Skywest Kalgoorlie-Melbourne
I was sorry to read on the Kalgoorlie Miner website that Skywest will abandon its Melbourne-Kalgoorlie service in November.
I used the service thrice, and although expensive it was a marvellous time saver.
They say it is not economically viable at 50 percent capacity given high fuel prices, operating costs “and the deteriorating economic conditions in Australia”. Read more
First soccer game in Mount Gambier
Michael played his first soccer game in Mount Gambier today, after a break of three weeks. He’s playing for Gambier Centrals and his under 12 team lost 1-4 to Inter. Read more
The Border Watch website
I’m putting the finishing touches to a new dynamic website for The Border Watch. It’s my modification of the Revolution News WordPress theme. Read more
Feeling the cold
Winters in Kalgoorlie are short and not very cold, but temperature is a relative thing. It does get down to zero in Kalgoorlie but it’s a dry crisp cold and days starting that way tend to warm up nicely.
I only encountered a handful of days when the wind was strong enough and chilly enough to make indoors more attractive than being outside.
Moving back to south-eastern Australia we’ve experienced a very mild start to winter, but there have been a few hints of what’s to come.
Stopping near Ballarat for lunch I wanted to close the door to keep the cold out; haven’t done that for three years. Read more
Cost of living
It’s very expensive to live in remote towns such as Kalgoorlie. It’s worse in the Pilbara, from what I can tell, but Kalgoorlie certainly isn’t cheap.
We had subsidised housing there, which made it reasonably affordable.
When considering a move to Mount Gambier we calculated the impact of losing the housing assistance against lower costs for education, food and services. We figured it would be a balanced equation. Read more
Farewell Kalgoorlie
I’m feeling rather sentimental to be leaving Kalgoorlie after two and a half years. Farewell drinks were enjoyed last night. Juliet and I then had a wonderful dinner with my current and former deputy editors and their partners.
The Kalgoorlie Miner staff today presented me with a mock front page (see below) as a parting gift. It was clever and thoughtful.
I have no regrets about coming here and no regrets about leaving. It’s been a wonderful experience and a fantastic new time beckons.
PS: Comments here will be held for moderation until I have regular computer access. To fellow bloggers, sorry I can’t visit your sites much over the next couple of weeks. Read more
Don’t wee in the bush
Just browsing the Kalgoorlie Miner web site and gained a reminder about this story.
An 11-year-old boy on a camping trip discovered a skeleton when he went for a pee.
I received a message from the boy’s mother following a similar story we reported a week earlier. That involved a tradesman finding bones while having a wee break in the bush.
Don’t know about you, but I’m not game to seek relief in the bush any more.
Leaving Kalgoorlie
It’s starting to sink in now that we’ll be leaving Kalgoorlie soon to start a new life in Mount Gambier, South Australia.
I haven’t written much about it so far because everything has been up in the air regarding Dad’s health. He has pancreatic cancer and his condition has deteriorated in the past week.
I obtained agreement from my employer today to finish at the Kalgoorlie Miner a little earlier than planned, next Friday, May 23. That’s eight weeks after I gave notice. Read more
E-waste disposal
We’ve made three trips to the rubbish tip today, getting rid of odds and ends we don’t want to take to Mount Gambier.
The biggest items were an old lawnmower that doesn’t work and two unwanted broken hard drives I couldn’t be bothered repairing.
Kalgoorlie-Boulder has possibly the only free landfill site in Australia; certainly it’s the first free tip I’ve encountered. Maybe it’s a Western Australian thing. Read more
No sign of winter
The temperature at Kalgoorlie has been hovering in the high 20s for the past week and there is no sign of a cool change in the forecast.
The weather we’re having would be considered balmy in summer at Mount Gambier.
I’m not enjoying it though. The flies are back and the cool mornings are gone now too. As for rain, what’s that?
There were a few spots while we watched Michael’s soccer on Saturday. Maggie (4) came running over to tell us “something’s dripping”. She sees rain so rarely she had no idea what it was.
Recent comments
- Faith: While I am not generally a sports fan, I used to enjoy watching the Olympics. But now, with women’s...
- delmer: I probably should have said “I expect the rest of the world to do smarter things than ‘we’...
- John Miles: I had the same error when working on a new company website using WP 2.5. I searched for the...
- Drew Dundee: this made my day. Have labelled my lawnmower accordingly and am looking into funding a contraception...
- OzJohnnie: delmer; You’re a bigot. I expect everyone, American or not, to do smarter things than this. Michael;...
Links
Random posts
Archives
Useful stuff
