Friday 10th January 2020 (unedited, sorry)

I haven’t written for a few days because it has been so busy here, although the fire danger has been much less – for us, anyway.

After the Emergency Save the Wildlife, Shoalhaven Inc Meeting on Monday, where a chaotic crowd of people of all ages somehow managed to sort themselves into groups, and skills, and areas - we got cracking. I am not a handy man so making water stations was out, working with injured wildlife is not my core skill (especially when I learned some of the heart breaking sights we would be faced with.  And that baby kangaroos and wallabies have extremely sensitive mouths, and if a dead mummy kangaroo is found with a live baby in her pouch, it should NOT be pulled from sucking on her teat, as their mouths get injured and they die – but a section of skin around the mum kangaroo’s teat needs to be sliced off and kept in the baby’s mouth.  Oh dear God.  f

I chose food, and armed with an approved recipe, we arranged for Four women to meet at our home.  I went shopping and we spent the afternoon making Roo Balls, a mix of oats, molasses, peanut butter and rabbit and guinea pig dried food, which I purchased in a 10 kg bag at the local co-op.  It was messy, but simple, and we made 250 balls, there were a lot of laughs- and not a few sexual inuendoes about size!  We stored them into Tupperware containers, and took them to a group of people heading out to Callala Bay, about 20 kms south of here, which was selected as our closest, needy (and safe enough to enter) burnt out area.  They also took the water stations they had spent the morning making made out of PVC piping, which after filling with water, they tied to trees – and marked on a map – so regular patrols could refill them, and also not ‘double up’ in any one area. The ecology system is delicate, and there are many things we are so ignorant about.  For example, we do not want the animals to become dependent on humans , we do not want to encourage wildlife into suburban areas, we do not want smaller animals eating on the ground to be vulnerable to predators also seeking food, and we do not want uneaten food, or irregular food, creating bacteria and making the animals sick.  Amazing work.

We were a diverse group of women, some were total strangers, but our common theme was to assist our animals, we bonded well and were well satisfied with our day:  we planned our second day, and I went and bought additional ingredients.  Then an emergency alert went out on FaceBook!   STOP!  Stop making the roo balls, the recipe, it was decided, comprised  food and would only make some animals sick – the animals are so starving, they will eat anything, even things they would not normally eat, and some animals digestive system cannot deal with oats or peanut butter or molasses.  Whoa!   Does anybody need a few kilos of oats, peanut butter or molasses? 

Today, with a new plan, six women met at our home again.  Jo Lill had been to the coop and collected boxes of donated fruit and vegetable – pumpkin, sweet potato, apples, strawberries, peaches, rock melon, oranges and honey dew melon.  I covered the tables with plastic cloths, and forming an assembly line, and armed with an array of chopping boards and knives, we chopped kilos of produce.   Gerald cut specific lengths of wire, formed a loop at one end, and then we threaded eight or nine pieces of fruit and veggies on to it. Someone else closed the loop to make a circle, thus creating a garland or wreath, which we stacked into big plastic boxes, and covered with wet towels.  They were then delivered back to the Berry Co-Op for delivery this afternoon with the water station makers to their destinations in the worst affected areas.

We will make more next week.

We are supposed to be at the Elvis Festival in Parkes.   Gerald and I, with Sue and Ross Hobson, booked prime VIP tickets months ago to attend three of Dean Z’s shows – the Headline Act this year – and our favourite Elvis Tribute Artist ever, who we have followed for eight or more years, and seen several times, both at Parkes and at shows elsewhere.    An inordinately talented man, with a voice which sends chills down your spine, if you close your eyes, you are in the room with Elvis himself.   And a man with a gentle and generous heart.  We made the decision not to go on Wednesday afternoon, as we were due to leave at 8 am on Thursday, for several reasons.  One was that the road through Kangaroo Valley, our closest and preferred route, was ‘sparking up’ again.  Our alternative route, through the Illaroo Highway was being used as a containment line for the fires, and the third route was travelling north to Sydney and through the Blue Mountains, already severely burnt – any or all of these routes could be closed off by fire at any point, and Gerald was unwilling to take a risk.  He said “If we were thirty …..” A compelling reason is that the RFS have asked unnecessary travellers to stay off the road, to keep the roads as clear as possible for emergency vehicles to traverse without traffic. And the final reason, for me, was that it seems unethical for me to go away on a joyous trip for five days whilst Australia, and our community, are facing such tragic and terrifying circumstances.   We were all terribly disappointed.  But Parkes Leagues Club – bless them – after speaking to Gerald, refunded all our money, which we have decided to donate to our firies and our wild life.

We’ve had a few lovely things since then:

Elijah Mannah, the amazingly talented nine year old Elvis Tribute Artist, who entertained us at our 50th wedding anniversary a year ago, is in Parkes, with his beautiful parents, Simon and Ev.   We met them there years ago, and have formed a lovely friendship.  I sent Simon a message saying we would not be coming, and why, and how disappointed we were.   The next morning, I received a message from him, with a video, filmed by Simon, at Dean’s insistence.    I burst into tears.   It was Dean Z himself, sending Gerald and I a message of love and support, telling us how sad he was for Australia, and sorry we could not be there in Parkes, and promising to “Sing you a song, anything you choose, to put a smile on your face, the next time I see you!”  Nest to him stood someone he calls “My Little Brother” – Elijah! – grinning – and then he added “We may sing for you!”   Gerald’s face split into an enormous grin when he saw it, it cheered us up and was such a generous, thoughtful, kind gesture – exactly the kind of thing Elvis himself would have done. 

Joshua has called regularly, and we spoke for a long time yesterday.  He has sent us ‘a lil gift to give you a lift’ – we are waiting to see what it is, but know the proceeds has gone to our RFS.   Bless you, Son.

Our friends in Sydney, Les and Barbara Banner are sending us regular updates and photos of Cino, who is staying with them, being loved and spoiled and enjoying her time with Buffy and Buckley.  Zoe and George Sabados, who have Clover, have fallen head over heels in love with her, and yesterday’s video of Clover playing with their little dog, Billie Jean, on their bed, made me both laugh and cry.

And today, I discovered that my beloved Helen Kaminski hat - my second – (the first was stolen from my luggage trolley as I waited in line at Singapore Changi Airport some years ago, and insurance reimbursed me)  can be ‘restored’ by the craftsmen who work at their headquarters in Sydney.  I’ve tried for two years to ‘stiffen’ the straw.  I’ve bathed it, starched it, ironed it, sunshined it and tried to shape it, strategies which last a few days.  Now they are going to do it for me!  For free! – and post it back!   Such a small and insignificant thing, in such terrible loss in Australia, but I feel inordinately pleased.

So instead of dancing the night away with Elvis and my Beloved tonight, we will watch TV, and keep our eyes on the fires which have ravaged Kangaroo Island and threaten more devastation this weekend.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.   So many good people from all over the world, giving money and time and support.  Millions of dollars raised by an amazing Australian comedian – forty million! – by celebrities, by mining magnate Twiggy Forrester – and individuals, all over Australia, doing their bit to help our country.

I’ve been singing for rain.  Some of you may find that a bit woo woo.   But there it is.  Thousands of people around the world are doing the same, including many friends.   Last night, it started to rain, at first the finest mist you could barely see, then a gentle but persistent thrumming – at first only in the back yard, and not the front yard, which was dry!  Then the front verandah began to glisten with water, and it kept its steady pace for several hours.

If you want to sing this sacred song, google this, and you will find a beautiful video of Grandma Nancy, singing, you can sing along with her.   I do.   Once a day.

ALGONQUIN WATER SONG –

PHONETIC LYRICS

Sing this song four times, each time facing one of four directions, in this order:

East, South, West, North.

Let’s sing the water back …..

Nee bee wah bow

En die en

Aah key mis kquee

Nee bee wah bow

Hey ya hey ya hey ya hey

Hey ya hey ya hey ya ho

“We sing this song like a lullaby. The song means the water is the life's blood of our mother the earth. Water is the life's blood of our own bodies” — Grandma Nancy

I’ll talk to you soon.   Love and hugs, Sandra x