March 2010

Yeah, yeah...where have we been?

Today's picture could have been of Matt mastering the art of riding a motorbike which he did today; Jen's Birthday dinner with a handful of her friends at Taree's finest restaurant ( Fish Fish Fish ) last night; her true Birthday celebrations last Monday ( on her behalf, thanks to those of you who sent her wishes ); Matt in his new school uniform; my bruised thigh after being pinned twice in our Twilight cricket Grand Final on Tuesday night ( lost badly ) or many of our other experiences over the last month...

Instead, I would like to challenge you to name the International cricket ground in picture. It is one of the few which still has a manually operated scoreboard and one where I spent an afternoon watching a Sheffield Shield cricket game a couple of weekends ago - kind of narrows it down a bit. The beauty ( or not ) of living in the country is that you generally have to give yourself a day to travel each side of attending a meeting or conference in a major city other than the one nearest to you.

You know you live in a small town when - the airport is 8 minutes away; you arrive at the same time as the plane and the people who greet you, check you in, clean the airport buildings, mow the lawn and tend to the gardens, guide the plane to its position on the apron, offload luggage, load luggage and operate the car rental are ALL THE SAME PERSON!!

We love our small town in the country. We are all well and hope you are too.

You may have noticed that I have used fewer dots ( ... ) than I used to. This is after Matthew's English teacher wrote in his book " Only three dots, Matthew! ". Poor boy....................................................................................................................................................

I never liked English teachers.

Seeya.

Dylan, Bronwyn, Matt and Jen

Another Year - January 2010

G'day!

We've been back in Taree for a few days, the jet lag has gone, New Year's resolutions were made ( at the Vaal Dam ) and we're ready to go. Our trip was fantastic and had some really special moments.

This week's pic was taken on Day 1 of the 4th Test between South Africa and England. What would The Wanderers be without an afternoon storm building in the distance? For a free round of golf at Taree Golf Course - name the batsman on strike and the bowler. Matt and I have visited the golf course for 9 holes a couple of times since getting back and Matt broke 50 for the first time. Those of you who played golf with me in Johannesburg will be happy to know that I've been hitting the ball much better too.

Besides the quality time we spent with family and a few friends in South Africa, other highlights of our trip included -
our stopover in Hong Kong. We were captivated by this thriving and diverse city. We spent a day each at Hong Kong Disneyland which was predictably a great deal of fun and the rather unique Ocean Park on the south side of Hong Kong island. Rattling along at a crazy speed on the " Mine Train " with the belief that you could end up in the South China sea very easily was exhilarating. We then had a couple of days exploring the city on foot and, of course, doing a bit of shopping
Springbok Lodge at Nambiti where we spent 4 days. The game viewing was good and it never ceases to amaze me how there is always something new to see and learn - 3 cheetah chasing after a herd of wildebeeste; towers of giraffe; dazzles of zebra ( told you I learnt something )and more than a few Orangethroated Longclaws ( guess what they look like ). What wasn't new but I was pleased to experience was that unique dusty smell as the rain begins to fall " in the bush " after a few days of dryness.
On the flight back, a South African who has lived in Australia for 2 years asked me what I missed most about South Africa. " A sense of belonging, " was my reply. I asked him the same question. " Pork sausages, " he said. Oh well..................................

We have identified this year as being one of consolidation. Last year hit us quite hard with it's unpredicatability ( specifically related to my work )which is unlikely to be repeated. We are not so naive as to expect that we won't be thrown a few curve balls but we face the year with confidence and excitement.

We hope that your 2010 delivers whatever you deserve and look forward to keeping you up to date with our news.

With fond regards.

Dylan, Bronwyn, Matt and Jen

Misty morning at Murrumbong-Gillits - 29th November 2009

G'day !

I'm back - literally, emotionally, philosophically, in your mailbox and on my blog...................

Seriously, I've had a spell where the Black Dog has not been far from my door and the last straw was hovering but, I've got a strong family and good genes which meant that the strain of working on my own for 6 months simply resulted in me getting to a point where I was wishing days away. Looking back, there have been many positives and it has still been a good time but a few unexpected and prolonged calls towards the end combined with the daily demands of being pulled in multiple directions was suddenly potentially overwhelming........and it's now only 20 sleeps until we head for Hong Kong and South Africa ( not that I'm counting ).

By the way, thanks to both of you who wrote to say that you missed my emails.

What has happened in Oz over the past 6 weeks

the Melbourne Cup - the greatest horse race in the world ( am I sounding like an Aussie ? ) was won by " Shocking " whom none of us tipped. The race lived up to its reputation of being " the horse race that stops a nation " which is helped by the fact that it is run at 3 o'clock on a Tuesday.

the Opposition Coalition ( specifically, the Liberal Party ) are imploding

New South Wales has been in flood or scorchingly hot

the Wallabies continue to promise much while the Springboks continue to promise little

the Aussie cricketers are predictably paving the way for a miserable tour by the West Indies

As far as we are concerned

Jen is in serious rehearsal mode for her pending end of year concert. She has had a great year at school and we are hoping that she will get some recognition for all her hard work. She has grown in height and wisdom and has become a confident young lady.

Matt has done well to tolerate a teacher who really hasn't managed to get the best out of him and is looking forward to High School next year. He has started his cricket season well and although he hasn't really got going with the bat, he has regularly taken wickets with his off-spin including a hat-trick while taking 5 wickets for 1 run yesterday.

Bron has been busy with Jen and has enjoyed preparing for our upcoming trip. I'm not sure if she is looking forward to turning 40 in a week's time but I know that she is looking forward to sharing it with our friends the following week.

The first paragraph notwithstanding, I have had much to enjoy including my first visit to Brisbane where I attended quite a high powered Planning Conference. I took in a bit of culture and went to see " The Crucible " at the Playhouse Theatre. Walking back to my hotel at close to midnight was still somewhat unsettling. Twilight Cricket has commenced and bearing in mind that unlike some of my famous family and friends, my cricketing skills are average but given that this is the most competitive league in Australia, my average of 81 has resulted in the West Indies management asking me if I qualify to play for them. I have pledged my allegiance to The Proteas ( for as long as Mickey is coach ). It has been good to feel bat on leather again and my highlight so far was playing with Matt last Tuesday - what a special 2 hours. We were 1 short and he cracked the nod. He batted last and the Airport Alchos bowler patronised him by bowling two slow long hops and then quickly realised that that was going to get them into trouble. Matt ended up with 15 not out and took us to the " magic " 120 runs off 15 overs. He then got a wicket with his bowling - you know the guy who grumbles if the batsman isn't ready, glares at the fielder if he misfields and looks at his bat if he doesn't hit it sweet - yeah, him. Beautiful.........................

Hat-trick - the feat of taking 3 wickets in 3 successive balls. The origin is debatable - some claim that the bowler was given a new hat while others claim that the bowlers hat became the receptacle for a donation request. Whilst the term was originally a cricketing one it now includes feats in all walks of life eg. a hat-trick of on-calls, a hat-trick of disgruntled referring GPs..................

Friends around for an early evening barbie will soon round off a great day.

The Wesleys

Taree Show - 11th October 2009

G'day,

To view this week's picture, I suggest you open the attachment. Resizing it made it lose too much detail. It's another collage courtesy of Matt and it reflects the couple of hours we spent at the 131st Taree Annual Show today. For those of you in South Africa, imagine the Rand Show or The Royal Show in Pietermaritzburg and divide by 1000 or 100 respectively. Today was the day for horses in the main arena, a dog show elsewhere and the usual smattering of photographic, embroidery and cake displays. Matt and Jen had expensive fun on the rides - Speed Demon, Too Fast or similar names. I'm always a bit nervous about these rides that are assembled for a weekend especially when you go to buy tickets and they ask you to come back in 10 minutes because they're just fixing something that came loose! Candy floss was enjoyed for lunch - at least it has two of the essential dietary ingedients - sugar and pink / blue colourants.

Matt and I just beat a big storm to get in 9 holes of golf with Bruce this afternoon. I hit the ball far and straight which proved that I haven't played for a while. Oh, I also putted without perception of line or length, further confirming my lack of recent golf. Speaking of line and length, I will be playing Twilight Cricket this year - 15 overs a side; 2 hours on a Tuesday evening. I was relieved to find a team to play for as the thought of never feeling leather on willow again was getting a bit depressing and for some reason, Mickey's call just never came. I've no idea what the standard will be but Matt has been doing more bowling than batting recently as I have strived to perfect my slog-sweep. I'll keep you updated with how it goes. Mick, I'll send you my batting average...........just in case.

I am enjoying a long weekend ( Friday and Monday off ) courtesy of extra hours worked - I don't get paid for working after hours but get to take the time " in lieu ". I don't think I'm allowed to comment but I must say, these couple of days were much needed. I wonder what I'll do tomorrow?

Last week's flower was wisteria, by the way.

With an empty wallet but happy children and with visions of my poor golf ball being smashed down the middle of the fairway, I bid you farewell.

Dylan, on behalf of all of us.

Two Years - 4th October 2009

G'day,

I know you haven't heard from me for a couple of weeks but I was a bit worried that my missives were becoming more of a personal diary than a reflection of our lives in Australia - a subtle difference I know. Anyway, Bron reminded me that it was exactly 2 years ago today that we arrived in Oz. That got the literary juices flowing................

I have never bagged South Africa and don't intend to now but if I have to objectively look at some of the reasons why we left and where we find ourselves now, this is what it looks like....................................

Opportunities for Matt and Jen

We always felt pressure that Matt and Jen had to achieve if they were going to be able to live a fulfilling and successful life in South Africa. This was all well and good if it was going to be on a level playing field - the level playing field that Bron and I both supported and dreamed of when we stood in line at the 1994 General Election. But, South Africa's playing field tilted too far on its axis to correct the wrongs of the past. We could not accept this. Don't get me wrong, we still want Matt and Jen to realise that you have to work hard to achieve but we certainly believe that their efforts have a greater chance of being rewarded here.

Safety

Despite being able to sleep more peacefully than the great majority of South Africans, Matt and I were particularly affected by the possibilty of becoming victims of violent crime in South Africa. Our new location has not made us completely immune and some areas of Australia ( urban and rural ) are significantly affected by lawlessness. However, I calmly drive out at night to attend calls and no longer worry if Bron is 10 minutes late arriving home.

Work satisfaction

In a nutshell, I was getting burnt out doing what I was doing. Despite trying to protect myself ( and my family ), for various reasons I continued to work crazy hours doing things that really could have and should have been done by someone else. Contrary to what some of my patients might have believed, I was never comfortable with fee-for-service medicine and having to chase people for payment for my time and expertise was just something I could never get to grips with and it was wearing me down. Being a salaried Public Servant means that we have to do without some of the things that we used to have but as you have seen, we still do pretty well. My job is challenging and fulfilling. I reassure, cure and palliate as the condition demands. I practice evidence based medicine with a touch of artistry. I teach, plan and contribute to the hospital and the wellbeing of children in general.

Family

We have become a tight unit who have got to understand each other more than we thought was possible. Bron has slowly got used to having me around and we take joy in being able to do things together and just talk. We never used to have time to talk ! Our inherent characters remain unchanged yet we all seem to have better insight into what that character is.

What about the forbidden subjects?

Politics, religion and sex

• I don't miss South African politics but Australian politicians are far from perfect.
• I would describe most Australians as " non-practising " Christians but churches of all denominations are working to change this. We continue to be guided by our faith.
  
• As far as sex is concerned - as I said, this was never intended to be a personal diary.
  Australia is not perfect.

The country has huge challenges in trying to reconcile differences between Indigenous and Non-indigenous cultures. A culture of welfare has also had its impact on those who live off it with no aspiration, desire or need to better themselves even though the opportunity is there.

There is no doubt that two years down the line, we are relaxed and happy. The novelty is over but the adventure continues. We miss our family and our closest friends but the world is a small place these days.

By the way - make an attempt to name the flower in today's picture.

Live well !

The Wesleys

Seal Rocks - 14th September 2009

G'day!

Last weekend's call was just too busy and something had to give. It was a tough decision between giving you all an update or giving Bron, Matt and Jen some of my time but in my best longterm interests...........

This week's picture - the place is Seal Rocks and the people are Matt, Elena, Bianca and Alexa Khoury and Jen. Sean called on Thursday to say that he and Carolina had rented a house at Seal Rocks ( 85 km / 1 hour 15 minutes south of Taree ) and hoped we would be able to join them at some stage over the weekend. Yesterday was full of hockey and a fundraiser for the Manning Valley Art Gallery but we had nothing planned for today so off we went.

As I had been told, Seal Rocks is really special - quiet and invitingly beautiful. After a barbecued lunch including boerewors we headed off to the beach just below Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse. The sea was calm and transparent and we had kilometres of beach to ourselves. Sugarloaf Point was named by Matthew Flinders when he circumnavigated Australia between 1801 and 1803. I presume it looks like a sugarloaf but I must confess to not having seen one before. I'm not sure what he called all the other points which looked like sugarloaves between his starting point at the southern part of Western Australia and Sugarloaf Point either - perhaps he'd run out of names of people. Matthew Flinders certainly is an icon of Australian history and his cat, Trim who accompanied him shares his / her fair share of fame too.

I have obviously enjoyed this year's Tri-Nations which the Springboks deserved to win. I have heard of ,but have not actually heard any of Peter de Villiers post match interviews but I do hope that the win means as much to all South Africans as he claims.

Until next week.....

Dylan, Bronwyn, Matthew and Jennifer

Oops.......I did it again - 30th August 2009

G'day !

Australia has a Public and a Private Healthcare system. In a nutshell, the Public system is National Health with the States / Territories responsible for Hospitals and In-Hospital care and the Federal Government responsible for Outpatient funding - appointments, medication etc. Why do people choose to have Private Health Insurance if they can afford it? Well, things can usually get done quicker and the " gap " between what Medicare pays and Doctors charge can usually be covered, at least in part. It is not quite as simple as that - in fact, there are some real complexities but............some other time perhaps.

We have to have Private Insurance given that we are not elligible for Medicare ( or Government School fees, or Private School Scholarships, or any government benefits essentially ) as Temporary Residents - a topic of much debate.

As you can tell from this week's picture we needed to make use of medical services this week. Many people complain about the state of the Public Health system and I must confess, we do have long waiting lists but I thought the care we received was excellent. When Bron phoned me on Monday evening to say that she was worried about Jen's arm after a fall off her scooter I knew it would be our chance to put the system to the test. I phoned my friend the radiographer who did an Xray immediately. A greenstick fracture of her distal radius was confirmed and I phoned my friend the Orthopaedic Surgeon who came around to ED on his way home, suggested a backslab and asked another friend ( ED Doctor ) if he would mind applying a temporary backslab................turn around time from injury to home - 90 minutes !!!!! She now has a fibreglass short arm cast ( " hot pink " ) which was applied by my friend the Physiotherapist on Friday at a time that was mutually acceptable.

I have indulged in a bit of poetic licence and it wasn't quite as smoothe as all that - not quite. Overall, my observations over the time we have been here leave me really impressed with the medical care that people in the Manning Valley and Great Lakes area have at their disposal. The facilities really are more than adequate and the quality of medical and allied staff is very high.

Matt's Debating Team won their debate against St Philip's in Newcastle on Friday. He also managed to convince me to overule Bron's decision not to let him play an interschool Rugby League match in a few weeks time. Please hold thumbs that it doesn't result in another Hospital visit - for my sake, not Matt's..............

We had another new experience this week - last night we went to the Manning River Hotel for a friend's 23rd Birthday Dinner ( Matt Pullen - A Grade Goalkeeper and B Grade coach - ironic that he shares a surname with one of South Africa's finest hockey strikers, Robbie Pullen). A good meal, much beer, live music ( played Oasis, Violent Femmes and the like - fantastic ! ), a few games of pool, the Springboks toying with the Wallabies on a TV in the background - all in all, a most enjoyable evening and one which reminded us of the essentially similar culture we have settled into.

Who knows what the week ahead will bring?

Dyl, Bron, Matt and Jen