My Blog

Canon ........ Cannot .......😩🖨

I installed and registered my wifi printer and it works ......

That's what I'd like to shout but as usual my combatant relationship with technology continues.

I could feel the adrenaline pumping, the endorphins increasing and my excitement growing as I got to the point where the test print was in my hot little hand.

I breathed a sigh of relief and thought I had just had another minor victory over my arch nemesis - when nooooo - not quite- my limited techno skills deserted me and the Canon instructions written only in Spanish complete with a broadsheet full of minuscule diagrams had long been abandoned.

Normally I'd just give up - my eye sight really doesn't like computers and my brain starts to ache - plus I HATE TECHNOLOGY - life however has seemed to dictate that I have to live with it.

I really appreciate people who are illiterate through no fault of their own - that is just how I feel when I have to hack my way through the cyber jungle.

My achievement was to get to this point - over time I have 'mastered ' social media - Ben would argue!! I can take selfies and use snap chat - Leigh and Sian would argue. Peta knows I have a way to go with Webinars........

Browsers for  me are people strolling through a library and cookies are a treat for afternoon tea.......

I can use photo box and email and wouldn't be able to DIY if I hadn't conquered Google - good grief - I even know how to use google maps - so I have made headway 😀👍😀👍

Now before Gen Y starts rolling eyes and  thinking OMG - 'it's not that hard ......'

Remember the changes we dinosaurs have experienced over many keyboard free years.

I watched a big boxed black and white version of Bonanza as a 6 year old when television first hit our shores - Boss leaning against a haystack - don't remember ?! - old Western😀👏

Didn't have a phone until I was 15 and it was attached to the wall and conversations limited to daytime hours and nothing after 7 - unless it was an emeregency

With my high school mates gathered together in the school hall we watched the moon landing, jaws gaping and incredulous at the miracle of mankind's ingenuity.

Air conditioning was non existent and the only cooling system was a fan propped on top of the TV.

Holidays were day trips on a bus to Rockingham.

Family emergencies were transmitted via telegrams.

We wrote letters and sent postcards.

We greeted friends and family at birthdays and Christmas with missives that didn't include well placed symbolic emoticons.

We read books for entertainment and went to the movies.

We paid bills with cheque books.

At this point I can feel a collective groan but you get my point - life just didn't come with buttons and screens and mobile devices that contribute so much to speeding up an already hectic 21st century life style.

So if I take pleasure from my small victories be patient.

The learning curve has been almost Mount Everest for me.

A lesson in life - we all have our obstacles and aversions but with time, patience and perseverance we might just learn something .

Been a while......never too late ........

This blogging thing is new to me .

There's a lot that seems new lately.

I used to wait for inspiration before I wrote anything ,liking to share stuff that might be thought provoking .

Sometimes there seems to be nothing to say that anyone wants to hear or read. I reflected on why I was in such a cerebral waste land and realised that maybe real blogging is just writing about what's on my mind.

I have been trying to do a lot of self development lately having realised that a lifetime spent dealing with a bureacracy has left me fairly bitter, twisted and cynical.

I want to change and have gone some way in improving.

I work hard to alter my attitude by thinking differently. I feel the changes have been significant.

I feel more positive and proactive about changing my life direction - I've jettisoned the words 'trying' and 'it is what it is.....' !!

I always thought I was self motivated and able to operate without too much direction - I rated myself as an autonomous worker.

Life as a network marketer has been challenging - I'm discovering so much about myself .

I talk to people and get to share a product I will use for life.

I have tools, meetings and Webinars at my disposal and all the assistance and guidance imaginable .

It is so different to what I am used to doing and it is interesting to learn all over again.

A little like a Year 1 learning to read I feel invigorated to start the learning process all over again - it's almost like I am getting a second chance to find alignment in life.

It's starting to annoy me to hear people say -' I am who I am ' and 'I can't change'.

We can all change if there's room for change. Very much a product of our upbringing  and the combined forces of  the turbulence of life we are sometimes not exactly who we want to be- if we look back on the promise and hope of our youth  some of us would probably not recognise our selves if we looked in a mirror.

I watch people in their twilight years , much more mature than I and wonder at the toll the years have taken. They look beaten down physically and in spirit and you can't help but wonder at how things  might have been different if they had kept the spirit of hope and opportunity of their youth.

I look differently at celebrities now - I use to think they were self absorbed and vacuous but now I see that they probably just saw an opportunity and took it.

Imagination, vision and dreams have been for some replaced by chasing the dollar and working the everyday tedium of bills and chores.

Not everyone can chase dreams and 'pie in the sky' but I am so happy  to be able to have the chance to maybe reinvent myself and chase my dreams.

 

Twilighthilight years

I named my domain twilighthilight years because in so many ways I am enjoying the best years of my life.

Blessed with a visionary daughter who saw the health benefits of a great nutritional cleansing system, I started using the products 5 years ago. Endowed with renewed vigour and stamina I found full time teaching less of a chore and though overwhelmed with work load I felt in charge of my life and balanced in mind and body.

I was able to start a fairly hectic gym regime as well as my regular morning meditative runs and found it increasingly easy to define muscle and maintain weight.

39 years ago I ruptured my ACL and never having it treated combined with constant repetitive exercise , also had a year in the meniscus and Osteo arthritis.

I had never let it stop me from being active but  as time and age took it's toll I found the pain in my knee increasing, movement becoming limited and sitting for any period of time with my knee crooked almost unbearable. I found myself crying in pain one day when I'd had to drive a long way and my knee was screaming.

After a short time on joint repair supplement I was doing high impact cardio gym classes and achieving PBs in fun runs without any effort .

I had a renewed lease on life and spurred on by a product that offered me rapid recovery from injury I took on any physical challenge offered. I did a cross fit competition earlier this year😀

Several ladies at the gym recently commented on poor sleep and the conversation eventually turned to the age old symptoms of hot flushes and irritability . I had nothing to say and really didn't process the conversation until asked directly how I managed this twilight period of my life. I didn't know how to answer. I'd only just realised that at 60 I was probably the most even tempered ever, slept deeply every night and except for the fact I hadn't had a period for several years didn't really fully realise that the hormonal change had been and gone!

With vision comes self belief and hard work and so my children, fuelled by a belief in a product owned by a company with the mantra to improve the health and wealth of everyone on the globe , beavered away at sharing this wonderful system, making a comfortable income just by being products of the product. This residual income became substantial until their motivating goal became a reality and I was retired thanks to their success.

Subsequently I have travelled extensively and live life at my own terms now keen to start my business and share a product that has made a massive difference to my life in so many ways.

We are able to enjoy family time without stress or burden of conventional work hours and though two of my children now live overseas we still see each other at least 4 times a year in different parts of the world.

Words can't express my gratitude. 

I am blessed with energy for life and a drive to live unhindered by self or work imposed restraints , testing my limits and looking forward to seeing more of the world.

I can't imagine how life would have been for me if we had not said yes to this opportunity 5 years ago . I know I would still have been happy and fulfilled , blessed to have 4 wonderful children and health and comfort.

Given the years of struggle to achieve my wonderful life it is the icing to the cake that I can really live a life of freedom and abundance 

Apart from the obvious benefits of this system I have found a wonderful community  of like minded  people all over the globe and this is by far the most wonderful gift of all.

I never would have imagined the turn my life would take and I really give thanks every day for my life and my family and my extended community.

i could write so much more and the more I read the more I feel I have understated the impact that this product has had on my life in so many ways . Health, wealth, self development and community these are truly becoming the hi light years 😀😀

To give or not to give.......

I have once again run the gauntlet at the shops , ducking and weaving hawkers who are working  for charities - I say it loud and proud because I am so upset with myself that I have turned into one of those arrogant shoppers who races past these Angels of mercy , gaze averted like I am competing against Usain Bolt🏃🏃

I pride myself on giving to charities and so this current trend worries me and makes me take stock of how I am reduced to this sorry state of affairs.

I always answer door knockers politely and even though I often have to be blunt I listen to them and then give my reasons for declining their offer, gently closing the door.

I remember the gentleman who when told the 3 charities to which I regularly donate, proceeded to convince me that I should shuffle my charitable donations.

He explained that his charity was so good it received significant government assistance - to which I answered - 'you don't need me then....'

Having trudged the streets of strike ridden Newman many years ago, attempting to sell unseen Perth investment properties to families who were living off savings in the midst of by then  a ten week strike, I am well versed with the pitfalls of cold selling.

I was accosted my dogs and feral drink sodden miners and shut out by gates and alarm systems that would do any prison proud.

It is a confronting business.

You do have to take deep breaths and take the good with the bad - much like life😀

You never know what each day will bring but you do know that you have to keep plugging away as on top of your meagre retainer you may actually get commission if you go that extra yard.

I also sold door to door Gold Platter books , flogging entertainment restaurant vouchure books.

Remember this was an era pre Internet and WWW and these offers were fresh and novel and only  available from underpaid,struggling job seekers. Even with that said it was an unenviable trade and except for the fact that you could hone your diplomacy and conflict management skills was a job best avoided unless DESPERATE.

I was my fittest during this period as I walked non stop up hill and down and often had need to sprint away from savage dogs .

Do these charities not realise that we are besieged by fb, snail mail and phone marketers all touting their wares!?

I hate to be off hand and ignore these undeniably deserving charities but I simply have to say No .

They really do themselves no service as we gradually are becoming  a society who looks away and pretends that we are busy rather than deal with the sad realisation of another charity in a line of so many.Shaming potential donors seems to be another preferred stratagem employed by the shopping centre spruikers - 'yes I imagine there are a lot of blind people in the world....'

I wholeheartedly support all charities and their devotion to raising funds for worthy causes.I just wish there was a better way of drumming up funds. Shopping centre approaches involve signing away monthly contributions on credit/ debit cards - whatever happened to a gold coins or a spare note proffered when a gently shaken can is extended 

I love Salavation Army as the can shakers have been true to the spirit of giving for so long and I trust and respect their perseverance and endurance - maybe that is what other charities will have to do - tread the boards until we all look at them with a sympathetic eye and a willing purse

 

Living in the Truewoman Show

I don't get reality television.

Don' t get me wrong - I'm not going to take the moral high ground and shake my head in disdain, marvelling at how these shows get an audience.

I am a long term fan of Judge Judy.

When days were tough - money was hard to find and troubles seemed to be mounting I'd love to sit back and think - 'no matter how bad life is at present it's not as shit as this......'

I'd get a degree of comfort from the fact that I had the security of my little world far away from the tedium of court cases and litigation.

No matter how hard things got at least I wasn't wallowing in misery in front of a hard nosed judge intent on making all those in front of her wish they'd sorted out their problems away from the glare of cameras and global scrutiny.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I watch Little Women of LA as it is probably the crowning piece of reality tv train wrecks - following the lives of little people who constantly complain about people staring yet fight in public drawing an audience wherever they go.

I don't get the fuss over The Bachelor - who cares !?

How does it serve any purpose to watch matchmaking of the most gladiatorial kind - where week by week one after another lovelorn female falls by the rating's road side.

I understand that it is entertainment and  it is meant not to be taken seriously - but really - it's someone's love life.

I understand that we like to live vicariously but are our own lives so devoid of drama and excitement that relishing someone else's failed attempt at love is an alternative.

I was ambivalent about about some shows but I think that was partly due to the fact that there are so many on both Fox and commercial television I had to justify watching them.

You can't miss them if you seek any down time relaxing in front of the idiot box.

But really - shows with children who are subjected to swearing, fighting, loud mouthed mothers who whilst being on 'their children's side' put them in the most horrendous situations.

Couples who have loved and lost, finding their one true love and wedded partner the day of the marriage and then have the rest of the marriage chronicled on  television in front  of the eyes of the world. I guess those who fail the experiment must feel a little short changed as heaven forbid they didn't find their soul mate on a tv show.

I do enjoy the cooking, design and tattoo shows as I like to watch talent develop and unfold until a winner is named.

I also find that after  some time I am avoiding the angst riddled shows - they seem to have become so offensive and I really wonder why, when I so actively avoid drama is my own life I watch conflict on a staged tv show .

Why are we watching felons, wife haters, alcholics and drug users !?

Surely we should be watching uplifting shows that take us out of our doldrums by showing us a better life rather than one motivated by 15 minutes of fame.

I have been watching less tv lately and so this has just been a revelation for me.

I have decided to live life instead of watching other people's attempts.

Never a fan of celebrity I will never understand how a entire culture is sculptured out of a family whose only claim to fame is that the Patriarchal head once defended a criminal and then passed away.

Do we ever wonder at the role models these show create!?

I know for a fact that I'd rather my values were at least shaped in part by the actions of people who have quietly and calmly gone about their business giving and contributing to society without the constant validation of a television audience.

 

#realitytelevision

 

 

 

 

Free will or free won't.......!?

Democracy is a funny thing - very fluid - very open to interpretation apparently......

I always assumed that though relatively subjective, Democracy should somehow reflect the common  values and philosophies of the community it represents and though there is room for movement it is a unifying form of governance.

Australia's form of democracy appears ever evolving and flexible.

We can vote someone into the senate who froths vitriol and hate as a maiden speech yet everyday in the paper we read that our government extols 'inclusivity and open mindedness'.

The very speakers of this grandiose claim then argue that gay marriage is not part of the Australian way of life!!??

Sometimes I wonder if democracy works for us as we are always able to just go with the flow and knee jerk with whatever the 'flavour of the month' dictates - hate Muslims this month - ok sounds good??

Free detainees this month - ok - sounds good....

 

Confusing  for those who keep up with the news , brain numbing for those who don't even look at a newspaper but positively contradictory for those who seek some sense of refuge and support on our shores.

I' m not sure about a democracy that allows such a rant about Muslims and their cultural dress when those in authority know that similar rants in Europe have contributed to terrorist attacks.

Do we think our democracy is secured by the fact that our shores are isolated!?

The argument forwarded about equal marriage rights seems to be lead by the extreme right who appear to use the notion that 'gay love is not normal and should be reconditioned'

I could go on forever about the unfortunate word 'normal' and list the number of disastrous potentials of heterosexual partnering but ultimately how do we even listen to this facile way of thinking - maybe the bible bashing right have big wallets and an even bigger influence in government - but hey that' s just the cynic in me 😀

I know that when I met my heterosexual partner with whom I went on to have 4 children there was a chemical attraction - I'm pretty sure that the initial attraction was motivated by libido and not any cerebral activity.

I know that we talk about and value personality and humour but let's be honest if we don't 'fancy' our partner we're aren't going to couple and truly it's that law of attraction and 'coupling' that makes offspring😀

To argue that we should condition our young people to 'grow' out of their homosexuality is ridiculous. Who would choose to be part of a marginalised minority that has to constantly be scrutinised and fight for acceptance and basic rights - what - are all gays people just massive attention seekers!!!!

If I'd been allowed to think about my sexual partner in a sensible fashion driven by matters other than the flesh I'd have to say things may have been different - we can't choose how we feel.

Feelings are loose and flexible and different for everyone otherwise the same things would anger, sadden and uplift everyone - we'd be one amorphous lump of humanity.

I'm not sure if this democracy works for me - I value freedom - the intrinsic core of democracy but that freedom has to encompass speech, religion and the basic right to marry and have a family. Isn't that what it is all about - isn't it why people flock to our shores for this very reason -free of poverty, war and hardship to find love and happiness.

It is everyone's basic right and I don't think democracy should be used to dictate what is right and wrong for its citizens especially when it allows it's democratic process to elect people who seek to quash basic rights.

Maybe if gay people are going to be treated as second class citizens they should take out some kind of class action - after all they're still good enough to pay taxes and keep this wonderful democracy afloat.

 

Howtolookgoodhowyoulook......

Just a short rant today.

I have been watching the Paralympics recently and have marvelled at the physical feats achieved by people who have had to overcome incredible adversity.

I have also been watching a show about bizaare bodies featuring some of the most cruelly disabled people on the planet - disfiguring facial tumours, deformed limbs and life threatening conditions.

Very humbled, I reassessed my recent preoccupation with my aged skin, prematurely thin and sagging because of many years of skin abuse. I felt so embarrassed that I could be so vain and so    distracted by the hype of the 21st century that has us all looking at skin care, cosmetics and fb filters that seek to improve on the real thing.

I have never cared about how I look and at this time of my life should probably be thinking more about the goodness within and how that glow can shine through any exterior imperfections.

Already embarrassed by by own insecurities in the face of so many confronting REAL physical roadblocks I was further moved by an horrendous show on reality tv where bedraggled housewives, disatisfied with their failing looks, stretch marks, sagging boobs and fat stomachs are encouraged to look at themselves in a more positive way by shedding their clothes and facing their nudity.

OMG - really - people are struggling to live with limited limbs and massive cancerous deformities but our first world love of glamour has us seeking perfection in an already adequately functioning body that allows us family , work, life and a future.

I will only have to watch a cyclist striving for gold on the world stage with no hands or feet realising that I can't even ride a bike to assess my priorities and be grateful.

I think we get caught up with body image to the point where we don't really realise the only image that matters is the image we project through our thoughts, actions and attitudes.

#bodydysmorphia

I don't get it.......

I have never understood the need to drag people down or wage vitriolic campaigns of hate against people or alternative programs or philosophies . I particularly don't understand people who hide behind social networking to wage these campaigns - come out from behind your pseudonyms and become informed so as a legitimate discussion can be conducted.

In our complacent Australian style we argue that it's just 'tall poppy syndrome' and shrug it off as part of our psyche and whilst not liking it is - 'it is what it is.......'

Little wonder that some of our finest young minds are driven to leave our sunny parochial shores for more enlightened climes.

I have always been a harsh critic - always someone with an opinion that I am not shy in voicing but I will NEVER understand bagging out people or alternatives with a methodical , systemised program of uninformed hate that seeks to destroy any good effects of that alternative.

Surely in this conflict ridden, miserable,  stressed out world if something helps people find happiness why should it worry anyone else? If you don't like something don't use it !

Most people who know me well know that I was a struggling single mother who raised 4 children without much financial or emotional support as I have no extended family and except for a wonderful giving mother who helped in the early days I did it on my own.

I was grateful to be a working teacher who could juggle hours and commitments to be an active mother whilst still keeping the wolf from the door.

Anyone who thinks it was easy - doesn't know me at all.

There were times I couldn't pay the electricity or phone bills, get the car fixed or feed the pets but we managed and I like to think that the kids wanted for nothing despite bordering on bankruptcy more often than I like to admit .

I had come from a single parent family raised by grandparents and lived in state housing my young life until I left to work in the north . We didn't own a car, never went on holidays and lived a frugal working class life.

I am not bitter or resentful about any of my history but rather use it to construct context.

To make a long story short - Isagenix came into our lives.

Peta went from a stressed out PH.D. student to a reenergised product user and business builder who now seeks to awaken Gen Y to their genius - Ben went from a burnt out brickie who already showed the signs of RSI to a globe trotting advocate and speaker for Health and wellness. I became less stressed and feel like the clock has been turned back as I push my body more and more to achieve physical and personal goals. Leigh as a successful special needs EA has a successful part time wellness business and Sian continues to share the product and is a product user. All able to live and work by their own terms enjoying family and friends without letting life slip through their fingers .

I can't begin to describe the difference this product and this company has made to every aspect of our lives - physically , financially and spiritually. I travel the world and live a life of opportunity mixing with some of the most inspirational people I have ever met. Every event I attend is uplifting and motivating and the culture is one that surpasses age and nationality and is truly built on friendship, global harmony and a united urgency to help world health.

I remember many years ago when I lived in Dampier a young man who had become a regular drinking partner at the front bar of the Mermaid caught up with me in Perth many years after we parted ways.

He had been a fairly miserable, lost character going from work to the bar on a daily basis without much hope or future.

At our Perth meeting I barely recognised him as he was vibrant and alive, spruiking the value of a program called The Greatness in You - he was full of enthusiasm and exuberance and telling me that the program cost $5 000  but was for him a life changer.

I was so impressed by his renewed love of life I couldn't argue that the program had lived up to its name but without the funds I just had to admire his revamped self.

At no time did it ever cross my mind to argue that it was just a revenue spinner or one of 'those fads' - it clearly worked and maybe not for me it had certainly achieved its purpose with my old friend and who was I to say anything bad about it!?

What do detractors hope to achieve!? Couldn't their energy and obvious computer skills be put to a better purpose!?

If you don't like something and feel you have legitimate reasons  - don't use it 

If it is working for others and not affecting you what is your problem!?

I don't understand and will NEVER understand this mentality .

As a child I remember the story of CY O'Connor who seeking to achieve his groundbreaking engineering feat was subjected to demonising that resulted in his suicide and now we have statues  adorning Fremantle and Cockburn, acknowledging his vision.

Many great minds and thinkers have had to overcome negativity and naysayers but it doesn't make it any easier to understand - how many geniuses do we need to create an IPhone, fb or electrical cars to realise that we don't know it all and maybe someone else has a better way !?

#getalife#networkmarketingrules

Bullyingbynumbers

I hate bullies

I can unequivocally say that I understand the bully psyche really well - I was one for quite a few years in my formative youth

I'd had a really sheltered upbringing and wasn't really encouraged to make friends so when I entered high school after Primary school as an innocuous bystander in the game of life I decided that I would get life's brownie points by playing one upmanship on the most fragile human being I could find.

I will always feel the need to apologise to Joy Kennis  - my relentless preoccupation with making her life miserable formed most of my memories of the first year of high school and I will always feel soooooo ashamed.

When social conscience and maturity kicked in I realised the error of my ways and Joy and I actually became friends.

I remember Joy being quiet and considerate and never doing anything that would make her a target and may be that is why a gutless wonder like myself could take such advantage. I honestly never believed I was doing anything wrong - she seemed happy and I had a hobby!!

When that twig in my fragile brain snapped  I realised that taking the piss out of someone on a regular basis was the province of someone really pathetic and low. Clearly I had so little self esteem that I sought to find some credibility in belittling someone else.

The realisation was so harsh that I became a total advocate of anti bullying .

I became someone who stood up for kids in the street confronted by teenagers much older and stronger, I was instantly incensed by anyone who treated people poorly and always found my voice to act in their defence.

This was probably the cathartic moment when I stopped being weak willed and mealy mouthed and became vocal - a quality most would say needs calming  down .

As a high school teacher I was constantly in the presence of bullies both amongst the students and my peers.

We take bullying very seriously as Educators facilitating the 'no blame ' philosophy and steering both victim and perpetrator through the murky waters of victimisation with a certain degree of success.

I have always believed that in order to bully one has to have a compliant victim - you have to allow yourself to be bullied - so my rule of thumb always included resilience strategies.

Interestingly though Educators can advise and mould the young , when confronted by bullying peers they fold like a deck of cards. We seem not to be able to recognise bullying when we are the victims in the workplace - we justify it as jockeying for position or we tolerate it as otherwise we might suffer the consequences particularly as most workplace bullies are in authority .

Bullying has become insidious in the 21 st century

It is harder to recognise - it doesn't always involve swearing, insults and brandished sticks.

The era of social networking has enabled a whole new breed of bullies to thrive and grow, cultivating their art behind the veil of the written word.

The modern bully isn't always that obvious. 

The modern bully is generally very good at masking the true intentions of his/her malice .

It was easier when bullies wore snarling leers and were big burly hulks who cleared a room with their very presence.

Modern bullies mask their intentions and often have us justifying their actions as harmless or motivated by a greater good that needs some hard and fast home truths regardless of the hurt it causes.

People shield bullies these days - partly I think because they are hard to recognise and also because those of us with any finer feelings simply refuse to acknowledge that adult bullies exist.

My natural inclination to seek out bullies and call them out makes it hard to act as most see my actions as counterproductive but I know better than anyone unless they are not called to question they will only get worse.

#bullybusting

Poorly made

I remember reading an article about Steve Jobs and it reported him telling his daughter that he hadn't connected with her because he was 'poorly made'.

It was such a light globe moment for me - I remember thinking that I was as flawed as one of this century's geniuses.

Never have I heard it said so simply and so succinctly - I have always felt like a jigsaw puzzle put together badly or a missing link but to say - 'made poorly' really acknowledges that  the parts are all there just not in a fully functioning manner.

Not long after I watched Tony Robbins 'I am not your guru' documentary and reflected that I once had announced to a colleague that I don't sport a beard and a turban and that - 'I am not your guru....', thinking flippantly that I had something in common with yet another groundbreaking contributor to the 21st century.

Robbins makes the comment that he forgave the transgressions of his past and thanked all negative events and people for their place in his history as it made him the man he is today.

Again - a light globe moment .

It became so liberating to simply realise  that without the rejection of my past I wouldn't have any of the attributes that have made me the person I see today.

I have always known I have some great attributes but I have not always liked 'me'.

I have used the excuse that rejection and a dysfunctional childhood made me feel disconnected and devoid of self esteem.

I love the feeling that I can divest myself of that feeling and realise that this childhood has given me some of my finest qualities .

 Interestingly last Friday I walked past what was once Rosie's pub in Freo and realised that it was once again called 'the Federal' - a public house of my youth. I stopped in my tracks as all the memories of my childhood flooded back as I wondered at my shocked reaction.

I looked through the front door and saw as clear as if it was yesterday