FROM THE DESK OF ROLAND ALONG

Binge Drinking, Teenage Drinking, Public Drunkenness, Domestic Violence, Physical and Verbal Abuse are all known to be closely connected to the use and/or abuse of alcohol. So why do our elected officials hypocritically criticise the misuse of alcohol on one hand whilst making it increasingly easier to get on the other and then think that raising the drinking age will solve the problem.

Do you believe the advertising industry thinks of the negative impacts when promoting their products, of course not. Just as the car industry worries about pollution the breweries worry about drunks.

Holy Mother of Mary in some places you can even get a haircut while being able to get a drink. I doubt it will be very long before you can buy a Jim Beam at the Mc.Donald’s Drive-thru (sic) or the Churches install bars in the Parish Hall. When a Pole Dancer waves it in front of your face it’s hard to ignore and it’s the same with booze.

Oh! Dear we need a law to stop binge drinking but not one that stops kids from buying it. We need a law to prevent young people buying it but not one that prevents them from serving it. We need a law that stops people from drinking and driving but not driving with drink. Only the other day I was at the NQR checkout when a customer tried to buy alcohol and was refused. The Cashier was under the age of 18, and fearful either of us might have been with the Thought Police told the customer they would have to come back when someone older was manning the shop. The look I got from the other customer was that of total disbelief.

Once it was only ‘people of good character’ who were licensed to sell alcohol now it’s the unchecked and possibly under-aged operators of Aldi, Woolies, Coles and twenty dozen Bottle Shops who are allowed to shove it in your shopping bag.

We forget that children can access drugs and alcohol easier than they can access schools or training courses and unable to get one will go for the other, and lest we forget the era of ‘Prohibition in America’ when organised crime took off like an Atlas Rocket and is still out of control. And don’t get me onto the subject of C.I.A backed Heroine which flooded back into the United States with returning troops from Vietnam.

But is it just alcohol or a combination of alcohol and drugs? I believe illicit drugs are far more dangerous than alcohol will ever be, and a few pills popped with your Red Bull can be far more devastating than a bottle of Vodka. As cigarette smoking was reduced by education of the health effects and not by price so the same can be done for all manner of drugs whether they be prescription or not.

From an early age we are teaching our children to pop pills for all manner of health control or benefi and making it a positive activity. Our kids become so involved with pills that make you feel ‘better’ it is not a very big step to take before pills that make you feel ‘good’ are just as readily consumed without any thought of the consequences, after all Mummy gave me pills three times a day and they didn’t do me any harm.

Much of the problem of alcohol fuelled violence is with a combination of booze and drugs together, not just alcohol on its own.

In the end it is really drinking at home that is the problem. It’s not what is consumed it is where it is consumed. In the pub there is a certain amount of social and managerial control, step out of line and you soon get to know about it but in the privacy of the home it is unchecked open season for violence, abuse and assault with no social controls or supervision. Maybe it’s not drinking and driving that’s the real social problem but the home environment in which it is consumed.

THE IDEAS BOX

ANTS

Many ant species can be found creeping and crawling around like Viet Cong revolutionaries and generally making a nuisance of themselves wherever you go. Inside the house they quickly find those lollies you left next to the lounge. Outdoors they can smell a Hamburger and Chips an awfully long way away. Ants, although a necessary part of natures environment, can sometimes even be as annoying as younger brothers and sisters.

A nice way to make them go somewhere else is to use natural repellants like Bay, Camphor, Chilli, Citronella or Eucalyptus. These don’t do much harm to little humans either.

Outdoors you can stop them crawling up the legs of tables to join you for lunch by simply placing each leg of the table in some water in jar lids, saucers or cut down old food tins. It is well known that ants do not like getting wet and will do anything to avoid a bath.

If you’re at the Footy and you don’t like them crawling up your legs another great idea is to wear a pair of rubber boots and fill them with water. They will hate you and leave you alone.

Ants beware.

BIG CATS IN LINTON

It’’s all over the news. Big cats have been terrorising over-imaginative people all over the country. They started in Katoomba a century ago and, like cane toads, have crept their way unseen all the way to Linton.

This myth has been around for a long time. Even the Korean thriller made in W.A in 2008 ‘A Million’ featured a spotted leopard in one scene. For some obscure reason leopards have appeared in several Australian movies as well usually just before the girl falls over a sprains her ankle. But Piddles, Daisy and Pansy. Tommy, Fluffy, Dim Sum and Satan or Winkles, Tinkles, Wendy and Bruiser are not about to tear your face off unless you forget to feed them.

Yes, they can be demanding. Yes, they can be painful when the claws come out and grab hold of you in your delicate parts. Yes, they will seem to love people who hate them instead of you. Yes, they leave hairs on everything they touch when not trying to tear it to shreds.

They annoy the shit out of your dog Napoleon and have for months been trying to get into Puthies bird cage or any unsuspecting Swallow. Yes, they do tend to tear mice apart. But NO they don’t stalk and terrify the town after dark. Generally speaking all the fat cats are down in Bannockburn and that’s a pretty long haul for any potential killer of lambs.

It’s all hokus pokus. Panthers just don’t live around us without us seeing them. If they had we would have had a lot of babies stolen out of cots and tents. The last sighting was a bit of panther shit back in 1991 (supposedly matching that of one in the Melbourne Zoo—fancy that) and by anyone's measure that makes it a pretty old cat. Maybe the stories just come from gay males in the bureaucracy being terrified of a bit of pussy and a desire to waste taxpayers money.

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FAMILY PLANNING FOR EVERYONE

‘‘THE WELL’

NESS CLINIC

The Well Ness Clinic would like to advise all the residents of GOLDEN PAINS that there has been such a demand for terminations that the waiting list has been extended to 10 months. We advise that you book early to avoid disappointment.

DOES LINTON NEED ELEVENTEEN COMMITTEES?

Ever since the arrival in town of Wilma Backert and her typewriter their seems to have been a broadside of correspondence to various groups and committees around the town with the main intention of creating dissention. Maybe she is attempting to divide and conquer this once close knit community and bringing us all under her autocratic rule.

The problem appears to be that only about 5% of the town care about the bloody place and are therefore becoming involved in several committees simultaneously. As a result we have heard of examples of the Secretary of one committee writing to the Secretary of another committee, upon which they are both the same person, and blatantly denying having received their own correspondence. Whilst this is a boon for a deprived postal service it has created an economic bubble in local mail delivery. One meeting it is said took more than five hours to get from Welcome to General Business. We did a breakdown of reports and minutes received from the Itty Bitty Titty Committee (ITBC) and found that:-

50% of time was taken up by matters arising from the minutes, 30% from the reading of correspondence, 15% by reports to the committee which had been discussed prior to the meeting, 10% discussing the latest town activity, the Miss Linton Titty Trophy often referred to as the Booby Prize, 8% by tea-breaks and pee-breaks and 5% by irrelevant interjections. Adding up to 118% this meant that everyone was very late getting home after negative discussions surrounding General Business. We checked out the sums with our Science Editor and he described it as a ‘Black Hole’

What are some of the other groups who cross each others paths on Sussex Street but don’t talk to each other and some of the matters they don’t discuss.

The Median Strip Playgroup (MSP) complaint about the C.F.A driving right through the middle of finger painting at the last callout. The Methane Reduction Group (MRG) writing to Golden Showers Council requesting a reduction in rates in return for their contributions to the Carbon Credit Contrivance (CCC). However the Council cited several unfortunate explosions of steers at Linton Park after the insertion of butt plugs and the cost of the beef collection.

The (name withheld) writes to the Progress Association (PA) in regard to the bench seat outside the Post Office (PO) being included in the Victorian Historical Register (VHR) and the exclusion of most of the towns historic churches.

Wilma has admitted writing to the Security Officer of the BBQ Subgroup from the Replica Railway Station Subcommittee which is part of the Linton Community Planning Group at the Golden Showers Council (BSGRRSSLCPGGSC) requesting that a heavy-duty security glass be added to the front of her shed to prevent her from being kidnapped or getting chilblains.

The Happy Valium Chamber of Commerce (HVCC) writes regularly to Linton Police Station (LPS)complaining about the Happy Clappy Church (HCC)seemingly getting far too happy about the Lord and the distinct possibility that it is not Hydrangeas being grown around the back of the toilets. The Happy Valium Progress Association (HVPA) has requested Council to reinforce the Happy Valley Schools (HVS) floor which may collapse if the Church attendees do not cease jumping up and down in such an exuberant manner.

Upsy Daisy, Secretary of the LPA has written to several groups asking them to refrain from requesting funds to buy their own barrows to push and sensibly suggesting that maybe they could share the one or two barrows already existing.

The Federation of Tracks (FAT) circulated a petition to permit the inclusion of barrows in the list of things that could be pushed along the Rail Trail and we finish with the Committee United for National Traditions and Services (C****)has requested that signage be placed at the five entrances to town saying that Linton has their support.

This is but a few examples of the maelstrom of mail that shoots back and forth over Sussex Street. We believe that the lack of numbers for working on committees, mainly due to the interminable talk but no action which bores everybody shitless, needs what in the private sector would be called a little ‘rationalisation’ by maybe either combining some groups or by everyone meeting on the same night in the same room and actually communicating with one another and to hold combined events according to resources and skills to break down the inexplicable historic barriers of parochialism in the best interest of the town.

We could start with the screaming minority joining with the silent majority in just one town activity and see where we go from there.

DEAR DIARY

MONDAY: Poor old Peppie has done his maths and has just asked me where two of his things have gone. The gender realignment surgery went very well except that he was not allowed to run for a week. We had only been home and hour or so when he saw a rabbit and that was the end of the ‘no running’ rule,

Having no longer use for his Cricket Box he wants me to advertise it on eBay and has also realised he has saved a lot of time washing and tending to them and he does have a nice new purse in which to carry his loose change.

TUESDAY: The rain has caused the grass to grow at such a rate that I have had to invest in yet another ride-on mower to blow-up. The last one got itself buggered driving into unexpected holes but I cut off its mower section and now use it like a very slow Dune Buggy around the property. Both of course were second hand and in my case it seemed to be a case of ‘Seller Beware’.

In Oklahoma and Happy Valium the grass is as high as a big goats eye. All I could see today was their backs floating along the horizon like clouds followed closely by the Alpacas appearing above the field heads held high like Loch Ness Monsters.

WEDNESDAY: It’s now the day before tomorrow and all through my house I’ve been searching for hours for one bloody mouse.

Yes the mouse plague has hit us yet again, at least at my place. Oh! The beauty of country life. Everybody else has been getting rid of them, but of course being a hoarder my 20ft Container has been filling up with fat Mickey’s indulging on rapidly depleting feed bins. Maybe I should have purchased a container twice the size to allow for my ever-expanding collection of de-motorised garden implements and homeless rodents.

THURSDAY: A neighbour suggested I really need to talk to an expert about the problems and gave me the name of a good Psychiatrist.

FRIDAY: Oh! Yes indeed the beauty of country life. People in the big smoke may wax lyrical about the neighbourhood in which they live but grey concrete has never appealed to my vibrant reds and blacks. The happy vista of grey skies blending with the city scenery and the even greyer city-folk around me would make me want to Paraglide from the tallest balcony without the ’Para’

Thank whatever deity you worship that I don’t have to rely on elevators beyond the ones that add an inch or two to my height.

The very thought of spending ten minutes rising and falling vertically in a coffin rather than horizontally on foot to my front gate and back for my mail is too tortuous to contemplate. What would I do if I couldn't smell horse shit, tread in goat droppings or watch Peppie crap on our daily ramble around the carport.

I was once asked during an assessment if I ever considered disposing of my soul prematurely after telling them of this contemplation. I replied ‘not before two things have happened’ and then went on to say ‘I’m out of this bloody office and I’ve spent all my superannuation’. Then as a final word I added that ‘anyone seriously contemplating an enforced taking of their last breath would not be stupid enough to tell anyone anyway.

SATURDAY: A nurse at St.John of God, exclaimed when seeing my weight on her doubtfully accurate machine that maybe I should get out and exercise more. Why don’t I buy a bike.

“Dear lady” I said, “ I am so far from decent civilisation that a car is a necessity. A bike ride just to Linton and back would be such a physically taxing hour that I’m afraid my heart would complain most violently, my legs wishing they could be detached and the dogs feet worn down to the extent that he would look more like a victim of thalidomide”.

Finally, to be healthy, I decided to consult my recipe books and watch healthy lifestyle shows on TV for exercise.

According to Gordon Ramsey, because he knows every f……..g thing we need to f….....g know, there is a f…....g cure.

1 Teaspoon of Birch leaves.

1 Teaspoon of Dandelion

1 Teaspoon of Hydrangea

Mix all the herbs, add boiling water and let simmer for a minute. Strain and drink two cups a day. Place the remaining gunk in the compost bin and ‘pray it doesn’t kill the worms’. (I added that bit after I tried it)

SUNDAY: Heavens to Betsy. Woke up this morning to the sound of animals acting the goat. On investigation I find I have another animal problem.

Timmay, the white one that impersonates dogs, had yet another psychotic episode. Now I have to get to the vet to find out what to do with a goat that has developed ‘Turette’s Syndrome’.