Story THE LANDSCAPE GARDENER

[Bidadisndat]

THE LANDSCAPE GARDENER
(Book 4 in the Changes of Pace Collection)
​

Mathew O’Rourke, known simply as “Matt” or “Mattie” to his many friends, some of whom even knew his surname, had two loves that completely dominated his life. First and foremost of course were his wife Dianne and family of two young boys and a four month old baby girl. The second was his job where as both a fully qualified horticulturist and arborist he was employed by a large landscape and gardening company.

He had met Dianne in the first month of his third year at high school, and the two had remained inseparable ever since. After finishing senior high school Matt had gone to a TAFE College to do both horticulture and arborist courses whilst Dianne had opted to do dressmaking, and during this time they worked casual part-time jobs to gain practical experience in their chosen fields, cover expenses, and hopefully save a little for their future. Matt had managed to earn both of his certifications while working part-time for the company that subsequently employed him on a full-time basis after he graduated, and Dianne had learned all the ins and outs of her trade, as well as the maintenance of sewing machines and overlockers, while working as a seamstress for a uniform clothing manufacturer.

They were married soon after he graduated from the TAFE College and their first child, Terrence, was born a scant nine months later. Or was it eight? Anyway, it was close enough after their wedding to set tongues wagging amongst several gossips in the area where they lived. Not that either of them cared: They loved each other, and knew they would do so for the rest of their lives. Their second son, Liam, arrived sixteen months later, and was followed in another sixteen months by a daughter, Susan.

Their Italian born landlady, Maria, who treated Dianne like a daughter and the children as her own grandchildren laughingly suggested that a fourth child would probably come after another sixteen months and Dianne laughed with her, saying that she wouldn’t mind that at all provided they could afford another one. Matt’s job paid reasonably well, although he often worried about the security of it, but Dianne was a stay-at-home mum who since having their first child worked part time for the same uniform clothing company that employed Maria.

Matt and Dianne rented the downstairs apartment of the duplex that Maria, a widow, owned and lived in. The largest bedroom of Maria’s upstairs apartment had been given over to two commercial sewing machines and an overlocker where she, another Italian friend and Dianne worked together, turning the pre-cut materials supplied by the company into uniform skirts, slacks, dresses and blouses. It was piece-work, and although the income wasn’t fantastic it was a lot better than nothing, plus it allowed Dianne to take care of the children at home. As she didn’t have the expense of childcare Dianne believed that overall she was probably much better off than working mothers who had to pay through the nose for that service.

During the past three and a half years she had spent so much time chatting with the other two women that she had actually learned enough Italian to be able to hold a decent conversation in that language with Maria’s extended family and many friends who always seemed to be stopping by. And having spent a lot of time in the company of them both, and with the many young children of Maria’s numerous friends her eldest boy, Terry, was also able to communicate quite well, even if only in simple terms befitting his age.

Dianne wanted all her children to pick up the language this way as she felt it would give them an edge in the future, especially if they chose to take Italian as an elective in high school, although that was a long way off yet. She had long ago decided that whenever she and Matt needed a babysitter for the kids, it would be an Italian girl who would be instructed to speak only in her native language when with them.

Maria had thought this to be an excellent idea and, in addition to volunteering her own granddaughter, had actually gone to the extent of vetting several of those of her friends in order to find the best girls for the position if it was ever required. To Dianne’s practical mind learning a language this way probably equated to saving several hundred dollars over tuition fees and smiled to herself at the thought of the Australian Tax Office trying to add that to her earnings.

Matt had also endeared himself to Maria by transforming her previously mediocre front garden into a dazzling display of colour throughout each season, and the back yard into a fairly extensive vegetable garden. He had also installed a chicken coop and run along the back fence, and being practically free range, and supplied with copious amounts of kitchen scraps, the eggs produced by the eight hens therein more than covered the cost of the small amount of scratch mix that was purchased for them. He then did the same for Maria’s son and daughter-in-law, Angelo and Sophia, who owned and lived in another duplex three doors down the street, and with whom he and Dianne had become very good friends.

With a little bit of help and no end of advice from Maria’s mob, Matt had built a large barbeque under a covered pergola that jutted out from the rear of the double garage at the side of the duplex, and it had become the focal point for all the barbeques and parties held since its construction. Angelo had obtained an old but very good stereo record player at a yard sale some years before and had set it up in the garage, with weatherproof extension speakers fitted under the pergola. He and Matt had built up quite a collection of L.P. records covering a wide selection of genres, from classical to jazz, rock ‘n’ roll to country and western, and much more, and it saw extensive use. So too did a very large drinks ’fridge with double glass doors, donated by one of Angelo’s mates who had purchased it very cheaply from a take-away shop that had gone out of business.

Maria’s extended family and many friends had decorated the pergola with Italian and Australian flags, strings of coloured lights and a large number of empty Chianti bottles in their woven straw holders that now hung from its rafters. Of course, along with a variety of beers, soft drinks and wine casks there was still a number of full Chianti bottles in the ’fridge yet to be emptied.

Nobody dared argue with Maria when she insisted that two shelves in the ’fridge were to be kept clear of drinks so that food could be placed in there when they were having barbecues, and although Angelo initially tried to insist that one shelf would be more than enough he quickly changed his mind when she put in a large selection of cheeses, cabanossi and salamis, jars of olives, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, grilled aubergine, zucchinis, mushrooms in oil and suchlike.

Needless to say both Matt and Dianne, who everybody treated as if they were members of the family, loved the many parties that were held there, and at the last party Matt found to his surprise that he had actually picked up enough of the language to be able to engage in simple conversation when they spoke in Italian. Naturally there was lots of laughter and good natured ribbing whenever he made the inevitable mistakes in pronunciation or grammar; however there certainly wasn’t any lack of assistance and encouragement when any correction was required. Maria also made it very clear to the men what would befall them if she caught them teaching him any words or phrases that in her opinion were vulgar, and the men respected this... by making sure she wasn’t around when they did so.

The land behind the all the properties on the same side of the street was rough bushland infested with a lot of lantana and other invasive weeds, and was separated from their back fences by a twenty-metre wide easement intended to be both a firebreak and an access road for fire trucks and council vehicles. The local council was responsible for its maintenance however it had never had to bother with keeping the easement clear as most of the adjacent residents, having access through gates in their fences, treated it as a virtual extension of their own backyards, grassed it with a hardy lawn turf, and kept it mowed. A well-worn track where people walked their dogs and children rode their bicycles meandered down the centre for its full length, and although the locals had for some time been asking council to have the path paved, it seemed that this was considered to be of low priority and nothing had been done about it yet.

Matt and Angelo had, directly across from the properties where they lived, plus one on either side and the one in between, cleared about four metres or so into the bushland beyond, mulched it thickly and planted out a hedge of native plants including acacias, banksias, callistemons, flowering gums, grevilleas, hakeas, lilly-pillys and honey locust. Whilst it looked beautiful now that the plants were well established, its real purpose was to shield from public view a further ten metre extension into the bush where at first he, Dianne and Maria, and then Angelo and his family had each planted out two overlapping mandalas of raised vegetable garden beds. The design was actually close to that found in Linda Woodrow’s book “The Permaculture Home Garden” which was published several years later.

The dense planting of the hedge also acted as a wind break and a sun trap, creating a micro-climate that both extended the main growing season and expanded the range of fruit and vegetables that could be grown. Although they had had no problems with bandicoots, pilfering possums, initially attracted by the grevilleas planted along the easement, were an entirely different matter, and both Matt and Angelo eventually had to go to the extent and expense of putting up an eight-foot high loose-topped wire mesh fence around the perimeter of their mandalas to deter them.

He hadn’t bothered to ask for the council’s permission to do all this, as it would have invariably said no, and thankfully none of the neighbours had complained. In fact, after several of them had had a look at the mandalas they had asked him for advice on how to do the same for themselves, formed a gardening club, and then asked him if he would like to take on the role as Head Gardener... in a voluntary capacity of course. Both he and Dianne were delighted with the concept and they both readily offered their services to the new club, along with the free use of a geodesic fox-proof chook dome that he had constructed for his own mandalas.

He also provided, separate from those he kept in his own run, six chickens to populate the dome, and it was the responsibility of the person using the dome at the time to ensure that the chickens were well cared for. Actually the chickens took care of themselves, thus it was really only necessary to provide them with fresh clean drinking water and a couple of handfuls of grain. The grain they scratched up helped to distribute the compost they were making from the kitchen scraps and lawn clippings that were thrown into the dome. And as the holder of the dome was also able to keep the eggs that the chickens laid that chore was not considered to be onerous.

Having tasted the difference between store-bought eggs and those provided by the chickens they were taking care of, several people followed Matt’s lead and installed small chook houses and runs in their own back yards, with the agreed-to rule that nobody would keep a rooster, the early morning crowing of which would disturb the tranquillity of their quiet neighbourhood.

In the three years since the club was formed it had grown considerably, and there were now five more mandalas spread along the easement, plus another four under construction. Construction of each new mandala was made fairly easy by the fact that when somebody wanted to put one in all the members of the garden club pitched in to assist, and one couldn’t help but notice that this also had the effect of drawing all those involved into a closer and friendlier group of neighbours. When Matt joked with several of them that their suburban neighbourhood seemed to be turning into a farming community they not only heartily agreed with him but also maintained that they were quite proud of the fact.

In order to conserve water Matt had encouraged the members to install drip irrigation and use thick layers of mulch on their gardens. Rather than run hoses across the easement from each property when wanting to water their gardens, he suggested that they each put in an underground irrigation pipe, terminating in a standpipe and tap, and with a shutoff valve at the house end in case a pipe was damaged. Where they were able, quite a few members took advantage of the government’s rebate system and installed rainwater tanks on their properties, and ran their irrigation systems as well as their laundries and toilets from them.

A further innovation came about after Matt had been approached by a couple of club members who had requested his help in assembling two more chook domes, as they felt that they did not have the expertise needed to do it themselves. It was when he was engaged in this project that he came up with the idea of covering a dome frame not with chicken mesh, but with translucent bubble wrap, thus making of it a small portable hothouse. After some experimenting he found that while bubble wrap was very effective in the cooler months it was overly hot when the weather warmed up, however by using various light-reducing percentages and colours of shade-cloth they still worked well, plus had the advantage of allowing good ventilation.

After putting together one of these domes it was displayed it at the next get-together that the club now held each month, with the result that he was asked if he would be able to produce them for sale to members. However Matt suggested that in keeping with the ethos of the club it would be much better if those members who wanted such domes work on them as a group project, and he would provide a list of materials required, detailed instructions and advice where needed.

The produce from Matt, Dianne and Maria’s veggie garden and mandalas actually slashed their food bill considerably, and more often than not produced a modest surplus that Maria used for trade with her family and friends. Maria didn’t like taking cash for the produce, so all her friends were informed as to what she needed at any one time, be it olive oil, tea, coffee, flour, sugar or whatever, and her little trading system worked well. When other members of the club also noted and spread the word about the savings they were making by growing their own veggies it had the effect of inspiring and encouraging new members to join, and by the end of the fourth year sixteen of the twenty three properties backing on to the reserve had become part of the system.

One duplex between Maria’s and Angelo’s was an investment property owned by a couple who rented it out, and as the tenants of both units had no interest in becoming part of the garden club Matt and Angelo decided that they would use the bushland behind it and install another double mandala there. Maintaining their combined mandalas would probably have been a full time job for one person however between their two families, plus Maria, they fielded five keen gardeners, and whether working alone or together in twos or threes the time that each spent in the gardens was quite easy and pleasurable, not to mention also quite profitable.

Once each year, when there was an abundant supply of tomatoes from the gardens of friends as well as their own, there was a weekend set aside for bottling fresh tomatoes, as well as tomato sauces, pasatas and pastes. A large amount of sun-dried tomatoes was also put into jars, preserved in virgin olive oil and often flavoured with garlic, basil or chilli. This event was always accompanied by a massive party that required all who attended to bring a plate of food to share and at least one bottle of wine, plus anyone who had one, a mandolin, guitar, or violin - even if its owner couldn’t really play it all that well - or in the case of a piano accordion only if its owner could play it well.

Of course the council eventually got to learn of what amounted to guerrilla gardening on the land however after meeting with the members and inspecting the system, and finding no chemical herbicides, pesticides or fungicides were used, nor was there any type of contaminated water runoff that might enter the catchment area of the dam beyond that supplied the area with drinking water, it was given approval to remain in place. The local newspaper wrote up a glowing article on the garden and when interviewed by one of its reporters a quick thinking Matt very cunningly attributed the scheme to “those forward thinking councillors who had backed it”. Not that any of the councillors had done anything of the sort of course, however they did not deny having done so and happily accepted the unearned praise that they subsequently received.

Following his suggestion in the newspaper article that the garden could possibly be used as a model for more community gardens in the local area, and perhaps for areas elsewhere to learn and copy from, it was felt by many councillors that here was an excellent public relations opportunity not to be missed. Following much discussion the project was eventually given the status of an “approved local community garden”, and council rangers were assigned to make random security patrols of the area.

Although the club was asked to consider becoming an incorporated identity and maintain a register of members they were all relieved to find that while it was possible, and felt by some to be inevitable in the future, at this point in time no fees for the use of the land were to be imposed by council.

* * *​

 

[Bidadisndat]

At the landscape and gardening company that employed him Matt was head of one of three teams of six men each, working mostly on jobs for large businesses, although there were also a growing number of McMansion clients who wanted their outlying rural area acreages landscaped. On some properties, particularly when the clients were elderly, they also installed boxed-in raised-bed flower and vegetable gardens and Matt was happier working on those than he was on the upkeep of the three 18-hole golf courses for which the company held contracts.

He was considered by many to be overqualified for the position in which he was employed, but he loved the work that he was doing and never complained about the somewhat lower pay that went with it. His work was well regarded, and it was widely felt that he would progress from Leading Hand to Supervisor when Ron Pearce, the current holder of that position, retired. Actually, Matt was very good friends with Ron and knew for a fact that, despite having passed the age where he could easily do so, Ron had no intention of retiring for quite some time. Of more concern to Matt was the word going around that Douglas McFarlane, the owner and manager of the company, was planning to replace the supervisor with his son Frederick, supposedly currently learning the trade, and that there would be a number of changes made to the makeup of the three teams now employed there.

Nobody who knew the son, nicknamed Froggy, had any doubts that there would be changes made if that happened as he was well known to be arrogant, rude, lazy, inept, and not entirely honest. At school he had been known first as Freddie, then Freddo Frog, after the small chocolates of that name, and finally as Froggy. Many thought the name was fitting because he was often very vocal, was puffed up with self importance, and was considered to be a somewhat slippery person, though there were also many who thought “Toady” would have been more appropriate.

For now, however, all appeared to be going well: Christmas was only four weeks away and there were many clients who wanted their gardens finished before the company closed for the festive season, so the three teams were kept busy, starting much earlier and finishing much later than their usual long working days. By the time the Christmas-New Year Break rolled around Matt had built up quite a bit of overtime, and as Dianne had also put in extra hours in order to fill customer orders, their joint bank account looked quite a lot healthier than they’d expected. Just for a moment he thought that maybe they could splurge a bit on their holiday, and then grinned inwardly when he thought about Dianne’s reaction to that idea: She was far too practical to allow money to be spent unnecessarily, and besides, apart from saving for a substantial deposit on a home of their own, they both felt it was best to have a bit put aside for unexpected emergencies.

Matt drove what was originally a basic model 1975 Toyota Crown, purchased at a very reasonable price from a neighbour whose eyesight had deteriorated to the point where he was unable to drive the car safely, even when wearing glasses. In the seemingly never-ending process of completely rebuilding it he was slowly adding the bells and whistles he thought it needed to alter it from a basic model to one of somewhat more regal splendour, and he’d added the “Royal Saloon” badge to the trunk lid after finding it at the wrecking yard where he sourced most of the parts he needed.

Although Dianne openly admitted to her friends that it really was a lovely car and that she was quite proud of Matt’s efforts, to his face she merely said that at least tinkering with the Toy-o-car kept him off the streets. It was meant as a joke of course, though to Matt it seemed a strange thing to say considering that it was after all a car, and he wondered where-else would one drive the car other than on the streets.

Matt and Dianne didn’t feel that they could afford the luxury of taking the type of holiday that many well-heeled people did, but as they both enjoyed camping they decided to do their usual thing and just drive up the coast and find an inexpensive camping ground where they could pitch their tent and just enjoy the two week break together as a family. Matt had gotten the Crown into what he hoped was good running order and had added a tow bar for the 7’ x 4’ galvanized box trailer in which they’d carry all their camping and fishing gear.

He’d bought the trailer second-hand from a fellow student when he was at the TAFE college, and had customised it for extended trips by having holders for two twenty-litre jerry cans of extra fuel and two for water welded to the outer sides of the cargo compartment, and a large lockable toolbox welded to the A frame in front of it. Two spare wheels, conveniently the same size as used by the Crown, were mounted on a vertical spindle in front of the toolbox, and although the balance of the trailer when empty was altered so that it was a bit front heavy it wasn’t enough to noticeably affect the handling of the car towing it. The addition of a jockey wheel made it easier to push around by hand if required, and adjustable stands at the rear kept it stable if they wanted to lay out their sleeping bags in it.

He was well practiced at loading the trailer for trips like the one they’d planned and although he could have it done in less than ten minutes in an emergency he was now on holiday and there wasn’t any reason to rush. He was going to take a leisurely thirty minutes to have all the gardening equipment that was now in it unloaded and all their camping gear carefully checked, packed and ready to go.

At present, however, the Crown was being used by Matt to ferry three of his crew and the supervisor from the company’s yard to the local pub where they would have their end-of-year bash. As he didn’t drink much anyway, on this occasion he had volunteered to drive the guys home when the party was over, and had stuck to drinking non alcoholic Claytons and dry ginger ale. It was lucky that he did: The men were pretty well pickled by the time he drove them to their homes later that night, and had he not been driving he probably would have been too. The supervisor was the last to be dropped off and he took advantage of being out of earshot of the others to have a quiet word to Matt.

“Matt, I haven’t told you this, ‘cause it isn’t official yet, and I’ve been told to keep my mouth shut about it, but you’re one of the best workers I’ve got, and I’ve always been able to rely on you, so I’m letting you know now what’s coming in the New Year.”

He appeared to be a darned sight more sober now than when they had left the pub, and the tone of his voice made Matt a bit apprehensive.

“McFarlane told me today that Froggy will be taking the position of Assistant Supervisor, and will be working with me to learn the ropes. That bastard knows I’m well aware of what my position in the company’s future will be once he’s trained up, but he thinks I really need this job and will stay on until he is. Well guess what? The day that that prick starts work there, I’m out! Gone! Vamoosed! They won’t see me for dust. Now, I hate to tell you this, but the sod has already told me that he’ll be making some changes to the work crews, and he’s got a couple of mates that he’ll be employing to head two of the teams. Gotta tell ya Matt, he doesn’t like you at all, and I don’t think your job is going to be all that secure. In fact, I‘m bloody sure it won’t be.”

“What are you going to do if you leave, Ron?” asked Matt, his spirits falling rapidly.

“Don’t worry about me, Matt. I can chuck this job in anytime with no worries at all. There’s plenty of this type of work out there if you know where to look for it. Come to think of it, I might just start looking over the holidays. Hell, I could even start up my own business and go into competition against them. Could you imagine the looks on their faces if I did that? Well, better go in and face the Mrs, I guess. Give my regards to Dianne. Your position’s pretty safe for the time being and there’s no need to panic, so you and the family have a really good holiday.”

After the traditional Merry Christmas and Happy New Year exchanges by both men he got out of the car and lurched through the front gate of his house, turning to give a wave as Matt drove away.

He was in a sombre mood when he related the conversation to Dianne after arriving home, however she was quick to hide her dismay - mostly at finding him so down in the mouth - and reassured him that everything would turn out alright, even if worse came to worse and he lost his job there.

“Mattie, you’ve always been a good worker, and people hold you in much higher regard than you realise. You’d be able to find another job in the same field soon enough if it came to that, so don’t fret about it. In the meantime, you smell of cigarette smoke and booze, even if you didn’t smoke or drink, so go have a hot shower and relax. Did you have anything to eat tonight? I can fix you up something if you like. No, I’ll fix you up something anyway, so go and have a shower.”

“Thanks sweetheart, you always seem to be able to bring me out of the doldrums. I’m a lucky man,” he said as he put his arms around her, kissed her on the forehead, and then dropped a hand down to give her a light pinch on the backside.

“Yes, you are. Shower! Now! Go!” she laughed, and as Matt made his way to the bathroom she began preparing two of the large, thick, toasted ham, cheese and tomato sandwiches that he liked so much, plus a large mug of hot cocoa. Later, feeling a hundred per cent better after the hot shower and late night meal Matt made for the bedroom, stopping briefly to look in on his sleeping boys in their room, and shortly afterwards was in bed sound asleep. Soon after nursing the baby and also checking on the two boys Dianne was snuggled up beside him and within minutes she too was sleeping, a small smile on her lips as she dreamed of the camping trip that they would begin in the morning.

Matt woke very early only to find that Dianne was already up and about, having risen to the demands of a hungry baby, and was busy preparing a hearty breakfast.

“No need to rush,” she said. “We’re on holidays now. We’ll be spending quite a bit of time on the road so I want us all to have a good breakfast before we leave. I’m going to pack the picnic hamper and the smaller esky with some snacks and the makings for lunch. We’ll be able to stop and take a break whenever we feel like it, rather than look for the next town in which to waste money on junk food. I’m filling both the thermos flasks with hot water too.”

“Good idea,” he replied. “I’ll start loading the trailer.”

“OK. Don’t forget your fishing gear,” she said, grinning and thinking that it would probably be the first thing he packed, then squealed when he grabbed a tea-towel and flicked it at her backside with a laughing “As if!” Actually, it was the last thing he placed in the trailer after the camping gear had been loaded. After all, they might stop for lunch by a river, and he didn’t want to have to dig down to the bottom of the trailer to find his rod and tackle!

The camping gear he loaded included the tent, together with its poles, ropes and tent pegs in its own bag, with a second bag holding a large ground sheet, a tent-like shower/toilet enclosure and three solar shower bags. A 3-burner gas stove and its stand, a gas lantern and a 9kg cylinder plus the folding picnic table and seats went in next, followed by two large plastic totes holding their sleeping bags, some extra bedding, two queen size air mattresses, an air pump for inflating them, and another tote holding their tropical one-piece wet-suits, fins, masks and snorkels. He placed their weight-belts, his pneumatic speargun, its air pump and several extra spears in the lockable tool box.

A fourth tote held a good quantity of both canned and non perishable foodstuff in airtight containers, and of course he hadn’t forgotten the large esky that Dianne had filled with more cold food plus the ice packs that she had previously put in the freezer. Maria had given him a large box, saying “You don’t open until Christmas day, OK?” and he had packed this without saying anything about it to Dianne. A Porta-Potti chemical toilet, two folding chairs, and the baby’s bassinet completed the load which was then covered by a tarp, held securely in place by a cargo net stretched across it.

He had arranged the loading of the trailer so that it was now actually perfectly balanced for towing, with only a small downward pressure on the tow-bar of the car. “Jeez, may have to get a bigger trailer soon - maybe with a loading ramp for ride-on mowers so I can write it off on tax,” he thought to himself. Their back-packs, along some with extra clothing was packed into the boot of the Crown, with just enough space left for the picnic hamper and the small esky. Dianne also put several pillows and blankets on the floor behind the front seats, along with some of Matt’s books on Self Sufficiency that he enjoyed reading, a couple of craft books for herself and some toys for the boys. On these camping trips she invariable made friends with people who had similar interests to herself and Matt, so she included an album full of photos of their house and gardens, the chook run, her dress designs, and Matt working on the Crown. She then checked that the flashlight with extra batteries and the first-aid kit were in the glove compartment, and that both the Gregory’s Road Atlas and latest Caravan & Camping Guide were on the parcel shelf below, along with a box of tissues, a dispenser of moisturised towels, two empty rubbish bags and the camera that Matt had given her for her birthday.

Matt had hoped that they’d be on the road by seven a.m. however it was closer to eight when, with the boys in toddler seats on either side of the baby capsule all fastened in the back, they drove away from the house. Maria had come down to see them off and had given Dianne a big hug and a large cake tin that contained one of the rich homemade fruit cakes for which she was renowned, plus a pile of tarts and biscuits “for the bambinos”, and had waved until the car was out of sight. Matt navigated his way out of the city and joined the freeway heading north, hoping to travel a good distance yet still find a suitable overnight campsite well before dark.

The freeway didn’t really offer anything in the way of rest stops where they could camp, and in fact there were many stops where camping was expressly forbidden, so they decided to travel along the old highway. They stopped for a break after two hour’s driving so that they could have a cup of coffee, Dianne could feed the baby, and Matt and the boys could stretch their legs a bit. Then it was back on the road again until about one p.m. when they stopped for lunch at a park in one of the nicer towns that they had passed through. The park featured a kiddie’s playground where the boys managed to dissipate the energy pent up by sitting in the car for so long, and a small lake where they all had fun feeding the geese and ducks that swam there. Though there were also plenty of Koi swimming around in the lake Dianne laughed and agreed when Matt said that it’d probably be best if he didn’t get out his fishing gear and try his luck at that spot.

After departing the town they resumed their journey north, however about half an hour later the car seemed to begin running a little rough and he noticed that the temperature gauge had suddenly climbed into the red zone. Even as he pulled over to the side of the road a cloud of steam billowed out from under the hood and the engine came to a stop. Whilst Dianne waited in the car Matt got out and attempted to raise the hood, however it was too hot to handle and it took nearly ten minutes to cool down enough to lift. He found that the problem appeared to be a burst bottom radiator hose, and the radiator was now bone dry. Although he had enough water to refill it he didn’t carry any spare hoses, so the problem couldn’t be fixed quickly here and now, and they would have to contact the NRMA.

“Going to have to flag somebody down and see if we can get some help,” he said.

“Well,” said Dianne. “We’re not exactly in the middle of nowhere, so I expect there’ll be a car or two passing by soon enough.”

“I sure hope so. We don’t want to be stuck here come nightfall.” he replied, though it was over an hour before they saw a truck coming along the road from the town. The truck pulled in behind them, its driver having spotted the blinking hazard lights that Matt had turned on, and the hood of the car raised.

“Having a spot of trouble, mate?” the truck’s driver asked.

“Unfortunately, yes,” replied Matt. “Had a hose burst and the radiator’s now bone dry. It happened suddenly and I’m afraid the engine may have seized. I’ll have to contact the NRMA as we’re going to need a tow,” he added as the driver climbed out of his truck. “I don’t suppose there’d be an emergency phone nearby?”

“No. Not on this road I’m afraid. We can help organise a tow for you, though being a Saturday afternoon it could take a while.”

The truck driver’s passenger also got out of the truck and nodding towards the children as she approached Dianne said “Looks like you’ve got a bit of a handful there. They’re all OK are they?”

“Oh yes. Terry here got a bit of a fright when he saw all the steam coming out from under the hood, but he’s fine now. His little brother seems to be unaware that there’s anything wrong, and the baby’s sleeping through it all.”

They were interrupted by the men coming to them from the front of the car.

“Sorry Dee, but we’re going to need to be towed back to town,” said Matt. “The gentleman here has offered to help us organise one, though it might take a while.”

“Dave,” said the truck’s driver, extending his hand with a smile. “Dave Morgan, though my friends call me Dai, and this beautiful woman here is my wife Bron, short for Bronwyn.”

 

[john70]

great story

 

[Siskiyoumom]

I love how you weave the characters into each story and look forward to more additions to each part.

 

[Bidadisndat]

After introductions all round, including the names of the children of both families, Dave suggested that it would be best if Bron drove Dee, the babies and the two younger boys on to the village where they could organise a tow truck, whilst Dave, Matt and the two older boys waited with the car. Matt protested that they didn’t want to put Dave and Bron to any trouble but they persuaded him that it was really the best course of action considering that their car was currently undriveable.

“The two youngest boys can sit in the back seat with Megan in the middle,” suggested Bron. “Dee will have to hold Susie’s capsule on her lap but it’s only a short drive and I’ll be taking it slow. Is that OK with you, Dee?”

“That’ll be fine, Bron. Won’t be the first time I’ve had to carry it like that.”

“Where will you be getting us towed to?” asked Matt.

“To Brocklesbury. It’s a small village about fifteen minutes drive further on, and the mechanic who has the garage there is not only much better than any at the garages back in town, he doesn’t try to rip people off,” replied Dave. “It’ll be easy enough to get the car towed, but the trailer could be a bit of a problem. The tow truck won’t be able to take it and the car at the same time so I think the best thing to do would be to hitch the trailer up to our truck and the girls can take it with them.”

It took a bit of heaving and hauling, but they finally got the trailer hitched up to the truck, then whilst Matt, Dave and the boys sat in the Crown and chatted, Bron drove to the village garage where she found the mechanic just about to close up.

“Hullo Bron, what brings you here?” he asked, approaching the window of the truck.

“Hullo Jeff. There’s a Toyota Crown broken down just the other side of the freeway crossover and Dai’s there with its driver. A radiator hose burst and the engine appears to have seized so we were wondering if you’d be able to tow it over here to be looked at.”

“Sure, I can do that. You caught me just in time. I’ll finish locking up here and be over there in about fifteen minutes or so.”

“Thanks Jeff. Tell Dai that we’ll be at the house and if he calls when he gets here I’ll come down and pick him up. Thanks.”

“That’s OK Bron. I’ll drive them up to the farmhouse. I’ll see you later.”

Bron put the truck in gear and they headed for the farm.

“Is there a motel around here where we could stay tonight?” asked Dianne.

“Well, there’s a good hotel here but I don’t know how they are for vacancies at the moment. But don’t worry about a thing, Dee: We’ll soon have you all fixed up, one way or another,” said Bron, and they continued chatting as she drove on. “OK, this is home,” she said some ten minutes later, turning into the driveway of a large property and proceeding down to the farmhouse where she parked. They got out of the truck and after releasing Megan’s capsule in the back from its strap-in holder the two women carried both capsules into the house, Liam walking beside Dianne with one little hand tightly gripping her dress. As they approached the back verandah the little hand suddenly tugged at her dress and with the other Liam was pointing towards the door where a large furry cat had just pushed its way through the pet hatch built into it.

“That’s our pussy-cat,” Bron told him with a smile. “His name is Ginger. You can pat him if you want to, but be very gentle, OK?”

“Make yourself at home Dee,” Born said once they were inside, “while I put the kettle on for a cuppa. Gosh, look at the time. I think it’ll be getting kind of late by the time the boys get here so I’m going to start throwing something together for dinner. How about pasta with a seafood sauce, and a salad?”

Dianne was about to protest but Bron forestalled her:

“When they get back we can do something about accommodation, but dinner comes first. Especially as the boys will probably be quite hungry. No arguments, OK?

“OK. What can I do to help?” Dianne asked, smiling brightly.

“Nothing really. Just sit there where you can relax and have your cuppa, and keep an eye on the kids while we chat.”

It didn’t take Bron long to prepare a simple seafood sauce to go with the large pot of fettuccine that she was also putting on, and the salad likewise took little time to toss together. She also cross-sliced four long bread sticks, spread them with a quickly made herbed garlic butter and wrapped them in foil, ready to place in the oven when the men came in. By the time they did arrive Bron had not only learned from Dianne all about the camping holiday that their family was taking, or trying to take at this point, but had already developed a strong liking for her. But then again, most people did, as she was a very personable young lady.

It was almost six p.m. when they were interrupted by the sound of a truck pulling up and went outside to find that the men had returned and were unhooking the Crown from the back of the crew-cab tow truck so that it could be rolled backwards to the doors of Dave’s garage-workshop. The three men also unhooked Matt’s trailer from Dave’s truck and rolled it under one of the carports attached to each side of the garage. The two young boys didn’t want to go into the house until they’d seen the car unhitched from the tow-truck, however once it was positioned in front of the garage they both raced inside to where Dave’s son had promised Terry that they could play with the ‘Tomy’ train set that his grandparents had given him and his brother last Christmas.

“No space for the car at Jeff’s workshop at present,” Dave explained to the two girls as they all headed for the house. “Matt and I’ll take a look at it here in the morning and decide what needs doing. Hopefully it’s only the radiator hoses that need replacing but we might as well give the engine a good going over while we’re at it.”

“OK. Hope you guys are hungry: We’ve got dinner almost ready. Jeff, would you like to join us? I know Laura and the kids are away visiting her parents so I was hoping you would, and I made more than enough for all of us.”

“Did you really? Thanks Bron, that’s good of you. Just let me use the bathroom to wash up first as my hands are pretty grimy.”

“So’s your face Jeff. Take a look in the mirror,” laughed Bron. “You’ll find a face washer and towel in the cupboard beside the shower. Just drop them both in the laundry tub when you’ve finished.”

Going into the bathroom Jeff grinned when he looked in the mirror and found that he had big grease streaks both across his forehead and alongside one side of his nose, and it took several minutes of scrubbing with a face cloth and soapy water to remove them. Whilst he was so engaged Bron had put the breadsticks into the oven and they were well warmed by the time he was finished and everyone was ready to sit at the dinner table. As it had been decided that whatever work Matt’s car needed done to get it running properly would have to be left until morning, accommodation for the family would need to be arranged for tonight at least, and Dave excused himself saying he was going to organise something for them.

Bron and Dianne began setting out crockery, cutlery and the food, leaving Matt to join the two boys for a couple of minutes as they played with the train set. The two younger boys and the babies had been fed and had fallen asleep not long before, so the two older boys were set up at a small table to themselves, though they were more interested in playing with the train than eating. The fettuccine, seafood sauce and garlic bread had just been placed on the table when Dave returned bearing two Chianti bottles. As he set them down on the table Dianne gave a small gasp of surprise and a small tear suddenly rolled down her cheek. Matt smiled as he reached across to take and give her hand a small squeeze of understanding.

“Did I just do something wrong?” Dave asked in puzzlement.

“Not at all Dai,” Matt replied, and during the meal went on to tell them about their landlady, friends and neighbours back home, and about the parties that were held beneath the pergola at the duplex they rented.

“Sorry about that,” said Dianne. “I have to admit I was actually feeling a lot more worried than I showed after the car broke down, but with all you’ve been doing to help and then seeing the Chianti bottles… Well, it’s just made me crying happy. Not easy to explain really I guess, just that I can get a bit emotional at times.”

“I understand what you mean, Di,” said Jeff. “I can get a bit that way myself at times. You know, I personally think that for reasons beyond our understanding these things are somehow guided from above, and hopefully this is a sign that everything in the future is going to work out well for you all.”

The conversation around the table was light-hearted and with three men being mechanically minded revolved mostly around cars, specifically Toyota Crowns, with Dave jokingly saying that it was lucky that Matt was driving one because if he’d been driving a Ford or a Holden he would probably have driven straight past him. Of course everyone felt certain that Dave would have stopped for anyone he thought might need help, but it got a good laugh. When mention was made of Matt and Dianne’s holiday plans and the subject of accommodation for the night came up Dave was able to deliver some really good news and with a broad smile announced that he had managed to arrange accommodation for them at “The Oasis”, which was fortunately very close by. Bron was grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat at Dave’s announcement and added that it really was so close they would be able to carry Susie and Liam there without waking them up.

“We’ll have to carry Terry too,” said Matt, looking across the room to where the two boys had been playing with the train set. “Both the boys have nodded off.” And sure enough the two lads were fast asleep, stretched out in the centre of a large circle of train track, along with two stations and a railway crossing, a bridge and a tunnel that they had laid out on the lounge floor.

“I think it’s about time I headed off,” said Jeff. “It must be way past my bed time.”

“Jeff, before you go: How much do I owe you for the tow?” asked Matt.

“Don’t worry about it Matt,” Jeff answered. “The dinner Bron put on, Dave’s home brewed beer and the good time I’ve had with you all tonight more than covers it.”

“What time is it anyway?” asked Bron, looking at the kitchen clock. “It’s only quarter to eleven. Jeff, that’s not late for you on a Saturday night!”

“Oh, is that all it is? Well, looks like it’s going to be late by the time I do get home,” he laughed as Dave quickly reached over and carefully decanted another swing-top bottle of home-brew into his glass.

It was actually well after midnight by the time he did leave as Bron had asked him to stay and keep an eye on her sleeping children while she helped Matt and Dianne on their way to The Oasis. As the group took to the path she walked in the centre, holding a bright Coleman lantern in one hand and a large heavily laden basket in the other.

“This is a short cut,” Dave said in explanation of the direction they were all walking as he lead the way, carrying one of the boys. “You and I’ll make another trip Matt, and bring your bags over next. Will you need anything else from the car?”

“Thanks Dave. We have back-packs, which are a lot easier than hauling suitcases, and I think they’ll be all we need for tonight. On second thoughts, I’d better grab my overalls out of the trailer too.”

“Do you always use back-packs? That’s very practical in my book,” said Dave.

“Yes we do, though we actually call them BOB’s, short for Bug-Out Bags,” said Dianne. “They’re always packed ready to go in case we have some type of emergency, like a house fire for example, and have to evacuate in a hurry. We also keep all of our camping gear in bags and totes that can be quickly loaded onto the trailer if need be.”

Dave didn’t say anything more about BOB’s, or Dianne’s easy use of the term, but he was pleased with the knowledge that this family seemed to be well prepared.

Matt and Dianne were dumbfounded when they arrived at The Oasis: The last thing they were expecting was what appeared when Dave flicked a switch in the cabana and a swimming pool surrounded by a garden of palms, hibiscus, frangipani, bougainvillea and bamboo was illuminated with subtle lighting. Not quite so subtle was the blinking red, green and blue neon “Open” sign which had been obtained from the old Oasis Wine Bar and was now mounted over a bar in the cabana, itself lit with dimmer controlled white lights and many strings of coloured Christmas lights, but the whole effect was like that of having arrived at some tropical beachside resort.

Adjacent to the cabana and overlooking both pool and garden was a twenty two foot Glendale caravan, positioned under a gabled roof that extended out to cover a wide deck which had been built alongside the van at floor level. A handrail around the deck turned it into something more like a verandah and with clear roll-down café awnings that could block out wind and rain it virtually doubled the living space of the van. The short space between the deck and the ground was filled with wooden latticework and in front of this was a three foot wide wood-chip mulched garden bed that gave the van the appearance of having been set permanently in place.

Bron went up the two steps positioned at the front centre of the deck and unlocked the van, turned on the interior and exterior lights then went inside to arrange the lower of the bunk beds before Matt and then Dave eased the sleeping boys into it, side by side, whilst the capsule in which Susie was sleeping was temporarily placed on the double bed at the other end. From the basket she had carried Bron produced a loaf of home-made bread, milk, butter, bacon, eggs and tomatoes which she put into the fridge, then opened the pantry to show them that tea, coffee, cocoa, sugar, rolled oats for making porridge, and a jar each of peanut butter, vegemite, honey and home-made marmalade was already stocked there.

Dave showed them where all the light switches and power sockets were and where the main valve for the van’s twin gas cylinders was located, explaining then that for safety the valve was only opened when the stove was in use. After showing them the bathroom facilities in the cabana he, Bron and Matt returned to the house where the men retrieved Susie’s bassinet, the back packs, Matt’s overalls and Mag-lite torch, and took them down to the van.

“Well, tomorrow’s Sunday and you’re on holidays, so you can all sleep in a bit. Come up to the house around mid morning and we’ll have a look at your car then. Now I’m off home to bed.” And with a final “good night” he walked back up the path to the house.

“It’s been an interesting day, hasn’t it?” he said as he walked inside.

“Yes, and I’ve enjoyed it,” Bron answered. “They’re a lovely couple. For their sake I hope their car can be fixed quickly and without too much expense, but I really wouldn’t mind if they stayed here while it’s being worked on. If it’s OK by you, I think I’ll put that to them in the morning.”

“That’s fine by me. I spoke to Jeff and he said he’s got quite a lot of work backed up at the garage and wouldn’t be able to get to the car for a while anyway, so I guess Matt and I’ll get to work on it together. Lucky I’ve got the manuals and all the tools we need.”

“You’ve probably got more tools in the garage than Jeff’s got at his workshop,” she laughed. “And with all the experience you gained by rebuilding my Corolla and your Crown the job should be a lot easier.”

“Yes, and I’ve probably got enough parts to completely build another Corolla and two more Crowns. But right now, I’m heading for a shower, then bed.”

“I’ll be right behind you,’ she said, giving him a quick kiss.

“I can’t quite believe all this,” said Dianne as they lay on the caravan’s double bed after having transferred Susie from the capsule to her bassinet. “What are the chances of breaking down and being helped by people like Dai and Bron? I mean, it seems to be that our families are so much in tune with each other, what with Dai being into Toyota Crowns like you are, and Bron into crafts as much as I am. Not to mention the meal with the pasta and bottles of Chianti. I somehow have a feeling that we’re about to experience a change in our future, though I can’t explain why.”

Matt reached over and drew her closer to him. “You know, I have the same feeling, and I think it’s going to be a change for the better. But whatever the future holds I know it’ll work out well because we’ll always face it as a close family.”

“Nothing surer than that,” she said, and after softly planting a loving kiss on his lips they finally drifted off into a deep and restful sleep.

* * *​

 

[Bidadisndat]

Waking only a little later than they usually did but opting to lie in for another fifteen minutes they finally got out of bed and Dianne headed for the shower whilst Matt set about preparing breakfast, which was something that he usually did on Sunday mornings anyway.

“I’ll have a shower a bit later on,” he said over breakfast after Dianne had returned. “I’ll most likely be working on the car shortly, and I’m bound to get really dirty.”

“That’s more than likely: Better put on your overalls before going up to the house. By the way, I put a tube of Barrier Cream in your tool-box after you got covered in grease the last time you worked on the car so rub some of that over your hands before you start: It’ll make it easier to wash any dirt and grease off when you’re finished.”

“You’re amazing. You think of everything, don’t you?” he said and gave her a quick kiss before he stepped out of the van and admiring the landscaped gardens on either side, crunched his way along the gravel path leading up to the house. “It’s not just The Oasis,” he thought to himself as he walked. “The whole farm is a holiday resort!”

When Matt arrived there he was very surprised to find that his Crown was no longer parked in front of the garage, and walked over to find that it had been rolled inside, jacked up, and was now sitting solidly on four stands. The hood had been completely removed; as had the radiator, hoses and the water pump, and the last bit of engine oil was slowly draining from the sump into a pan on the floor beneath the engine. As Dave was not there he went over to the house and knocked on the back door.

“Come right in Matt,” called Bron, who had seen him come up onto the veranda. “Dai, Matt’s here!”

Dave walked into the kitchen smiling.

“Good morning Matt. You guys sleep OK last night?” he asked.

“Yes, really well thanks. Thanks for the breakfast goodies too. I forgot about it last night, but we have an esky in the car boot, a larger one in the trailer, and a big plastic tote full of food.”

“Well, you’d better take them down to the van, mate: I’m afraid you won’t be going anywhere for a few days yet,” Dave said. “I got an early start on your car and found that the problem was with the water pump, initially that is. It was leaking water badly, and when the water level in the radiator dropped, what was left in the system boiled and raised the pressure, and that’s why the hose burst. Not that that was in good condition to begin with. I left both top and bottom hoses and the pump on the workbench for you to have a look at. The only spare water pump that I had was pretty old and wasn’t really in any better condition anyway so I chucked that away too. I called the Repco shop in town and they don’t have any pumps for 3M motors in stock, so they’re going to order one in tomorrow morning, though it won’t arrive until Wednesday at the earliest, or maybe next Monday if the holidays delay delivery. I also ordered one for my car and a few other spare parts for both Bron’s and my cars while I was at it.”

Matt slid into a chair opposite Dave at the table. “What about the engine itself. Do you think it’s seized?” he asked.

“Nah. The 4M is a good engine, designed by Mercedes I believe, and can take a lot of punishment. I took the spark plugs out and sprayed some STP into each cylinder, and it turned OK when I put a shifter on the flywheel. When I hit the starter the motor turned over without any problem so I think it’ll be good. Oil in it was a bit burnt though, so I’m draining that out now. I reckon that once we replace the water pump, put the radiator and new top and bottom hoses back in, and replace the engine oil and coolant it should be good to go. We’ll do a compression test on the cylinders after we’ve got it all together, just to make sure everything’s OK.”

“Whew, that’s a relief: I was afraid the engine would need to be pulled out.”

“I was a bit worried about that too,” Dave said. “That’s why I pulled the hood off. So much easier to work on with that out of the way, but it’ll only take us a few minutes to put it back on after we’ve got the motor running again. Raising the car onto stands as I did and using the floor creeper also makes it much easier to work under if we have to.”

“Wouldn’t we have had to tow the car down to Jeff’s garage to remove the engine?”

“Nah. Apart from the trolley jack I’ve got an engine crane with a leveller, an engine cradle, and quite a few other bits and pieces that I use to work on my own Crown. In fact we could strip the motor down and rebuild it completely right here if we had too. It’s surprisingly easy to do really, if you have all the right manuals, equipment and parts.”

“Yeah, I found that out when working on my Crown. Did you buy all that equipment just so you could work on your car?”

“No,” Dave laughed. “I bought most of it at a garage sale long before I owned the Crown. Got it all for a good price and it’s more than paid for itself since.”

Bron took a seat at the end of the table. “Dai did up the engine of my little Corolla soon after we met,” she said. “Practically rebuilt the whole car really. He can be quite useful to have around at times.”

“What do you mean ‘at times’? This place would collapse without me to run it,” he said, trying but failing to appear offended.

“Bighead,” she retorted with a grin, then turning towards the back called “Come on in Dee, we’re just about to have a cuppa,” as Dianne tapped on the door.

“Good morning Bron, Dai,” Dianne said as she came in, gently placed the baby capsule on the floor beside the chair that she sat down in, and then took the baby out to hold her.

“Tea or coffee anybody?” Bron asked, and they all opted for the coffee.

“Dee, Dai has just told me that it’s going to take a few days to get the car fixed, and we’re going to be stuck here until it is.”

“Mattie! What do you mean ‘Stuck here?’ Do you know how that came out? You made it sound like that was a bad thing,” Dianne cried.

“What? Never! Did it really sound like that? That’s really not what I meant to say, honestly.”

They all laughed at Matt’s sudden discomfort.

“It’s OK Matt, we know what you meant,” laughed Bron. “Guys, you’re all welcome to stay at The Oasis for as long as you need. Be a good holiday for you really.

“But we can’t just impose on you like this,” said Dianne. “I mean, surely there’s some camping place nearby where we could go…”

She got no further as Bron interrupted her. “Rubbish! You’re our guests, and that’s that.”

“Guests? Hmm. I don’t know about that, Bron,” Dave put in. “I was actually thinking of keeping them here as slave labour for a week or two. Lord knows there’s a lot of work that needs doing around this place.”

“What do you need doing?” asked Matt. “I’d be happy to help out where I can.”

“Well, I do have an idea: How about you and I work on a few jobs around the farm in the mornings, whilst the girls can do crafty type things together and look after the kids. It’d probably only take an hour or two with both of us at it. In the afternoons we can all go fishing, or swimming, or exploring the area. I think the kids would have a good time too. If you’re not against people using guns we could also go out to the rifle range and introduce you to another fun sport, though that would be completely up to you of course.

Both Matt and Dianne now supported smiles as wide as their faces would allow.

“Honestly? Oh, that would be fantastic!” cried Dianne excitedly. “Mattie absolutely loves fishing and we both enjoy swimming. We even have our snorkelling gear and Mattie’s spear gun and fishing gear with us. Mattie once told me he’d fired a rifle a few times when he was in the school cadets, but I’ve never fired one and I’d really like to try it too. Oh lord, I can’t believe all this is happening to us!”

Matt laughed at her excited and rapid chatter. “Di, if you don’t stop bouncing your boobs around like that, the baby will be chewing cheese instead of drinking milk,” he admonished. “Calm down girl!”

After they had all stopped laughing Bron suggested that Dave take them for a look around the farm and she would finish up a couple of small jobs and prepare the quiches and salad she had planned for lunch.

“I’ll put the quiches into the oven in about forty minutes so that’ll give you a good hour and a half to have a look around the farm, OK? Dee, you can take Terry with you if you want, but Liam and Suzie will be alright here with me.”

“Terrific. OK guys, let’s go,” said Dave, calling for his eldest boy to come too.

“I’d like to go change into a pair of shorts first, if that’s OK’” said Matt. “These overalls are a bit hot.”

“No problem,” Dave said as they went out. “It’s only a slight detour from the path we’d take anyway. Of course, if you start to feel too hot we could always stop for a beer.”

“With quiche, I think I’d go for a crisp white wine, but either way I’m going to make sure I feel pretty hot by the time we get back.”

Dave just gave him a grin in reply and told him that when he made a joke like that he should watch Bron’s eyes; although he didn’t elaborate beyond saying “You’ll see what I mean if and when that happens.”

As they would be going down to the van Dianne asked Matt to get the eskies out of the Crown’s boot and the trailer so they could take them down and put the contents into the van’s fridge. While she carried the smaller of the eskies Dave and Matt carried the larger one between them, but when they arrived at the van they found that its fridge was far too small to hold the contents of both so Dave told them they could also use the fridge behind the bar in the cabana and turned it on.

They were then shown the carport on the other side of the van, and a small weather-proof shed at its end in which was stored a cushioned cane lounge suite, side tables and a coffee table, all of which required only a few minutes to move to the van’s deck. A planter box at each end and several large potted plants arranged around the deck gave it that really comfortable lived-in look that one might have seen featured in a House and Garden or Country Living magazine, and Dianne was thankful that she had thought to bring the camera that was now hanging from her neck. She thought it was a very good idea when Matt suggested that rather than take any photos right now she should wait until they had set out the table with plates of food and glasses of wine and perhaps a few magazines or books on the coffee table, and quickly agreed, though she would take the camera with her as they toured the farm.

After Matt had changed into his shorts, and Dianne had done likewise, Dave took them to look at the green-house, the vegetable garden and orchard, the poultry run with its coops and enclosures for the quail and chickens, then to the shed where rabbits were being bred and raised. When he pointed out the pond that he’d installed for the ducks and geese they were amazed by its size, and very impressed by the fact that it had a small island at its centre where the birds would be safe from foxes. Although the island was a good idea, he said, the downside was that he had to row his little dinghy over to it every second day or so to collect the eggs because that was the only place where the birds would lay them.

When Matt suggested that the island would be a good place to escape to if one wanted to be alone for a while Dave pointed out the two pepper trees that spread their drooping branches over several large dog kennels that had been put into service as nesting boxes. It was no coincidence, he said with a grin, that the trees had been planted just the right distance apart to enable him to sling a hammock between them when they had grown large and strong enough to support his weight.

Although the guests were familiar with vegetable gardens, chooks and quail, they hadn’t had much to do with ducks and geese before, other than to feed them bread crusts at the park, and the farmed rabbits were a bit of a novelty for them too. Dave explained that both ducks and quail were good egg layers, with the quail actually being quite prolific in that regard, and there was quite a market for the eggs of both birds, particularly in the local Asian market.

“In fact,” said Dave, “you might be surprised to learn that duck eggs are the most eaten eggs in the world. There’s also a strong demand from restaurants and delicatessens for the ducks and quail themselves, and although we aren’t into that market yet we do raise them for our own table. We raise the rabbits for the table too because we found that they won’t lay eggs no matter how much chocolate we feed them.”

It took Dianne a moment to get the joke however Matt caught on immediately and had a good laugh. The fact that the rabbits were raised for the table didn’t upset them as much as it might have the children, who would probably look at them more as pets, and Dianne remarked that the pelts would make a lovely warm fur coat. Dave described the rabbits as being New Zealand Whites, which are basically a meat rabbit though he did sell some pelts to a guy who prepared them for furriers, and she should ask Bron to show her the coat that she had made for herself, and a real ‘bunny rug’ that she’d been made for the baby.

Dave pointed up the slope where the driveway came down to the house and said, “If you look up there, to the right of those water tanks, you’ll see a number of white boxes. They’re some of our bee hives. We’ve got six of them here plus another twelve spread out on other local properties, and they give us all the honey we need and then some. It’s a great trade item and I’ve been thinking of getting more hives.”

They had a look at the machinery shed where the tractor and its implements were kept and inspected the dairy which, though not in use at present, was being kept in good order as it would be needed for the dual purpose Irish Dexter cattle that Dave said he would be buying in the near future. Coming out from the dairy they were accosted by a small herd of eight attention-seeking Boer goats that Dave said had only recently been acquired, and were the beginnings of a breeding program for yet another new business venture.

“Surprisingly to most people, goat is the most eaten red meat in the world, and Australia is the world's largest exporter, mainly sending it to the Middle and Far East, the Caribbean, and of all places, South Africa,” he said. “There are more than two million feral goats in this country and where in the past farmers were only too happy to get rid of the pests, they are now worth about $25 a head, and farmers are often more likely to round up and sell rather than cull them. Registered breeding goats like these we have here are worth considerably more though.”

“I thought that Boer goats originally came from South Africa,” said Matt. “How come we export them to there?”

“You're right, Matt: Boer goats do come from South Africa. When people decided that it was a livestock that would do well here, quite a number of pedigreed Boers, plus semen and embryos were imported. They were crossbred with the local goats and their progeny was also cross bred. The result has been a hardier goat even better than the original imported stock. I understand that he same has been done with milking and mohair goats too. We export to South Africa mostly because Foot and Mouth disease over there supposedly wiped out a lot of their herds, which says a lot for AQUIS’ efforts to ensure that no esoteric diseases are brought into this country.

“Now, I know this might sound unbelievable, but we do the same with camels! Umpteen years ago, camel trains reigned supreme in transporting goods around the outback, but as railways and roads developed they were no longer needed and the animals were just turned loose into the scrub. They flourished, and over the years developed into a far hardier beast. Australia now has the world’s only wild camel herds and some people have taken to farming them for export, both live and as frozen meat. Of course the tree hugging Greenies claim that they are destroying the outback, and as they are non-native should be culled completely. They’re wrong as they most often are and in my book it’s the Greenies who should be culled rather than the camels.”

 

[Bidadisndat]

As they walked into the house they could hear Bron talking on the telephone in the lounge room. “Hang on Mum, Dai’s just walked in. I’ll put him on,” she said, beckoning him towards the ‘phone.

“It’s Mum. She wants to know if it’s alright for her and Dad to come today instead of next Tuesday. I already told her it’s fine by us.”

Dave smiled and nodding in agreement, took the ‘phone from her hand and began talking into it as Bron returned to the kitchen.

“It’s Dai’s mother,” she said. “She and his father are coming. They’re a really lovely couple and you’re going to like them a lot. They’ll be staying here for the Christmas - New Year Break, and before you say anything, Dee, no, you won’t be in the way! When we added the extensions for this house we included an extra double bedroom with an ensuite and a small lounge room with them in mind.”

“They don’t live close by then?” Dianne asked.

“No. They have a large property about six hours drive up the inland highway, close to the state border. I wish my parents and Nan could come too, but they live in New Zealand and can’t make it over here this year. My Nan is getting on in years and it’s a long trip for her, so I’m hoping that we can go over there and visit them early next year.”

They were silent for a bit until Dave came back and sat at the dining table.

“Dad said that they’d be leaving straight after they’d had brunch and will take their time driving down,” he said, adding for Mat and Diane’s benefit: “Which means he’ll only be doing a hundred kilometres an hour instead of his usual hundred and ten. They should get here sometime around five-thirty and six.”

“Lovely,” said Bron. “I’m going to put on a roast beef with vegetables, plus the Yorkshire puddings they both enjoy. With lashings of gravy. In the meantime, the quiche and salad is ready, so we’ll all have an early lunch, kids included.”

Over lunch Dave explained to them that his ultimate aim for the farm was not only to make the family as self-sufficient as possible but also to run it at a profit, even if it was only a small one. Matt was instantly taken with the idea as becoming self-sufficient was something that he had long aspired to himself, and when Bron mentioned that she also did a lot of bottling and preserving of the fruit and vegetables they produced, Dianne also took to the idea.

“Though you couldn’t become completely self-sufficient really, could you?” she put in. “You still need to buy clothing and footwear, fuel, and parts for machinery, and all the stuff you can’t make yourself, don’t you?”

“Like toilet paper, tissues and toothpaste,” laughed Bron. “That’s why it’s good to have your operation run at a profit: If you can trade your produce for the things you can’t make yourself, or sell for the cash to buy those things, you can still consider yourself to be self-sufficient. I think that the purists who disagree with that would in reality find life somewhat less than comfortable, if not downright miserable if they tried it.”

“Well that makes perfect sense to me,” Matt said. “Thinking of it that way, I guess that what Dee and I are doing back home would go quite a way towards us being qualified in that regard, though we could probably do a lot more. Hmm. In fact, after listening to you and Bron I’m convinced we really should do a lot more. Are there many others doing that around here?”

“Not nearly enough as far as I’m concerned, Matt. Not just around here, but all over the country. There are many people who just don’t have all the knowledge required to fend for themselves, though they’d probably do well if they were taught how, but the vast majority are either too lazy or are simply content to go along with the flock. We refer to them as ‘sheeple’ who are easily managed by the gruberment that they expect and even rely on to help them in any crisis, big or small.”

“Watch out Matt,” exclaimed Bron: “I think you’ve just got him up on his favourite hobby horse.”

Dave stopped with a grin. “Yeah, she’s right: I can get a bit carried away when that topic comes up. It’s something I picked up from my friends in the States. OK, I’ll cool it for now. Have we gone though that bottle of wine already, Bron?”

“Yes, Dai, and that’s enough for now.”

“What are you thinking of Hon?” Dianne asked Matt after he hadn’t said anything for some minutes.

“Oh, I just had a couple of ideas come into my mind while we’ve all been talking. Actually, I think that they’re thoughts that I’ve had buried in my mind for some time and Dai and Bron have just brought them to the surface. Dai, do you have a pen and some paper I could use? I need to jot down a few things so that I don’t forget them.

Dave fetched a pen and a small spiral notebook and gave them to Matt, who began scribbling furiously for a couple of minutes.

“Di, do you remember when you said last night that you had a good feeling that we’re about to experience a change in our future? Well, thanks to Dai and Bron I’ve just thought of a few things that I, or rather we, could do to make that happen. In fact, I suddenly feel a lot more confident about the future than I’ve felt in a very long time. Oh man, I suddenly really feel good!”

His broad smile was very infectious and in a matter of seconds they were all smiling.

“Care to let us in on your plans?” asked Dave.

“Well,” Matt replied. “There are quite a few things I have to sort out in my mind yet, but when I think I’ve got it all together I’ll run it past everybody for some feedback.”

“Right-o then: It’s only early afternoon, so what do you want to do with the rest of the day?” asked Bron.

“We could go down to Hook’s Eye and throw a line in,” Dave replied. “Don’t suppose you’d fancy a couple of hours fishing would you Matt?”

“Does a duck quack?” Matt asked rhetorically, leaping from his chair. “I’ll just grab my gear from the trailer,” he added as he bolted out through the door.

“Does he always get that excited about fishing?” Bron asked as Matt raced out.

“You’d have got the same reaction if you’d suggested digging up somebody’s front lawn to put in a vegetable garden,” Dianne laughed. “He can get quite passionate about that too.”

“Do you girls want to come with us?” asked Dave, hoping that they wouldn’t.

“Not me. I’m going to start getting things ready for tonight’s dinner, but maybe Dee would like to go.”

“Not this time thanks Dave. I think I’ll spend some time with the kids, and peek over Bron’s shoulder while she’s making the Yorkshire puddings. Want to see how it’s done.”

“You mean you’ve never made them?” asked Bron in surprise.

“Never. I can cook OK, I guess, but my culinary skills aren’t exactly up to the standards of a Master Chef.”

“I find that hard to believe Di: You seem to be a very practical sort of person.”

“In some respects I am. I’m a good seamstress and dressmaker for example, and really enjoy embroidery and knitting. I can wield a hammer, replace a tap washer, or a blown electric fuse, and I also seem to have a green thumb, although that’s probably due to Mattie’s influence. But my cooking is more along the lines of soups, stews or ‘meat and three’ rather than anything fancy, unless bread and butter pudding with brandied raisins and sultanas can be considered fancy,” she laughed.

“Don’t believe that, Bron,” put in Matt who had returned and overheard the remark. “She’s really a very good cook.

After Dave and Matt had gone the rest of the girls’ afternoon was taken up by chit-chat, playing with the kids, and getting the roast dinner ready, during which time Dianne learned how to make the batter for Yorkshire puddings. Bron also made up a large jug of gravy into which she blended three heaped tablespoons of creamed horseradish.

“I made this up as an experiment some time ago, and it was such a hit that I’ve continued to make it for roast beef ever since. Not quite finished yet, but here, try it.”

Using a teaspoon Dianne tasted the mixture. “Mmm, good, very good,” she said. “I think once Matt tries this he’ll be badgering me to make it all the time.”

“You think so? Well, now that you’ve learned how easy it is to make Yorkshire puddings too, you’ll be able to spoil him occasionally. And Dee, make sure that it really is only occasionally: He’ll appreciate it a whole lot more then.”

“Understood,” laughed Dianne, “Though with the way meat prices are it wouldn’t be all that frequent anyway.

“Not just meat, Di. I’ve been watching the prices of everything rise at a pace that’s way beyond the rate of inflation that’s reported in the news. OK, so the prices of white goods appear to rise somewhat more slowly, and many electronic devices even seem to get cheaper, probably because they’re mostly made overseas using cheap labour, but how often do you buy that stuff? It’s the cost of day to day consumables that people need where it really hurts, particularly for people on low incomes.”

“Tell me about it. Honestly Bron, I often think that our vegetable garden and chickens are the only things that enable us to put any money at all aside for the future. That, and the help of our patron saint, Vincent de Paul.”

Bron laughed at that and said “The same here Dee, believe me, it’s the same here.”

Whilst the girls were engaged in conversation Dave and Matt had headed for Hook’s Eye, taking an ice filled esky for the large haul of fish that they were certain they’d catch, and of course also keep cold the half dozen bottles of home brew that Dave had slipped into it. It wasn’t long before they had their baited hooks in the water, but it took quite some time before they began getting nibbles, then bites, and finally catches. Although Matt wasn’t aware of it, during the course of general conversation throughout the afternoon Dave had extracted from him quite a lot of information about his family, work and interests upon which he based a very favourable impression. By the time they’d finished fishing for day they’d caught a reasonable though not spectacular number of bream and snapper but more importantly had begun the development of a friendship that was to grow stronger with each passing year. Around five thirty they packed up their rods and tackle, loaded the esky with their catch and two remaining bottles of home brew onto the back of the truck, and headed back to the farm to clean up before Dave’s grandparents arrived.

 

[Bidadisndat]

They’d only just succeeded in doing that when an older model burgundy coloured Bentley with cream upholstery pulled into the drive with a toot of its horn, and drove down to the house. The occupants barely had time to alight when Bron hurtled out of the house and ran towards them yelling “Hi Mum, Hi Dad!” before embracing each of them in turn with a big hug and a kiss on both of their cheeks. “Oh, it’s so good to see you both again. Come on in. Don’t worry about your bags: I’ll get the porter to bring them in… Dai!”

Dave sauntered out from the house with a big smile and also embraced them.

“You’re both looking well,” he said. “How was the trip?”

“Very good, thank you,” his mother replied. “The Bentley is as comfortable as they come, and Dad says it’s a real pleasure to drive. We’re so glad we bought it.”

“You’re just trying to upstage our Toyota Crown,” laughed Dave as they all walked to the house.

“Well now, who is it we have here then?” Gareth asked in a heavily Welsh accented voice as he entered the kitchen to find Matt and Dianne rising from the table where they’d been seated.

“Mum, Dad, meet Matt and Dianne: A couple of stranded travellers we found on the side of the road yesterday,” said Dave. “Matt, Dianne, this is my father, Gareth, and my mother, Gwen.”

They shook hands and then with introductions out of the way they all sat around the kitchen table, where Bron related the story of how she and Dai had met Matt, Dianne and their children, and how they would be accommodated at The Oasis while their car was being worked on.

“Actually, Di, I’m rather hoping that you’ll all stay on here awhile after your car is repaired,” said Bron. “There are plenty of things to see and do around the area, and you and I could exchange lessons in sewing and cooking. It’d be really good for the kids too.”

“And Matt and I could swap information on gardening and farming….. And fishing,” Dave added with a wink at Matt. “What do you say guys, sound like a plan?” he asked.

Matt and Dee seemed to be stuck for words for a moment, and Di looked as if she might cry those tears of happiness again.

“Oh golly-gosh! Yes!” she cried.

“Well I sure hope that you’ll all take advantage of the experience and wisdom that Mum and I have accumulated over the past umpteen years and include us in the deal,” said Gareth.

“Oh Dad, that’s a given, you know that!” Bron laughed “OK, now that’s all been decided then, it’s about time for dinner. Dee and I’ll fix up the kids first though.”

“Are you sure you don’t need me to help, Dear?” Gwen asked.

“No thanks Mum. I’m sharing a couple of recipes with Dee and the two of us will be able to handle everything.”

After feeding the babies and setting up the small table for the four young lads, the two girls returned to the kitchen.



“OK Dee, we’ll give the roast another ten minutes and while it’s still cooking we put a little oil into each of the cups in these muffin pans and put them in the oven until the oil is smoking hot.”

Dianne put the oil into the cups as directed, slid the pans into the oven and then waited for several minutes before opening the door and removing them again. A smoky haze rose from the pans and she quickly poured batter into the cups so that each was about one third full before once again returning the pans to the oven and turning up the heat a bit. Whilst the oven door was open Bron removed the beef, took it from the roasting pan, put it onto a cutting board to set and covered it with a double wrap of Al-foil to keep it hot. Most of the vegetables were roasted in a large pan of their own because there were too many to cook together with the meat, and these were also removed and placed into two large stoneware casserole dishes with lids. Expecting that there would just be the usual potatoes, pumpkin, carrots and parsnips, Dianne was surprised to see that Bron had not only included sweet potatoes, which she herself had often done, but also whole baby beets and full bulbs of garlic, which she had never seen done before. She was about to comment on the extra vegetables but before she had the chance to ask about them, Bron got in first: “And now for the gravy.”

“But you’ve already made that!”

“Yes, but remember I said it wasn’t finished yet? Well, this is the finishing part. Mum believes that the only way to make good gravy is to use the drippings from the pan that the meat was cooked in.” Bron poured out nearly all of the oil and fat from the roasting pan into a container and put it aside.

“I know this is cheating a bit, but what Mum doesn’t know won’t hurt me,” she continued, as she poured her pre-made gravy mix into the roasting pan. “Here, take this,” she said, handing Dee a wooden spatula. “Just stir the gravy around the pan and mix in all the brown bits on the bottom as you usually would. That will darken it as well as heat it through. You can also add the water from that saucepan I cooked the Brussels sprouts in. When it’s all combined just pour it into these two gravy boats and we’re good to go.”

“What about the Yorkshire puddings?”

“Take a look through the oven door.”

“Oh wow!” exclaimed Dianne when she did so. “Look how they’ve risen!”

Bron also took a look. “Yep. They’re done. I’ll pull them out,” and as she was doing so called out “OK everybody, Dinner’s ready!”

Dave had been in the laundry showing Matt his home-brew equipment and as the two walked into the kitchen Bron asked him if he would slice the roast and place it on the meat platter now, rather than have everybody waiting while he carved it at the table. Dave thought that was a more practical and easier way of doing it, and had the job done in a couple of minutes. After they were all sat round the table there was a bit of shuffling of plates and serving dishes up and down the table and after a few minutes everyone had their plates filled to capacity in front of them. Gwen asked Gareth to say grace and they all bowed their heads as he gave thanks ‘for the grand repast that we are about to devour’. Gwen pursed her lips slightly, cast her eyes towards the ceiling and shook her head slightly at his choice of words. Matt grinned, but it was not due to Gareth’s words so much as he’d seen the way Bron had rolled her eyes, and he remembered Dave telling him to watch for that. Dave had placed a couple of bottles of Yellowglen Brut de Brut on the table and filled a glass for all.

“I just thought I’d propose a short toast: Here’s to new friendships. May they grow, enjoy the best of times, and endure the worst.”

“To new friendships,” they all chorused in agreement, and then got stuck into the food. During the course of the meal conversation revolved around a number of topics however it was the apparent lack of transparency in government, the current state of the economy and concern for the future of the country that predominated. Despite the fact that all present were rather pessimistic in regard to those particular topics the dinner progressed not with any of them developing melancholy feelings but rather with them coming up with ideas that could be used to counteract any ill effects that a collapsing economy might have on their way of living.

They were all agreed that being prepared and self reliance were the key-points in not only surviving but thriving, and that it would be prudent to begin preparing now, rather than when it might be too late to do anything. This really hit home to Matt and Dianne as they owned no property of their own upon which they could establish a homestead, however Matt was now thoroughly convinced that the ideas that he had had when talking to Dave and Bron earlier in the day were not only workable, but it was also vital that they be implemented as soon as they returned home. He had no idea then that Dave, Bron, and a number of their close friends were actually already well on their way down that path.

When it was finished everyone made it very clear that they had thoroughly enjoyed the dinner, but it was Matt who was most vocal in his praise:

“That was wonderful. I love roast beef, but I have to admit that this was the first time I’ve ever had Yorkshire puddings. I didn’t know they were so good. Are they difficult to make?”

“Ask Di,” said Bron. “She made them.”

“Never! Did you really, Di?

Di laughed and admitted that though she had, Bron had guided her every step of the way, as she had with the gravy.

“Oh yeah, that gravy was something else again. Did you learn how to make that too?”

“Yes, but it’s Bron’s secret recipe and it’s been cursed to fail if made too often, so don’t push it when we get home.”

“Oh. OK. On special occasions only is it? Fair enough. One thing I’m really curious about: The Brussels sprouts. Normally I can’t stand the things, but I thought it’d be impolite not to eat some of them at least. But they were great - like none I’ve ever tasted before. Why’s that?”

“Well,” put in Dave. “The main reason is the way those you’d buy in a supermarket are grown. To grow Brussels properly you need to have quite a few days of early morning frosts. Apparently that helps the starches turn to sugars, or so I’ve been told. I don’t think the mega farms would bother with that, though some might. Anyway, that’s the way I grow ours: Plant at the right time, harvest at the right time and freeze them quickly, though Bron also cans some.”

“Wouldn’t just freezing them have the same effect as frosts though?” Matt asked.

“No, the sugars have to develop before the sprouts are harvested. And in fact that’s the problem with most vegetables that you buy today: They’re harvested before they’ve matured enough to develop all the glyconutrients that fully matured vegetables have.”

“What are glyconutrients?” Matt asked.

“They’re the subject of another long boring lecture at a later time.” Gareth chuckled. “Please Dai, not now.”

“There’s another reason that the sprouts tasted so good Matt,” Bron put in. “I always add a tablespoon or three of Stone’s Green Ginger Wine to the water when I cook them.”

With the meal finished and the table cleared away the men offered to do the washing up, however Gwen insisted that she’d rather the dishes were washed properly and thus they were dismissed to the lounge to enjoy a port. Dave pulled a small booklet from one of the bookcases that flanked the fireplace.

“Here, Matt. You can keep this as I have several copies. It’s “Miracle Sugars”, written by Rita Elkins, M.H. It’ll save me having to give you a long boring lecture on glyconutrients,” he said, grinning at his father. Matt wandered over to the bookcase that Dave had taken the booklet from and studied its contents.

“I always thought I had quite a good collection of reference books, Dai, but mine are nearly all about plants and gardening. Yours cover a much wider range of topics.”

“I served in the merchant marine for quite some time Matt, and reading helped to while away the hours when we were at sea. I did read quite a few novels but for me it made more sense to read books from which I could learn things that would be beneficial in the future, because I sure didn’t plan to spend my whole life at sea. Can’t say I didn’t enjoy the life though. And just between you and me, it saved me a fortune in shipping costs for things I wanted to bring back from overseas.”

”So what sort of cargo did you carry on the ship?” Matt asked.

“Do you mean cargo carried for the company, or what did I bring back for myself?” Dave laughed. “Basically the ship was a tramp steamer and we’d carry mixed cargo all over the place. Africa, India, down the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, New Guinea, up to Macao, Hong Kong, Japan, and throughout the Pacific Islands. We went wherever the cargoes were to be had, but through a few valuable contacts we managed to arrange most of our trips in the last two years up and down the West Coast of the United States. I actually spent quite a bit of time ashore over there and made a number of good friends who I still keep in contact with. It was because of them that I decided to purchase and bring back various items that for the most part were difficult and or expensive to buy locally, and expensive to ship if purchased overseas. For example, I bought two grain mills, two large pressure canners, the Kitchen Aid mixer that Bron uses, a kit for making bio-diesel, a bunch of reloading equipment for the ammo for my rifles, and even a wind powered generator, complete with deep cycle batteries and all the associated switchgear. In fact, the power for this house comes from that very unit.”

 

[Bidadisndat]

“Do you mean that you’re completely off grid?” Matt asked in amazement.

“We certainly are. And when the technology improves I’d like to add solar power panels too. There’s word going around that the government will subsidise them too, and if that turns out to be the case I don’t mind having to wait a bit.”

“I noticed that you cook with gas. Does that save you much?”

“It does, but more importantly it lessens the amount of power our batteries need to supply, and makes us that much more independent. Besides, during the winter we mainly use the old AGA combustion stove that’s alongside the gas range.”

“Dai talked us into taking full advantage of the government’s subsidy for a solar hot water system,” put in Gareth. “And I have to say that installing that system was one of the best things we ever did.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you about that, Dad: How’s the system with the Rinnai backup working out?”

“It’s been amazing Dai, although the only time that the backup has come on was when we had friends over for a weekend after it had been raining for four days and the collectors hadn’t received any sunlight to speak of. And it doesn’t use much gas either.”

“What’s a Rinnai backup?” asked Matt.

Gareth explained: “Our hot water system consists of an array of evacuated tubes connected to a hot water storage tank, but instead of the tank having an electric or a gas booster for when the sun doesn’t shine, the water from the tank passes through a Rinnai Infinity on-demand heater. If the water flowing through it is hot, nothing happens and you’re just using hot water provided by the solar array. But if the temperature of the water suddenly drops below a preset level, indicating that the storage tank is out of hot water, the Rinnai comes on and heats the water as it passes through, and when the flow of water stops the unit turns off. The evacuated tube system is much more effective than the flat plate type of collector and the backup unit isn’t normally needed, although it’s very cost effective when it is.”

From his shirt pocket Matt pulled out the small notebook that Dave had given him and spent a couple of minutes jotting down this new information.

“I think you’re going to need a bigger notebook, Matt.”

“I think you’re right about that, Dai,” he agreed.

Having finished the dishes the girls came into the lounge bearing the percolator filled with hot coffee and two large trays, one with cups, saucers, spoons, cream and sugar, and the other with cake plates, forks and a huge cheesecake.

“Don’t suppose anybody’s going to say no to a slice of brandied cheesecake are they?” asked Gwen with a big smile. Of course nobody did, and she served up six large slices which, despite their size, still left half the cheesecake on the serving plate.

“That,” exclaimed Dianne after they had all finished eating, “would have to be the best cheesecake I’ve ever had, bar none. I hope the recipe isn’t a family secret.”

“Not at all,” laughed Gwen. “It’s from The Australian Women’s Weekly Cookbook ‘100 Fabulous Cheesecakes’ that Bron has a copy of. I’ve made it so many times that I know the ingredients by heart. Of course, I had to double the quantities to make a cake this size, but as it’s a refrigerated cheesecake that’s easy to do.”

“Ask Matt to copy the recipe into his little notebook,” Gareth chortled.

“Don’t laugh,” said Dianne as they all did just that. “Matt, turn that notebook over and I’ll start from the back. There are a few recipes that I need to write down. Which reminds me, Bron, can you tell me what went into that seafood sauce that you made last night? You said it was simple, and it really was very good.”

“It’s very simple, and a great recipe to use when friends drop in unexpectedly.”

“And strangers too, it would seem,” put in Matt.

“There aren’t any strangers around here,” said Dave. “Only new friends we’ve yet to meet.”

Matt passed the notebook to Dianne and she began writing down the recipe as Bron talked.

“First off, you need to make up a pint of white sauce, or more depending on how many people you’re going to feed. For the white sauce I always use butter, never margarine, and use a heaped teaspoon of dry mustard and the same of chicken stock powder, or a chicken stock cube, for each pint of sauce I’m making, and mix them with a little milk into a smooth thin paste before adding it to the sauce, plus salt and pepper to taste. That’s my basic white sauce for most things that call for it though for this dish I use two tablespoons of fish sauce instead of the chicken stock powder. Next, I flake a 425 gram can of tuna into the sauce, and then add a drained 170 gram can each of prawns in brine and crabmeat. If you’ve got fresh seafood so much the better, but this is a standby dish more than a gourmet meal. I prefer fettuccini rather than spaghetti, but you can use other forms of pasta. It’s very simple.”

“So do you always keep a couple of cans of tuna, prawns and crabmeat on hand for these occasions?” Dianne asked.

“Oh, you haven’t seen inside the pantry yet, have you? Go and have a look. There’s a light switch just inside the door. Check out the cool cupboard while you’re there too. Open the door and put your hand in and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.”

Dianne went off to have a look and quickly came rushing back. “Can I show Matt?” she asked excitedly and not really waiting for an answer beckoned to him to follow her. They returned five or six minutes later, both looking a bit awestruck.

“Bron, you’ve got a supermarket in there!” she exclaimed. The others all laughed.

“I guess it does look a bit like that doesn’t it? There’s a lot of stuff there that we’ve canned ourselves, but we also tend to buy in bulk, by the case if we can. It’s a lot cheaper that way and we’ve actually saved several hundred dollars by doing so. We’re quite a way out of town, and if we had a bushfire or a flood that cut us off we’d be OK for some time. It’s one less family for rescue crews to worry about. Actually several families, as we’ve put up enough to be able to take care of our near neighbours. Not that we’ve told them that though: Advertising the fact that we have a good supply of food stored could make us the target of people who won’t do anything to help themselves but will expect the gruberment to take care of them in any crisis.”

“That’s awesome. I should think that food would keep very well in there,” said Matt.

“Yes,” said Dave. “The panty’s very well insulated and the cool cupboard is a design I copied from one of the permaculture books that I have on the bookshelf. I can’t remember exactly which one but I’m pretty sure it was one written by David Holmgren.”

“Don’t start looking for it now Mattie: It’s getting late so I think it’s time we took off and put the kids to bed,” Dianne said. “We can wake Terry up and he won’t mind walking down to the van, especially if we let him be our guide and hold the lantern.”

There were “goodnights” all round, and Matt and his family headed towards the van, Terry proudly leading the way and holding the lantern as high as he could. After they had gone Gwen told Dave and Bron that she thought Matt and Dianne were indeed a lovely couple, and that their two young boys appeared to be respectful and polite little lads even if they were very young, and Gareth agreed with him.

“Yes,” he said, “It’s obvious that their parents didn’t read the book on bringing up children that that misguided idiot Dr. Spock published back in the fifties.”

“Now dear, don’t get started: There’s nothing we can do about that now, is there?”

“Just saying, is all,” Gareth said.

“Good Lord, Gareth, “Just saying, is all?” Where on earth did you pick up that Americanism?”

Dave quickly turned his head away and grinned hugely, knowing that his father had picked it up from him, along with a few other expressions that his mother might not really approve of.

“Anyway, I think all in all it’s been quite a long day for everyone and I for one am off to bed.”

Everybody agreed with her so they all retired, and before too long all but the frogs, a family of brush-tailed possums, two owls, and the cat hunting mice in the barn were sound asleep.

* * *
​

The next morning both Matt and Dianne were up early, had had breakfast, fed the kids and were ready for whatever tasks around the house and farm needed doing. Not that there was all that much to do anyway. The ladies first occupied themselves with a very small amount of cleaning, as Bron’s house was spotless to begin with, deciding what to prepare for both lunch and dinner, and making a schedule covering the next two weeks during which time they would make various holiday type excursions that everyone would enjoy. These outings were to be interspersed with exchanges of how-to’s and tricks of the trade when using a sewing machine or an overlocker, and cooking, particularly in the area of canning and preserving about which, apart from making tomato sauces and pasatas Dianne knew very little. Between the three of them they would also be able to spend a lot of time with the children.

Gareth had decided to occupied himself with a couple of projects using the woodworking bench and tools in Dave’s workshop, but declined to reveal exactly what it was he would be working on. That left Dave and Matt to first tend to the animals and then spend a couple of easy hours in the vegetable garden. Matt, if not being a farmer at least being a professional in his own field, cast an appreciative eye over Dave’s work and said that he thought that the garden beds had been well laid out, but wondered how Dave went about watering them.

“I’ve installed a system of drippers under the mulch,” he replied when asked about it. “They’re supplied from that big tank up on the hill I pointed out yesterday, and operate off a timer. It gets really hot and dry here through the summer as you may have noticed, and using the drippers saves quite a bit of water.”

“Good idea, Dave. We use drippers too, back home. You’re lucky that you don’t have any eucalypts growing close by, or trees like liquid ambers.”

“Well, I didn’t want any trees around that would shade the beds, but why those particular trees?”

“Eucalypts are somewhat allelopathic and tend to discourage if not wipe out trees and plants that aren’t of the same type as themselves. And as I found out when I planted my garden in the bush, you’d find that their root systems, along with liquid ambers and others like them, would soon invade your beds and hog a lot of the water you’re trying to give your veggies. That’s not to say that you have to remove all the trees around a veggie patch though. In fact, a bit of shade can be quite beneficial to some plants,”

“Oh? I thought that veggies really needed to be in as much sun as possible.”

“Yes and no: A lot depends on your geographical location. Most of the gardening books you pick up contain a lot of information based on weather and soil conditions in the northern hemisphere. For example, the sunlight we receive here is up to five times stronger than you’d get in England, so we really don’t need the amount of exposure that is necessary there. Much of the soil here in Australia often also doesn’t contain the mass of humus and biota found in the soils of the Northern Hemisphere. If you want to grow really healthy veggies in abundance you often need to add large amounts of organic material and fertiliser, preferably in the form of rich compost, which will add both. Actually, that should be done everywhere, but more so in most parts of Australia where decades of bad land practice such as burning off the bush have destroyed the soil.”

“Got that covered,” said Dave, pointing to the three very large compost bays he had constructed at one end of the garden patch. “We compost all of the animal manure we get, both from here and a couple of neighbouring properties, and we use those old carpet covered bathtubs alongside the compost bins for growing worms. Those two big covered mounds over there are leaf-mulch piles, and the two beyond those are woodchips.”

“Good Lord Dai, you’ve got tons of the stuff! Was this place a forest before it became a farm? What are you going to do with at all?”

“We get it from my mate Charlie who runs a tree-felling and pruning business and has contracts with the local council. My friend Dirk has four times as much as this and while for the most part we’re stockpiling it for projects we’re undertaking now and have in mind, we do sell some. We’ve noticed that the demand for it is increasing and think that it’ll probably be worth a quite a bit before too long.”

“It’s worth quite a bit right now, back in the city. All you need now are plants and you’ll be able to open a nursery.”

“Like I haven’t got enough on my plate as it is. Charlie has two young sons that he’s trying to persuade to take that on though, and as you’ll get to meet them soon hopefully you might be able to give them a bit of advice on how to go about it.”

“Well, I’m more into the landscaping side of things than running a nursery but I’d be happy to help them if I can.”

They spent some time in the potting shed attached to the greenhouse, setting up new trays with propagating mix and seeding them, then transplanting into the vegetable beds a number of seedlings that were ready for the move. After hearing from Matt about how he had set up his own garden, and in particular the mandalas, Dave asked if it might be OK for him and Bron to come and have a look the next time they came to the city.

“No problem at all Dai. You and the whole family will be welcome anytime,” Matt replied enthusiastically, adding with a mischievous grin, “Give me a call when you’re coming though: It can be a bit awkward when people drop in on you unexpectedly, can’t it?”

Dave of course understood the humour of the remark and replied in the same vein: “Yes, can be a bloody nuisance sometimes. Especially when you know they’re not in any hurry to leave and will likely eat you out of house and home while they’re there.”

The banter continued not only after they had finished the few tasks that Dave had planned for the morning but also throughout most of the time they spent together over the next twelve days. To the bewilderment of the girls they both seemed to be able to find something humorous about almost everything and could often be heard laughing together.

Of course they also took delight in timing some of their remarks in order to see Bron’s eyes roll “like they were driven by a pair of eccentric gear wheels” as Dave said later.

“Could be worse,” said Matt after he and Dave had returned to the house and were seated at the table in the family room. “At least they’re in sync. Imagine if they were out of sync… and going in opposite directions.”

Their laughter at the imagined sight was very suddenly cut short however because unfortunately for the pair Bron had heard the remarks and given them both a cuff over the ear, that action giving all the girls a good laugh.

“Serves you both right!” chided Dianne.

They both hung their heads and tried to look contrite but when the vision came back into their minds and they began to snigger again Bron quickly stopped them cold: “I’ll box the ears of both of you good and proper if you keep that up,” she warned, and the two men wisely decided to retreat to the workshop and ask Gareth if he needed any help with whatever it was he was doing.

“While you’re out there, you can both try and decide what you’re going to do when you grow up!” Bron called at their backs as they went out, leaving the girls in stitches.

Gareth, hearing the men coming met them at the door of the workshop and after informing them that he didn’t need any help, especially as what he was making was intended to be a surprise, they decided that the best thing to do was keep out of everybody’s way by going to the Oasis where they could go for a swim in the pool and then relax in the cabana with a cold beer.

When they returned to the house to tell the girls where they’d be Bron told them to wait a couple of minutes whilst she hastily made up two plates of chicken pieces with salad plus a small container of potato salad, all of which she placed in an esky for them to take for lunch. Handing the esky to Dave she told them not to come back until dinner time, thus leaving them free to enjoy doing nothing in particular for the rest of the day… apart from take care of the four boys who having already eaten were dispatched with their fathers.

The womenfolk were left to enjoy their own company and take care of the two baby girls, which both men reckoned was a pretty fair trade-off, and they had a great time playing with the young lads. Gareth came out of the workshop around mid afternoon and joined them, declining to go for a swim but enjoying a beer in the shade of the cabana. A little later, with the boys beginning to turn blue and their teeth chattering with cold from having spent most of their time in the water, they all had hot showers and returned to the house.

Matt was glad to find that Dianne had also had as good a time as he had and when they turned in that night both were strangely pleased that their car had broken down when it did and resulted in them having one of the best holidays they’d ever had.

* * * ​

 

[Bidadisndat]

A tour of the village conducted for their visitors by Bron and Dave had ended at the Cock & Bull in time for lunch and while the adults occupied a large table in the beer garden and the kids were let loose on the play equipment the men took it upon themselves to cook up some steaks. The facilities provided for families were far more than Matt and Dianne had seen at any hotel before, with the inclusion of a sand-pit where toddlers could use buckets and spades on hand to build sand-castles being rather unique in such a setting.

They were introduced to Trev and Tony and when Matt complimented the two on the facilities Tony was quick to point out that it was Dave and Bron who had actually designed and organised them, and though Trev was equally quick to point out with a grin that the hotel had paid for it all he was reminded that both the Darts and Fishing Clubs had made some decent contributions too.

“Don’t know if you’re interested, Dai, but council has decided to remove a few palm trees that are in the way of a development they’re committed to,” said Tony, taking a seat as Trev returned to the office. “I haven’t seen them myself but apparently they aren’t overly big and the council is looking for someone to remove them for a reasonable fee.”

Matt ears pricked up on hearing that news and he suggested to Dave that perhaps after lunch they could go and have a look at them.

“First thing I thought of was The Oasis,” he said “Some palms scattered around the area would give it an even more tropical look, and being paid any amount to take them off council’s hands is certainly better than buying them, especially considering how expensive they usually are.”

“Good idea, Matt. Do you know where they’re located, Tony?”

“Not sure exactly, but I’ll make a quick phone call to the Works Manager and find out. Be back in a moment,” said Tony as he got up and headed for the office.

After lunch and with the location of the palms in hand the girls and children were driven back to the farm and the men took off to inspect the plants, finding when they arrived at the site that there were more than just a few for to be removed: In fact there were several varieties and the number totalled twelve in all, fortunately none of which were too big for them to handle if Dave could get a couple of friends to give a hand. Matt’s experience in landscaping enabled him to envisage where all of them could be located around The Oasis however it would need the use of a small excavator and a truck to do the job quickly. Dave didn’t think that would pose much of a problem as he had a friend who could supply both, though whether they could be gotten quickly was another question. If possible he’d like to be able to have the job done while Matt was around so after arriving home he gave his friend Darren a call, and though he wasn’t at home his wife said she’d tell him to return Dave’s call when he got back.

In the early evening Matt and Dave sat on the deck of the caravan with a beer in hand and discussed and drew up a plan of exactly where each palm should be placed if they could be obtained. Darren called back in the late evening and after hearing Dave explain what he wanted doing told him that he could do the job on the following Monday. They decided that a “reasonable fee” that Dave would ask of council would be no more than the Mate’s Rates that Darren would charge Dave for his time and the use of his machinery, which would actually be a good deal for all concerned.

The council certainly felt that way when Dave made his offer early next day as it was four hundred dollars less than the lowest bid they’d received so far, and he was told he could take the palms as soon as he submitted his offer in writing. He quickly typed up the offer and when the family passed through town at the beginning of Matt and Dianne’s hinterland tour dropped it off at the council chambers.

A big surprise for Matt and Dianne was that rather than take all three cars that would be needed to transport six adults and six children Dave had rented a fifteen seat mini-bus with air-conditioning from Jeff Mullins, who had only just recently acquired. The route for the tour didn’t differ greatly from that taken when Bron first showed Dave around the area or when his parents were also taken around, or a tour with Dirk and Sally, with the only real difference being that a small number of large farms had been sub-divided into twenty-five acre hobby farms. Thankfully, said Bron, the sub-divisions did not include high-density housing lots offered by unscrupulous developers under the totally inappropriate headings of “Rural Acreages!”

At the end of a very enjoyable day it was felt that renting the bus had been a very good idea and although Matt and Dianne tried to put some cash towards the rental their offer was firmly rebuffed. Dave and Bron explained that it was all about “Swings and Roundabouts,” and sometime in the future it would be their turn to return the gesture, perhaps not to them but to someone else in need. Nevertheless, Matt did manage to refuel the bus before it was returned to Jeff’s garage early next morning.

* * *
​

After the daily chores had been completed, some time spent swimming in the pool preceded a leisurely lunch that required them all to take a nap afterwards. It was not a long nap as they had to go into town before the shops were closed and pick up the spare parts that Dave had ordered from Repco. To be on the safe side Dave was at the shop an hour before closing, just in case the staff decided to give themselves an early mark for Christmas, and it was lucky that he did because that was exactly what the staff had had in mind. The several customers that followed Dave would have been relieved to know, had they been told, that Dave’s earlier arrival had kept the door open long enough for them to make their purchases!

A little last-minute shopping was undertaken by the girls at the Big W store that was remaining open until nine p.m., with their menfolk following resignedly in their wakes until seven p.m. when they trooped into the Milano restaurant for dinner. Bron had of course made a booking two days beforehand, and it was well that she had as the demand for seating was far more than what the restaurant had available. The place was packed and fully expecting and prepared to wait until a one of the busy waitresses was available to take their orders they ordered two bottles of wine, a Chianti and a white, and took their time studying the menu.

The young and pretty waitress who finally made it to their table seemed by her use of English to be a recent arrival to Australia’s shores and as she struggled to take their orders Dianne took over and spoke to her in fluent Italian. Of course not to be outdone Matt also interjected a few joking comments in the same language and the amazed waitress launched into rapid speech that had Dave’s family almost open-mouthed in their reaction. They were even more surprised when young Terry got into the act by informing the waitress that he too could speak Italian.

So good was Dianne’s use of the language that it actually took some time for her to convince the girl that she and Matt, and son Terry for that matter, were not Italian, however it appeared that service to their table was going to be made a priority and after taking their orders she practically ran to the kitchen with them. The manager, Giuseppe, who happened to be the uncle of the waitress and to whom it had been reported that there were Italian speaking Australians in the restaurant, came out to see if his niece’s admiration of their use of the language was deserved and came away suitably impressed. No less impressed were the others at the table and wanting to know how come Matt and Dianne were both such fluent speakers, when Dianne explained to them how they had managed to achieve not only fluency but also reading, and to a lesser extent writing, they were both heartily congratulated.

Their orders filled and served there was no real reason for the waitress to come as often as she did to the table and check that everything was OK, however it was clear to all that she was craving the chance to speak freely in her mother tongue to people other than her family. Sensing this, Matt took the opportunity to direct many amusing comments her way, and although some made her blush a little none were actually crude and it was soon obvious that she was very happy to be working that night. Dianne said later that if ever they needed one up this way she was sure that the waitress would leap at the chance to be a baby sitter for the two boys!

The restaurant’s kitchen closed at eight-thirty and by ten the last diners had left, most heading home for a few last minute preparations for the morrow’s Christmas day, however a small group was still sat at their long table enjoying Gelato “on the house,” the owner insisted. Invited to sit with them he was eager to learn how these Aussies had come to learn Italian and when told that they’d never taken formal lessons but had learned it from their landlady and her friends he was even more impressed.

He had a cousin down in Sydney… not actually a blood relative but the wife of a lazy, abusive, good-for-nothing cousin who’d done everyone, including his long suffering wife a favour by suddenly dropping dead from a heart attack some ten years before. He’d lost touch with the cousin’s wife who at the time was a seamstress living somewhere near Manly in the Northern suburbs, but when he revealed her name there were cries of astonishment after it was realised that the woman he was talking about was none other than their own Maria back home!

Told that she was “Nonna” to Terry and Liam, the manager happily claimed that in that case they were family, and as he knew Dave and Bron anyway said that they could also consider themselves family, and by extension, Gareth and Gwen could also. Whilst it would have to be admitted that Giuseppe had done a good job of single handedly lowering the level to close to the bottom of the bottle of Chianti that he’d brought to the table this in no way diminished the sincerity of his claim, and he was thanked profusely. Dave and Bron also made him very happy when they declared that they’d never left the Milano without having thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere, the service, the food and his own wonderful hospitality.

Fortunately the drivers of the cars returning to the farm hadn’t drunk quite enough to bring them to the attention of the Highway Patrol, which they didn’t see any sign of anyway, and as everything for Christmas Day was in place it wasn’t long after arriving that they were all sound asleep.

* * *
​

Three year old boys not being inclined to let sleeping parents lie when Santa had visited the house during the night meant that neither Matt, Dianne, Dave nor Bron were able to enjoy the luxury of rising late on a do-nothing-in-particular day, and after persuading all four boys, now that the younger ones were also up, to have breakfast first the families were now gathered in front of the Christmas tree.

Whilst quite some time ago it had been decided independently by both sets of parents that the focus of Christmas should be on family togetherness rather than the giving and receiving of extravagant gifts - those being reserved for birthdays where the cost of such could be spread out over the year - it was inevitable that their kids would receive something that they would appreciate and enjoy.

For the adults it was mostly the exchange of cards containing heartfelt words of love and devotion… accompanied by a couple of gift vouchers to be used at their favourite store, however for their children it was mostly something sensible that in many families would be considered little more than stocking stuffers. This year however, all the boys were thrilled when they received several wooden toys, mostly models of earth-moving plant such as bull-dozers, excavators, graders and dump-trucks that Gareth had been working on in Dave’s workshop. Dave and Bron’s two boys also received a couple of accessories for the Tomy train set their grandfather had given them last year, Matt and Dianne having seen and bought them at the Vinnie’s Goodwill store in town.

Matt handed Dianne the box that Maria had given him when he was packing the trailer before they left Sydney and she found that it contained another fruit cake sealed in a tin, three VHS cassettes of Walt Disney movies for children - dubbed in Italian - and a beautiful book of photos of regions in Italy which they hoped they might see for themselves one day.

Throwing Matt a heavy gift-wrapped package that turned out to be the water pump for his Crown Dave laughed and told him that though it was Matt who had purchased the pump his gift to the couple would be to help Matt install it and get the car back on the road, which was something they could do that morning. Matt’s reply was to tell Dave that his gift to him and Bron would be to help relocate the council’s palm trees to The Oasis, though that would have to wait until Monday.

It took about an hour and a half to install the new water pump, replace the radiator and attach its new hoses plus replace the heater hoses on the Crown, and after filling the radiator with coolant and the engine with fresh oil they cranked the motor a few times, checking the compression on each cylinder. All appeared to be good so after replacing the spark plugs, and the hood, the car was taken for a short test drive around the village with a very relieved and happy Matt at the wheel.

After stopping off at the Cock & Bull to have a beer and wish everyone a Merry Christmas they returned to the farm where they helped carry all the Christmas dinner makings down to The Oasis’ cabana then spent the rest of the day eating, snoozing, swimming and playing with the children, which is a good way for families to spend any day when work of any kind isn’t required to be done.

* * *​

 

[Bidadisndat]

By ancient tradition, established on a Boxing Day all of five years before, the Southern side of Hook’s Eye was reserved for swimmers whilst those who were inclined to cast a line were restricted to the Northern side and the people attending this gathering were making full use of both. It was quite a gathering too, including as it usually did Dave’s tradie friends from town and their families, the residents of “Stringer’s Farm” and even a few residents of Brocklesbury itself who were part of the select group. What was amazing was that the select group had by and large managed to keep the existence of Hook’s Eye and the facilities they themselves had installed relatively secret from all but most members of the Cock & Bull Fishing Club. (Truth be known there were actually quite a few more, though fortunately those that did know were not in the habit of blurting out secrets.)

Despite there being twenty plus adults and a like number of children present the small carpark was used only by those vehicles needed to ferry people and their picnic blankets and food to and from McKenzie’s Farm where their owners had parked their cars. The transport fleet enjoyed the inclusion of Jeff Mullin’s mini bus which he’d opted not to hire out on the day, and that made it easier as all the kids wanted to ride in it with their friends rather than be squeezed into a car. (When the day was over, instead of driving them to the farm Jeff took the delighted kids on a long circuitous trip that ended at the park in the village where under his watchful eye they could use the play equipment there until their parents arrived to collect them.)

Matt and Dianne had been introduced to everyone as they arrived and were surprised to find that the event wasn’t an ad-hoc affair of people just turning up but that all the wives had long before got together and organised bring-a-plate contributions for a meal. As the two roofed-over tables and bench seats adjacent were insufficient to accommodate all the attendees for a sit-down meal it had been decided to use the tables to lay out all the food as a buffet with the bench seats being used to hold paper plates, bowls, cups, napkins and plastic cutlery, and every available flat piece of ground around was covered with picnic rugs. The toilet facilities installed by the tradies several years before were thought to be probably inadequate for the number of people attending so a Portaloo had been brought in and six 200 litre drums had also been arranged around the site to be used as rubbish receptacles.

Matt was having trouble deciding whether to go fishing or swimming until Bron told him that free-diving at Fish Hook Bay would be much better than where they were now, and by going out with Dave in the tinnie he’d also be able to use his speargun around the bommie offshore, so he grabbed his rod and headed for the northern side of the eye. Not that he nor any of the others had any luck as with so many swimmers in the water the fish had made themselves scarce, or at least that was the reason given for the lack of catches. It was still a good day however and when most were ready to head for home the drums used for litter were dragged to Dirk’s truck and manhandled onto the tray, apart from one which it had been decided could be used under the supervision of Uncle Bob as an incinerator to burn off all the used paper plates and suchlike. An emu parade by all ensured that the area was as clean as when they had arrived, except the Portaloo which would be picked up next day by the company it had been hired from.

During the event so many different dishes had been sampled that after returning to the caravan any thoughts of preparing an evening meal were given over to simply relaxing on the deck with a stubby or a glass of wine and a selection of left-overs that were considered too good to simply throw to the chooks, though of course that would be done later anyway - after the chooks owners had had enough - and it seemed the perfect way to finish a great day.

* * *​

As this was the day when they would be going to the range Dianne pitched in to help Matt with the morning’s gardening jobs, and worked so hard at it that Dave laughingly suggested that maybe the garden would be better off if she helped with it every morning and left Matt to help Bron with the housework. Matt of course rubbished the idea, not so much because he was better at gardening but because he was not as good at housekeeping as she was.

“He’s right about that Dai: If ever I leave a job around the house for him to do I usually end up having to do it again when he’s finished.”

Matt grinned. “Dai, have you noticed that if a woman completes a job that turns out to be less than perfect it’s quite OK, but if a man does the same thing it’s not by any means OK?”

“Oh, that’s for sure. I learned that even before first I left home at seventeen.”

“You guys just don’t know when you’re well off,” was Dianne’s retort. “If we women were paid what we’re worth we wouldn’t need you men around anyway.”

Although both men thought the remark was somewhat off-track they wisely decided not to pursue the matter in that particular direction knowing full well that it’s almost impossible to argue with a woman’s logic. And even if a man could find a flaw in that, it would come down to “My mind’s made up: Don’t confuse me with facts,” so they wisely kept their mouths shut.

All that was forgotten well before they reached the range however, and it wasn’t too long before target shooting had gained two more advocates of the sport. Not that they were going to immediately rush out and buy rifles of course, but at least they were well in tune with those that did own them and by the time they returned to the farm Dave had reinforced their long-held belief that shooters, particularly licensed shooters, were definitely not the bogey men the media often portrayed them to be.

They’d only spent a couple of hours at the range and it being just after noon in the middle of summer, and with daylight saving in effect Matt felt that there was still plenty of time to do a bit of snorkelling down at Fish Hook Bay. Bron and Gwen having taken care of all the kids whilst she was at the range Dianne opted out of the snorkelling to take over that task, and Gareth having just returned from the Cock & Bull where he’d been playing darts offered to join Dave and Matt.

Gareth suggested that not having had any alcohol despite spending a few hours at the pub he would be able to take them out to the bommie (1) where they could do a little spear fishing, the prospect of doing which got Matt so excited that he’d put his cozzies (2) on and had his gear ready to go within ten minutes. Slow-coach Dave took all of five minutes longer but at least he’d thought to load an esky and ice into his 3.5 metre De Havilland ‘Apache’ tinny which they’d be trailering down to the boat ramp.

Having parked his truck and boat trailer after launching the tinny(3) Dave waded out to where Gareth and Matt waited and after levering himself over the gunwale into the boat they proceeded to the northern end of the bommie and anchored on its landward side where, according to Dave, most of the bigger fish were to be found.

Dave was right on the money Matt said later after three dives with his speargun had resulted in two large Trevally and a very large Snapper being returned to the boat and placed in the esky, however after surfacing empty handed from his fourth dive he quickly swapped his speargun for a pair of knitted yellow gloves and after a few deep and rapid breaths went back down again.

Not knowing that he was quite an experienced free-diver Gareth was beginning to get a bit worried by the length of time Matt had been under and he breathed a sigh of relief when the surface was broken by a head with a grinning face. Beneath the grinning face a body was being supported by two furiously kicking legs, an arm and hand that was being used to bring himself alongside the boat and another hand that clutched a catch bag containing an enormous lobster.

When Dave surfaced from a dive with his fourth fish and saw the bug (4) he too exchanged his speargun for gloves and went down to try his luck, and whilst he did manage to find and catch a fairly big one, to his disappointment it wasn’t quite as big as the one Matt had surfaced with, so he made up for the disparity by going back down a few more times and returning each time with two large abalone. On the return trip to the boat ramp Dave said that although he’d often taken plenty of abalone he hadn’t seen lobsters down there before and hoped that the bommie wouldn’t become a Mecca for seekers of either. Gareth’s suggestion was that Dave put down several pots with markers as those seeking to take lobsters by hand wouldn’t want to be accused of stealing from them if they dived there and thus might leave the area alone, though that need only be done if word got out that there were lobsters and abs (5) there.

Following their triumphant return to the farm with their catches the girls got to work and that night the fish the boys had caught were served up with steamed vegetables and rice, along with a portion of Lobster Mornay. Of course the four young boys were quite happy to have fish and chips, even if the fish was grilled and the chips were baked rather than both being deep fried. And as being prepared at the outdoor kitchen Matt and Dianne’s holiday was once again enhanced by their all being able to dine under the pergola alongside the pool at The Oasis, with the added advantage that their beds were only a few paces away when the night was done.

* * *
​

“This place is amazing,” said Dianne as she and Matt were guided by its four residents around the infrastructure of Stringer’s Farm to have a look at the multiple enterprises they had set up in their quest for self sufficiency. Dave, having to work an unexpected fill-in shift at the Cock & Bull had introduced his guests to Dirk and Sally after leading their car to the farm before heading to the pub, and in turn that pair had introduced them to Rob and Reb. Young Terry was tagging along on foot but Sally lent Dianne one of the baby carrier slings that she made to sell at markets and one of which she herself was using for her own baby. She also lent Matt a back-pack style carrier for Liam and both carriers enabled them both to keep their arms free and they worked so well that at the end of their visit they decided to purchase them.

First off had been a look at and through Dirk and Sally’s cottage where they saw for the first time and tried out the Jefferson stairs leading to the sleeping loft above the kitchen, and also looked at but didn’t try out the composting toilet which was something they were only vaguely aware was being used more and more by people in similar situations. Both had been intriguing enough for Matt to pull out his notebook and make a note of them for future reference, and it remained out as he made more notes during their walk around the farm. Dianne of course had her camera out and took more photos than Matt made notes, knowing that some of their friends back in Sydney would be very keen to see the slide show she would inevitably produce about the holiday.

Apart from the vegetable gardens and chicken run that they’d expected to see, the food forest being established along the swales on the slope opposite the cottage provided a very interesting and tasty walk as they sampled some of the in-season fruits and nuts growing along their lengths. Matt wasn’t familiar with many of the native tucker plants that had also been put in and his pencil was working overtime as he recorded their common and botanical names. The vines growing at the western end of the gully were also made interesting by the fact that the grapes obtained from them were used to make the farm’s own red and white wines which, Dirk told them, they would be able to sample when they had lunch.

Matt was surprised by the size and extent of the piles of woodchip mulch that Dave had told him about and after seeing how Dirk had left the older piles to rot down and was using the fines to make his “Magic Mix” soil used in the veggie gardens wondered if he might be able to organise a similar system back home.

“We once had a truckload of supposedly good garden soil delivered here but after only one season of mediocre results we found that it was little more than river sand mixed with a very small amount of manure, and we were so disgusted with it that decided to make our own. What we’re doing now is running the rotted down woodchips through the sieve while at the same time adding a bit of the original sand to the fines, with the woodchips that don’t go through being returned to the pile to continue the composting process.

When Dirk demonstrated the working of an old cement mixer that he had converted into a rotating sieve Matt’s pencil went into overdrive as he sketched all the parts in order to make one for himself. A large garden cart that could be towed behind a ride-on mower had been placed under the rotating drum of weldmesh that formed the sieve and when the cart was about three quarters full five watering cans of rainwater containing Wetasoil and Seasol was added, along with a bit of lime and a good sprinkling of either Blood and Bone or Dynamic Lifter.

He was able to prove how good the mix was by showing them a series of pots containing what had been almost dead plants being discarded or sold very cheaply by the garden centre but were now thriving. A small plant nursery had been set up alongside their greenhouse and potting shed and some of the plants rescued and raised there, along with those they propagated themselves, were sold direct to the public at the local markets.

The range of goods they produced for sale included not only plants but items Matt made from fence palings, pottery from Sally’s kiln, lead-light glass-work made by Reb plus pickles, chutneys and preserves turned out by both women. Rob also used the markets as a drop-off and pick-up point for the garden machinery servicing and repair work that kept him not quite busy enough to completely prevent his fishing, though it did come close at times.

Although they didn’t have regular jobs and may have been considered to be hippies by many people there was no way Dirk and Sally could ever be considered to be unemployed, Matt told Dianne later, especially as everything they’d managed to achieve so far had taken a month shy of four years.

Around late lunch time and having seen all that the farm had to show it didn’t take much persuasion to convince Matt that he should try out one of Rob’s long beach rods so while the men set about getting gear ready to spend an hour or three fishing Sally and Reb packed a picnic lunch big enough to feed them all. That the beach was only a ten minute walk away was a surprise for the visitors although having to carry the fishing gear, the picnic hamper, an esky of cold drinks (that would hopefully be replaced by fish), plus a couple of beach shelters turned it into a fifteen minute trudge through the sand. Not that anyone minded of course, and sitting on the beach and watching the sea was a very pleasant way to enjoy the lunch of cold meats and salads that Sally ad Reb had prepared.

“When is usually the best time to go fishing here?” Matt asked as he looked towards the reef not far from where they were seated.

“Yesterday,’ replied Rob. “When the fish were really biting.”

As it turned out the fish were biting reasonably well when they cast their lines from the reef and by the time they all returned to the farm the esky held enough fish to have made the exercise worth undertaking. A stop was made at Rob’s and Reb’s where his rods and tackle were left, and Dianne was invited to take photos of The Fisherman’s Shack and the nautical themed decorations around its deck. Reb was also keen for them to have a look inside too as she was extremely proud of how she and Rob, with Dirk’s and Sally’s help, were able to build it themselves.

Making meals from scratch with their own produce was nothing new to Matt and Dianne however when they all sat down to dinner that evening they had to admit that their own efforts paled in comparison to what Stringer’s Farm was capable of producing. That was hardly a fair comparison according to Dirk who thought the difference in the acreage each had access to was by itself enough to even things out, and when the availability of wheat, barley and other local produce that could be obtained at a lower price by dealing directly with farmers was taken into consideration their respective efforts were on par. Whilst Dianne nevertheless felt sure they could do better and resolved to try harder Matt insisted that they were doing as well as they possibly could, and that tackling more might result in them having less quality time for the children, and just as importantly, for each other.

When they left Stringer’s Farm and headed for the caravan, tired but happy after a very full day it was with purchases of several nice pieces of pottery, a stained-glass tiffany lamp and many jars of produce, plus a note-book packed with information and a roll and a half of exposed film.

* * *​

(1) Bommie: Indigenous Australian Aboriginal term for a place where waves break over a shallow reef.
(2) Cozzies: (or Cossies): Swim-wear. also called Bathers, Togs, Trunks, Speedos
(3) Tinny: Small metal boat usually fitted with an outboard motor. (Not to be confused with tinnie, which is a can of beer.)
Large glass bottle of beer are called Long-Necks and small bottles are stubbies - and yes, I do know that stubbies can refer to something else in the U.S.A. but this is a family show, lol.
(4) Bug: Slang term for crayfish, or lobster as Americans call them.
(5) Abs: Abalone.

 

[Bidadisndat]

It had taken Matt, Dave and Darren all day to remove and transplant the palm trees that the local wanted gone, and had it not been for being able to swim in the pool and enjoy a couple of stubbies when they were done Matt may have been excused for thinking that his holidays were over and he was back at work. The job had been well worth doing however as The Oasis was given an almost completely new and even more tropical look which inspired Dave to put a stack of Pacific Islands L.P.s on the cabana’s record player to listen to while they had their beers. Of course on hearing the music drifting up from the cabana it didn’t take long for those in the house to make their way down to marvel at the makeover and all might have stayed there had not dinner been waiting back at the house.

Tuesday’s free time after the chores were done was mostly spent swimming and snorkelling at Fish Hook Bay and playing with the children however on the Wednesday, after telling Dave and Bron about their plan, they hitched up their trailer and drove some distance inland to spend two nights at a riverside camping ground. It was a bit different to just walking into an on-site caravan, Dianne said with a laugh, but no less enjoyable and besides, they had originally packed for a camping trip hadn’t they? Matt agreed but at the same time said that mainly due to the people who had befriended them he was glad that their holiday had turned out as it did.

By Friday lunch-time they were back at McKenzie’s Farm where Matt found enough jobs to occupy him for most of the afternoon, and despite being told that it wasn’t necessary felt it made up for the chores he hadn’t helped with that and the previous mornings. Unfortunately Dianne had begun to feel a bit queasy during the drive back and by the evening seemed to be really under the weather. She didn’t feel up to joining the New Year’s Celebrations in the village so Matt suggested that she and he could stay at the farmhouse and look after the children whilst the adults went down to enjoy the event. Well… he would look after the children as Dianne would probably be better off in bed, or lying down at least. And it wouldn’t be as much a disappointment as they might think because he and Dianne were usually in bed asleep by midnight on most New Year’s Eves anyway!

* * *
​

Dianne was much recovered when she woke up in the morning to find that Matt had already risen and gone to do the chores. The boys were still sound asleep and although Suzie was awake she hadn’t cried to be fed, so the day seemed to be off to a good start. A very quick shower in the cabana seemed to make her recovery complete and when she returned she fed Suzie then set about making scrambled eggs on toast for herself and the boys, and decided to also heat a small can of the baked beans Matt liked. When Matt returned to the van he was in time to join the family for breakfast and after ensuring that Dianne was feeling OK asked her if she thought she’d be able to handle the drive back to Sydney.

“Oh sure. I think I must have picked up a short term bug or something but I feel fine now. What time do you plan on us heading back home?”

“Around one o’clock I guess. I was thinking of mid morning but Bron wouldn’t have a bar of that: Said we had to stay for lunch. Dave had to go down to the pub and fix a table that last night’s revellers broke when half a dozen of them tried dancing on it and she didn’t want him to come back and find us gone. And of course Gareth and Gwen want to have lunch with us too.”

“Fair enough. They’ve all been so good to us haven’t they? I hope I don’t start crying when we leave.”

“I wouldn’t put money on it that you won’t, but you’ll be OK if you remember that we’ve been invited to come back anytime. After breakfast I’m going to put the deck furniture back in the shed while you clean out the fridge and start packing. I put most everything in the trailer early this morning so our BOBS and the food is all we have to load really. Bron asked me to take the bed linen up to the house and she’ll put it through the washing machine tomorrow.”

“No: While you put away the deck furniture I’ll take the linen up to the house straight after breakfast and I will put it through the wash, because Bron’s already done enough for us as it is.”

By lunch time everything had been done apart from bringing in the laundry as Bron wanted to leave it hanging in the sun for a while. Whilst it appeared that she and Gwen had put some effort into preparing a big lunch as the table was a virtual smörgåsbord they both laughed and admitted that everything had been brought up from the Cock & Bull: Tony and Trev having overestimated the number of people who would be celebrating there and catered accordingly had graciously allowed the staff and guests to help themselves to what had been put into the cool room and fridges after everybody had left. Dave had arrived home with a full Esky and two large flat boxes of Danish open-faced sandwiches and various cakes and pastries, some of which Bron had packed into a lidded Styrofoam box for them to take in the car when they left.

That Matt and his family would be visiting Brocklesbury again was a surety he told those sat around the table, as it was a fantastic place full of wonderful people, first and foremost being Dave, Bron and his family who had been so kind to them.

“You’ve been great guests, guys, and I think we’ve all benefitted by your staying with us. Of course we’ll think of you of you every time we go to The Oasis and look at the palm trees, and I will never forget how you nabbed that lobster out on the bommie. I know you’re both keen snorkelers but have you ever considered trying scuba diving? If so, you could have a go at that on your next visit.”

“Actually, Dai, we have talked about trying that sometime in the future. We’ve often watched diving schools at Fairy Bower and the people doing courses there always seem to be really enjoying themselves.”

“Well, as you live reasonably close to Manly you could check this school out,” Dave said as he handed them one of several business cards his friend and mentor had given him. “They run their courses exactly the same as I run mine, though I should say I run my courses exactly the same as they run theirs because the head instructor and owner of the school taught me many of the teaching techniques I use myself. Tell them that I recommended them on the understanding that you should be looked after as a close friend of mine, not that that’ll mean anything of course.”

Conversation slowed as the time for Matt and Dianne’s departure drew closer and suddenly it was time to go. Loaded up and with the car in better shape than when they arrived the Crown, sporting waving hands on each side drove out the gate, turned right and headed towards the highway leading South, Dianne releasing a tear as they did so.

A short stop to have a couple of the open-face sandwiches was the only one made before they reached home and they arrived in the early evening to be met with a beaming and excited Maria who had received a letter from an almost forgotten cousin telling her about the wonderful people that had come to his restaurant. How the letter had arrived so quickly at this time of year was an anomaly in the postal service’s usual delivery times but it had sure made Maria very happy. There was no need for Dianne to do any cooking that night either, as Maria had organise what turned out to be a small “welcome home” party with Angelo, Sophia and their children in attendance. Sunday would be spent catching up with the friends, neighbours and members of the garden club, but for now It was nice to be home, as it usually is even after the best of holidays.

* * *
​

 

[Bidadisndat]

When Matt and Dianne spoke to the members on Sunday they found that the exposure of the garden club by the newspaper article they’d read before going away had resulted in several residents living on the opposite side of the street approaching and asking if it would be possible for them to join. Realising that this would probably create something of a bureaucratic nightmare and possibly lead to the imposition of fees if the council was to be approached on the matter, the club simply allocated them some of the vacant spaces behind those properties whose residents had not joined the club.

Unfortunately there had also been a down side to the exposure: Firstly, the project had attracted a number of “Letters to the Editor” decrying the use of public land by the residents involved. However the same section featured many more letters that were for rather than against the project and in the following week’s edition there were so many letters lambasting the naysayers that nothing more was heard from them.

Secondly, it had attracted the attention of a group of eight young would-be vandals who during the school holidays had decided to trash the gardens. They had begun by ripping out quite a number of small trees and shrubs along the length of the hedge between the easement and the mandalas, but that was about as far as they got before being apprehended by one of the council rangers doing a random security patrol.

Having put up with the problem of such hooliganism in the area for quite some time the council was in no mood to show any leniency towards the group, and they were all set to receive hefty fines until Matt surprisingly intervened on their behalf. He approached the council and proposed that rather than being fined the group could be put to work repairing the damage that they had caused, and then be required to undertake community service for a period to be decided by council. He further suggested that perhaps under his direction they could perform that service in the gardens that they had wanted to destroy, and by so doing would in future be less inclined to undo the work that they had put in to the project, and might even learn a thing or two to their benefit.

The council immediately saw this proposal as a way to build a better rapport with the ratepayers, occupy at least some of the idle youths in the area, and remove the burden on the youths’ parents that bearing the cost of fines would impose on them, and lost no time in agreeing to it. The garden club members agreed among themselves that no mention would be made about the reason that the young people would be undertaking the work, and that they would be treated with the respect that any member would be given.

During the restoration work being carried out by those who the club members now referred to as “Trainees”, rather than just replacing the small trees and shrubs that had been torn out with the same types of plants, Matt provided and had them plant out a mix of trees that should eventually become a productive food forest. The mix included quite a few olive trees, several each of avocado, citrus, carob, guava, loquat, macadamia, mango, mulberry and pomegranate, and also a number of coffee bushes just to see if they would grow…. and hopefully produce beans.

Matt had invited the parents of the six boys and two girls to come along on the days when the miscreants would be working so that they could see for themselves the benefits of turning their children’s idle time and hands towards doing something productive. To their credit, all of the parents turned up on the first day that the group was to begin work, and also quite often thereafter, and to the surprise of all actually joined them in many of the gardening sessions.

Perhaps not so surprising given the nature of the club was that after the community work order had expired six families continued to attend the monthly get-togethers on a regular basis. When four of those families decided to establish vegetable gardens in their own backyards Matt and several members offered to make themselves available to help with some of the planning and physical work required to get their gardens started.

​

Whilst all this was happening Matt had begun to put into action some of the ideas and plans that he had discussed with Dianne after they had returned from their holiday. He began by asking the club members if they thought that using the currently vacant space behind number twenty four, which happened to be the centre lot, for a barbeque area might be a good idea. There was much discussion as to the pros and cons of the suggestion but it was finally decided that they should build instead a “community kitchen” with not only two large barbeque hot plates but also, as suggested by Dianne, a large clay-brick oven.

The final design agreed upon emulated the design of the mandalas, though much larger, with a covered kitchen area at the centre and six round tables, each with four bench seats for two people arranged around it. Although it was hoped that each seating area would eventually have its own weatherproof cover, in an effort to contain costs it was decided that for now members could provide their own large umbrellas if and when shelter was required.

Because this project entailed the construction of permanent facilities, a Development Application had to be submitted to council and, although the club members expected that it would probably take forever and a day, the application was actually approved quite quickly. This was due in great part to Matt’s experience gained in his full-time job where he often had to draw up plans, prepare environmental impact statements and submit applications for similar projects. Council was also impressed by the fact that a sprinkler system, fire blankets and extinguishers and a first-aid kit had been included in the design for the kitchen.

Just about everybody wanted to assist with construction and within five weeks of its approval by council the kitchen was in operation. The large barbeque, clay-brick oven and a food preparation bench with washing-up facilities had been constructed first and whilst the six surrounding eating areas were being worked on the oven was given several firings, with the temperature and time being increased with each so that by the time the project was completed the oven was ready for regular use. Naturally there had to be an inaugural opening of the kitchen and this took the form of an afternoon barbeque, plus pizzas, and a party that for many lasted well into the night, and for a few hardy souls, into the wee hours of the morning. The party was such a rousing success that it was thought by all who attended that it should be made an annual event, and at the next meeting of the garden club it was suggested by Edith Sullivan, who lived at number eight, that perhaps this could be held in conjunction with an annual Harvest Festival to be held each Autumn.

This suggestion was met with great enthusiasm by all present and in short order a steering committee of six members was formed to organise the event for the following year. By unanimous vote Edith was elected to head the committee as she and her husband Peter, both quite popular with all members, had been heavily involved with similar events held in the English county of Kent, from where they had emigrated many years before. This turned out to be a good choice by the members as before the month had ended the pair had not only put together an excellent plan for a Harvest Festival to be held during April of the next year, but also another for a Spring Fair to be held during the coming October. As often happens with such things the Festival Committee, as it was now known, seemed to take on a life of its own and ultimately there were four events that it would be responsible for organizing. In addition to the Harvest Festival and Spring Fair they were now planning a big New Year barbeque, and to everyone’s delight a mid-July “Christmas in Winter” party.

It was now almost three months into the year and Dianne told Matt that there was another project that would require some rescheduling of time and resources in the not too distant future, and perhaps it would be better to begin preparing for it now.

“Gosh Dee, haven’t you got enough on your plate already? You’ve already got your time cut out with looking after the kids, dressmaking and sewing, canning and preserving, painting and pottery, you’re teaching others some of that stuff too, plus you’re now also on the Festival Committee. Don’t get me wrong though: If what you want to do makes you happy then I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

“Well so you should too, since you’re half responsible.”

“Me? What have I done that makes me…” Matt stopped mid sentence as he looked at Dianne and saw the small crooked smile on her lips and the shine in her eyes.

“Oh Lord,” he said in a whisper as he pulled a chair towards himself and sat down.

Dianne took the few steps across the room that separated them, plonked herself down on his lap, placed her arms around his neck and hugged herself close to him.

“You shouldn’t be surprised, really,” she said. “Let’s see now: Susie is eight and a half months old, I’m about six weeks along so add the seven and a half months that I’ve got to go and that makes sixteen months. Yep, that’s about right.”

“You’ve got to be kidding! It’ll be a sixteen month gap again? Are you sure?”

“As sure as personal experience tells me. Well, that and the pregnancy test kit I used.”

“Wow. This is going to need quite a bit of planning that’s for sure. Still, there’s no need to panic. We’ll just take our time and work out what needs to be done, and do it.”

“Hmm. That’s quite a different reaction to the flap you went into when I told you I was pregnant with Susie. I gather you’re not unhappy about having another mouth to feed?”

“Not at all. I’ll just build another mandala and put two extra chickens in the coop.”

“Good idea. You’re not as silly as you look after all,” she laughed, holding him close and planting a kiss firmly on his lips. “C’mon, we’d better go upstairs and tell Maria.

* * *
​

 

[Bidadisndat]

All in all, things were actually going far better for his work with the garden club than they were for his regular job because when business at the landscape and gardening company recommenced after the holiday break there were problems from the beginning. First, the supervisor had, as he had promised Matt, quit the job and walked out as soon as it was announced that Freddie was being made Assistant Supervisor. Matt was offered Ron’s position however knowing how short-lived that would be he declined, much to the great relief of Froggy, telling Douglass that he would prefer to just remain as leading hand of his team. Next, Froggy brought in two of his mates to head the other two teams and, rather than work under the new men, the leading hands of both those teams also handed in their resignations, as did two more of the most experienced workers.

From that point the situation went very rapidly downhill and within two months business began rapidly falling off, mainly due to the fact that neither Freddie, now the Supervisor, nor his two mates had any real knowledge or practical experience in the trade, and whose costly mistakes had to be rectified at the company’s expense.

The materials used were more often than not sub-standard, having been procured cheaply from a dubious source by Freddie, and the workmanship of the two teams became shoddier in keeping with the directions given them by the new so-called leading hands. This in turn led quickly to a less than satisfied clientele and a subsequent loss in referrals which, as in most businesses, was worth as much if not more than paid advertisements.

Whilst Matt and his team continued to provide the service and workmanship that they always had done, he had no control over the quality of the materials supplied and there were often arguments between him and Freddie over the issue. The problems associated with the use of sub-standard materials was brought to a head when Matt discovered invoices in the glove compartment of the company truck that Freddie had been using. They showed that he was purchasing the materials from a different company than they normally used, and at far less cost than the amount stated on the paperwork that he’d seen Freddie leave in the office. Despite believing that Freddie was defrauding the company by pocketing the difference, Matt knew that any attempt to expose him it was likely that any accusations he made would be totally denied, and that in all probability Matt would be dismissed from his job.

He discussed his predicament with Dianne who, understanding that Matt’s conscience would not allow him to continue turning a blind eye to the problem now that he knew that Freddie was acting dishonestly, fully supported his decision to inform the boss. If it meant that Matt would soon join the ranks of the unemployed then so be it, she had said firmly, adding that his reputation within the industry would ensure that he wouldn’t remain unemployed for any great length of time anyway.

Buoyed by Dianne’s positive support, the following day Matt asked the company’s secretary, Margaret, for an appointment to see the boss, however he was told that Douglas would not be in that day and that it would have to wait until tomorrow morning. Matt spent the rest of the day making sure that the project they were working on would be completely finished on time and to the satisfaction of the client in case he was shown the door next day, and warned his crew of the impending showdown and its likely result. They backed him one hundred percent but were nevertheless worried about their own positions if he was forced to leave, as they would then come under the direct control of Froggy and his useless mates.

When Matt commenced work the next morning and was heading into the workshop Freddie was waiting for him and blocked his way. He’d found that the receipts he thought he’d accidentally left in the truck he’d been using were gone and, having heard from the secretary that Matt had asked for a meeting with his father was worried that Matt had found them, discovered the deception he was carrying out and was about to blow the whistle on him.

“What do you want to see my father about?” he demanded. “You know damned well that I’m the supervisor here and if you have any problems on the job you should be talking to me, not going to my father.”

“Don’t worry Froggy. I’m sure if it’s anything that your father thinks you should know about he’ll tell you,” said Matt. “Or maybe his secretary will keep you up to date,” he added, thinking that that was probably how Freddie knew about the meeting.

“Just be careful of what you say, O’Rourke. My father’s not in the best of health and I don’t want you upsetting him.”

“All I asked for was a meeting, Froggy. Now why would you be thinking that I might be saying anything that could upset your dad?”

“I was just giving you a bit of advice. I’m warning you though, I’d be very unhappy if you did say anything that caused him problems. My mates wouldn’t be happy either.”

“Warning me? And bringing your mates into it? Froggy, it sounds very much like you’re threatening me for some reason and that doesn’t make me happy. Now get out of my way: My mates and I have a lot of work to do.”

He grinned inwardly as he walked past the angry man knowing the emphasis he’d placed on ‘my mates’ when referring to his own crew left Freddie in no doubt that Matt would have plenty of backup if he and his mates tried any rough stuff against him. Actually Matt hadn’t planned on going out to the job he was supervising and working on until after his meeting with the boss at nine a.m. so he sent his crew ahead and spent the intervening time checking over some of the equipment that they used. No point in him going out on a job unless he was sure he was going to be around to finish it, he thought. At five to nine he walked into the outer office and the secretary told him to go straight through as Douglas was waiting for him. The boss told him to take a seat and asked if he’d like a cup of coffee. Matt said no to the coffee, but once seated he came straight to the point and told the boss what he suspected had been going on with the purchase of materials by Freddie.

“Don’t say another word!” shouted Douglas almost as soon as Matt had begun. “Don’t you dare come in here and start accusing Frederick of stealing from the company! I won’t have it! He warned me when he started that you had it in for him and would try and cause trouble for him somehow, and it looks like he was right.”

In reply Matt withdrew from his shirt pocket the invoices that he’d taken from the truck, and slapped them down on the desk in front of him, saying “Why don’t you check these receipts and invoices against those that Freddie gave Margaret for the supplies. These are for the amounts that his supplier was charging and I think you’ll find that the invoices and receipts you’ve been given for those same supplies are quite a bit different. If I’m wrong, you’ll have an apology and my resignation straight away.”

“You can count on it! Now get out of here!” the boss fumed as he looked at the receipts. “Margaret! Bring in all the invoices and receipts for materials we’ve ordered from Paul’s Timber and Hardware. Immediately!” he shouted at the secretary through the door of the office as Matt went out. Margaret had been in the process of initiating a telephone call but she put the ‘phone back on its cradle and after pulling the needed invoices and receipts from a filing cabinet took them through to the main office and placed them on the desk in front of Douglass.

“Don’t go,” he said as Margaret turned to leave. “I want you to pull out all the invoices and receipts we’ve got that will match up the dates on these here,” he added, handing her the invoices that Matt had given him.

“But those are not from our supplier,” she said as she looked at the papers on her way out. “At least, they’re not from the supplier that we’ve always dealt with.”

It slowly dawned on Douglas that Matt’s accusations of fraud against his son may very well have some substance; however it also appeared that, thankfully, his secretary was not involved in any way. He got up and closed the office door then returned to his chair where he sat very heavily, his head bowed forward, his eyes closed and his hands pressed to his temples while he thought.

He finally rose from his chair and after asking her to come back into the office asked Margaret if she had been aware of any deceptions that Freddie had been practicing and she replied that though she didn’t know for sure that he was rorting the company, and whilst she did have her suspicions there wasn’t really any solid evidence that she could show the boss to prove anything.

Together they took some time going carefully through the receipts and making a record of the dates and amounts, and then the boss contacted Paul’s Timber and Hardware and spoke to the manager, explaining to him that they had misplaced a file that their own accountant would need for preparing this year’s taxation returns, and would he be able to get copies of the invoices and receipts. He told the manager that, from memory, the invoice numbers began with eight zero zero, if that was any help. The manager replied that he would check straight away and if they wanted to send somebody over to collect them, the copies would be ready by the time it took to get there. Douglas himself immediately drove to get them, telling Margaret before he left that she wasn’t to say anything to anybody about the problem, and in particular she wasn’t to talk to Freddy.

Whilst Margaret and Douglas were trying to sort things out in the office Matt had returned to the yard to get his car then drove to the job where his crew was working and told them that as soon as they finished here he had another job for them. When asked by the crew what job they were going to be doing next he got a good laugh by telling them that they were going to be using their bums to polish five chairs at the local pub while they had a long lunch. When two of the boys said that they’d left their wallets in their lockers back at the shed he told them not to worry: Today it was going to be his shout. It was to be either a farewell lunch or a victory party, depending on the final outcome of his meeting with the boss, and then of course he had to relate to them what had transpired at that meeting.

“I’m pretty sure Douglas will find that Froggy has been shafting the company, but what he’ll do about it if he does is anyone’s guess,” he said.

“Probably won’t matter much,” one of the boys said. “I reckon we’re all going to be unemployed before the year’s out the way this company’s going.”

“Don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to begin looking for another job before we’re given the heave-ho,” said another, and they all agreed that it was probably a good idea for all of them.

* * *​

 

[Bidadisndat]

“That was quick work,” said Douglas to the owner-manager when he arrived at Paul’s Timber and Hardware. “I thought it would take a day or two.”

“Not really: We have everything on computer here now so it was quite easy to retrieve the information. You were a bit out when you said you thought the invoices were numbered in the 800’s though: We’ve only just begun using the invoice books beginning with 500.”

“Must be a touch of Old Timer’s Disease, I guess,” said Douglas, and as they both laughed he added “I really appreciate your help with this Paul. Thank you very much.”

“Doug, I noted that your last invoice was for an order placed in December last year. Has there been a problem with our materials or service?”

“December of last year? That’s strange. My son Freddie took over as Supervisor at the beginning of this year and he’s responsible for purchasing all the materials, but he never mentioned anything about using a different supplier. I’ll look into it and find out what’s going on. If he’s just trying to save a couple of dollars here and there I’ll get him to switch back to your company. After all, you’ve always provided good materials and service for us in the past. Just leave it with me and I’ll get everything sorted out.”

“Thanks Doug, I’d really appreciate that. If you need any further information please don’t hesitate to call.”

They shook hands and Douglas drove straight back to the office where he and Margaret checked the invoices she had been given by Freddy. They found that those invoices were on Paul’s Timber and Hardware stationary, as were the receipts; however neither appeared on the computer printout that the accountant had given him. An anomaly also existed in that all the invoices given to Margaret were sequentially numbered, from 800251 onwards, and the receipts were also sequentially numbered. That was rather unlikely unless…..

“Damn!” exclaimed Douglas. “It appears that somehow he’s gotten hold of one each of their invoice and receipt books, and has been writing them up himself. Or more likely he’s getting someone else to do it as his bad handwriting would give the game away.”

They quickly discovered that the fraud had been going on virtually from the time Freddie had taken over as Supervisor, and comparing the two sets of paperwork revealed that in the short period since then Freddie had skimmed nearly three thousand dollars from the business. As angry as Douglas was, he was also Freddie’s father, and he knew that he would not be calling the police to deal with the matter. Rather, he would try to handle the problem himself, though that wasn’t going to make it a whole lot better for Freddy.

“I’m afraid that I have to take some of the blame for that Doug: Freddie told me that that he was getting a good discount for the materials by paying cash. He’d pay for them out of his own pocket whenever he made a pickup, give me the invoices and receipts and I would reimburse him. I don’t know why exactly, but I did feel that there was something amiss, but it was only a feeling I had rather than anything I could point out as being wrong, especially as the invoices and receipts tallied. I might have picked up on the sequential numbers if I’d had all the papers on my desk at the same time.”

Douglas sat back and ran his hands over his face. “That’s perfectly understandable Margaret. If you’d told me I probably would have reacted in the same way I did when Matt told me what was going on. Speaking of Matt, I do believe I owe him an apology. Do you know where he is?”

“He’s probably at home. He went out to his crew after he left the office and when they all came back they packed up for the day and then took off. That was about two o’clock. I suppose he was thinking that he probably wasn’t going to be working here much longer. It would be a shame if he left because he’s one of the few people that the company can always rely on. Perhaps he could even keep it going.”

Douglas looked up sharply. “What do you mean, “Keep it going?” Isn’t everything running alright, despite this problem?”

“Unfortunately, I really don’t think it is,” Margaret replied before launching into an explanation of how there was a lack of the new clients and why she thought that the business was going rapidly downhill.

“But the teams always seem to be busy enough,” Douglas protested.

“Yes. But that’s another strange thing: Matt always lets me know where and when he and his team will be any time of the day, but the other two teams seem to disappear for hours on end and I have no idea where they are. I suspect that they’re doing some jobs on the sly and taking cash payments. They would likely be telling any person that employed them to do a job that they could do the job cheaply for cash and not worry about GST if a receipt wasn’t required. Freddie oversees those two teams but avoids Matt and his team like the plague.”

Douglas leaned back, sighed, and then rose from his chair. “Margaret, I’m afraid this is all a bit much for me at the moment. It’s been a stressful day for both of us so I think we can both knock off a bit early. I’m going home to have a think about things. Don’t be surprised if I’m late or not in at all tomorrow. And please, Margaret, don’t say a word about this to anyone.”

“Don’t worry Doug; I won’t be saying anything to anybody about it. What do you want to do about Matt though? At the moment I think he might be worried about losing his job, especially with his wife being pregnant.”

“Is she? They already have three kids don’t they? Do you have his phone number handy? I’d better give him a call right now.”

Douglas dialled the number Margaret gave him and the phone was answered by Dianne, who told him that Matt was out in the garden and if he didn’t mind waiting a minute she would go and get him. Matt picked up the phone a couple of minutes later, half expecting to hear that he was now out of a job.

“Matt, Doug McFarlane here. Look, I won’t be in tomorrow so I thought I’d better phone you now rather than wait until Monday. First off, I want to apologise for my outburst this morning. I’m ashamed to admit that I acted really badly. I’m also even more ashamed to have to admit that you were right: Freddie has been ripping the company off. I hope that you can understand how I’m feeling about all this at the moment. And if you don’t mind me asking, can I rely on you to keep this all confidential, at least for now?”

“Yes, of course you can. As for this morning, well, perfectly understandable really, and as far as I’m concerned nothing happened worth worrying about,” said Matt before asking with a smile and a wink towards Dianne, “Does this mean that I still have a job?”

“Most definitely. Now as I said, I won’t be in tomorrow and neither will Freddie, so you’ll be running the show for the day. Come Monday, I’d like to see you in my office before you head out on any jobs. That OK with you?”

“I’ll be there. And Doug, thank you.”

“No Matt, it’s me who should be thanking you. I’ll catch up with you on Monday.”

At his end of the line Matt hung up the phone and let out a whistle. “Phew, that’s a relief,” he said to Dianne with a big grin.

On the other end of the line Douglas hung up the phone, turned to Margaret and told her “At this point, tomorrow is just another day as far as the teams are concerned, O.K? And don’t hold yourself to blame for any part in this. I’ll be having a serious talk with Freddie tonight and I think there’ll be quite a bit of a reorganising to be done on Monday. What’s your honest opinion of Matt? Do you think this time he’d take on the job as supervisor now, if it was offered to him?”

“Quite honestly, I think that Matt’s the best and most reliable gardener that you have here. As for taking on the role of supervisor, I think he’d only take it on if Freddie wasn’t placed in any position of authority.”

“Good. That’s what I’m thinking too. Don’t tell him, but I’m going to offer him the position when he comes in on Monday.”

For Frederick however it was quite a different story. When he got home that night and his father angrily confronted him with the two sets of invoices and receipts he was unable to refute the evidence of his wrongdoing. He wasn’t so much hauled across the coals as through them, and by the time Douglas had finished he had been thoroughly burned. The furious Douglas not only dismissed him and his two mates from the company, with the warning that the police would be called in if any of them showed their faces there, but also gave him one week to pack up all his belongings and get out of the house. Of course Freddie, never one to take personal responsibility for any wrongdoing on his part, felt that his plight was all Matt’s doing and that one way or another he would get even with him.

The next day Matt turned up for work in a good mood that was made even better when Margaret informed him that not only was Freddie not coming in, but neither were his two cronies, and it would be up to him to reorganise the teams for the day’s workload. As the workload was actually very light, consisting mostly of maintenance and finishing touches on several jobs that had been in progress throughout the week, he simply formed the men into two teams, with himself working between them. He had both crews hard at it for the whole day, with an hour’s overtime, and by the time they finished they were all in dire need of some liquid refreshments.

He called Dianne and told her that he might be a little bit late, and the reason why, and they all headed for the pub. Naturally the crews wanted to know what had transpired that resulted in his running the show that day, but he told them quite truthfully that he whilst didn’t know he would probably find out on Monday, though the boss had assured him that his job was safe. The evening became quite jovial as it progressed, with a lot of jokes being made at the expense of Froggy and his mates, however none of them noticed the subjects of their jokes scowling at them from a corner table at the other end of the lounge.

The three seated around that table had been drinking for most of the afternoon, with Froggy constantly complaining about Matt and describing what he’d like to do to him given half the chance. It was easy for him to convince his two inebriated offsiders that Matt was also responsible for them losing their jobs, and they should help him get even with the bastard. Despite the fact that they knew Matt was quite fit and also fast on his feet, they figured that their combined mass would be enough to deal with him. Thus it was that when one of them noticed Matt taking his leave of the group he quickly nudged Freddie and said that now was as good a time as any to settle the score and the three quickly made their way from the lounge to the car park, by way of the public bar so that they wouldn’t be seen by the gardeners.

Matt, along with one of the crew, had gone to the toilet before leaving the pub and the trio managed to arrive at his car before he did. They crouched down behind an adjacent car and it was only when Matt was about to insert his key in the door of his car that they sprang upon him, each one of Freddie’s mates grabbing an arm and holding him tight as Freddy himself approached from the front. Matt kicked out with one of his steel-capped work-boots and though it didn’t connect it was enough to make Freddie wary of approaching too close, and when he swung his fist at Matt’s midriff it didn’t land with the force that it might have. Nevertheless it was enough to make Matt double over in pain, and Freddie landed another punch, this time to Matt’s head, just above his left eye. Unfortunately for the trio the crew member that had gone to the toilet at the same time as Matt had seen them heading across the car-park, guessed their intentions and had dashed into the lounge to get the rest of the crew. They all barrelled out of the pub, hurtled across the car-park and just as Freddie delivered a second punch to Matt’s head launched themselves into the fray, four of them grabbing and holding each of Freddie’s mates and two tackling Freddie, thus completely reversing the situation.

As the men were about to lay in to the three with a vengeance Matt pulled himself erect and called for them to stop. He had just seen a police paddy wagon pull into the car-park and he waved it over to where a real punch-up was about to begin. Two policemen, a Sergeant and a Senior Constable got out and approaching the group asked what was going on. Matt, with one eye visibly swollen and turning blue-black, and blood running from his nose and a split lip, left it to one of his crew members to explain what had been happening. The Sergeant was smart enough to tell the boys not to release the assailants until he had the back of the paddy wagon open, at which time the trio was bundled into the back.

Very stupidly, probably because he was too drunk to think straight, Freddie broke free for an instant and swung a punch at the Senior Constable, who was set on his backside by the sudden assault. He was again grabbed by two of the crew, one of whom suggested to the Sergeant that he might need to subdue Freddie with his baton before he was put in the back of the wagon with his mates. The Sergeant said with a laugh that he was very tempted to do just that but as there were now a few people around who might complain about police brutality it would be better to just throw him into the wagon. The two lads took the sergeant at his word and literally threw Freddie none too gently inside. Matt was advised by the police to attend the casualty department of the hospital but then, over his objections, opted to drive him there themselves, telling him that he would be seen to immediately if they were present, rather than having to wait for an hour or two.

“Trust me, there’s a reason apart from wanting to make sure you’re OK that we want you to be seen by a doctor, and as we are taking you there I don’t think they’ll take long to check you over,” the Sergeant told him. “We’ll also need you and your friends to come down to the station and make statements. We’re a bit busy tonight though, so tomorrow morning will be OK.”

The Sergeant was right about the emergency department check up and it was less than an hour later that Matt was back in the car-park after having visited the hospital, and also having blown into a breathalyser for the police, was able to drive his car home.

“What happened?” Dianne cried, more than a little distressed at his appearance when he walked in somewhat later than she had expected.

“Sorry I’m late Love. Froggy wanted a private meeting. Just me and him. And his two mates. I think that he was a bit upset about something, but he didn’t tell me what about.”

He then went on and described what had happened.

“You look a real mess.”

“You think I look a mess? You should see the other blokes: Not a mark on ‘em.”

“Matt, it’s no joking matter. You would have been more seriously hurt if your crew hadn’t stepped in and helped.”

“Yeah, I know, but it’s over and done with now. At least it is as far as I’m concerned.”

“What about the police? What are they going to do about it?”

“I don’t know. They didn’t say much tonight but I have to go down to the station tomorrow morning and make a statement. I’ll probably learn more then. We got anything to eat? I think the punch I got in the stomach made a bit of a space that needs filling.”

Dianne gave a short laugh. “Your mouth OK to chew? Looking at it from here I’d say probably not, so it’s not going to be your favourite toasted sandwiches. How about a large mug of tomato soup? I’ll butter a couple of slices of soft bread to go with it.”

“Tomato soup? Yeah, that’d be really good. Do I have time for a quick shower first?”

“Sure, take your time.”

Matt had a not-really-quick shower then looked in on his sleeping children before returning to the kitchen where he took his time drinking his soup.

“This soup tastes different. It’s really good, and I like it, but it’s different to the tomato soup you usually make. Do you think that’s because of the horrible stuff the hospital put on the cuts in my mouth?”

“No. It’s because it’s pumpkin soup. I changed my mind.”

* * *​

 

[Bidadisndat]

Matt walked into the local police station at nine a.m. the next morning and was escorted to an interview room where he answered a number of questions that a detective put to him before dictating a statement that he signed. Unfortunately he didn’t have any idea of what had transpired between Frederick and his father on the previous Thursday night so he was unable to give the detective a reason for what he considered to be an unprovoked assault.

The detective informed him that the three men were facing charges of assault, assault causing bodily harm, resisting arrest, and in the case of Frederick, assault on a police officer. He also confided to Matt that after Frederick had called his father and asked him to post bail he had talked to Douglas McFarlane personally and explained exactly why the police had come down on Freddie and his mates like a ton of bricks.

It turned out that the assault in the car-park of the pub was pretty much a minor offence compared to further charges that would be laid regarding other serious matters about which the detective was “not at liberty to discuss at this time”. Freddie’s father was positively ropeable when he was informed of what his son had been up to and had refused to post bail, thus Freddie, along with his mates, was now unhappily languishing in the holding cells at the rear of the station before being transferred to Long Bay.

“You didn’t recognise that Sergeant last night did you?” the detective asked suddenly.

“Well, his face was vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t really place him. I haven’t really had any dealings with the police before.”

“The uniform would probably have thrown you. Sergeant Robert May. You first met him after those young kids tried to trash your gardens during the school holidays. Lives in the same street as you, but on the other side, and he’s a member of your garden club. Mind you, that wouldn’t have helped you if you and your mates had laid into those three guys. Just holding them was the best thing you could have done.”

“That was just good timing detective. Between you and me, if he’d arrived a minute later I think the boys would have beaten the crap out of those three.”

“I didn’t hear that,” laughed the detective.

“Hear what, detective?” Matt deadpanned, adding with a sudden grin “Is that all you need of me, for now at least?”

“Yes. No need to keep you. We’ll let you know if you’re needed when his case goes to court, but between you and me that probably won’t be necessary: He’s already in more strife than Flash Gordon and will undoubtedly serve time. The problem is, if you were to press charges against him and he got to serve time for that too, it’d run concurrently with any other time he gets anyway so there’d be no real gain to be had, plus Freddie’s the type of person that would spend his time in prison blaming you for everything that’s gone wrong in his life then come out wanting revenge.”

“That’s the last thing I need. OK, I’ll leave it all in your hands, and unless you think it becomes necessary, I won’t bother pressing charges.”

They shook hands and Matt left, got into his car and drove first to the local Pet Barn where he picked up the four large bags of scratch mix that he had ordered in for the chickens, then home to where he thought Dianne would probably be preparing lunch.

He was half right: Dianne had gotten the kids ready for a trip to the beach and packed a picnic lunch, plus some meat that they could throw on one of the beachside park’s barbecues if one was available. She also had the good sense to not only have his favourite fishing rod and his tackle box ready to go but had also put a bag of frozen bait into the little six-pack esky.

“No gardening today,” she told him. “We’re just going to have a relaxing afternoon while your battle wounds are healing. Maria’s coming with us and Angelo and his family will be following in their car. Angelo also invited the Greek family that just bought the house next door to his. Apparently the husband is a keen fisherman too.”

“No arguments from me about that. I’ll just go inside and change into my Jarvies,” he said, referring to his favourite Jarvis Walker fishing pants, long sleeved shirt and hat.

Less than twenty minutes later they were loaded up and headed towards the beach, with Angelo and his friend swinging their cars in behind them after Matt had slowed down and driven past his house honking the horn, and about thirty minutes after that they were parked at the beach. After everything had been unloaded from the cars Matt and Dianne were introduced to Angelo’s new neighbours, Constantine and Helena, who had emigrated from Greece six years before, had had two children since arriving, hoped for a another two, loved Australia, and proudly announced that they had applied for citizenship.

“Oh darn, seems like all the barbeques are in use,” said Dianne, looking around the park. “Guess it’s going to be just a picnic after all. Not to worry: We’ve got plenty of cold ham and chicken, and knowing the way Maria and Sophia prepare there’ll probably be too much of everything anyway.”

Dianne was right: There was such a prodigious amount of food on the one picnic table they’d found that nobody else was using that there was barely enough room for their own contribution. Constantine and Helena also had a very large esky filled with yet more dishes but after a quick consultation between the women it was decided to leave it the car for the time being and maybe use their food for a barbeque later that evening. With the table so loaded there was no room for plates to eat from, it was used as a smorgasbord, and everybody sat on picnic rugs spread out on the grass. The ladies first organised plates of food for the children and once they had been catered for the adults helped themselves, each sampling a little bit of everything on the table over the following languid hour.

Although conversation between all present was initially spread evenly over the group it wasn’t too long before it became divided between the women and the men, and when the latter took off to the rocks with their fishing gear after having eaten their fill, they weren’t really missed. Whilst they were gone the four women packed everything away then took the kids down to the water and kept a watchful eye on them as they frolicked in the shallows and built sandcastles with moats and towers aplenty. Matt’s boys produced the wooden toy bulldozer, loader and trucks that Dave Morgan’s father had given them for Christmas and shared them with the other boys whilst the girls collected seashells, smooth shiny stones, weather worn pieces of glass in many colours and other treasures.

About two hours later the men returned from their fishing with several tales about the ones that got away but no fish, though Constantine did have a container of sea urchin roe. Having gotten tired of catching nothing with his rod he had stripped down to his swimsuit and gone diving for the urchins which were larger in deeper water than those found in the shallows. He broke them open on the rocks there and then because just taking the roe and throwing the unwanted parts back into the sea was easier than having to dispose of them at home. Of course Matt and Angelo then used his diving as an excuse for not having caught any fish, claiming that he had obviously scared them all away… and just as they were beginning to bite too! Constantine countered by saying that if there were any fish there at all it was because he had attracted them by throwing urchin parts into the sea.

“I sure hope you attracted some decent sized fish to that spot, Con,” said Matt as they sat around the picnic table that the girls had cleared. “The bloke fishing beside us, the one I was talking to: He’s been out of work for over six months and he was hoping to catch a decent feed for his family but when we left him he’d only caught two small blackfish.”

“That must be his family sitting under that tree over there,” said Dianne, nodding in the direction of a large Morton Bay Fig under which a woman and two children sat watching the shoreline where the man was fishing. “Those kids were playing beside ours for a while. They seemed like nice kids though I did think then that they looked a little on the thin side. Well, compared to the mostly overfed kids you see these days anyway. If that’s their family’s situation I wonder if they might be a bit on the hungry side.”

“There’s plenty of food left over from our lunch,” said Maria. “We could give them a good meal here, I think.”

“That’s a wonderful idea Mama. Perhaps we could set up the table for another picnic and invite them over,” put in Sophia.

“There’s nobody using the barbeques now, and we haven’t used the sausages and steaks we brought,” said Dianne. “Matt, how about you go and get the meat we brought with us? We’ll toss a few pieces of steak and some snags on for them.”

“No problem Love. There’s still more than enough for everyone in case we all get a bit hungry again too.”

“We still have food in our esky too, Matt. Do you want me to go get it from the car?”

“Thanks Con, but I don’t think that’ll be necessary, at least not at the moment: As Maria said, there’s probably too much food here as it is. Why don’t we carry everything over to that table beside the barbeque near the fig tree? It‘d be more convenient than going backwards and forwards between here and there.”

They all set to work and shortly after the table they had chosen was laden with what appeared to be almost the same amount of food as they had had at lunch time. The coin operated gas barbeque had heated up very quickly and Angelo and Con tended the several steaks and a load of sausages they had thrown on as soon as it was hot enough. Matt was dispatched to go and bring the father back from his fishing whilst Dianne approached the woman with the children and invited them all over to the table. The wife was at first a bit hesitant due to the fact that she didn’t know anyone there, and also because she was the type of person that did not like to accept charity, however Dianne’s personable approach soon won her over and she came to the table with her children close behind. Matt had a more simple approach, merely telling the father that his wife needed to see him, and offered to carry his bucket for him, noting as he picked it up that two medium sized bream had been added since he had seen it last. As they trudged back to the park Matt introduced himself properly and the father did the same, telling Matt that his name was Alfred, though most people just called him Alf.

Matt grinned. “Everybody calls me Matt, except my wife Dianne who uses Mattie….. Unless I’ve done something wrong. Then it’s Mathew!”

Alf laughed. “It’s the same with me: Elsie calls me Alfie but it’s Alfred! when I’m in her bad books. Gives the kids a bit of a giggle when they hear it because then they know it’s me who’s in trouble and not them.”

“I watched your kids playing beside mine on the beach and from what I could see I couldn’t imagine them to be getting into trouble very much, if at all.”

“Sarah and Simon. They’re good kids, and Elsie and I are pretty proud of them. Mind you, we’re fairly strict with them, without being too hard, but all in all we think we’re a pretty lucky family. Well, apart from me being unemployed for so long, that is.”

“How’d that come about, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I’m a truckie. Long distance interstate stuff mostly. The company I worked for was pretty tight fisted when it came to maintenance and too many of their trucks were barely roadworthy. They sent me out on a job with a truck that had defective brakes, not that I was aware of it at the time. Anyway, it’d been pouring rain for a while and when I was coming down a steep grade the brakes failed. I hit a bend in the road at the bottom and the rig was travelling too fast to control properly. It was sliding all over the place in the wet but I’d almost got it under control when I hit a soft shoulder where roadworks were being done, went off the road and the rig rolled. It finished up on its side in the river and the load was a write off, and I got banged up a bit too. When the cops had finished investigating the RTA stepped in and after examining all the company’s trucks ordered more than half of them off the road.

“The insurance company’s refusing to pay out for both the truck and the load due to the truck being un-roadworthy, and the company’s now in deep shit. For some reason they seemed to think that it was all my fault and I was given the heave-ho. That was bad enough, but the mongrels virtually black-balled me and now other companies won’t take me on… unless I accept a ridiculously low pay rate. There are lot of much younger drivers out there also looking for work, so there’s a lot of competition. Trucking is all I know really but it looks like I’m going to need to learn something new if it means getting a job somewhere. It could be a lot worse I guess: I get a little in unemployment benefits and my wife Elsie has been given a couple of extra shifts where she works part-time as a check-out clerk at the local supermarket. She gets a staff discount and brings most of her pay home in groceries, which is good. Don’t get me wrong: We’re not destitute by any means, but with the way the economy is we don’t think that constantly digging into our savings is a good idea.”

“That’s tough, Alf. And I hear what you’re saying about the economy too. If you’d like to give me your phone number before you leave I’ll be sure to let you know if I hear of anything going.”

“Thanks Matt, I really appreciate that,” said Alf as they approached the picnic table where the food was spread out. He had expected his wife and kids to be waiting close to the fig tree where he had left them and was quite surprised to hear his name being called from the table.

“Over here Alfie!” called Elsie, as his two kids both yelled “We’re over here Dad!”

“What’s going on?” he asked as when approaching the table Angelo came forward and handed him a picnic plate on which a large piece of prime rib steak sizzled.

“Here you go mate. Hope medium-rare is OK. If you want well-done you’ll have to throw it back on the barbie.”

“If you like it rare you’ve got a problem though,” chipped in Con with a laugh.

Alf shook his head as if to clear it, smiled broadly as he took the offered plate and said “Medium rare is fine, but like I said, what’s going on?”

“Well, we came here to do some fishing, and hoped to catch a few to throw on the barbie,” said Matt. “But knowing the luck we often have with the rods ‘n’ reels the girls decided it might be wise to bring a bit of extra food along. Turns out they packed way too much and rather than just carry it all home again we decided to ask you guys to help us lighten the load a bit. Hope you don’t mind giving us a hand.”

“Blimey”, said Alf looking at the table. “You’ve got enough there to feed an army.”

“It’s the Wog in us,” said Con. “We Greeks and Eyeties love to eat well.”

There was a round of introductions after which Alf and his family eagerly tucked into the food, thanking the others several times over as they ate. Matt boiled a large billy of water using the little gas burner that, following what he had learned from Dai Morgan he now kept in the boot of the Crown, and added enough tea leaves to make a strong brew. By the time they had all eaten their fill and used the billy of tea to wash down slices of the rich brandied fruit cake that Maria had made, the light had began to fade rapidly and it had also gotten rather cool so everything was packed up ready to go home. The girls had put the substantial amount of leftover salads into take-away containers and placed several pieces of uncooked steak and quite a few sausages into plastic bags and quietly slipped them all into Alf’s esky, which was then carried by Matt to Alf’s Holden HR Station Wagon and placed in the back. Angelo had drained out their own eskies and the remaining ice had been put into the bucket with the blackfish and bream that Alf had caught, and it had been placed in the back beside the esky.

“Right-oh, that’s about it then. Time to head for home I guess. Alf, Elsie, it’s been a pleasure to meet you both, and your kids. I’m sure our paths will cross again sometime, hopefully sooner than later.”

“I sure hope so, Matt. You and your friends have really made this a day to remember and we really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome Alf, but it’s Maria you have to thank really because it was her idea. OK, I’ve got your phone number so if I hear of any trucking jobs going I’ll give you a call. Just a thought, but you don’t happen to have a First-Aid Certificate do you?”

“No, I don’t. I’ve never even thought of it. You think it’s worthwhile getting one?”

“Most definitely. Good to have anyway, but I think it’s even more important when you have a family to take care of.”

“Sounds like good advice Matt. I’ll have to check out the cost of taking a course first though. I hope they aren’t too expensive.”

“Don’t worry Alf, they don’t cost much, and it would be money well spent, especially if it helps you get a job. Anyway, I’ve held you up long enough so I’ll let you go.”

He slapped the roof of the wagon as he stepped back and after calling out another round of thanks to everybody Alf put the vehicle in gear, reversed out of the parking spot and drove out of the park with Elsie, Sarah and Simon smiling joyfully and waving from their windows as they left. The family was still in a jovial mood when they arrived home and when they began unloading the back of the wagon Alf was rather surprised by the weight of their esky when he took it out, and astounded when it was opened to reveal all the food within. They were certainly going to be having another slap-up feed next day and Elsie, looking at the uncooked meat figured that she could stretch it out until at least Thursday. When Sarah passed her another container that she had been nursing on her lap during the drive home she found that Maria had also included six large, thick slices of her brandied fruit cake, and felt her eyes brimming, not so much because of all the food but more for the unexpected kindness shown to them by Maria and her friends.

 

[Bidadisndat]

“How do you pay someone back for that sort of kindness?” Alf said to Elsie later.

“You don’t,” she replied. “Dianne explained to me that last Christmas-New Year she and her family were helped by another couple that showed them incredible kindness, and that couple had said that sometime in the future Matt and Dee would hopefully be in a position to help somebody else.”

“Oh yes, I remember hearing something about that somewhere before. I think it was on the TV. It’s called “paying it forward” rather than “paying it back”. I guess we must be the very lucky people they were paying it forward to.”

“Yes, that’s what Dianne said it was, but we’re probably not the only people they’ve helped. She told me that her friends had said to her that it was better to pay it forward to several people simply because there were some that bad luck seemed to follow forever, and those people might never be in a position to do the same for others. The more people you help increases the chances that the system will continue.”

“That’s a great idea isn’t it? OK, let’s do the same when we’re back on our feet. Oh, and before I forget, Matt suggested that it would probably be a good idea for me to get a First-Aid Certificate. Maybe it could me help in getting a job. What do you think?”

“I think it’s a very good idea. In fact, I think we should both do a course. Perhaps we could do it together?”

“Yes, I’d like that. Let’s look into it on Monday morning. Hopefully it won’t be too expensive and we could do it sooner rather than later.”

“You know, I was amazed when Dianne told us that all the vegetables they brought with them today were grown in their own garden. I wonder how big their yard is.”

“Have to be a decent size I guess. Matt told me that they also raise chickens for meat as well as eggs. In fact, Matt said the chicken we had today came from their flock.”

“Really? Sounds a bit like “The Good Life” series on TV doesn’t it? Wonder if we could do something like that here. Our own backyard’s quite large, and it gets a lot of sun too, so we should be able to put in a veggie garden and maybe a small chicken run too.”

“Don’t see why we couldn’t. Well, apart from the fact that I know absolutely nothing about gardening or chickens of course,” Alf laughed. “Not that I haven’t got the time to learn though. How about we check out the bookshop at the mall tomorrow? There should be something there that will give us some ideas of how to go about it.”

“Good idea. We haven’t been shopping at the mall for quite a while now so that’s as a good an excuse as any to go. I’ve got those small hand tools that I use in the flower bed at the front of the house but I think we’re going to need some larger tools than those, so we should also check out the hardware shop too.”

When they went to bed that night neither of them was aware that the decisions that they’d made then would bring about a number of changes for the better in their future. At the same time, quite some kilometres away, all the other participants of the picnic were also bedding down for the night, each adult happy with the feelings of satisfaction that come with helping someone in need, and the children just plain tired.

* * *
​

Sunday morning dawned bright and clear and although not having made any plans in particular for the day Matt and Dianne were up and about well before eight a.m., enjoying a hearty breakfast and reading the newspapers. Whilst Matt was reading an article in the Sunday Herald, Dianne was slowly wading through an Italian newspaper that Maria had given her, and was so engrossed with it that when their two boys ambled into the kitchen looking for breakfast she greeted them in Italian. She barely had time to realise what she had said when they both answered her in the same language. Matt lowered his paper slowly and peered over the top of it at them all in amazement, however not to be outdone he also greeted the boys in Italian, much to Dianne’s delight.

“I can hardly believe how well they’ve picked up the language. Have you and Maria been giving them lessons?” Matt asked.

“Not really. They’re always around when I’m talking to Maria and her friends in Italian, which is probably more often than not these days, and I guess they’ve just picked it up naturally. Of course, being so young it’s much easier for them to learn another language than it is for us oldies. Oh, and I forgot to mention it before: Sophia gave me a stack of children’s’ VHS tapes in Italian and they watch them when I’m busy or when they’ve got nothing else they want to do.”

“You’re all way ahead of me, despite all the time I’ve spent with the text book and tapes that Maria gave us. I’ll have to make sure I use a lot more Italian when I’m talking with Angelo and his friends and see if I can catch up with you.”

“I’ve got an idea: Why don’t we make Sundays an ‘Italian Language Only’ day?”

“Hey, that’s a good idea! Might be a bit of a problem this afternoon though; Con and Helena are coming over with their kids for a barbeque, and their native tongue is Greek.”

“Well, we’ve got a number of options then, haven’t we? We could use English when they’re here, or they could start learning Italian, or we could all start learning Greek too! And on the subject of this afternoon’s barbecue, Helena was most insistent that we don’t bring anything as she and Con have been preparing several Greek dishes for us to try.”

“Don’t suppose they’d object to a few Aussie beers or wines would they?”

“Con has already bought a slab of Greek beer and several bottles of Greek wine, but it probably wouldn’t do any harm to have a few bottles of the local stuff on hand, just in case we don’t like the taste of whatever drinks they’re bringing.”

“OK. What’s already in the drinks fridge will probably do then. Might just check to make sure there are enough fruit juices and fizzy drinks for the all kids though.”

“Oh good. I hadn’t thought of that. We have a carton of those small ice-cream bricks in the freezer, and a big packet of wafers to go with them. The kids will like them too.”

“Sounds like Angelo and Con have turned up. Bit early for the barbeque though. I’ll go and see what they’re up to. They might need some help.”

Dianne laughed. “I haven’t got anything on the ‘Honey-Do-List’ today so you don’t need an excuse to go out and join them in whatever secret men’s business they’re up to.”

Matt winked at her then went outside to the pergola where he found the two men getting ready to fix a large motor driven rotisserie to the barbecue.

“G’morning Matt,” they greeted him in unison, with Angelo asking “You have any idea how to put these things together?” as he indicated the box that the rotisserie came in.

“It shouldn’t be too difficult. Didn’t it come with assembly instructions?”

“Yes, but they’re written in Chinglish and they’re not easy to follow,” Con laughed.

“Big one, isn’t it? You could fit five or six chickens on that thing,” said Matt.

“Or one whole baby lamb,” said Angelo, jutting his chin towards a very large fishing esky that was normally secured in Con’s large trailer boat, and Matt peered inside to find that it did in fact contain a small but whole lamb, dressed and ready to be placed on the spit. After examining the picture on the box and the instructions supplied with the rotisserie, and drilling several holes in the metal sides of the barbecue for two mounting brackets, it wasn’t too long before they had it correctly assembled, connected to the power, and in working order.

The barbecue was fired up and a stack of small hardwood blocks was put on to make a decent bed of coals over which the lamb would be suspended. Con and Angelo, both having done this type of cooking before soon had the lamb spitted, though it was a little under an hour before they deemed the coals ready and finally had it mounted and slowly turning over the heat. Con had rubbed the carcase down with olive oil and quite a few crushed cloves of garlic, stuck small sprigs of rosemary into slits he’d made in the skin, and then got a good laugh from the others when he produced a trigger operated spray container filled with lemon juice and began basting the slowly turning lamb with it.

As the lamb was going to take a couple of hours to cook through they decided that they’d spend a bit of that time showing Con and Helena through the Community Garden beyond the easement as despite that they’d moved into their house some four weeks before they’d never been there. Matt asked Dianne if she wouldn’t mind just checking the barbeque occasionally to make sure that everything was OK then, having called Helena to join them, they walked along to the eastern end of the easement where they entered the first of the mandalas. It took quite some time to work their way to the western end as both Con and Helena wanted to examine each and every mandala in detail, particularly as every member of the club seemed to have personalised his or her garden in some way that made it appear quite different to that of the adjoining one.

The mandala on the western side of Angelo’s appeared to be a little less cared for than most however it was explained to them that its owners had, about a month or so ago, sold their house and moved away, and that the club was waiting to see if the new owners would become members and take it over. Of course, if they didn’t, the club had a long waiting list of people who would be quite keen to do so. When it suddenly dawned on Con that it was the previous owners of their own house who had established the garden and that if they joined the club it would become theirs, it was a no-brainer as far as he and Helena were concerned, with the only question being “When is the next meeting of this club that we are joining?” Matt and Angelo both laughed at this, and Matt said that they didn’t have to wait until the next meeting to begin working on their new garden, though they probably couldn’t do much with it until tomorrow at the earliest because they had a barbecue to attend today.

Helena said that when they had inspected the property prior to making an offer on it the estate agent did point out the vegetable garden in the backyard, and the easement behind the back fence; however it would appear that he had known nothing about the existence of the gardens beyond. In Con’s opinion that was probably a good thing too as it would have, as it usually did with properties commanding good views of the countryside or sea for example, raised the perceived value and thus the asking price of the house. When they finally returned to the pergola it was decided that the mid autumn sun still had had enough heat in it to induce a bit of a thirst and Con pulled out three bottles of Greek ‘Hellas’ beer from the drinks fridge where he had placed them earlier. Helena went off to join the other women whilst the three men sat at the long table and argued about which country’s beers were the best until finally deciding that it was really a personal choice, and the best beer was one that you enjoyed drinking, wherever it was brewed.

This led Matt to telling the others about the beers that his friend Dave home-brewed and also to let on to the fact that he had recently purchased a kit for doing the same, and was in the process of collecting Grolsch swing-top bottles in which to put the brew when it was ready. Grolsch was a rather expensive imported beer and the bottles were very popular with home brewers, so he had asked the local bottle-shop that sold the stuff if they wouldn’t mind giving anyone who purchased a carton one of the fifty cards that he gave them. Each card offered the purchaser ten dollars off their next carton of Grolsch if they returned the carton of empty bottles to him. This system worked out well for the customer, who saved ten dollars, the bottle-shop, which increased its sales of that particular beer, and for Matt, who in the past few weeks had collected nine cartons of twenty bottles each. At fifty cents a bottle it was one quarter of the price the empties were now bringing at the local home brew shop, and although he would soon have more than enough bottles for his own use he thought it might be an idea to keep collecting them for sale to other home brewers… at a small profit.

Of course he then had to show the others the brewing kit, the bottles, the bottle drying rack that he’d built and a few other bits and pieces he had gathered together, and by the time he had done so and they all returned to the pergola the lamb was just about done. Whilst the ladies busied themselves setting up the table with the salads and side dishes, crockery, cutlery, wine glasses and plastic cups for the kids, Con walked back to his house and returned tem minutes later with a small stack of Greek L.P.’s to put on the old stereo player that he’d seen in the garage.

The meal got under way after Con had carved off a small piece of lamb from the spit and given it to Helena who pronounced that it was not only cooked to perfection but was delicious. The carving was left to Con as he was the most experienced at that task, or so he claimed, and in no time at all everyone was seated with a plate of lamb before them and were helping themselves to the various accompanying dishes. Dolmades, along with spinach and fetta triangles were especially popular as a starter and the traditional Greek salad was equally impressive despite the fact that it had been modified somewhat by the addition of lettuce hearts and capers. Con opened a bottle of Retsina for them to try and although Maria and Dianne screwed up their faces at the taste of the resin flavour that gave rise to the wine’s name, Matt and Angelo found it to be not entirely disagreeable and over the course of the afternoon helped him empty three bottles of the stuff.

The Greek background music added much to the atmosphere of the barbeque and Con, after getting Helena to help teach the others the sirtaki, the traditional Greek dance that they’d seen when watching Zorba the Greek on TV. Con claimed that it was almost like being back in his native land, however he was not homesick because, as he assured everybody, “Australia is now my home.” However he did admit that he and Helena would like to go back to Greece for a holiday some day, and take their children, to which Angelo responded by saying that he would like to take Maria, Sophia and their kids to Italy some day.

“So, we must make it a Grand Tour,” Con proclaimed excitedly. “We will go to Italy and Greece together. And Matt, you and Dianne and the children must come too!”

“I’d really love to do that,” said Dianne. “But I’d also want to go to England.”

“So would I, and as I’ve always wanted to see the vineyards of France, Spain and Portugal,” added Matt as he withdrew a $5 note from his wallet and placed it on the table, “This is towards the ticket in the lotto we’ll have to win so that we can all afford it.”

Although everybody laughed, Angelo and Con each added $5 to Matt’s money and asked Maria if she would purchase a Lotto ticket for them, put the change aside, and they would do the same each fortnight, she agreed but opined that the money they spent on lottery tickets would probably pay for their trip before they won anything.

By eight p.m. that evening the barbeque was over, Con and his family had gone home, as had Helena and her two children, Dianne had put their kids to bed and was having a shower whilst Maria, Angelo and Matt were doing a final clean-up. Angelo suddenly began laughing loudly and as the other two looked towards him he pointed towards the garage end of the gazebo where an Italian flag was hung to one side of an Australian flag. Con, having earlier seen the two flags hanging together had picked up a Greek flag when he went home to get his L.P.’s and upon his return had hung it on the other side of the Aussie flag.

“It’s been a good day hasn’t it?” said Matt, “And I think those flags confirm it.”

* * *
​

 

[Bidadisndat]

On the morning of the same day Alf woke early to the delicious aroma of bacon and eggs as Elsie put together a big breakfast that would keep them going until late afternoon, when they would then tuck into some of the food that Maria’s mob had given them. Sarah and Simon had already made plans to spend most of the day at a nearby friend’s house, swimming in their pool, and shortly after breakfast they waved goodbye and headed there on their bicycles. Without the kids in tow Alf and Elsie would have a fair amount of unhindered time to check out the shops for gardening books and equipment, but only if they left straight away, so a short time later they headed their station wagon in the direction of the mall.

Their first stop was not the mall as planned however, but at a yard sale they happened to see being held by the local church as they were passing by. It turned out to be a most fortuitous stop as Elsie found among the many boxes of donated books one that contained not only a number of gardening books written specifically for Australian conditions but also two books on self sufficiency, as well as many others about permaculture, organic growing, composting, worm farming, bee keeping, chickens and more. There were also four DVD’s from the ABC’s Gardening Australia series, one of which was ‘Patch from Scratch’ with Peter Cundall, destined to become Alf’s favourite. A name inside the covers of the books and DVDs revealed that they had all been owned by the same person and when Alf asked one of the church volunteer workers about their source he was told that they had been donated by the family of the previous owner, who had been a keen gardener but who had sadly passed away quite recently. The box had yet to be sorted through by the worker and when he asked Alf if he would be interested in just buying the complete box ‘as is’ for $25 he leapt at the offer, and feeling that he had probably just saved a lot of money added an extra $5 to be put towards the new roof that the church was trying to raise funds for.

After putting the box into the station wagon he then went over to the area where various tools were being sold and came back with a mattock, broad-fork, garden fork, spade, rake, swan-necked hoe, long handled cultivator and two very old ‘Willow’ brand galvanised watering cans, one of which still had its original rose - in fact almost every gardening implement he thought they would need - all loaded into a wheelbarrow that he had also purchased. There were no names written on any of the tools however Alf had the suspicion that, given the very well-cared-for condition they were all in, perhaps they had been owned by the same person who had owned the books and DVDs he’d just purchased.

Elsie had gone into the church hall to have a look at the bric-a-brac, electrical goods and kitchenware on offer and came out with a large double boiler, which was something that she had wanted for some time but had been unable to find anywhere. Well, not at a reasonable price anyway. They had to fold the back of the rear seat of the wagon forward, and even remove the wheel from the barrow to make everything fit inside, however with that done Elsie sounded almost a bit disappointed.

“Alfie, you do realise that now we have all the books and gardening equipment we need, we have no excuse to go to the mall, don’t you?”

“We can still go there if you want to, love. We could pick up a longer garden hose than the one you use for your flowers at the front of the house. ‘Big W’ sells 30 metre hoses with all the fittings and they’re not expensive.”

“No, let’s not bother. I’m not all that fussed about the mall really, and it’s not worth the hassle trying to find a parking spot just to go looking for a hose.”

“OK. Then how about we stay here and look around a bit more then have a cup of tea and scones… with strawberry jam and freshly whipped cream? The church ladies have a stall close to where I got the gardening tools and they’ve set up some chairs and tables with umbrellas.”

“That’s a good idea. I wonder if they make the scones themselves or buy them in.”

They spent another half hour together poking around both inside and outside the church hall and it turned out there were many more items for sale than either had at first realised. Looking at a table that was loaded with baking trays and tins of all types and sizes Elsie spied two pairs of nut-loaf tins that she'd missed the first time round and, having once seen the tins on sale at a market for $4 each, happily paid the $6 that was being asked for all four. She also hadn’t seen the stand where a small group of ladies had on sale a large amount of homemade pickles, relishes, chutneys and jams, and bottled fruits such as apricots, peaches, pears and more, but having found them now she made a number of purchases. Alf, having all the gardening equipment he wanted apart from a long hose found two long benches full of woodworking tools but despite being highly tempted resisted the urge to buy anything. He was passing the tables where he had previously purchased the box of books and DVDs when the worker who had sold them to him called him over.

“I just found a box of magazines that were owned by the same person who owned the books you bought before,” he said, adding “You can take any that are of interest to you because there’s not much demand for old magazines and they usually end up in the recycle bin.”

Alf looked into the box and saw that there were quite a number of different publications and after perusing the covers of one called Mother Earth News pulled out several editions. He also pulled out a few copies of several other periodicals including The Organic Gardener, Warm Earth, Earth Garden and, for something a bit different, The Owner Builder Magazine. Finally deciding that they might all be worth looking through, and hoping that Elsie wouldn’t tell him to chuck them all out before he’d had a chance to do so, he took the whole box, calling out a “Thank you” to the worker as he returned to the wagon where he managed to squeeze it inside.

After rejoining Elsie they both decided that they had seen enough and made their way to the refreshments stall, arriving only moments before an elderly couple that was approaching the same table that they were headed for. Alf looked around and seeing that it was the last table that was vacant, and that it had seating for four, asked the couple if they’d be happy to share it with them. They were more than happy to do so and when the ladies were seated they all introduced themselves, Maxwell and Deidre being the names of the elderly couple, after which the two men went off to place their orders at the stall.

“Tea and scones for you too then?” said Alf when he heard Maxwell order.

“Yes, always. The church has these sales two or three times a year, and the ladies here not only make all the scones and cakes; they also make the strawberry jam too. All very good, and I have to confess that that’s probably the real reason we come every time.”

“It’s the first time for us. There seems to be a lot on sale and the prices are more than reasonable, so I’ll have to keep an eye open for future sales.”

“Yes, they have two or three sales a year and as the goods are mostly donated by members of the congregation the prices they put on them are usually much lower than those you’d find at garage sales. The sales have become very popular lately and you have to come quite early if you want to find a bargain. Keep your eye on the church’s notice-board whenever you drive past as they put a sign up two weeks beforehand.”

They spent about thirty minutes with the couple, both of whom were now in their mid seventies and happy to have somebody new to chat with, though for Alf and Elsie it was mostly just listening as the other two talked, mostly about long gone better times that they felt the young people of today would probably never know. Deidre told them that she and Maxwell felt that they had been very wise to have prepared themselves well for retirement because the aged pension paid by the government barely provided for the most basic necessities, let alone a lifestyle of any quality, and that they should do the same.

When Alf and Elsie finally left to go home and were walking to their car Elsie remarked that she couldn’t remember being happy to just sit and listen to older people talking about anything and everything, as they had just done, to which Alf replied that perhaps that was because though they themselves might not be considered old yet, except by their kids perhaps, they certainly weren’t getting any younger. And on that subject, he added, they really should take Max and Deidre’s advice and do something positive towards preparing for their eventual retirement before it was too late.

When they arrived home the car was unloaded, with the gardening tools being placed against the main doors of the garage until Alf could organise a permanent place inside to put them, and while he reassembled the wheelbarrow Elsie took the box of books and DVDs and the jars of jams and pickles she had purchased into the house. Outside, Alf had barely replaced the wheel on the barrow when Simon and Sarah turned up on their bikes.

“Are you going to start a garden?” asked Simon as the two looked over the tools.

“Yes. Well, after I’ve read up a bit on how to go about it,” Alf replied with a laugh.

“You could probably ask Mr. Johansen down the street for some advice: He’s got a really big vegetable garden and grows just about everything. He even has some chooks.”

“Really? I didn’t know that. I think I might pop down and see him a bit later on.”

“Can I help you?”

“Help me what? Visit Mr Johansen?”

“Oh ha, ha, ha. Very funny. You know I meant help you with the garden.”

“Actually, Mum and I were hoping that you would. How about you, Sarah? Do you want to help too?”

“Oh yes, Dad! Do you think we could get some chickens too, like Mr Johansen has? I’d love to look after them if we do.”

“Hmm. No promises, but if it’s doable I don’t see why not. We’ll have to ask Mum first of course, though I’m pretty sure she’d be all for it. Have you two had lunch yet?”

“Yes,” replied Sarah. “Ray Pawley came after he’d finished his mowing run and Mrs Lomas gave us all hot-dogs. She made a big fruit salad too, and we had it with ice-cream.”

“Ice-cream, aye?! Just the thing for today. I guess you all had a good time then?”

“Oh yes! It got a bit cool after we’d been in the pool for a while but we had lots of fun.”

“That’s good. If you’re both really interested in helping with the garden, tonight maybe we could all watch one or two of the DVDs Mum and I got at the church’s yard sale. In the meantime, if you’re not going anywhere else you might as well put your bikes away.”

“I’ll put mine away in a few minutes Dad: I just want to go down the road first,” said Simon as he mounted his bike and pedalled out of the front gate. He was back five or six minutes later with the announcement that Mr Johansen down the road would be only too happy to show them his garden and had invited them to come and have a look. In fact even right now would be OK if it was convenient for them. Alf said that it certainly was convenient, and so it was that ten minutes later the whole family arrived at their neighbour’s house, with Elsie having the foresight to take her camera, notepad and pen.

 

[Bidadisndat]

Upon arrival the first thing that caught Alf and Elsie’s eye were four dwarf citrus trees bearing copious amounts of fruit, each set in a raised bed that also contained various herbs and flowers, and all growing well back out of arm’s reach of the front fence. Sarah told them that the trees were a Seville orange, which was quite bitter, Seedless Valencia and Washington Navel oranges, and a Myer lemon, and that Mrs Johansen used a lot of the fruit to make marmalade. The house itself was raised about six feet off the ground at the front and about four and a half feet at the back as that end of the street had at one time, before council had built a flood drain, been subjected to frequent though fortunately not severe flooding. A wide flight of steps, flanked on either side at the bottom by two very large terra-cotta pots, one holding a Calamondin and the other a Cumquat, both well set with fruit, led up onto the front porch.

They went up the steps, knocked on the front door and when Mr Johansen answered Simon introduced him to his parents, after which they all came back down to the front yard. Together they proceeded up the slightly sloped driveway at the side of the house, passing beneath a very long pergola over which grew two large vines that dripped with large bunches of both red and white Muscat table grapes, despite the lateness of the season. At the front, back and sides of the house the open space between the bottom of the walls and the ground below had been filled in with wooden latticework, and under the shelter of the pergola, close to the front where there was the most headroom, there was a wide lattice double door behind which were stored two bicycles, a bike trailer, an old style hand-pushed mower with a canvas grass catcher, and what appeared to be a portable generator.

Going through a side gate that led to the back yard they were amazed to see that Jorge, as Mr Johansen had asked them to call him, had almost filled the entire area with boxed-in raised garden beds in which an astounding variety of fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs were growing in great profusion. Strangely to Alf, there appeared to be no particular order to the planting, with everything growing in a seemingly random mix rather than in the neat blocks or rows that would be found in more traditional vegetable gardens. However as an advocate of organic gardening Jorge was committed to avoiding the use of chemical fungicides, herbicides and pesticides and explained that he was using a system known as companion planting, in which different plants are grown together in an environmentally friendly way to deter insect pests, decrease the chances of spreading diseases, and in turn increase the overall yield of chemical free food.

Growing food in this manner, he said, not only produced fruit and vegetables that have a much higher content of essential vitamins, minerals, nutrients and trace elements that are of immediate benefit to one’s health, particularly when allowed to grow full term, but also have a far superior taste, especially when compared to any of those that you could buy at a supermarket nowadays.

One of the raised beds had been fitted with a pond liner and was filled not with soil but with water in which grew various edible plants such as Water Chestnuts and Lebanese Cress, and which attracted frogs and beneficial insects such as bees, dragonflies, lacewings and wasps, most of which helped to keep the bad bugs at bay. Many native birds were also attracted to the pond and as his wife loved to sit and watch, and often photograph them he never complained about having to put netting over the trees when the fruit they were bearing began ripening.

Three foot lengths of two inch diameter pipe had been hammered deep into the ground at the corners of each bed and at two points along each side, level with the top of the wood, and these not only supported the sides but also held in place the semi-circular sections of agricultural irrigation poly pipe that supported bird mesh over the beds if it was required. More by luck than deliberate design really, Jorge also found that an additional benefit of the pipes at the corners was that their smooth curved surface enabled him to pull a garden hose easily around the beds without it getting snagged. Deep woodchip paths around the beds were the minimum width needed for access with his large wheelbarrow and in fact, in the centre of a brick pathway leading from the steps of the back veranda to the chook run, a paved square not much bigger than the diameter of the old Hill’s clothes hoist protruding from its centre appeared to be the only free space available.

Although it was already the largest hoist in the Hill’s range Jorge described how he had almost doubled its carrying capacity by welding an extra holder between each of those that were already on the horizontal arms, and reeving more line through them. During the hottest months the hoist was turned into a gazebo by placing a light canvas cover over the top, and with the addition of a small two-piece circular table that he had designed and built to clamp around its central post, plus a couple of comfortably cushioned reclining garden chairs, it was a really nice place in which to relax. In fact, he admitted with a smile, it was so relaxing that on numerous occasions his wife had had to wake him after he had drifted off to sleep whilst lying back on one of the chairs, quite often with the latest gardening magazine in his hands and an empty sandwich plate and tea cup set down on the table beside him... though as often as not it was an empty beer bottle rather than a tea cup.

One nectarine and two each of peach and plum trees interspersed with neatly pruned blueberry, guava and feijoa bushes were growing in a long raised bed built against one side fence. The back fence, in front of which ran the fully enclosed chook run with a coop at one end and a smaller section containing three compost bays and an old bathtub used for growing worms at the other, supported a large choko vine which appeared to be in full production. Jorge explained that the vine actually grew from the back neighbour’s side of the fence and had once gotten so big and heavy it had caused the original old wooden fence to collapse. He and the neighbour were very good friends and together they had replaced the wooden fence with one made up of a twelve-inch high brick base-wall topped with six-foot high galvanised weld-mesh fixed to steel posts that were concreted in place, and it wasn’t likely to fall down again, at least not in his lifetime. Ensuring that the mesh was not only of a size that would prevent the chickens escaping but also stop wild birds from entering and stealing the scratch mix he put out, he also used it for the front, one side and two thirds of a slightly curved top installed over the run. The other third was covered with translucent green Alsynite to keep a section dry when it rained, and under this he had installed a sand pit for the chooks to have dust baths in.

Colourbond panels had been used for the remaining side as the neighbours on the other side of the fence had complained that it would be an invasion of privacy if mesh was used, despite the fact that they had a large shed blocking any view of their land from that point anyway. Entry to the run was made through two gates, the first one opening from the yard into the “composting compound”, as he called it, and the second from there into the run, and as one of these gates was always closed before the other was opened it allowed him to access both with his wheelbarrow and not have to worry about any of the chooks escaping. Through a simple arrangement of three gates, each of which could be padlocked, the neighbours at the back, side and diagonally adjacent had direct access to the compound and regularly brought all their kitchen scraps, garden prunings and lawn clippings there to be turned into mulch, chook food and compost. A large chipper/mulcher, the only item of petrol-powered garden machinery that Jorge had, was set up semi-permanently in the compound with a simple cover to protect it from the rain.

Elsie and Sarah were captivated by the six Rhode Island Red chickens residing in the run, and impressed with the fact that the coop’s laying boxes could be accessed from the pathway outside, and when Jorge invited her to open one of the hatches Sarah squealed with delight when she saw that there were several eggs inside. Jorge pulled an empty egg carton from a shelf above the nesting boxes and placed the eggs in it before handing it to Sarah, telling her that with his wife away he had more eggs than he knew what to do with and she could have them. He had more in the fridge in the house and would make sure the carton was filled before they left. Not surprisingly, Sarah decided right then and there that they were most definitely going to have chickens of their own, even if she had to use all of her saved-up pocket money to buy them, and if Dad, Mum or Simon wouldn’t help she’d jolly-well build a coop and run for them all by herself. When she asked him if the chickens were ever allowed out into the garden Jorge told her that they weren’t, as they were inclined to scratch everything up, and went on to explain that as the run was quite large, in fact large enough for at least six more chooks, and that he used a deep litter system and provided them with lots of fresh greens, they were quite happy in there. Not knowing what Jorge meant by a ‘deep litter' system, and of course not wanting to appear ignorant, Sarah whispered to her mum to write it down in her notepad and remind her to look it up when they got home.

A large Mulberry tree growing next door had grown well above the fence between the two properties and with many of its branches spread above both the composting area and part of the run provided, along with a lot of fruit that dropped into both, welcome summer shade for the chooks. A few years before the neighbours had thought about removing the tree however that idea was put aside when Jorge’s wife began giving them freshly baked mulberry and ‘apple’ pies, using the berries from their own tree. Jorge gave a chuckle when he told them that as far as he was aware the neighbours had yet to realise that the pies contained no apples at all, his wife using instead tender young chokos, sliced and poached together with the mulberries in a light syrup made with apple juice and honey. Despite the high cost of the fruit itself at times, apple juice was comparatively cheap and Jorge always kept a supply of it in his cellar. His wife also used the chokos in curries, soups, stews, stir-fries and when making pickles and chutneys because although considered by many people to be rather bland when served as a vegetable, they readily absorb the flavours of ingredients that they are cooked with, plus add volume to the dish. Elsie, remembering her mother only serving them covered with a thick white sauce laced with lots of parsley, thought that that money saving use of the vegetable was information worth keeping and quickly jotted it down.

On the side opposite to where the fruit trees were planted Jorge, not having a car and being quite happy with his old Malvern Star bicycle, had demolished the old dilapidated garage that had once stood there and replaced it with a small garden shed and a large workshop, plus a well designed green-house. The garden shed was just large enough to hold all of his gardening equipment, and the garden chairs when they weren’t being used, whilst the workshop held the many wood and metal-working tools that were in constant use, mainly due to his hobby of building accurately scaled model ships and working steam engines.

The hand-tools were hung on a shadow-board mounted on the wall above a long and well lit workbench, beneath which locked cupboards and drawers held an extensive array of power tools and accessories, whilst a metal-turning lathe and a combination vertical drill-press/milling machine were securely bolted to another very solid workbench positioned across the far end. Although it did have a beer fridge, and hanging prominently on one wall an old calendar from the early fifties featuring beautiful, voluptuous and scantily clad pin-up girls, the workshop was not by any means a man-cave: His wife had full and free access to both it and the tools, all of which, including the lathe and drill-press Jorge told them with quite some pride, she was quite capable of using without any of his advice or assistance.

In the green-house, placed along its back wall a row of black plastic 200 litre drums filled with water heated by a simple home-made solar water heater mounted on the roof of the garden shed. The drums provided enough thermal mass to keep the building warm throughout cold winter nights, thus enabling Jorge to get seedlings going for an early start to growing each summer’s vegetables. A fan in each end of the gabled glass roof, powered by two deep cycle batteries recharged by a small wind turbine on the roof, and several louvered windows gave him a fair measure of control over temperature, air-flow and moisture, thus avoiding the fungus problems associated with growing plants in the sometimes humid environment of a greenhouse.

Attached to the back wall above a bench in the potting area was a whiteboard on which he had made numerous notes, a cork board on which were pinned many more, and tacked up between the two was a Lunar Planting Guide for the current year. Jorge told them that although many gardeners rubbished the practice, he himself had found that planting and harvesting according to the phases of the moon did in fact seem to result in producing more abundant and healthier crops. It was also best, he added, to use heirloom or non-hybrid seeds, and that these could be obtained through one of the Seedsaver’s Networks, one of which was based at Nimbin on the Gold Coast, or the Melbourne based Diggers Club, of which he was a member. Beneath the bench was a cabinet in which he kept many packets and jars of seeds, mostly obtained from his own plants, and he generously offered to supply the family with the first seeds and seedlings they would need when they were ready to begin planting out their own garden.

Shelves under the bench held various gardening hand tools, many seedling trays and small pots, and a large box of compressed coco-peat blocks. Facing the garden through windows on the opposite side was another bench fitted with a large laundry tub used for washing and disinfecting used pots to avoid transmitting soil and plant borne diseases, and under this bench were kept several bags of sterilised potting and seed raising mixes. There was also a box containing safety glasses, face masks and several pairs of gardening gloves, all of which he advised were most important, particularly when handling compost and potting mixes. These mixes could and often did contain mould spores and other nasty things that were not at all good for one’s health, especially the lungs, and although the masks and gloves were often overlooked by most gardeners his wife insisted he use them. Seeing Elsie not only making a note of that point on a separate page of her notepad but also underlining it several times left Alf in no doubt that his family would also be subject to the same strict rule.

In the narrow space between the green-house and the side fence stood a line of four slim-line rainwater tanks, raised about two feet off the ground and plumbed together to supply water to the garden through an extensive dripper system, and to a water trough in the chook run. The tanks, which had been surreptitiously put in before such installations were made legal by their local council, were filled by two stormwater pipes that led from first-flush diverters attached to the guttering of the roof of the house, and the system relied on gravity rather than a pressure pump to operate. Although this system worked well enough for the garden Jorge was currently tinkering with a new one that involved the mounting of a large header tank high above the roof of the garden shed, a windmill, and an electric pump which together would supply water to the laundry and toilets in the house.

Because his wife also preferred to use filtered rainwater for cooking and drinking but had to get him to bucket the water from the tanks to the kitchen, he thought that despite it being illegal an extra pipe, in-line filters and an extra tap installed over the kitchen sink would spare him from that daily task. Of course when Jorge explained how the completed system slashed their water and sewerage charges Alf was all for doing the same at their house if they possibly could, and asked Elsie to write down a few notes on it. They all laughed when he said that though making such systems legal would be a good thing, especially for the environment, doing so would probably remove a lot of the fun of making it.

 

[Bidadisndat]

On either side at the base of the steps leading up onto the back veranda were two large tubs made from old wine barrels and these held yet more dwarfed citrus trees, one a Tahitian lime and the other a mandarin, and spread out on either side of these were quite a number of only slightly smaller tubs containing several new varieties of native limes that Jorge was attempting to propagate. He explained that these plants had originally been developed by a company working in partnership with the CSIRO, and the only way to acquire them had been to buy the seedlings in bulk and also sign an agreement that disallowed on-selling, and required all fruit produced by the trees to be sold back to the company. Presumably the venture had not been the commercial success that was hoped for as the seedlings were now available on the open market and, despite them being somewhat expensive to buy, propagating them had become yet another interest for him. Although he was hopeful that there would be a good demand for the fruit by some of the more up-market local seafood restaurants when the trees began producing he suspected but wasn’t overly concerned that his wife would probably want to use a good part of it for making some of her excellent marmalades.

Jorge was immensely and justifiably proud of the garden and over the course of nearly two hours provided much more information than any of Alf’s family could possibly have remembered, had it not been for Elsie taking photographs and making notes of everything in order to jog their memories later on. When the tour was complete Jorge told them that as he was retired and his wife had gone overseas for three months to spend some time with her aged mother, he had lots of time on his hands and would be more than happy to come to their house and help plan and build their vegetable garden. He would also bring his own note-book in which he kept a very comprehensive record of all the plants he had grown in his own garden, including the best times for the sowing and harvesting of each. Now, he said, was actually a very good time to prepare their garden so that it would be ready for the next main growing season, though there were some veggies that could be planted out now and would begin producing quite quickly, and that doing so should help keep them keen to grow more.

After some discussion it was decided that as Alf and Elsie would be busy the following day and Jorge had a doctor’s appointment the day after, Wednesday would probably be the best day for them to begin. Jorge would come to their house around nine in the morning and, despite his protests that it really wasn’t necessary, Elsie told him that he was also invited for lunch. The mention of food seemed to jog his memory for he excused himself for a moment, going into the house and returning laden with the extra eggs needed to fill the carton that Sarah was holding, a large pumpkin for Simon to carry, and for Elsie “to experiment with” as he put it, he handed Alf a string shopping bag full of the same small, tender young chokos that his wife used.

As they began walking back down the driveway Jorge suddenly thought of something else that he thought they might be interested in and led them from the pergola and across the front yard to the other side of the house where another door in the latticework gave access to a large enclosed but well ventilated and cool space beneath. This space, which had more headroom than might have been expected, had been divided into two, with a small section at the front and a larger one behind, separated by a padlocked door. Jorge explained that under this part of the house he had replaced the original wooden piers and bearers with concrete columns and RSJ’s, then dug out the soil below and put in a poured concrete floor slab. This had not been a problem to design and construct although at the time there had been quite a lot of red tape to cut through before the local council would approve the work.

Switching on low powered lights revealed that the foremost space had been fitted out with wooden racks supporting a score of large polystyrene boxes, each containing a peat covered, well composted and sterilised mixture of straw and manure in which mushrooms were growing, and he jokingly referred to this space as his “Mush-room”. The next space revealed, after Jorge had unlocked and opened the connecting door between the two, his cellar, where many closely spaced racks were filled with bottles of various wines, and long deep shelves held numerous bottles of home-brewed ales, lagers, pilsners, stouts and draught beers, along with ciders, perrys, mead and ginger beer. It was obvious to them that for Jorge home-brewing and bottling, which he carried out in the large laundry at the rear of the house, was a serious pastime, and the sight of all the bottles extracted from an awestruck Alf a loud “Crikey!” rather than his usual “Blimey!”

Thanking Jorge profusely for the time he had taken to show them around his garden and for the eggs, pumpkin, chokos, plus the two bottles of home-brewed beer that he now thrust at Alf, they finally said goodbye and made their way down the drive to the front gate. As they were leaving Alf noticed that the fences between Jorge’s front yard and those of his next door neighbours on either side, made up of four-foot high by eight-foot long panels of the type often used for swimming pool enclosures, supported a variety of passionfruit vines along their lengths. When he pointed this out to the family Elsie told him that putting in a vine or two of their own should be a priority because although she absolutely loved passionfruit they were quite often beyond her budget. Thinking back on what Jorge had told them earlier she added that if those he had given her were as good as he claimed them to be, putting in a choko vine might very well be a good investment too.

“Chokos, Aye? Blimey, I haven’t had those since I was a kid,” said Alf, thinking it was probably best not to mention that back then, when his mother simply peeled, sliced, boiled and served the tasteless things plain, they were far away from being his favourite vegetable.



When they arrived home shortly after five-thirty Alf complained of feeling extraordinarily tired and was immediately admonished by Elsie for not having had the good sense to wear a hat, as she had done, because despite that they’d had a long day it was more likely the unexpected heat of the mid-Autumn sun that was the cause.

“Too late to put a hat on now,” she said, “but I want you to get the barbeque going so that we can cook up some of the meat Maria gave us. There’s still plenty of salad to go with it and I don’t suppose anybody will object to having the same as we did yesterday.”

“You’ll get no complaints from me, love. Be a perfect way to end the day really. You know, I can’t get over Jorge’s garden. And growing mushrooms too! Have to admit that I was also impressed with his cellar. All pretty amazing really. Having a garden like that would just about cut our food bill in half, wouldn’t it?”

“Probably a lot more than half I should think, especially as we’ve learned to cut down a lot on meat and eat more vegetables. I’ve seen the kits for brewing beer at ‘Big W’, and the mushroom growing boxes too. It might be worth checking them out. You know, last night when I talked about “The Good Life” series on the telly I was joking, but having seen Jorge’s garden I now really think it’s possible. I’m glad I made lots of notes, and I think I must’ve photographed just about everything in his yard too. Mind you, it looked to me like Jorge has put quite a bit of money as well as work into his set-up, and I don’t think we’d be able to afford to do some of the things he’s done, at least not for quite a while.”

“Yes, but then again, it could turn out to be a really good investment in the long term, especially considering Max and Deidre’s advice about preparing for retirement. It’ll probably take quite some time and effort to get it all together but with what we can learn from Jorge, plus the books and DVD’s, we should be able to make it all happen. It’d probably be best to start off slowly and just take one step at a time though, just to see how it all goes. It’d be interesting to see how Matt and Dianne’s, garden stacks up against Jorge’s wouldn’t it? Anyway, this isn’t getting dinner cooked is it? I’d better get the barbie started.”

Carrying a bottle of olive oil and a roll of paper towelling he went out onto the back verandah where the barbeque was set up, turned on the gas and lit it up before wiping down the warmed cooking surfaces with some of the oil. A light evening breeze had sprung up and as he gazed out over the back yard from under the shade of the verandah, envisioning a garden set up somewhat the same as Jorge’s, he began to feel a little less tired. Sarah appeared at his side and handed him an icy cold schooner of Victoria Bitter.

“Mum said this might help you cool down a bit,” she said with a big smile.

“It sure will. Tell Mum I said thanks a lot.”

Without leaving his side Sarah turned towards the kitchen window that looked out over the veranda and yelled “Mum, Dad said thanks a lot… And he loves you.”

Alf gave a short laugh. “Yes, I do. And I love you too, Sarah. And Simon.”

“We know you do Dad, and we all love you too,” she said, grinning and adding with only the briefest of pauses, “So do we get to have some chickens for me to look after?”

Alf gave another laugh. “Go ask your mother… And tell her I said it’s OK by me.”

Sarah disappeared even more suddenly than she had appeared with his beer, and although he couldn’t distinguish the words knew that she was not asking but telling her mother that it was “OK by dad” for them to get some chickens, and he laughed yet again.

It didn’t take long for the grill to be hot enough to throw on the steaks and sausages that Elsie had sent out on a plate, and before long they were sat around the outdoor table that had been laid out by the two youngsters, enjoying a pleasant evening meal. Alf had shouted himself a second beer, Elsie was enjoying a tall glass of gin and tonic, and Sarah and Simon were sharing a large pitcher of fruit juice in which ice cubes tinkled when Alf suddenly remembered that they had been going to watch one of the gardening DVDs they had purchased. He was all for putting one on right then however Elsie said that as it had been a long day for them all it was very likely that he would fall asleep before it was half way through, and that a shower and an early bed would be a much better idea. Alf was only slightly disappointed at the suggestion because he knew that Elsie was right, and as the DVDs weren’t going anywhere they could all watch them tomorrow night. Besides, it was already a weekend to remember, and an early night wouldn’t hurt anybody at all.

* * *​

 

[Bidadisndat]

Despite the discolouration around his eye where Freddy had whacked him the Friday night prior, Matt was in a really good frame of mind when he commenced work on the Monday morning, and was actually looking forward to his meeting with Douglas. Although the boss usually turned up at the office at eight a.m., on this day he was already there when Matt arrived just before seven, and he wasted no time in calling Matt into his office.

“Good morning Matt. I heard that Freddy and his mongrel mates had a go at you on Friday night. Are you OK?”

“Good morning Doug. Never better. Thanks mostly to the guys who came to help. Doug, I’m really sorry the way things have turned out for you and Freddy. As far as I’m concerned though, the fight between him and me is all water under the bridge now.”

“Well, Matt, I have to admit that that’s the way I’m going to have to treat it all too. Frederick will be gone from the house soon and neither he nor his mates will be showing their faces around here anymore, if they know what’s good for them.” He hesitated a moment, appearing to consider what he was about to say next before continuing. “I don’t suppose you’d be aware of it, but Freddy isn’t actually my son. His mother Jean, God rest her, was a single mum when I met and fell in love with her. When we married I accepted Freddy and tried to be the father that he’d never known, but though on the surface he appeared to be OK there was always a mean streak in him, and he was often difficult to deal with. Jean said it was probably inherited from his real father, who had turned out to be a mongrel of the worst kind. When she died of cancer several years ago I had to bring up Freddy by myself, but even had she lived I doubt that he would have turned out any different. I miss her terribly, but I’m glad that she didn’t have to see the rotter he’s become.

“Anyway, as you said, it’s all water under the bridge, and life rolls along. Now, without beating around the bush, would you be willing to stay on here as Head Supervisor? You’d have complete control of all the day to day operations including scheduling jobs, ordering materials, organising the crews and selecting Leading Hands. Of course, everything will have to pass across my desk so that it at least appears that I’m still the boss,” he added with a smile. “With regard to materials, we’ll make sure that we source as much as possible from Paul’s timber and Hardware. That reminds me; I’d better phone Paul now and tell him about the invoices and receipts we’ve got. He’ll probably want to do a bit of investigating himself and try and find out who gave Freddy the books they came from. With his hand outstretched Matt accepted the offer and they shook on it, saying as they did so, “Thank you Doug. And you can be sure that I’ll do my best.”

“I don’t doubt that for a moment, Matt.” There was a moment’s pause before he continued. “Matt, from what Margaret has told me you’re probably more aware than I am of the problems regarding the work done by Freddy and his cohorts lately, and if you have any suggestions of how we can recover some of the goodwill that’s been lost I’d sure appreciate hearing them.”

“Well, I have to admit that I’ve already given that some thought and have an idea that can help put us back in the good books with our clients, though I’m afraid it may cost the company a bit, at least in the short term.”

“OK. Let’s hear it then. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“It’s pretty simple really: We get Margaret to go through the list of clients that Freddy’s been dealing with over the past few months, contact each one and explain the situation quite openly and tell them that we are now doing follow-up inspections of all work done in order to rectify any problems, and that if anything needs to be done it will be at the company’s expense. I’ll do the inspections myself, and where I find that any work done or where materials used were not up to scratch we go ahead and re-do the job properly. I realise that doing that might dig into the overall profit for the year a bit, but in the long term it would restore the good name that you’ve built up over the years and keep the company afloat.”

“Good thinking Matt. You know, this is the sort of thing that often gets talked about in management circles, and showing that we are willing to admit to the problem and tackle it head on rather than sweep it under the carpet would probably do more for our reputation than just doing a good job and hoping for future referrals. OK, let’s do that. I’ll get Margaret started on the list of clients and we’ll begin contacting them straight away. In the meantime, we’ve held up the crews long enough so I’ll leave you to it. Come and see me if you have any problems.”

The news that Matt was now in complete charge was welcomed by the men and after he had explained what they were going to be doing and given them a bit of a pep talk they all felt confident that things would begin to improve rapidly. No new tasks had been assigned yet so he set them to stocktaking and doing maintenance work on the equipment for the day while he arranged work schedules for the rest of the week. By the end of the day he realised that he had set himself a monumental task and wondered briefly if he had been just a bit overly optimistic, then smiled to himself as he remembered the racing boat driver Donald Campbell’s adage: “Bite off more than you can chew, then chew like hell.” Before the men left for the day he had organised them into two crews; the first to set about doing what was needed to fix problems, and the second to commence work for a new client. He decided that the best team to do the fix-up work should be made up of those men who had worked on the jobs the first time and knew what should have been done had they not been directed to do otherwise, thus making it a bit easier for him.

He also took the unusual step of allowing the two crews to elect their own leading hands and was very pleased to see that the men they elected were the same as he would have chosen anyway. It took the fix-it team four weeks of hard work to resolve all of the problems, many of which had fortunately not yet been noticed by the clients, and have them back doing their normal tasks. It was on the Monday morning following those four weeks when Douglas called Matt to his office and told him that Paul’s Timber and Hardware, having been informed by Doug of what had happened, had tracked down the person who had provided Freddy with the invoice and receipt books he had used to defraud the company.

“It was their delivery driver,” he told Matt. “And not only had he given Freddy the books, but he’d also provided Freddie with a lot of material that he’d knocked off from Paul’s yard. He was dismissed from his job this morning and is now facing charges of theft as a servant. The downside is that until they find a new driver we’ll have to pick up material we need, rather than have it delivered.”

“Well, it’s good news that they caught the sod,” said Matt. “You know, it’s said that it’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good, and I just happen to know a driver who is looking for work. Can you excuse me a moment? I’ve got a phone call or two to make.”

Matt quickly went through to the outer office and immediately called Paul at the hardware store, learning when he came on the line that the driver’s position hadn’t been advertised yet and was still available. After Matt had spoken with him for several minutes he pushed the hang-up button on the phone and dialled Alf’s number. It was Elsie who answered and she was quite excited to hear that it was Matt calling.

“No,” she said when Matt asked. “He’s got a few irons in the fire so to speak but he hasn’t found a job yet. He’s determined not to let it get him down though. Honestly Matt, you wouldn’t believe the change that’s come over him since we met you and your friends at the beach that day. He’s more positive now than I’ve ever seen him. Oh, by the way, following your advice he did a First-Aid course. In fact, we both did it together. He’s just out working on the new veggie garden at the moment so if you’ll hang on a sec I’ll go tell him you’re calling. I know he’ll be really happy to talk to you, but be careful he doesn’t ear-bash you too much about what he’s been doing.”

She put down the ‘phone and a few seconds later could be heard calling from the verandah to Alf, telling him to come inside because Matt was on the line.

“What’s this I hear about you working on a vegetable garden?” Matt asked when Alf picked up the ‘phone, and could’ve sworn that he’d actually heard the smile on Alf’s face when he answered.

“Matt! Good to hear from you! Too right we’ve got a garden! Well, almost a garden; There’s quite a bit of work to be done on it yet but we’ve made a good start, thanks to a chap from down the road who’s been advising and helping us set it all up. We’ve also got a chook run with half a dozen pullets in it already. You should come over and have a look at it sometime.”

“I’d really like to do that Alf. Actually, I happen to have something to do over your way tomorrow, so would it be OK if I dropped in tomorrow morning, say around eight-thirty, or do you have other plans for then?”

“No, nothing planned. There’ll only be me here though ‘coz the kids will have left for school and Elsie will be working at the supermarket. They’ll all be disappointed not to see you though.”

“That’s OK. I’ll catch up with them a bit later. I’ll be over at eight-thirty to pick you up. It would probably be a good idea to dress smart casual so that we can go somewhere good for lunch after your interview.”

“Pick me up… Smart casual… Interview… Lunch … What are you talking about?”

“Oh, did I forget to mention it? Sorry. You have a job interview at Paul’s Timber and Hardware store tomorrow morning at nine a.m. It appears that they’re in urgent need of an honest and reliable truck driver and for reasons unknown it seems that someone recommended you. I’m pretty sure you’ll have no problem getting the job but do you think you should tell Elsie now or wait until after the interview and surprise her?”

“Really? Blimey! I’d like to wait and surprise her though I’m sure she’ll suspect something’s going on when she sees the smile on my face after I hang up the ‘phone.”

“Up to you mate, but in the meantime I’ve got to get back to work, so I’ll see you tomorrow morning and we can talk then.”

“Oh. Sure. Thanks for thinking of me Matt. See you tomorrow then.”

* * *​

 

[Bidadisndat]

“Was I the only applicant?” asked a happily stunned Alf next day when he got back into Matt’s car after the successful interview that found him back in employment.

“No, there were two other highly experienced drivers applying but one was really tall and skinny and the other was very short and fat. You were the only one they thought would fit into the company uniforms that they had on hand so you got the job,” Matt said with a laugh as he threw Alf a plastic bag containing two new monogrammed shirts with matching trousers, and a Hi-Viz safety vest.

“Blimey, Elsie’s going to be tickled pink when she comes home and finds me in this clobber,” Alf said as he pulled one of the shirts out of the bag. “I don’t know how I managed not to, but I didn’t tell her about the interview. She just thought I was really happy because you called, and of course she was right about that.”

“When does she get home?”

“About twelve-thirty. Casuals don’t often get long shifts and today’s was only five hours.”

“Well, that’s better than nothing I guess, but I can imagine how hard it’s been for you all over the past several months. By the time she gets home you’ll have had enough time to show me over your new garden plus change into your new uniform, so the three of us could have lunch together. I told my boss that I wasn’t sure what time I’d be back but it would probably be late, and the Leading Hands have everything under control anyway so I have plenty of time.”

“That’s great! I know just the place we can go too. There’s a good little seafood restaurant that Elsie and I would go to whenever we had something to celebrate, and as it’s been quite a while since we’ve been able to do that I think that now would be a really good time.”

Arriving back at Alf’s house shortly after, Matt was led down the side of the house to the backyard and was proudly shown the new chook-house and run, plus the garden beds that they had installed. Alf said that he had been very eager when he began digging the first beds and had done two in one day, but his back had not responded kindly to the unexpected exercise so he had taken his time doing the next two, and would take even longer with the rest. Because the four beds installed were fairly large, Elsie had thought it best to plant those out first and learn just how good their gardening skills were before they went ahead with any more, and his aching back tended to agreed with her. Showing Matt a paper plan that he and Simon had drawn up for the complete project he was quick to admit that the layout of the garden and chook run was almost the same as that of Jorge Johansen’s from down the street, and that Jorge himself had been very happy to provide invaluable advice and assistance during its build. He also had to admit that although the raised beds weren’t boxed in as Jorge’s were, and strong bird mesh rather than chain-link had been used for the chicken run, building the coop had cost a lot more than expected so the exercise still hadn’t been all that cheap. Then again, it was a well designed and built coop that would probably last forever, so they really weren’t complaining.

“At the moment we’re justifying the expense by taking into account the savings we should make in the future by not having to buy as much produce from the greengrocer’s as we do now. Of course, having a job is going to make it easier to do a few more things that we think need to be done, like putting in a rainwater tank and an irrigation system. I’m seriously thinking of knocking down the garage and using the material to build a combination greenhouse and potting shed, plus a tool-shed and workshop similar to those that Jorge built at his place. I could build a carport alongside the house for the car, ‘coz that’s where I park it most of the time anyway.”

“Sounds like a good plan Alf. You’ve all done an amazing job here, though if you go ahead and build the extra beds that you’ve set out on that plan you showed me there’d be only just enough space left for the clothes hoist! Won’t the kids complain about having nowhere to play after losing nearly the entire backyard to a veggie garden?”

“No, not at all. They’re both as keen as mustard and actually love working in it. They probably spend more time in the yard now than they ever did. In fact, I think we all do. Sarah’s taken complete charge of the chickens and has spent hours studying books about raising and caring for them. She’s got three Australorp and three New Hampshire pullets just coming into lay and they’re probably the most spoiled chickens in the country. Now she wants me to put in a small pond for a couple of bantam ducks that one of her friends needs to give away! And Simon’s getting in on the act too: He’s planning to build some hutches for raising rabbits. Not as pets, mind you, but for the table!”

Alf gave another of his laughs as he continued, “Did you see the two small citrus trees in the front yard when you arrived? Simon came home one Saturday morning with four big used truck tires that he’d persuaded Beaurepair’s to give him. Not only did he get the tyres, the cheeky beggar got one of their workers to drop them off here in the company’s ute, had him stay and help while he used my jig-saw to cut one sidewall off each tyre, and then sent those bits back in the ute for disposal. He dug two large holes in the front yard, stacked two treads in each, and put a lemon tree in the centre of one and an orange tree in the other, with a couple of strong stakes each side of the trees to support them. Then he refilled the holes around the trees with the original soil mixed with a few bags of potting mix that he had added citrus food to.”

“Why did he cut only one of the sidewalls off each tyre, do you know?” Matt asked.

“Well, the soil here is pretty free draining and dries out rapidly, especially in summer. The first tyre is buried with the sidewall down and it helps stop all the water he puts on the trees just leaching away, and together with the stacked treads acts sort of like a reservoir. I don’t know where he got the idea from but if you poke a finger down into the soil you’ll find it’s nice and moist, so it obviously works. Originally the top tyre had its sidewall on top to act as a partial mulch, and the soil between that and the trunk of the tree was covered with woodchips. Not too long after doing that though, he removed the woodchips and cut the top sidewall off too, then planted a living mulch of nasturtiums and marigolds, plus comfrey which according to Jorge brings a lot of nutrients up from deep down in the soil. Jorge gave him the two citrus trees but he bought other plants and the potting mix with his own pocket money. I think I should give him back the money he spent on it.”

“No Alf, I don’t think you should: The fact that he’s done all this off his own bat shows that he’s happy and willing to pitch in and do his bit for the family, and it’s something he can feel proud about. It will also give him a proprietary interest in those lemon trees and you can be sure he’ll look after them well.”

Alf thought about that for a moment before replying. “Yes, you’re probably right about that. You know, he’s already so proud of those two trees that he wants to put in several more, and we probably won’t be able to see the house for trees once he’s finished. Still, Elsie and I are really proud of what both the kids have done and we’ll find some way to reward them for their efforts. Speaking of Elsie, she’ll be home very soon so I’m going to change into the new togs,” and with that he left Matt sitting on the verandah whilst he went to change, barely managing to do so before Elsie arrived. In fact, even before Alf had stepped out of the back door Elsie had come up onto the verandah and greeted Matt enthusiastically.

“Mattie! How good it is to see you again! How are you? How’s Dianne?” she cried, giving him a big hug and a kiss on each cheek. However Matt barely had time to reply before she turned towards the back door and was calling loudly and excitedly to Alf.

“Alf?! Alfie! Where are you?”

“Right here love,’ said Alf, sticking his head out of the doorway.

“Alfie you’ll never believe what happened today!” she cried out before breathlessly carrying on. “A lady shopping at the store suddenly collapsed and everyone went into a panic. I checked her pulse and she was breathing OK so I put her into the recovery position as we learned in that first-aid course then got one of the staff to call triple-0. The ambulance came and she was taken to hospital and the ambos said she was going to be OK, but the store manager came down and congratulated me for what I’d done. I told him I only did what I had been trained to do and he told me that to the best of his knowledge I was the only person there that had any formal first-aid training. Alfie, he offered me a full-time position if I want it! I told him I’d talk to you before deciding though.”

Forgetting that he was about to surprise her with his own good fortune, Alf shot out from the doorway and grabbed her, held her close and gave her a big kiss.

“It’s completely up to you sweetheart. But I’m really proud of you. Bit of a surprise to know that they don’t have anybody there who’s trained in first-aid though.”

“Yes, I thought that too. In fact, I’d have thought it was compulsory to have at least one trained person on each shift.”

She stepped back a bit when Alf released her and after suddenly realising that he was wearing new trousers and a shirt with a company logo over its left pocket raised her eyebrows and gave him an enquiring look.

Alf, the wind having been taken out of his sails by Elsie’s announcement, grinned a little awkwardly.

“Got a bit of good news myself,” he announced. “Due entirely to the efforts of Matt really, I now have a full time job. Beginning Thursday I’m going to be a delivery driver for Paul’s Timber and Hardware. Of course, there’s a three month probation period which is pretty much a standard thing, but I can’t see myself having any problems with that.”

Elsie stared at him for a moment then launched herself at him, grabbing and holding him tight and bursting into tears. Alf retuned her hold, stroked and kissed her hair and said that she shouldn’t carry on so as they had company. Releasing Alf Elsie then swung on Matt and gave him a monstrous hug whilst thanking him several times through muffled sobs.

“OK Elsie,” said Alf. “Enough of that now, love. Better go and get out of that work rig and put on something nice: We’re going to ‘The Quarterdeck’ for lunch to celebrate.”

She released Matt and gave a final couple of sniffs before saying that that would be really nice but it would be better if he also put on something smart and casual rather than wear his new uniform, so Alf went inside and returned shortly wearing the same clothes that he’d been wearing only ten minutes before. Elsie also went inside and changed into a skirt and blouse, and took the time to phone the restaurant to make sure they were able to get a table. Because Matt had decided that after lunch he would drive from the restaurant straight back to the company in his car, Alf and Elsie drove there in their own car. Upon arrival each was surprised to find that there were quite a few vacant spaces in the parking lot of the marina where the restaurant was located and both swung their vehicles into their chosen spots at the same time.

“Lucky us: I wasn’t expecting to find a parking space so close. Seems that everything’s going our way today,” he said. “Do you think we should buy a Lotto Ticket?”

“No Alfie, I think that might be pushing our luck a bit far,” Elsie replied.

Actually their luck held again when once inside the restaurant they were shown to a table that had an excellent view and were able to watch boats of all sizes and description manoeuvring up and down the waterway. During lunch Matt was very happy to listen to them enthusiastically describe how they had gotten so much into gardening, and how they intended to become as self sufficient as Matt and Dianne had described they were. They also gave their neighbour Jorge due credit for his part in helping them get settled firmly on this track, going into quite some detail about how his garden was set out, and when Alf described Jorge’s “mush-room” Matt thought that that particular avenue might be something worth investigating further himself. Although he had a couple of ideas of his own that he believed they might be interested in he decided to first invite the family over to have a look at his and Dianne’s garden, plus the mandala system, so that they could see for themselves some of the possibilities. He wrote his home address on the back of one of his business cards and handed it to Alf.

“If you have nothing planned for next Sunday how about you all come over to look at our gardens and have lunch with us. Dianne would be very happy to see you all again, and I’m pretty sure Angelo and Con and their families could be persuaded to join us too.”

“We had nothing planned but if we did have it would be cancelled right now,” Elsie replied. “It’d be really nice to meet up with everybody again.”

“Alf, you were telling me before that your neighbour from down the street gave you lots of advice and help in setting up your garden. If you think he might be interested why not ask him if he’d like to come along too?”

“Gee, thanks Matt, I’ll do that this evening. I’m pretty sure that he’ll want to come.”

With lunch finished Alf and Elsie drove home and Matt returned to the company’s yard just in time to catch the crews packing up for the day. The men joked with him, claiming that not only had they completed everything on the day’s schedule without any problems, it was probably done faster and better without his being there to nag them and get in the way, and that they were now left wondering why the boss didn’t giving him the boot for taking the day off.

“Well, one of the things I do is make sure that any really shitty jobs we get, like drain or pond clearing for example, are fairly evenly distributed amongst all of you, rather than give them all to any one of you that wants to cause me grief,” he said over his shoulder as he walked towards the office, grinning to himself as the laughter died in their throats.

* * *​

 

[Bidadisndat]

“Good afternoon Matt, Nice of you to drop in,” Doug said, gesturing to a chair opposite his desk with a smile as Matt walked into the main office. “I’ve got something I’d like to discuss with you… If you have the time, of course.”

Matt sat in the chair indicated, grinning at his boss as he made a show of checking his watch and appearing to consider if he actually did have the time to stop and talk.

“Well,” he said. “Despite my busy schedule it just so happens that at the moment I do have a few minutes to spare. What can I do for you?”

“What do you know about that big gardening centre and nursery out along Tasman Drive? Apart from it looking more and more neglected with each passing month, that is.

“Hmm. I haven’t actually been inside there for a long time. I remember going there when it first opened a few years ago and thinking then that it should do well, but I have to admit that from the road it appears to have lost a lot of the vitality that was once evident. I’ve heard rumours that it’s actually going under. Why? Thinking of taking it over?”

“Yes, I am actually. I’ve been reliably informed that it will soon be placed on the market, so tomorrow morning you and I will be driving over there to have a look at the place and work out whether or not it would be a good investment. We should probably also take a drive around the local area and see what there is in the way of competition. Would the crews be able to carry on without you for another day?”

Matt laughed. “They seem to think so, from what they said when I got back today. I’ll organise tomorrow’s workload for them and put Neil in over-all charge again, so there won’t be any problems.”

“Good. I’ve got a bit of paperwork to do and a few calls to make first thing in the morning, so we’ll be heading off around nine a.m. We might as well have a business lunch while we’re out and about too. Margaret will be coming with us, so we’ll use my car.”

“Sounds good to me. OK, if that’s all, I’ll be off then. See you tomorrow morning.”

“Sure Matt. Give my regards to Dianne.”

After Matt had come home, showered, changed into corduroys and a warm shirt he related the happenings of the day to Dianne, including the fact that he had also invited Alf and his family over for lunch on Sunday. She wasn’t at all perturbed by the fact that Matt had done so without first asking her if it was OK as she knew that she would’ve done the same thing had she been there. Besides, the times he actually had done anything that involved her or the family without talking to her first were very few and far between, and even then were only done with the confidence that they would be approved of anyway, and she was quite comfortable with that. As for her own job, the workload, and thus the hours had been steadily increasing and was now at the point where another seamstress could be employed. Unfortunately however, Maria did not have the space for a third sewing machine unless she used the bedroom she kept ready for when her daughter visited her. Admittedly that wasn’t often, but it would become a bit of a problem accommodating her if the bedroom was taken over by another machine. When Matt heard Dianne say that he began to laugh.

“Her bedroom was taken over by a machine,” he intoned. “Somehow that makes it sound like she’d be accommodating a robot, doesn’t it?” he said.

Dianne laughed too, but told him that for Maria it did seem to be a bit of a problem.

“Maybe she could have an extra room built into the attic, with one of those pull-down ladders to access it,” she suggested.

“Good idea, but I don’t think that that would work. I went up there when Maria’s hot water tank sprang a leak and know that the pitch of the roof is far too low to give enough headroom, plus a ladder access is something that I’m certain her daughter would baulk at. Hmm… On the other hand… Building up might not be a bad idea really. Just need to give this a bit of thought.”

“Well, while you’re thinking about whatever it is you’re thinking about, you can go and play with the kids and I’ll get dinner ready. You have a choice of a vegetable lasagne with salad, or meatloaf and three. I’ve already made both.”

“Meatloaf made with Sweet Chilli Sauce?”

“Yes. I made three, and two will go into the freezer.”

“Hmm. Both dishes are really good so it’s hard to decide.”

“If you can’t make up your mind I could make you a beetroot and banana sandwich.”

“Ahh… Meatloaf and three, please,” Matt said quickly, remembering only too well one hilarious occasion - to her anyway - when she had done exactly that when he couldn’t make up his mind about what he wanted for lunch.

* * *​

 

[Bidadisndat]

“So, what are your impressions so far, Matt?” asked Doug when the two men and Margaret were sat at a table of the café which was part of the large gardening centre that the three had just spent two hours looking over.

“Well, the basic infrastructure appears to be good, though I think some of the sections could be laid out a lot better. The main problem I see is with the staff: None of those I’ve spoken to so far seem to have any interest in the job other than as a place where they can pick up a pay check for the least amount of effort.”

“How about you Margaret? What do you think of the place?”

“I have to agree with Matt, Doug. I spoke to several staff members and I was rather surprised to find that they didn’t seem to have the in-depth knowledge of plants and planting that you’d expect of a nurseryman in a place like this. In fact I think I knew more about the plants I was asking about than they did.”

“That wouldn’t surprise me at all, Marge. Especially after seeing your personal library of gardening books and the garden you’ve put in at your house. And you also make better coffee and cakes than what they serve up here,” he added as he put his cup down on the table.

“Why thank you Doug,” she responded with a broad smile before continuing. “I suppose you also noticed the rather lack-lustre service offered by the two girls behind the café counter?”

“Unfortunately yes, I did. Of course it’s possible that because they know the place is going to be sold they’re simply worried about their jobs. In fact the morale of all the staff seems to be pretty low at the moment. Problem is that customers, particularly regulars can often sense when something’s amiss and they eventually stop coming. It seems to have a domino effect in many cases. Even so, I think the place has a lot of potential. What do you think, Matt?”

“I agree Doug,” put in Matt. “Depending on the asking price of course, it could well be a good investment, though it might take a bit of time and a lot of hard work before you saw a good return on it. I checked through the yellow pages last night and found there isn’t much in the way of serious competition in the immediate area though. In fact this business would go hand in hand with what you have now, to the benefit of both.”

“That’s what I’m thinking Matt. OK. If you two don’t mind waiting a few minutes I’ll go and have a word with the owner. If he’s here that is.”

“He is,” said Margaret. “He came out of his office to ask a question of one of the two nurserymen I was talking to. I have to say that I wasn’t at all impressed by the surly way the staff member answered his boss, or of the derogatory comments the two made about him when he left.”

“Hmm. Not a good sign when workers talk badly about their boss in the presence of strangers,” said Doug as he headed for the office leaving Matt and Margaret to chat together.

“I’m really glad that our boys don’t talk about Doug the way the people here talk about their boss,” said Margaret after Doug had walked away. “Not that they’d have any reason to of course because he really does try to take good care of all his staff.”

It didn’t take long for Matt to discern that Margaret actually held a torch for Doug, and had done so for quite some time. It turned out that Doug had been deeply disappointed with the way things had turned out with Frederick, especially as he had been so much in love with Fredrick’s mother, and Margaret, herself a widow, had somehow stepped in to fill the void in his heart. Nothing had been said by either of them and they had just seemed to drift towards each other until the point was reached that they came together. Margaret said that it was like two ships on parallel courses that steer too close to each other and are suddenly drawn together. At least she had read that that’s what can happen but apart from learning that it was called the Casimir effect she had no idea what caused it. In her case, she said, she was happy enough to call it fate.

Doug returned some fifteen minutes later with a pretty satisfied look on his face and when they were all in the car he explained that the talk he’d had with the garden centre’s owner had gone very well... At least from his point of view.

“I think I can understand why the staff might not have a lot of kind things to say about their boss,” he said. “The man’s a complete idiot. Of course, it’s not his fault that the business is failing so badly: The location is bad; there’s been a big downturn in the economy; the wholesaler suppliers are ripping him off; and the staffs is lazy, inept and untrustworthy, just to mention a few of his problems. One would have thought he’d be trying to make the business appear to be thriving if he wanted to sell it. Anyway, once he got through complaining I changed tack and told him that I wasn’t coming to make an offer on the business but was merely making a courtesy call to let him know that I’d be setting up a branch of my own landscaping company in the area.”

“Good God. What was his reaction to that bombshell?” asked Matt.

“Deer in the headlights, stunned mullet, plundered squirrel... Take your pick.”

“Most likely all three,” said Margaret. “That was really cruel, Doug.”

“Oh I was very polite about it Marge. Even offered to share some of the action that was likely to eventuate after I started my big advertising campaign. For some reason he couldn’t see any benefit to him in any sort of arrangement and seemed to think that it would more likely mean the death of his business. That showed me that apart from having no imagination or real business acumen he’s pretty much self-centred. I left a business card with him though I doubt he’ll call.”

“Let me guess: After thinking things over very carefully, and of course letting him stew for a while, you will call him up late next week and make him a very reasonable offer for his failing business.”

“That’s a very good idea Matt! Now why didn’t I think of that?”

“Maybe because you’re not the sneaky kind of person who would do such a thing?”

When Margaret started laughing both men looked at her in apparent bewilderment then realising that she had rumbled Doug’s intention grinned at each other as he aimed the car in the direction of the restaurant where they would be having their business lunch... On the company’s Diem of course.

Over lunch Doug outlined the tentative plans he had for expanding the company and told Matt that if everything panned out as he expected it would, Matt would be promoted to Assistant Manager.

“Assistant Manager!? Doug, I’m not a desk jockey. I need to be out in the air, not confined in an office, even an air-conditioned one. No: Especially if it’s an air- one.”

“Now don’t panic Matt: You wouldn’t be stuck in an office all day. In fact it wouldn’t be a lot different than what you’re doing now, really. You’d still be out working in the field, though admittedly it would be more in a supervisory role. Tell you what: If it all happens I’ll make the position Field Manager. And you’ll be provided with a company car. How does that sound?”

“Hmm. A company car, aye? Well, I’ll admit that it sounds a lot better, though I’m not going to hold my breath: You haven’t bought the other place yet.”

“Oh I’ll be buying it, Matt. You can be sure of that. And I won’t be paying any more than it’s worth either.”

“And if you don’t, I will,” said Margaret.

“What!?” said both men in unison, with Doug adding “Marge, you’re not serious are you?”

“Yes, I am serious. Doug, I’ve got quite a nest-egg put aside and it seems to me that it might be a good idea to invest some of it wisely. I’ve got quite a bit of experience in administering a small company, wouldn’t you agree? And also enough knowledge about plants and planting to know what grows best in the various soils around the area. I’m quite confident that I could do well running the place. Even by myself if I had to.”

Both men stared at her and it slowly dawned on them that Margaret wasn’t actually challenging Doug so much as she was in a round-about way proposing a business partnership. Matt decided that it would probably be best if he didn’t offer an opinion one way or the other at this point however he did suggest that it would also be a good idea to take a few days to think very carefully about such a move.

Whilst Doug admitted that she probably did have the business know-how needed to run such a venture he was more concerned about the risk involved and quickly agreed with Matt’s suggestion that she should think carefully first and perhaps they could talk more about it later. She was happy enough with that, at least for the present, and let the subject drop as they all enjoyed a very long and pleasant lunch.

Arriving back at the yard fairly late in the afternoon Doug said that it wasn’t worth trying to do much before closing time so gave Matt, Margaret and himself an early mark. Matt first drove to the worksite where Neil was working and asked him to lock up the shed and compound when they’d finished for the day then beetled off home.

When Matt arrived home and told Diane about his day she was pleased to hear the Matt would be promoted if Douglas was able to purchase the garden centre, however she also had some news of her own that she thought might interest him.

“I was talking to Bert and Ruth Rutherford this morning. You know: The couple that owns that big two-story house three doors down? Anyway, they’ve decided that with their kids grown up and long gone the house is actually too large for them now, especially as they are both getting well on in years, and Bert said that they’re thinking of putting it on the market. They’re considering moving to one of those retirement villages that has everything they need, plus medical services if they need those too. I asked them if it would be OK to tell you and they said we’d both be welcome to inspect the property if we were interested in buying it.”

“Hmm. I’ve never been inside, but from the outside it appears to be well maintained. And the block it’s on is probably the same size as the one this house is on. I bet the asking price would be pretty high but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to go and have a look. When do you think we could do that?”

“I’ve already had a good look through the place. In fact I’ve been over there a number of times, mainly to help out when either of them gets sick. I told Ruth I’d send you over with a dozen eggs when you got home and as you’re home early, now would probably be a good time. You could also take them a jar of my lemon and passion-fruit curd that I know they really like.”

“I’m not surprised: I really like it too. In fact I think everyone who’s tried it does. Do we have many jars left?”

“There’s a half dozen jars in the storage cupboard but I don’t think they’ll be there much longer with the demand I get for them. I think I’d better put up another batch before they’re gone. I’ve noticed there are still quite a few ripe passion-fruit on the vines at the moment so could you bring me all that you can find on your way back from the Rutherford’s? Provided we don’t sit here talking until it’s too dark for you to find them that is.”

Matt grinned at the not-really-subtle hint, quickly retrieved a jar of the spread from the pantry, a dozen eggs from the fridge and two large string shopping bags then walked down to the Rutherford’s house. Actually the street was quite level so “down” didn’t refer to a slope but rather to the house number, which was lower than the house where Matt and Dianne lived. He was back an hour later having not only had a good look through their house and a pleasant chat with his neighbours but also with the two string bags now full of ripe passionfruit.

“It’s much bigger than I thought it would be,” he said when Dianne asked for his opinion of the house. “Five bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, plus an ensuite off the main bedroom. Ruth showed me the linen press and it’s probably the largest I’ve ever seen in a private dwelling. For some reason she’s really proud of it though I can’t imagine why. Study, lounge, dining room, family room, kitchen and laundry downstairs. And the double garage is separate from the house too. Bert extended it a few years ago and the back section is now a tool shed and workshop.”

“Did you see that the laundry has a toilet, vanity and a shower? That’d be great for when we come in after a hard day’s work in the garden. And the kitchen has a pantry too. Nowhere near as big as Dave and Bron’s of course, but big enough for what we need at the moment. So what do you think? Is it worth making an offer for?”

“Yes, it is. I told them that we’d definitely be interested in buying the place, particularly if I get the promotion offered if Doug buys the garden centre. Bert told me that you were the first person that they’d said anything to about their plans and they haven’t contacted any agents yet. They’re not in any particular hurry to sell and they could wait a few weeks before doing that if necessary so I told them I’d talk it over with you and get back to them as soon as I knew what was happening with my job.”

“That’s really good of them, isn’t it? And as for your job, I’ll bet you anything you like Doug will buy the garden centre and you’ll get the promotion I think you deserve. Do you think Marge’s threat to buy the place if he didn’t might’ve put the wind up him a bit?”

“Oh there’s no doubt about that,” Matt laughed. “He didn’t say anything about it but I could almost hear the gears grinding in his brain as we drove back. Mind you, a partnership between the two of them would probably work out well, and I don’t mean just business-wise.”

“I think so too. Actually it would work out well for us too, wouldn’t it? I mean, with me being preggers we’ll soon need a bigger place to live in anyway, and if you were to get that promotion it would be easier for us to buy the Rutherford’s property. You know, Maria was all in a tiz thinking that we might have to move far away to find a house but with us being only a couple of doors down she’ll be happy too.”

“Yes, but let’s not count our chickens just yet love: We don’t know how much the Rutherfords will want for their property. It could easily be more than what we can afford given the demand for housing and the average prices around here.”

“Possibly, but we have managed to save enough for a decent deposit on a good house. Anyway, we can think about all that later. Right now you can round up the boys and wash up ready for dinner.”

“Good Lord,” she added, seeing the two bulging string bags on the table as he went out. “I didn’t realise there’d be that many passion-fruit. Looks like I’m going to be a busy girl come Saturday.”

* * *​

 

[Bidadisndat]

The remainder of Matt’s working week was a bit busier than usual due to two new clients contracting to have some extensive work done and the days went by quickly. Without telling his crews anything about Doug’s plans Matt quietly began grooming Neil to take over his Head Supervisor position when he became Field Manager, knowing that such a move would be approved by all concerned. He was now quietly confident that the purchase of the garden centre would go ahead; nevertheless he didn’t slacken his usual hard-working pace to play at being cock-of-the-roost and flung himself into the physical work as usual.

One thing he did do that was much appreciated by the crews was to procure a gas barbecue and set it up under the shelter where they had their lunches when the weather was good. At the company’s expense of course a lattice wall covered with heavy shade-cloth was erected on the windward side of the shelter, thus enabling them to use the area even if the weather was not so good. Explaining that for the same money they spent on beer alone at the pub on a Friday afternoon they could also have a sausage sizzle, he followed it up with the suggestion that maybe they could also form a small social club of sorts. The idea went down well and by the end of the next day a tick-up list of members, which meant all of the men working there, had appeared on a clipboard attached to the door of the old ’fridge in their lunch room.

To kick the social club off Doug offered to stock the ’fridge with its initial load after which it would become self supporting, and the offer was accepted with much appreciation, especially as it had set him back over $300. Cans of soft drink and beer were placed on the shelves, assorted chocolates in the crisper at the bottom and meat pies, pasties and sausage rolls in the freezer section. The men could help themselves to the contents of the ’fridge and tick up their purchases on the clipboard at any time, with the exception of beer which was only to be taken on Friday afternoons when work was finished for the week. It was also made clear to the men that they weren’t to drink any more than the legal limit if they were driving their cars home. One of their number would be responsible for restocking the ’fridge, buying whatever was needed for the Friday barbeques and keeping track of finances, however until they decided among themselves who would do that it was for the time being left to Matt.

Despite Doug and Margaret being considered by the men to be ‘management’ and thus not eligible members of the ‘workers’ social club, both were invited to the inaugural barbecue that was going to be held on the Friday. When Dave told the men that it was quite reasonable to do so considering Doug had footed the bill for the first stock-up of their fridge, he put it in a way that made the men feel a bit guilty about having not thought to invite them in the first place. They did feel however that they saved some face by not stinging the two for the $5 each that the men paid for the food and their first beer, and later decided that in future any ‘outsiders’ who they invited to join them wouldn’t have to pay either. Of course on these occasions Doug being Doug would quietly slip a $10 note into the cash tin on top of the fridge whenever he and Margaret were invited anyway.

On the Friday morning of the barbecue Matt collected $5 from each of the men and headed off to the supermarket to get the food however when he got there he was very surprised to find that the price of meat was much higher than he had anticipated. It had been quite some time since he’d done any shopping himself and as he walked the aisles looking at prices he was pleased that Dianne was canny enough to stretch out their budget to cover all those things that they didn’t grow or make for themselves. The cash he’d collected from the men was only just enough to cover a small piece of steak and a couple of sausages for each person, plus three dozen bread rolls. From his own pocket he purchased several containers of potato, pasta and three-bean salads, a large container each of tomato and BBQ sauces and a large pack of paper plates. He was going to have to talk to Dianne about this as he was sure she would be able to get a better deal!

The barbecue turned out to be far more successful than Matt had anticipated, and Doug was so impressed that he suggested to him that when the company took over the garden centre on Tasman Drive the same should be done for the staff working there. Matt was astute enough to realize that Doug must have already started the ball rolling in that direction and in reply laughed and asked him if the deal went through was his new position going to be that of Field Manager or a Catering Manager.

Doug quietly confided to him that he had contacted the garden centre that morning and learned that the owner was eager to sell as he was losing money hand over fist and now simply wanted out as quickly as possible. Matt had no doubt that his decision had been hastened by Doug telling him that he intended to set up a landscaping business nearby. It had already been arranged for Margaret, who was a qualified CPA, to go over and have a look at the books next Monday. If all was in order Doug would make the owner an offer that probably wouldn’t give him much if any profit but would at least get him out from under, but if the business was losing as much as the owner claimed it was, that was about the best he could expect. Doug thought it would be a done deal by the end of next Wednesday or early Thursday and if all went according to plan, and he had no reason to suspect that it wouldn’t, an announcement be made at the following Friday’s barbeque. The men’s wives and girlfriends would be invited to attend and he himself would foot the bill for the whole shebang, and that, he added, was not to be mentioned until after everything was confirmed.

That evening, after Matt had read the boys a bed-time story from the old book of Æsop’s Fables that his father had given him when he was a lad he sat and talked with Dianne about the day’s barbeque and the shopping he’d had to do for it.

“I had no idea that things were so expensive now,” he said. “Going down the aisles and looking at prices I realised just how difficult it must be for you to balance the budget, and I’m surprised that you manage to do that without ever complaining.”

“So who would I complain to if I wanted to?” Dianne asked with a smile in reply. “Actually things aren’t quite as bad as many complain they are, though I’ll admit that money doesn’t seem to go as far as it used to. It really comes down to priorities and the willingness to work that little bit extra for the things you want rather than what you need. By want, I mean things like a bottle of good Scotch, or tickets to the footy, or some type of toy like a trail bike. Stuff like that. Do you follow me?”

“Well, yes, I do so far. But are you suggesting people should have to start giving up all those life-style extras they think they deserve?

“Not at all. But try this for an exercise: First, think of your hourly rate of pay. Next, think of the jobs or work that you really like or at least don’t mind doing. The money you earn from those jobs or work should be used to pay for all the things you need. Now think of all the work or jobs that you don’t like doing, or better still that you hate doing. The money you earn for the hours worked on those is used for buying the things you want rather than need. It’d probably make you a bit more careful about what you’d be spending your money on, wouldn’t it?”

“Oh, I think I get it: I stand in the tackle shop looking at the fishing gear and thinking “I want that new Alvey rod and reel, but how many hours cleaning mud and crap out of drains am I willing to do to buy it?” Is that what you mean?”

“Yes, but in your case I know you’d be more likely get what you want, or near enough to it from a garage sale rather than pay full price at a shop. When you think about it though, too many people these days seem to do the exact opposite don’t they? They buy their wants first then complain about how much extra work they have to do to buy their needs.”

“Good Lord. You know, I’ve never actually thought about it like that, but it makes perfect sense. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to think of buying anything now without that running through my head.”

“That’s a good thing to do even if you think you’re reasonably well off. Well, as we have to do some shopping tomorrow for the barbeque we’re having on Sunday when Alf and his tribe turn up, you can come with me and learn first-hand. Won’t that be fun?” she asked with a slightly malicious looking smile, knowing just how much he hated being dragged around the shops. “Now, let’s see how we can organise the purchases for your social club.”

By the time Dianne had finished he not only had a reasonable handle on how purchases for the club should be carried out but also a much better insight into how she had managed their personal finances so well. In fact he was so impressed that to Dianne’s surprise he said he actually didn’t mind having to accompany her to the supermarket next morning!

* * *
​

Saturday, and the shopping expedition had been completed successfully, the groceries put away, themselves and the kids fed and Dianne was now busy getting everything ready to make a very large batch of lemon and passion-fruit curd. Matt spent an hour working in their garden then a further two hours wandering up and down the mandalas chatting with neighbours and helping those that needed a hand. His two boys had “helped” him in the garden for the first hour but decided that they’d done enough when he went out the back gate and they headed inside where they could play with their toys.

The mandala behind the house he and Dianne were thinking of buying looked rather unkempt and he had no hesitation in setting to work putting it into back into reasonable shape. Even if they couldn’t buy the place he was sure the present owners would appreciate the help, though from the look of it they may well have lost interest in working on it themselves. To be fair, they were getting on in years and he remembered Dianne saying she had been to their house several times to help out when one or other of them was ill, so perhaps the physical effort was getting a bit beyond them. By the time he had finished the sun was getting low and he felt that he should reward his efforts by having a quick shower then relaxing under the pergola with a glass of Riesling or similar so made his way back to the house.

Dianne had long finished making up her curd and pouring it into twenty of the many jam jars that she and several of her friends had collected. She had found that the number of passion-fruit she had was far in excess of the butter and eggs she had on hand to make up more and had used them to make jam and syrup, both of which she knew would be swooped upon at the next meeting of the garden club. Because the passion-fruit season was almost at an end she was planning to place several jars of curd in the freezer for their own use during winter, however after Matt told her that the Panama Red and Gold varieties that they also grew fruited from May through to November she decided not to. But Matt had better be right, she said, because she really loved passion-fruit!

The two sat under the pergola and with relaxing background music from several LP’s stacked on the record player emanating from its speakers each of them demolished a large meal of Tortellini with a tossed salad that Dianne had prepared. It was a pleasant meal and normally he would have been happy to put on a few more records and maybe have another wine or two, however it had been a long warm day and the hours he had spent in the garden were now taking their toll so after helping Dianne take the dishes inside and clean up he headed for bed. Not yet quite so tired Dianne spent some time boiling eggs and spuds ready for making up a big potato salad for the morrow’s barbeque, and making jelly and custard for a wine trifle before joining a soundly sleeping Matt.

* * *​

 

[Bidadisndat]

Around ten a.m. the station wagon belonging to Alf pulled up outside the home of Matt and Dianne and disgorged its load of driver, his family, their neighbour Jorge Johansen, and at the invitation of Simon, Ray Pawley, all of whom were eager to have a look at the gardens and mandalas they’d been told about. Maria, Angelo and Sophie, Constantine and Helena plus of course all the children of each family were present and it took a few minutes to introduce Jorge to everyone.

It didn’t take a great deal of time to show the visitors the vegetable garden and chook run in the backyard of the house, but the following tour of the mandalas was a different story, particularly as Elsie had brought her camera and note-book to record everything in sight. Before going out to the mandalas they paused for a cup of tea and Alf and Elsie were thrilled to find that Maria had made one of her famous fruit-cakes, supposedly for the occasion though in reality she always had a fruit-cake or two on hand. She actually sold quite a few of them at the garden club’s get-togethers where understandably they commanded a premium price.

There was no way they were all going to find a seat around the table under the pergola so Matt had organised the use of the community kitchen area for their barbeque. He was pleased to see that the members of the club who used the facility adhered to the rule that it was to be thoroughly cleaned after each use and also that it hadn’t suffered from any acts of vandalism or been defaced with graffiti. All in all, the park-like easement with its great variety of trees and shrubs on its berm, plus the vegetable garden mandalas and the community kitchen behind it was a place that the neighbourhood could feel very proud of, and it was jealously guarded by the members.

There were quite a few members of the garden club working their plots and all seemed to be quite keen to talk about how they had gotten involved, what problems they had encountered, what successes they’d had and what crops they were now growing. They were also happy to have their photos taken with gardening tools in hand and Elsie asked each person she photographed to push a barrow, use a watering can or hose, or wield a different implement to that of the person in the garden she had just been through. She also carefully recorded their names as she did so with the idea of making a slide show of the tour that she could give to Matt to show at one of the club’s get-togethers. Being a keen photographer herself and having taken lots of photos of the area before it had been transformed Dianne offered to make duplicates of some of the slides she had so that Elsie could show “before and after” views. Elsie thought that was a good idea and quickly accepted the offer.

Alf seemed to be impressed by just about everything he looked at and was glad that Elsie was taking photos and making notes, just as she’d done at Jorge’s house before they’d set up their own garden.

Jorge enjoyed himself talking to the members who were very quick to cotton on to the fact that he was an experienced gardener who had a wealth of knowledge to be tapped, and on a couple of occasions he got heavily involved in conversation with them. When this happened he would wave the others on to continue with their tour then catch up with them a bit later.

Simon, Sarah and Ray found a few young people around their own age to talk to and soon disappeared, being dragged off to this house and that to be shown gardens, chooks, pets, canoes, trail bikes and anything else that they might be interested in seeing. Among the things they saw was a large quail pen owned by the son of one of the members and Sarah was immediately captivated by the small birds that were so tame that she could simply reach down and pick them up. After a few questions about their housing, food requirements, general care and a short discussion about money Sarah fished from a pocket of her jeans a ten and a five dollar note and handed them to the owner of the birds. In return she received a bag of feed, a large cardboard box peppered with small holes and to the inside of which they secured a small on-demand waterer, and three Japanese quail hens.

“If you want to breed them you’ll need a cock and maybe two more hens,” the seller told her. “It’s best to have at least five hens to each cock as the little fellas only seem have one thing on their mind and will harass a couple of hens badly.”

“I’d buy them now but that was all the money I had,” Sarah replied.

“If you have those for sale I’ll buy them,” said Ray as he dug into his pocket and pulled out a few notes. “Sarah, my mum would probably go ape if I tried to keep them at my place. Any chance I can put them in with yours and we share the eggs they lay?”

“That sounds like a really good idea Sarah,” Simon kicked in before his sister had a chance to think about it and object. “Mind you, I think Ray should pay for half the feed and help you look after them. Does that sound reasonable to you Ray?”

“It sure does Simon. Ahh... Sarah, you know that quail are also bred for their meat as well as their eggs, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. Is that why you want to raise them?”

“Honestly, I hadn’t really thought about it, but if the idea upsets you I’ll be happy enough with just the eggs.”

Sarah laughed at Ray’s apparent discomfort. “It’s OK Ray; I eat meat and know where it comes from, but you’ll have to wait until we’ve bred up a quite a few before you start throwing any on the barbie.”

Too hot to leave the birds in the back of the Alf’s wagon they were carried to the front garden of Matt’s place and placed beneath a large shrub where hopefully they wouldn’t be noticed.

It wasn’t until one thirty in the afternoon that the barbeque was flashed up and they began cooking the meat, putting out the salads and other goodies that each family was contributing, opening a few cans of beer and tapping a wine cask. There still being three empty tables available a few of the club members ambled off home and returning with their partners, food and drinks of their own turned on the second barbecue hotplate and invited themselves to the party.

Nobody minded of course and the afternoon became, as Elsie put it, another “Day to Remember.” Elsie and Dianne had earlier had a laugh when they discovered that by coincidence they had both made large wine trifles for desert and these were now brought out from the drinks ’fridge under the pergola and set out for the adults in their group, which on this occasion included Simon, Sarah and Ray. The younger children were happy enough with jelly and ice-cream with wafers, plus the iced cup-cakes decorated with hundreds and thousands that Maria had quickly turned out after seeing how many children were there.

When the barbecue finally wound down the gas was turned off, the cage holding the gas cylinders was locked and they all set to and thoroughly cleaned the entire kitchen area. With everybody pitching in to do that, talking, joking and laughing as they did so, it wasn’t what you’d call a chore and it was over and done with quickly. Sarah got the wagon’s keys from her dad, telling him that she was going to put their esky in the back, then having done that retrieved the box with the quail from under the shrub and put that in the back too.

After they had all finished the usual farewells, during which Dianne gave Elsie a jar each of her lemon passion-fruit curd and jam and a small bottle of syrup, Alf and his family headed for the wagon. Sarah gave her mum the keys, Elsie having insisted she was going to drive home because the last beer that Alf had, which was one of Matt’s home brews, would have put him over the limit. Alf didn’t think so but he wasn’t going to argue the toss and made himself comfortable in the front passenger seat, courtesy of a small pillow that Sarah passed to him from the back. He dozed off shortly after, leaving Elsie to wonder what the occasional chirping sound was that the wagon seemed to be making somewhere in the back. Simon and Ray exchanged grins, claiming that they didn’t hear a thing but it was probably just a squeaky part of the suspension which could be avoided if the driver learned how to not hit every bump in the road. “Cheeky buggers,” laughed Elsie as she drove along the perfectly flat and smooth sealed roads to their house.

Once back at the house Simon and Sarah quickly unloaded the wagon and, after saying good night to Jorge and Ray, as soon as their parents were inside quickly took the box of quail and bag of feed to the chook run wherein the birds were released. While Simon was removing the waterer from the box and finding a convenient place to mount it Sarah filled a small plastic dish with the seed she’d bought and placed it under cover in the chicken coop. Tomorrow she’d arrange things more to her satisfaction but at least the quail were safe and secure.

Nobody felt like sitting down to a big meal following the barbeque that had lasted most of the afternoon and into the early evening so a light snack of Welsh Rarebit was settled on before everyone turned in for a good night’s sleep. Apart from Sarah that is, who just had to get up at two-thirty a.m. and use her bedside torch to quickly go and check on the quail, all six of which she was pleased to find were asleep.

At the O’Rourke household around ten p.m. Matt climbed into bed wondering where the weekend had gone because, he told Dianne, he sure didn’t feel like he’d had two whole days away from work.

“If you feel that way now, imagine how you’ll feel when you grow old,” she’d said. “Maybe you should ease back a little instead of flinging yourself into every job like you think it should be finished by yesterday. It’s bad enough that you do that Monday to Friday without doing the same on Saturdays and Sundays too.”

“What’s up?” he asked when he heard her give a little giggle as they lay in bed after she’d turned off the light.

“Oh, just thinking of you trying not to do something that you thought needed doing. I reckon that if I told you right now that there was a tap dripping in the bathroom you’d only be able to lie here for five minutes at the most before getting up to fix it.”

“Get out of it. I’m not that bad.”

There were a few minutes of silence.

“Is there a tap dripping then?”

“No!” Dianne laughed. “Go to sleep!”

* * *​

 

[Bidadisndat]

The windscreen wipers of Matt’s Crown seemed to be fighting a losing battle with the downpour that had reduced Monday evening’s peak hour traffic to a crawl as he headed slowly home. The forecast had been for several days of gale force winds and heavy rain and even if it did last only that long it would take several more days for the ground to dry out enough to work on. At least it would for the projects they were working on at the moment. The men had been stood down for the rest of the week but were rather philosophical about it as in this game it was understood that the weather played a big part in how the work was organised.

Whilst being stood down for a rainy day or two might mean a smaller pay packet one fortnight, it would soon be made up for when the sun came out again, especially when they got paid overtime to catch up. They weren’t alone in that as the same happened often in the construction business, particularly if pouring concrete was involved as it was for one of the jobs they were doing, or supposed to be doing this week. The client was having a long driveway put in, complete with curbing and guttering, and it was hoped to have it finished by the end of this week. Fat chance of that happening with this rain, thought Matt as he managed to brake in time to avoid tail-ending the car in front which had suddenly stopped for no apparent reason.

He sat in the car for several minutes waiting for the car ahead to begin moving again but it didn’t budge, and after seeing its tail lights go out he knew that something was amiss. Reaching over to the passenger side he pulled a pair of gum-boots from the plastic tub he’d put on the floor to hold them then eased out of his work boots. Now wearing the gum-boots he reached across to the back seat, grabbed his rain-coat and pulled it on as he got out of the car and went forward to see what the problem ahead was.

As he approached the vehicle he could see that there were two people sitting in the front seats and a toddler sitting in a booster seat in the back, and even before he reached the driver’s door he could hear the male driver screaming obscenities at the woman sitting in the passenger seat beside him. When Matt tapped on the window the driver wound it down and inch and asked in a not exactly friendly manner what did he want.

“Just wondered if you needed help. Your car’s holding up a lot of traffic and I thought you might have broken down,” said Matt, noting that the child in the back was crying loudly and the woman in the passenger seat was pressing herself against the door in an effort to keep as far from the driver as possible. He also saw that she had a cut lip and what he thought was the beginnings of a black eye.

“Are you OK ma’am?” he asked over the top of the driver’s head but before she had a chance to reply the driver was screaming at him.

“She’s none of your damned business so bugger off!”

Matt stood his ground and asked the woman again if she was OK but the driver began opening his door, telling Matt that he’d better “go away”, (or words to that effect,) or he was going to get his head punched in. The woman reached out, placed her hand on the driver’s arm and pleaded with him not start a fight but received a vicious back-hander across the face causing her nose to bleed. That was enough for Matt who stood back a bit and waited for the driver to get out. The guy had barely got one foot on the roadway when Matt hurled his full weight against the door, slamming it heavily against the driver’s lower leg and causing him to howl in pain, then quickly wrenched the door back open, grabbed the guy by the shirt and pulled him out. He delivered a swift and hard blow to the guy’s stomach, not caring whether it was above or below the belt then followed it up with a left jab to the nose and a powerful right cross to the jaw that sent the luckless bloke down in a heap on the road.

“A clear case of self defence if ever I saw one,” said a voice from behind Matt, who whirled around to see the grim smile on the face of Sergeant Robert May. “By the look on your face O’Rourke I guess you didn’t see me coming to find out what was causing this traffic jam,” he said as he turned his attention to the car’s passenger. “Are you OK Belinda?” he asked, obviously knowing the woman who was now holding the crying toddler.

The woman nodded weakly but Matt could see fear in her eyes as she looked at the now rain soaked figure on the road struggling to get up. The sergeant also saw the fear and before the man had fully regained his feet he was grabbed by the senior constable travelling with the sergeant, handcuffed and hustled into the back of their patrol car.

“Don’t worry Belinda; he’s not going to touch you again. Not ever, I promise. OK Matt, we’ll get this car out of the way and the traffic moving then you can tell me what this fracas was all about, though I can pretty much guess most of it. Belinda, are you able to drive the car? If you can, just go on home. You can go to your mother’s place if you’re worried about your husband coming back, but we’ll be taking out a restraining order against him so that’s not likely.”

Belinda strapped the now quiet toddler back into his booster seat and after thanking both Matt and the sergeant profusely got into the driver’s seat and a couple of minutes later drove away.

An hour later found Matt standing in the same police station he had been in following the punch-up with Frederick some weeks before, explaining to the sergeant how he had come to be involved in this brief altercation.

“I hope this isn’t going to become a habit, Matt,” said the sergeant. “Not that the jerk didn’t have it coming to him. He’s been brought to our attention several times before, mostly for domestic violence issues, but he’s always been able to wriggle out of doing time. His wife, Belinda, is the niece of one of our senior constables and we all know she’s taken a few hidings over the past couple of years. Anyway, the mongrel’s not going to get off lightly this time: Apart from you seeing him strike his wife I witnessed him attacking you too, so this time he’ll go down.”

“I was worried that he might be pressing charges against me since I hit him first.”

“No. As I said before, it was self defence. You said he threatened you and when he opened the car door to get out, which I saw him do, he was making a move to attack you, and legally that’s still a case of assault even if he didn’t land a punch, and Belinda will back up your story.”

“And what will happen to her if he does a bit of time inside? He’s the type who’d take it out on her when he gets out.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Just between you and me, and completely off the record of course, there are a few people we know who are serving time for criminal assault and worse at the same resort where he’ll be holidaying, and as bad as most of them are they don’t take kindly to child molesters. I don’t think he’s going to enjoy his stay there very much, even if his lawyer can get him a short sentence.”

“He’s a child molester too?”

“Did I say that? Sorry, I must’ve been thinking of someone else. Anyway, I hope he’ll be able to convince his roommates he’s not. In any case, he’ll be made to understand that if he even approaches Belinda let alone touches her again he’ll probably sustain a number of very serious injuries, most likely of a permanent nature.”

“Uh, I see. OK. Well, you won’t have to worry about me making a habit of this sort of thing. It’s bad enough being here when you’re in the right, let alone in the wrong.”

“Don’t worry too much about that, Matt,” laughed the sergeant. “We know you’re one of the good guys. You can take off now, and give my regards to Dianne.”

“You’re a bit late. Did the rain slow you down?” asked Dianne when he finally got home.

“Yeah, it did a bit. Bumped into Rob May on the way home. He said to give you his regards,” he replied, thinking it would probably be best not to mention that he’d been involved in a fight, especially after the one he’d previously had with Froggy.

* * *​

 

[Bidadisndat]

The next few days were spent looking at the sky and hoping the rain would stop, playing with the kids while Dianne was working, looking at the sky and hoping the rain would stop, doing odd jobs around the house and looking at the sky and hoping the rain would stop. He hated being stuck in the house but knew it was pointless showing his frustration, though their having been together for so long Dianne could understand how he felt. She wasn’t at all surprised when after receiving a call from Doug informing Matt that the purchase of the garden centre was a done deal he went straight back to work.

Matt was now officially the company’s Field Manager and the position would require him to spend quite a bit of time at the nursery learning the ropes, which he could begin doing the next day as it was too wet to do anything else. Before going over to the garden centre he called Neil and told him that with Doug’s approval he was now promoted to Head Supervisor of the Landscape Division of the combined companies.

It was to be expected that the staff working at the garden centre would be a bit anxious about their positions following the takeover and one of the first actions Matt took was to call them all together for a meeting. In anticipation of this he had spent quite some time during the stand-down working on a plan that should get the garden centre back to running the way it had been when it had first opened. Of course it would mean getting everybody behind the effort, and while he suspected that there may be one or two that wouldn’t take kindly to some of his ideas he felt the majority would be willing to have a go, as much for their own pride as for the sake of continued employment. He was fortunate in that one of the senior staff members was not only willing but also had a few good ideas of her own that she shared with Matt, plus she was familiar with those workers who could be relied upon and those that couldn’t. From a working staff of fifteen there were only two of the latter and they were both thought by their fellow workers to be not only inept but also too lazy to bother learning anything that might make keeping them on worthwhile. Matt wasn’t about to give them the heave-ho without giving them a chance to prove that they could become capable workers though he was going to give them a large number of make-or-break tasks that would decide the issue one way or the other.

He had a large sign made up that advised the public that the business was now under new management but would be closed for one week while the staff was set to reorganising the layout of the displays, painting stands and structures and generally cleaning up the place. He also pitched in to help with the manual labour required, which not only demonstrated to the staff that he wasn’t above getting his hands dirty but also allowed him to closely monitor the work of the two members who were in Matt’s eyes now on probation. He didn’t tell them that of course, preferring to see if they could make good off their own bats, but by the end of the week the problem seemed to have sorted itself out: One of them claimed that their new boss was a bloody slave driver and decided to quit while the other, though somewhat reluctantly at first, began to put some effort into the job. Matt immediately teamed him up with the senior staff lady with instructions that she was to try and encourage the young man to take an interest in the plants the centre sold, and the conditions they needed to grow properly.

Whereas prior to the takeover staff had used the public restaurant area for their tea and lunch breaks a staff recreation area was established, complete with fridge and barbecue, and a social club was formed operating in the same way as the club at the Landscaping Division. Prior to the “Grand Re-opening” of the Garden Centre the barbecue was fired up for the first time and it was organised so that all of the company’s staff could attend, and Matt was able to see that morale was already beginning to climb.

When the centre re-opened for business after the temporary closure the premises looked better than it had in a long time: The car-park and display areas had been cleared of litter and the exterior of the building had been repainted, and though the painting had been done by the staff themselves it looked to be a professional job and they were quite proud of it. The staff also appeared to be a lot more cheerful than when he, Douglas and Margaret had inspected the premises before the purchase.

When he put in an appearance at the Landscaping Division he found that the men there were quite upbeat about the merger, and after some discussion with Neil and Douglas decided that it might be a good idea to rotate those who wanted to through the Garden Centre. He would also offer to do the same for the workers there if they wanted to try their hands at landscaping, and he got Margaret so enthused with the idea that she decided to have company uniforms made up for all the staff, including herself and Douglas. The men thought it was a good idea too, though there were a few jokes made about whether or not Neil should wear a sergeant’s stripes on the sleeve of his uniform shirt.

The following week a new name was added to the list of members of the Landscape Division: Leanne, a new office “junior” who had been employed as an assistant to Margaret. Actually, in terms of age, at twenty four she wasn’t so much a junior as Margaret was a senior so the term junior was never used. The men immediately claimed that as the young lady wasn’t actually management she was one of them and was thus entitled to be a member of the club, so they had invited her to join. She was mightily pleased to not only have been invited to do so but also to be asked to act as its treasurer. Little did she know that that was more a cunning move by the men to ensure that none of them would have to bother with tallying up the figures and collecting the money each fortnight following pay-day when their tick-up payments were due. On the other hand, with Leanne being both friendly and very attractive there was no lack of volunteers to help her do the shopping for the Friday barbecues or when social club stocks got low, especially as that chore would be done on company time and using one of its utes.

On the home front life went on as usual, though Dianne was more than a little excited about the prospects of moving into a house of their own before too long. With his promotion confirmed Matt had gone over to talk turkey with the Rutherfords regarding their property, and finding that the amount they had in mind for its purchase was not only reasonable but also slightly lower than he’d expected, contacted the mortgage broker, Sam Snead, recommended by Douglas.

Sam was in fact good friends with Douglas and after confirming with him Matt’s status within the company, and also that his income was as per the copies of the payslips Matt had presented, told them that the deposit he and Dianne had saved was more than enough needed to obtain a home loan. Dianne thought that her small wage wouldn’t count for much however Sam assured her that every little helped and it would be taken into consideration by the lender. They were lucky that it was a private sale, he added, as had a real estate agent been involved the asking price would have been higher due to the commission they would be asking for.

Unfortunately despite the government’s First Home Owner’s Grant they were still $4000 short of that needed to avoid the mortgage insurance demanded by the lending financial institution. As Sam had told them that mortgage insurance was put in place to protect the lender and was actually of no benefit to the borrower, Matt and Dianne figured that that problem would be overcome if they could persuade their parents to each lend them $2000 to cover the amount needed, however it was Margaret and Douglas who came to their rescue: Matt would be given the $4000 in lieu of a raise for the next two years, and that, as Margaret pointed out, would also mean that he wouldn’t be paying tax on a higher income. At the end of that time, if all was going well with the new venture he would be given a salary rather than be paid a wage at an hourly rate, and if he chose to use one of their utes instead of having a company car he wouldn’t be faced with any fringe benefits tax either. That was fine by Matt as he wanted a ute anyway, though he was floored when given the keys to a brand-new Toyota crew-cab that the company had leased, even if it did have the company logo painted on its doors.

* * *​

 

[Bidadisndat]

By the end of the month contracts had been exchanged and finances had been arranged and paid to the Rutherfords who were now preparing to move to a retirement village in “Beautiful one day, perfect the next” Queensland that they’d decided upon. As the house they were moving to was considerably smaller than the one they were living in now they were going to have a massive garage sale before leaving, and it came as no surprise to Dianne when Matt told her that he’d already ear-marked a number of items, mainly tools that he wanted to buy. Having decided that there might be a few things that she could use too she walked down to their new house to have a chat with Ruth, and came back happy that she’d been able to secure their old but beautiful walnut dining suite with its matching sideboard and display cabinet.

Ruth had discussed the sale with her husband and in light of the fact that they were reasonably well off, and that Dianne had always been the first and often the only person to look after them when they were ill, they told her she and Matt could make payments for the furniture directly to their bank account over a period of one year. Dianne’s protestations were overruled by Ruth who said that having another baby to take care of would undoubtedly be a drain on hers and Matt’s finances even if he did have a god job, and her husband settled the matter by declaring with a smile that if Dianne really wanted the dining suite it would have to be purchased either under their terms or not at all.

“It’s really good of them,” said Matt when Dianne told him what had transpired, “and I don’t think you need to be concerned about not paying the full amount straight away. Considering the number of times you were there to give them the care they needed, not to mention the housework you did for them when Ruth was bed-bound, I can understand their feelings towards you.”

When the time came that they were able to move into their new house the event was celebrated with a house-warming barbecue-party which due to the whole neighbourhood being invited overflowed the property onto the easement behind. During the celebrations Maria was seen to be alternately smiling and tearful because despite being happy for the couple she felt like it was her own children and grandchildren were leaving her behind. Not true of course as they were only moving a few doors down the street and Dianne would still be working for and with her five days a week and bringing the bambinos, but she truly did think of the family as being part of her own.

Matt was settling well into the job of Field Manager and with the workers of both the nursery on Tasman Drive and the original landscaping company enjoying alternating between the two morale was high and the business thrived well beyond Doug and Margaret’s expectations. In fact so much so that they decided that the business required two more employees and gave Matt the task of finding them.

Following a quick phone call to Dave Morgan up in Brocklesbury to get the phone number he got in touch with Charlie, the arborist who supplied Dave with woodchips. After some conversation with Charlie regarding his sons it was decided that as he needed at least one of them to help him with his arborist work the two boys could take it in turns to learn something about the landscaping and nursery businesses. As Dave and Bron would be going down to Sydney to stay with Alan and Lynne the weekend before the Easter break it was decided that he should take whichever of the boys would be chosen with him thus giving the lad a few days to settle in to his accommodation before commencing work at the nursery.

Matt decided that if either or even both the boys showed promise he would approach Doug about the company funding them for the same type of TAFE courses that he himself had undertaken. That would in effect be equivalent to them getting paid a bit more without being taxed, and the company would also be able to claim a tax advantage for their training.

Margaret and Doug had formed a living-together relationship and as she had moved in with him and put her three bedroom house up for rent Matt asked her if she would be OK with having young tenants who wanted to share accommodation, his ulterior motive being that Charlie’s son would need somewhere to live that was reasonably close to work. Her reaction was to agree, subject to any and all tenants taking care of the beautiful garden that she had spent years planning, building and maintaining, and who could be better than those with a horticultural bent.

Doug got in on the act by suggesting that money saved by Margaret not having to pay for a gardening service could go towards reducing Adam or Troy’s share of the rent, and whist that suggestion was appreciated it was also known that the company would have had its own staff continue to do the work they were doing there now anyway.

Matt’s search for a second employee ended shortly after he’d put up notices at the local TAFE college advertising the job position and for tenants, who preferably were enrolled in one of the horticultural courses, to share the house that Margaret was going to rent out. One applicant for both the job and tenancy was a young lady who despite the fact that he could see no sign of native ancestry in her features or skin colour sported a Koorie flag on the polo shirt she was wearing when Matt interviewed her. Amber Collins, by which name she introduced herself to Matt was proud of her heritage and explained that her non-native appearance was due to the fact that generally in her race there were no recessive genes and that a number of Europeans were to be found among her forbearers. She was a very friendly and outgoing girl with a ready smile, more of a grin really, that made Matt respond by offering her a job right there and then, and after having looked at and approved of the advertised accommodation - and in turn having been approved of by Margaret - she was taken onboard as a trainee.

When Charlie’s wife decided that being the older of the two brothers it would be Adam who first left home and moved down to Sydney to begin his traineeship he was happy to find when he arrived that not only did he have a very nice place to live, his young lady share-mate was easy to get along with… though whilst she was also very attractive he was warned that she had a very jealous boyfriend back home in Mudgee.

She actually didn’t have a boyfriend, or even live in Mudgee for that matter, but Adam wasn’t to know that. However what he did soon come to know was that she wasn’t nearly as good a cook as his mother was, so for the sake of both his and Amber’s well-being he took on most of the cooking when they were both at the house at mealtimes. In return Amber was quite happy to do the cleaning up afterwards, and even if that task meant she simply had to stack the dirty cookware, crockery and cutlery into the dishwasher, push a couple of buttons and then wipe the table down Adam felt it was a good arrangement. Of course, typical of many men who enjoyed cooking he didn’t consider cleaning up afterwards to be part of the enjoyment, however as Amber was doing that he took the time to prepare really good meals.

Dave and Bron had taken Adam to Matt and Dianne’s place when they arrived in Sydney and he’d joined them for morning tea and to have a look over the Mandalas along the easement at the back plus the new vegetable garden and chook run that had been commenced in the backyard of the couple’s new house.

“It’s a great achievement by any standard,” Dave declared, “and I’m really impressed by the way your neighbours are all working together. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say I think you’ve done much better in that respect than we’ve managed to do in Brocklesbury. Wouldn’t you agree, Bron?”

“I sure would, love. The people up our way are certainly into gardening but for the most part they work as individuals rather than together as they do here, though to be fair their properties are a lot more spread out. I reckon if we were forced to live in a city it would have to be in a place where there’s a strong feeling of community such as here, but I bet those are few and far between.”

“There’s a lot of truth in that Bron,” said Dianne. “Though you’d probably be surprised at how many people are taking to the idea now that we’ve shown how it can be done. We’ve made quite a few good friends along the way and I’m hoping we’ll be able to make this type of gardening become more main-stream rather than simply be a hobby for retirees as many people seem to think it is now. I’ve also been thinking it might be possible to start linking scattered groups by putting out a small member’s magazine devoted to Self Reliance.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Adam. “But why not see if you can get a magazine like Earth Garden or Warm Earth to promote it? If you had your own regular column in one of those it’d probably save you a lot of time, money and effort.”

“Gosh, why didn’t I think of that? Thanks Adam: I’ll get onto it on Monday,” said Dianne as she scribbled ‘Contact EG and WE mags’ on her calendar.


© To be continued......

 

[Lake Lili]

Hey Bid! Another great story here.
FYI you have a duplication of sections in #13.

Lii

 

[Siskiyoumom]

Excellent. Thank you!

 

[Bidadisndat]

Not any more, Lili. Thank you yet again.

I've probably got a touch of Old Timers: Seem to forget where I'm at sometimes.

Bid.

 

[Lake Lili]

Really enjoying the story. Looking forward to the next installment.

Lili

 

[john70]

great story

 

[ejagno]

You have no idea the depths in which I went through(an cursing) so I could finally get to the last installment of this story with no internet and spotty cell service at best since hurricane Laura. I could use the hotspot on my cell phone generally between 3-5am and some days actually be able to read a bit. It was worth it and I look forward to more soon. P.S. - I got internet repaired and hooked up yesterday so I'm ready. LOL

 

[sssarawolf]

Thank you

 

[Sportsman]

I read about a third of this before I realized that I already know these people! I've gotta lower the scotch consumption rate when reading TB stories.

Thank you.

 

[Bidadisndat]

Sportsman, I would've thought you'd already realised the stories in the Changes of Pace Series are intertwined.
(Try raising the scotch consumption rather than lowering it; the stories might then blend together more easily, LOL)
I have another story in the works, however as there are already four books in the trilogy I might have to think about simply adding it as a chapter of Book 1 - A Change of Pace.
Oh, and thanks for reminding me: Time for me to have a scotch!