A Further Up Over Update.

So.........more news from Up Over arrived at 2.30 am. I found it waiting when I woke up at 4.30 am.Mum said Dad 'looks fine'. He is still in the ICU but Mum said it is amazing and was blown away by all the equipment they had. Dad is being looked after very well. He has some pain in his chest but you would expect that and has a bout of hiccups. I know how annoying that is from when I spent some time in hospital and you think you are never going to stop. They hope that when they remove the drain from his wound that it might stop. It does not appear to be troubling him while asleep though. My Mum and brother, Rod are confident he is in a good place and both feel better after having seen him.

Up Over Update.

Still waiting for news today but the last I heard Dad's operation had gone well and he was sedated in the Intensive Care Unit.....that is all par for the course apparently and he should be in ICU for 2 days and in hospital for a total of about six days.

Home Thoughts From Abroad 2.

Moving to the other side of the World is full of excitement and new experiences but the major downside is being away from family and friends.I have not suffered too much with homesickness over my time here and still have a very strong connection with people 'Up Over' and that is probably mostly down to this little project but today I wish I was not in a land far, far away.I am thinking of my Dad who is in hospital for a heart valve operation today and hoping for a successful outcome and a speedy recovery.

It lives!

I can report that Terry is alive and well, though he did not look particularly well......and let's face it, never has.I handed him the referral form when we took Dulcie today for the shoulder X-ray wanted by Dr Hew. There was no other receptionist behind the desk and no one else in the tiny waiting room."What did she do?" he asked looking at the form."She fell," I said."Yes,three weeks ago," he said, slightly accusingly as if we were lax in only bringing her now."I'll be with you in a minute," he said disappearing and then he was back with a hand held vacuum and proceeded to hoover the floor down behind the reception desk........possibly removing the remains of an ex- receptionist.We took seats and were horrified to see that the TV screen above the desk was showing the previous evenings episode of Masterchef Australia. The episode was nearly over and we had not seen it yet.Will and I both started humming loudly and sticking our fingers in our ears to drown out the sound of it.Terry appeared again and called Dulcie and Will escaped with her into the X-ray room. As they disappeared into the back a man in a black coat came in from outside. He could have been Mujahideen but he obviously had a new job and he went and sat behind the reception desk.I writhed and wriggled and hummed and fiddled with my ears to try and drown out what was happening on the TV as the judges were making their conclusions......until I could stand it no longer and leapt up and out of the door.Terry's place is sandwiched between a licensed Pawnbroker and the Golden Spoon Chinese Takeaway. A handwritten sign in the Takeaway window declared:'Form 10.30 - 2.30 and 4.00 - 9.30.'Completing the row of shops is a hair salon which appeared to be called 'Muk Hair.' I think it completes the quartet nicely.Terry took 4 X-rays and Will ended up with all the radiation too as he was helping to keep Dulcie in the right position but he would rather have been in there than see who won the Masterchef challenge.We doubt the X-rays will prove there is anything wrong with her shoulder.....but we await to hear from Dr Hew.

Somewhere under the rainbow...

So.......since hearing that I was successful at the (telephone) tribunal and the recommendation being that I be paid arrears from May 2014 by Centrelink.......I have heard nothing and it has been nearly a fortnight.This morning I set off to Inala to find out what is going on.There was a beautiful rainbow in the sky right in front of me for the whole of the journey and as I neared my destination, for awhile, it appeared to be ending right on where I knew the Centrelink Office to be. Was it portentous?I was early, the office had only been open for 10 minutes so the green chairs were quite empty. The woman in black with the Madonna microphone waiting by the reception plinth had no welcoming smile."I am here about payment of arrears" I said.She tapped and flicked at her Ipad and said "Take a seat."I looked around wondering who would call my name. I wasn't particularly bothered  with the choice except I hoped it would not be the huge forbidding fella on my right.The woman in black was dealing with a middle eastern man with a large black beard."This appointment is not for here," she said, looking at the paper he was holding, "you need to go up the road."He didn't understand."You need to go up the road, it is not here."He didn't understand."Go to 20 and 21 up the road."He wasn't getting it."It is not here," she said pointing to the door.He took his paper and shuffled out not having a clue what to do next. I was appalled that the woman in black had not been more helpful or tried to get someone to translate for him."Nicholas Allen?".......it was the the huge forbidding fella. His badge said he was 'James.'I explained why I was there while he was reading something on his computer screen."Well, " he said, " this is being dealt with by another department and has nothing to do with us so I can't help you, but I will make a note and get someone to call you within the next 2 days. I don't know if you are aware that with these things there is time for us to appeal the decision and the cut off date for the appeal is August the 5th but I can tell you that no one has put in an appeal yet and if it doesn't happen it should be sorted on August the 6th."I thanked him for his help and left.Surely they won't be so mean spirited as to appeal to overturn the decision found in my favour when I have done nothing wrong and the mistakes are all theirs, will they?The long, complicated, tiresome arm of the Law!