The Panorama...

There are times when I wish I had a panoramic camera, so I could capture the complete panoramic views we are often afforded here, in our hillside house.

I also, often wish I had a tape to switch on, for the little gems I hear, when out & about.

The following photos will document the storm we watched develop, build, then erupt, with the aftermath of relative serenity that followed.

So begins the build-up. Deceptive blues, light clouds... a lot like life, really.

Nothing is ever as it seems, is it?

The huge cloud banks, slightly to the left of the clear blue 'gap'.

Could that be rain clouds forming? So billowy?

Looking so black, heavy, threatening. Rain visibly falling from the massive cloudbank.

Look West. What a change of face!

My goodness! All is forgiven! The face of forgivness?

See? It is not so gloomy! We can be light again.

We can play the game... life is not about doom & gloom...

Life is more likely about windows of opportunity.

Windows for the future, which may, or may not, be so immediate.

Look to the gold? Look, for the gaps, the windows...

Don't trust it all too literally. Deception abounds.

Those flashes of gold. Not stable.

Offering promises for the morrow. When blue skies & fresh air, with sunshine, will be the order of the day.

These wide vistas of the cloudscapes colour my days & evenings.

I see many paralells to life, in these clouds. I think too much!

Sitting in the hairdresser's waiting chair.

"After I finish cutting this young man's hair, you are next!"

"Thankyou, I will wait."

As I sit, enthralled to hear the tale drawn out, from the client. Conversation, as the haircut proceeds.

"What do you do?"

"I am a Housepainter"

"Do you do delicate work?"

"No. I have a young girl I employ. She is patient, very neat, careful. She has a baby. She had back pains, a sore back. She went to see her Doctor, who told her she was having a baby!"

"Did she know she was pregnant? Did you know?"

"NO! She is a chubby girl- you know, quite big, so you couldn't see it. She said she had no idea. She was shocked. She had it 2 weeks later!"

"She didn't KNOW?? How can this be? Did you believe her?"

"Well yes, but I dont know whether to believe her or not!"

I can no longer sit quietly. I have to pipe up.


"I beieve her. It is entirely possible"

The men stare at me, in disbelief.

"It is entirely possible."

They both splutter & stumble " But what about?" "Wouldnt the month...?" "Surely there would be .... things?"

I explain to them both, that if the girl is plump, she may not menstruate regularly. Or even at all. I explain that is it entirely possible the girl had no knowledge of her pregnancy.

I am struck at how little men seem to know about women, & their bodily functions.

When recounting the story to a male friend later, he told me "Men don't want to know!" I believe him. Even in this day & age, I believe him.

Further discussion ensues about the fathering of said child. Another, promiscuous, man, Bob, is employed by the House painter. Bob has impregnated 2 other women, neither of them his wife.

The Housepainter asks the girl if 'Bob' is the father of her child?

She laughs in his face, & informs him it is "Some bloke up in North Queensland."

I ponder this after hearing further details of her living arrangements & her studio/house sharing partner. Who is her father.

She had kept the baby.

It never gets boring, going to the hairdresser.

Now I have found one I like, I can relax, & just enjoy the entertainment!


Paul Simon, You Can Call Me Al.