How carefully do you check important things?

 After our Phone Interviews yesterday, we went to the Centrelink  office inn Ringwood today to prove my Identity. Along with my ATM Card, I took my driver’s Licence as the second identity item, to make up the required 100 points needed, to prove my identity.

  For a while it didn’t look like she was going to accept my driver’s licence as it turns out it expired in the first week in February this year.

 As I was wondering to myself why I hadn’t received a renewal notice, I turned it over to make sure that I had our Currant address on it, when  it was pointed  out to me that when I had it changed about 14 months ago, a major mistake had been made with the address. Whilst they got the unit number and street number, and even the suburb and post code right, they had only put down half of the street name.  Thus they only had on my licences all the other information, but where the street name was required, all they had down was: “The”. Instead of; “The Pass”.

 So after finishing with Centrelink, I then had to go over to Burwood and get it both renewed and the address corrected. I know that a lot of people complain about the delays and service at Government offices etc these days, but I only have praise for Vic Roads on today’s experience.

 Although there were a lot of people there, I was served very quickly and pleasantly. The Lady also laughed when she saw the partial address, and upon checking her computer remarked that the Renewal notice had been returned, and laughing and with a grin "a mile wide" asked, “I wonder why?”  Anyway to cut a long story short, I paid my money, had my photo taken, and in around 10-days, will get my new driver’s Licence e for the next 10 years.

So all is right again and I am again driving legally, but it just made me wonder though how carefully we all check things, as I have had that Change of address sticker on my Licence for over a year now and never picked up the mistake till now. What important things do  you now need to check that all the details are correct?

What is your perspective?

Warmest greetings to you there for the New Year from Martha and myself. We trust and pray that you had a very blessed Christmas time with family and friends. 

Talking of Christmas, I was just reflecting on the difference between the Christmas seasons here in Australia and the one in the CIS countries where the  Slavic Gospel Association ministers. Here, we will have been complaining about the heat, but over there, many will have been struggling with the snow and intense cold. Something most of us here in Australia have no real understanding of the difficulties and dangers such extreme cold conditions can wreak, because we have never personally experienced it as an “insider”.

 This insider understanding reminded me a little of one occasion in South Africa, (whose climate was not that dissimilar to Australia’s), when we were in this remote rocky, hilly but otherwise very beautiful, valley, and I remarked to one of the locals on how beautiful it was, only to have him remark that it may be beautiful to visit, but it was not so beautiful if you had to live there and to try and grow crops and graze livestock for a living.

So here he was, seeing things as a resident and Insider, while I was seeing things as an outsider and visitor: Both of us were seeing the same thing, but from different perspectives. In truth, what we were both seeing, was only a part of the wider picture and neither of us saw, or even cared about, the perspective of anyone else. With both views being equally one-sided and incorrect!

What about you when you see this world in which we all live today? Do you see it as a resident and are simply trying to make a living and not worrying about anyone else?  Or perhaps, you see it just as a visitor and just seeing the beauty and ignoring the hardships of others? Again: Both ways of viewing things is not how God would have us as His Children behave. So, as we enter into this New Year, let us again be thankful for all that the Lord has given us and share our blessings with others, wherever and whenever God shows us how. 

 Practically, there are many ways that you can do that and only you can know how to do that best, so I will leave that decision with you, but one way all of us can do something worthy for God, is to Pray. So again I would like to humbly encourage you to again spend time in prayer for those less fortunate than yourself, whether in other countries, or just here in Australia and in your own community.

 Thank you and have a blessed New Year: Walter

Looking for neighbours with a sense of Humour.

Was out in the back yard between showers this morning tidying things up a bit and the little fella next door was also out in his yard with his nan who was child minding as she does a couple of times each week. Anyway, I was chiacking the young fellow as I usually do when I heard his Nan say to him, that he was lucky to have a neighbour with a sense of humour. “Unlike Nan”. This last statement made me think, because although I don’t know Nan well enough to know what her humour is like, I do know that the Tradesmen who were working on our kitchen renovations for a few weeks a little while back, had a low opinion of her. Which made me wonder if the reason that “Nan” doesn’t get on with her neighbours may have as much to do with her attitude to them, as it does with theirs to her. But that’s enough about “Nan”. How about you? Are you getting on with your neighbours and work mates? Or do you too think that “THEY” need a major attitude adjustment? Maybe they do, I really can’t say, but maybe, just maybe, it may just be that they think the same thing about you, and again just maybe they are thinking that it is you and not they who really needs an attitude adjustment? So! The next time you are tempted to rail against your neighbour or workmates, or whoever, just check, and maybe even adjust your own attitude first, before you act or speak. What do you say? Will you give it a go? Or will you simply carry on as now and continue to blame everyone else? Yes: if you really want a neighbour with a sense of humour, start being one yourself! Over to you now.

Aussie Pride I received this as an e-mail a few years ago now, but think it very appropriate for Australia Day today. “AUSSIE PRIDE-by GRAHAN DEAN Are you proud to be an Aussie? Are you proud of where you stand? When you cast your eyes out over the fields, of this great land Do you stand up for our anthem? Do you watch your flag with pride? As across our mighty rivers, on you journey you may stride Do you have a love within you? For our heroes of the past Will the pioneers and Anzacs in your thoughts forever last? Do you think of where you came from? Are you sure of where you've been Have you looked upon your country with a pride of what you've seen? Are you proud that you're an Aussie? If you are then you would say Good on you mate, you did your best There'll be another day When you're proud that you're an Aussie You're an Aussie through and through And your mates stand by you, and know you are true blue Will you stand up for your country, when you know the chips are down? When flooding rains are falling, or pastures dry and brown Of course you'll stand because you're an Aussie You are proud and you are free And you know there is no other place, on earth you'd rather be.” Well now that you have read it, what say you? I have been lucky enough to have been to a few other places on earth and although happy enough there, am still proud to call Australia Home! What about you too? You may not be an Australian, but are you proud of whom you are? And of where you live? Yes! Are you living as much as you can as a proud (but not arrogant) citizen of your country? If so please stand up for your Country this Australia day, even if you are not an Australian! (Or even in Australia!)

A tale of three Cats.

Next door to us, has two cats. A black one, and a Ginger one. And we have two dogs. A Grey one, and a Ginger one. The cats roam free, but our dogs are kept in our small backyard. It is so small that I regularly take the dogs out for a long walk on their leads so that they can get sufficient exercise. One day, upon returning from a walk, I went to go back to our unit between the two cars parked in our shared Carport, when suddenly the Ginger Cat came out from under their car and latched on to our Ginger Dog’s nose and Jaw. Frightening both him and me at the time, due to its unexpectedness as much as anything. Anyway, now Ginger Dog will not go anywhere near Ginger Cat. Even to the point of going around our car and squeezing up against the wall to avoid getting close to Ginger Cat.
The black cat however is a different story. Why? Because one time when Ginger Dog saw Black Cat, Black Cat ran. Ran with Ginger Dog right behind him, despite the fact that to this day, he still refuses to go anywhere near Ginger Cat. Now, Black Cat only has to see Ginger Dog and it is off and running away as fast as it can.
Now the house above us also has a cat. This is a black and white cat and it occupies a position between the other two, in that it allows the dogs to come up and sniff around it without either attacking them or running away from them, and usually the dogs quickly loose interest and go away quietly. The one day the Grey Dog didn’t and got both a bit nosey and pushy, then, and only then, did the Black and White Cat get stuck into him in self-defence. So the question now is, which cat best describes you at this time and what are you going to do about it?
Are you like the ginger cat, and always on the attack and attacking any and every one who comes within cooee of you? Thereby never making any friends, only enemies and others who go out of their way to avoid you?
Or are you like the Black cat and always running away from everyone and everything and never making any friends or achieving anything productive?
Or are you like the black and white cat, and quietly going about your business without bothering anyone, always willing to accept all others as equals, whilst also always ready to defend yourself in self-defence, but again, only when needed?
So again and in closing what colour cat are you today, and are you always going to remain that colour? TOWGP

Wasps and good timing- Just not for me!

Way back in the last century, we bought a small 2 bedroom flat in South Croydon, and although we stayed in it for a few months, My wife and I never lived there permanently but our oldest child did for over seven years, with some of her later time there, sharing it first with her brother and lastly, also with her little sister, till they all moved out into a bigger place at the beginning of 2003. Since then it has been rented out to various tenants over the years till now.
When we first purchased the Flat, there was no side fence on our unit separating us from the adjoining common land. As we had no pets at the time, that was no problem for us. But now that we my wife and I are now moving in to live there, and we now have two medium sized dogs, a fence is a very high priority. Anyway yesterday I organised for a friends to come around and measure up to put a fence up with the intention that he would actually start today.
Unfortunately we cannot put up a straight fence as there is a dirty big, and I do mean A DIRTY BIG tree at one end of the short fence line. Anyway after some short discussion the decision was made to put a step in the fence around the tree, and so after he had measured and left I decided to trim and clean up along the proposed fence line. When that was largely done, I noticed a rotten old stump coming out of the base of the tree near where the fence would pass, and being rotten and corky, I thought I would easily be able to knock it off and out of the way, and so using the back of the axe as a hammer proceeded to do so and was having some success, when I was bitten on the right hand. At first I thought it must have been bitten by a Bull ant and so whilst looking for it, I was bitten on the left thumb, quickly followed by a sting just above the left eye. At that Point I realised it was not bull ants, but though it was bees, only to realise later, it was a nest of European wasps that I had disturbed, and they started going crazy, so I just went! And fast! Very fast.
Later on in the day I went back and Dusted the nest as heavily as I could before they were again agitated by my presence and the white dust, and it was again time for me to leave again very quickly!
Later in the evening I decided should ring my friend and warn him about the wasp nest there.
Turns out he is so allergic to them that if he gets bit it is a trip to the Hospital! So he has delayed coming for a day whilst I “Dust" the nest again to make sure they are all dead.
So even though I got stung 3 times and still have some mild swelling, I am most thankful that it was I who discovered that nest and not my friend! If I had not cleaned up that fence line and disturbed the nest to mild repercussions, he may have done so the next day to fatal consequences.
So the moral of the story is be thankful for small mercies even if they do come with a small personal cost to you.

TOWGP

This blog is of more relevance to my e-mail recipients than to anyone on here, but I put it out here for your understanding anyway. Thanks TOWGP
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As well as writing a few blog items myself, I also forward on a lot of other emails and blog items on to friends and acquaintances that I think interesting or funny. Sometimes though, these people think I have written things that I haven’t, and have given me credit I don’t deserve, or even want for that matter.
So, to try and resolve this problem for the Future, I thought I would simply attach the initials of my name to the articles I write in future.
However, and also noted in earlier blogs of mine, (“Who is W.G.P?” & “The Other W.G.P.”), there is another writer well known for writing pithy sayings for Desk Calenders out there, who already uses WGP as his signature. And even though he is long deceased, his writings still appear regular on Desktop calendars.
So instead of using my initials to solve my original problem, I would, at best, only be making things more confusing and worse. And at its worst, it could even be seen as deceptive.
So, to solve my problem, I am henceforth going to sign my own writings with: TOWGP. Or in full: “The Other W G P.” TOWGP. Bye for now. TOWGP