e m o H t a y a t S l a i c e p S g n i d Re a
1
IN THIS ISSUE FEATURES ANZAC
PAGE
2020 Anzac Day
4
Books and Writing Auntie Karen’s Survival Guide
16 Bookworm’s Corner 11 Editorial 3 Fiction Loyalties 20 Just Out 7 The Idler 49 The Noble Recreation 38 Your Voice Matters 10 Business
Business Card Board Front Page Photograph: Open for business Photographer: Public domain
Have a book to publish?
R Family History R Non-Fiction R Autobiography R Biography R Fantasy R Fiction R Poetry Get expert advice on layout, editing, costings, publishing and marketing from professional editors First consultation free Free quotes
55
Community Federal Notes 12 Flinders University News 31 Mapping the Makarda 30 Notes From Parliament 10 SAFE 35 SVRN CoS Response to Covid-19 50 Free Advertising 50 The Compassionate Friends 53
PAGE
Covid - 19
Australian Red Cross Camping as Isolation How to Manage WA Boosting Health System
27 15 26 15
Entertainment
Dining In 18 Film 32 Footnote People in History 36 TV with Chris 28 Leisure
House and Garden Obituary
Raymond Omodei
24 14
DISCLAIMER The information in this publication is of a general nature. The articles contained herein are not intended to provide a complete discussion on each subject and or issues canvassed. Swan Magazine does not accept any liability for any statements or any opinion, or for any errors or omissions contained herein.
Swinburne Press (founded 1989) P: 0418 934 850 E: douglas.guvnor@gmail.com
SWAN MAGAZINE WEBSITE:
www.swanmagazine.com.au
Email: editor@swanmagazine.com.au Registered Address: 18 Tokay Lane, The Vines, Western Australia 6069 MAY DEADLINES: Advertisements: 1st May Editorial: 1st May Copyright: Swan Magazine 2020
I.S.S.N. 1833-9336
DISCLAIMER The information in this publication is of a general nature. The articles contained herein are not intended to provide a complete discussion on each subject and or issues canvassed. Swan Magazine does not accept any liability for any statements or any opinion, or for any errors or omissions contained herein. 2
EDITORIAL A PRETTY KETTLE OF FISH
‘I
quite the same way again. The things we took for granted, kisses on the cheek, big hugs when we meet, firm handshakes, are now things of the past. We have seen our political leaders cope with an unknown and completely alien situation. Some have shone, truly embodying the qualities we associate with leadership. Some have not. We have seen different strategies employed with varying degrees of success from the ‘Let’s build herd immunity’ to ‘social isolation and lock down’. It is far too soon to say which will be the more effective, either, or indeed both, may prove to be ruinously expensive in terms of lives or economies. The one thing we can say with absolute certainly is that the effects of this pandemic will be felt for decades to come as the world struggles to recover. It is too soon to be talking about ‘exit strategies’, but not too soon for our leaders to be thinking about it. It will require courage, foresight and strength. Petty Party squabbles will have to be set aside, politics must take a back seat to recovery. We have no room for anything but the main objective of survival.
t was the best of times, it was the worst of times ...’. Well, it often is, isn’t it? But these times seem to be the oddest times. The Covid-19 pandemic appears to have simultaneously brought of the best, the most selfless, heroic traits in most people while at the same time provoking selfish, mean-spirited aggression in others. But for every ‘buy every toilet roll in the shop’ hoarder, there’s five or six front line heath workers, battling away in the most arduous conditions to save lives , while jeopardising their own and abandoning their own families to do so. For every person screaming at a hapless cashier because they can only buy five kilos of rice there are a dozen truckies working long, long hours through the night hauling bags of rice to that store so that we can all eat. For every non-asthmatic buying up Ventolin inhalers ‘just in case’ there are nurses, and doctors, phlebotomists and health professionals and the huge support staff of cleaners, cooks, administrators, working literally until they drop to make sure as few as humanly possible die, and every life that can be saved, is. Millionaires have donated millions, millionaires have sent workers home without jobs, without cash and without any kind of hope. In Italy, more than a hundred doctors have died fighting this virus, and throughout the world our best and brightest are at risk, as well as every single person on the planet. A month ago the world was busy making plans - plays were due to open, family celebrations were planned, anniversary dinners were booked at restaurants, long-planned cruises were being paid for and looked forward to while the stay-athomes were longing to be off traveling, mixing with the local populations of exotic places. Within thirty days, all that has gone, some of it permanently in our life-times. No one now will ever look at a cruise liner in
LOCAL
What can we as individuals do in the face of this disaster? The very first thing is ‘follow the rules laid down by the health professionals’. Commit to social distancing, stay inside, stay away from friends and family until better times dawn. Wash your hands, cough into your elbow. Don’t think ‘I’m young, this won’t affect me, I’ll be fine.’ Because, while that may be true (and we’re seeing many, many cases when it isn’t) it’s not true of your grandparents, those with chronic diseases, the vulnerable, the venerable and the venal. ‘I’ll just nip down to the shops, what harm can it do?’ says a person just returned from a trip to America - she has no
Australia's living Victoria Cross heroes - Keith Payne VC, Mark Donaldson VC, Daniel Keighran VC, Ben Roberts VC Thank you for your service. (Photograph courtesy of British and Commonwealth Forces) 3
ANZAC 2020 ANZAC DAY RSLWA
I
n an effort to minimise the spread of COVID-19 in the community, and following the advice from the Federal Government, Retrurned Services League Western Australia made the difficult decision to cancel all public commemoration services for ANZAC Day in 2020. ANZAC Day is a day, above all other days, when we remember, respect and acknowledge all those who served in the war, in particular, those that did not return. Even though we are unable to come together as a community to mark this sacred day, we do urge the community to continue to honour our Diggers this ANZAC Day. We have planned a range of activities to maintain awareness of ANZAC Day, its purpose and our ANZAC Appeal. We invite you to be part of it.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS • Is the ANZAC Day commemoration service happening this year at Kings Park? No. In an effort to minimise the spread of COVID-19 in the community, and following the advice from the Federal Government, the RSLWA made the difficult decision to cancel all public commemoration services for ANZAC Day in 2020.
EMBRACING THE SPIRIT OF MATESHIP
RSLWA is encouraging all Aussies to get creative in a show of mateship this ANZAC Day – by standing in quiet contemplation at the end of their driveways, or on their balconies, at 6am on April 25. RSLWA has listened to its followers on social media and will run with this beautiful tribute to our fallen servicemen and women, and those who have or still serve today, with a collective show of respect in the wake of the first cancellation of our ANZAC Day services since WWII, due to the COVID-19 crisis. We invite the community to get behind our new-look, resilient ANZAC Day by:
• Will there still be an ANZAC Day March this year? No. Unfortunately, there will not be an ANZAC Day March this year. While this is regrettable, it is necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community and to protect our most vulnerable. • How can I still commemorate ANZAC Day from home? As we approach the very first ANZAC Day since WWII without our traditional Dawn Service, we hope you will continue to help us honour our fallen, as well as those who served and still serve today. This year, we invite you to take part in a unique 6am ANZAC Day Dawn Service. Simply stand at the end of your driveway, or on your balcony, at 6am and tune in on the radio for one minute’s silence at followed by The Ode and The Last Post. Following that, perhaps you and your household can share in a traditional gunfire breakfast – an ANZAC Day tradition that honours the dead and unites the living – and raise a mug to our older Diggers, who, along with our entire community, remain at home, in isolation.
• Watching out for our moving community service announcements on TV and social media in coming weeks, starring some of WA’s most inspiring Veterans, as well as the WA Governor, His Excellency Kim Beazley AC, State Premier Mark McGowan and RSLWA CEO John McCourt. • Sharing our mateship-themed Veteran video profiles and articles on the web and social media. • Having children draw beautiful poppies with rosemary to post on our Facebook page. • Light a candle at 5.55am and join our ANZAC Day driveway Dawn Service for 6am on April 25. Tune in to the radio (TBA) to hear The Ode, The Last Post and join in the one-minute silence. Keep an eye out at this time for a traditional RAAF fighter-jet flyover.
• What else can I do to commemorate ANZAC Day this year? Together, but apart, we can continue to honour our ANZACs, veterans and fellow Australians – and demonstrate that the resilience and bravery they showed is still very much alive in us all today. • There’s a range if resources including veteran stories available on the RSLWA website (www.rslwa.org) and also via the Virtual War Memorial Australia (www.vwma.org.au) • This year ANZAC Day’s theme is mateship. Perhaps take the time to connect with those mates you don’t talk to often via a phone call or a FaceTime chat and honour the spirit of mateship. • For parents, we encourage you to talk to your children about ANZAC Day and even encourage them to design and colour their own poppy, or write their own story of mateship, to place in your front window.
• Fire up the barbecue for a traditional gunfire breakfast of bacon, eggs and sausages … plus a mug of (rum-spiked) tea or coffee to toast the fallen. • Post all your ANZAC Day tributes and photos to RSLWA’s Facebook and Instagram pages. And most importantly, please donate to our to our annual ANZAC Appeal – which ensures the health, wellbeing and advocacy of today’s Veterans – by clicking here: www.rslwa.org. au/donate/ Below, we’ve endeavoured to answer all your questions about this most sacred of days. And trust that you will be inspired by the mateship, courage and resilience of our ANZACs to join us in the special commemoration. For at the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them. Lest we forget!
• Will there be a service on TV or the radio? A very special live broadcast of RSLWA’s Commemoration Service will be televised this ANZAC Day at 10am. Watch from the safety of home as our His Excellency, the Governor of WA Kim Beazley, and Premier Mark McGowan lead tributes to the fallen in a moving ceremony. 4
ANZAC
• How else can I support ANZAC Day? Please consider giving to our ANZAC Appeal. We very much rely on the kindness of our community, government grants, corporate, philanthropists and organisations such as Lotterywest to support our lifesaving programs of advocacy, welfare and service. Every donation we receive is placed in the State Welfare Fund, allowing us to assist Veterans and their families in need.
ANZAC REQUIEM
We remember those who still sleep where they were left – amid the holly scrub in the valleys and the ridges of Gallipoli – on the rocky and terraced hills of Palestine – and in the lovely cemeteries of France. We remember those who lie asleep in the ground beneath the shimmering haze of the Libyan Desert – at Bardia, Derna, Tobruk – and amid the mountain passes and olive groves of Greece and Crete, and the rugged, snow-capped hills of Lebanon and Syria. We remember those who lie buried in the rank jungle of Malaya and Burma – in New Guinea – and in the distant isles of the Pacific. We remember those who lie buried amid loving friends in our Motherland and in our own far North. We remember those who lie in unknown resting places in almost every land and those gallant men whose grave is the unending sea. We remember those who died as prisoners of war, remote from their homeland, and from the comforting presence of their kith and kin. We think of those in our women’s services who gave their lives in our own foreign lands and at sea, and of those who proved to be, in much more than a name, the sisters of our fighting men. We recall, too, the staunch friends who fought beside our men on the first ANZAC Day – men of New Zealand who helped to create the name of ANZAC. We recall of those who gave their lives in the Royal Navy, the British Army, the Royal Air Force, the Merchant Service and in other British and Dominion Forces. We think of those British men and women who fell, when, for the second time in history, their nation and its kindred stood alone against the overwhelming might of an oppressor; and we think of every man and woman who in those crucial hours died so that the lights of freedom and humanity might continue to shine. We think of those gallant men and women who died in Korea, Malaya, Borneo, Vietnam, Somalia, the Gulf, East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq as well as in Peacekeeping Forces and on humanitarian missions, defending the Commonwealth and other countries of the Free World, against a common enemy. May these all rest proudly in the knowledge of their achievement, and may we and our successors in that heritage prove worthy of their sacrifice.
• If I practise social distancing, can I still visit the State War Memorial at King’s Park or other memorials to pay my respects this ANZAC Day? This year we ask that you refrain from visiting our memorials and instead commemorate the spirit of ANZAC Day from the safety of your home. • I’m a veteran. I’m feeling very isolated and alone at not being able to come together with fellow veterans this ANZAC Day. ANZAC Day, above all days, is a day we recall and give thanks to those who served in war and those who did not return. During this time, more than any, we recognise people are isolated from loved ones and feeling lonely and worried. We want all members of our community, including our veterans, to feel connected and encourage you to connect with family and friends this ANZAC Day. Be it a phone call, an email or a Facetime chat, ANZAC Day is a time to come together in any way possible and support one another. We encourage any veterans requiring welfare assistance at this time to get in contact with one of our team via welfare@ rslwa.org.au
5