Day 62 Newman & civilization

You guys have no idea how much you take for granted! This morning Ness ducked up the shops, bought a newspaper, posted some letters that we have needed to post for a week, went to the chemist! Just to get a fix of cosmetics, skincare, makeup and nail polish...didnt buy anything but it was sooo good to browse. The last week on site we have really missed being able to do these things, the only down side to it is we actually have to pay for food now! No going to the mess and just eating what we want. Yesterday when Ness & I were in the cafe we bought a couple of little snacks & 2 soft drinks, it cost us $18.75..... What the!!!

 St George won last night!..... How unusual!!! Enjoy it while it lasts dragons supporters!

 My mum & Bert are looking to put Ducted Heating in the house, I don’t know why.... they have just been to Scotland in minus 15 degree temperature, and they are both Scottish so they should be able to cope with the cold!....... Mum do what you told us to do all those years ago..... Put another jumper on!

 There has been a fair bit of wind here today, when you look out towards the bush all you can see is a reddish haze, it looks like the wind is stirring up the Pilbara dust & creating beautiful colours.

 Oh the other thing that has changed since we got back into civilization is that we now have to pay for washing our clothes! $3 a load!!!! Now that is a business, I might look into buying 100 commercial pay washing machines & plonk them at caravan parks under some sort of license agreement! And they charge you for dryers too! Silly to use them though as the clothes dry on the line in 20 minutes in this heat & wind!

 I’m not feeling well today, a bit stiff & sore and no energy. Hopefully it is just a passing thing, both Ness & I have been reasonably healthy & well on this trip. Maybe my body does not cope with civilization, maybe I have to move to the bush? Dan you want to come live with us in the middle of nowhere?

 Not much to write about today, we ended up just vegging out at the caravan park today, I read the paper, I went shopping, for a swim and read my book in the pool & we watched Sandra Bullock’s movie....the one she won an Oscar for, not sure why... she acts the same every movie she is in, I reckon they just felt sorry for her cause she has not won one yet!

 Speak to you from Perth!...... Yeah!!!! Cant wait to go shopping!

 James

Day 61 Newman (Again)

Hello Bloggies, firstly thanks for all the replies to last nights blog, good to see what you all desire to come back as. Heather a Tibetan Monk with Alcohol & Air con, Sandy W a Black Fella, Brad A... a world champion surfer, My mum wants to come back as my dog because she has the best life in the world! My sister Georgia a crow or an eagle, Rob wants to be ME! And Nikki just thinks I’ve lost it!

 Not that I believe in reincarnation mind you! But I reckon Rob is on the right track, I have the perfect life, even better than Rob described as I also have Brad as a son too!

 Heather & Sandy..... Who the hell is the Commando? Wake up to yourselves both of you!

 Ok I have to go on the defence here, some of you have questioned the character of my mate Bear Grills. You have said that he has a camera crew, & support vans & he does not really eat the things he does! Well if you were a real Bear Grills fan you would notice at the start of his show he explains that he does have medical assistance with him, and he does have support if required! So What!...... I hope all of you doubters get lost in the desert or bush & cant rely on your Bear Grills knowledge to save you! Georgia, I have been telling the same thing to James for months but he is so obsessed he can’t see past anything else but what Bear does!!

 Last night we had dinner then went out to the wet mess for my last night on site, we talked with Hugh about the documentary that I mentioned in a previous blog. Ok here is a poll, if there was a documentary with two guys roughly the same age travelling around Australia, one of them in a wheelchair & one able bodied...... Would you watch it? But the twist is that the able bodied person would not help the other guy in any way, actually he would be a bit of a bastard and expect the guy in the wheelchair to do everything that the other guy does!

 I reckon it could work, Hugh wants to do it 3 times, once by motorbike (I could ride a trike) once by plane (Hugh has his pilot’s license) & once by boat, neither of us can sail! So it would be great!

We are going to Hugh’s place while we are in Perth to work out if it is feasible.

 We went shopping in Newman today, it was a strange feeling! Back to civilization. There were shops and people and cars and it was awesome, Ness & I sat in a cafe and just watched people walk past, no one had Hi visibility clothing on or work boots! And yes I wandered up and down all the aisles of Woolworths again...and loved it!! 

 Tomorrow we have an actual day off, we are thinking of things to do, there are a few gorges around Newman & waterfalls, or we could just veg! I have a couple of books to get through, there is a great bike path all around town, there is a pool here.... maybe we can have a day just doing nothing? (No comments about that being my normal day!)

 This blog is late tonight, we just got back from Radio Hill where we did some good old fashioned Parking! We sat at the lookout and watched the sun go down. Then we stayed there and watched the town at night, we could also see the minesite from where we were, all the industrial lighting was beautiful. I wish I could say that we would show you some pictures but when I went to take some my camera battery was flat! Bugger.

 While we were up the lookout we saw that both the footy ovals had their lights on, so on the way back we called past the ovals, the guys were just starting training for the night so I called one over and asked him when he plays, he was a friendly sort of bloke called Duke & invited us into the club rooms to watch the footy tomorrow night, so guess where we will be on Saturday night in Newman. Watching a good old game of Aussies rules in an outback country town...now this is why I went on the road with my husband. By the way Dukes plays for the Saints...so that has to be a good omen as this is Dan’s team. 

 Ok just some readers questions, my sister Georgia asked the longest we have driven without seeing another car or vehicle, well we drove from Wiluna to Meekatharra & passed 1 truck going the same way, and only saw one other car full of black fella’a coming the other way. So 1 car in 178km.

 My other sister Heather has a problem with Crows at her new house, any suggestions to get rid of them? She does not like snakes so plastic snakes are not an option. Anyone have a spare shotgun? Heather near us the wineries use Percussion guns to scare birds away, they let off a bang every hour or so and it seems to keep birds away from the grapes.

 See you all soon, can’t wait till the footy tomorrow in the club rooms with Duke!

 James & Ness

Day 60 Yandi Mine Site Day 7

Ok time to share some personal stuff, Ness & I were having dinner last night in the mess, its our 2^nd last night here for this visit (we are back here in 3 weeks) and there were a group of aboriginal guys sitting at a table together having their dinner.

 It got me thinking about reincarnation, see you can be spiritual don’t know why but I just thought that if there is a chance to come back after this lifetime I would like to come back to earth as a really good looking black guy!

 Now apart from the fact that my sister Heather & her best friend Sandy (& I believe Nikki might be interested too?) would hit on me I reckon it would be great to come back as something totally different to what we are now? What do you reckon? I would like to ask readers what they would like to come back as?

 Only two sessions left, my sessions go for about 60 minutes, so when you think about it I only work two hours per day, but the thing is there is nothing else to do here! I think that is why they have 12 hour shifts, because if you are not working then you have very little to do. Sure there is a pool, a gym & the wet mess, Ness has been walking & swimming, I have been on my bike, Ness has work to do & I have blogs to write..... but we are a little “Over” this site and looking forward to a change of scenery.

 Now before I get any smart comments about only working two hours a day,(maybe a little bit more as there is question time) I have to give 100% every training session I do, I like to think that the last session I do this week will be as good, informative, interesting, emotive and as powerful as the first session..... and this is hard work, ask Ness.... sometimes after a session I am exhausted! It’s probably a little bit like a rock star or performer, they are only on stage for a short time but they have to give it their all!

 I don’t know if you know but last year we filmed our training DVD, it was 4 days of chaos with arty farty film production people taking over our home. Well the product is finally finished and available to our clients, Ness sent out an email this week to let them know and guess what!..... It is selling! We have had a couple of people already purchase one, it is great to see the results of our work paying off. For those of you that are interested in having a look at a 3 minute preview of the DVD look at www.cnbsafe.com.au/safety-package/   and click on the Youtube link

 Wonder what Bear Grills does on his days off? James, my darling did you know that Bear has his own facebook page and you can become a fan!!!  Oh that’s right I forget you don’t have facebook.(Not such a bad thing)

 On Sunday we have to pack the caravan up and leave it at Newman, Ness & I then jump on a plane and head down to Perth for a week. We have some work in Perth but will also have a chance to look around, we have both been there before but not together so it will be fun. Hopefully there will be a show or something on at the casino, I really feel we need some civilization! Maybe I will hold auditions for my reality TV series, I’ve decided on a name for it, I’ll call it BUSH HUNTER!

 I’m starting to think Ness & Brad Atkins are right! I’m losing it! Brad...help me!!

 Marg & Norm C.... Where are you guys this week? We will be heading back east on the 22^nd of May, maybe we can catch up if you are down south somewhere?

 Hey you reckon our trip is fancy, Mr & Mrs Boxhead from Dubai sent us an email the other day saying they were just “Popping” across to Egypt to check out the Pyramids for a few days! What the!!!! Ness & I might just duck up the road & check out a few Termite mounds! Enjoy the Pyramids Box & Lou.

 Arama, Ness says she got your message! Cheer up girl..... you can always move to Australia? She is...I hope!!

 Chris & Mark are on the move to Sydney..... Does this mean no more movies?.... Actually watched “Men Who Stare at Goats” last night....... now a movie with George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, Ewan McGregor & Jeff Bridges should be a good movie!...... how does this stuff get made?.... I reckon the idea that my mate had of a couple of guys travelling around Oz by plane, Bike & boat would have been more interesting? Especially if one of them was in a wheelchair....... Do you guys know any movie producers???? Simone...have a quiet word in Greg’s ear!!

 We think we live in a big country, now how is this for weird? When we left Kalgoorlie a couple of weeks ago we saw a sign to the Orabanda Hotel just out of town. The name sounded familiar & it turns out that it is part of Michael & Lorraine’s email address. We sent them an email telling them what we had seen and it just so happen’s that Lorraine’s dad grew up over there!and actually owned a mine there. So we will call in and explore the place on the way back down Lorraine, we will take some pictures for you too.

 Campbell.... where the bloody hell are ya?

 Goodbye for today. Big hugs to Anika. The special James and Dan ones she loves. Nessie is loving wearing her Gumnut necklace, thank you. And to you all.

 James & Ness

Day 59 Yandi Mine Site Day 6

 Hello, not sure where to start today as I have lots of useless information running through my head. 2^nd last day here at Yandi for this visit, but we are back here again in May.

 Ness & I met with the safety manager for this site today, he was impressed with our work and advised us that he wants the whole site to listen to my message! So that is great for us, it means we have quite a lot of regular work over here for the rest of the year, we now have to work out whether I fly across or we do another road trip?

 This site is Huge! And will be even bigger soon. Today Ness & I were taken on a tour of the site by one of the managers, they showed us around the existing site and then showed us the new areas that will be mined shortly, they are building a new crusher and preparation plant & have almost completed a new 1000 person camp! Marc Walker, I am serious you need to get over here, the girls we talked to today in the HR department said that if we know any operators looking for work to let them know! Dan you will have to wait till you leave school! Fat Barry, you would love it too!

 Last night we went to the wet mess again, it was initially for just one drink but we ended up staying there for quite a while. One of the managers is a friend of mine, I have known him for 7 years, he used to work for Boral and is now up here at Yandi. Anyway he has just passed his pilot’s exam. We were talking about different things and he mentioned that he wanted to do a documentary, sort of a travel/adventure/comedy documentary where he travels around Australia 3 different ways but calls in to the same places, he wants to travel once around Oz by light plane, once by motorbike & once by boat. He said to me “James you should come with me!”

 We then spent the rest of the night discussing scenario’s and possibilities! But the angle we decided would work best would be politically incorrect. It would be kind of a documentary showing all the funny things that could happen to a guy in a wheelchair! I can’t give too much away (because it might actually happen!) Amazing what kind of conversation happens after mid strength beer(all the have here), in fact I was on the red wine and it is the most alcoholic beverage you can get.

 Hey Rob, nice to hear from you, how’s your Vietnamese coming along?

 My mum is back from Scotland & she caught up with my nephew Sam today for the first time, apparently he was so happy to see her. Since she left Sam has given up nappies, he says he gave his nappies to the babies! Cool Sam see you when we get back.

 Have not heard from Anika for a while, Anika, Ness & James really miss you, we hope you are having lots of fun with Mummy & Daddy. And Nan & Pop....

 Hey Shona, want to borrow my bike? It will only take you a couple of days to get to Wangaratta! (Shona’s car broke down the other day and she had to leave it)

 Ness will post photos of the site tomorrow, and we have pictures of our Donga & the Goanna that I was going to wrestle. Thanks Brad for letting me know what Bear Grills did the other night, Marc Walker next time you are at JB buy the DVD’s for Sandy & then burn a copy for me!

 Ok, we are going to have dinner, have to try to sneak it in otherwise we get dragged out into the wet mess. (not that we mind) You love it(we love it)...it is our  big adventure for the day, see all the walks of life at the ‘pub’ in the mine camp.  Who would miss it!!

 Love from us. You all have to see a sunset over the red Pilbara hills..... Awesome!

 James

Day 58 Yandi Mine Site Day 5

Good morning bloggers, how are you all today? I hope that those of you who read what I write each day also read the comments from readers, there is some funny stuff being written and asked.

 Nikki asked me to lay off the footy scores but sorry Nikki (& Brad) but if you are silly enough to barrack from a team of losers (St George) then every time they lose I will rub it in! And no Nikki, Vanessa is not looking over my shoulder when I write, (there is no way I would be allowed to look over his shoulder, I am banned from reading the blog until he is finished)what happens is I write my blog and then give it to Ness where she adds her comments (and deletes some of my inappropriate ones). Rarely do I delete, just amend!!  Hey Nikki, I have not been to church since I can’t remember, but I want to go now, with Sebastian & Charlotte!

 Those cheese toastie things were supposed to be bruschetta! That was her birthday meal! Check out the photos of the main course too! Meat lovers paradise! We had a bite of the supposed bruschetta’s....and that was it!!

 Nikki also asked if I have been to these sites before, yes Nikki, I spend my time roughly 50% on remote mine sites and 50% I stay in hotels in towns or cities near to where I am working. But is more fun for him on the remote sites now that he has me to hang out with.

 I should never have posted that picture of the bulldozer yesterday, now more than before my son wants to drive a dozer on a mine site!

 Last night we went to the wet mess, (the bar) they were having shift changeover, I mentioned this one before, the crews that work two weeks on site do one week of day shift and then one week of night shift, the changeover day is the day they finish day shift and have a full 24hrs before starting work again, needless to say it usually is a big night for most people!

 This site is a bit strange though, they only sell light & mid strength beer, yet you can buy wine & premixed cans of spirits? Doesn’t make sense to me!

 Anyway getting back to the wet mess, I usually get bailed up with people that want to ask me questions that they will not ask in front of their workmates. Especially if they have had a few beers. So I was taken aside by a couple of guys and they started telling me about near misses that they have had & how they were lucky not to be in a wheelchair, poor Ness was stuck with a bunch of blokes (& girls) she did not know & had to fend for herself! She will soon be “one of the boys”.

 It’s a bit windy here today, they get these hot winds that blow through, and we had to take our awning in as it was being blown around too much. They often get cyclones here, well not actually here but in Pt Hedland which is only 300km away. So there are cyclone warnings on all the Donga’s. When I was here last time they told me of a cyclone that came close, they pulled up the whole operation & got all employees to stay in their Donga’s.... but a lot of them decided to have Cyclone Parties! Can you imagine that, a cyclone is just about to hit & everyone is partying hard. Rob Pietsch you would be in heaven up here during a cyclone!

 No one told me what Bear Grills did on Monday night! C’mon guys I am going crazy up here! Did he eat any raw scorpions, bugs or ants? Did any of you see when he ate the frog? Raw! He just cleaned its insides out and chomped into it! Awesome!

 I have two people signed up for my reality TV show, Dan (my son) & Brad Atkins, Dan just wants to do anything that he can beat his uncle at. All week he has been beating him, he caught more fish than him, His team (Storm) beat St George. So look out Brad, if you two enter my reality TV show he will beat you again!

 To my sister Lesley, DO NOT read any of Heather’s books! You will be visiting overseas orphanage’s & on anti whaling protest ships (now that is one I agree with!) in no time!

 Sending Dan up to Heather’s place has probably backfired on me! Now he will be wanting a pool & a spa at our place! Ok we’ll include it in the plan for the extension Dangaz. I have already checked out some spas for Saltbush...

 Goodnight from us, only two more days here. We get quite excited towards the end of a site visit, it means we can be on the road again! And either visit a new place or go back to an old one.

James & Ness