3 or 4 households, lost a lot more including microwaves, computers, TVs, fridges in fact anything that was connected to a power outlet; even the hospital down the road had a fridge blow.

Having said all that, it seems to be a very, low key, event. It was not, as far as I am aware, reported in the local newspapers. I suggested to my neighbour that she phone them with the information. This apparently echoed her husband's thoughts.

Synergy have since said it must have been,"An Act of God", i.e. some kid threw a shoe at a power line causing a short. This seems to be there way of saying they are not responsible. It does not seem to matter that in less than a minute people lost $1 000s worth of appliances.

However an electrician who called in to look at the power points next door has pointed the finger at contractors working in the street running parallel to ours. It seems they may have either had the power switched off and problems occurred on reconnection or perhaps accidentally cut through an underground cable. If that is the case they would have had to either have a permit to switch the power off, or had to contact the electricity supply company to repair it.

Whatever happened I now have doubts about compensation claims being successful. No one appears to want to know.

Power Surge!!

No TV
No Radio
No Phone - the cordless variety
No washer
No alarm clock ( Does that mean I can be late for work tomorrow?)

Yes, that's what greeted me this evening when I arrived home. I am not sure what happened, but it seems everything that was plugged in and either working or on standby is now kaput!

Looking on the positive my laptop was with me at work and the rest of the stuff was pretty old. Looks like a claim on Synergy, our electricity supplier, will be forthcoming.

Palette of the Goldfields

No prizes for guessing what this is a painting of.


This evening saw the opening of, "Palette of the Goldfields", an art exhibition, held at the Goldfields' Art Centre.

There was a collection of paintings, jewellery and pottery. The opening was well attended for a Monday night. A number of the local artists were also in attendance to answer any queries or offer advise to budding artists. It was a most enjoyable start to my final 10 weeks in Kalgoorlie.

I think I need another holiday..........

Only a couple of days left before I head back to Kalgoorlie. What a holiday it's been. Really full on, so much to do. I have been out of course, catching up with all my great friends. A movie, a theatre production and a number of dinners, lunches and coffees. Having said that it hasn't all been fun and entertainment.

Leaving a house and garden and expecting it all to remain in the condition it was left was pretty naive I've discovered. Consequently much of this holiday has been spent cutting down bushes, weeding, getting sprinklers ready for the summer onslaught and cleaning.

Add to that three hours this morning scrubbing my previous tenants' shower recess and you can imagine how I feel. My son's favourite saying comes to mind, "People are a constant source of disappointment", sad but often true.

Having done my share of venting, there is nothing like being home. I love the peace that permeates this suburb; the neighbours who are more like old friends; my lovely dog walking companions who never fail to offer advice, even if it isn't always what I want to hear and my stalwarts who are always there for me.

Yes, home is always special.

My Blood Boiled.........

Just as I was walking out of the door....

Ring, ring, ring ring........... (well no it's a mobile, so The Entertainer plays)

"Hello"

"Yes, I'm Lynda Turk."

"No, I'm in Perth.....it's school holidays."

strained laughter........then

"If you take them away, I will simply leave, resign."

"Yes, I do have a lot on my mind, and it probably isn't a good time to call."

and so the conversation ended.

The caller was a lady from "Grow", that is the government department that supplies furniture for Education Department employees. She had phoned to inform me the furniture, (fridge and washer) they had loaned to me while I am in Kal. would be picked up within the month.

So that was another thing for me to sort out while I'm here. I am really beginning to wonder about this holiday thing.

Busy, busy

Holiday, I don't think so.......

I have been flat out since being home. Renting the unit became too hard, so I gave the bad news and readvertised for a short term tenant. At least I know what I will be doing next holidays....painting anyone?

My neighbour also announced he is thinking of renovating, so I've been looking at building plans to see if the alterations will impinge negatively on my property.....I actually think it will add value, so I'm not too worried.

Oh yes and my garden, well it's gone berserk while I've been away, so when I'm not fielding calls from hopeful tenants, I'm picking up leaves, pulling up weeds and cutting back shrubs. Green rubbish collection this weekend so have to get those shears pumping.

On the positive, saw a great Lebanese film, "Caramel", the other night with an old friend; caught up with another last night and Jenny and Daniel today, so it's not all hard labour.