STORIES - Time
Time
My Dad and Mum always worked, Dad in a regular job, mostly road works / building from the Civil Defence, through Local Council to State Main Roads. Mum always worked at home, for the schools we kids attended and for the church, I think she also worked, at various stages as a demonstrator for home wares. Though my clearest memory is in the mid 1950 when she worked for Miss Jones in the eponymous clothing , drapery, manchester store in Pialba. It seems to have been instilled into my psyche that time should not be wasted, that no matter what you did, worked as a volunteer, for money, at home or carried out any activity or entertainment, the time should be well spent. Even relaxation was better spent reading than doing nothing. This may be why I find the current fascination with celebrity and “ royal” families somewhat perplexing, as none of them seem to spend their time wisely or at all well. The total focus seems to be on fame, fashion and money; on marriage into money, breeding an heir, fornication for social status or money, certainly not pleasure, while clothed in the latest fashion and contemplating what new antics will generate more media coverage. There is no intellectual endeavour and work does not really exist, while the State, via the taxpayer, funds receptions and extravagant security measures to protect life and limb and screening from the media scrum that these people are actively encouraging.