Uta’s Diary: Lauren’s Birthday and going back in time a bit.

Last Monday. the 26th of June 2023, Martin’s daughter Lauren turned 25. Four years ago, Martin, Peter and I went by train to Newcastle for the celebration of Lauren’s 21st birthday. I mentioned this in 2019 in a comment to Carolyn and copy it here:

🙂Reply

  1. auntyutadoesitevenmatter3I am still quite happy with all my glasses, Carolyn, since all the different glasses still work more or less as well as last year! 🙂I would say that his year’s eye-test result was pretty good, since it showed that my eye-sight deteriorated only very little since last year. 🙂 So, I am quite relieved about this. I am also relieved that Peter did not end up in hospital the other week. So far Peter has experienced only minor angina attacks. Whenever he gets an attack or goes for a quick walk, he uses some spray. But this vertigo attack the other night gave us a bit of a fright!Thank you for the HUGS, dear Carolyn. You may have noticed that I have not been around much for a few days. We spent last weekend in Newcastle for the 21st of our son’s younger daughter. We had a good time in Newcastle. 🙂 It was also good to have our son with us for a few days! Our son came from Ballina, Victoria, where he lives, and he stopped at our place and then we went together up north to Newcastle. 🙂 Last Sunday we came back from Newcastle. And on Monday our son had to go back to Ballina.When we got back from Newcastle, we were straightaway rather busy. And at our age there are usually a few health problems as well. But still, the past week was not too bad. We were able to get done whatever needed to be done during the week, and this was quite a lot!! Anyhow, for us it seemed to be a lot. . .

Following is another copy:

It is now June 2023 . I just did not apply anymore to have a Cataract Operation done. So, I still have had not one yet!

Cataract Operation/ Specsavers/ Ambulance/ Different glasses/Eye-test

DSCN4344
DSCN4347
DSCN4346

This is printed on one of the cleaning cloths.
The green rimmed glasses are for using at the computer, the red rimmed ones are for walking around in, and the dark glasses are anti glare and good for wearing in the car.

I also still have some reading glasses!!

Here is what you can find in Google about The Fred Hollows Foundation:

https://www.hollows.org/au/about-the-foundation

I did get a reminder from Specsavers that another eye-test is due. So I thought, I better get my eyes checked again. I made an appointment for Tuesday, the 25th of June, 2019.

It turned out that the night from Monday to Tuesday was a very bad night for Peter and me. Peter happened to feel extremely dizzy. He felt so horrible that I called the ambulance. The ambulance people checked him out: Blood pressure and pulse were all right. So there was nothing wrong with his heart. They determined that it was just very bad vertigo. Since Peter had been vomiting a bit, they gave him an injection to stop the vomiting. They offered they could take him to the hospital, but there was probably nothing they could do about the vertigo. They said it was up to Peter to decide whether he wanted to go to the hospital or not. When Peter decided to stay at home, they advised, to call them back if later on for breakfast he did not feel all right.

Both Peter and I were able to go back to sleep for a few hours after the ambulance people left. And breakfast turned out to be pretty normal! So, this was good. Also, Peter was then able to drive me to the shopping centre for my appointment at Specsavers.

The eye-test result was pretty good, my eye-sight deteriorated only very little. I asked, whether it was all right, to have my cataract operation instead of in July, some five or six months later. The examining lady answered that this should be all right.

So I had been on the waiting list for the cataract operation since August last year. And I was advised recently that I could have it now in July. I found out that it was possible to delay the operation for another six months. Only if I did not have it by the end of six months I would loose my spot on the waiting list and had to go back to the end of the list!

So, I am happy now, that I can wait for this operation for a little bit longer. I mean, so far my eye-sight is not too bad. I do not fear the operation as such, I only fear that if my good eye gets operated on and something goes wrong, I might end up being totally blind, for my other eye is totally blind because of macular hole. . . .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macular_hole

2 COMMENTS

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  1. doesitevenmatter3I remember when you got these new glasses! I hope they’ve served you well! 🙂
    Just stopping by with some HUGS for you and Peter! I hope you are both having a good day today.
    ((((HUGS)))) 🙂Reply
    1. auntyutadoesitevenmatter3I am still quite happy with all my glasses, Carolyn, since all the different glasses still work more or less as well as last year! 🙂I would say that his year’s eye-test result was pretty good, since it showed that my eye-sight deteriorated only very little since last year. 🙂 So, I am quite relieved about this. I am also relieved that Peter did not end up in hospital the other week. So far Peter has experienced only minor angina attacks. Whenever he gets an attack or goes for a quick walk, he uses some spray. But this vertigo attack the other night gave us a bit of a fright!Thank you for the HUGS, dear Carolyn. You may have noticed that I have not been around much for a few days. We spent last weekend in Newcastle for the 21st of our son’s younger daughter. We had a good time in Newcastle. 🙂 It was also good to have our son with us for a few days! Our son came from Ballina, Victoria, where he lives, and he stopped at our place and then we went together up north to Newcastle. 🙂 Last Sunday we came back from Newcastle. And on Monday our son had to go back to Ballina.When we got back from Newcastle, we were straightaway rather busy. And at our age there are usually a few health problems as well. But still, the past week was not too bad. We were able to get done whatever needed to be done during the week, and this was quite a lot!! Anyhow, for us it seemed to be a lot. . .HUGS from me, Uta, and from Peter! 🙂 🙂Reply1

I also copy some comments to this blog:

https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/24843910/posts/25231

  1. catterelColour coding is so simple and so effective. Hurrah for your new specs, Uta! And something else we have in common – a left eye that is mainly there for decoration due to a macular hole. Mine occurred in 2003. Well, we learn to live with our disabilities and manage !Reply
    1. auntyutacatterelThat’s right, Cat/ somehow we manage. It’s just that things like ‘smartphone’ are not for me! 🙂Reply1
      1. catterelauntyutaI think if you haven’t experienced the evolution of a technology, as it gradually gets more and more sophisticated, it must be quite difficult to get used to it. I’m lucky – have been using a computer for 40 years, and mobile phone/smart phone for about 25 years, so it’s been gradual. There are still lots of things I don’t/can’t do with them, though!! So many new apps coming out all the time.Reply
  2. doesitevenmatter3It’s always a YAY for new glasses! Yours are fashion-y beautiful! 🙂
    HUGS!!! 🙂Reply
    1. auntyutadoesitevenmatter3YAY, Carolyn, I still love all my glasses, think of it, they were new more than two 1/2 years ago. But they’re still good! I hope they’re going to last me a bit longer. 🙂Reply1
      1. doesitevenmatter3auntyutaI remembered them! I like your taste in glasses.
        I have reading glasses and finally got some new ones this year.

What Australians really think about universities?

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/saturdayextra/mind-of-the-nation/102463580

Broadcast Sat 10 Jun 2023 at 8:20amSaturday 10 Jun 2023 at 8:20am

Melbourne campus
Students at the University of Melbourne campus.

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Michael Wesley investigates the forces shaping Australia’s universities and asks what Australians really think and feel about higher education. 

Ahead of a broad federal review into Australian universities, do we new vision for the sector?

Guest: Michael Wesley, Deputy Vice-Chancellor international, University of Melbourne. Author of Mind of The Nation: Universities in Australian life.

Broadcast 10 Jun 2023

Nude swimmers in Hobart celebrate passing of the longest night and end of Dark Mofo

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-22/tas-nude-swimmers-winter-solstice-dark-mofo/101172426

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The air temperature was 5 degrees and the water about 11, but that did not stop about 2,000 swimmers from plunging naked into Hobart’s River Derwent to celebrate the passing of the longest night.

Key points:

  • The River Derwent plunge started at sunrise — 7:42am
  • The event is held to celebrate the passing of the winter solstice, or longest night
  • It marks the end of the 2022 Dark Mofo festival

The annual Dark Mofo nude solstice swim is billed as offering “renewal and resurrection” to those willing to strip off outdoors during a Tasmanian winter.

But it may have left some with more of an ice cream headache.

One participant braced for the cold by planning the best technique for the brief dip.

“I think in and out, head down, bum up,” she said.

“Or maybe bum down, head up.”

Another swimmer’s philosophy was “feel the fear and do it anyway”.

Participants gathered before first light, huddling in coats and towels before dropping their kit and running into the water en masse.

Two women stand in towels and red swimming caps at the beach with their arms around each other.
Temperley Eva and Stephanie Plain met at the Dark Mofo festival and did the nude swim together.(ABC News: Luke Bowden)

Cairns resident Temperley Eva said it was the perfect way to end the festival.

However, the chilly water was a new experience.

“Cairns does not have cold water at all … you can’t have a cold shower, it’s lukewarm at best.” 

Two people stand on a beach wearing towels and red swimming caps.
Kerry Watson and Colin Sandbach loved the physical challenge and the camaraderie.(ABC News: Luke Bowden)

New South Wales tourists Kerry Watson and Colin Sandbach joined the swim after an internet search of the best winter activities on a trip to Tasmania.

Kerry enjoyed challenging her body and stepping outside her comfort zone.

“I’m not comfortable with being naked amongst other people but it didn’t matter,” she said.

Here’s how the winter solstice has been celebrated

Find out how the winter solstice is celebrated across the globe. 

A burning bonfire in a forest surrounded by a group of people

Read more

“I think I was the last one out and it was just invigorating and youthful and I don’t want to be old before my time.”

Colin loved the atmosphere and camaraderie.

“Everyone’s in a great frame of mind it’s just like a real party,” he said.

Nude swim manager Gemma Chisholm said the swim’s popularity had grown and many people had to be turned away, with tickets selling out two days after going on sale. 

A group pf naked people wearing swimming caps standing in the water at a beach.
Swimmers celebrate the longest night being behind them for another year.(ABC News: Luke Bowden)

Mofo over for another year

The swim marks the end of the Dark Mofo festival.

The inaugural swim in 2013 almost didn’t happen after police threatened to arrest people for public indecency.

The 2020 swim was cancelled after the COVID pandemic scuttled the festival, which made a return with a shorter program in 2021.

This year’s festival began with a Reclamation Walk around Hobart, acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which the city sits.

Tens of thousands of tickets were bought by people from all over Australia, boosting Tasmania’s mid-winter tourist numbers.

Governing Masculinity: A Call for Contributions

Pablo K's avatarThe Disorder Of Things

A two-day conference to be held at Queen Mary, University of London, 21-22 February 2024

Keynote by Professor Raewyn Connell

Deadline for abstracts: Monday 4 September 2023


Masculinity needs changing. As a manifestation of patriarchy, a predictor of violence, and a straight-jacket of identity, masculinity is widely identified as a culprit and symptom: problematic, traditional, ‘hyper’ and toxic. In response a loose network of feminists and allies, public health professionals, scholar-activists, social workers, civil society groups, international organisations and military and police forces have sought to reform masculinity for the better. Their efforts range from positive fatherhood campaigns to counter-terrorism measures, and from religious role models to queer theory. ‘Masculinity’ as a concept and configuration of practices is at the same time undergoing another round of crisis and change, split along axes of class, nation, racialisation, sexuality, gender identity and culture, torn between projects of restoration and abolition.

This two-day…

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Winter Solstice

ivor20's avatarIvor.Plumber/Poet

The winter sun subsides

Behind white frosty clouds

And the cold setting light

Submerges under twilight’s

Curtain of icy darkness

Jaymah Press:https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

Ivor Steven:email, ivorrs20@gmail.com

Amazon:search via, ‘Tullawalla by Ivor Steven’

Amazon:https://amzn.asia/d/4yFHWrT

https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/

https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions+by+Ivor+Steven&page=1&pageSize=4

– ivorrs20@gmail.com

Ivor Steven (c) June 2023

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Charles Perkins: Australian Biography (1998

May 25, 2020

From the Film Australia Collection 1998. Made by Film Australia. Directed by Robin Hughes. In a life of exceptional achievement, Charles Perkins, soccer star, university graduate, Aboriginal activist and Canberra bureaucrat, has often been in strife. In this interview he gives his own account of the personal experiences that fueled his great anger against white injustice and his determination to fight for Aboriginal rights. Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that the following program may contain images and/or audio of deceased persons.