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Party atmosphere
Word play with sparklers at the house party Close your eyes and tap your heels together three times and think to yourself, "there's no place like home"
- the good witch
Melbourne has been a funny one. Settling here with Saoirse was easy, it was the right thing for me to do. I think it may have been a little harder for her to adjust to me crowding her independent and self sufficient self but it worked well and we are both in a very strong place now. I never found employment but easily kept myself busy running and writing and there were no end of delightful events. Going to see “Wicked” at the theatre was brilliant (Still nothing beats Les Mis!) and a night at “Draculas” was so much fun. A day trip up Eureka tower to view the rest of the city and a trip to the Melbourne zoo, Philip Island to see the Koalas and Penguins were also highlights of my time here with Saoirse and in Melbourne.
Some things though were not so wonderful, and really very sad. Now I should mention that if we all have a doppelganger or twin or cartoon personality, Saoirse is hands down the crazy cat woman from the Simpsons. We came to realise that there were a group of
Cat woman
Saoirse with either Jess or Lola kittens and their mother running wild next door, so after a few days of calling them and putting down food, they began to trust us and eat the food we put out. We named them and it became a nightly feature of calling them, them coming running, stopping and then approaching with caution until one went for the food first. Picking them up soon became possible and I even hung an empty party popper from the external pipe which we would often fall asleep of the sound of it being tapped. We established from the neighbours that no-one owned them and much to Saoirse’s loathing of me, I suggested they had to be re-housed while they were still young. She really wasn’t keen on the idea but said if I did, not to tell her and just do it. I knew t was for the best, but then that thought got me really thinking about life, the quality of it and the right to decide on interfering in it should we choose to, and in this case, our cats.
We knew that the best thing, or decided that from what all the possibilities were, that getting the
Cat lady
with her very own doll cats off the street and into a caring house was the right course of action. They were beginning to get big too and more Ferrell. A cat only needs 30 days outside to become so and at that stage they would be put down instead of re-housed. The whole drama was then leapfrogged into action when little Oscar fell ill. Saoirse took him to the vet and he had to be put down. Ok so we should have acted sooner but least said is best mended and I called every cat and rescue home there was, getting the same result each time. Everywhere was full and had no room. The only option available to us was to catch then ourselves and call the council who will come and collect, they have a re-housing program that they would then get put into. Well, with much apprehension I set the food trap and grabbed Harry when he was in range. Poor little sucker wasn’t happy, teeth and claws and a wailing noise deep from within him, but in to the box, next. Same but this time Harry got out and started to clamber frantically all over everything he could. Knocking things left
Oscar
Poor wee guy. right and centre and trying to jump through walls. Meanwhile Lola had so many teeth and claws in my hand it was silly. Got them both into separate boxes and calmed down. Jess had seen the whole cat thieving incident and wasn’t coming anywhere near me now. I wasn’t overly pleased at trying again anyway as I had 19 puncture wounds in my right hand. Thankfully had my tetanus shot before leaving Scotland.
The council guy came and took them away that afternoon telling me that they will be assessed and if deemed home-able, they would be de-sexed, micro chipped and vaccinated. If they were not, if they were thought t be too Ferrell… well, I’m still wrestling that we did the right thing here, interfering to a point that may have condemned them. So Diane (mother) and Jess were still left. Days later I got Jess inside the house and easily boxed this time, the council couldn’t take her but asked me to get her into the vets overnight for a collection the next day. Back then to the vet that put down Oscar. Here they said they will assess her and take her and re-house
The cat gang
Mum Diane, Jess, Lola, Harry and Oscar. her themselves, they believed they had a much better chance at housing her. And thank the powers that be, it worked and jess is now a lovely home cat, cared for by one of the vets assistants.
Dianne now sat at our back window each night and we fed her. The problem here was that as she was not a kitten, she would be harder to house as we couldn‘t involve the council, they‘d put her down and all the independent others that I found were hesitant but willing to help if we couldn‘t find a solution before we left the house, which we were doing very shortly. We would also have to pay for the process to de-sex, vaccine and chip, a total of $222. She got used to coming into the house which we knew was good as she was friendly and would be easier to catch. Not so my friend, just not so! One morning I lured her into the box and closed the lid, obviously she wasn’t happy but I managed to drive her all the way up to the vets. As I was taking the box from the car, she pried the
Dianne
Mother cat lid an inch and was gone. I couldn’t believe that just happened. The next hour was spent with the vet jumping gardens and backyards chasing her but to no avail, she alluded us. What a totally unsatisfactory end to the situation.
There are things that I want to know though, from you reading this. What would you have done, honestly? Left them to fend for them selves because they are capable and learn to live in the wild? It’s their life and our actions, no matter how well intended, could kill them. Is that honestly better than leaving them to run wild?. And what right do we have to say “No they must be taken off the streets, they in-breed more wild cats, they catch feline aids and flu and die a horrible death,” is it for their good? How many animals are put down needlessly because the wrong people decide that they are Ferrell when they just needed some tlc or proper attention? I believe at heart we all want to do the right thing, we intend well, only the honesty of the cliché is that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Do
FREEDOM II!
Our campervan for the road trip. we all live by an “out of sight out of mind” manner?
Despite the fact that I wanted to close the door on this, it felt wrong. So became another unfortunate sucker putting up missing animal signs into the vet to distribute. The vet kept in touch and she was seen, even finding her way back to us a week later. By then Saoirse and I were on a road trip and had reached Sydney. The vets picked her up and told us there would be no fee for the whole thing and that they would re-house her after the procedure, winner. When we got home after our road trip we went to see her. Diane was very happy in her cadge, door open chatting away to us and purring and eating. Mix up with the fees so we agreed to pay $95 (on top of Oscars $50 for being put down) and now, a satisfactory ending, closure.
I suppose I have been thinking “what gives us the right to decide what is and what isn’t a quality life?” “is it for the best to put down a stray?” we took a big risk
Highly strung?!
The wolds biggest playable guitar giving two of the kittens to the council and I fear it might have been a wrong one. We got the cats to trust us and did we betray that by our latter actions? I do stand by Jess and Diane being a success story, Oscar a tragedy that may not have been helped, but could we have acted sooner? And what when money comes into the frame? How much would you be willing to pay to do the right thing, or what you believe the best thing to be? Our actions of thinking we’re doing the right thing could easily end up in their termination, so do you just do nothing? Leave them up to fate? Turn your back and not give it another thought? Or act and hope for the best? - are there ever any answer? Or is it only methods?
This journey has been about three things for me. Right from the start it was set out for me to explore things, places, concepts and so forth related to the development of the Mind, Body and Soul. I even grew the small sphere on my arm to encompass that whole concept of this
Read!
In the film The Dish, they play cricket on it! journey, not just for now, but for every step through life. I had began to suffer on one aspect n Melbourne, I felt stale or stagnant as a traveller. It took me a while to realise that this part of my journey was actually very much part of my philosophies about the journeys we take. Its is apparently clear that the journeys we take of the body are that of the physical distance we travel and how we look after ourselves physically. This side of it has been covered and explored from day one. The journey of the mind has been one of interacting with other cultures, people, self thought and realisation. Looking into aspects of religion whose doors I had previously closed, keeping an open mind at all times and being alert to my surroundings. A more difficult journey but again one I feel a lot stronger and wiser for these last two years. What I didn’t see until more recently was that aspect of the soul. Other than religion exploration, what was there for me to explore and fulfil here? Arguably love is from the mind, body and soul, and that is what I have taken from my
The Dish
This thing brought the lunar landing to the world. time with Saoirse. Saying goodbye to her was quite painful, but excitement for each other too. New things lie in wait for us both and we aim to be reunited in December again, to plan more travelling and more adventures, this time, together.
What we decided to do was have a small road trip before I left. It seems fitting as its how we got together really in the first place and the reason we were together in Australia. The van Freedom taking us to Milford sound and up to Wellington from Queenstown New Zealand. This time, having seen the great Aussie film, The Dish, we decided that was the place to go. So we did a 2,500K round trip to there, through Sydney and back down the east coast (by accidental detour of the navigator!) back to Melbourne. It was great to get on the road again and spend some quality and brain stimulated time together, before the inevitable goodbye. The last thing we did together was a trip to the directors suit to see transformers II, not bad, good cinema experience. And that, sadly, was that for now. Packed and ready to leave. Andy drove
me and Saoirse to the airport where we said see you soon again.
Well, having been on flight for only 2 hours I thought I might try get some shut eye, 5hrs still left then and plane sailing. Usually I cant sleep on plains but somehow I must have offended the mother and daughter beside me. When I came back from the toilet they had gone from their seats and didn’t return, hmm, maybe a strange reversal of the Langoliers? But I managed then to lie across 3 seats and drift off for a few hours, envy of every other person on the flight. So, there I lay in the plane, about 450 people, a third of whom are wearing face masks to prevent the catch and spread of swine flu. Way I figure it, on a plane, if ones got it, wont we all? Nervous coughs all round so far. There is going to a be a fun workshop night that the girls are going to go to back in the city. I think the aim of the event is to remake swine flu masks, so much fun to be had there. My idea was to
take the destroyed mouth on the cigarettes packets and enlarge it to the right size and fix on. Statement being its not just swine flue that is killing you by inhalation.
The next two weeks will be great, seeing Paul, travel with an old friend to some amazing places, then home. Home two years on. Strange. The road ahead a little unclear, waters will need to be tested and direction with movement put in place in order to make a go and survive financially in this tepid times of a supposedly unstable global money climate. My original thoughts and goals were to get into a creative writing masters course, but for whatever reason, those doors haven‘t yet opened for me through a Masters degree. So, a cabinet reshuffle and the studio will be prepared to house up to 8 students in one class. I will aim to hold an open studio 2/3 nights a week with tuition for the public and friends. Also every second weekend running a 2 day workshop in various different themes and ideas that I have picked up from my travels. If this doesn’t prove to be as viable as I hope, I
Aboriginal Embassy
Canberra, disapointing place. will endeavour to find some other part time work, counting the days until December, when Saoirse arrives in Edinburgh.
I was so lucky to make my flight into Phnom Penh! What I didn’t realise was that I had to get to a different airport in Kuala Lumpa to fly to on! So, a frantic taxi ride and I just made the check in with a very helpful man after the gate had actually closed and I was the last person to walk right onto the plane! Thankfully that was the hardest part of this bit and Paul was at the airport in Siem Reap, a brilliant reunion.
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