Bunnings

 

Image : Daria Nipot

Bunnings is my favourite place to shop next to ebay. Bunnings offers so much in terms of repairs, upgrades, plants, landscaping. Everything to improve your home and hobbies . In a world where we should be sustainable it offers a lot so that you can maintain and repair things. It offers practical help and such a huge range of goods. When trouble shooting a lot of issues at home or for my hobbies, I have always found what I have needed at Bunnings and it has made such a difference. They offer helpful videos online to help solve many house maintenance issues. They have helped me stay creative when it comes to repairing hobby equipment, toys and my home. They welcome children and offer little trolleys but they talk to them too and make them enthusiastic about all these things they can see. Last time I had my three year old grand daughter with me when I was buying paint. She was desperate to see over the counter to see all the things to do with paint an the mixing machine. The man was talking to her and she was asking things. She was given a colouring book and pencils by him. That made her day. She had socialised , learned a lot , been fascinated and then had some colouring to do of her own. 

So it is with a positive attitude to Bunnings that I approach this article about the good people of Brunswick, in Victoria,  fighting having a Bunnings in their area. It is a massive building which commands the landscape. In my area it is a good  landmark   to help orientate others in the area. They cannot miss Bunnings and so if they are looking for the beach or the train station you can direct them easily. I understand some areas need to keep the integrity of their landscape and lifestyle and not have massive eyesore buildings destroying land, habitat and horizons. 

I feel this is a missed opportunity, though. Most people benefit from Bunnings , judging how any Bunnings here is always so busy. It supplies a lot and encourages people to get active and make good changes. The Brunswick people have every right to block a building which would disrupt the look and feel of their area. Bunnings has tried to negotiate and has tried to adapt to the surroundings. This is a great chance for an area to really negotiate with a big, successful company and find a way, both architectually and functionally, of adapting a building to its new surroundings. Is it possible? Do we have architects and planners who can think outside the big box in a very real sense? 

Adelaide's smoking!

The weather in Adelaide is just superb at the moment so we are making the most of it. March is a busy month with festivals, music events, the Clipsal 500. There is plenty for people to enjoy. We weren't planning on the second hand blanket of smoke from the Victorian burn off yesterday, though. I could see it all over the hills and my friend who visited from Clarendon said it was creating low visibility on the road. They could have told us! I was on the net early and there was no sign of us being the recipients of the Victorian back burning. No warning at all. Just wheezing and breathing difficulties, sore eyes and then the constant smell of smoke. We doubted it was us because, as you can see, Adelaide is very green and lush for this time of year. Doesn't mean we can't have bush fires, though. So we were wondering. I think we just thought someone might have let us know in advance. We worked it out for ourselves and carried on regardless. My street has been very relaxed this long weekend. Some have taken the opportunity to have a garage sale, some have fixed fences or gardened, some have been off playing water sports and the feel of my street has been very neighbourly and friendly. The warm weather has got us out into our gardens and it has made for a nice, safe atmosphere.People make a difference. I , too , have used the time to clear clutter and liven my home and garden up a bit. It's amazing what some pleasant weather does to lift the spirits - Victorian smoke or not.

Viewed wins Melbourne Cup

"The man himself says he is a simply a horse trainer."

That was some race...but we'd all been having a lovely lunch and were a bit slow in the afternoon at work...and yes, we stopped to watch the race. The camera work was excellent and the horses in such superb condition. It is great to see such well cared for animals. That finish was a heart stopper but I am glad Bart Cummings won because he is in his 80s and he has brought this country so much joy. He just loves horses and does the right thing by his horses. He is an extraordinary man because, for someone who is so touched by success, he is remarkably unassuming. C'est la guerre came third but the race to the finish by Bauer and Viewed was just awesome. I am glad he won. He is such a special man and he has done so much for horse racing and horses.

Rivals praise Cummings after Melbourne Cup win - Horseracing - Sport

Melbourne Cup

"It's amazing what it does for Australia.''

Absolutely ! We all get gripped by Cup fever and our foodies really do all sorts of special things around the country. Our chefs and cooks really become inspired. Then there is the fashion, of course. We like to see what people are wearing and might even dress up for our work Cup lunches as well. There is always a lot of excitement and the nation stops when the Cup is run. Sweeps are popular and it is just a fun, relaxing day which many of us believe should be a national holiday because it does embody our spirit. Our Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, is backing Zippy and Carson Kressley is backing Honolulu, but the Cup favourite at this stage is Mad Rush. Sounds like a bit how we are at the moment, so maybe it is the one to back. I just wish we all had a chance to appreciate the effort so many places go to to capture the spirit of the day.

Skies clear for Cup parade | The Australian

Peer Punishment

Image via Wikipedia

Peers judging their own is about to be trialled here. We are following a model which has supposed to have met with succes in the US. There is widespread opposition to it as far as I can tell, but I'd rather wait and see. It may just work. The one thing we have to be sure of is that we are having trouble managing the anti social behaviour of teenagers. They are behaving badly big time and we are not doing too well in curbing this behaviour. Maybe their own will have some capacity to deal with them. it is an opportunity to encourage functional teenagers into leadership roles within our community. They may understand better the pressures on their own age group and they may well be able to get through where we fail. Currently it is being trialled in Victoria. We have to do something and we have to be open to ideas which seem to be working. We'll know pretty quickly if it has a good impact or not and by watching teens interact with teens we may well get a better idea of how to help them become more productive and positive.