What did you say - a breakfast seminar?
Trip Start
Sep 30, 2004
1
13
25
Trip End
Nov 05, 2004
Perth, Australia
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
And what were the newspaper headlines today? 'Man with hunting knife attacks two victims in Perth' - echoes of 2002 here and the Washington Sniper. the next thing will be the police advice to walk in the shadows, and zig zags again!
One of the best things about the whole trip is that I don't feel like a tourist at all. I'm spending so much time with Australians (mainly people who have emigrated here from solid,down to earth places like Hull, Doncaster, Wigan, Newcastle, Fleetwood and Bradford to name just a few), it feels just like home - well, apart from the temperature, that is! So I feel a lot better about asking stupid questions eg about the different types of coffee here; when I first heard people asking for a long black, or a short white, or a flat white I hadn't a clue what they were on about! cos presumably they've all had to ask these questions at one point. And any anxieties about being on my own too much - well, life's just one social activity after another. Evenings in are a thing of the past; I'm using up even more post-it notes than when in the UK to help me remember what the next one is!
And what about the last two days? How did they go? Monday started off with an hour long tour of Perth suburbs with Ann on our way into the Freemasons Centre for Research into Aged Care Services here at Curtin (University of Technology). We kept driving past very splendid houses (mansions, even) with lots of rubbish on the pavements/grass frontage which I didn't understand at all. and then Ann told me about 'Bring out your dead', which happens a couple of times a year. It's an opportunity to get rid of rubbish, basically any rubbish whatsoever (including white goods, garden stuff). There aren't any criteria, apart from it must be able to be carried by two people, and garden rubbish can't be any longer than 2 m max. Everyone was entering into this exercise with great abandon, and there plenty of piles of rubbish to choose from. Apparently, 'kerb crawlers' have a great time, cruising around to pick up any 'good' rubbish that is lying around. It can take up to two weeks to clear the rubbish in one area, so having put it out then it's a bit hit and miss how soon it gets taken away.
Ann was trying to find me examples of slums, but we haven't managed it yet. Perth has been going through a lot of gentrification, both in the city and the suburbs - believe me, the wealth is amazing - some of the houses on the waterfront are just out on this world. And not that long ago, well, you could pick them up for peanuts so to speak.
I've spent all today in the Centre working on a research proposal to investigate respite care in Western Australia. and it's now got to the stage where they're insulting me, which I'm told is a sign of endearment and how well I am fitting in! Personally, I much prefer their suggestion that they nominate me for their expert advisory group, and include funding in the budget for a couple of trips over here at key milestones in the project (one of which might just tie in with Matt and Kelly's wedding in 2006, funnily enough - well, there have to be a few perks in this business, haven't there?!).
and then the work day was completed by a trip to the beach, and for the first time I dipped my toes into the Indian Ocean. We (Ann and I) took a walk along the beach - sparkling seas and pure white sand - paradise except that Amm is keen on exercise and sport. Usually, she and her husband are up at 5.15 am to join up with a group at 6 am for a (lengthy) cycle ride into work. today she couldn't because she was meeting me at the hotel. so now there's a lack of exercise in her day! and now's the time to fill it - timed power walking in bare feet on the sands! this was no gentle stroll along the beach, believe me! But I kept up with here, and no sore calves this morning either!
It's now Tuesday, 11 am, and I'm sitting in my Perth/Curtin outreach office having completed the fifth presentation. Ann collected me at 10 to 7 (yes, guys, 10 to 7 am, not pm) for the breakfast seminar. This was amazing. People paid $25 - that's abdout eleven pounds - for a sit down breafast (bacon, egg, mushrooms, fried bread, toast, and fruit) served by waitresses. The entertainment or 'cabaret' was my PowerPoint presentation on Respite care - and there was even applause right as soon as I finished, followed by a second round when Ann was rounding down the session.
Duncan Boldy (the professor attached to the Research Centre) made very appreciative comments towards the end of the seminar, including that I might bebrought back for an encore some time in the future in response to popular demand! Barbara, the Centre's director, same similar comments as she dropped me off at the airport. Yes, guys, they've recognised my talents too, and the quality outcomes you get with Spruettes.
Discovered from Duncan that the 12 Apostoles is really seven midgets - which accounts for neither I nor Sabine could count 12, which at the time I didn't question too much but just put down to being numerically challenged!
Saw an item in the news that referred to a 'Thinker in Residence'; which made me wonder what criteria you use to assess their effectiveness in any evaluation studies. and what about cost-effectiveness - now there's a question for the economists out there!
We took lots of photos and eventually they'll be posted on this Travelogue. there were about 40 people in the audience, all but three of them women. They were mainly service providers, with a smattering of academics and postgrads. It started at 7.30; eats were between 7.45 and 8.15 and I was on between 8.15 and 9.15. By 9.30 the room was cleared, and everyone toddled off happily to work. Apparently, breakfast events are very popular because they don't interfere with the work day. So I'm thinking that this might be a transferable idea and I could try them out for the Carers Special Interest Group and/or Qualitative Research Group. Comments please!
Right, I'm off outside for a couple of hours - this is my last opportunity to soak up the Perth wall-to-wall sunshine (which was fog first thing this morning, and not steam as Ann tried to have me believe). I've got to be at the airport for a 2.15pm flight to Melbourne, and then later on tomorrow I'm bound for Wellington, New Zealand.
Many thanks to all of you who are emailing me with such complimentary comments about the Travelogue. I'm really pleased to hear that you're enjoying reading it, especially as I'm finding it fun to document it all down. I'm trying to answer individual e-mails just as quickly as I can; please keep them coming in. I enjoy hearing how things are going for you all back in the UK. Caroline: Ann says that when you come out to Perth next Spring, she'll happily dump you in the bush as well! Except that you'd be able to use one of the many spare bikes and join in the cyclce ride rather than be sent off on a trek into the bush with only a map and any passing kangaroo for directions! You know I don't mean it, Ann - I had a whale of a time, many thanks indeed for for being such a good host .
Talk to you again soon, not sure where from! but like I said in the title, I have really fallen for Perth.
love
