Been There

“Blood, Sweat  Tea”

by Tom Reynolds

What started out as a blog by an experienced Paramedic in London became a book. Later there would be a sequel to the book.

I came across “Blood, Sweat & Tea” when I was still doing patient transport for the Ambulance Service of NSW. A paramedic from my station was reading it and was finding it interesting.

Finally, I came around to reading it. It truly was an interesting book. Mainly because for every story of his I could think of a similar story of my own. That made it as easy read as well. Non-paramedics should also find it easy to follow. Plus it’s written in a light-hearted fashion that made it enjoyable.

Paramedics will laugh but others will probably cringe at the ridiculous recounts of humanity.

The sequel is already on my shelves waiting to be read.

Tassie Honeymoon

“Nothing much to do in Tassie” I was told. Yet it was a struggle to fit everything in that we wanted to do.

Admittedly a lot depends on what sort of holiday you are after. I was on my honeymoon so cruisey suited me very nicely. If you want excitement plus then Hobart is not for you. Hobart is definitely cruisey. It’s much like a large regional centre. It’s easy to park in the city centre and easy to walk around to take in the scenery.

There was one stage when I felt that all Hobart had to offer was fine dining. Many friends raved on about the food. So many restaurants that were meant to attract the tourist like me. Luckily I was after many dining options for my new wife and me. Although some prior research and a visit to the information centre proved that there was so much more to Hobart than food.

Some activities I had planned to do prior to arriving:

• Cascade Brewery – You don’t have to love beer to appreciate the process of making it. They do ciders as well anyway.
• Bellerive Oval – I have a fascination with sporting fields and my wife enjoys cricket. A lovely day strolling around the facility gaining insight to what goes on game day. I will be able to watch the footy and cricket in a different light now.
• Salamanca Markets – A must do I was told. They were right.
• Port Arthur – Our biggest venture outside of Hobart. Was worth the trip for the drive alone. The tours included in the basic package were fantastic.

Other activities were decided to do once we had arrived:

• City Tour – A narrated drive around the city with a few stops. Three hours in total. Well worth the money and time.
• Hobart Show – Originally wanted to go to the markets at the same venue until we found out that a mini version of the Sydney Royal Easter Show was on at the showground. A great day out.
• Theatre Royal– My wife happens to love live theatre and approved of the show that was on. I had no idea. She enjoyed the chance to get dressed up.
• Mt Wellington – Great views. We were lucky to have a clear day. Enjoyable drive to the top. Right near the brewery so combining the two is advantageous.

Yet there’s still things we missed:

• MONA (Museum of Old & New Art) – Our tour bus driver suggested that the art is a bit ‘out there’ so we might not have enjoyed it anyway.
• Theatre Royal – As well as the show we could have done a tour of the facility and seen backstage. My wife especially would have found this fascinating.
• Port Arthur – We just got the basic package, but there is potentially so much more to do.
• Derwent River Cruises – Can be pricey so we made it a lower priority. I'm sure they would have been nice.

Plus there is so much more of Tasmania to explore.

I must give huge accolades to our accommodation called ‘@ Eleven’. I was after a serviced apartment when I found their website. It’s not your regular serviced apartment. It’s an affordable villa in suburban Sandy Bay on the outskirts of Hobart. It’s rather quaint with plenty of character. I recommend it highly and if the opportunity comes to return to Hobart I will be staying there again. I’m hoping that it may be possible to go to a footy game at Bellerive. Here’s hoping.

Sustainable Rubbish

A recent episode of the ‘7pm Project’ featured Greens MP, Adam Bandt, as a guest host. A logger was being interviewed and Bandt asked him whether it would be better to have an area of Tasmania used by a sustainable industry, such as ecotourism, instead of logging.

The logger’s response, “We’ve been here for 150 years, we’re very sustainable”.  Zing!!

What was Bandt thinking? That the forestry industry doesn’t know or care about wood so much that they would log themselves out of existence??

How stupid is his ideology? To him eco tourism is sustainable because it doesn’t cut down trees. What if no one wants to have an eco holiday? Not a very sustainable business.

Is he forgetting that wood is one of the best materials for building houses? Where would we be without wood? Yet Bandt would gladly get rid of the industry wholus bolus!!

People, don’t be fooled by any of the Greens’ crackpot schemes. They are generally ideologically flawed.

Loggers care more than anyone about their product and the sustainability of their industry. Whereas Bandt thinks they are stupid and need to be told what to do like little children. Leave them alone Adam, they know what they are doing.

Eat Meat

There’s a TV show from the BBC called ‘Kill It, Cook It, Eat It’. It feature members of the general public who have various levels of disdain for meat. They are shown where animals are bred, slaughtered and butchered. Then they are encouraged, but not forced, to eat the meat for dinner.

Some dig in their heals and refuse to eat the meat regardless of the affirmation from others at the table. One such member from the episode I witnessed was named James. His issue with meat was purely political. “There must be a better way,” he would say repeatedly. Meaning that there must be a better way than killing animals for meat to eat. He appreciated that animal welfare was a priority for farmers although his preconceived idea seemed to be that all meat producers are savages.

So if we didn’t kill animals for meat then what would be the “better way”? Well if not slaughtered in a sustainable fashion then the animals would presumably breed to plague proportions and run roughshod over the land eating all the vegetation in sight. Thus creating far greater ecological damage than James could ever imagine. So much for “better way”.

If done away with completely then we rid an important link in the food chain. Allowing other species to breed unchecked and lead to massive ecological damage. Again, so much for “better way”.

Can you think of a genuine “better way”?

So I encourage James to think through their ideology before making such sweeping outlandish statements. That way you might realise that the so call “better way” will often defeat the purpose for which it was originally intended.

Watery Tales

One evening I watched a video of African women collecting water. Proceeding the video came the imperative from the speaker to “let it speak to your heart”. In other words, get caught up in the emotion of the vision. I guess I was supposed to be aghast that they don’t have the luxury of clean water on tap like we do in this country.

Rather than get emotional I saw great resourcefulness, community, commitment and skill. It’s a hard job, but someone has to do it. To my surprise following the vision the speaker got choked up and needed a moment to compose themselves.

The vision was beautiful but not emotional. A community making the most out of their situation. The women were smiling as they collected the water. They are probably happier and more faithful to God than we are, despite being in what we would consider a dire situation.

The speaker made the good point that we in Australia are very wasteful in comparison. Very true, we have everything yet throw it away. They have little and make the most of every last drop.

So are we wishing a western standard upon them? I get that vibe sometimes with presentations like these. Instead, lets take a leaf out of their book. We can learn a lot from them, and that will make this world a better place.