I know I know…….. am I taking poetic licence too far? Still, if you’re wondering why it’s been “all quiet on the western front” (yes, I did it again), it’s because we’ve been otherwise engaged. Here’s the short-ish version.
Author: Kaye
Beau and Arrow
As some of you know, I tried very hard to convince Nigel to get another dog for Beau to play with. Now I see that perhaps he was right.
Just add water
So what do you get when you cross a dust storm and a rain cloud?
It literally rains mud! This was Friday’s “weather event”.
48 Pizzas
One of our first decisions after arriving in Cobar was to celebrate the arrival every month with take-away pizzas. We gave ourselves 3 days’ grace – in case one of us was away or, heaven forbid, it was Monday and the Pizza Chef had the night off – so now the ‘official ruling’ is Pizzas will be eaten on the 23rd (the day we left Paradise) or the 24th (the day we arrived in Cobar) or the 25th (the day we woke up in Cobar) of each month of our 4-year tenure. Last night was Chicken and Bacon (Kaye) and Perri Perri Chicken (Nigel). Thank you to The Great Western Pizza Chef! ……….. and still 46 pizzas to go.
No Way Nymagee
Perhaps Nymagee was once a welcoming town. According to Wikipedia, Nymagee was originally a copper mining town and in its peak supported a population of over 2200, half of those being Chinese migrants. However, when the mine closed in 1917 most of the towns residents moved out. Continue reading “No Way Nymagee”
Random Rave
Random Rave
When I first started writing this blog I sought advice from other Leo (law enforcement officer) wives and came across Lisa and her blog http://twopointfivekids.com.au/.
Although we each have different styles and audiences ( she has a following in the thousands and mine is, maybe, 10) she became a mentor of sorts and gave me a lot of good advice.
One of the things she said was to stay under the radar with the police ‘powers that be’ and avoid any references that might give away too many personal details.
She recounted an event where they had just moved into a police residence that had been a morgue and, in naive excitement she had put up a video of the residence. Not only did that draw some attention but also the ire of head office, who demanded she take it down.
With today’s security risks it might be understandable but back then, in a country town where everyone knew everyone else’s business it seemed a bit over the top. Still, it was sage advice and I’ve used it ever since, making up names for people in town and never displaying external photos of the police residences.
So it was kind of ironic, the other day, when I asked one of the locals (delivering a load of firewood thanks to Cobar Buy Swap Sell) if he found the house okay and he replied, “You should have just said the copper’s house”.
Actually, as I’m writing this I’ve just realised that I’ve already broken my self-imposed rule and Naomi really is Naomi!! Darn! The problem is that my emails to friends and family usually contain more personal information than my blogs and every now and then it’s a juggling act to separate the two. Hence I’m in the process of experimenting and hopefully, eventually there’ll just be the blog…. With its 10 loyal followers. That way, I won’t need to resize photos or clog up peoples’ digital mailboxes.
So having failed on the privacy front, let me just change the subject to say that today Alan (not his real name) is delivering a second fridge – also thanks to Cobar Buy Sell Swap), which I traded for $50 plus a brand new spotlight bar (she says, looking quite chuffed). Remember the new house that never eventuated? Well I may have jumped the gun buying kitchen lighting plus a letterbox but the guy selling the bar fridge happened to be an electrician and the rest is serendipity!
It’s good timing because, after researching amps and joules and all things ‘power surge’, I still have absolutely no idea what sort of surge protectors to invest in and I’m planning on picking his brain. All I know is that we escaped the storm last week (all noise and not much rain) with our appliances in tact and I really don’t want to tempt fate a second time.
As one of the locals explained, people in the outback don’t think to warn newcomers about power surges and the loss of appliances because no one consciously thinks about it – it’s just force of habit where they turn appliances off at the wall when not in use.
Remember Enngonia where in one week we lost a clock radio, computer and washing machine? Well, just days prior to leaving Paradise, our washing machine packed it in and we were forced to buy a new one (“can you please deliver that tomorrow?). Then with the first load of washing in the secondhand machine at Cobar, it started leaking and again we were forced to buy a new machine – who knew there was a Harvey Norman in Cobar? – apparently the trip was all too much for it!
Now I like spending money as much as the next person but I’m more a travel, Champagne and chocolates rather than washing machines kind of girl!
And speaking of laundry appliances, before we left Paradise we naively decided that, as it hardly ever rained in Cobar, we’d save some money and avoid buying a dryer. What were we thinking??? We’ve now realised that the clothes dryer was never about drying the clothes. It was about getting the dog fur off Nigel’s police uniforms!!! Hmmm another excuse to engage with Cobar Buy Sell Swap perhaps.
In the same random vein of wandering from one topic to another, did I mention that we saw an emu walking past the house the other day? It gave us that sense of outback familiarity, as did watching Imparja (which from memory is a combination of Channels 9 and 10), pulling cats’ heads out of our shoes and having to buy bottled water (for the next 4 years) because the water here is quite ‘hard’ and, well, you only drink it once. Then of course there’s the recycling – or lack thereof – because in the bush, no one recycles. Now having said that, I’ve come across a scheme that the Empire Hotel has instigated and I may have to retract that statement – I’ll get back to you.
Love to all, Kaye and Nige
PS for those who were unaware, Beary passed away in June last year leaving us absolutely devastated. In hindsight, we probably shouldn’t have chosen the exact same breed when we bought Beau because, missing Bear so much, it’s hard not to make comparisons. But Bowie is his own ‘person’ and while he’s quite a handful at times, he has a wicked sense of humour and we’ve grown to love his cheeky ways. In this town where every second dog seems to be a Blue Heeler, I’m sure he’ll fit right in.
Never say Never!
After 3 years in Paradise, the prospect of a career change plus the call of the bush have tempted us to do one last outback tenure and we’re now living in a police residence in Cobar. Continue reading “Never say Never!”
Education
After 30 years of teaching I resigned. I absolutely loved teaching but there comes a time when you just want your weekends to yourself. Here’s my take on education.
There are many stakeholders in the field of education – teachers, parents, peer groups as well as the DEC all have varying expectations and influences over a student. But the most influential stakeholder is probably society itself, deciding on which achievements to value and who gets to be celebrated.
Ask the man in the street how many footy players he can name or who his personal sporting hero is. Now ask that same man to name a half dozen famous academics. How many could you name? Sporting stars and legends are all well and good but why does academic achievement attract much less celebration – or even interest? Our love of sport and worship of sports stars suggests that society deems success on the field much more important than academic achievement.
My point is that kids won’t value or strive towards academic excellence until we do.
Towards the end of last century, when parents were becoming increasingly unhappy with students’ school results the Education Department came up with the perfect solution to students’ poor performance. They re-classified it as good performance.
Teachers were no longer allowed to use negative comments in reporting exam results and marks and position in class were promptly banned. Suddenly we were told to use positive outcome statements like, “Johnny can now tie his shoe laces”. (Of course, this statement ignored the fact that Johnny was 17 and studying for his HSC).
The Department’s justification for this cover-up was that it protected students’ feelings – the child, who came last could avoid a failure label as long as no one knew. Unfortunately, it also robbed parents of important factual information and, perhaps saddest of all, it denied any celebration of students, who came first.
While exam reporting became insipid and meaningless, thankfully the same approach was not applied to school sports, where apparently it was okay for students to fail. Winners were reported as winners and losers were frankly, well, losers…… all without any apparent long term damage to their psychological well-being.
So here’s my advice:
To Students
Know your educational strengths and weaknesses.
Feel good about your strengths. Work on your weaknesses.
Ask questions in class when you don’t understand.
Hang out with other students who want to get ahead.
Don’t become part of the “It’s cool to be a fool” crowd.
Don’t carry on in class when you don’t get your own way. That only works at home.
If you have a problem with a teacher, see them privately and politely explain the problem.
Choose school subjects that interest you – not ones that your friends are choosing.
Don’t ask your parents to do your assignments for you. They’ve already been to school. Plus, it’s embarrassing when your teachers correct their spelling.
To Parents
Praise your child’s sporting achievements but praise their subject achievements as well.
Foster a desire for learning.
Set an example – question your child about their day. Check their homework. Be interested.
Train your children to accept clear, consistent instructions. Don’t use threats like “I’m counting to three” or “Don’t do that again” if you don’t intend to follow through. That just makes a teacher’s job so much harder because it sends a message that arguing wins in the end……… that “No” means “Yes” or at least “Maybe”.
Attend Parent-Teacher meetings.
Don’t belittle their teachers in front of them. If there’s an issue, ring the school and make an appointment.
Don’t blame ADD for all their bad behaviour – accept that maybe they’re not always an angel.
To Teachers
Remember that ‘bad’ students are not really out to destroy your day.
You’re just on different sides of the field – your job is to make them work while their job is to stop you. Don’t take it personally.
Find some common ground – something positive. No student is all bad – maybe you both like cats.. or cartoons or snakes…..
Be fair. Don’t take your bad mood out on the class but if you do (because you’re human), apologise later. Admit when you’re in the wrong. Don’t expect kids to admit their mistakes if you can’t.
To Society
Celebrate your academics as well as your sporting ‘greats’. Value study, research and academic ability as much as stamina and physical prowess.
Don’t expect less of kids from single or low-income families. Don’t categorise them. They might just surprise you.
My two sons work as an electrochemist and a computer analyst/ programmer. No one ever told them that they weren’t supposed to succeed because their parents were divorced.
About Me
Nine things you probably didn’t really care to know about me…….
- I love doing cryptic crosswords but I rarely allow myself time to do them. I could apply that statement to other things….. like when I go crazy and decide to order a 6 months magazine subscription. Then when they arrive I’m always too busy to read them so they mount up on the side table until eventually they get added to my “To do” list and suddenly reading magazines has become a chore that I have to be reminded to do. I am seriously insane!
- I analyse everything…… “Why did Nigel say that?” “Why did I do that? Why did they react that way?” Luckily Nigel is very, very patient and after allowing me to vent/panic out loud we move on.
- When people “in authority” tell me to do something I do it …. No questions asked. It’s like walking into a bank with big black and white floor tiles. A sign at the door says that the black tiles have recently been painted and can we please walk on the white tiles. Other generations might respond with “WTF!!!” but I’d happily hop from white tile to white tile to get to the counter.
- I agree with everyone. This must be one of my most annoying traits but if I’m watching Q&A and one of the panel is presenting a brilliant, cohesive argument I can be totally won over – until the next speaker presents an equally convincing opposing argument.
- I trust almost everyone. Now this one I have actually managed to master, at least when it comes to children – you kind of have to as a parent…. or teacher. Still, when adults say something then it has to be true. Doesn’t it? As Nigel would say, thank goodness she’s not a cop.
- I think of witty, clever answers AFTER the argument – usually when I’m lying in bed stewing instead of sleeping.
- I’m hopeless at any kind of throwing sport. Ex hubby will attest to this – I once raced into the house, grabbed the car keys and quickly threw them to him because he was in a hurry. Twenty minutes later, he had come down from the roof and returned the ladder to the shed before driving off.
- I prioritise absolutely everything backwards so that the To Do list starts with a car service and ends with making an appointment for those cramps that I’ve had in my leg for months.
- Despite the naiveté, paranoia and other not so endearing traits I am happy to say that Nigel loves me so I must have some good qualities…. right?
Welcome
They say that 95% of New South Welshmen have never been west of the Blue Mountains. In fact, a lot of people think that the Blue Mountains are “the west”. We were those people.
In July 2007 my husband transferred to a two-man police station in Ivanhoe – a tiny town in what the locals call the back country – and we discovered what makes country policing so special. Ivanhoe consisted of a central school, general store, cafe, swimming pool, pub and RSL club, a hospital staffed by nurses (doctors arrived via the Royal Flying Doctor Service) and a couple of dozen houses.
After the two-and-a-half-year tenure, we returned to our home on the mid north coast but three years later, the allure of the bush – with its searing temperatures, snakes and red dust storms was tempting us to “go west” one more time. If we thought that Ivanhoe was tiny, Enngonia was minuscule – consisting of a primary school, community hall, fire station, a dozen houses and the mandatory pub.
While my intention has been to encourage police to seriously consider special remote locations (police talk for working in the bush) I’ve also wanted to give their wives and girlfriends an idea of what would be in store for them. So this blog chronicles our experiences of life in outback NSW. It’s not so much about policing but life in general. Each post is based on an email sent to family and friends and while I’ve changed the names of the town’s people, the events and experiences are basically as they happened and range from stories about travel to dust storms to difficulties with banking and courier mail and everything in between. I hope you find them entertaining and even a bit educational.
As you’ve probably noticed by now, I’ve had to update this Welcome page because apparently we’re the kind of people, who can’t stay in any one place longer than 3 years so here we are in Copper City where we’re getting re-acquainted with flies, red dust and cats’ heads!! Let the challenges continue!
Married to a Country Cop 