Wednesday 15th September

It is turning into one of those weeks when I feel like just pulling the sheet back over my head in the morning and then going to Henderson about midday and waiting for the 2.30pm flight out of here.

The manager at Hasting Deering made a formal complaint about one of the drivers on Friday, for speeding through the gates and compound at Hasting Deering. Ok, perfectly valid complaint, I’ve told the person concerned more than enough times he is a poor driver who drives beyond the trucks capability to stop in the distance he follows other vehicles at, and his speed is always excessive, we are talking a 5 tonne truck here, with about 10 - 15 people usually on the tray. I have trouble getting up to 70 kmph along Mendana, and leaving a long gap between vehicles. Being in the truck when it is being driven at 90 kmph and weaving in and out of the line of cars, always a few feet behind the one in front is not a good experience.

So anyway, I told him when the crew got back Friday afternoon that there had been a complaint about his driving in the compound. To say it didn’t go down very well is on a par with your dentist telling you don’t need novacaine, this won’t hurt, although that comparison is still mild. Anyway, he’s been in a sulk all week, I gave up with it and bumped it up to the chairperson to deal with, which isn’t going to be pretty. He’s been taken off driving any of the vehicles, work hours and after hours, instant dismissal for any transgressions, and has to attend a driver training course again. I’m getting the blame for it all naturally, as he has been telling the crew at every opportunity this week. Oh well, I can always leave and go somewhere better, he is always going to be here in the same situation until his ego deflates a bit and he starts learning instead of thinking there is nothing more he needs to know.

Ok, I’m ranting, I’m still a bit fecked off at the attitude displayed, that his actions are my fault.

Good things for the week though, most of the propagation house posts are in, all of #2 compost bin has been turned, slight problem with getting parts for the Rover Mulcher, but we are working on it.

We put 336 Delonix seeds into tubes last week, I was wondering if they would sprout without any pre-treatment, so I’m really pleased to see every tray has seeds sprouting, 336 is 8 trays with 42 tubes in each tray, excuse me for being pedantic about the number. The zucchini are thriving, and the Jacaranda are still surviving. Water is a problem, SIWA shut it off to Ranadi again this week, so it is becoming a bit of a desert, and I’m scratching for water from everywhere available.

Still waiting for the container to arrive from Brisbane with the shade cloth and irrigation system.

My sister is in Italy at the moment, staying around Umbria, and sent me a job opening as caretaker /gardener for a holiday house there, own little flat supplied and €1,000 a month. Sounds good, but until you know the living expenses it may turn out to be a poorly paid existence lifestyle, similar to what I’m living here. And it snows there as well, although I’m starting to miss the cold seasons. It’s been 35*C all week here, with no rain since Saturday afternoon. And at $2 per kilometre to run the truck, I don’t feel like driving 30 k to the beach, and paying out another $20 on top of the $120 for diesel. So I’m a miser.