Be Creative & Innovative to be Productive

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English: Roadside billboard of Deng Xiaoping i...
English: Roadside billboard of Deng Xiaoping in Lijiang (Yunnan) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Winston Churchill in Downing Street giving his...

People are generally negative & restrictive

They fall into the “existence trap”

Existing with the world flashing by

Without as though a worry & care.

Dead as a door nail

Rotting away with the gale

The weather & wind perform their parts

Till time sets all apart!

Without initiative & drive, the world will drift you by. You’ve got to be alert to catch up with the time which is fast speeding by. Miss the train you’ll be in pain . . . finding yourself lagging behind. The proverbial truth that the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step bears out clearly to you. So take the initiative & move on.

Besides changes are refreshing. It’s exhilarating & exciting. When you live your life out with emotion, excitement & enthusiasm, you’d find life worth the living . . . under any circumstances. This is YOU ruling the circumstances rather than the reverse . . . you’ve got to put yourself in the driver’s seat. Chart the course & navigate the way.

If you aim high & miss the sky, at least you’re landing midway high! It’s obvious that you’ve got to do something to achieve something, doing nothing means getting nothing at all.

In the old days, people were more “sedentary”, staying put in one place. Unlike the present era, people are constantly on the move. They are internationally mobile with their first class credentials & academic qualifications, seeking jobs & opportunities globally. Salesmen too are not confined to restrictive territories & boundaries. They are flying here & there & everywhere! Life as a whole is different.

When you’re old & retired, life takes on a different plane of excitement. Who says retirement is for the rest of your natural life? If you stayed retired & do nothing, you’re gonna meet St Perter in the Pearly Gate sooner than expected.

Creativeness & innovativeness do not stop chronologically. Your brain cells must be nourished & kept afresh all the time. Stimulation keeps you young mentally. Sir Winston Churchill & Deng Xiaoping were both old but not feeble . . . achieving greatness only in the later years of their lives. A living testimony is in the person of Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore or Prof. Wang Gangwu (privileged to have him as my former university lecturer) in the academic field.

Change should not be for the sake of change. Change must always be for the better. Often it involves some calculated risks. But remember nothing venture nothing gain.

Change needs to come from “within” not from “without”. Politicians always promise heaven & earth which they are never able to fulfil. President Obama is typically the best example.

Be not afraid of changes. Take them in their strides. Be courageous even when angels fear to tread. Take the calculated risks . . . to dream & build, to conceive & believe, to strike & to be bold, to stand tall & be counted . . . and in the end to stand proudly & declare unto the world saying: “THIS I HAVE DONE”!

PM meets Lee Kuan Yew
PM meets Lee Kuan Yew (Photo credit: Downing Street)

 

Songs That Inspire . . . Influence Generations

On By Paul2 Comments

 

Bengawan Solo River in Indonesia

As a little boy in school those days, we had singing lessons & a song book entitled “Sing & Be Happy”. Somehow, my singing teacher didn’t like me, kept discouraging me to sing saying that I had a croaky voice. Nevertheless, where love exists desire persists! Though I am never good at it, music & songs fill my life . . . make me as happy as can be!

I was born in Malaysia, brought up there, had my schooling there, sent on a government scholarship for teacher training in UK & then furthering my tertiary education at the University of Malaya, Pantai Valley, Selangor. That’s how it was . . . down memory lane in Malaysia . . . no political divide, no racial strife, tension or envy, peaceful & harmonious living . . . a land known invariably as “The Golden Chersonese”, where music flow & songs galore!

Songs have no cultural or political overtone attached. Music as such is a universal language. There is but one tongue . . . the musical tongue. Songs like “Rasa Sayang” & “Bengawan Solo” have always inspired listeners the world over. The other day, I was with some Aussie friends chatting & having a bit of wine. John who owns 6 bands related to me that when his band was playing in Penang, Malaysia, he learnt to play and sing that ever popular request “Rasa Sayang”. He just loves it! The favour of the song will always live on.

Another song that comes to mind is “Bengawan Solo.” When teaching in Kelantan, North East Malaysia, I remember Zainab a Malay student of mine who rendered this song beautifully. I learnt it then & I sing it even now. In most karaoke parties I have organised, “Bengawan Solo” never failed to show.

There’re various translations to this song . . . English, Filipino, Burmese & others.

Teresa Teng
Teresa Teng (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Teresa Teng (Deng Lijun) the ever popular nightingale from Taiwan, sadly passed away at the age of 42 in the year 1995. She captured the hearts of men & women all over the world with her songs. There was a saying then “The day is dominated by Deng Xiaoping, but the night belongs to Deng Lijun”.

Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Any karaoke fan would love “Tian Mi Mi” and “Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin” (The Moon Represents My Heart) as sung by Teresa Teng. My former HSC student Kat sings it beautifully in Mandarin . . . & she is Malay! My own wife Lilian sings the English translation version. However, it’s hard to get her to render it in public except small karaoke party. She sings well but fights shy of public swell!

Now let’s hear a delightful group of African boys singing ‘Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin” in Mandarin:

Incidentally, best way of learning a language is through the song in that langusage.

And lest we forget the memory of Deng Lijun (Teresa Teng), who has been commemorated in a public garden park in Taipei, Taiwan, let’s listen to her melodious captivating voice:

Ode to Johan & Kat

On By Paul1 Comment

. 

 

It was love at first sight

Compared to none in sight.

It is a love that endures

To merit that eternal future!

More than a year has since passed when I had the privilege & honour to enjoy the hospitality of Johan & Kat in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

  • Here’s a love story with a difference . . . and the difference grows .
  • A story depicting peace & harmony happening naturally . . .
  • An outstanding example on being “Truly Malaysian”!

    This is not a commercial advertisement for tourism promotion as shown on TV screen.

Way back in the 1966/67, I was their form master in the HSC class of the then premier Anderson School of Ipoh, Malaysia. He was the Deputy School Captain and my class monitor, with which positions he commanded a lot of respect from fellow students. Tall, dark & handsome, he was quite a catch and I guess that’s the reason why some mystery persons kept “pinching his bottom”! Nobody knows till today . . .  

Perhaps that was how his bottom kept being pinched!

Andersonian Class of 1966/67 (part) at The Lake Club, KL

Though I faced my students day in day out in class, there was a lot of secret“going ons” unknown to my eyes & ears. For instance, I learnt only recently that the girls were all crazy of the handsome history master with spring in his steps and an operatic voice to thrill their hearts. Mind you these young, pretty & bright girls were all selected elite intelligent students from various schools after their good performances at Senior School Leaving Certificate level. However, though not apparently so, Johan & Kat had eyes only for each other.

Kat, a demure pretty sweet thing, could be taken to be a white girl by the colour of her skin & features. I remember her to be quite serious and absolutely no nonsense. Not sure who set the “tender trap” but I remember Johan was sweet on her . . . perhaps that was how his bottom kept being pinched.

Being of Chinese descent, Johan was not his name in school. This is his adopted name when he converted to Muslim faith upon his marriage to Kat. She is of course a Muslim, a modern one with western attire till today. Johan observes every aspect of his new faith . . . no eating of pork & the requirement of praying five times a day!

Johan adores Kat worshipping & honouring her as his “boss”. He always refer to Kat as his “boss” and she takes it in her strides keeping a beautiful comfortable home in a double-story corner house, “a Green Villa Resort” in SS19, Subang Jaya. In the absence of having any offspring of their own, it’s also a home for their cats. This is quite unbelievable as Kat is allergic to cats. Kat has cats here, cats there & everywhere in her home.

Their home once featured in the Straits Times Press is even more attractive to the “Greenies” with lots of flowers & plants and rich green canopy to ward off the tropical heat. Its environment is truly cool through rain or shine.

Now you probably won’t believe me! Kat may be mistaken to be a Chinese who gets at the break of dawn to hasten to a neighbouring open field to lead a group of Chinese residents mainly in “Qigong”, a well-known Chinese art much like :Tai-Chi”.

Kat leading Qigong class

She had a bout of tuberculosis which was healed through TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine” and since then she’s became a true devotee in Chinese herbal medicine. Both are qualified herbal medicine healers, graduates of TCM College. They operate their virtual free consultancy from home and there is always a stream of visitors coming by seeking a cure in alternative medicine when western medicine fails. People following traditional practice offer red packets as fees for their consultancy.

At Collmar Tropicale, Genting April 2011

So here we are . . . you see a couple of mixed marriage with contrasting religions showing fellow Malaysians what’s meant by being “True Malaysian”!

Serene golf course scene in Gentin

UPDATE & APOLOGIES

with points of correction

Khadijah Shaari        
01/11/04    

 

Dear Sir,

That was very kind of you…though somewhat “pie say” for us. But we know you mean well, so we accept it as graciously as we can.

However Sek Yee and I would like to clarify the following points:-

1) My TB was not cured by TCM alone.  I took the standard TB treatment from the hospital but I remember the lung specialist did comment that my healing response was very quick despite the stage IV when I was diagnosed.  Besides I did not suffer any side effects from the drugs I was prescribed given the condition I was in and of course the age group that I belong to…so it must have been the TCM of which qigong is a very important component.  Yes, I owe it to qigong, and the lots of TLC from my Chinese husband.

2) We counsel cancer patients on a voluntary basis.  We do not accept ang pows from them.  They pay only for the herbs ie if they decide to take the Cacare herbs from us.

3) We use whatever TCM knowledge we acquire from everywhere, and everybody in order to help cancer patients who come to us for help.

We would also like you to know that it was indeed an honour to play host to our form teacher.  I guess it was a challenge which not many would take up. I admit it was not easy for us as we were not equipped to take in such a guest at such a short notice.  However, looking back, we are glad we survived and did not kill you in the process.

Mr Chong, thank you. Please know that we are still learning from you.

Rgds,

Kat

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   More Pictures in Slideshow

Crying Out Loud (C O L)

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English: The Red-eyed Tree Frog (Litoria chlor...

Frog in the Well

WITH the advent of email & internet

Acronyms & abbreviations are common sight

Be it LOL or SMS

Economy of words step right out

Actual vocabulary seemingly lost

In the world of speed & short-cut

To be heard don’t just sob

You’ve got to “cry out loud” & shout!

The full impact of a joke breeds LOL

When distressed, oppressed & hurt . . . COL!

I recall the story of “The Frog in the Well” – its call is all confined to the walls of the well. It’s only in the still of night or early morning that its calls hit our ears but only faintly. The frog knows not the world outside nor the outside really knows of its existence. What can of the world is that it lives in?

The world is a troubled place as it is. Wars, riot & civil commotion raging everywhere. You simply don’t have time to stand & stare!For “Crying Out Loud” is the way to go to merit survival of the fittest.

People the world over are like frogs in the well. Be they living or existing in US, Greece, Portugal or MALAYSIA . . . all are bogged down in the quagmire of political-economic-social mess!

It’s democracy gone crazy. The rich & powerful dominate reaping the country & the world at large to satisfy their GREED. In Malaysia, the American media flagship CNN is replaced by CCN (Corruption, Croynism & Nepotism). This is where the ruling BN/UMNOputras bloom while the majority of the nationals including their own “sons of the soil” swoon!

Let’s refresh with a little poem of mine on “The Frog in the Well” . . .

DON’T be a frog in the well

It never know it’s living in hell

When it’s able to get out of the well

Then it knows it’s never so swell.

People who live an isolated life

Are confined & restricted in their sight

Such people are difficult & set in their ways

Nothing new & progressive can make them sway.

The story also typifies people with closed mind

They are like ancient miners in thee old coal mine

Danger lurked with every stroke

Like bungee jumping without the rope.

There’s a big world out there

You’ve got to know & care

Love is what makes the world go round

Living together peacefully in & around.

Paul Chong ©

Sunday, 1 July 1990                                                                               

July 10, 1990 - POV - As Tranquil As It Looks ...

The Plight Of Mankind

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human rights
human rights (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)

 

The plight of mankind

 

The sight of human suffering & atrocities

 

Are all too much to bear!

Faces of human plight

 

A new human wave is catching on . . . to arrest this plight of mankind both near & far.

 

Born out of the essence of care & concern

 

Of people who do care

 

Over great human suffering

 

resulting from wars & conflict . . . deprivation & oppression . . .

 

loss of human pride & dignity . . . driven out of homes & homeland . . .

 

fighting hunger & survival . . . keeping body & soul together . . .

human rights & liberties . . .

 

the list just goes on & on. 

 

Alone you are weak & feeble

 

Together we are strong & powerful

 

To fight & lobby for your human rights

 

Not to cower before any master

 

Nor bend by any threat.

 

We stand by your human pride & dignity

 

And help to restore all rights & justices.

 

To win it . . . You’ve got to be in it.

 

Asian Australian Initiative . . . AAI . . . it’s all for YOU!

Youtube Video: Angelina Jolie: World on Fire (Save Darfur)

 

Contact:

 

Paul Chong

ASIAN AUSTRALIAN INITIATIVE INC. (AAI)

 

Mobile: 0411 589 888

 

Email: paul.chong33@gmail.com

Kids Playing without worry & care!

 

 

Chinese Style of Celebration

On By Paul1 Comment

 

 

English: Traditional Chinese wedding attire

 

Contemporary red envelopes
Contemporary red envelopes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

There is something to be said about the Chinese when it comes to the question of celebration. And celebration not quite in the sense as generally observed by most people. Being a Chinese myself and having been largely Western educated with the benefits of having lived one score & ten years of my life in Australia, I can safely tell you that the Chinese are the most assiduous economic seekers.

 

They work both hard & smart without really ever taking a break or a holiday.

 

Before the introduction of modern way of business & labour operation, the Chinese as I know them work 24/7. Their holidays mean work & more work, as I would always say “Hard work will not a person kill, but sheer idleness will.”

 

My own grandfather & father lived by this philosophy, and in all the years of my father’s natural life, who raised up the nine of us siblings literally with the skills of his two hands, he had only been to Singapore and once to India with a cousin of mine. Needless to say, my grandfather known as “Mopeng Kaya” by the local Malays, never went anyway for holidays.

 

From thew womb to the tomb, the Chinese will never fail to celebrate the great & memorable occasions of birth, wedding & death.

 

Baby’s Full-Moon Celebration

 

30 days after being born, a Chinese baby is held in high esteem & will celebrate the occasion known as the “Full Moon” with red eggs, yellow rice & chicken curry, distributed far & near among all relatives & some close friends. It’s a real big thing.

 

 

Character represents “Longevity”

 

The other question of birth has to do with birthdays and not just any birthday. It is mandatory to celebrate the 60th & the 80th birthdays. These two great days are significant in the life of the Chinese. Red is the colour to go by in all the celebrations as in the distribution of red packets containing even sum of money known as “Ang Pow”.

 

Chinese “Ang Pow”

 

Chinese wedding celebration knows no limit too. The grandeur of its celebration spells the status & wealth of the people concerned. Rolls-Royce limousines as bridal vehicles & other luxurious imported vehicles make the scene.

 

 

Chinese wedding traditions

 

 

In life as in death, celebration goes on. Celebration mean eating. Food is the medium of celebration. The size of the banquet depends upon the economic status of the celebrants & also upon the significance of the day. There is also the question of “saving face” or as in Singapore they would express the notion of “Kian Soo” (not to lose out). In the Western world, it’s worthy in keeping up with the Joneses but for the Chinese it’s more by outdoing your relatives, friends & neighbours. Of late it was reported of a wedding banquet for 808 tables held at Liede Village, Guangzhou,

 

That is how celebration takes on the progressiveness of immensity.As a nation, there are other great festival celebrations such as Autumn Spring Festival or known abroad among the Chinese folks simply as Chinese New Year celebration, an occasion to match Christmas, or if not to outmatch it.

 

National holiday such as this create great havoc as great problems arise out of the need to cater transport for mass movement of people – a MUST-GO-HOME kind of thing to celebrate. But these days,the Chinese are beginning to take holiday trips locally to places of interest or abroad for their holidays. With millions on the move, that itself create the atmosphere of celebration.

 

With redness prominent everywhere & the ding & the bang of “noise” fill the air. It’s more “noise” than “music” with the classic display of lion dance & dragon dance for bigger occasions. These dances are performed with great kung-fu skills & artistry – nothing short of great gymnastic performances.

 

A picture is greater than ten thousand words. Here’s a slideshow to depict the colour, size & immensity of Chinese celebrations:

 

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Spring on Falls Road, Lesmurdie, Perth Hills

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View from John & Jen’s Front Garden

Let me take this opportunity in thanking Franco & Francesca for graciously initiating the inaugural First Spring on Falls Road in Perth Hills in 2011.

This Spring in October 2012, John & Jen invited most residents along Falls Road including adjoining neighbours in Nelson Crescent & Maxim Court.

You couldn’t find a more friendly bunch of neighbours in the whole Shire of Kalamunda or indeed the suburbs of Perth.

Franco & Francesca

Congratulations are in order to Franco & Francesca for having conceived & carried out the first gathering. For most people you could be living in a neighbourhood without ever knowing any other of your neighbours.Surely it’s not the case of the conservative English man only coming to greet your neighbour when happened to counter one another while holidaying in the Continent.

Perth Hills is a lovely place to live in, especially on the escarpment with scenic panoramic vista-vision of ever changing lights & colours.With neighbours like what we have, life is further enhanced. A smiling face, a waving hand & that welcoming greeting make all the difference in making for peace & harmonious living.

Lilian & I have been living here on Falls Road since February 1988 in a modest little place we call home that was built around 1979/80. I found this place quite by chance when out driving on my relief from the tedious hours of our delicatessen business in Barberry Square. The city view, the hills and the valley simply captivated me. So from Rossmoyne we found ourselves & our three children from the lowland to the highland.

We found that all our friendly neighbours were similarly attracted to the hills here because of, as the real estate guys will tell you, “location . . . location . . . location”. With straight run along Welshpool Road East, Orrong Road & Graham Farmer Freeway, Perth City is within reach well inside the half hour. You are in the metropolitan area and yet free of the hustle & bustle of city life. Here life is beautiful one day & perfect the next. And you have more friends than strangers along Falls Road, particularly if you are living beyond the junction of Nelson Crescent towards the escarpment end.

Our Host & Hostess – John & Jen

John & Jen, our host & hostess this Spring are a vibrant young couple. She drives a sports car & John’s happily making music with six bands in operation. He is a pretty handyman rendering beauty to the home by the touch of his hands.

Max & Raylene

Max & Raylene, who live  to the back of John & Jen, are very interesting people with rich life’s experiences. In a fast rewind, Max could thrill you with his skills & spills, with more places than you have ever been, & a life’s journey teeming with adventures. He depicts my kind of picture with the concept of “To grow, to progress is to change”. He’s got a pretty good sense of humour.

And he’s always changing for the better, like this house they are living in now. With his hands, he’s transforming it (built in 1976) into a luxurious modern home with every nook & corner of the home enjoying the million dollar scenic view.

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With the glow of the glorious sunset in front

Another Spring is awaiting us to greet an equally

exciting morning sunrise.

Greetings to Perth!

God’s Rosebud

On By PaulLeave a comment

 

In all life’s situation, often there’s a simple solution

to every problem

If only we LET GO . . . AND LET GOD.

Let me share this beautiful story & poem to illustrate my point.

 

A new minister was walking with an older more seasoned minister

in the garden one day. Feeling a bit insecure about what God had for him to do, he was asking THE OLDER PREACHER FOR SOME ADVICE.

The older preacher walked up to a rosebush and handed the young preacher a rosebud and told him to open it without tearing off any petals.

The young preacher looked in disbelief at the older preacher

and was trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly

have to do with his wanting to know the will of God for

his life and ministry.

But because of his great respect for the older preacher, he proceeded

to try to unfold the rose, while keeping every petal intact.

It wasn’t long before he realized how impossible this was to do.

Noticing the younger preacher’s inability to unfold the rosebud

without tearing it, the older preacher began to recite the following poem . . .

“It is only a tiny rosebud,

A flower of God’s design;

But I cannot unfold the petals

With these clumsy hands of mine.”

“The secret of unfolding flowers

Is not known to such as I.

GOD opens this flower so easily,

But in my hands they die.”

“If I cannot unfold a rosebud,

This flower of God’s design,

Then how can I have the wisdom

To unfold this life of mine?”

“So I’ll trust in God for leading

Each moment of my day.

I will look to God for guidance

In each step along the way.”

“The path that lies before me,

Only my Lord and Savior knows.

I’ll trust God to unfold the moments,

Just as He unfolds the rose.”

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Share this beautiful message around & constantly be reminded

TO LET GO…. AND LET GOD UNFOLD YOUR LIFE.

So relax and let go and make Him the Centre of your Life. 

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

 

BAMA – The Shangri-La of Longevity

On By PaulLeave a comment

 

‪中文(简体)‬: 漓江山水
‪中文(简体)‬: 漓江山水 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Longevity is Healthy Wealth

In the Longevity Village of BAMA, China . . .you can find 580 villagers aged 90 years-old and above, while the oldest Loo Mao Sheng (born 1885) is 126 years old in 2015, though difficult to verify as birth certificate didn’t come about till 1949.

Screen Shot 2015-08-15 at 5.29.26 amLoo Mao Sheng (Born 1885) Unofficially oldest living person in the world\

Click to play video

There are 5 such villages all inhabited by the Yao minority community who numbered some 250,000 of which 70 are over 100 years old & 200 in the 90s category. This is undoubtedly the highest per capita concentration of the world’s long life people.

BAMA was honoured in 1991 as “the town of long life”.

In the massive land of southwest China, there’s this land of mystery, with heavenly scenery rarely known by people. Here, among every generation there lives a group of people; the elderly over 90 are still enjoying their time doing farming and taking care of their families; over 90 randomly been seen at leisure in home; almost one hundred people have reached or exceeded 100 and are still in good physical and mental health. In terms of historic documents, the oldest native was 142 years old. Since the foundation of the new China, the longest one lived there was 131 years.

Screen Shot 2015-08-15 at 4.32.08 am

Recommended: Simple diet of vegetables, corn & potatoes; infrequient sex as too much sex is detrimental to health & longevity, plenty of fresh air & sunshine, toil & sweat (no age limit). As I always maintain:

Hard work will not a person kill

But sheer laziness will.

This very place is Bama Yao Ethnic Autonomous Country in the northwest mountainous region of Guangxi. In 1991 Bama was honoured “the town of long life” by the Academy of International Natural Medicine. It ranks sixth after:

The data took from the second national census to the fifth shows the number of aged people increased constantly. For the fifth census in 2000, Bama’s population of people over 100 was 74. Based on the overall population 200 of Bama County, the proportion is 3.1/10.000. The number of people around 90-99 was 456 with a proportion of 19.09/10.000. Bama’s proportion of people over 100 is the highest in the five long life regions. Why are there so many senior aged people? Is there any hidden secret? Great attention has been aroused to Bama’s long life phenomenon in the whole world.

English: A Longji terrace in Longsheng county,...
English: A Longji terrace in Longsheng county, Guilin, China. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Is it the air or clean green environment?

Perhaps it’s their hard work in the open field.

Or it’s the organic spring water that they drink.

It could very well be in their genes.

Could you ensure your own longevity just by living there?

This must be the ultimate Shangri-La!

Updated in 15 & 16 August 2015

No Half Measures . . .

On By Paul1 Comment
Shire of Kalamunda
Shire of Kalamunda (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Haynes St. Kalamunda. Looking down from Hans Cafe

The Shire of Kalamunda, in line with other Shires & City Councils,

has a scheme to aid pensioners & people with physical disabilities to live independent lives by providing them with gardening assistance, meals-on-wheels, home-care etc.

My wife & I have lived in Kalamunda Shire since 1988, and there is no other place in Perth that we rather be than right here in Perth Hills, where the air is fresh & the scenery more beautiful each day.

This is our home. There is no place like home.

Our Modest Home in Perth Hills

Of course, there is no free lunch in this whole wide world. There is always a price to be paid. But in this case, through the passion & compassion of the Shire, payment is subsidised. For instance, in the matter of gardening service as provided through Home and Community Care (HACC), the subsidised rate is only $8.00 per hour.

I am more than well qualified for the HACC Scheme – a man with more than three score & ten years of age, severe backache, severe glaucoma, diabetes . . . what more do I need to say. Initially, I was given two hours of gardening service once every four weeks.

However, one fateful date, one nice old HACC lady came by to reassess my entitlement. I told her at my age I would be lucky to maintain my healthy status quo & not getting any better or worse. That was on 17 of November 2011.

After the assessment, I was taken off the scheme! No particular reason was given. For weeks I was left in the lurch without any help 0r assistance whatsoever.

I wrote in a couple of times with medical evidences but to no avail. The irony was they were not interested in my medical conditions, which means that nothing medical nor age was ever considered. I was made to feel that perhaps it was a case ofracial discrimination. Legitimately, I have every right to my entitlement. But why should I be DEPRIVED.

Now, they reinstalled the service since 6 weeks ago – but only it’s going to be ONCE EVERY SIX WEEKS FOR ONE HOUR ONLY. On Monday, 8 October 2012, Michael our new gardener called and did a wonderful job from 12.45 PM to 1.45 PM. He was specifically instructed to do only our front yard!

Neglected Backyard – Tall grass & weeds
Viewing from right – Neglected Backyard

But what about my backyard? Well, I guess the grass & weeds got to stay long & plentiful, certainly not good for health & summer bush fire!

Michael was telling my wife that he was finding it tough to do his work within the hour allotted. He concurred that more time should be given and MORE FREQUENCY e.g. at once every three to four weeks & two hours at a stretch.

More regular cutting makes life easier for the gardener.

When saving a man . . .

You don’t save him in half measure!