Auntie, Sister. Grandmother, Great-Grandmother,
Mother and Wife of German Descent
I've lived in Australia since 1959 together with my husband Peter. We have four children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. I started blogging because I wanted to publish some of my childhood memories. I am blogging now also some of my other memories. I like to publish some photos too as well as a little bit of a diary from the present time. Occasionally I publish a story with a bit of fiction in it. Peter, my husband, is publishing some of his stories under berlioz1935.wordpress.com
Cameron Stewart says, that the unvaccinated at some point will have to be reintegrated into mainstream life.
I am going to get my second vaccination with Astra Zeneca on Sunday, 17th of October 2021. A few days ago I turned 87. Of course, at my age, I am not free of underlying health conditions. And, of course, we have quite a few experts in Australia who could testify to this. Our decision makers in government in this country claim, that all their decisions are made on the advice of experts for the good of all Australians. So, the advice is, that just about everybody should be fully vaccinated, and that the available vaccines are totally safe. They do admit, that even if you had your two doses of vaccines and are regarded as being ‘fully’ vaccinated, you can still catch the virus in a milder form, and this is most likely the DELTA variant you would catch. And when you catch it, you can also transmit it to other people! In my book this means, that one cannot go back to normal at all. For instance, I would still have to observe social distancing, and I would have to wear a mask wherever there is no adequate ventilation and other people around.
They say, the advantage of you being vaccinated is, that if you are admitted to hospital and have had your vaccinations, you are not likely to have a severe infection. I can understand that the health authorities want to keep as far as possible most Covid cases out of the hospital. If too many severe Covid cases are being admitted to hospitals, the health system is in danger of being overwhelmed. With most people being vaccinated, there is less danger of severe Covid cases. And they claim, hardly any double vaccinated people are likely to die of a Covid infection. People that do die under these conditions, would probably have some underlying health conditions. Not only elderly people, but also younger people can have severe underlying health conditions. But overall, younger people usually are in better health than most of the elderly.
The way I see it, all these different forms of Covid 19 are still going to be with us for many years, and we just have to learn to live with it.! All the tests, lockdowns and vaccinations won’t make the virus go away! What we have to do, is, adapt our lifestyle to living with the virus. It is as simple as that. Why are people not being told, that they have to adapt their lifestyle for years to come, so that people can prepare for this?
Coming back to what Cameron Stewart wrote about the unvaccinated, what do you think, can they be reintegrated into mainstream life at some point?
Now, I want to stress a few things that have to do with my approaching end of life. After all I am 87, right? Who in their right mind would not think of the end of life when they are of such an advanced age? Does everybody really want to be saved until they reach 90 or 100? I for one would prefer, to be allowed to die a natural death! I already told my GP, that I want him to put in my files: AND (Allow Natural Death). So far I did not get any confirmation, that this actually does appear in my files. But that my children are already informed, maybe could be of some help.
So, I already underwent to be vaccinated once, and soon there is a second time! All my family thinks, that this is marvelous. Personally, I do not believe that these vaccinations alter my life one bit. I still intend to observe social distancing, for I do not want to end up in hospital, not even with a mild form of the disease. If the family would want to visit me, they could do it now. Only these constant lockdowns prevent them from seeing me! Whether I am vaccinated or not, should in my opinion, not make any difference. But we have to follow the rules, right? However, I do not have to agree that these rules are the best they could have come up with.
The government does not always know what is best for the majority of people. Otherwise they would not have accommodated people that arrived from overseas in unsuited lockdowns in hotels, and they would a long time ago have made an effort to improve the ventilation in every building, and to help families that have to live in overcrowded apartment buildings with no fresh air! Instead they spend billions on vaccinations that do not get rid of the virus. And they urge people to get vaccinated, but they did not make sure, that very vulnerable people and all essential workers were being given priority.
The following is a copy from the comment section from
September, 26th, 2021
Cameron Stewart says: ‘The vaccinated feel they need protection from the unvaccinated — but if the vaccinated are somewhat protected and can spread the disease, isn’t it the other way around? It is the unvaccinated who need protection from the vaccinated.’
I think he has a point there. However, I would say, even if I am fully vaccinated, I am in danger of being infected by someone who is fully vaccinated too, for I do not want to end up with Covid even if it is in a mild form; for living on my own, I am in danger of being admitted to a Covid ward, even with a mild form of the disease, since I might not be able to look after myself and be needing some sort of full time care.
It is true, I might have a good chance of recovering from the disease if I am being treated in a Covid ward. But being treated in a Covid ward, do I have the guarantee that they let me die a natural death if my condition worsens? And are they willing to let my children see me before I die?
Speaking about costs. This is what Cameron Stewart says: “Australia’s new two-tier vaccination society is almost certainly going to be a temporary one. The costs on businesses and governments of enforcing the rules indefinitely would be exorbitant.”
So, enforcing the rule is going to be too costly? He may be right, for we have to look only of overseas experiences in some other countries. We should really learn something from these experiences in some other countries!
And so I had plenty of time for doing a lot of cooking and tidying up in the kitchen!
I reckon being able to spend a lot of time
in the kitchen is good therapy for me.
I enjoy very much to do all these cooking
preparations. I had heaps of vegies left in the
fridge from last week, and they needed a lot of pealing and cutting!
And finally I found the time to shred and cook this beautiful piece
of red cabbage! Further on I used another pot to cook potatoes, carrots and sweet potatoes in. All this well cooked stuff I intend to use over the next few days for some vegetarian meals. Instead of meat, I accompany the vegies with for instance some softly cooked, very well hotly spiced chick peas!
The red cabbage needs a lot of apple cider
vinegar and olive oil as well as a bit of sugar and
On 19 February 1942, the Japanese mounted two air raids on Darwin and mainland Australia came under foreign attack for the first time since white settlement.
Admiral Chūichi Nagumo (1887 – 1944), the mastermind of the Pearl Harbor attack on 7 December 1941, planned the Darwin raids, which involved 54 land-based bombers and 188 aircraft launched from four aircraft carriers operating in the Timor Sea. The Japanese, who were preparing to invade Timor, correctly surmised that a disruptive air attack on the Darwin base would hinder any Allied counteroffensive.
Admiral Chūichi Nagumo
The first attack began just before 10.00 am and lasted 40 minutes. Heavy bombers struck harbour installations and the town, while dive bombers, escorted by Zero fighters, attacked shipping in the harbour, the military and civil aerodromes and the hospital at Berrimah. The second raid began an hour later and involved high altitude bombing of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base at Parap. This raid lasted about 20 minutes.
Singapore had fallen to the Japanese only days earlier and the civilian population of Darwin, believing that an invasion was imminent, panicked. Looting and disorder was rife and approximately half the city fled south in an event which became known as the ‘Adelaide River Stakes’. Hundreds of Australian servicemen abandoned their posts. Three days after the attack 278 servicemen were still missing.
Together the two raids killed at least 243 people and between 300 and 400 were wounded. Twenty military aircraft were destroyed, eight ships at anchor in the harbour were sunk, and most civil and military facilities in Darwin were destroyed. The Australian government, concerned at the effect of the bombing on national morale, played down the event and claimed that only 17 people had been killed.
Australian soldiers survey the damage inflicted by Japanese bombers.
In the coming months other northern Australia towns, such as Townsville, Katherine, Wyndham, Derby, Broome and Port Hedland, would suffer from Japanese air attack. Further south, Sydney and Newcastle were attacked by submarines. Darwin would be bombed a total of 64 times, the last raids occurring in November 1943. None of these subsequent raids would, however, match the ferocity of those on 19 February 1942.
berlioz1935EditIt is easy for people to lose sight of the “big” picture. They are mostly concerned with their “own little” world. Perhaps it is human nature and we need leaders who can explain it all to us. But the leaders are not always “fair dinkum” as we say here in Australia. They have their own agenda and it takes a while before we noticed we have been had.Reply
auntyutaEditI think, Berlioz, that elected leaders, once they are in government, do not go very much by what the people want, who elected them. They can always lead the majority of voters astray, again and again.Reply
berlioz1935EditToday at the parliamentary question time, I heard the PM saying Labor was stopping the City Link tunnel project in Melbourne. It was outrageously misleading if not even a lie. Because this particular project was rejected by the people of Victoria at the recent state election.
auntyutaEditIn that case the people won. The project was stopped because the people did not like it. Naturally, the PM would not have liked it, that Labor promised the people to stop the project. It got them elected at Victorians State elections, and they kept their promise. For sure, the PM hates it even more, that Labor stuck to their promise!
cardamone5EditYou are very wise, Aunty Uta. Having been in Germany during World War II, you should be advising leaders in how to avoid war or any strife. I feel a blog post coming for you…can’t wait to read it.What you say about Australians wanting to keep taxes low but expecting government to cover infrastructure, etc, is true in America as well. Also true about it impacting low income households the most. Here in America the top 1% income bracket runs the government because they need to be wealthy to afford to run campaigns. We elect them, but their fear related platforms make voters lose their heads temporarily under the delusion that if they don’t get their vote their rights will be infringed on. Of course this is my opinion.Thank you for this thoughtful post, and the lovely pic.Love, EReply
auntyutaEditDear E, what you say about voters’ sentiments sounds absolutely right to me. Berlioz says that it is easy for people to lose sight of the “big” picture. They are mostly concerned with their “own little” world. Advising leaders? For that, leaders have to be open to advice. Chancellor Merkel for instance says in the Ukraine Crisis a military solution is not possible. It remains to be seen whether what she says is going to be taken seriously. There are well known academics in US who have done research on the East European situation. They can explain to you why it is not wise to confront Russia. The Ukraine can never defeat Russia. It is not possible, unless you have World War Three! Russia needs Ukraine or at lest part of it, as a buffer zone. The West should not prop up a corrupt Ukrainian government. It is not to the benefit of the common people no matter how much they long to belong to the West. Let them have normal trade relations with the West. That should really be sufficient. They do not need to belong to NATO. This only confronts the Russians. Why are Western leaders so determined to confront Russia? Why are they not willing to listen to the experts?Reply
auntyutaEditThank you very much, dear Berlioz, for these very important links! Much appreciated. Thank you.
elizabeth2560EditMy mother lives in a strata complex of nine units. She has been treasurer of her body corporate in a voluntary capacity for many years. With her health issues, she is no longer able to do it and there is no-one else who will take it over. My brother suggested to the other owners they contribute just a little more each moth and pay for a body corporate manager. Well that did not go too well with them at all! You are correct that people do not want to pay just that little bit extra for shared expenses. They feel they are being robbed and cannot see it as improving their own quality of life.Reply
auntyutaEditOur complex has ten units, Elizabeth, and Peter has been taking on this honorary job right from the start when the units had just been built. That was twenty years ago! We are in a similar kind of situation. Nobody wants to relieve Peter of the job, and nobody wants to pay extra fees for employing someone. Peter is really getting on in age. I don’t know for how much longer he can do it. All the body corporate business is handled by an office in Wollongong who are very good in handling all our requests which Peter has to relate to them. Thank you very much for your comment, Elizabeth. Reply
The EmuEditGood to read your comments on such diverse subjects Uta. Nobody really wants to take chances with their money anymore, much like in the bigger picture where various governments control taxpayers money and do not spend it on what the people expect, they tend to spend it on infrastructures that appeal to their electorates, hence ensuring their political aspirations. I have never seen Australia go through a worse government phase as we have seen, and seeing still, in over a decade or more now. Regards to you both, hot tomorrow, 43 here.Reply
Labor and the Coalition may be broadly in agreement about the risks and threats of China and the volatility of geopolitics. But they have very different approaches and they use very different language, writes Stan Grant.
Posted 23h ago23 hours ago / Updated 19h ago19 hours ago
cardamone5
AuntyUta 