The night OJ died

So really it started a few weeks before Judi discovered a lump in her throat which the doctor wasn't happy about so they wanted to do a biopsy and have a look or they were going to just take it out I cant remember but i do know that day, that day that OJ died Judi was in hospital as well.

I picked OJ up from school and whilst we were driving back I noticed that he was very lethargic, very quiet. We got home and it was then I noticed that his breathing was also labored. I rang the doctor and the receptionist asked me to come by right away and she would slip us in between patients. When we got there we didn't have to wait long before the receptionist beckoned us in to Vic Pillay rooms. Vic had been our family doctor for several years a Indian south African educated in Edinburgh lovely chap. we sat down and Vic looked up from his note making I guess from the previous patient smiled at me “Graham” and then looked at OJ I started to tell Vic what had proceeded our visit but he cut me short with a hand as he picked up the phone and dialed. He was speaking to someone about admitting a child who was on his way and then gave some detail. He finished his call and I stated to continue when Vic interrupted “I suspect Owen is having an asthma attack and I want you to take him straight to the hospital the children's ward they will be expecting you. I looked at Vic then at OJ then back at Vic “what now?” “yes now go straight there please I will contact Dr Naidoo (OJ’s Pediatrician) and tell him what has transpired.

A little while later we were walking into the children's ward where we were greeted by a nurse “Owen Foster-Brown?” “Yep” The nurse scooped Oj up “how about you come with me?”

Oj was put into a already prepared Oxygen Tent where they started to try and regulate his breathing.

With in a short while he was ocupied with some toy or book and I thought i better go and tell his other two floors up !! that oj had joined her in the hospital.

Judi wasnt a freak out panic sort of person so I wasnt to worried about telling her.

“Oh hello I wasn't expecting you so early?” “me neither but I had to bring oj in as he's having an asthma attack so I thought i would come and see you” “HES WHAT! here? now? “ “yep he's all good downstairs in the children's ward.”

The next thing I know is I'm trundling Judi down to the children's ward in a Wheelchair to see him.

So Far So Good

I went home to take care of Emily our daughter leaving OJ in the capable hands of the children's ward staff Judi with the surgical ward staff. I had spoken to Dr Naidoo another Indian South African doctor who assured me all was well and they would ring me if there were any changes.

We were running the YHA hostel in Coffs harbor at the time and we were fortunate enough to have staff so whilst I was up at the hospital everything went on as normal back at the hostel. I had my dinner helped a few backpackers and was about to call it a day when at about 10.30 I get a call from Dr Naidoo. There had been a problem and it would be a good idea if I was at the hospital. At the time our car of choice, as things were going fairly well business wise, was a Porsche 911. I Flew out of the drive and planted my foot as the car dug in and screamed up the hill at the top of the hill I suddenly had a thought. It maybe wasn't a good idea if I was in an accident so I toned the speed down a bit, well a fair bit.

When I arrived the room where Oj had been was unoccupied The hallway of the ward was in night lighting but at the end the lights were all on and nurses were coming and going from a ward. In the ward was OJ like something out of general hospital wires and tubes screens and things going beep doctors and nurses buzzzing around. I thought what the f*** Naidoo saw me and came over “So let me explain what's happening”

It was a while ago must be almost 20 years but I remember most of it. Oj throat had closed of due to the asthma and he has stopped breathing they had to give him a shot of adrenalin to get him going again Naidoo assured me that all the machines were there “just in case” and he was stable now so I could go and see him. I remember him seeming asleep or sedated I sat beside him and held his hand I promised him anything that would get him to make it through the night It was a very emotional time.

From memory I think I went up and told Judi what had happened or she came down but anyway I stayed the night sleeping on  a cot the nurses organised for me.

At one stage I went out for a smoke I was taking in the night air when I could see nurses walking quicker to his room and out again I went back in to see blood all over his sheets. He had pulled his drip out and it had caused him to bleed. It looked a lot worse than it was.

Morning came and with a cup of tea supplied by the kind nurses I found myself sitting beside my son feeling so grateful that we lived in a world where medical help and knowledge was available. Oj stirred and looked over at me “Hey Dad What were you promising me I could have?

How To Plant An Avocado Seed

How To Plant An Avocado Seed

Growing avocados from seed is easy and they grow true to type

Summer is coming to a close, but that doesn't mean you can't take some of the summer with you into fall.
As gardeners, we are very aware of the seasonal fruit and vegetables we grow and consume, and even though year-round produce is always available in the grocery stores, it's immensely more enjoyable and satisfying to grow our own.
So if you enjoy avocados all summer long, with their creamy smooth texture and flavor as much as most people do, here is a way to grown them yourself and have your own tree that can be put indoors during the cold weather months and then put back out in the spring.
One of the best parts of this entire process is that avocado trees are easily grown from seed and they reproduce virtually true to type. Meaning that if you plant a Hass avocado, that's what you are going to get; something that doesn't always happen when you propagate plants via seed.
OK, so let's get started.

The Best Way To Propagate An Avocado
There are many ways to propagate and grow avocados, and growing avocados from seed, usually brings to mind a school project of sticking toothpicks into an avocado pit and then putting it in water.
That's fine, it can work, but there is a better way to do it, because when roots are grown in water and then transplanted into soil, they don't always do very well. Also, not all avocado seeds will germinate this way.
So let's sidestep these problems and grow them in soil to begin with. The following process is fast, easy and works really well.

How To Plant An Avocado Seed Step-By-Step
1. Choose a healthy, undamaged seed
2. Soak it in hot water 106° to 130°F (40° to 52°C) for 30 minutes. This will help stop any infection from avocado root rot.
3. Cut a thin slice - about 1/2 inch (1 cm) - from the pointed end with a sharp knife
4. Then dip the wound in a fungicide
5. Sow the seed in a 6 inch (15 cm) pot of sandy soil with the cut end slightly above the soil surface
6. Place it in a warm location 65°F (18°C) or warmer in bright, but indirect sunlight
7. Keep moist, but not wet, or else it will rot
8. Germination takes about 3 to 4 weeks
9. The seedling can be grown on in a container until it is about 12 to 16 inches (30 to 40 cm) tall, then it should be ready to be moved to its final location, or potted up into a larger container

Where To Plant And Care
Now that you have a healthy seedling, you need to plant it up either in a container or out in the garden, if you live in a warm climate.
Avocados generally take cold down to 30°F (-1°C) and after that they will get frost damage. Some avocados like a Zutano or Mexicola will take down to 20°F (-7°C), but for most areas that is a pretty warm winter.
If you live in a cold weather area that gets well below freezing in the winter, then plan to pot your seedling up in a container and plan to move it to a sheltered location during the colder months of the year.
Always plant avocados where they will get full sun, and in well-drained soil. They don't like wet feet, so allow the soil to dry a bit in between waterings.
Young trees need only light feeding so only feed twice - once in the spring and once in the summer with a good avocado-citrus fertilizer, which can be found at any garden supply center.
When planting in a container you will have to increase the container size as the tree matures, but the size of the tree can be controlled by regular pruning, plus there are dwarf varieties that do well in containers too.
You will eventually have your tree in a large wine barrel or other large pot, so plan to have that container on wheels so it can be moved easily when needed.
Note: Seed raised trees start to bear fruit when they are between 5 and 7 years old.

Cross Pollination
In order to get fruit you will normally have to have two different varieties. Avocado varieties have flowers that are categorized as either type A or type B, depending upon on the time of day they open when, and when pollen is released.
Although many single trees do produce fruit, you are better off having one of each type.
Type A Flower:
Bacon
Don Gillogly
Gwen
Hass
Holiday
Mexicola
Pinkerton
Reed
Wertz (Wurtz)
Type B Flower:
Fuerte
Jim
Kahaluu
Murashige
Nabal
Sharwil
Stewart
Whitsell
Yamagata
Zutano

Conclusion
So if you're one of those people that just love summer, and you love avocados, now you have a way to hang onto both!
And while it will take time for your tree to produce its first fruit, as a gardener, just growing the tree in anticipation is usually just as much fun as eating the final product.

Hilary Rinaldi is a member of the National Garden Writers Association, a nationally published writer, and a certified organic grower. She regularly speaks and writes about all gardening related topics, with an emphasis on making gardening a successful and enjoyable process for anyone who wants to learn. Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine concentrates of giving detailed gardening tips and gardening advice to all levels of gardeners.

Clandestine Affair

Eighteen years old, from a small country town living and working in the world of fashion and advertising in London, my head spun!.

I had secured a job as as photographers studio assistant to one of London’s (at the time) top photographers Jimmy Wormser a New Yorker spending time in England. I was also assisted two of the other photographers in the studio when not working for Jimmey. Robert a young photographer not really in Jimmeys league but pretty good, did non fashion and advertising to help pay his bills. It was one of these jobs that one day he said he had double booked and would I be able to fill in for him ? It was fairly straight forward, was I interested ?. My first Solo gig you bet I was interested! He told me what equipment would be required The Nikon gear long lens would be fine. He then gave me the location instructions in London I was to go this a particular address be there at 2pm go to the reception ask for Mr “what ever his name was” and then wait outside.

I feel i should preface the next paragraph with “I kid you not!”

So off I go found the address a typical big London building in a row of other typical London buildings asked for the gentleman by name and then went back outside to wait. About 5 minutes later this olive skinned gentleman with dark glasses and a full length black leather trench coat approached me. He said my name whilst not looking at me but sweeping the surrounding area from behind his dark glasses. “Yes that's me” “good come with me” we then strode of and got into a Mach 1 mustang , you know the ones with the white stripe over the body of the car. He pulled out of the parking spot and floored it into the centre of London. “I kid you not!”

During the journey my attempt’s of “nice weather we are having?” “excellent car” were meet with non committal grunts.

We arrived at a tall apartment building and rode up in the elevator together (the sunglasses still on) stopped at what I remember was the top floor and went into one of the apartments. The apartment was empty over by the window was two more men of the olive skin variety , no glasses they spoke to each other in a language that I had never heard. Sunglasses then said whilst pointing “I want you to photograph those people individually preferably with out there hoods on”

I was looking down on a obvious demonstration a small group of protestors were chanting at passers by and each other I don't remember exactly what the signs said I do remember the word Shah and Out being prominent what was different to the standard London protest was that most of the demonstrators were wearing sack hoods and scarves to obviously cover up their Identity. Thinking nothing more of it I set to work photographing. The long lens I had easily had the protestors filling my screen and I was pleased when I was able to catch them without their hoods or as they arrived before they put them on. After about half an hour and three rolls of film Sunglasses came back “that's enough and held out his hand I gave him the rolls of film he gave me an envelope with pound notes in it.

When I got back to the studio Robert said “interesting Job?” “you could say that “ i said

About two weeks later Robert got me to go with him saying we were doing a similar job This time he would wait for me as the Sunglasses guy wouldn't be there we were just to photograph this demonstration. We arrived at the location for the demonstration and drove past the hooded persons waving banners on the street Robert parked down the road and told me to try and get some pictures form the street whilst hiding behind a letter box I got out, set myself up and started snapping. As i was looking through the long lens I suddenly realised that one of the protestors was looking directly at me. A moment later I realised that he was getting bigger and closer in fact he was running towards me screaming obvious obscenities.

I turned and ran! Robert was sitting in his car reading the paper. “get going one of them is after me!! GO!”

Robert screamed away whilst looking behind. He looked at me and said “guess we might not do any more of those jobs”

Many years later I drew the conclusion that I was photographing protestors of the Shah Of Iran possibly Taliban and the guy in the sunglasses I'm guessing worked for the Iranian Secret Service or the Consulate and they were trying to identify the protestors. Or it could have been nothing who knows……………….

Can Bears open doors?

I was trying to work out the year. It would have had to be 1982? I think anyway will check , not really important.

In 1982 we went to Vancouver and stayed with friends and whilst we were there we hired a ford mustang and drove up to Banff. It was the middle of winter and the Rockies were covered in snow. The waterfalls were frozen where they fell and combined with the giddy height of the mountains the whole thing was spectacular.

Keen to experience different types of accommodation we located on a map The Athabasca falls youth hostel.

(As a side note I believe our stay there would have been the catalyst that set us on the road of running hostels.) When we arrived the place looked deserted it was however a picture postcard location a cluster of log cabins in a forest, in the middle of winter. one hut (the wardens we presumed )had cross country skis propped by the door and a ‘dog’ not sure of type lay nearby.

We went into one cabin to find the warden beating out a rhythm on a drum kit setup in what we discovered was the main building. He was pleased to see us as being winter we were the first travelers to stay in 10 days.

After getting settled in we made some dinner and sat in a empty cabin a fire blazing contemplating life.

We had been given “the bear talk” by the warden and there were signs everywhere about leaving food out garbage in bins etc all understood. I cant remember whether it was my partner or I who first had the requirement of using the bathroom, and then the realization that it was an “out house” It was located 10 meters from the main building. We decided to venture together trusty torch in hand scanning the now black forest for predators one waited out side while the other did there business then we both hightailed it to our cabin for the night.

Being the only occupants of the cabin we made up a double bed , combining single mattresses and prepared to retire for the night.

It was at this point I made the mistaken thought out loud “I wonder if bears can open doors?” My partner looked at me in the half light  “oh thanks a lot, that will make sleep so much easier with that thought in my head!”

Minutes later we were both up putting chairs at the doors and checking all the windows.

It was a fitful nights sleep but we made it through!.

Every noise we heard, every bark of a dog was the thought of marauding bears laying siege to the hut. Maybe they had lighters and they would smoke us out ? How long could we last with out food Needless to say we were not attacked and the answer that night at least is bears cant open doors.

When we returned to Vancouver and related the story to our Canadian friends I think it was several days before they got up off the floor from laughing at the stupid tourists!.

Note I had to steal the pics as all mine are either in England or Australia

Housekeeper vs Wife (Sorry Partner)

Well after just preparing the place for guests I’m thinking I should really make an effort to get a housekeeper. So here are the requirements.

Accommodation in return for 3 hours work a day.

Cleaning bed making washing No children. Does not like to engage in idle chit chat.Keeps to oneself doesn't like loud music (unless its Zepplin or Bach). Doesn't mind stairs References. Own vehicle (nothing trashy or Japanese) Non Smoker Not Bi Polar. No crazies. Does not believe they are reincarnated. Does not vote labour , Liberal ok, prefer conservative. Knows to warm the pot when making tea.

That just about does it better get ready for the inundation of applications!!

(and people wonder why I didn't remarry!!)

Travel Story “One Day”

I was reading an article on The Golden Age of Travel reputedly the era pre 1978, which bought to mind a memory of leaving Heathrow in the early 80's. My wife at the time, and I were in, I think terminal 1 or was it 3? standing on a viewing area looking down, watching the massive confusion of people that it is Heathrow. Whichever terminal it was we were heading back down under, travelling (as always then) cattle class loaded up with excess hand luggage that we didn't want to get charged excess on. When I noticed at the far end of the concourse a disruption of people moving towards us. There were three fairly tall people, followed by a bag carrier with trolley loaded to the gunnel's. One of the three was a airline worker (I imagine what we now call and I know to be a Concierge) The other two were a man and woman striding out, both with hats and sunglasses, she wearing a full length fox fur coat he a long Crombie type black Coat. This entourage cut a miraculous swath through the sea of fellow travellers. From one end of the terminal to the other they proceeded all the way to the First Class Concord lounge (concord hadn't crashed yet) at the other end where they disappeared into the inner sanctum of the Lounge. I looked at Judi (the ex now)  who looked at me. We exchange a "One Day" look gather up our luggage and head for 18 hours of economy travel.