Auf Widersehen Saturday - 21 March 2009

It's Saturday after the Warrandyte Festival Parade and we are at Bloom's Road, temporary residence of our three German backpacker daughter Lena, Julia & Isobel.



They have prepared lunch for us and afterwards we are going up to the farm which they haven't seen since it burned down. As we have decided to go to SA for a bit of a break this will be the last time we see them before they go back to Wertheim. There are a few tears and hugs and they present Ros with A mug stand, complete with mugs to replace the one she lost in the fire and the Leonard Cohen CD from his recent tour. Ros is speechless.







The trip to the farm is pretty quiet and even quieter once we pass Mitton's Bridge. Although curious, I decided not to ask the girls about how they are feeling, then or later.



Once at the farm, everyone wanders around a bit, the girls searching for things in the ruins of their car, me to try and locate the star picket removing tool. I can't see it in any of the places I expected to find it, although I am able to retrieve the dolly (tool for bashing in star pickets), from what remains of the tractor shed.

We go down to start the pump and being a bit impatient, I loosen the pump cylinder to help induce priming. The water starts to spurt from around the edges of the plug and becuase I'm still wearing gloves, I can't get it threaded properly. My fingers slip and suddenly there's four feet of water in the air and and on top of me. It's really cold but I have to stand there, close the throttle and hit the kill button, all the while being covered in freezing, grotty water. After what seems like 45 minutes and not 40 seconds, I get it stopped, reseat the plug and restart the pump. Ros and Isobel hang on to the business end and get on with watering everything in sight.

Dripping wet and now just pleasantly cool because it's as hot as, I turn around to see my friend Phil from tech horticulture classes, rolling into the driveway to collect a slightly burned heritage gate for his achievable garden entry and a roll of chicken wire to help Lyn create some aspect of her presentation.

Phil is like the landscape, quite devestated. As he says, "I had no idea it was this bad?"





A final look around and a couple more photo's so the girls will have before, during and after reminders of their Australian bushfire experience.

Saturday 21 March, 2009

It's Warrandyte Festival Weekend which means that Angus with all his school mates from Warrandyte Primary will be marching in the parade. I'm not sure what they represent this year, and I haven't had the chance to ask him. Perhaps it will be apparent from the pictures.



Phoebe is only in 3 year old Kinder, so she will have to wait until next year before she can particpate from the back of the truck which traditionally carries all the 4yo kinder kids singing the "We are the Kinder Kids - The mighty might Kinder Kids......!!

Angus' friend Kanaida is also in the parade but marching in a different class to Angus





And the pics wouldn't be complete without Daisy who is Kanaida's sister

Friday 20 March, 2009

I remember reading a long time ago that the Lakota indians had a battle cry something like "Hoka Hei" which apparently translates as "It's a good day to die!". The concept obviously impressed me because from time to time it re-surfaces. In one sense I think that it's a wonderful idea - living constantly always prepared to meet death.

In another, there are no good days to die and I am sure that my friend Dave feels this very deeply as we celebrate the life of his son Sam at Inglewood Chapel. This is already a place of mixed emotions for me. Our daughter Cait was married to Nicco here and our very good friend Jo Lawrence was remembered by her friends and relatives on a day not dissimilar to this.

Sam whom I barely knew, has become very much alive through the remembrances of his parents, sister and his many, many school friends and work colleagues who have gathered here today. As Dave says, " I refuse to believe that he's gone forever, and I won't speak of him in the past tense because he's still here and I know I'll catch up with him one day.".

To end on a final sad and joyous note the farewell blessing was the same that I read at my Dad's funeral :

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Wed 18 - Thur March 19, 2009

Wed 18 - Public Meeting St Andrews

This was the latest of the Community Updates which are presented by Victoria Police, Dept of Health Services, Nillumbik Council, Grocon and various other agencies as the need has arisen.

Senior Sgt Wayne Spence gave his usual, thorough very succinct update on what had been happening and what was proposed over the next few weeks. The road to Kinglake will be open from Thurs 19 and it was anticipated that there would be significantly increased traffic from relatives, visitors and people who just wanted to have a look. He noted that it was likely that after two weeks the visitor and traffic volumes would significantly decrease. In the meantime, traffic patrols would be increased as would regular patrols of the less accessible areas. He strongly recommended that any untoward behaviour should be immediately reported to police via 000. In closing, he also pointed out that the traffic cameras which had largely been removed from the area so as not to create additional impact on people who had already been hit pretty hard by the bushfires, would soon be returning.

Wayne's going on leave for a couple of weeks, which in typical style he'd tried to postpone so that he'd be able to continue his role in supporting the community. He'd had to keep the committment but assured us that we'd be in good hands during his absence. A bloody good human being and I expect an excellent copper!

The Grocon rep Max, didn't actually have very much to say other than to show us a Process Chart of what the Govt Expected them to do.

Various Council Department reps presented an update on progress within their respective areas. The CEO was there too but I have absolutely no recollection of what he said. The Chief Building Surveyor talked about the new Building Standard AS3959 - 2009, that was implemented across Victoria on 11 March and said that people would have to get specialist advice on performing a Bushfire Activity Level (BAL) assessment.

As this was in direct contradiction of what Anne Pavey from the Building Commission had said on the previous evening, I took him to task but without any real success. I also tried to indicate that
the Standard was available on the Standards Australia Website at a cost of $80.00 and that the Building Commission was in the process of negotiating this down to $30.00 for bushfire rebuilders and were also attempting to get the BAL Assessment (short version) extracted, turned into a booklet and made freely available. Again, no-one seemed to be particularly interested.

I also suggested that under the new standard, a Planning Permit would not be required if the location was previously under a Wildfire MAnagement Overlay (WMO). This was not quite correct and the CEO was quick to get to his feet and point out my error, by saying that it also depended on whether any ESO's (Environmental Significance Overlay) or Zone restrictions apply.

It turns out that of course he's correct which makes me wonder the Building Commission bothered to highlight the WMO exemption in the first place. Particularly as I also subsequently find out, that every land parcel in Nillumbik is subject to an ESO of one form or another. I think I'll be pursuing this with the Planning Minister or the Building Commission or Ms Nixon and her team and anyone else who may be able to influence a rethink!


Thursday 19 - More Councilling

My 09:30 first plasma donation at the Blood Bank goes well although I don't get out until about 11:30. Son Ben has not remembered the charger for Cait's laptop which I inadvertantly gave him so she will not be happy.

Round the corner to the RACV shop to organise a hire car for Adelaide and a query on progress of our claim. The Hire car is easy, the query less so. Sue the very helpfull service rep gets a taste of the customer experience when after being connected internally to the Claims area is left with a long wait as the phone just keeps on ringing. Eventually we get the name of the Claims officer 'Chris" who is on the phone but will call me back.

I dash for the train and while waiting on the station call our Claims Assessor who when he rings me back is very surprised to hear that we haven't yet been paid. While I'm on the train, Chris from RACV Claims calls back and after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing in which he says hey haven't received a recommendation and I say the Assessor reckons he's provided one and I'm just the silly bastard in the middle, we start to get some sense. After a considerable pause and much re-reading of the report in front of him, he apologises and says while there are a couple of queries about the house, there is no problem with the contents, sheds, barn, fences tractor etc and I should expect to receive the full contents amount less about $800 in excess payments. I thank him, all the while wondering what the hell for. The claim and assessors report has been in for weeks!

Somebody from Council at Wednesday's Public Meeting had mentioned that Council may have house plans that would be available to ratepayers so off I went to see if they had any of ours. Also hoped to be able to find out what zone we're in and perhaps even where the official septic tank was located.

Brilliant - Planning can and will track down our original house plans from the off-site archives and have provided an A4 colour picture of the property. Somewhat cheekily I asked whether I could have an A3 copy and was told "we don't have access to an A3 printer". A bit surprising as I got one the previous week. Health have a plan with a copy for me of the septic tank location and finally, Planning were able to tell me that we are in zone RCZ5 . Three out of three!!!

Just got back to Cait's when the mobile chirped at me. It was a colleague from CFA who had lost his 22 year old son in the bushfire. Mum and dad were away at the coast and his younger sister had gone to work earlier in the afternoon. The fire took everything including Sam.

Dave told me that the Coroner had finally released Sam and invited me to his memorial service the following morning at Inglewood Chapel and afterwards at Diamond Creek. Dave and I are not close friends but we've often sat next to each other and chatted on the train and kept in touch over the years. Of course I accept.

It's after 12:15 by the time I've listened to a msg from Dave and made a call on his behalf. I can't begin to imagine how he and his wife and daughter must feel.

Running a bit late for a catchup with our DHS case manager - Kate. Call to say I'm on my way to Diamond Creek. The session is good - Kate agrees that I may be eligible for the loss of Tools of Trade allowance but when I look at the documentation it says I have to be an employee and sign in blood. Not happy to do that so Kate checks with "Legal". It appears that nobody has raised this issue before so they are going to have to think about it and get back to me.

In the meantime Kate realises that if I'm not an employee then I must be an employer and asks if I have an ABN. I do but have no idea what it is. A quick call to my accountant's office and 10mins later we're in business. I can claim as a small business owner. Documents are completed, witnessed and will be sent off to the relevant grants group. This system is beginning to work for me. Kate also promises to track down the Telstra agreement which gives me a $150 refund on purchase of a USB modem.

Things are going well.

I drive off to Stella & Allan's to borrow the 8 x 6 trailer so I can get the gateposts and gate from Frankenberg's as I promised Jamie I'd do the previous Monday. Alan drily, "Sure you can drag it away", and then grinning points out that the tyres have been burned off and it's resting on the wheel rims. His ute is full of crusher dust so it's time for a quick cooling light ale and then back to Jamie's.

There's an easy solution, Jamie says, " No drama, just take the ute". So we load it up and I head back up to Wildhaven where I'll leave the fencing materials until we come back from Adelaide. I arrive to discover that Stella's been stung on the mouth and lip by a wasp that had dropped into her wine for a quick swim and had been more than a little terse when the lights suddenly went out. Good thing she's not allergic to the bloody things.

Thursday evening is Back to NMIT for the last class before we start putting our exhibition together on the 30th. Macca was coming to pick me up and he's due in 5 minutes and I'm at least 30 mins away. Can't get him on the mobile so ring Ros and ask her to apologise for me. I'll go direct to tech after I've dropped the ute off.

It all goes pretty smoothly and we spend about half the time working out what resources we need for the exhibition and getting it typed up. Phil needs a "heritage" gate and I just happen to have one still attached to what's left of the back wall of the house. I'm planning to go up on Saturday afternoon so he'll meet me there. Lynn needs some chicken wire and I've got 1/2 a roll of that too so Phil can add that to his collection.

16 March 2009 - Building Change

Monday March 16 - Out of sequence of you only look at the heading. Bound to cause some confusion but it's what happened on Monday.

A Good Decision
Had an appointment with my Counsellor Margaret this morning. After discussing my assessment of my current state of mind, ie exhibiting many of the symptoms of depression without actually feeling depressed, Margaret suggested I complete a DASS test just to see how I scored.

A score of 3 for depression says I got that pretty right and a 25 for stress, not to put too fine a point on it suggests that I've obviously been fairly severely impacted by the second police search. This will come as no surprise even if you've only been skimming the blog.

Margaret also suggested that I'm trying to protect and contain Ros & Cait's anxiety and stress as well as being driven to try and get things back to some sort of "normal" back on the farm. Not to mention trying to create a coherent picture of the multiplicity of constantly changing levels of information and co-operation from the various government and council agencies. In short I'm stressed out of my brain and trying to work as if this was normal. Not the smartest response.

I explained that Ros had suggested a week away several days ago but my initial response had been that there was too much basic stuff to get sorted before that made any real sense. I had nevertheless scheduled an appointment with my GP for Monday evening to arrange some sick leave to deal with my mental state and was now able to see that some time away would be a very sensible idea. Margaret hastily endorsed the notion and suggested that I waste no time in arranging it. Kapunda here we come!

More Discussions with Council
Later in the morning I had some more dealings with Council staff but except for some very useful advice on a forthcoming seminar by the Building Commission I cannot recollect whether I left with more questions than had been answered. It seems a likely outcome

Another Good Decision!
In one or more of the earlier posts, I'm pretty sure I've mentioned the degree of uncertainty which appears to surround my operation status in the CFA. This has been dragging on for a long time. On Friday of last week, I had received a call offering me an opportunity to meet with CFA's Medical Adviser on the following Monday evening. Of course I accepted.

We had a long and discursive conversation, at the end of which it became apparent that there was not going to be any more delay in resolving my operational status. A brief note from my GP regarding my capability and the matter would be swiftly addressed. I left very pleased to have made his acquaintance, obtained his support and with one less issue to be managed.

Tuesday Evening - Lifting the Lid on the New Building Requirements.
The Victorian Building Commission appear to be a bunch of people who have their act together. They are very keen to ensure that there are is maximum education opportunities across as wide a spectrum of interested parties as possible.

Their roadshow was information packed, succinct, well presented and there were lots of useful takeaways. Not only that, they were prepared to stay until the last question had been answered or written down for subsequent response.

In summary - AS3959-2009 sets out the new building standards across Victoria.

• It is available from Standards Australia or SAI Global as they are currently known at a cost of $80. It can be obtained via their website - http://www.standards.org.au/

• The Vic Building Commission is negotiating to get this cost down to $30. for Bushfire Rebuilders.

• They are also working to obtain an extract of the Site Assessment Criteria (short form - stay away from the long form!!) and make it available on their website (see **below) as soon as possible. Particular emphasis was placed on the fact that the Site Assessment document had been designed and tested to ensure that home-owners could successfully complete it without needing a qualification as a Building Surveyor - Remember this point.
• If the only local govt overlay on the property had formerly been a WMO (Wildfire Management) then a Council Planning permit would not be required.

**NB it isn't there yet although this stuff is

Publications: The Building and Plumbing Industry Commissions have released Rebuilding after the devastation - Bushfire Bulletin Magazine (5.12MB) that lifts the lid on the new building standard. You can also view the guide to temporary homes and buildings in bushfire affected areas (538KB) is a comprehensive guide to the requirements for temporary accommodation after bushfires. A copy of the guide to building in Victoria after bushfires (735KB) is also available to download. Copies of the guide to a safe return to your property (799KB) after bushfires are also available to download.

I hope other agencies, departments and councils and will aspire to achieve the same levels of engagement and service.

18 March 09 - Only 4 days to catchup

Saturday 14 March 09
Son Ben and grandson Willoughby arrived at Cait's bright and early. Willo to play with his cousins and Ben and I to go up to the farm as he has expressed an interest in possibly restoring the Datsun Fairlady. He's seen the pictures but I don't think that he realises just how far beyond repair it is.

Ros in the meantime has taken the dogs to the vet in Hurstbridge, who like so many other generous people has waived his fee's for animals impacted by the fires.

As Ben and I drive past the police check point, he is able for the first time to feel the difference as well as see it. We drive in silence to the farm, I think he's suffering the same disorientation that we've all felt as the road looks the same, but it doesn't feel as if it's where it's supposed to be, because all of the familiar landmarks have changed.

Ros and the dogs join us a short while later and as we walk down the dam paddock towards the barn, I show them the overflow drainage pipe from the dam,
smashed beyond repair by the army/police as they carried out their second sweep for human remains. I now accept that what's done is done but I will be seeking replacement of the drain-pipe.

I was going to put in some more pictures but they are chewing up lots of space and as I'm in catch-up mode the time to sort out how to resolve this later!

A wander through the ruins of the barn soon demonstrates that apart from a few very old hand forged hinges and fittings, there is practically nothing to be salvaged. All of the steel that Ben bought at a clearance sale several years ago is bowed and heat softened. Even the concrete foundation piers which look as untouched as they have for more than 50 years, crumble at the slightest push.

Back at Cait's I set of with Phoebe to get some batteries and a retractable clothes line for Cait. If this sounds familiar, it's because some of what I reported on Friday, really happened on Saturday. We got as far as about 50m past the Research roundabout heading towards Eltham when the Volvo spluttered, chugged a bit, spluttered some more as I quickly drove up onto the road verge and then the motor died. It would turn on the starter but wasn't going to fire.

All the signs of being out of fuel except that the usually infallible orange "you've got about 50k left" light wasn't on. I called the RACV and Ben who came with 5L of petrol which didn't make the slightest difference. The RACV guy turned up and after adding another 6 L and testing everything he could declared that it was most likely the petrol pump as it did not seem to be drawing enough current to be able to reach the required 40psi pressure.

Ben & Phoebe went home and I waited for the tow truck and the subsequent trip to our Volvo repair shop in Doncaster. I could go off what someone once described as "the fastest tractors in the world!".

Sunday 15 March 2009
The day promises to be good. Our oldest friends from Perth, Sue & Rob are in Melbourne and we have arranged to spend the day together. They have a hire car so we will be able to travel without wondering what else can befall a car. We sleep in until just before they arrive and then, suitably abluted and dressed for an excursion, we check to see that a table for four is available and head off to breakfast at "Lily's on Brougham", in Eltham.

Rob & I choose the full bacon eggs and mushrooms on toast while Ros has salmon and scrambled egg and Sue the eggs Bernaise unless I've made all this up which is just possible. Breakfast was excellent and the conversations were as if we'd only seen each other just last week. A sign of a long and abiding friendship.

A casual wander around the topiaried shrubs including teucrium fruiticans; pine mulched vegetable gardens, with espaliered apple trees and a classic cottage flower garden was concluded with a brief excursion through the mostly French themed shop by Sue, Ros and my credit card.

The pine mulch was visually quite attractive and initially I thought it would be an excellent idea for our new vegetable garden. In writing this however, I remember that the slow breakdown of the pine mulch will consume much nitrogen and will probably be detrimental to the plants in the longer term. I'll have to go back and have a coffee with the landscape gardening side of the business.

A Meeting with Christine Nixon
Our Day with Rob & Sue has unfortunately clashed with a visit to St Andrews by the newly appointed head of the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority, ex- Chief Police Commissioner, Christine Nixon. I am keen to meet and present her with an extract from the blog which describes the impact the second sweep for for fire casualties had on our home and ourselves; and suggest that treading lightly on what was left of peoples property and spirits would engender more cooperation than the example demonstrated by the members of force, formerly under her command.

We had no sooner arrived at St Andrews Fire Station than Christine was whisked away to do a tour of the fire affected area. Rob and Sue headed off for a walk towards the general store while Ros and I chatted to various of our friends and acquaintances. I eventually caught sight of Ms Nixon queuing in the barbecue line and after introducing ourselves, we both spoke with her for a few several minutes, during which time I gave her a copy of the previously mentioned blog extract and enquired about the possibility of employment in her organisation. After appending this request to the bottom of the sheet with my details on we thanked her and departed. She had listened but I didn't really feel heard.

Glad to be away from the grey and sad looking faces we drove up to the farm with Rob & Sue and after a very brief visit headed towards Yering Station via Buttermans Track and Yarra Glen.

After very filling breakfasts, none of us felt terribly hungry so we decide to go upstairs to Matt's Bar and have a bottle of something with a platter of excellent eating dips, spreads and bread with of course my favourite olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The conversation was again all over the place and covered children, remembrances of times and incidents past at Wellington Mills in the depths of Winter and on Rotto in Summer; friends and acquaintances, photographs of events almost forgotten and cameras. Rob & I both have Nikons.

Bloody fire siren has just gone off! We had a power hit a few minutes ago and doubtless the two are connected. I suspect a MVA. The CFA incident log on the Web shows:

Reg	Location	Name	Date/Time	Type	Status	Size
13	NORTH WARRANDYTE	KANGAROO GROUND-WARRANDYTE RD	19/03/2009 00:48:00	Non structure	Going	Small	3

After a pleasant walk around the gardens of Chateau Yering by Sue & Ros and an exchange of lenses by Rob & I, followed by a wander through the garden of Yering Station and a look at the view from both the front
and back of the restaurant,








we headed back to Nth Warrandyte via the Yarra Glen - Kangaroo Ground but not before I purchased some Chocolate Macadamias for Macca whose Birthday BBQ we were going to next.

After farewelling Sue and Rob at Cait's we drove the short distance to Jenny and Macca's where we spent a very relaxed evening with only about 90 minutes spent talking about fire related matters. Macca an excellent and professional chef served a very flavoursome and filling bbq dinner, followed by Jenny's Strudl with vanilla icecream. They have an eclectic collection of CDs which were much to Ros' liking. Jenny a GP suggested a number of health supplements to assist in stress reduction and aid Ros with her sleeping. After a final cup of tea, we took the long route home and were asleep in bed about 10 minutes later.

17 March, 2009 - Still Catching Up

Been a bit busy over the last few days - hence the need for Catch-up part 2.

I was writing about attending the STAR (St Andrew Recovery) Committee and my concern about the focus on not missing out and the lack of significant involvement by people who like us who have actually lost our homes. This is not to denigrate the efforts of those who have initiated the committee, there is no doubt in my mind that such an entity is essential. Rather I am worried that the people for whom the effort is being made, may not yet be in a position to effectively participate.

During the meeting, I tried to express this concern by citing my own rather schizoid or at best ambivalent position which became apparent on the evening of the fires and has stayed with me since.

I generally regard my self as living in St Andrews, I belong to the St Andrews CFA and we have a PO Box in St Andrews. However on the night of the fires, listening to news reports, all I could hear was Kinglake, Kinglake, Kinglake, Strathewen, Kinglake on and on and then finally a mention of losses in St Andrews and then back to Strathewen and, Kinglake bloody Kinglake. It was as if the area between Mittons Bridge Road and Ninks Road just didn't exist and I felt increasingly frustrated and angry that no-one seemed to know or care that upwards of 15 - 25 properties had been utterly destroyed, while the township of St Andrews which seemed to be getting the coverage was completely untouched. At the time I felt completely alienated from St Andrews and even suggested to anyone who bothered to listen, that we locals should form a movement to have St Andrews North re-instated. Is this rational? Probably not but I certainly didn't feel like I belonged to St Andrews.

I made the point to the meeting that I was only speaking for myself but wondered aloud if my neighbours, including those in Ninks Road, might possibly be feeling similarly disinclined to be engaged with the broader community at this time. There's a part of me that observes there are too many I statements here, but it's about me so the pedants can be revolted!

In addition to the sense of alienation and focusing on the notion that we as a community needed to act in a coherent manner, identify and ask for what we needed before the the money bus rolled beyond our reach; I explained that in a very real sense, I had no idea what I wanted or needed except to get back to our property and start the rebuilding process.

It seemed highly likely that others in my position were similarly inwardly focused and would need perhaps more time than might be available before we could begin to think about and effectively participate in the broader community and the Recovery Committee in particular.

The potential was acknowledged but I was left feeling that the message had been lost.

All of that said, I came away from the meeting, very impressed by the time and energy that many people had devoted to getting the process up and rolling and the sense of committment and community which they displayed. I was particularly touched by Maninder who thanked me for making the effort to attend.

I did get one very useful piece of info re a public seminar by the Building Industry Commission to be held in Sth Morang on the new building code.

Although I have some reservations, I will continue to be involved and add value where I can.

Wednesday March 10 - Thursday March 11, 2009 - Several things happened over these two days but I can't remember the order so I'll just chat along and see if any shape appears.

Contacted a REC - Registered Electrical Contractor for those of you who had forgotten or perhaps I haven't previously mentioned it, and arranged to meet him up at the farm to discuss how best to get power from SPAusnet, who seem a bit reluctant to impart useful information.

While waiting for Cameron to turn up, I spent a happy 45 mins or so watering all the living things in sight. I've been doing this every couple of days and today I was hugely rewarded to see that the Ginko tree (memo to Q - get a Picture!) I planted a few months ago for Ros and which has been looking very brown and down has suddenly burst into brilliant leaf! Calloo callay! The ten Pyrus usuriensis along the driveway have also started to bud up and one has even sprouted leaves. My good faith in the restorative power of water and hope has been rewarded. To celebrate, I gave even the roses which I'm sure are dead some more water and soaked the southern desert to encourage the few shoots of grass.

Cameron finally arrived and we agreed the most appropriate spot for the power board to be located and then called SPAusnet to see if he could work out what they required, as I hadn't been having much luck. The "agent" was very helpful but unfortunately the people who could help us had gone home. Don't suppose it was too unreasonable as it was 17:25. We took the offered number and agreed to catch up in a couple of days or whenever either of us had managed to get anything useful out of the supplier.

Spoke to a Council planning person about planning permits and was inundated with paperwork and the shattering news that the planning process would take 2-3 and more likely 3 months to process. Then there's the two months from order to delivery for the barn. Not much bloody chance of having a Bush Dance in the barn as I subsequently discovered Cait had been planning for my 60th.

On Thursday Evening - Horticultural Therapy Day, I picked up Macca from his place and we went off to NMIT for the final drawing of or Achievable Garden design for the 2009 Garden Show. I had been struggling with GardenCad, trying to work out how to get it to scale and had pretty much decided to give up on the competition and work on the longer term garden design for home.

Pete & Rhonda the lecturers weren't having any of it and I was more or less politely coerced into putting my thoughts into words and my words into design elements and then into a design with some supporting words on the philosopy of the design. I think just about everyone had some input into the process and I eventually began to enjoy it, finally completing a design which was recognisably mine but which is definitely and quite positively the result of a collaborative effort.

It was a great end to what had been a fairly crappy day.


Friday 13th

Collected Macca who had offered to help me shift bricks and took him up to the farm to turn his kind offer into a hot sweaty reality. We moved quite a few barrow-loads of full bricks from the southern end of the house and tipped them over on to the "flat" below the water tank, where if everything goes right, they will become the floor of the new barn.

Friday afternoon I loaded Phoebe into the car and we drove off to get a new retractable clothesline for Cait and some batteries for the Phoebsters vacuum cleaner. Got as far as the intersection when the car spluttered and then dumped most of the coolant onto the bitumen. I hastily drove the 150 metres back to Cait's and called the RACV. They arrived about 40 minutes later and the problem was diagnosed as a broken heater tap. The RACV chap was very thorough, both in his investigation and his engagement with Angus who obviously loves things mechanical.

Bypass in place Ros & I went over to Sue & Andy's for pizza and drinks a long standing tradition for their Friday evening meal, to catch up with them and "Uncle Bill's" brother John and his wife Maggie out from Cornwall. A very long and pleasant evening was had by all.

17 March 2009 Catching Up

Back to Tuesday 10/03

After the Council people gave me a lift up to the neighbours where Ros was with the car, I decided I was going to take my frustration and anger as far up the tree as I could and thought that the Diamond Creek Relief Centre & the DHS folk, would be a good place to start.

Heading off through St Andrews township, I realised that I hadn't had any breakfast and was starving so we stopped off for a coffee and pie at the General Store as well of a bit of a moan to Kerry, CFA colleague and part time store staffer. Kerry has been doing a bit of sleuthing and it appears that some of us may be about to pay too much for our Post Office boxes. We'll hold off paying for a few days and see what else she can uncover.

The DC Community Centre or "Refugee Centre" as Ros and I somewhat irreverently often call it, seems to have reached a steady state. There are not hordes of people and vehicles, we are even able to get a park close to the front door. An impossibility even only a week or so ago. Ros went off to get some grocery essentials and I wandered into the main hall looking to see if our Case Manager Kate was about. She wasn't but an on the ball Team Leader named Sue was obviously finely tuned into distress signals, because I'd been standing looking around for no more than a couple of minutes when she left the task she was doing and asked me if she could help in some way.

I gave her bell book and candle on the desecration of our dignity - think I'm getting carried away just a little here - and indicated that I just really wanted to complain to someone about how I felt and hopefully, prevent similar actions being repeated elswhere. Sue was very empathetic and tried to find an appropriate number to call. I think it was the Bushfire recovery line where again, I got a very understanding listener who after a bit of discussion with her manager said that she'd sent my concern up the ladder and hoped that when the responsible body called back, I would not hold back in letting the organisation know exactly how I felt. I'm still waiting for that response!!!

Back at Cait's and still quietly seething, I wondered who I could call when it suddenly became obvious. Who better than the newly appointed head of the Bushfire Recovery Program, Christine Nixon, former Chief Police Commissioner.

I used to have a saying that "Synchronicity Works" and it's probably time to revive it because although I haven't thought about it for a while, its still true. I rang 1234 and told the operator that I had a bit of a challenge for her, to which she responded, " I like challenges." So I told her wanted to contact Christine Nixon. To may absolute amazement, she laughed and said, "Oh my old boss, I used to do a coffee run with her... which number would you like, the Chief Commissioner's office or the new Bushfire Recovery organisation?" Being a little underwhelmed by the lack of response from the Bushfire Recovery Team, I decided on the Commissioner's office and after being put through and asking for Christine Nixon's new number, I was promptly given it and the name of her PA.

The PA was extremely helpful and while I was unable to speak with Christine directly until the following Sunday, I was connected with a senior police liaison officer of whom, mention has previously been made.

On Tuesday evening after possibly the worst meal I have ever had at the St Andrews pub, I went along to the second meeting of the St Andrews Recovery Group which was most notable for the fact that of the 14 or so people present, only two were nominated as being "BFA" Bush Fire Affected in the Minutes.

I think all present were in fact BFA, only two of us had also lost our homes. A copy of the minutes is enclosed.

ST ANDREWS RECOVERY GROUP MEETING
TUESDAY MARCH 10,2009 – 7.30PM
At St Andrews Community Centre

PRESENT –
Donna, Vin – Shire,
Janine, Jacqui – playgroup,
Barry T – St A -resident,
Wayne – Vic.Police(D. Creek),
Manninder – St A Market,
Helen – CFA Captain,
Gaye – Historical Soc.
Suzi, Melissa – comm. Centre,CFA,
Greg – CFA,
Quentin – BFA resident,
Toni-Ann – BFA resident,
Brendan, Bill – P.Hill resident
Pam – Pony Club
Liezl – Landcare

Important Dates for the Diary
Sunday March 15 – 1pm at ST Andrews Fire Station- Christine Nixon visit to the St Andrews Community – All residents welcome
Wednesday March 18 – Public Community Meeting – 7pm at the St Andrews Hall
Open to all residents of St Andrews
Friday March 20 – MSO ensemble at St Andrews hall – evening TBC – all residents
Monday March 23 – St Andrews Recovery Group – 7.30pm at the St Andrews community Centre
Friday March 27 – Visit by Royal Commission – morning and afternoon workshop sessions - At the St Andrews Hall – limited numbers – open to the residents

Donna chaired the meeting.

Updates from Shire
- Relief Centre’s currently operating in the shire – Diamond Creek, St Andrews,
Arthurs Creek, 7 days a week – 9am-6pm. Centre is open most days DHS are having trouble with staffing all relief centres.
(Suzi W is going to pop in to the centre to see how busy it is and will report back to the group/Shire )
- In time DHS case management and Community Health Service to be based at
Eltham in Bridge St. – this was questioned by several people as an inappropriate venue – too far to travel. Hurstbridge was suggested as a more convenient and central location to the people of Strathewen and St Andrews.
- Plans to open a Recovery Office in Hurstbridge –
- Call Centre (RCC) now operating at the Shire offices, any bushfire recovery query
will be directed to the relevant support assistance- 9433 3111

Return of St Andrews Market – March 7 by Manninder
- Lots of people came out – it was low key given the holiday weekend, a good day, lots of people catching up
- In time the market would like to hold a concert at the site as a fundraiser for
St Andrews Bushfire Recovery
A Japanese student has made and donated 100 origami cranes – Manninder is to hang them in the St Andrews hall
- Traffic seemed to move smoothly
- One road block sign was not highly visible but did not create too many problems

Roadblocks and Police Presence – update by Wayne, D.C Police
- Roadblock at Mittons Bridge to cease within next 2-3 days
- Road will then be open up the mountain to Kinglake. – some people expressed their concerns of sightseers’, open throttle of motorbikes and looters.
- Extra patrol cars have been allocated from Hurstbridge and Diamond Creek to service this area for next 2 weeks – to deter unwanted behaviour.
- Shire to put up road closure signs/bollards – open to local residents only,
on side roads off the main road in bush fire affected area of St Andrews North.
- Coroner has not lifted restrictions in this area yet.


- Christine Nixon is scheduled to visit the community of St Andrews
on Sunday March 15 at the CFA fire station at 1pm.
A casual, informal meeting – BBQ provided
TBC – Vin to email everyone tomorrow morning
Advertise this visit and invite the general community by email networks, flyer at the Community Centre, Hotel, Post Office boxes
- Council will provide staff to cook for the BBQ – possible numbers – 400?

- Discussed the difficulties of trying to contact local residents who are living in town and former residents who are currently dispersed around Melbourne- about community issues, bushfire recovery, the formation of the St Andrews Recovery Group
- Toni-Ann has offered to start an email network of St Andrews residents – have a list on Sunday at the BBQ, - also SMS communication.
- Distribution of newsletters in post boxes at the St Andrews/Smiths Gully General Stores, notices at the hotel, and the Relief Centre.

- Proposed visit by the Royal Commission – this will be an early feedback information/workshop session – am and pm sessions.
Friday March 27 at St Andrews Hall
Limited numbers – advertised in tomorrows Herald Sun paper
Written submissions will also be accepted
At Strathewen on April 8.

- Library Bus return – hopefully next week , large container fridge needs to be removed.





- Bill Penrose has a network of 700 people – willing helpers
- Recovery Activity Teams are available – 4/5 people per vehicle.
- Bookings in advance
- These teams will be available for - house cleaning, rebuilding of fences, rubbish removal, plumbing etc. All of these teams will be under supervision.
At the moment investigating insurance cover for these teams when working on private properties.
- Victorian Farmers Association are willing to cover the fence building

Progress of the Strathewen Group
- 14 representatives’ on the group based on the geography of the district of Strathewen – possibly up to 18
- This group has the view to be running by April 5 set up as a
Public Benevolent Institute

St Andrews Public Community Meeting
Wednesday 18 march at St Andrews Hall at 7pm
Shire to update bushfire recovery – other speakers TBA.
Publicise expressions of interest in the St Andrews Recovery Group.

- The need to have a diverse range of people from the St Andrews Community on this committee
- Acknowledge that some members of the community are not ready to be on a committee or give input – Possibly these people could channel their views through another representative that they are comfortable to talk to.
- (Toni-Ann happy to talk to people in Ninks Rd)
- Important to have people from bush fire affected areas in St Andrews
- Take time to form this Group – a selection process will be in place
- Donna, Liezl and Toni Ann will meet (in the next week) to discuss
The goals of the committee and achievable objectives.

- Concerns over depleting duck population on the main rd – near community centre - Road signs re Caution Wildlife Crossing - are being made
- Offer by MSO Ensemble (8 musicians) to perform at St Andrews hall on Friday March 20 for the local community time TBA
Liezl and Suzi W. To help Donna
Also ACME movie nights at the hall? – look at venue options/Primary School oval?
Movie night for children and adults (not an Adults Only!!!)

- Opportunities for this Group to apply for grants – in time – on nominated projects that can benefit people in bush fire affected areas.







- Greg has had an offer by Nunawading Rotary club who want to get involved in helping bushfire recovery in St Andrews – the club has suggested to hold a dance with proceeds to go to St Andrews.
- This club has already donated a large sum of money to St Andrews CFA
- The Group was thrilled with this information and recognises the need to keep ideas active – especially in six months time

- Discussions on the next phase of getting people back onto their property
- The equipment that is needed in starting landscaping gardens, vegetable patches
- Wheelbarrows, shovels, picks,rakes, hammers screw drivers etc. – these tools are snapped up pretty quickly – currently at the container, at the relief centre there are star pickets for fencing.
- Possible speakers at information sessions on sustainable gardening – how to regenerate the earth, under the ash
- Other information sessions on rebuilding houses - new requirements
- (Toni-Ann to make further enquiries into this matter)

MEETING CLOSED – 10PM

NEXT MEETING - MONDAY MARCH 23 – 7.30PM AT THE COMMUNITY CENTRE

Overall I think the group is well intentioned and probably in it's formal guise shortly to be created, will be a very valuable adjunct to the recovery process. However I am a little concerned about the focus on a "supportive community" needing to ensure St Andrews is organised and able to get what it needs from the juggernaut of the Bushfire recovery program before it rolls past or over us and we miss out.

11/03/09 Candle-Light Blogging

I wasn't sure what to call this entry but Ros just walked from the kitchen and found me seated outside in the cool, tapping away by candle-light and my keyboard light and said, "Ah, it looked dark but you are candlelight blogging, it doesn't sound very attractive does it?". I suppose it doesn't really but there is long tradition of writing by candle-light and it looks a lot better than it sounds.

Monday 09/03/09 Public Holiday - Labour Day in Vic
Was a bit of a change. Ian my sailing partner and I took the two trailers, one for travelling, carrying our Cole 23 yacht "La Pirogue" and one for the boatyard at Yaringa, from Tecoma where she's been since we brought her back from Paynesville in January. Drove down to Yaringa where we got her rigged and eventually into the water at about 15:30. It was a bit of an anti-climax as I had to leave at 16:00 and we only really had time to run the engine to check the newly installed cables and discover that while they were delivering some current from the motor, it wasn't the 10-12 volts we were anticipating. Yeah I know volts isn't current but that's all I'm saying on this subject. Bit more web research required here.

Dinner at a local pub with Cait, kids and Ros and then home to whatever we did before going to bed. I can remember writing a few emails but the rest is a blank.

Tuedsay 10/03/09
The day began badly. Actually that's not quite true, it began really well with Ros and I up at the farm, me to meet with Stephen a Council Health chap and Ros to have a coffee with our uphill neighbours Stella and Alan. It was a pleasant drive up although I was a little surprised to see that the Do Not Enter warning tape that we had stretched across the driveway had apparently broken.

I parked and got out of the car, noticing that the carcase of the Ford Laser appeared to be in a different location than where I'd last seen it late on Saturday afternoon. Leaving Ros in the car because I felt somewhat apprehensive, I walked around the bend in the driveway and discovered that not only had the car been dumped on the corner of a still surviving garden, but that most of the roofing iron had been removed and stacked higgledy-piggledy on the little patch of lawn that we'd been trying to keep alive. My brain struggled to make sense of what I was seeing. It seemed like someone had been looking for something but I couldn't imagine what they thought we had that was so valuable, that it warranted a caterpiller tracked machine and anyway, why had they knocked down most of the remaing walls and moved stuff all over the place, making any subsequent search not quite impossible. Finally, if they were in such a hurry to find whatever it was, why go to the trouble of stacking albeit in a fairly random manner, all of the roofing iron and why drop the bloody car on the garden!?? Were they planning to come back and collect all the metal? Perhaps it was the Grollo contractors getting a head start.

At about this point reason and serious anger kicked in. Reason said it couldn't be Grollo because it was just too soon. Nobody, not even Grollo can move that fast in 48 hours which was when I'd last determined that there was as yet no time-table other than between 6 weeks and 6 months. It couldn't have been the police because they knew who had been in the house and that all had survived and anyway they would have called me because all of our details had been collected and registered. I was ropable and as it turned out wrong.

What right did anyone have to enter our property and dismember what little was left of 15 years of living. I felt shatterered and hurt, reduced to merely a job on some bastard's worksheet. What of decency or respect? Who cared about how we felt? Poor bloody Ros had not even had an opportunity to search for some pieces of her treasured dinner and tea sets or anything else. I had thought it too dangerous and had wanted the asbestos all clear before I would let her enter the ruins of her home and now some careless arseholes had probably spread the deadly stuff all over the place. She was very upset and I was seriously pissed off!

With nothing to be done until the Council team arrived, Ros went off to have a cup of coffee and I sat down on a pine log that had somehow missed the mulching and waited. Stephen and female colleague whose name is gone from my head, arrived shortly after in a shiny, new, dark-blue, Subaru 4wd.

Introductions performed, I lost no time in telling them what had occurred and how we felt. I asked if they had any awareness of an early start by Grollo or subcontractors. It was as much a mystery to them as it was to me. Still perplexed and for my part angry as well, we were having a general look at the place when a truck which looked a lot like a CFA DMO unit drove halfway down the driveway.

As I approached wondering what the DMO guys were doing up this way, the passenger door opened and a blue overalled policeman said that they just needed somewhere to turn around and the driveway had been convenient. I took the opportunity to ask if they had any idea who might have been responsible for tearing down my Do Not Enter tape and scattering roofing metal, not to mention a car all over my front yard? "Yeah that was us." was the innocent reply.

It appeared that the Coroner had ordered a complete sweep of every dwelling in the area to ensure that no-one had been missed. It seemed to be irrelevant that the police already had the details of the occupants and their safety and that the occupants had been present throughout the fire and would not have missed any third party attempting to seek refuge. It was similarly irrelevant that the police and every other relevant authority in the bloody country had my contact details and had not seen fit to offer the courtesy and attempt to call me. "There are over 2,000 dwellings to be checked and it has to be done as quickly as possible, "said the nameless one who had neither bothered to introduce himself or apologise for the situation The phrase "collateral damage" came to mind. Stupidly I tried to reason with them, "...but if you'd broadcast the information and invited people to call you, if just 30% of the total responded and only 50% of the occupiers could verify that they had been the only people in the building, you'd have significanly reduced the search effort and resources required ...". Of course I got the now standard, "we don't make the orders, we just execute them" response or words to that effect, as we used to say on an army charge sheet when I was doing my National Service.

It's surprising to me at least, that people generally do not seem to realise that as a defense, the following of orders and ignoring human decency or feelings hasn't been valid since the Nuremburg trials. I'm not suggesting for a second that these young constables were or had engaged in nazi like behaviour but surrounded by gaunt blackened trees, with grey ash covering everything and twisted burnt metal and shattered glass and bricks, an empty sick feeling of being even less than a non-person, the stomp of jackboots did not seem to be very far away.

My subsequent enquiries have identified that a number of people in official roles attempted to argue as I had but were either ignored or over-ruled. That made me feel considerably better as did a promise by a senior police officer that the issue would be raised at the official debriefing once the exercise had been completed and perhaps in future a different approach may result.

I noted with interest that today's ABC news broadcasts did provide an awareness that the police and army task force were doing a final sweep and were being moved up to Marysville. The OC of the Army task force was even interviewed in some depth by Richard Stubbs during his afternoon broadcast. Perhaps someone has been listening.

In case you were wondering, the Council people, were most understanding and helpful and outlined the requirements for putting a caravan on site. We'll have to arrange a portaloo and do any major laundry off-site but generally things seemed to be pretty straight forward.

The next challenge will be to find someone who can advise on the best approach for a road to access and exit the flat, both for the caravan and the barn delivery truck. Yeah I know there's a pun in there but it wasn't deliberate.

08/03/09 - A Gap Or Two

It's now Sunday afternoon and I'm sitting in the study at Jenny & Macca's -they've gone to Sydney for the long weekend and have kindly offered some respite space. It's very quiet and the view of green shrubs and trees through the window is a welcome contrast to the near monochrome landscape of home.

Earlier this week I had some helpful discussions with various local and State govt. agencies, the outcome of which is that we are unable to rebuild on the site of the old barn because it was partially on a road reserve which goes nowhere and can go nowhere except through our property. It feels a little bit like dog in the manger stuff. Neither DSE nor Nillumbik Council have done anything about the road for more than 50 and possibly 100 years but they won't let us do anything other than use the land for agricultural purposes in accordance with the lease we have with DSE. It has been suggested that we may wish to purchase the land from Council and I guess that's a possibility except that it requires funds that we don't really have and in any case apart from having to find a new barn site would probably change nothing.

It's all been a bit frustrating because in addition to the above, we've also been informed that the Government sponsored clean up program by Grocom is an all or nothing deal. If you sign up, they do the clean-up but any clean up work done by us after last Monday, will have to be paid for by us. As I've been waiting to hear from the insurance company about whether or not they'll accept the recommendation of the assessor, on the positive side we have not incurred any cost. The downside is that we don't know when the clean-up will occur.

Speaking of insurance it's been about 3 weeks since the assessor came out and it would be good to have some feedback from the company. The assessor reckoned we were probably OK on contents but probably a bit under on the house so it would be useful to get an understanding of how much under.

On Friday I realised I hadn't seen my wallet since Tuesday so after a complete search of the house, cars and my brain, it was time to begin ringing around to all of the places I'd been on Tuesday. No success and I'm starting to get a bit agitated by the prospect of having to go through the whole new wallet, licence, bank card, etc., process again. Went to Diamond Creek Police Station to report it lost and had the details taken by Sgt Wayne Spence, OIC for the DC area.

We've seen each other around the place over the last few weeks and I made a point of saying that I thought he and all of the Vic & NSW police people had done and were doing a great job. Everyone thanks the CFA but I think the police are pretty much taken for granted or as a nuisance. Noticed that he was wearing a yellow "We will Rebuild" bracelet and on enquiring discovered that they were available at the DC newsagent. Hurried down there and bought two.

About 5:30pm on Friday I got a missed call and after calling back, discovered that it was the Telstra shop in Greensborough and they had the missing wallet.

Saturday morning I collected the wallet and purchased a USB modem for the laptop so that I will be able to work from home while waiting for Telstra to reconnect all the phone lines and then went down to Officer to have a look at a constructed "Farmer" post and bean wooden barn made from a kit by Alternative Dwellings. It's roughly 12m x12m and the sales manager reckons it'll cost about $50K to construct including 2 carpenters and a post construction concrete floor. I'll speak to Dig but I reckon I should be able to do a fair bit of it myself with assistance from the hordes of volunteer helpers waiting in the wings and it will probably have a floor made of brick , got plenty of those, or rammed earth and linseed oil or perhaps some other additive, which should also reduce the cost.

Upon my return, discovered that Lesley and Steven had arrived to visit. Haven't seen them for ages so a good bit of catching up was done. Steven and I drove up home to spread some "Danger Do Not Enter" tape about and comply with council requirements.

Speaking of Council and other Agency requirements, Steven from Nillumbik Health Dept. called on Friday to say that his recommendations for locating caravans on site during rebuilding had been approved and would be published on the council website as soon as the IT wallahs had suitable formatted his document.

Will need to check of course, the newly announced bushfire building regulations - I hope they do not preclude wooden buildings as I don't really want to just build a tin shed. Hmm! well I just did that and it it isn't at all clear whether barns are included. The barn guy said there wouldn't be any problems but he's not the final arbiter so a call to the building dept at Nillumbik coming up on Tuesday.

Very early this morning my brain kicked in with a suggestion that was so obvious it's a wonder it hasn't popped up before. Instead of putting the new barn more or less in the same location, why not put it on the flat below the tank. Obviously will need council building permission and a bit of preparation work carried out like; cutting down the dead poplars and removing the star picket and barbed wire fence, removing the old concrete foundations from the flat and not least providing some access roads to and from the flat. Ros suggested that seeing as the govt road easement goes at least halfway to the flat, we could ask council to gravel it for us.

All of the above depended on confirming that there was room on the flat for a 12m x 12m barn, so after breakfast and entertainment by Angas & Phoebe, I drove up this morning with tape measure, hammer and tent peg, to do a spot of measuring. And ... the news is good. Think we can also get the caravan up there.

Need to check with Sean but I think a skid steer is all we'll need. Also need to call Main roads (Bill Murphy) and ask when they plan to remove the logs they've stacked in the middle of the access to the flat.

I can also see a need to include a new poly tank in the plan, to capture water from the barn.

Ros mentioned yesterday that perhaps we could rebuild on the same site - there are a bunch of negatives and positives for this so a bit more talking will be had on the subject.

I need to try and complete the Lost Contents spreadsheet for the insurance so it's time to change screens.

About As Far West as you can go without hitting South Australia

Poor Ben & Ema must have wondered what had caused them to lose all sense and take on the refugees from Nth Warrandyte. Three additional adults and two children, plus the contents of two completely crammed to bursting Volvo station wagons. Just as well we left the dogs at Leonie's.

Apparently the neighbours can be a bit precious about car spaces, so I've parked our car on the verge with a note on the dash explaining our status and advising we'd be gone in a couple of days. Just realised that except for the West Australians, most may be asking on the verge of what? Verge in WA is the commonly used synonym for sidewalk which is not to be confused with footpath.

We have been made to feel very welcome here and it is certainly a long way from any current fire activity. As chance would have it, Cait's neighbours Cath, Jamie and kids, just a couple of doors down in Nth Warrandyte have also temporarily relocated to Fitzroy. We had a very enjoyable if extremely noisy dinner at a local Vietnamese restaurant.

The fire weather today started off a lot cooler than the anticipated maximum of 30+ but as Russell Rees, CFA head honcho which means I can't remember whether he's the chief commissioner or something else, said with the fuel as dry as it is that temperature is largely irrelevant and the forecast wind would be the major problem. Hopefully - I haven't seen or heard the news since about 17:00 - the reasonably large dump of rain and wind direction change was positive and did not cause any breakouts.

Have spent a reasonable proportion of today not dealing with bureaucracy because. .."the very helpful council people", according to my neighbour Stella weren't where she said they'd be. In fact the local St Andrews Relief Centre was closed for the day. This information after I'd already dropped into the Diamond Creek RC and been told that the Council team had left yesterday and probably weren't coming back, made me glad that I'd also needed to collect the mail.

Decided that I'd call into the Shire Offices and see what could be achieved - it was a reasonably positive outcome but because it's just ticked over into Wednesday and I need some sleep, the telling will have to wait until later in the morning - Q

02/03/2009 An Interesting Anniversary

For anyone hanging out for more on the mind-map, afraid you'll have to wait a bit....

Today is our 35th wedding anniversary - pretty damn good effort I reckon, although once again it's sort of snuck up on us a bit. It has a habit of doing that.

I remembered on Friday that it was coming up and then Friday's events intervened and it got lost until late yesterday evening, when a brief discussion with Ros & Cait between planning for the following on the DSE (Dept of Sustainability and Environment) website, I checked and discovered that indeed it was.

Excellent effort that it may be, ensuring an appropriate re-location in the face of the likely fire-weather over the next few days takes a higher priority.

Community Safety Message - Extreme weather threat

Victorians will face severe storm and fire weather on Monday night, Tuesday and Wednesday, consisting of extremely high winds across the whole of the state. This will be compounded by on-going fires and dry conditions.

Increasing temperatures and strong northerly winds are predicted for Monday night. The extreme conditions will continue on Tuesday and into Wednesday, with the onset of high winds as part of a south-westerly weather change.

Community preparation
Bob Cameron, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, and the state’s emergency services chiefs, warn that everyone, right across the state, needs to be prepared.

• Closely monitor updates on ABC radio, work closely with the emergency services over coming days to protect life and property, keep an eye out for your neighbours and check on the elderly and people with special needs.
  
  
• The CFA has declared a day of total fire ban for the whole state of Victoria on Monday 3 March, and most likely for Tuesday 4 March.
  
  
• Stay vigilant and have a well-practised fire plan. With the weather conditions starting on Monday night, consider activating your fire plan, including the decision to leave, on Monday, not Tuesday, when it could be too late.
  
  
• If your decision is to leave, you should contact a friend or relative and on arrival contact Red Cross to register your new address on 1800 727 077. You should aim to arrive at your destination during daylight hours on Monday.
  
  
• DSE advises that people living in the general areas of the Upper Yarra Valley and between Woods Point and Jamieson should be on high alert over coming days.
  
  
• Due to the strong winds, need to ensure that items around your property such as outdoor furniture and playground equipment are secured.
  
  
• Do not park or shelter under trees, and only contact VICSES on 132 500 when there is a need for assistance to access or leave property. VICSES is not a home maintenance service and residents should only call 132 500 when essential assistance is needed to make their property safe.
  
  
• Purchase a battery operated radio and torch, and tune to ABC Radio for updates and alerts.
  
  
• Victoria also faces potential localised and regional power disruptions that may impact home communications and lighting. These disruptions may also affect public transport with road, train, and pedestrian crossings impacted, so keep your travel to a minimum.
  
  
• Driving in fire affected areas is extremely dangerous and should be avoided. Safety must be the utmost consideration and when on the road please be patient and give way to emergency services vehicles.
  
  
• Schools across the state are assessing their risk plans and some may close as they did on Friday 27 February.

For further information go to www.vic.gov.au, or call 1800 240 667 – Victorian Bushfire and Storm Information Line (VBIL)

As I may have mentioned, we are currently staying in Nth Warrandyte with daughter Cait, her husband Nicco and children Angus 6 and Phoebe 3. The area is a potential fire-trap so we have arranged to stay with son Ben & partner Ema in Fitzroy until the weather abates somewhat and becomes only potentially dangerous and consequently safe to return.

We have also arranged for Lena, Guilia and Isobel who have been staying with Mick and Anne to temporarily relocate to Ros' sister Leonie in a suburb the name of which escapes me. Leonie will also have our two additional dogs Angus(dog) and Meggie. She already has Fergal and will also house Cait's dog Tyson. If you are keeping track of this then let me confuse you by jumping back to last Wednesday.

25/02/09 Wednesday- Went with Cait to a recruitment meeting at Nth Warrandyte CFA. They'd planned the meeting months ago and were just a little overwhelmed by the response from the local citizens who filled the brigade training room to capacity - there was standing room only. An excellent turnout and even if more than half don't maintain their interest beyond the current fire season, they'll still have 20 odd people to recruit from for both operational and non-operational roles. Acknowledging the different demographic, it would be wonderful if St Andrews could attract that sort of interest.

Cait had planned to offer her services as Treasurer but nearly got crushed in the rush! She introduced me to one of her friends Sean a CFA member who runs his own landscaping business and had offered to assist with any clearing up work at 2335. He has definitely been added to the list! On hearing that I was looking for a generator he gave me a company and contact name and said they were a really helpful bunch.

Got a pager message on Wed night from Captain Helen saying St Andrews were going back to normal operations from Friday and requesting crew availability. Decided to wait for a day to see how she went as there had seemed to be plenty of St Andrews folk around and I was some 20mins away in N Warrandyte .. a bit too far even to get on the second truck.

26/02/09 Thursday - Went to work - nothing strange about that, been doing it since the previous Wednesday week - although it is fair to say that work has ceased to have a great deal of meaning when compared to life's other recent and ongoing events. Still managed to chase a few things up, have a couple of phone conference and generally stayed reasonably focused on the jobs at hand. Also managed to get in a call to the generator and kit barn guys. Have I mentioned the kit barn guys before? We'll see.

27/02/09 Had Friday off as A/L so went to see the generator people who were extremely helpful and apart from engaging in a prolonged and interesting multi-way bushfire related conversation with a St Andrews CFA colleage who I discovered was working there when I wandered in the doorway, and the generator guys, one of whom had recently equipped himself with all the appropriate defensive gear and was now wondering what his exposures were. If nothing else the events of 07/02 have certainly brought some serious consideration of capability, preparedness and the value of ensuring that one's plan is realistic for the conditions likely to be encountered. It's an absolute shame that it takes disaster and death to focus peoples mind's on the really important stuff like our common humanity.

And yep - I also bought the recommended generator which I'll pick up in a week or two when we have the caravan.

I'd previously been talking to a chap in the Health dept at Nillumbik Council and offered to show him the MindManager software I use, that I thought may be useful in planning the Council's recovery effort which from my limited perspective seemed to be a little haphazard and a tad uncoordinated. Met with him on Friday and showed him the map - remember the map, you knew I'd get around to it eventually didn't you.

He seemed reasonably impressed and offered to pass my details on to the fellow who was coordinating the Council's revovery effort, as I'd suggested that I had some relevant experience and would like to get actively involved. He also hoped to have the Health Dept's Recovery Strategy documented by COB on Friday. Will follow both of these items up later today.

Headed off to St Andrews after stopping in Hurstbridge to ask the bank to order me yet another card that I'd forgotten I no longer had and collect my new internet banking security token. Finally arrived at StA and checked the mail before going down to the brigade. Mail box was chokkers including a registered parcel which turned out to be a teapot and two cups from our dear friend Judy in Perth. Such wonderful memories and generosity!

Down to to the brigade to chew the fat a bit and then head off to the farm and water the trees and garden and see if the ducks had come back to the dam. We'd locked the shed and said our goodbyes and I'd just buckled up my set belt when the pager went off. A stump fire adjacent to the Diamond Valley winery.

A few of the other guys arrived and with a full crew we rolled Tanker-1. It was a reasonably sized tree which fell down when threatened with a chainsaw, so it was cut up and suitably doused in A-Class foam. Hoses made up and back to the station where I was somewhat surprised to be told by one of the officers that I wasn't supposed to be turning out. I'm going to draw a veil over the issues behind this until I have clarity over my official status, but needless to say I was not and remain an unhappy little firefighter.

28/02 -01/03 Ros and I spent a very pleasant weekend with my sailing partner and his wife at Tecoma which concluded with an excellent lunch at Lady Chatterley's Restaurant at Cloudehill. Even managed to get a bit of work done on the boat - a Cole 23 yacht named - La Pirogue.

Back at Cait's I had just written a few words of todays blog when we received a call from Perth. It was our friend Sue to say they would be in Melbourne in a couple of weeks and could we catch up. We all rolled around the floor after I drolly commented that unfortunately we wouldn't be able to offer them even floor space because the bloody thing had burned down. It will be great to catch up.

Came back to the blog and decided to have a quick look at the fire weather because Cait had heard that Tuesday was going to be bad. It seems, as you too are now aware, that she was correct and once again we have planned to leave our little refuge and move even further away to the safety of Fitzroy.

We'll be gone as soon as Angas finishes school about 3:30 or sooner if the weather looks to be deteriorating as it may well.

May be we'll get to the map later today - Cheers - Q