General Chat

Hello everyone. It's cold here too but looks like being a pleasant day - clear blue sky.

Yes, it's a sad time for Linda and a lot of us know what she is going through and feel for her. The only good part is that her Mum had a good long life and that the end was peaceful and pain-free. Thinking of you Linda.

I'm off this morning to have my eyes tested. I'm well overdue for new specs and have had the phone number in front of me for a few weeks, but then found that I need to have the eyes tested as part of the medical check to renew my driving licence, so I'm combining the visit. I wonder if they will combine the fee? This should be interesting!

Good morning/evening all

Sue, Tec, I have responded to Linda. It is very sad and I must admit to having rather misty eyes at the moment

Hello to Patricia and Susan with numbers. Yesterday morning, brilliant weather. In the afternoo the wind got up and last nigh/early morning the heavens opened....no walk for the maid with the hairy legs!!

You may remember me talking about a new 70 km length of road which was opened last Sunday to by pass a bottleneck at Mandurah. Well up to Thursday, over 6000 people have been done for speeding on it. $360,000.00 worth of fines....and that was before the start of the long weekend.

The police never made any secret of the fact that were going to target the road. And from midnight Friday to midnight today its double fines and double demerit points!

Allan

Berona, good morning and my apologies to you. You snuck on whilst I was doing my two finger typing

Allan

Good morning Allan. It would appear the police intend paying for the road with speeding fines.

Sue xx

Sue, another few weeks and it will be paid for.

Whilst I will admit to speeding sometimes, I certainly don't do after the police have advised the public what their intentions are.

The police are also hopping mad that the opening ceremony, as well as the usual ribbon cutting capers also involved the first cars to use the road being waved off by two chequered flags as used at the end on motor races!

Some people enjoy a challenge. The road is supposed to cut 30 minutes from the travelling time Pert - Bunbury: some want to take an hour off!!

Allan

Good Morning Berona and Allan,
Hello Patricia, and Susan with numbers,

Good luck Berona with your eye test, and driving medical, I hope everything goes well with both, and I don't see why you should have to pay separately.

Hi Allan, So has the new road become another lucrative sourse of revenue for the Police Traffic Dept?
Here in North Wales we are plaqued with speed traps, and mobile traps. They have a camera poking out of the rear window of a van, frequently in our village. I do agree that speed restrictions should be observed, but sometimes it does get a bit much - and I feel their time would be better spent doing other police work. End of rant.

Sue, Thank you, I got the University interview, very interesting, and what a fantastic organisation to raise all that money for such a worthwhile cause - good luck to you all in what you do.

Tec

Good night everyone,
I'm going to bed now. I'm feeling a bit tired zzzzzzzzz

Goodnight Patricia - sleep well.

Tec.

Thank you, Tec. Tomorrow (Tues) is our Annual General Meeting. We will see then whether people think the committee have done a good job over the last year. Regardless of who the committee people are there will still be a large group of dedicated hard working people.

Sue xx

Good evening Tec.

I don't know about revenue raising: over here you are advised of the general locality of speed cameras but not their precise location, and I suppost the simple fact is that if you want to thwart (what a nice word) the police in their revenue seeking duties...don't speed.

It's a pity that I haven't taken my own advice as I have had a few tickets and lost demerit points!

Allan

Allan,
I'm really proud that I still have a clean licence after 51 years of driving.
Few close encounters with speed traps, and have been stopped and cautioned twice. Having spent six years doing 1,000 miles a week throughout Wales, at speed, I guess I've been lucky.

Sue, Good Luck with the AGM, I hope it goes smoothly, I still attend the AGMs of two organisations I was involved with, but have to travel a long distance to attend. May have to give them a miss this year, but they will send me the minutes anyway.

Tec

Berona, I haven't said good morning - sorry:-) I hope your eye test goes well - surely they wouldn't charge you twice. Silly question. If they can they will.

The wind appears to have dropped a little today. I hope so. It can be so damaging.

Sue xx

Good morning all

That's rather sad news about Linda's Mother.

Thinking of you Linda at this sad time.

Our weather is still quite cold and showery. I can now see the river(more like a creek) flowing with water, I haven't seen that for some time.

Carole xx

Good morning Carole

Allan

Good Morning Carole,

So you won't be paddling in the river today then?

Tec

Morning Allan and Tec.

No.. Tec, no paddling for me. It would be fun though!!


Morning also to Sue and Berona xx

Hello, Carole. Rainy weather is miserable but I guess when it's so badly needed you can't complain. It would be typical if the river now overflowed and flooded the land. It's happened before now.

Sue xx

I don't have a problem with speeding - and I'm not one of these slow oldies either - I'm a 'go with the flow' type and people who think they own the road don't worry me. I let them have it to get them out of the way. I no longer do long trips - just local necessary ones and my once a week drive between peak hours. Once traffic starts to worry me - I'll quit.

This is my first year of needing a doctor's OK for my licence. It was a bit confusing because it is separate from actually renewing the licence. I had a 5-year licence which runs out this week, so I had to visit the RTA office and have my photo taken again - and they renewed the license for another five years!! The lass who renewed it, asked me to read the bottom line of the eye chart. I took one look at it and thought "I'm done!" No way could I read those five little blobs. Then she laughed and said "No, read the fourth line above it". She was having a joke with me - and I could have choked her! I most definitely can't see me driving five years from now. My children would chain me to the bedpost if I tried. I am only waiting for my 14yo grandson to get his license and I will give him my car to use or trade in. It's in prefect nick - 92 model with only 71k on the clock

The medical check is based on birthday, but as my licence is due in early October and my birthday is late October (and the car is registered and insured in mid-October), so it is all done at the same time. It wasn't until I rang to make the appointment with the doctor that I was told about the eye test. Our licenses are free - but the doctors and optometrists are doing all right out of it! The only good to come out of it for me, is that it is making me move to get the new specs!

Hi Sue

I would welcome any flooding in this area. Its seems there is a lot of flooding in the eastern part of our state.
I'm looking forward to the bumper crops of fruit and veg this season, Ive now started buying all our fruit and veg from a market gardener not far from where we live. Its so much fresher than the supermarket!!

Carole xx

Berona, I can sympathise with. WA has just introduced mandatory reporting of some medical conditions before renewal off driving licences.

diabetes is on of those: so off to Doc's for a check up, everything fine. A few days later I saw my dr over another issue and she told me that she had a phone call from the licensing mob wanting to know what meidcation I was on for diabetes...her response none, I currently don't need it. Letter back from licensing people every thing fine except that I have tow wear "suitable visual aids" back to drs, eyes tested, fine. Letter from dr saying eyesight ok. Letter sent to licensing office.

Licence renwed for two years only and still endorsed with visual aids and before renwal in 2011 I have to have another medical!

Fortunately my dr bulk bills me!

Allan