34) When Jonny got very sick.

Some time in November 2004 Jonny started to feel very tired by the end of our days work. He would even ask me to drive home some evenings and that worried me, as Jonny hates to be a passenger in the car when I am driving. He tried to get as much rest as possible but it did not make much difference.

Then near the end of November we had to deliver some goods to the house in Riviera Road (See Chapter 22 The High Life) that had such a lot of stairs and Jonny just could not manage the climb. We realised that it was not our imagination but that he really was sick. As we did not have a doctor at the time we started ringing around to make an appointment. All the doctors that we had heard about from friends told us that their books were closed. They had as many patients as they could manage and they were not taking any more. After numerous phone calls and when we were beginning to feel desperate we did manage to find a doctor that was still taking new patients and made an appointment for as soon as possible. We did not know anything about Dr. Lee but he has turned out to be a good doctor and a very caring man.

We explained to the doctor that we did not have any medical insurance and that as we still did not have our permanent residence permits we could not claim any costs from Medicare. We would have to pay cash for all the treatment and tests that Jonny needed. Doctor Lee was very understanding of our predicament but understandably there were some tests that just had to be done to find out what the problem was. It was obvious that he was very sick but no one could tell us what the problem was. They took blood, tested his lung capacity, and arranged for X-rays to be done. The x-rays showed that he had pneumonia but Dr. Lee was concerned that the pneumonia was hiding something more ominous in his lungs and he said that he thought Jonny should have a CAT scan. This was going to cost $400 and we just did not have that amount of money. We rang both Jonathan and Dominic and straight away they put $200 each into our account. We are very blessed to have such great sons. What would we do without them?

The results of the scan showed a mark on Jonny’s lung. The doctor said that he thought that it was possibly just scarring of the lungs from when Jonny was a smoker and he told him that he was pretty sure that if he had still been a smoker he would have died before then. Dr. Lee said that he could not be sure what the mark on the lung was and that we would have to wait until the pneumonia had been cleared up to have another look at that. Meanwhile he prescribed a course of antibiotics and told him to rest as much as possible. By that time Jonny was far too sick to work and Jonathan and Siân and friends from our church came and helped me with the driving and carrying the heavy parcels. I would not have been able to manage without them. Jonny was eventually off work for about six weeks and for every day of that time I had someone to help me.

One day the assistant pastor from our church who was a surgeon before he became a pastor came to visit him. He was so shocked at Jonny’s state that he told us later that he thought that he would not see Jonny alive again. He told Jonny that he should be in hospital an on a drip but Jonny explained our position to him and told him that our doctor knew our problem and was doing his very best to keep costs down for us and that we had a lot of trust in him and felt he was giving us the very best attention he could in the circumstances.

When I got home from work that evening I got a phone call from one of the members of our church to tell me that there had been a meeting of the church management committee and he had been asked to phone us and tell us that if Jonny needed any medical treatment they would cover the costs. He said “There is a cheque in the office for any costs that you might have, please just ask if you need it” We were very touched by their generosity but fortunately we did not need to take them up on their offer.

Once Jonny started to take the antibiotic his health started to improve but it took until Christmas before he started to feel that he had turned the corner. I remember we went to Jonathan and Siân for our Christmas dinner and Jonny let me drive, not a good sign, but he said afterwards that that day was the first day he started to feel that he was on the mend at last. He did not go back to work until the second week in January and even then he tired easily and had to take things carefully.

33) Pelican Feeding

When our grand daughters come and visit us one of the things they like to do is to go to “The Entrance” and watch the Pelicans being fed. Every afternoon at 3.30 a team of volunteers bring fish to the waters edge and feed these big birds. The local pelicans obviously have all got watches

as about an hour before feeding time one can see them starting to circle overhead and swooping in to stand in the shallow water to wait for the meal. It is amusing to watch they way they land in the water. They remind me of large aircraft, they lower their big webbed feet as if they are lowering their undercarriage then they seem to take a few steps along the top of the water before lowering the huge bodies into the sea. Soon the people start to arrive at the feeding platform to watch the funny birds being fed. When the young helpers arrive with their buckets of fish the pelicans get up onto the platform and form a semicircle around the feeder. As fish are

thrown to them another one of the team of helpers tell the spectators about the pelicans and how the feeding tradition started over twenty years ago. They tell of how one of the staff from a local fish and chip shop started to throw out the scraps into the sea at the end of the day. The

Pelicans became so used to it that if the staff were late with their meal the birds would cross the road and wait outside the shop for their expected feed.

One of the main objectives of the feeding is to keep an eye

on the birds’ condition. They often get entangled with fish hooks and fishing line and when this is spotted the bird will be removed from the water and the offending objects removed. Mostly, once this has been done they are returned to the water and they are fine, but if the injury is more serious they are taken to a local vet for further treatment
The Pelican feeding is sponsored by local businesses and collection tins are passed around among the public to help with the costs. When the food is just about all gone a demonstration is given of how clever the Pelicans are. It is said that they can understand everything that is said to them. The girl who is feeding them, while holding a big fish in her hand asks them “Do you like fish?” and waves the fish up and down. Every Pelican has got its eyes glued to that tasty fish and as the fish goes up and down so does every Pelican head. “Yes, yes, yes” they seem to be saying. The

next question is “Do you want me to give it to the sea gulls?” and of course this time she waves the fish back and forward. The children all love that bit.
Once all the food is gone their hostess claps her hands and they know that they won’t get any more so off they all fly but they know that there will be more fish the next day and they will be back.

What a peculiar bird is a Pelican

His beak can hold more than his belly can.

32) Birds

Australia has a wonderful selection of birds. When we first came here we were amazed at the variety of species we saw. When we moved into our house we started to feed them. It took a little while for them to find our feeding place but once they did we got a great deal of pleasure from our feathered visitors.

The Lorikeets are the most colourful. With blue heads, green wings, orange and red chests and red beaks and legs they are easily identified. At first we would get one or possibly two of them sampling the seeds we had put out for them but once it was known around the neighbourhood that there was a soup kitchen operating on our veranda all the lorikeets in the area came to have breakfast with us. If I were a little late putting out their food in the morning they would start up a huge chorus of noise to tell me that they were waiting. I have seen as many as seventeen of them all pushing and shoving to get to the dish and stuff themselves full to busting before they went about the days business. They always seem so busy and in such a hurry. When they fly they don’t glide or swoop like some of the other birds. They flap their wings at nineteen to the dozen and make a direct beeline for the place they are planning to go to, at the same time making a great deal of noise. It would seem that they have to get there in a hurry. They became very tame and would sit on my hand and eat the grapes I fed them.

The Magpies by contrast are not colourful at all. The are just black and white but they had such a lovely song for us. They are much bigger than the Lorikeets and have a rather bad reputation. They have been known to attack people who go too near their nests during the breeding season. We have never had any problems with them though. They would come when Jonny whistled for them and would take tit-bits of bread or meat from his hand. Before they get their adult plumage the chicks are grey and white but as big as their parents. It always looks so silly to see such a large chick fluttering its wings and begging Mom Maggie to feed it when they were about the same size. They get very bold and would often come into the house if we forgot to close the screen door.


Every morning we would hear the call of the Kookaburras in the tress but they would just fly over and not join our party. One morning I spied Mr. Kookaburra on the rail of our veranda and I thought that if I could get close to him and give him a titbit maybe he would be encouraged to join the gang. I quickly went to the kitchen and got a little bit of minced meat. When I got out on the veranda he was still there on the rail and he even allowed me to come slowly up and put the meat down beside him. The way he scoffed down the food and seemed to demand more made me pretty sure that it was all a put up job and that he was not as shy and timid as I had thought he was. Soon all his gang of about eight would arrive early in the morning along with the Magpies and the Lorikeets.
The Brush Turkeys were also regular visitors. They did not come on to the front veranda though; they liked to be fed on the roof at the back of the house. One weekend when our grand daughters were staying with us I told Claudia that we had been feeding the Brush Turkeys on the back roof and she asked how they had got up there. I told her they had flown up there. They are quite big birds and Claudia was used to seeing them wandering around scratching for food but had never seen them flying. She said “But Gran, brush turkeys can’t fly” I explained that they did not fly great distances but could certainly get up on to the top of our fence and then fly the few feet from there to the roof. Claudia being a polite little girl did not argue with me but gave me a look that told me that she thought I did not know what I was talking about. After all she is Australian and knows all about these sorts of things. A little later the whole brush turkey family came to visit. Twelve of them on the roof ordering morning tea. When Claudia saw them fly off the fence and land on the roof she came running to me shouting, “Gran, Brush Turkeys can fly” The Australian Minor birds are very plentiful. They like bread and fruit and are afraid of nothing. I have seen them gang up together and chase a cat away from near one of their nests. In fact they are part of the reason we have stopped feeding the birds. I was told that if Australian Minors are fed they increase so much that they out number all the other birds and chase them all away. I can believe that too as I have often seen them chase one of the big black crows that would come and sit on the veranda rail and cry like a baby.

The Galahs didn’t come to our food table but we would often see them feeding on the ground near our front gate. They are grey and a pretty soft pink, Not as gaudy as the lorikeets but very attractive. One often sees small flocks of them feeding together on the ground. I think that they must like grass seeds to eat.

Occasionally the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos would call on us and I was so pleased to see them, as they are large white beautiful birds with a yellow crest on their heads and a very raucous cry. When they had been on the veranda once or twice and I noticed the damage that they were doing to the wood I just had to chase them away. Can you imagine having to ring up the owners of our house and tell them “Sorry but the Cockatoos have just eaten up all your house”

Then there was the Crested Doves. At first glance they looked just like ordinary doves with a little topknot of feathers on their heads. But when the sun shines on them it shows up the multi coloured feather collars that one only noticed when they were highlighted by the sun.

We have often commented on the difference between birds in Australia and birds in Africa. Australian birds are much easier to get close to. They will come close to get food or will sit on our hands or heads. It would take a long time to get a wild bird to do that in Africa. We think it is all to do with the many predators in Africa. Here in Australia there are not many things that will attack the birds so they are more trusting and friendly. Cats and foxes will take them if they get the chance; it is such a pity that they have been introduced into the country. There are programs to try and eradicate the foxes but nothing much can be done about the cats, as they are people’s precious pets and a move to eradicate them would cause an uproar.

As I have said we have stopped putting food out each morning but a few of the Lorikeets still remember when did and now and again they will come and sit on the veranda and call us. Who could resist that, and we take them a few grapes and they feed from our hands.

31) Houses

Town Councils in South African towns tend to be very conservative in regard to building regulations and do not like to deviate from the conventional brick constructions so most houses you see in the council areas are either face brick or brick that has been plastered. (In Australia plaster is called ‘render’ and a plasterer is a ‘renderer’ another new word we had to learn). Australian building rules differ greatly and there are houses built with many different materials. There is of course the conventional brick and some very lovely sandstones buildings. There are also many timber houses, I like these, they seem to blend so much better with the environment. Many older houses are built with a wooden frame clad with asbestos sheets, now that the dangers of this material are recognised this is no longer legal but there are many other types of board used to make attractive and interesting houses. Builders often use a combination of different materials to add to the interest.

The most popular, probably the cheapest, building method used at the moment is a wooden frame clad on the exterior with one layer of brick and on the inside with some form of panelling. Housing is very expensive in Australia; mostly because of the high price of building land, so to try and make it more affordable many housing estates are built. Sometimes a developer will buy a large tract of land and clear it of very tree, shrub or bush and build as many houses he can squeeze on to the available space. They are put up as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Someone once told me that these houses have a seven-year life expectancy but I am sure that that must be an exaggeration. The houses all seem to me to be far too big for the plot of land on which they sit. They are also too big for the average family but many people want to have at least four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a lounge, dinning room, a kitchen, a laundry, a family room and an entertainment room. I think that the roof must be a very expensive item so it is made as small as possible, only just covering the walled space, leaving no hangover or eaves. This not only makes them look cheap and ugly it also makes them very hot as the eaves of a house keep the direct sun off the windows. Houses without eaves and no trees in the garden need to have air-conditioning to make them liveable so they are very unfriendly for the environment. Not far from Erina Fair, the shopping complex we did our deliveries from there was one of these large estates. We were told that when it was being built the developers felled every tree, pulled up all the shrubs and every blade of glass so that they could bring in their crew to start the building. They in fact turned the area into a giant dust bowl and the name stuck. To us and many other people the real name of that housing estate is forgotten, we remember it as “The Dust Bowl”

Its such a pity to see these ugly estates mushrooming up all over the place but with the high price of owning ones own home I suppose it is understandable. Maybe I would feel a little differently if I could afford one of them so maybe there is a little bit of sour grapes in my assessment. But in the other older suburbs where there is a mixture of architectural styles,
building materials and a bit of garden surrounding the houses everything is so much more pleasant.

It never ceases to amaze me that although most houses have the same basic ingredients – three bedrooms, a bathroom, a lounge and dining room and a kitchen they can all look so very different. The many ways can one rearrange these items to make them unique and individual, a personal statement of ones own taste and personality, seems to be endless. For the most part I think Australian houses are imaginative and attractive, it is a pity that some of them do not answer this description.

30) Crab Corner

One evening as we were driving home from work along the busy Entrance Road a small white van shot out from a road on our right. As he made the turn to his right in front of us in a hurry to get into the stream of traffic the rear door of his van flew open and out fell a large dark thing. As it hit the floor and scurried off we realised it was a crab, a crab as big as a dinner plate. One could almost hear him shouting “I’m free, I’m free, it’s back to the sea for me” as he charged across the road in the path of the busy homeward bound traffic. (He was going in an easterly direction, the direction of the sea.) We slowed down so as not to run him over and before we could think what we should do we saw that the driver of the little white van had pulled up at the side of the road, hopped out of the drivers seat and hot footed it after his unwilling passenger. He scooped up the escapee and with one swift motion had him back in the van and the door closed again before you could say “Crafty Crustacean”. It all happened so quickly and smoothly one could almost imagine that our seafood friend was an old lag with many attempted escapes in his past. As we passed the van we saw the sign on the side proclaimed that the end was surely in sight for the crab as the van belonged to “Fred the Fisho”, and we realised that he would, sadly, soon be being served as crab thermidor in some smart restaurant in Sydney. We often think of him and the corner where he made that brave attempt for freedom has been renamed “Crab Corner” on our maps. But maybe at some other corner between there and the Sydney restaurant he made another break from the white van and maybe he succeeded, found the sea once more and is now living happily with his family in the deep cool water. I hope so!!