Day 41 - Christmas Creek

You know that most people make their minds up by watching the 6 o’clock news, or listening to the 3 minute news bulleting on commercial radio. And to be honest they have no idea what is really going on with the country & with the world! I think the only way you can really know for sure is to see or experience it for yourself! I have a couple of examples for you tonight & sorry if it sounds like I’m preaching, it is just me writing what I am thinking about tonight!

Point one – the Mining Boom. The media keep harping about the mining boom & I believe that they are sending some really confusing messages. Sure we are having a boom, other countries need our stuff & we have plenty of stuff, so we need plenty of people to work in the industry to get the stuff out. And the media make a big thing about people that work in mining have plenty of money & even that the states that have the stuff are better off than the states that don’t (Hence our PM & her peanut treasurer introducing the MRRT…. Minerals Resource Rent Tax). But you know what I have a little bit of a different view on this, I believe that we all make our own way in the world. If a state has a government that can run it’s state like a business then I believe the residents of that state should benefit from the decisions that the state government makes. And if they don’t like the way the state government runs the state they then can vote them out at the next election. And for the whingers in other states that say “Aw but we don’t have any stuff in our state” well you have the CHOICE to move to the state that has more stuff!

And the same goes for what they say about people that work in mining, they make heaps of money compared to other industries, and yes they do…..but does the media focus on the fact that the average shift is 12-13 hours a day & that you are often away from family & friends for long periods of time! NO they don’t. And if you do begrudge the fact that they earn more money in mining then you also have the CHOICE to get into the industry, regardless of age or experience I believe that if you really want to do something then find out what you have to do & then do it! Don’t just sit back whingeing about what others have that you do not!

Point 2 – the media will tell you what they want you to hear. My brother in law Brad is currently fighting with the local council to oppose the building of a Bio Mass generator (with a 30M high chimney spewing out smoke 24hrs a day) in Yatala Qld near where he lives. He is actually doing something to try to stop it from going ahead rather than just sitting back & bitching about it. He has joined a local action group & they are gathering momentum in opposing this proposal. Yesterday the group were asked to appear on the ABC news program about their concerns. Now Brad is quite intelligent & he can handle himself in the public arena. His responsibilities as part of the action group are to look into the financial impacts that this may have on the community, so he put a lot of effort & research into this. On speaking to him last night he told me (insert a swear word after every 3^rd word in the next section) that they interviewed him & asked him plenty of questions that he felt he answered very well & expressed his opposition. But they then asked him a question about the impact on the health of local residents & some of the effects that the project might have. Now Brad had a general idea of the possible health impacts but it was one of the other committee members that was looking into the health impacts, so Brad just made a very general comment about Asthma & other health effects, he freely admits it was not his best answer. Guess which part of his interview was the only part to make it to air? Yes the one that made him look like a goose! He was so angry.

The interview was very slanted towards the project being a great thing for the area!

So just be careful what you believe on TV. Oh….. And if any of you have a recorded copy of his interview can you put it on a disc for me so I can bag him for the rest of his life!

Support Brad in his campaign join his Facebook page by searching Yatala Ormeau Unite.

I guess what I am trying to say here is that we live in a big country, so big that you can actually not know what is really happening unless you see it or experience it for yourself. I’m really lucky that I get to see lots of what goes on out here and can make my own opinions based on what I see. Just be careful about what opinions you make without knowing the full story.

This site visit is coming to an end, I’m guessing that this will probably be the best site we visit on this trip, and it will be hard to beat the facilities & the treatment we have received here. It really is impressive. Today we found the pool, can you believe that this place is so big that we have been here a week and there are still parts of the camp we have not seen or been to! Amazing.

Reader’s comments

Bonnie & Egg sent a message, hey guys nice to know you are reading it, but I knew Egg would be reading because we all know he has Land Rover Envy! C’mon Egg…. Buy one! You know you want one!

Kristine D said I chose the State Of Origin over my faithful blog readers….. Too Right!!!! Give me S.O.O. anytime! It is a great sporting event! She also wants to know if Jack & Grace could come live on the site.

Meredith also complained of no blog, well I’ll make up for it over the weekend, got a few “Adventures” planned. The mine mess is open from 4am till 8am & then again from 4pm till 8pm, but you have to take your lunch M, but hey just on that guess what the choices were for dinner tonight? Kangaroo steaks, Crocodile & vegetable curry, Kangaroo chilli concarne’ and even an emu casserole?  They also had Quandong Apricot Chutney…Yum!!  Must have been eat the Aussie Icons night.

My sister Heather is currently at the Tina Arena concert in Brisbane, it must be boring as because she just left a message on the blog! Just read on facebook that my cousin Emily is there too!!  She must be bored too, to be writing on  facebook. 

Tereasa told us of her in laws caravan woes, if you jinx us T you will be driving over here to pick us up!!

Annie’s Blog

I’m the cleverest girl I know, because I know how to make people do things! I have worked out that when a new person comes to see me if I give them a big smile they always smile back. Or if I look away for a second and then look back at them they tell me it is so cute. I’m starting to get used to some of the people that are here, because I’ve seen them lots of times. The lady Mum & Dad works with Holly is cool, she can hold me now without me crying, but she is really high up in the sky, not short like my Mum & Dad.

Jack, my friend from mothers group said he went to the cold stuff, wow I hope there is still some there when we get back Jack, maybe your mum & my mum can take us both up there?

My other friend Jack & his sister Grace want to know if they can come to this place. Sure, if your Dad & my Dad arrange some work together I reckon we all come here together.

All my clothes have this red stuff on it, Mum says it is Pilbara dirt & it doesn’t come out of my clothes. Cool, that means I’ll get heaps of new clothes when I get home!

Goodnight all

AnnieInAVan….XXXX

Day 40 - State of Origin

Sorry guys no blog tonight James is watching the State of Orgin. He says, 'GO NSW'!

Annie asleep...no idea what State or Orgin is.

AnnieInAVan

xoxo

Day 39 - Christmas Creek Resort

You gotta be kidding me! This place is not a minesite, it is a resort! Ness & I are constantly amazed at the effort that has gone into this place to make it comfortable for the workers. As recent as 5 – 10 years ago Mine camps were very basic! You got a tiny room with a single bed & no bathroom! You had to walk to the shower & toilet blocks in the freezing cold, boiling hot, rain, wind. There was no TV & if there was the reception was crap. And the meals were the same day in day out as it was difficult to get fresh food!

How things have changed, mining companies have realised “Happy staff = Good morale & production” so they sure have put the effort into making a Mining Camp “Comfy”.

Here are some figures that we found out during the week.

•         Cost to build this camp - $100 Million (Yes you read right)
•         Cost to run this camp $40 Million per year
•         Number of people here at any one time – up to 1800, but expanding to 2500 in the next 12 months
•         Amount of food delivered per week 120 tonnes!

Each employee has their own room, with its own ensuite, they use it for the whole time they are on site. When they go off site there are locker rooms that they can store all of their gear & clothing until they return. Each room has air conditioning, a king single bed & all linen & towels are supplied & laundered. There is a fridge, a desk & each room has an internet access point & a phone that people can call in on. Oh and did I tell you about the TV? A large flat screen TV with foxtel & a movie channel with all the latest movies (I have watched 3 movies this week!) Lucky James!!

Yesterday Ness went for a tour through the mess kitchen & she talked to the camp manager, she found out that the Head Chef used to work in a 5 star restaurant, last night there was a curry on the menu, he said that they used 150kg of meat in that curry! (That’s a big curry!) and the night before Roast Beef was on the menu and they used 300kg of beef!

Each night there is a choice of 5 main courses & all the veggies that you can imagine available freshly cooked! Oh and have I mentioned the desert choices, cakes, muffins, biscuits, and always a hot desert as well! It is unbelievable! They bake everything here on site even the bread rolls!!

There is a resort style swimming pool & a lap pool for the healthy, an awesome Gym complete with a full time Healthy Lifestyle Co-ordinator that can design an exercise program for you.

If the mining boom is ever over they could open this place as a resort & charge people to stay here.

I got offered a job here! During one of my training sessions I was telling the group that after my accident I couldn’t go back to working on a mine site & my career opportunities were limited. This guy came up to me at the end & said “Mate if you are interested in a job on this site I can arrange one for you” I had to tell him I was happy doing what I do…. But it’s good to know I have a backup!

Annie is the talk of the camp! There are very few remote Mine Sites that allow a child on site, we are getting as many pictures as possible to remind her when she gets older. Guys walk past me saying, What the… a baby on site!!

Julia Gillard pisses me off…. Nothing to do with the blog….just a random thought that I wanted to share!

Tony Abbott is not much better….even though I sat next to him (across the aisle) on a plane one day!

Reader’s Comments & Birthday Message

My mate Jack is 5 today, Happy Birthday Jack. I hope your leg is getting better. When we get home & you get home from your trip to England we will have to have some lunch at our house or in your favourite park.

Alan commented on the blog, welcome aboard Alan.

Georgia (my sister) also made her first appearance….How am I going for spelling Georgy? (She is assistant principal at Menindee school) do I get an A+.

Kirsten suggested that Annie, Edward & Jack start a band called the Crunching Teeth! Eeeeewwwwww! I’m screwing my face up as I type!

Annie’s Blog

Ok I think I am the princess, or the Dalai Lamb, or the queen of the world….. Because there are so many people that stop Mum or Dad to talk to me. Am I really special? There must have been a hundred million people talk to me today (I think that is a big number… but I’ll know when I get older) and they go all funny and say “Awwwww isn’t she cuuuuuute” and start making stupid noises! Who is the baby here? Me or them????

Edward’s mum came up with a name for the band that him, Jack & I will start, the Crunching Teeth, but my Dad thought of other names. He said The Dribbling Boogers, The Runny Poo’s or the Nappy Rash Kids?....surely someone can come up with better names? Send them through to us.

I got dressed up in my safety gear today, I have got Pink safety boots. Check out the photos that Mum puts up. And a special High Visability cest made by my Nan.

I have to go to bed now coz I’m going to have to meet another hundred million people tomorrow!

Good night from

AnniInAVan…..XXXX

Day 38

Hello family & friends. Tonight we were advised that a dear friend had passed away.

Ian Jones fought a long battle with cancer.

I have only known Ian for a few years, but he is a long-time friend of Sandy & David’s and has known Ness since she was much younger.

Annie was lucky enough to meet Ian & I’m sure in some way Ian has left something with her.

So in respect for Ian & with our love to his wife Lynn and all of his family tonight’s message is short.

                                          Ian Jones 26/3/1946 – 2/7/2012

Annie’s Blog

Tonight my Mum & Dad told me that their friend & Nan & Pop’s friend had gone away. They said he was sick for a while and he fought very hard but in the end he went away. I was thinking that it is sad when someone goes away, I know how I feel when my Dad goes to work, but I know he will come back, or mum goes somewhere & leaves me with Dad, but she comes back. It’s not fair that sometimes someone goes away and doesn’t come back! I’m lucky that I met Mr Jones before he went away and I hope his family will miss him and remember all the fun times they had.

                                                   It was nice to meet you Mr Jones.

Love from

AnnieInAVan

Day 37 - Christmas Creek Mine Site

Last night we stayed in Newman (Neeeewwwmaaaan)….. ok I won’t start again! Had a lovely night & woke this morning to start packing up. I was lucky as I went to the shower block early & had a lovely hot shower, got back to the van & said to Ness to go have a shower while I minded Annie, Ness came back ten minutes later white as a ghost! “Run out of hot water” was all she said!

Tried to hide my smile….but it didn’t work!

So we started packing up & saw the coolest caravan a few doors down,  it was an old single axle Viscount caravan that had been hand painted by the daughters (and their school friends) of the owners. Ness & I started talking with them, it was a family of 6, 4 daughters!!! (Poor guy!) aged from 7 to 11! And they were 6 months into a 12 month trip around Australia…..How cool is that, but just before they left they got the girl’s school together and they hand painted the van with flowers and fairies & rainbows. They had a name for the van made & stuck to the back it is called “Sunshine & Lollipops”. They had planned to visit the Biggest of everything in Oz, like the big banana, the big Merino, The Big Yabby etc etc. what a great trip & something the girls will remember for life. Oh and their car had special number plates, check out the photo that Ness puts up tonight.

We arrived at the turnoff to the minesite & drove 15km down a well graded dirt road and ended up at a security checkpoint where our escort was waiting for us. It was a girl named Holly, she has done a great job of arranging this trip, we have a spot for the van with power, they actually had to remove a heap of shade sails so we could fit the van in! But they have also given us a room to use while we are here, full bedroom, bathroom & cable TV…. Annie will be rapt! In tomorrow’s blog I’ll do a bit of a rundown on the camp & facilities, it is quite impressive here! I’m sure Ness will put her bit in too.

Hey I just have to clarify something, last night Ness wrote on the email that she sends to you to tell you the blog has arrived, “Does your husband ever give you the pips” Ok I have to be honest and say that I was being annoying last night, Ness was having internet & computer issues & I was just giving her my opinion on what she should be doing! I mean I’m a guy & guys can FIX things, so I was just telling her how to fix her computer! I guess my opinion or advice was not required!

The other thing that happened today was we were almost ready to leave, a lady came over to Ness & Annie and asked if she could give Annie a gift, she gave her this lovely cloth booklet with dogs & ears in it. She said she has had it in her car for months and was meant to give it to her grandson, but forgot so she thought Annie might like it….Like it, she loves it! She scrunches the dog’s ears & screams out loud. What a nice thing to do.

Reader’s Comments

None!....What the! Are you not reading the blog? I can find the time to write it, surely you can all send us a message to let us know you are still with us.

Annie’s Blog

Woah!....I’m so confused, my granny & my Nan & Pop are back in Victoria, but how come I have all these new Grannies & Nan’s & Pop’s. Every time we set up the box on wheels at a new place I find another Granny or a Nan or a Pop, they all come over to me and talk. But guess what? They are not as good as my real Granny & Nan & Pop….. I can’t wait to see them again!

Today Dad told me that he was taking me somewhere special, to a Mine Site, he said he used to work on a Mine Site, so I was excited to see where we were going. But when we arrived all there were was buildings & some offices and a big place where they all eat called the Mess? Now this one confused me a little, when I Poo my nappy mum says “What a mess” or when I leave things on the floor, Dad says “Look at this mess”….. and now they are saying that we have to eat in the Mess? Does this mean we have to eat in the pooey nappy, or eat on the floor with the toys? I’m still trying to work out grownups!

Mum & Dad are working with this lady called Holly, she is super dooper tall, when she stands next to my mum she has to look down, Dad will get a photo of them together, it is funny as. But she is really nice, we all like her.

My friend Edward told me he likes to crunch his teeth, so do I Edward, when I get back we should have teeth crunching sessions and make our Mums scream! That will be fun.

Nighty night

AnnieInAVan…XXXX