The Life and Times of Peter Green
Archive: 1 November - 14 November 2022
 "Peter & Dean on the banks of the Campaspe River- Victoria Floods 2022." |
November 1stA public holiday here which is kind of nice. I even sleep in, well to 8.30. That's not too bad as I seem to be waking up very early in the morning, no idea why but it is now starting to feel like a habit.We walk around the house with our Pumpkin and Skeleton skin cleaning masks, courtesy of MIM the wonderful. We both look like absolute dickheads but hey our skin is beautiful! The Little Kalorama firetruck heads to Euchuca to help out with the floods, that is so great. I call into St Michaels Anglican Church at Kalorama to support their Cup Day Fair. It's a tiny bit famous as this is where Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue got married in neighbours. OK not very famous. November 2ndI manage to get into "Hair for the Hills" for a clip and dye job, looks good. I was chatting to the customer in the chair next to me and she opens her handbag and donates $50 to the DDR for fuel vouchers. I kept fighting it but she kept pushing it. Such a lovely lady. We had a bit of a laugh too. I hate handling money. Also i drove straight off mountain, to the servo and bought the vouchers and grabbed some receipts for her. Still in awe how cool and generous she was. Thanks Cathie.While I am out I call into Sexyland and use my card to put a deposit on a bondage leather dog mask for Halloween. Woof. Who's a sexy puppy. It's great that Brazils heinous ex President Bolsonaro gets the boot. A wannabe Trump style prick. Good riddance to the environmental horror. November 3rdI chat to Ken who is in charge of the election stuff on this side of town, within minutes I am offered two jobs and my OIC will be one of my mates, and I work so well with her so I am excited. Election work here I come. Suddenly my In box is swamped with offers and details from the VEC. OK I am Mr Popularity this afternoon, this feels good.November 4thHappy Birthday to Kevin, lets hope he wins something on the lotto ticket, I certainly didn't on mine. The money Gods have gone on vacation.I bring two chunks of cardboard home from the charity, I figure I will use these to make Maddisons space ship for her Bowie piece. Mark stares at them, is this enough for a space ship?. I also bought a can of silver spray paint. This will be the cheapest rocket ever, thankfully I have all the bits and pieces so that is great. It's meant to be from a kids perspective. I make some lasagnes for Marky and he makes me some pasta for dinner. It's for Marky for when I am away with the DDR, I like to know my best mate is eating well. I do have a surprise for D, the sports print shop at Boronia has embroidered 4 DDR caps. Two for him and two for us. They were so kind, refused to accept any money and they look awesome, big thanks to Marky for organising the best font, colours etc I am hoping this is a nice suprise for Deano. I'm heading off with the DDR for a few days, it's good to be wingman at home but I do love being out in the field, hands on helping people, so delighted when Dean offered again. November 5thI'm at the Olinda bakery, early. The girls seem to enjoy me sitting and having a laugh with them. The sun is out. I stand outside for 10 minutes and charge up my body, feels nice. So much rain, so many grey skies, I am missing the sunshine.Mark helps me move lots of disaster stuff into the back of my car so it is easy to transport into Deans DDR transport. November 6thA fairly early start, he drives all the way to Kalorama to pick me up, bless him. Marky comes out and says goodbye, it's only a short run, but even the small disaster runs seem like ages. A few days are like a few weeks, it's because we squash so much in.I convince him to call into the bakery for one of his ten million coffees. We sit & I pull out the DDR cap. I love the expression on his face. I get a buzz out of making these two fellas happy. That alone is reward enough. He fusses and doesn't need to do so. We rock, we have caps! HA. We call into Benjy sock boys house but he isn't home so grab some stock from his brother and head off again. We are driving across the Westgate bridge at 12.00 and I stare with admiration how beautiful Melbourne looks today. Dean gives me a smile and we chat and of course miss the turn off. Bendigo is on the way and the emergency centre has indeed shut down which we did know. We just kept our eyes open for any strays who might need help. Back up to the flooded Campaspe river and head to some areas I haven't seen before. Rather shocked at how high the river reached and the destruction. I take a photo with Dean and for once I look ok. Fuck Dean it's all about me. HA! Joking. We both look good. We chat to Jeremy at the Elmore Relocation Centre (Elmore Field) which is being set up for people who have lost their houses. It is impressive what they have done, so thumbs up. Good team, we do leave them a box of insect spray too as the mosquitoes are everywhere and they are running out. Thanks Baxter Labs. 39 adults and 12 kids so far have been relocated here. The soggy drive to Euchuca. We run into Sonia from the Salvo's out front, one of the salvo people who really IS great, sadly so many are not. Michelle is taking stock from the centre across the road to the neighbourhood house- handy location so close. We head on over and get a list of what they need and we will do our best tomorrow to fill it. Dean has accommodation under control. Some of the local CFA's are staying at the same place so we chat to them. Kalorama CFA just left to return home. The night duty Police are also on the scene and heading off. We drive out into the night and find a Pizza shop of our choice. Both of us a bit worn out. I don't sleep much, I never do. November 7thI get a text from Kate at Pinchapoo if we can help out in Shepparton. By fluke we just arrived and deliver emergency kits and womens packs to Leigh and Narelle at the Greater Shepparton College. Some of their students are now homeless and in need of supplies so we give them a lot, plus some great pairs of Benjy's socks and the "naturals" insect repellant. Dean looks guilty at the schools reception like he is being sent to the headmasters office. Was he a bad naughty school boy I wonder to myself. HA. The girls are stoked all this happened within 30 minutes, we all look so exceptionally efficient.Next we call into the awesome "Foodshare" at Shepparton and talk to Glenn. They donate some baby powder which is good for the Community hub. Big thanks to Glenn and team. Back to Neighbourhood house and the girls open it up for us, we fill up 2 shopping trolleys of items they need, plus a chat as they are exhausted so I make them smile. We are all having a laugh by the end. One of the ladies comes up and says we are angels and it is the first time she has laughed in a week. They are awesome, once again the community shines. More power to them. Give Amanda and Kerry some of the natural insect spray which smells fantastic. I take a photo of a Maccas surrounded by sand bags at Euchuca, it looks so out of place. Dean tries to find the house of the ex biker we talked to last time and on the way we ran into two old timers at the caravan park. We load them up with cleaning fluids and buckets and socks. One of the local banks had bought buckets and donated some to us so we are handing them out. I've filled them with cleaning sprays, scrubbers (the cloth type not the old horny woman type!! HA though the old guys probably preferred the other scrubbers). We park by the Campaspe and I take some photos of the walk way, washed a hundred metres up into the gum trees. The banks eroded by the brutal force of the floods. So many yards are still flooded and piles of debris everywhere. Sandbags cover parts of the towns and people have that worn out sadness in their eyes. We also are there for people to talk, we tend to listen, Dean has taught me to shut up, about time someone did. He is great at it , I am getting better. I sit under an ancient gum tree and make my daily calls to Marky who I miss like crazy. We drop more stock into the relocation centre , and a few other areas. We are ticking off some smaller places that need help. Going back to emergency centres from last time. Serious driving, serious use of petrol. A big BIG shout out to the many who have donated towards the fuel vouchers, a tiny but of you all are with us and make it possible. Dean matches the voucher money , I buy the coffees. Anyway thank you, you have all helped to get us from A to B. We are still accepting donations for these. NSW floods are currently happening and the DDR is in Orange helping out so whatever was not used in this area is helping with the NSW leg.Yes we are still accepting donation $ for the vouchers (email: petergr@netspace.net.au) We have now emptied the car of all stock so have to get back to the city at some stage to restock for the next segment which D will probably do by himself as I have the election commitment coming up. He surprises me with accommodation and a gorgeous dinner. We head back up north tomorrow. The hotel staff all know him and the room is awesome, brilliant upgrade. Both sleep really well. You are no good to anyone if you do not look after yourself in a disaster zone. Rule #1. November 8thWe call into cafe 41 at Wallam Valley. Nice coffee and a small break. Lots of traffic on the road. Today we ticked a lot of places off the list. Some smaller communities benefited and D stayed focused. The emergency accommodation at the old quarantine centre in outer Melbourne was a tough nut to crack. Lets not go there, I wish we didn't.I think between my car and the DDR vehicle we have clocked up maybe 6000 Kms around the current floods, probably more. It feels good, I enjoy spending time with this friend. Good for Mark to have a break from his exhausting partner too I bet. God I miss him, even for a few days. I remember to send a birthday greeting to Belle in France. Our "break" area always seems to be at Elmore, next to the fake station for the tiny rail system. I call my Mum from that area every time too. Rochester is still recovering, we meet some familiar faces who are happy to see us but they have along way to go. So we agree we have squashed a lot in and time to take me home. A long drive so D asks if its ok we can stay at another surprise location. It feels like a treat each time and I avoid asking where. So I have that silly PG smile when it is the beautiful Mecure at Doncaster. One of the new motels and it is beautiful Dinner is at the Chino Chino bar and Cantina. I keep pushing to pay and in the end it just becomes confusing so i decide to buy several fuel vouchers for the DDR instead. Plus a tiny bit of cash that i have. My pheromones must be leaking as this slightly drunk woman starts hitting on me, it goes from subtle to forceful to stalking. The manager does his thing, I feel sorry for her, probably the only person who does. She starts abusing a few guests next. Thankfully Dean knows the hotel inside out and shows me some secret walkways so I manage to avoid her and not let her know where we are sitting. The views form our table are incredible, this wild wet weather storm hitting Melbourne in the distance, it's quite a show. I buy Mr D and myself some margarita's. Not very well made, I offer to hop behind the bar and make them. A young bloke who we call The Prophet is a sweet heart and spoils us and D hangs out with the manager. Food is delicious and we debrief around the floods. I love our room, I really like this hotel, I really like the staff, I really like the food I really like the secret passages where I can avoid my stalker. I sleep a tiny bit, someone talks in his sleep, hint it wasn't me. Next time I am taking notes mister. November 9thUp early and a nice breakfast. I rarely eat breakfast but this was nice. Some more fuel donations arrive so on the way home I call into Ampol and buy 4 more vouchers.Marky is at the back gate and I jump into his arms. Deano give him a cuddle and I rush inside, in an hour I have to be at the one on one election training. So off to the Monbulk election I go for some training. It goes well, I read the manual in the car park, and while I'm sipping coffee at the cafe next door. I am a few minutes early, Ken comes out, he is one of the head honcho's and I get along fine with him. It's all over in a few hours. People are more interested in talking about the floods with me more than the election. I meet some of my fellow staff members they seem great. I get home and start to crash, the last week has worn me out. I have a bath and recharge. An urge to wear my patent leather jacket afterwards and copious amounts of eyeliner. I think I am Bono in the bathroom. I start singing "Serious Ways" and cut a few fabulous moves. Mark doesn't raise an eyebrow when Bono climb onto the couch with him for a cuddle. November 10thThis morning i return to the charity for the one day. The Salvo girls give me some black shoes for MIM to wear in her Bowie clip. I buy some red spray paint and have some glitter. I'm going to work these babies into something special.Home by mid afternoon and Mark and myself work on the space set, the space ship. I take the shoes to the art room and triple layer them in red glossy and one layer of red glitter. They kind of work but I know they might be a one off use. I am excited as Sis and MIM arrive tomorrow night. November 11thUp very early at Olinda bakery. Certain things in my life I need to come to terms with, the time for my pain has arrived but i can't allow any sadness to creep in as I want Sis ad Maddie to have a good fun visit. I sit alone under a gum tree and just sob. My heart genuinely aches and the weather gods rain on me to hide a few tears. I think they are being kind as it is a light rain. I kick myself up the arse (no mean feat) and pull myself together. I still ache but I have to choice, deal or drown.I hear from a new friend and they are going through major stuff, between us we just both find some sort of solice. It feels good. Marky is amazing but too close, he must be sick of all of this. I feel like I am some sort of emotional dam and the cracks appear and my heart is leaking everywhere. I give myself a slap. It's now gone into high drama and I start to fight it. Maybe it is bluff. At 4.00 Dr Troy calls from Lviv, yes he is back in the Ukraine but I have to say sounding good. He says all the right words, and it helps a lot. He tells me he will check on me every day and there is something good that people care that much to do such things. Late evening and MIM and Sis arrive and it is so good to see them. A late night here. Maddie is excited around the Mars set for Space Oddity. She adds to it, makes suggestions, helps with the Mars sand. She has a few run throughs, wearing the Bowie Ziggy t-shirt. She gives us the best cuddle before going to bed. The house feels very alive tonight. I sleep on and off. Plenty of "What if's". It could be so simple and so wonderful, but there is a selfish side from me too, just wanting my life to be what i want. Is that a Taurus thing? Leo's are worse and don't get me started on Aquarians. They are really fucked. HA. November 12thI am up early and start making a banquet breakfast. Mark arises next and finally Sis and MIM. Lots of healthy foods and some other bits and pieces. This is good.Maddison practices again, I only add two pieces into her choreography, the rest is all her. At 11.00 Mark makes his famous homemade sausage rolls and Trudi turns up. Opening night flowers for MIM and a present. Plus the best red velvet cupcakes ever! Kevin and Laura arrive with wine. Everyone is talking and we decide MIM will put her performance on before lunch. She has a little stubborn moment around the makeup and Bowie wig, a tiny sulk. Hell she is so much like me. LOL. So MIM gets changed and hides in her rocket. The guest are escorted in and have to sit on my bed. I hit the smoke machine and a subtle mist rolls around the Mars scape. The strobes are on and there is Ziggy, in her spaceship, working the dials on Mars. Bowie is singing 'Space Oddity' in the background. It's only later we realise we missed all the subtle nuances that she manages to do during the performance, all from her own head. It kind of blows us away. She emerges from the space ship as Mark wanted and the dance begins. Planet Earth is indeed blue as she points up, she works every inch of the Mars-scape, staying within the camera areas designated by Marky. I hide in the corner and she looks at me for a few subtle sections and manages to get it right. Back into the ship she goes, pulling a funky purple pillow out of the ships storage and falls asleep. The audience goes wild, the proud Uncles are even prouder (is that possible?). Marky sets up the camera angle for a second shot and we do it all over again and it is just as good the second time. Performance over, Ziggy suit, wig and red glitter boots dumped and we all raid the food table and those sausage rolls. MIM loving my Profiteroles but still wearing her Bowie lightening bolt make up. Laura heads in for a few games of pool with Maddie. In the end we all play. I think she hustles us. A lovely afternoon, we all sit, catch up and laugh. I love these friends and so stoked they made the effort. We all wave goodbye at the gate and Maddison gets ready to head into town to see the Harry Potter stage production. I start taking the Mars set down and Marky straight into the office for editing. They get home at midnight and the weather turns a tad nasty. All 4 of us stay up and chat, this is nice. November 13thUp early again and another breakfast. We sit with Sis & MIM outside and feed the sulphur crested cockatoos. Troy checks in and talks to MIM about Doctors without Borders. He tells me later that he thinks Maddison has the potential to be a Dr-that kind of doesn't surprise me. When he is home again he is going to dig around in the storage chest for a present for her. He asks how I am doing, I'm not too bad, not mental just little waves of sadness. I fight it, I want full happiness back. Time will tell, fuck it, its too boring for my diary even. 'Nuff said.The sun is back out but storms again later tonight. We wave goodbye to Maddison and Sis, it went by too fast but so good to see them. I wish they lived closer. Oh well will catch up in a few weeks at Christmas. Mark plays one last game of Pool with MIM. "Just one more, just one more..." I head off for a coffee and take my election manual with me as tomorrow I start on the pre Polling for the election at Monbulk. Covid numbers in Australia are on the rise so I make a note to wear a mask whenever I can during my election work. I get everything packed, I am ready for some solid election work. November 14thI call into the bakery and grab a coffee to take with me, I am at Monbulk early. I meet the crew, my officer in charge is really lovely and the assistant I seem to hit it off with. I start at 8.00 and finish at 1.00 today so eased in and not a brutal day. I had nothing but nice voters all day so that is a relief. I'm pretty good hopefully no mistakes. I grab Mark and return to the voting centre and he pre votes. The staff don't recognise me at the start and ask me if I needed help voting. How funny.Famous for 16 Minutes clicks over it's 660,000th read, so thanks everyone, so many of you have stuck with me since day one. Giant shout out to Debbie Levitt who is so generous with her time putting this up, it really is appreciated. Maddison's Bowie moment is now up on you tube, the very start is a speeded up 1 minute piece of yours truly putting the set up, so please enjoy this. Mark you are awesome- we all love your work. You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge38YKBLU4U That's it for another diary. Those in Victoria, don't forget to vote. Love PG |