7/28/2024 7:58PM
Hello from adelaide Email from away 1
Frank Timms
To:You
Tue 7/28/2024 7:58 PM
Dear grandma and grandpa
I have officially arrived at my destination. The past week has gone very quickly, maybe the multiple time zones I have been through may account for that. In some ways flying is a form of time travel , you press on hoping that the past doesn’t catch up with you. Having spent a bit of time on planes this week I have come to some new realizations about them.
There is a poetic irony that comes with sitting very close in very confined quarters with hundreds of people yet not hearing anyone talk. On my flight to Doha I was determined to chat with the people around me and break the pattern of blocking out the surrounding world and just mindlessly consuming content. I sat between two guys who both work building pipelines in WA, to ensure a peaceful flight I didn’t enlighten them on my political views about the matter, instead I approached the conversation without judgment. I don’t think either of them would have cared about the governments broken promises to decrease their emissions or transition to renewables, to them their work was simply that – a job. A lot of what they said reaffirmed this idea that I had developed about Perth and WA in general – that it is a very confused place. In many ways the largest state in Australia exists in a world of its own, partly because of its isolation but also because of its financial independence. My friend who I was staying with told me that WA is the richest state in Australia, it makes sense that they have entertained independent ideals in the past – because they actually could defect from the nation and the rest of us would probably suffer as a result. WA is deceptively progressive place with its excellent public transport, labor government and policies that support renters rights, but all of this is prefaced by the fact that a lot of their public spending comes from mining, and my friends on the plane reaffirmed that this probably isn’t going to change anytime soon.
I realized on my flight to doha that being a airhostess is probably one of the worst jobs out there. When I was younger I romanticized the idea of being paid to travel, spending everynight in a different city, getting to wear a fashionable uniform to work. Now I am older I see behind the façade. In many ways an airhostess job is to provide a glamours distraction from the lack of knee space and tasteless food, they create an image of luxury while you are sitting in economy class unable to moved for fear of disturbing those around you. It is almost a form of performance arts , enhanced by their plastered on smile, thick coat of makeup and tight costume. While I’m sure some of them enjoy it by the end of the 12 hour flight you can tell that they are sick of it by their tired ‘goodbyes’ and ‘thank you for choosing qatar’ , the script so repeated it almost becomes a mumble.
But that’s enough about flying , the destination is inherently more important, and what a destination it is !!. The ride from the airport to the city didn’t feel like I was on bus, rather a carriage pulled by horses that was taking me into a medieval village like the ones I would read about in fairytales. The first thing I noticed was the abundance of rock walls (I know grandma will appreciate the effort that goes into making these , so to see so many was very impressive). There is an undeniable cohesion about Edinburgh’s architecture that is unlike anything I have ever seen in Australia. The buildings are incredibly impressive especially when you consider the period, they would have been built in. Stepping onto the cobblestoned street feels like you are taking a step back into history. And then you walk past a McDonalds or KFC and the illusion is lost but the feeling remains. I understand what you are saying about the ‘dullness’ of sorts (this is definitely enhanced by the perpetually overcast sky) but I think the somewhat blank canvas makes the pops of colour even more bright. If you look hard enough this time of yar there is color to be found everywhere, in the cracks of the street where wildflowers grow, on the painted doors of townhouses, in the graffiti that marks the walls.
Once I arrived, I slept for 12 hours and woke up excited to see more of the city. Whenever I come to a new place I like go for a walk to familiarize myself with the areas. You can tell a lot about a place based on how the people there spend their mornings and so a morning walk was top of the priority list. What was going to be a little ½ stroll around the suburb turned into a four hour adventure as I kept finding things that I wanted to explore. It is a very walkable place with lots of parks, winding side streets and lots of things to look at. In many ways Edinburgh is an extremely distant place unlike anywhere I have ever been, but there are tiny reminders that it exists in the same world as Australia – seagulls for one, blackberries that line the river and libraries. It is comforting to find the familiar in the foreign.
Whenever I travel I see a bit of you in me , whether that’s the purchasing of a bus pass, or my first visit to the information center and just my overall desire to check put all the museums and art galleries. My friend in Perth said that I travel like a grandma and I took it as a complement haha. Hope you guys have been keeping well and that grandpa’s health is on the rise. I have my induction for work tomorrow so am looking forward to meeting some new people. I have been promoted to work in the artists bar so will get to meet some local celebrities (even if I don’t know who they are). Will send you an update on how my first week of fringe goes !!
Lots of love
Jess xox
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Hello from adelaide
Frank Timms
To:You
Tue 7/30/2024 2:51 PM
Hi Jess,
How delightful to receive your first email from overseas. I notice that you used grandpas old email address . He recently changed it to franktimms77@gmail.com as he was not sure how much longer he could use the old address from his provider. So far emails from the picknowl email are still getting to his computer. I notice that your address uses upper case letters for Timms and Jess. Is your address Timms.Jess@ hotmail.com or timms.jess@ hotmail.com It seems to matter using these computers
At long last Grandpa is back to good health although he still has a cough occasionally. We have been watching some of the Olympic events on our television but as there is a huge time difference I am often in bed watching the events on our bedroom TV. It is a pity that the opening ceremony was so long and wet but it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the participants. The Australian swimmers are doing well and I am amazed at how fast the hockey games are now that it is played on artificial turf. I do not usually watch the commercial stations but the broadcast is on channel 9 so there are many many commercials and bland commentary. I am not a great sports viewer at any time but I have to admire the skill and dedication that many participants have applied over many years to become so good at their chosen sport.The Olympic Games are only every 4 years so it takes a lot of dedication to continue the training if you want to compete in more than one Olympics as some of the competitors have. The gold winning Australian Kayak winner this is her 4th Olympic games and now she has a complete set of medals -bronze, silver and gold.
When we have had drizzly days Grandpa and I watch a magnificent series of documentaries called ” The History of the World”. It was made by the BBC and featured a historian called Andrew Marr .It took about 9 hours of viewing so we watched it in 3 hour blocks and I will return the DVD to the library tomorrow. It covered numerous topics like Survival, Age of Empire,Age of Plunder,Revolution, Age of Industry, Age of Extremes. I found it fascinating. Parts of old Edinburgh where you are now was built in the 1700’s when England was involved in the growing of sugar in the newly discovered East Indies and their colonies and to provide cheap labour they need slaves from Africa. The wealthy merchants in this trade were able to build some of those beautiful houses in the older parts of Edinburgh. If you get to the Netherlands you will see wonderful homes also built by wealthy merchants in Amsterdam. They traded spices from India and what is now Indonesia a few hundred years before the English became traders in commodities. This is what I loved about travel in the past Jess- It brings the past into focus and stimulates me to read further about various topics. You also meet interesting people and see things that challenge your beliefs. I am so pleased that you have taken this opportunity to get away from Adelaide and use the time to experience life in other countries.
I have just taken over this task!
Its a fabulous winters day today outside. I have been reading a book by a bloke called Ted Egan who moved to the NT in the early 1950’s and became a country and western singer before working for the Dept of Aboriginal Affairs in Darwin and country communities around the NT. Its quite interesting – he is about 10 years older than me and knows many of the survey assistants from Garden Point Mission (Catholic) on Melville Island. He started the St Marys Football Club in Darwin and most of our survey assistants were players when they were in Darwin. There some factual recounts in his book which were correct in his notion but not according to my memories.
I am always telling myself to start paragraphs about subjects which have jogged my memory usually while watching TV. A lot of it is so long ago but its amazing what I actually remember and a bit concerning what I don’t!
Talked to your dad this morning – he was outside in the sunshine whilst your mum was riding horses with a friend on a farm nearby. Amos is completing a form for Centrelink a help pay for his board at Norman Tce.
Sounds like you are settling in to the Edinburgh environment. The castle is a forbidding looking place above the city with steep black cliffs and battlements.
I have sent your contacts to Pam and Mona. It would be nice if they invited you to stay with them in Malta. I think they still have the house in London. They are nice people. We still miss Marion (my cousin) and her partner (Pam’s father) since they passed away in the pandemic.
Your comments on WA were interesting. Grandma and I spent about a year in Perth in 1969-70 while I completed my survey qualifications. The big difference to Darwin was the attitude to aboriginals. I had been used to no racism in Darwin (or very little) and it was very noticeable in WA. Some of the survey assistants who worked with me in Darwin always found it noticeable whenever they went on holidays to any of the other states. Because they worked for the Commonwealth Government they were allocated housing in Darwin and were entitled to airfares to other capital cities for them and their families.
What are your digs like? Any leaks or lack of heating?
Amos just dropped in. We needed to sign his Centrelink form for rent assistance.
Looking forward to getting your next email about your travels.
Love
Grandad and Grandma xxx
Couple of photos attached
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