Flooded Shop & Gall Bladder

What an interesting week and a bit! Firstly while I was away in Howlong I received a phone call advising me of the date of the surgery to remove my Gall Bladder. Great, but the day after I got home I received another phone call telling me that the surgery had been postponed due to a more urgent case arising. Fair enough. So I was rescheduled for Friday the 17^th of October, the day before Anita’s birthday. I thought that would be okay and that Anita wouldn’t mind as it was necessary surgery, and I was right, she didn’t mind.

I rang Work and told them that the surgery had been postponed and what did they want me to do, come back to work? "Well you only have one rostered shift for the days between when you are due back from holidays and the new surgery date, and we've already arranged someone to cover you, so just take a day off." Okay! But the day I was supposed to take off, someone called in sick, I got called and asked to work, and ended up working a 14 and ¼ hour day. But that’s okay. So I had a few days off to fill in, no problems with that I can assure you all.

The night before the surgery I read until about midnight, felt pretty good, I was getting a sleep in the next morning so I would be relaxed and ready for surgery. 0125 am, Friday the 17^th August, 2008; the telephone awakes me from deep slumber. Constable Scott from the Warragul Police Station informs in her ever so lilting British accent that as I was the afterhours contact for Bizzy Bees she was letting me know that a water main had burst and flooded the shop and the keys were needed to access the shop!

Anita and I sprang into action, sprang in to the car, and drove to the shop. As we arrived, a workman form the water board was turning off the water stopping the flooding. We spoke to S/C Jenny Wiltshire, and then waded our way to the shop. It could have been worse. But there was a good 3-4 cm of water on the eastern side of the shop. We decided to move stock off the floor immediately to try to reduce stock damage and loss. We moved some fixture for the same reason, and tried to mop up the water with a bucket and mop on loan from the police station. It was a fruitless exercise. Too much water, too little sopping power! Sam’s Warehouse was flooded as well, luckily they had no carpet, but they still lost stock that was sitting on the floor and got waterlogged. We went home about 3.30ish and climbed back into bed, making a mental list of people we needed to contact the next day to see how things stood with insurance, etc.

As I had to be in hospital by eleven, and I still needed to pack, (and be rested) I stayed home and Anita went to the shop to marshal the troops. Well I actually made some phone calls from home to get some guys to help her in the shop, because once the carpet man arrived, we found that EVERYTHING needed to be moved out of the shop! So who do you call, our contemporaries mostly work full time, its Friday morning and most days off are Mondays. Thank God for the church family. I made a few phone calls to some men from church, and within half an hour Anita had all the help she needed. Grant in his 50’s but the others probably in their 70’s. Fit enough and willing enough to lend a hand. The carpet came up and we found it had to go out. Anita came home around ten and made some calls to the insurance company, and organised for an assessor to come out in the afternoon to help speed up our return to trading. The stock was spread across three shops in the centre. Hard to sell like that.

At around 1030 we left and she took me to the Hospital. First to admissions, first to be admitted, and first to go through that part of the day. As we walked into admissions it was empty, but as we walked out of admissions, the waiting area was full. Timing. Up to the ward we walked, and were greeted by the friendly faces of the surgical ward nurses, some of whom I know through work. We were asked to take a seat as they were busy and it might take awhile to get me through the admission process on the ward. Anita looked anxious to get going so I told her I would be alright, and she should get back to the shop. She had left shopgirl, Kerryn, in charge, but there is nothing like being there yourself to feel that everything that can be done is being done. Here is where I kind of lost track with the shop as I as now involved in my own little exercise for the day. I spent a good hour or more waiting for my bed to be readied. But that was okay; I read a magazine and then my book.

Finally I got shown to my room, only to discover I was by myself, a single! Hooray. It was definitely worth the wait. A little more waiting whilst the ’admission’ process took place, and then I got dressed for theatre. Not too sure if I like the disposable underwear they get you to use. The stuff is made out of the same material the make the disposable hair nets for the hospital kitchens outs of. I know I was wearing them when I went to theatre. I just don’t know what happened to them after that because I never saw them again! They had disappeared by the time I awoke in recovery! As it turned out I was first on the list for the afternoon surgery, which I think is great because all the surgical team were as fresh as they could be. It seems all went well; the procedure was completed laproscopicaly, which means a quicker recovery than open surgery.

The pain straight after waking in recovery was quite intense, after all, they inflate your stomach with gas to make it easier to look around inside. So a little bit of morphine, some oxygen therapy, and a few sets of obs’ later and I was wheeled back to my room. I am used to being on the other end of the saline drip, and vacuum drainage, so it was a good experience to go through really. The nurses were all great during my stay. I have an Easter egg shaped gall stone about 3 cm long as a souvenir. Anita gladly took it to show it off. Anita and the kids visited Friday evening, and Anita came back on Saturday morning after the carpet guy came to the shop for her to choose her ‘new carpet’. I was given the okay to go home on Saturday afternoon, after initially being told the drainage would be taken out Sunday before I could go home. So at about 1400 they rang Anita and pleaded with her to come and get me. Then came and took out my drainage, and cleaned and redressed the wounds. I was discharged.

The recovery so far has been great; I only had to take pain relief on Saturday Night and Sunday morning. The rest has been bearable. Apart from having to cough hourly, the pain is quite okay, and wearing pressure stockings to reduce blood clots is a fashion statement I’d rather not make but will put up with for the greater good. Anita's Birthday was probably a bit of a dud, but the kids gave her a present in the morning, and I gave her a present I had made up when I got home from hospital, and then of course her mum came for the afternoon and stayed for tea, so she was appropriately gifted and celebrated.

Anita was back in the shop early Monday morning organising the rear store room to be emptied so the carpet can be ripped up and replaced out there, and new storage racks put in there to replace the wooden ones we have discovered were also damaged. She has chosen new carpet which will go down Wednesday, so reopening on Thursday looks like the go. New counter and other fittings will arrive later I expect. Stay tuned for the next exciting instalment.

Vale Doris Boulton, nee Brentnall

I would like to say farewell to a lady who is the end of a generation. My Great Aunty Doris, who died on Sunday morning. She and I shared something in common, our birthday, which to some is nothing, but it meant much to me. Here follows a little of her life story.

Doris Brentnall was born at North Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, on Saturday 16.12.1916. The fourth child to William Walter Aldred Brentnall & Epsie Jean Linsell. Doris had 2 brothers, William & Leslie, and 3 sisters, Amy, Jean & Thelma.

The family lived on the Experimental Farm, eight miles from Wagga Wagga. The home didn't have gas, electricity or water. She went to Pine Gully School, and later to the Wagga Wagga High School.

Doris joined the Air Force, WAAAF on 30.12.1943 as a Nursing Orderly, training at Bradfield Park AAAF, working hard and topping the class! At completion of her training she was posted to Jervis Bay, Rehabilitation Hospital. Whilst working there she met Peter Boulton, a Flight Lieutenant Officer, who was recovering from a broken knee, which happened in Cairo. On his discharge was transferred to Ferry Flight. He was taking a Mustang from Sydney to Townsville, on 5th August 1945, which he crashed on landing. He was seen by a doctor & left for dead; the doctor gave him half an hour to live. Townsville & the house doctor operated on him & he lived to tell all. He had a double fracture of the skull, both ears nearly cut off, haemorrhage of the eyes, broken jaw, & had his teeth wired together for a month.

Doris was nursing in the Officers Ward at Concord Hospital when Peter came back, his head all shaved & all his beautiful curls all gone. Many years after the war Peter & Doris were at the Imperial Service's Ball at the Trocadero, they were on the floor dancing, when an Officer came up to Peter & said, "Excuse me, but are you Peter Boulton?" Peter said, "Yes". He said "Good God, Good God, I left you for dead." He couldn't get over it & stared at him all night.

After the war ended Peter was discharged from the RAAF, but Doris couldn't get out, as so many men were coming home injured & they needed the nurses to stay on. Doris and Peter were married on 2.4.1947 at St Phillips Church of England, Church Hill, Sydney. After their Surfers Paradise Honeymoon, they returned to Sydney and lived in Chatswood. From there we moved to Manly to Peter's mothers unit, Strathspey Unit No.5, 88 West Esplanade, Manly. It was on the harbour front, and looked down on Marineland, Manly Historical Society & Manly Art Gallery. It was a 2 storey home converted to nine units. It was a Victorian building over 130 years old. Walls 1 foot thick, with 14 toot high ceilings.

Doris worked at David Jones for 25 years and became an Assistant Buyer retiring in 1980.Peter left work in 1985; they had a trip to Cairns in 1988, and went to the "World Expo" in Brisbane in 1988.

Peter was suffering from Alzheimer's. He went into Manly Vale Nursing Home & was only there for 2 weeks when he had a heart attack & died on 29.3.1995. Doris stayed at Strathspey, in Manly until 1998 when the 35 steps became too much for her. She sold the unit and went into Drummond House, a Hostel in Wentworth Street, Manly on 6th April, 1998.

Due to ill health and a decrease in mobility Doris moved to Bayview Gardens Nursing Home on 5th November 2007. She gradually settled in and got used to her new home. Doris & Peter had no children. Being the last of her family to survive did not sit well with her. She passed away on Sunday 12^th October 2008, aged almost 92.

A visit to Howlong - Oct 2008

Firstly I have to say that my original intention to visit Howlong was to catch up with my cousin Jenni and her family, and so Robert could catch up with her boys. That didn’t change. What changed was the duration of our stay. We originally planned a four day stay, so as to not overly wear out our welcome. But Jenni called early in the week before we left and encourage us to come up on the Tuesday and go home on the Sunday. So it was we stayed an extra two nights. We set out midmorning from home and after a brief visit to see Anita at the shop, we then continued to Fountain Gate Shopping centre, where Robert was looking at trading in some old X Box games for some new ones, and parting with some of his birthday money in an indulgence of his liking.

Our first order of business was to divest himself of the games he no longer wanted. Then we ended up in EZY DVD where they were having a sale. Boxed sets of TV series for $29.95 per season. One series he has been interested in since watching Stargate SG1, has been Farscape. Farscape was filmed in Australia, but two of the main characters went on to star in the latter years of Stargate. So he picked himself up all four years of the series in one fell swoop; happy as a mud lark. Next stop EB Games where he bought himself two new X Box games, and then to Ali Baba in the food court for our Kebab Lunch!

Then it was back on the road. We stopped to refuel at Glenrowan, before finally arriving at around 5 p.m. in Howlong. Jenni wasn’t home from work, but the boys, Samuel, Thomas and William welcomed us. Jenni arrived soon after, but Peter her husband was on afternoon shift. We did manage to see Robbo when he arrived home from work after midnight, as we were stilling sitting around the kitchen talking over a glass of wine.

Wednesday was a bit of a sleep in. William enjoys a bit of a tickle and a play, so he ended up rolled up in Sam’s mattress and tied in there with rope, stood on his head and tickled, or alternatively, jumped on by Thomas.

And later in the Day Jenni’s Mum, my Aunty Glenda came to visit. She set herself up in her camper which lives in the back yard of Jenni and Pete’s when it is not being used. The four boy’s tried to swim on and off during the day, but the water was a bit cool for a real romp in the swamp. Robbo again went of the work early in the afternoon, and the evening was spent talking and consuming a little wine.
For Thursday we planned a trip to Woolshed Falls, just outside of Beechworth. A picnic lunch and maybe explore the area a bit. We packed our lunch; all piled into the Tarago and made our way to Woolshed falls. Once there we had a quick walk to the face of the falls, then up to the look out.
We went back to the picnic area where we had, you guessed it, a picnic lunch. Then Jenni, myself, Sam & Thomas went for a walk around the Woolshed Creek track. The area is an old Goldmining area, and whilst no evidence of machinery is left, you can make out some of the sluice pits and other areas that have been changed by the miners. Even to the point where they diverted the flow of the creek by blasting out sections of rock where necessary. .
After our walk we packed up the car and headed in to Beechworth. Unusually avoiding the shops and especially the bakery, we headed to Lake Sambell where the boys could swim in the lake at the manmade beach. Well it was a lovely day, but still a bit fresh for all the boys to get truly involved in swimming, but they did their best.
We had to be back in Howlong at a reasonable time, as Jenni was going to pick up her niece, Jenna, who was coming to stay for a couple of nights. The trip back was uneventful, and Jenni disappeared to pick up Jenna. A later tea ensued and was enjoyed with another glass or so of wine.

Friday was a get up early day, as Aunty Glenda needed to go to Wodonga and Albury, and I wanted to go to Albury as I had a Dymocks voucher that just needed spending, and I hadn’t gotten near a Dymocks in Melbourne. So we left Howlong for Wodonga at around 9 am, arrived at our destination at around 9.30 and I had about half an hour to kill while Aunty Glenda had an appointment. Then into Albury! I went to Dymocks and Aunty Glenda went in search of other things she needed. I was in search of a couple of titles, the first two of which weren’t in stock. I struck it lucky with the third, Ken Follett, ‘World Without End.’ I was happy. Aunty Glenda had a couple of things to chase up in Rebel Sports and we were done.

Back at the car we decided a nice Coffee would be good, so into the closest shopping centre and a quite enjoyable latte and a chat ensued. Following on we went to Aunty Glenda’s and picked up some things for her, including one of her dogs, and I took the chance to look at her unit which I hadn’t seen. Back in the car and we headed towards Howlong. On our arrival I was informed that Tina had said we were going to the club for tea. Tina is a good friend of Jenni’s and who am I to argue. The Howlong Golf club has been in my life ever since I was a young kid, visiting Nanna and Poppa on the farm. They were members who played Golf and Bowls and were very involved with the club. It got bigger with the pokies back in the 70’s, but trade is slower since Victoria got the damn things. It was a great night great food and great company.

Saturday morning came around and late in the morning my cousin Shay came to pick up her daughter Jenna. It was good to catch up as I hadn’t seen her for a while. I grabbed the opportunity to have a photo of the three remaining cousins taken.
Saturday afternoon passed quietly, I went for a bit of a bike ride with Robert, and Thomas. It turned out to be uncomfortable for Robert because as we were about to leave we discovered his bike had a flat tyre, so he took Williams, which was a bit small for him. After the ride I fixed the puncture just in case he wanted to go riding again. But he didn’t. So Saturday night was a BBQ. Tina & her husband Paul, their kids, and Jen’s next door neighbour Lara and her son, and Lara’s boyfriend Tonks. The kids had a ball running jumping, watching videos, playing on the play station and wrestling on the trampoline.
The adults, we had fun eating, drinking and being merry. Robbo enjoyed impersonating Tweedle Dum, or was it Tweedle Dee? Judge for yourself. On seconds thoughts he could have been an Oompa Loompa.
Daylight savings kicked in to spoil the party as we realised if we didn’t get to bed it would soon be morning. So a bit of clean up and off to bed. Sunday morning we cleaned up the rest of the debris, and then watched as the plumber connected the swimming pool waste water to the sewerage. Spectacular entertainment.... After an early Lunch Robert and I packed the car and hit the road. We had a blessedly uneventful trip back home, interrupted only by a stop at Glenrowan to refuel the car and grab a coffee for me and Macca’s for Robert. I expected the traffic to be a bit heavier as it was the end of school holidays in Victoria, but it was extremely smooth running, and we made it safely home by 5.15 pm.