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momentous events

On this day…

The time on my computer reads 1.00am. It is Wednesday the 25th of April, 2012. On this day, back in 1915, the ANZAC legend was created.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N87UwyRI1tk&w=480&h=360]
The clip above was from the Peter Weir movie, Gallipoli. (Unfortunately it was a bit buggy to embed properly, so I apologise if it doesn’t play for you. The link is at the bottom.) Below is a written account.

The original plan / what was MEANT to happen:

The ANZAC landing area was a broad, six kilometre stretch of beach from about a mile north of Gaba Tepe to a point near Fisherman’s Hut, north of Anzac Cove. It was officially designated “Z Beach”. (The five landing beaches at Helles were designated “S”, “V”, “W”, “X” and “Y Beach”). To attain surprise the landing would commence following moonset, about one hour before dawn.

The landing would begin with the arrival of a “covering” force to swiftly capture the area surrounding the landing zone and make it secure for the main force. The Australian 3rd Brigade was selected as the covering force. Three battalions were to seize the third ridge line as well as Gaba Tepe while the fourth battalion remained in reserve. Following the covering force, the Australian 2nd Brigade would land and move to the north, climbing to the summit of the main range at Hill 971 and protecting the left flank of the landing. The original plan called for the capture of Mal Tepe, halfway across the peninsula, on the first day but only if the landing was successful would this objective be pursued by the main force; the Australian 1st Brigade and the two brigades of the New Zealand and Australian Division.

The first wave of the covering force would come ashore from the cutters of three battleships which were to approach within five kilometres of the shore. The remaining waves of the covering force would be landed from seven destroyers which were to approach close in to the beach. The main force would land from transports.

What actually happened:

As the armada of Allied ships draw nearer, by 2.00 am it was spotted by various Ottoman observers who passed the information on to Maidos HQ. The 2nd Battalion of the 27th Infantry Regiment was ordered to be on the alert prepare for action to repel any troops landing on the shores.

The first troops to land were two companies of each of the 9th, 10th and 11th Battalions of the Australian 3rd Brigade. The companies embarked from three battleships. Each battleship dispatched four steamboats towing three row boats (launches and pinnaces)—a total of 48 boats.

The moon set at 3am and the battleships released the tows at 3.30am. Given the night was pitch dark, the tows headed due east and so relied on the battleships having been in the correct position when they were released. The journey of the tows became a shambles and numerous theories have been proposed to explain what went amiss. The southern-most tow kept a good course and was aimed correctly just north of Gaba Tepe but its commander found the neighbouring tows were heading northwards, leaving him isolated. He altered course to bring his tow closer and this may have caused a ripple effect as the other tows responded with a similar correction. As the shore was sighted, the headland of Ari Burnu became visible and some tows mistook this for Gaba Tepe and hence veered even further north.

For whatever reason, these first boats which were meant to land on a six kilometre front between Hell Spit and Gaba Tepe ended up concentrated about Ari Burnu, almost two and a half kilometres north of their intended landing area—in fact, in the landing area of the 2nd Brigade which was to follow. The area about Ari Burnu was defended by a single company of the 2nd Battalion, 27th Regiment, Ottoman 9th Division. The Australians began to come ashore at 4.30am. The first man to land was Cpl. Joseph Stratford #1179. 9th Btn. According to eyewitness reports, when he was waist deep in water, he disposed of most of his heavy equipment and charged towards the enemy, which cut him down in a hail of bullets.

The first troops to land were met by sporadic rifle and machine gun fire but casualties were relatively light. The 11th Battalion, which had landed just north of Ari Burnu, suffered the worst. The main enemy was confusion. The erratic course of the tows meant that the units had become intermingled. Officers were unsure where their units were or indeed where they themselves were; some thought that they had landed at Gaba Tepe. The geography was utterly unfamiliar and no objective could be identified.

Most of the troops of the 9th and 10th Battalions began to climb the first hill that confronted them, which unfortunately turned out to be the dead-end Plugge’s Plateau.

The time on my computer now reads 1.30am. It is Wednesday the 25th of April, 2012. On this day, back in 1915, the ANZAC legend was created. At this time on that fateful day, the men would have been looking out at the shoreline, using the last of the moonlight to memorise the distant shoreline. Fearing the moon setting, and impatient as well, so that the landing could be over. How many of them knew the circumstances that were turning against them? How many had any idea of just how bad it would be?

I am a proud Australian. Today is a very special day for me. I shall be posting this at 4.30am, the time that Corporal Joseph Stratford, the first Australian to land, was cut down while still waist deep in water, having not even made it to the sand. The first to die of 4,931 Australian casualties. It is my hope today that you, dear readers, may pause with me, and remember those who gave their lives for the liberties we enjoy today.

Lest We Forget.

Video courtesy Peter Weir’s 1991 film “Gallipoli”, uploaded to YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N87UwyRI1tk by fronteitaliana

‘Written account’ abbreviated from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Anzac_Cove

CC Image courtesy louisemakesstuff at http://www.flickr.com/photos/louisemakesstuff/1185971424/

Categories
Bloxham Marketing family anecdotes Technology

Inspirations

Earlier this year, I waited, impatiently, for a week while Pinterest processed my request to join them. Once accepted, I was an avid user. Several times daily I would hop on and browse. I loved the embedding feature, and used it both here on Hmmm… and on my work blog. But the growing number of tweets regarding Pinterest’s dodgy Terms of Service concerned me, and I finally made the decision to cancel my account after reading this blog post. It was a very sad day.

On the upside though, I was inspired by many images I saw in my time there. One such image inspired me to experiment in the kitchen. My kids were delighted with their dessert the other night, as it ‘drove’ out of the fridge and ‘parked’ next to their plates! Here was my first attempt…

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… and, in case you’re interested, they’re not that difficult to make – even for #notagoodcook like me!

Have a great day, dear readers!

Categories
family anecdotes Life Random thoughts Uncategorized

Wise furniture choices

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It’s now coming up five years since we moved from Landsborough. We had built a four bed 2 bath brick and tile home there, back in the year 2000. After a couple of years, we extended it and enclosed a large patio, creating an entertainment room. We furnished this room with a lovely 6 piece outdoor setting – wicker-look chairs and tempered glass table.
Fast forward seven years and you see us moving house. To a cute (read tiny) place that definitely would not fit all of our furniture… well, not if we wanted to fit in there too. So we halved our furniture, keeping the outside setting and giving the dining table and chairs to Neighbours Aid Community Stores. Reason being, even though it was larger, the glass tabletop helped to not make our new dining / lounge area too crammed – and the wicker look fitted in with the holiday feel of our new place.
Fast forward again, to April 2012. Mr 3 has decided to develop the habit of spitting / dribbling any unwanted food out of his mouth – in full mouthfuls. Outside furniture copes well with this. Just take the chair outside, hose it off, wait half an hour, and then everything’s hunky-dory again. Bread, milk, cheese, tomato sauce, tuna, soggy chips, ice cream – it really doesn’t matter.
I was thinking about this, this morning after my little man decided to experiment with tipping his large cup of milk all over his right leg, and then screaming because he was surprised by the consequence.
Because it doesn’t matter if I hose off one chair, two chairs, or all six chairs in one go – they’ll still all be fine in about half an hour. And think that’s pretty cool.

Categories
family anecdotes Life

Readers

Miss 7, like most Grade 2ers, I guess, has readers. She doesn’t particularly like them. I don’t particularly blame her. Nevertheless, she needs to read them, so she does. She’s pretty good at doing what she’s told. And I like that.

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So anyway, I started this blog post last night, while reading with Miss 7. I then set aside my iPhone, which I’d been using to blog (with the WordPress app) when I realised later that I had inadvertently published it. And I’m not entirely sure but I have a feeling that it sent it immediately through to both my twitter feed and my Facebook account. Whoops!

It (the above) was going to be the lead-in to a post on reading. And how Miss 7 doesn’t like it, and how I think that’s due to vision problems. Today, she had a second appointment with a Behavioural Optometrist, who confirmed it. Long story short, she chose some frames today and in a couple of weeks her glasses will be ready. She’ll be the first in our family. But as Hubby and I are both in front of our computer screens for hours every day, and as he’s gone 40 and I’m nearing it faster than I had hoped to, I doubt she’ll be the only for long…

Anyway, sorry for the mixup, dear readers – and for the email you received, my even dearer subscribers! I’ll be more careful when blogging from a mobile device in future…!

Categories
family anecdotes Life

Fish tanks and fun

I wrote last week about Cuddles, Miss 7’s new, free (!) teddybear. And how he sits next to her new fishtank. I’ve written about her tank before, bout how she saved her pocket money for weeks and weeks, until she could afford a tank from the Caboolture markets, then she saved for the filter, and the fish, and so on and so on. We had the learning opportunities that came with overfeeding Whitey, and then a sad episode – his passing.
But the end of the tank itself, came rather unexpectedly. We got home from her swimming lessons, very late one hot Wednesday, and Miss 7 asked why the water had gone down from her tank. I looked at mine, noticed the water as gone down slightly, then started to explain about hot days, evaporation, and all things sciency. It wasn’t until I was in her room an hour or so after that I noticed that the carpet under her desk was wet. So was her chair. So we’re the papers she’d left on her desk. Then it clicked. That line, down the side of her tank, was not just Miss 4’s over enthusiastic penmanship. It was a crack. I was NOT impressed!!!
We’d been out all day. The kids, and I, were exhausted. The last thing I wanted to deal with was a fish rescue and wet carpet. Still, it had to be done, as Hubby wasn’t going to be home for hours yet, and there was the dinner to cook, kids to fed and bathe and get to bed…
So Miss 7’s fish went into my tank until I could get her a new one. She was worried that she’d have to save for it all over agin, but I thought I’d be a nice mummy and just buy it for her. Especially as I’d decided that a plastic tank would be all that she was getting!
Some weeks, and many many many shops later, all I had been able to find that was suitable was another glass tank. And I had exhausted all available alternatives. So glass tank number two was what we ended up with. And I’m just praying that it’ll last longer the glass tank number one did!!’

Categories
More about me Random thoughts

My love affair with gambling

I’m in Brisbane at as I type. Sitting comfortably on the lounge in Room 1025 of the Novotel Brisbane, looking out my window at what looks to be a gorgeous day shaping up. Thanks to my membership in Accor Advantage Plus, Hubby and I get to spend a ‘free’ night’s accommodation away once a year. So this was it. Last night, as per usual, we dined early at Cafe Mondial, before watching a movie in the Myer Centre, and then I enjoyed a waffle icecream during our leisurely walk back to the hotel.
Last night however, we ended up having an extremely early evening meal, due to neither of us eating since breakfast. Which left us with more time than normal before the movie. And as I’ve blogged about in the past, the Casino was calling to me. As a (recovering?) gambling addict, I often get the overpowering urge to hit the BlackJack tables. Living on the Sunshine Coast, it’s easy to control. But being in Brisbane, within walking distance to Treasury, it’s much harder. And last night, holding tight to Hubby’s hand, I entered.
It was the first time in many years that I’ve voluntarily entered a casino, with the express purpose of being *in* a casino. Not much had changed. The overwhelming, all-encompassing desire was there, the instant recognition of what I would do, had I the chips in my hand, etc etc. Hubby noticed how it had gotten dingier since our last visit, many years ago, but all I noticed was that the minimum bet had risen.
I kept my hands in my pockets. I did not change money into chips. I watched as others around me lost money – and won money – and lost money again. My thought stream was high on adrenalin, going non-stop, deciding what I would have done… Which box I would have bet in, which person I would have backbet, whether the table was getting warmer or cooler, etc etc etc. But, ever so proud of myself, I left it at that. I did not bet. And I walked out again after a while, in time to see “The Hunger Games”.
I would not say that I’m not still addicted. But I think that I’m able to control myself. Not that I’m planning on a solo trip any time soon! But last night helped me see that my mind is stronger than I thought it was. And I’m happy about that.
Have a great day, dear readers!

Categories
Life More about me Random thoughts

Stuff I dislike…

Yesterday’s post was provoked by Hubby’s comment on Gold Lotto. And it got me thinking about how I am incredibly in love with my job. And I’m immensely grateful that I’m in such a place where I can do what I do. So I had sat down to write today’s blog post with this in mind, to list all the stuff that I’m grateful for in my life. But, as I’m mindful of the fact that you, dear readers, are probably getting sick of reading the same sort of things, I thought I’d write instead about stuff I dislike. So here goes:


1. Housecleaning. In particular, the stove and the oven. And the toilet. And the bathroom. And the floors. And really, anything that requires cleaning.
2. Cooking. I’m not a good cook, and I have pretty much zero interest in bettering myself in this area.
3. Repeating myself. I’ll do it, but I hate it. I really really really hate it. Yes, I nag – especially my kids, and probably on a daily basis. But I don’t like doing so.
4. Smelly dogs. Especially when Hubby comes home from fishing, and the dogs find his bait and roll in it.
5. Mosquitoes. Here, at home, we live in a mozzie colony. It’s not so bad now that the cold weather’s coming, but in the summer months it’s pretty horrific. Especially seeing as Mr 3 smells delicious to them – he’s the mozzie magnet in our family, and as he’s too young to control his scratching, each bite swells up ten times its size.
6. Leaks in taps. Really? Yes. We don’t get town water. Our whole street is on bore water, and we use tanks for drinking water. Which is fine when we’ve had a heap of water, as in recently. But when we’re in drought, and somebody accidentally leaves a tap running, thinking that it’s off, we run the bore dry. And this then not only has ramifications for our poor old bore pump, but it also means that we have to rely on tank water until the bore fills again. And if it’s drought conditions, and our tanks are low, then… well, you get the picture. Water’s precious. Especially when you don’t have town water to rely on!
7. Child care fees. This one’s probably universally hated, right?!

Okay, so that’s probably my top 7. I know, I know. I’ll click “Publish” and then think of a dozen more! But 7 will do, I think…!

CC Image courtesy Skley at http://www.flickr.com/photos/dskley/6041500642/

Categories
Bloxham Marketing More about me Work

You know you love your job when…

Yesterday, Hubby commented that, “What if we had won Gold Lotto on Saturday? We wouldn’t have to go back to work this week.” He then added, that we could just laze around at home, go to the beach, going shopping, or do whatever we wanted to.

It made me stop and think for a minute . And then I realised something awesome. That even if I *had* won Gold Lotto, that I still would spend my time doing exactly what I’m doing right now. That I, strangely enough, I *want* to work at my job. Because I love my job. No, really. I truly am, in love with, my job!

Yes, I realise just how wacky that sounds. I mean, who would *want* to work, if they didn’t have to?!!

But I love it. The infinite variety. The challenge, after challenge, after challenge. The exhilaration of doing an excellent job, and having that job appreciated by those who know how hard it was. The conviction of knowing that I am doing something that few others do. And that I love it. And that my clients pay me for it.

Wow. That understanding is so liberating!

That’s said, it’s a huge responsibility as well. When I stuff up, the only person to blame is the person who looks back at me from the mirror. And that can be humiliating. That’s a failure is a part of life, and one which I hope I learn from. Only time will tell, I guess!

CC image courtesy 401K at http://www.flickr.com/photos/68751915@N05/6355347769/

Categories
family anecdotes

Lightbulb moments

My family and I are currently on a journey of discovery. It began when Hubby and I first started suspecting – for real this time, without wondering jokingly – that Mr 3 was autistic. It continued through doctor appointments and referrals, through two Paediatric appointments, and through numerous forms, CentreLink visits, phone calls with relevant groups, and an interview at the Early Childhood Developmental Program coordinator at Talara Primary College.
And in this journey that our family is taking, through the diagnosis and subsequent creation of an ‘Early Intervention Program’ for Mr 3’s autism, I’ve discovered that I’m having lots of ‘Lightbulb moments’. I had another yesterday.
Soon after midday, I took Hubby away from his work and we took our three cherubs down to the Brighton centre of Autism Queensland. Our appointment was with Kris Jennings, from the Autism Advisor Program. And in the midst of her questions, something clicked inside my head. I swear it was huge enough to be audible! And looking back now, I’d answered all of these questions before – but maybe it was their order that helped me to make the connection.
You see, one of my first indicators was his pretty complete lack of spoken language. I’d actually blogged about it earlier, humorously – maybe as a coping mechanism myself! But he has very few words and phrases, and the vast majority of these are only intelligible if you’re familiar with his desires and his behaviours in that specific context. So I was aware of his need for Speech Therapy. And I was also aware that his diet was a problem (he basically refuses all food with the exception of bread and milk). But it wasn’t until yesterday that I’d put the two of them together.
Yes, I knew that he was having trouble with the actual formation of his words. The vowel sounds weren’t really a problem – it was just all the different consonants, and their combinations. But the thought occurred to me that the two were related. That food is a problem for exactly the same reason that speaking is a problem. It’s muscle usage. Ha!!!
So, chalk up yet another “lightbulb moment” for the mum. They’re getting to be quite regular occurrences…!
Anyway, the upshot of the meeting is that we (meaning ‘me’, Hubby’s too busy) now have a few more leads to follow when it comes to developing an Early Intervention Program for our youngest child. And, due to his high number of strengths, the more intensive the Early Intervention, the more effective it will be.
So here goes…!
CC image courtesy soils at http://www.flickr.com/photos/an_solas/6539937579/
Categories
family anecdotes Life

The weekend that was

One of my Facebook updates yesterday afternoon spoke of how this Easter long weekend has been by far the best I’ve had in years. And I don’t really know why, but then again, I don’t really care why either. I’m just pretty stoked that it was so darn great!
Thursday (yes, I know, Thursday wasn’t part of the weekend, but hey – it’s my story, and I want to start on Thursday, okay?!! LOL) I took the kids to Pioneer Park at Landsborough for the morning. For those of you who don’t know about Pioneer Park, it’s probably the best kids playground (free, outdoor) on the southern half of the Sunshine Coast. It’s fenced (a huge plus for a mum of an escape artist son – apparently quite a few autistic kids are like this!) and its playground equipment is specifically designed as ‘all ability’ ie. those with wheelchairs / specific physical needs can use the equipment too.
But I hadn’t just taken the kids there for something to do; I’d arranged to meet Richard Bruinsma there too. I’d met him a couple of times before, in his role as Media Adviser to Peter Slipper MP, but this was different. This was an appointment with a purpose. And I’m excited to report that Bloxham Marketing has acquired the expertise of a extremely experienced journo (he was several years with Channel Seven prior to working for Mr Slipper) – and I’m ecstatic about that!!!

Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday was also awesome. Time with Hubby and the kids at Kings Beach Pool, then Kings Beach itself, playing ‘Where’s my Water’ with all three kids at the same time, church with Miss 4 who wandered up onto the stage while I was playing violin in the worship team, playing in the cubbyhouse with Mr 3, jumping on the trampoline with Miss 7, gardening, more gardening, baking cookies, watching movies, making curtains and yet more gardening, and exploring the worlds of tumblr, paper.li and google plus (again). Oh! And I also created my first ever A4 flyer -in Russian! And organized its printing and collection on Easter weekend (the manager of CCC’s international program was flying out at 3am this morning, and only got the translation of his text back, late Thursday! MASSIVE kudos to John Sherrard-Smith of Middleton’s Printing, Morayfield!) so that was pretty cool too…

All in all, a brilliant weekend. Now it’s back into what will hopefully be an even more brilliant week… Full of appointments that will hopefully get me (and my family) the outcomes that we need…!

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