Well it was back to work yesterday after a super long weekend incorporating Easter and an Anzac Day public holiday. There wasn’t too much work and not too much hassle so it was one of the better days. The best thing of course is that it is a three day week which is very welcome. It’s too bad they can’t all be like this.
The downside is that my car still needs to be fixed and our washing machine has broken down which I’m sure most people can sympathise with. It has been running a bit rough for a while with a few bangs and a bit of clattering but as I sat down to watch the final of the Stawell Gift on Tuesday it finally blew! The runners were just about set when an almighty noise broke from the laundry and I managed to get up and turn it off and get back to the TV just in time to see the Gift.
The noise it is making is hard to describe but it is loud! It’s like something has broken but something else that it’s attached to is still working creating a awful continuous ratcheting noise. It may have had it’s day.
Of course the pressure was on straight away to find someone to come and fix it but being a public holiday I had to wait until yesterday to get Bill Stove who I know well and is the local Kleenmaid technician out to see it. He won’t be out until Monday but I’m sure we can last until then.
My car is still in our garage. We have a third car which is handy and is perhaps causing me to be lazy in getting it looked at but I will get around to it. I don’t think there is too much wrong with it but it is similar to a problem I had with it a few months ago so I am at the point that I don’t really trust car dealerships who perhaps don’t do the job maintaining your vehicle that they are supposed to do. It is still under warranty but I may get my old mechanic to have a look at it. I at least know I can trust him.
The big story around the world at the moment is of course the Royal Wedding. Many people who never give royalty a second thought seem to get sucked in by such events. Personally, although I will probably give the blanket coverage a bit of a miss, I think it is a good thing for people to be able to enjoy such an event and to forget about the rest of the troubles of the world for a while. Surely that must be the role of royalty as we get deeper into the 21st century. No more leading armies into battle or looking after the government of the day. Surely royalty’s main role now is to make the people of the realm feel better about themselves.
Of course there is the pessimistic element, the Republicans and so forth who seem to be finding newspaper space to denigrate the event but I think they should get over themselves and let others enjoy the day without imposing their unwanted opinion pieces on people. There is always someone who wants to spoil a party!
I actually find royalty’s roll in the 21st century quite intriguing. The monarch of the day has no real power anymore but they are still expected to lead the nation in times of mourning and special events and there are always those who are ready to denigrate them. I suppose it is difficult for them in some ways. They didn’t volunteer for it they were born into it and I daresay they feel duty bound to try and protect an institution that has existed for a thousand years and has contributed to the history and culture of the Western world almost as much as religion.
As for myself I am no royalist but I am afraid Republic’s leave me cold. I can certainly see that in this day and age it is not so practical to have the Queen of England as our Head of State but would we rather have a dead beat politician who gets the job as a payback or some politically correct choice as a President of an Australian Republic? I know which I prefer.
The biggest problem of course is that our system of Government as it stands is very sound and I’m not sure tinkering with it for the sake of national pride is really worth the bother. God save the Queen!
The downside is that my car still needs to be fixed and our washing machine has broken down which I’m sure most people can sympathise with. It has been running a bit rough for a while with a few bangs and a bit of clattering but as I sat down to watch the final of the Stawell Gift on Tuesday it finally blew! The runners were just about set when an almighty noise broke from the laundry and I managed to get up and turn it off and get back to the TV just in time to see the Gift.
The noise it is making is hard to describe but it is loud! It’s like something has broken but something else that it’s attached to is still working creating a awful continuous ratcheting noise. It may have had it’s day.
Of course the pressure was on straight away to find someone to come and fix it but being a public holiday I had to wait until yesterday to get Bill Stove who I know well and is the local Kleenmaid technician out to see it. He won’t be out until Monday but I’m sure we can last until then.
My car is still in our garage. We have a third car which is handy and is perhaps causing me to be lazy in getting it looked at but I will get around to it. I don’t think there is too much wrong with it but it is similar to a problem I had with it a few months ago so I am at the point that I don’t really trust car dealerships who perhaps don’t do the job maintaining your vehicle that they are supposed to do. It is still under warranty but I may get my old mechanic to have a look at it. I at least know I can trust him.
The big story around the world at the moment is of course the Royal Wedding. Many people who never give royalty a second thought seem to get sucked in by such events. Personally, although I will probably give the blanket coverage a bit of a miss, I think it is a good thing for people to be able to enjoy such an event and to forget about the rest of the troubles of the world for a while. Surely that must be the role of royalty as we get deeper into the 21st century. No more leading armies into battle or looking after the government of the day. Surely royalty’s main role now is to make the people of the realm feel better about themselves.
Of course there is the pessimistic element, the Republicans and so forth who seem to be finding newspaper space to denigrate the event but I think they should get over themselves and let others enjoy the day without imposing their unwanted opinion pieces on people. There is always someone who wants to spoil a party!
I actually find royalty’s roll in the 21st century quite intriguing. The monarch of the day has no real power anymore but they are still expected to lead the nation in times of mourning and special events and there are always those who are ready to denigrate them. I suppose it is difficult for them in some ways. They didn’t volunteer for it they were born into it and I daresay they feel duty bound to try and protect an institution that has existed for a thousand years and has contributed to the history and culture of the Western world almost as much as religion.
As for myself I am no royalist but I am afraid Republic’s leave me cold. I can certainly see that in this day and age it is not so practical to have the Queen of England as our Head of State but would we rather have a dead beat politician who gets the job as a payback or some politically correct choice as a President of an Australian Republic? I know which I prefer.
The biggest problem of course is that our system of Government as it stands is very sound and I’m not sure tinkering with it for the sake of national pride is really worth the bother. God save the Queen!
Strange Notations From a Laborious Life 