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BE OF GOOD CHEER
EU THARREI in Greek, the best simple advice in the New Testament
probably taken entirely out of context, or was it the easiest
epigram to remember in my Ancient Greek finals!
Either way, and whether you read the Bible or not, you’d have to say
we are now in the economic shambles predicted by Mr Evans-Pritchard
and many of the best business commentators in the world. The price
of nearly everything you already own
may go down a long way- houses, shares, boats. The cost of many
essential things you need
will rise inexorably-food, medicine, healthcare, insurance. “Riot
and civil commotion” take on a new meaning in England and I am sure
underwriters won’t be far behind the news in redrafting material
damage policies and increasing premiums on all insurance cover. We
don’t need any more tax, but socialist governments will try to
squeeze it out of anyone with assets and give it to the least
productive. But the value of the
best things in life will never be
diminished (see below)
Whatever are we to do here and now, to make daily life better?
I’ll give you my little thoughts, because that is what my editorial
page is for. I much prefer it to Facebook, and it gets me into less
trouble with touchy people who can’t take a little criticism here
and there!
First, we are to shop well for good food ingredients and good wine.
We are to get into the kitchen and bake, grill, roast and stir fry
and chop salads. We are to eat well every day and eat with family
and friends often. For some of you, these family and friends will
include the four footed varieties and God bless them all.
Turn off everything to do with video games and television-mostly
rubbish punctured with crude advertising or shallow entertainment
that makes you neither rich or satisfied. Keep the wireless on if
you have a favourite station. I listen to my favourites and that
helps me along during tedious jobs. But I pick up the phone and ring
friends , especially the elderly, because my time and my chat are a
special gift to those lonely and isolated, and yours can be also.
Do not listen to negativity from individuals, or to hypnotic
Government propaganda. Read the many books you have accumulated, or
can easily find in an op shop or remainder book shop, especially
books on nature, your favourite sports, gardening and other good
essential things.
Go for a walk daily and leave the car at home if you are not
carrying things or people. I went to town on the bus yesterday and
had so much fun, plus a medical appointment that turned out well and
gave me every reason to count my blessings. Visiting an herb garden,
I brushed with the tips of my fingers such herbs as rue, tansy,
wormwood, lavender, rosemary, lemon balm, pineapple sage,
yarrow-amazing scents in nature, all of which stimulate a nose that
is tuned to the flavour wheel and the aroma carousel of wine. I
walked, I met two visitors from Wuerzburg in Bavaria whose amazing
Residence and town vineyards I visited in 1998.
As often as I can, I watch the colours of sunrise and sunset and all
the daylight hours in between. I sing whenever I can get away with
it, just as my uncle used to sing in the fields while working on his
farm. The nuns who taught him music had begged him to go
professional, but in the days before Idol and Got Talent etc, it was
a very hit or miss affair as to whether you would make a living from
it. Better to stick to farming.
Make jam and chutney, or at least save the jars and lids for someone
who does. My aunt, wife of the singing farmer, was a champion
bottler of the district, and her daughter ,now a great-grandmother
in her own right, is still cooking and bottling and making
preserves. Watch how Nana does it.
Talk to someone who has been through great hardship or political
turmoil to understand how the human spirit survives, and how lucky
we are if we fight for our personal freedom and our nation, under
its greatest jewel, the Crown of Australia.
Buy local, if you can’t buy local buy British, if you can’t buy
British, buy EU or American, if you can’t, buy non Communist Asian
(Malaysian, Thai, Taiwanese, Korean). if you can’t buy any of these
make it or go without. Are you with me? “Never become dependent on
anyone who does not care for your welfare”. Don’t give your retail
dollars to any manufacturer or purveyor whose policies you dislike
or find abhorrent. Complain if merchandise is unsuitable and it is
fair for you to do so. Make a fuss if you are in the right. Be
fussy, without being arrogant or inconsiderate, especially to those
who serve you with politeness and a willing attitude. Shop policies
that seem unfair are often designed by lawyers and accountants and
managers who never get their hands physically soiled.
Use your mobile phone sparingly , and largely for incoming calls and
keep them brief and away from too close to your ear. Write letters
on paper and improve your writing skills. You’ll find you get some
charming and uplifting letters in return.
Encourage people who feel the same way as you. Give special
encouragement to the elderly and home-schooling parents. Write to
the paper and the Council. Be a nuisance to the nuisance makers, a
scourge to those who bother you with swindling in mind, a seeker
after truth always and a supporter of family enterprise. Learn a new
skill every year, learn about your street, your suburb, your
geographical patch whether it’s a coast, a valley, a lagoon, a
canyon or a basin. Learn what grows commercially and what grows well
in your garden. Get on and plant something new, especially a tree
that loves carbon dioxide (it’s not a pollutant) and gives us oxygen
in the night. Hug a tree, it’s not mad to do so. Hug a person who
needs an hug, it’s excellent and usually overdue to show your
affection. Don’t be afraid to shed tears whether in private or in
public. Sometimes you can’t help it when you hear a much loved hymn,
or a piece of Robby Williams, of Puccini, of Schubert, Glenn
Campbell, Troy Cassar-Daley, John Williamson, Maria Callas, Karen
Carpenter. Keep a clean hanky with you at all times.
You may not agree with all of this or even half of it, but it helps
me to make sense of modern life, much of which is devalued,
poisoned, stripped of sense and rendered chaotic through excesses of
socialism and commercialism, of fear, greed, bureaucracy and
Political Correctness.
As that mystic the tentmaker of Tarsus, who wandered the
Mediterranean with a mission like none other, said – “Be of good
cheer”. He also said “Take a little wine for thine infirmity’s sake”
You will find the best wines through us. We search for reliable
supplies of good value wines at every pricepoint, and sell nothing
we would not drink at home. Ask us for a full list by emailing
arkwines@mira.net today. We are the agents of the vineyards
concerned, and cheerful workers in the vineyard of the Lord.
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