Brisbane, 2024

Brisbane, 2024

Before setting off on our travels, Wendy and I had more great help from the gentlemen who had done so much to help us to find out about Uncle John's situation, when we first got in touch with him whilst Uncle John was still alive.  That was at the time when he had been able to get in to the Nursing Home to see Uncle John, and so we have always been aware of his situation; we just hoped Uncle John would know and remember we loved him, and wanted to help him. Then the years passed during lockdown caused by the Corona Virus. Yet more time flowed on, until we were once again able to travel abroad, and now we hoped we'd find out what had happened, after Uncle John died. 

We were not surprised at the result: it was indeed as we had expected, but it was very sad, and took some getting used to. 

When his wife died, 21 years ago, Uncle John had purchased the grave next to hers, so that it would be available for him, when his time came; but it transpired Uncle John's wishes had not been followed in any way. Instead, he had been disposed of with the plainest funeral possible, a Direct Cremation, with no service or celebration of his life of any sort.

If someone had specifically requested such a "no frills" arrangement, I would always follow their wishes to the letter, but we all knew that this was definitely not what Uncle John had wanted or hoped for; there is no permanent resting place for Uncle John, and the second grave he had bought all those years ago, was sold off. 

We found the news distressing, but not surprising; we had been expecting something like that, anyway. 

We then decided we would visit the Salvation Army, who had also been very helpful to us back in 2020; they had been the only faith organisation willing to assist us, and we wanted to thank them for trying their best for us.

We had an uplifting meeting with one of the Officers, who understood how much we had cared for Uncle John, and how sad we were feeling, knowing what had happened to him.

Quite spontaneously, she said: "Why don't we have a little service for Uncle John right here? Right now?!"

We thought that was a beautiful thought, a truly sensitive idea; and that is what we did. We had prayers, and remembered Uncle John with love and with joy, and it felt very appropriate that this had happened for him - and for us - in Brisbane. 

We felt at peace, and very comforted by the beautiful words spoken about him and for him; and the Officer's final words to us as we left were, "Don't forget - your Uncle John has been promoted to Glory!"  

What a wonderful thought to send us forth that day!

 

 

 

 

 

I Am Back Home!

I Am Back Home!

In case anyone was wondering... I have been away for over a month, touring in Australia and Singapore. 

Primarily, we wanted to find out what had happened to Uncle John; we knew the basics, that he had died on what would have been my Mum's 101st. birthday, 28th October, 2020, when he was exactly 97 1/2 years old; but we didn't know much else. 

Back in 2003, when his wife died, Uncle John had arranged a full funeral for her; she was buried in a private cemetery in Brisbane, and he bought the plot next to hers, so that it would be available for him, when his time came.  

After the sad debacle in 2019, with his son forbidding everyone access to Uncle John - it wasn't just us who were not allowed to have contact with him, Uncle John was not allowed to see any of his friends either - the gentlemen he used to have lunch with when he was living in his Unit in Marsden, or other friends he'd made elsewhere - he was kept in isolation in the TriCare Nursing home. This was in spite of the fact I had won the tribunal I instigated with the Office of the Public Guardian in Brisbane, which ruled that "Mr Woods should be allowed to maintain his former, supportive relationships..." To mix up some metaphors, that ruling cut no ice with Uncle John's son, and the Office of the Public Guardian had no teeth to enforce it!

Goodness only knows, how his son managed to convince the staff in TriCare Nursing Home that this was in the best interests of Uncle John; but the end of the matter was that we were never allowed to speak to Uncle John again on the phone; Uncle John was never allowed out of the home again, either. 

Could it be that his son felt, that as he had a criminal conviction resulting in a four-year jail sentence, his father deserved a taste of incarceration as well... ? Who knows what thoughts go through someone's mind, when they are being so cruel to a lovely human being like Uncle John? We will never know, but we did want to try and find out what had happened after Uncle John died, and if his wishes had been followed in any way.

I had already discovered that towards the last days of his life, Uncle John had been transferred to hospital, I think for a couple of weeks; and he had been asked, if he wanted to stay in hospital, or go back to the TriCare Nursing Home. His answer had been immediate and definite; he wanted to go back to the Nursing Home, which we believe shows he still had clear mental capacity; and which also means his son should never have been allowed to invoke the Power of Attorney he used to his own best advantage. 

The end result was, Uncle John died in TriCare Nursing Home on 28th October; and I am sure that at the end, my Mum - his sister - went to collect him, and take him gently home.  

 

 

 

 

 

Cold Weather and Storms Dampen Enthusiasm!

Cold Weather and Storms Dampen Enthusiasm!

I read somewhere that since the beginning of the year, we have had the dubious joy of enduring 10 named storms - since the habit started of naming swathes of bad weather, their numbers seemed to have increased exponentially!

We all know heavy rain - falling on ground waterlogged by previous storms - will not be able to soak away, or run into already swollen rivers, and there will be areas of flooding, causing so much misery to thousands of people.

Apart from the danger of travelling during heavy weather with flooded roads becoming impassable, and railway lines washed away, power lines also come down, so electricity will not be available in homes; water damage will be extensive, and some people have not been able to obtain insurance, increasing their misery. We've seen the news reports where people being rescued by dinghies, along with their pets - the poor dogs and cats and other small animals can't know what is going on, only that there is a lot of disruption in their lives. 

I know global warming is the reason brought forward as causing all these calamities, but we have known about these problems long before the global warming lobby was in vogue. We are an island, and a small island at that - the furthest you can get from the sea is only about 70 miles - and with high tides and surges, the danger of flooding from the sea is high. You can end up feeling the government agencies responsible for trying to keep people and buildings safe during these times are behaving like King Canute, standing on the beach, and ordering the incoming tide to recede.

We've always known of the dangers. In January 1928, a storm caused record levels of water up the tidal area of the Thames from Greenwich to Woolwich in the east, and as far as Hammersmith in the west. London is built on a flood plain, protected only by embankments, and these were soon breached, with flood water pouring into Whitehall and Westminster, rushing through crowded slum areas, and flooding basement dwellngs. Fourteen people died, and thousands were left homeless. 

Another North Sea surge occurred in 1953,  which was even more catastrophic, causing floods all along the east coast of England. Three hundred and seven people died, including 59 at Canvey Island, on the Thames estuary.

At last, discussions began about ways to protect London from such devastation in the future, and in 1983, the Thames Barrier was completed. It was a huge engineering project, spanning 1,700 feet (520 meters) of the river near Woolwich, which can be raised to close off the flood waters.

When the Barrier is open, the ten 20 metre-high gates lie flat, allowing water to flow freely, and for shipping to pass. When a storm surge is forecast, hydraulic cylinders rotate the gates to close them, creating a solid wall of steel to prevent water flowing upstream; each gate can hold back 9,000 tonnes of water. 

So far, it has protected 1.4 million Londoners, and about £320 billion worth of properties, from more than 100 tidal floods. However, the Barrier is expected to protect London only until 2070; it is now felt that to ensure the capital remains safe, the existing Barrier should be either upgraded, or replaced by a new one. The current feeling is that this decision can wait until 2040, but many people feel this will be too late to set the plans in motion; with the expectation of sea levels rising more quickly, the increased capability may need to be operational by 2050; will ten years give a long enough lead time?

Apart from the problems specific to London, we also need reassurance that other major rivers will be dredged regularly, to keep them free-flowing, giving them a chance to contain extra rainwater without breaking their banks. 

Another disquieting thought it that with the drive to build even greater number of houses to help the ever-increasing population find a home of their own, we are still seeing a lot of properties being built on flood plains. This is simply asking for trouble, and waiting for disaster to strike; perhaps in future the answer lies in building modern properties on stilts!  

In the meantime, with all this disquieting weather - and the cold wintery spells as well! - we just snuggle in, keep warm and wait patiently for spring to be sprung. We have already had the shortest day/longest night and now - if almost imperceptibly - the nights are shortening and the days are lengthening. It won't be long before we put the clocks forward an hour, and British Summer Time will begin, and we can look forward to some summer sunshine, and long summer evenings. 

And  no-one - especially not keen gardeners - should forget, that should we have a period of three days with no rain at all, a hosepipe ban with be introduced!

We are still hoping for a lovely English spring and summer - unless Mother Nature has more storms brewing, in which case I am sure the Met Office will be primed to announce gleefully the next one: weather events get named alphabetically, so let's hope we don't get as far as Storm Zebedee!