Wednesday, November 11, 2026

Have a Go Day

This is an annual event designed to get Seniors to try different activities that will stop them vegetating at home. These include anything from archery to badminton to rock n roll dancing. No canoeing this year, which Lutz used to organise.

It’s only a 20 minute walk from my place, so I got there early as a hot day was forecast. Val was coming on the train, intending to take the shuttle bus from Burswood Station. I sat down to wait for her at the Bus Drop Off Point, glad to have a rest under the trees:
Buses came and went, but no sign of Val. It turned out that there was such a huge queue that she decided to walk. She had come with her neighbour. A German lady called Barbel. Here they are having a coffee:
Barbel is an expert with the iPhone. She solved the problem of my phone failing to ring and taught me lots of other things - but I need to go back for another lesson! My ageing brain was letting me down.

We walked around, looking at all the stalls. There were many freebies to collect and some people were loaded up with everything they could lay their hands on. I just came away with some lip balm and a poster.

I wasn’t looking forward to the walk home, so I went to the Cycling Without Age stand and hitched a trishaw ride in the direction of the Stadium. My plan was to get off half way, when I would be close to home. The driver went out of his way to take me even further, though I was worried about the uphill bit. Then he told me he had power assist so all was well.


I took a copy of their programme. I told him that JL and I had done the Kent St Weir ride some years ago. He said he was doing that one tomorrow. He must be very fit with all that pedalling.

Remembrance Day 
Going back a couple of hours to 11.00 am, Remembrance Day was marked with a minute’s silence. 

My Grandad fought in WWI as a very young conscript. He was lucky to survive all the slaughter, becoming a POW. Enlisted men were not allowed to surrender, so their officer must have done so.  As a POW he learned a lot of German. He never talked about it much, but then we never asked him. He did say they had to live on cabbage and potatoes, but so did all their guards.


That night all the lights on the bridges and Stadium were blood red like the poppies: