Kindly Yours

I reckon most of us do not receive written personalised letters anymore, nor write any to socialise with others. Even exchanged love notes are in texted electronic messages. Maybe the grocery list is still handwritten. So called snail mail has been sadly reduced to advertising pamphlets. Contemporary society has practically done away with the pleasures of beautiful handwriting and we are reduced to only being agile with our thumbs. Elegant writing instruments have become more rare and inevitably redundant. We do not have to sit up properly to communicate - more often than not we are not poised in ergonomic body positions when using electronic screens.  An increasing number of us are not fully aware of our environment when we text on smart phones walking across busy streets and when driving vehicles. A whole generation has lost the significance of spelling correctly and become infatuated wirh Emojis. The variety of gadgets to communicate has evolved to portable devices that

The pork cutlets melted in my mouth this evening, especially with the luscious gravy served at Gambino's Corrimal NSW. Such is the pleasure of finding a gem of an Italian restaurant in the neighbourhood. Add to this a most engaging customer relations lady who lifts up the conversation and makes us able to relax on a weekday night, particularly one with drizzling and persistent rain showers. The quality of a suburb cannot be enhanced by too much vehicular traffic, the number  of pedestrains and the presence of too many competing businesses. When one enjoys a group dinner, it is both the lovingly made culinary served and the level of meaningful conversation that make a delightful end to a mucky weather of a day. I forget the cold as I fork into yummy marinated greens and potatoes on the side served with my mains. We do not have to walk far at all between the car and the restaurant. There is no limit on the amount of time we can linger at our table. We can all

Now is the time. .....to get real concerned as to how the NBN is being implemented for ordinary Joe and Jane Citizen across our Great Southern Land. If we already have a viable existing telecommunications system,  why replace it with something less to be desired?   Can all the public monies used to fund NBN be please better utilised for improving health services, public school education and other areas crying for help in an increasingly socially inequitable country?   And we have a Federal Australian Government which is facing serious issues of balancing the national budget, repaying off huge debts and currently significantly having a large loan interest liability.   Why add to another huge and costly undertaking? After connecting to the NBN, my landline telephone broke down in services three times in six weeks.  In all my previous many years living in this beloved nation called Australia, I have never had any issues with my landline telephone connection, even with copper wi

Accountability can be so lacking, or am I just under stating the state of such things? When there is obvious misdemeanour - or worse - several parties reckon all is done with by proclaiming a Sorry.   The structures of legislation or governance spend money on elaborate structured commissions of enquiry, but the hearings consist of pre-staged replies from representatives of the guilty.   The seriousness of the matter at hand is undermined and ignored by the parties going through the motions, without any apparent attempt to explain why it occurred in the first place or what those responsible are going to avert the causes in the future. The unspoken costs in psychological trauma of being inflicted in an unfair manner can never be measured by compensation in subjective financial terms.   Is accountability restored in part by the shaming in public by the media?   What is more obvious is the lack of effectiveness and authority of the regulatory bodies set up in the first place to p

The elegance begins with fine cutlery and silver ware. The King prawns were substantial but the sauce was even better. Classic pork chops in gratifying batter. The serving chopstick pair is different from what you use yourself on your plate. A gem of the ocean, done Cantonese style. The classic spring rolls, only to be surpassed by the melting pork belly with crackle.

Churn, more than ever, continues to be the source of business profit and drive in contemporary society. Turnover of paying customers to one's books means showing an increased customer portfolio, no matter how temporary this increase can be.  Inducing them to use your services or buying your products can mean offering some interim concession, creating some excitement in the joining experience or differentiating your offer from your competitors. This can be in passing on discounts in prices or rates. It may be linking access to frequent flyer rewards, providing nicely packaged gifts or increasing credit card points. In the past, this was reinforced by hiring a team of effective communicators in person or in adverts to push the package. It is sad these days that many on line offers involve interacting with just software - something is lost in this process but business costs are reduced and a new rising generation of potential customers may prefer it this way. In ha

If they are not organically grown, strawberries are said to carry the most residue of pesticides from commercial growing of vegetables and fruits. Just reflect on smart devices and their software, looking captivating as well with lures and experiences of convenience, interconnectedness and flexibility. What residues of negative connatations and real risks do these gadgets have? 1. Escalating personal addictiveness. How long does it take to check your smart phone after waking up each day? 2. Allowing others to manipulate and control our desires - and we are not even aware of it. Fake news or a source we trust? 3. Feeling pleasure in building up our dependency on others. There is an App for almost everything, especially for things we did not even think we required. 4. Emphasising unplaced trust. Who reads all the terms and conditions, written in a most unpalatable way? 5. Enhancing runaway loss of privacy. Did you notice how many parties want to know

Post World War 2, a rising tide of nationalism, the strengthening of communism and the end of colonialism witnessed an age of pro-independence political leaders. This was especially pronounced across Africa and Asia. Roll forward about sixty to seventy years. How many nations are still ruled by the same political party that fought for independence at the outset? Singapore comes foremost to mind. In contrast, the high level of volatility in the political landscape of Europe, the primary colonisers for a few centuries pre World War 2, has since witnessed a wide spectrum of political players with many different hues. So called democracies encourage change, with parties playing off each other every few years. Historically this can lead to dictatorships, autocracy, kleptocracy, military rule and other arrangements which are a far cry from the idealistic Greek idea of democracy. Even the Roman Republic came into aurocratic rule for a long time before the Empire collap

Listen to what your inner and outer worlds are trying to tell you. Take simple steps to more mindfulness, especially to fully appreciate the present and the now. Quiet down the mind to a simple point of focus at least once every day. Saviour a soundless contentment. Declutter to allow growth, let go of things that unnecessarily bind you and better accept change like those of the seasons. Acknowledge your own gratefulness, for things simple and more. Experience more and neve r corner yourself in. Allow our inherent creativity to unfold. Be conscious to be moderate in all actions. Take more interest in new things beyond your routine. Never stop questioning. Always stop to consider other views and then decide yourself. Perception can be reality, but reality may not be the perception. It is better to know the cause than treating the symptoms. Observe yourself, as if you are a third party, in your physicality, your emotions, your inner spirit and in your behaviour.

It is shocking to know that first line staff in Australia attending to emergencies are often abused, physically attacked and risk their lives trying to help. The lack of personal morals and being under the influence of deranging drugs and Ice may be the reasons behind such behaviour, but it just does not make sense. Police personnel, medics and rescue specialists bear the brunt of anger from ungrateful individuals. What has been under reported is also the personal risks faced by cabin crew staff working on the thousands of air flights hovering above our skies at any one minute. The age of elegance and privilege flying in the air has long finished with the advent of budget airlines, maximisation of paid passenger capacity and the boom in tourism. It used to be the highest opportunity in the service industry to be a uniformed steward or stewardess working to comfort airline passengers. There was a high expectation of standards from both passengers and airline crew in

11 degrees Celsius is nippy when you are used to 19. It can be so warm in comparison when you have had to put up with minus five. Waiting for a commuter train that comes every 15 minutes is a pleasure when you are often subject to wait another hour after missing a train. 15 minutes is unbearable when you only wait every three minutes. Driving for 500 kilometres on the road allows you to cross several countries in Europe. Being on the road for five hours in Australia still  does not change the passing scenery. Ten hours on a large ship cruise seems wasted compared to the same number of time discovering new cultures, food and port cities on a day trip to an exotic island. When you are in the company of your special someone, a day feels like an hour but when you are stuck with some one else, an hour does seem to be a day. When one keeps occupied and enjoys a journey no matter how long it takes, there is no expectation but only pleasure on savouring every moment of