OTHER JOBS, AND FILL IN DETAILS. While working at Repetition many details were omitted regards change of address and recreational things. I did have another life besides the surf club, although it would have to be a distant second. Grand Ma sold 112 Palmer and purchased a property at 3 Knight Street St. Peters. We lived here for couple of years. Circa 1956 / 58. I would travel by train to work and Tech., caught up with most of my mates on occasion, although the club had first priority on weekends. When Marconi School of Wireless came along many hours building valve wireless sets kept me occupied. I bought 3 or 4 not so old cabinet and a couple of bench top kaput radios and pulled them to bits and salvaged the valves, and resistors and capacitors. Using a second hand circuit tester, and using the wiring diagram usually found in the cabinet or a diagram from School, start from scratch and build my radios. From all of the bits and pieces, and with out ‘shocking' myself, I managed to build a couple of radios, yes they worked. My Uncle Bruce had shown me how to French polish, with this skill and a fair bit sanding the cabinets came up real good. From St. Peters we moved to Marrickville, then--------. When I total up the moves we had over the years I am astounded. Including all of the places mentioned, I remember Coogee, Bondi, Paddington, Taylors Square. The country netted around 15 places, Avalon was 8, up here has been 15, talk about sleeping around!!, MY ANNUAL HOLIDAYS WERE SPENT AT THE CLUB. MILK RUN A.D. There wasn't much of a break after selling the run, obtained work with Farley and Lewers, their mentioned in Avalon stuff, see sharks. We dismantled the sand plant at Roseville and re-assembled it upstream. This was only a casual job, around 6 weeks. A job came up almost immediately at Ferris Bros. at Brookvale. They employed me as safety officer and maintenance fitter for the 2 factories. They sent me to the NSW National Safety Council training school to gain my qualification in safety management. Ferris Bros were leaders in car radio production, although we also manufactured strangely, boat trailers and die cast components, and we had a chrome plating section. An assembly section produced TV aerials, many fittings were made for stereo units. One of the highlights was to completely dismantle the bosses' big Ford V8 marine motor and rebuild it. New rings and bearings, crank shaft re-ground, cylinders re-bored, rewired, chrome plate the rocker covers and carburetor covers, and anything else, (this will make it go faster), re-spray a brilliant red. And all with only a basic idea of mechanics. The gear box was serviced elsewhere, bit beyond me. We benched tested the you beaut power unit and she ran like a dream, nothing like the burble of a V8. Brought up revs, slowly, to 3000rpm and run her in for a couple of hours, at reduced revs. We drained the oil, loaded her on the works truck and off to Cottage Point where Mr. Ferris had his boat moored. For some reason we removed the spark plug leads before man handling into the engine room. The motor was bedded down and connected to the propeller shaft, all the electrics were connected, the instrument connections made good, re-oiled, fuel connected and we are ready for the big test, again. The starter motor was engaged and bingo, there's that sound again. But problems, the throttle is slowly opened to bring up the revs, 400rpm and that's it she won't go any faster, bugger. You mechanics will know the problem, we had taken of the plug leads, closer inspection indicated 4 leads were connected incorrectly, we rectified this over sight and this time she was away. Double checked our work and went for pleasant cruise. They had me build a gold plating plant, washing tanks, stripping tanks, plating tanks and tanks for rinsing. For special radio and TV components, the surrounds', knobs, escutcheons' etc, we would gold plate them for enhanced appearance. The gold was in solution, the 10 gallon containers were really quite heavy, the thickness of gold applied was very thin. But not thin enough for a Volkswagen Beetle owned by the plating foreman. ‘Foreign orders' it was known as, he gold plated the bumper bars, the hub caps, any thing that moved and a lot that didn't. The door handles, the dash, even his car keys. This foreign order took a few weeks to complete, he was still working there when another change in direction came my way. THE WATER WORKS. It came from a mate of mine from Mona Vale surf club, he suggested that I apply for an interview with a water treatment company at Brookvale. This particular company very rarely advertised positions vacant, they relied on personal references' from current employee's. The position in question was for installation fitter to fabricate and install water treatment technology. Another successful interview, I commenced work for Permutit Water Treatment Company soon after. Nearly 9 years I was employed in the possibly most interesting proffesion of my working life. It lead to frequent travel and technical know how, I met many great work mates and advanced to senior positions. Our factory was fashioned after an aircraft hanger, the assembly floor was covered by a huge ‘Quonset' type roof, the 2 story admin. block was at the eastern end of the building. The senior people and engineers and drafts men and women were on the top floor, secretaries and the accounts people resided on the bottom floor as well as a large store facility. The industrial chemical laboratory was on the northern side adjacent to the Service Dept, a place where I progressed too later. It was astounding to discover the extent of water treatment in industry, the application of technology to give high quality water was never ending. The ability to use tools and read plans and the ability to logically combine both were in my favor from the start, we built very serious boiler feed water plants on the floor of the workshop, marked where every thing goes, dismantled the equipment and shipped it to site. We built portable and semi-portable ion exchange units, mainly for use in the medical, pharmaceutical, and science laboratories'. De-mineralized water was used in many many fields, softened water was for low performance boilers, cordial manufacture, washing components and storage vessels and casks in the wine industry. Used in town water supplies, beer making uses softened water. However, the major application is to produce high quality water for large steam generating boilers in power stations, I worked in many of Australia's major electricity generators. From day one I searched for knowledge, you couldn't build something and not know how it worked, "what's that goldy stuff, how does it work, what does all the chemicals do", what's this what's that. Mention was made in school days about my favorite subjects; science and chemistry, Mr. Pollack thanks. And it is a complex subject, we don't realize the crap that resides in our water, undoubtedly a lot of good minerals are present, for drinking we have to have them present, for industry they have to go. This then was my introduction to the world of treating water, never forgetting that we are pretty good at treating water ourselves. WATER AND SECURITY. While the building and installation of equipment was very interesting and produced pride in my work, the places and many applications I would see were astounding. I have been to places of great inherent danger, I been to places where most people are verboten. Oh, and yes I had to join a Union. Many industrial sites require workers to be union members, and in most cases this is rightly so, some track of qualified personnel is necessary, for harmony on the site and to receive correct salaries' and conditions a union is required, but not the milk run. In a short time, maybe a couple of years, I advanced to the Service Department and a salaried position, i.e.; no overtime, but we still needed our ‘ticket' to enter. Places like I.C.I. Botany, A.P.M., B.H.A.S., ALL Power Stations, The Steel Works, Cockle Creek Zinc, Lucas Heights. PERMUTIT were aware of this fact and in ‘fact' paid our union fees. Incidentally, try spelling the companies name to a Receptionist; its P.E.R.M.U.-------TIT. In time the Government and Restricted sites required a security pass, an "A" class security pass endorsed by the Commonwealth. "I have never done anything for what I am ashamed off", that seemed to work, although the process of securing a "pass' was not that easy. Many questions, swear allegiance etc. WATER AND THE ‘BIG BANG' THEORY. I.C.I. BOTANY, is a potentially explosive place, there were ‘Cat Crackers' everywhere and the noise!. We had installed the boiler feed water plant at their new power station, this was my first site job as a trainee installation fitter, my boss was a guy called Les Cook and he gave great advice and some horse betting tips as well. We returned to I.C.I. on frequent occasions, mainly for service procedures on existing installations and some smaller installations. It must be remembered that the management were all to conscientious of the potential dangers inherent at this facility and many safety guide lines were / are in place. You will be greeted at one of the many security gates, ID please, and could I have the car cigarette lighter and your matches and your lighter, and your Union Ticket for reference. This particular day we were to service our plant at the MONO ETHELYENE GLYCOL facility, the site is isolated and shut down for the duration of our service. People with gas detectors have given the OK and we commence to carry out our duties. You want to smoke? A bunker is provided with a shrouded lighter. Work progressed smoothly, and so it should for professionals, there were several other service people from other companies, fitters, instrument fitters, technicians, welders!!!!, and the next thing this God Almighty bloody bang, manhole covers are being sent skywards a matter of 3 / 4 feet, men were running ever where, but to one place, the marshalling place as described in the safety briefing. Every body is quickly ushered from the site, a matter of 100 yards away. MONO ETHELENE GLYCOL IS A VERY EXPLOSIVE CHEMICAL, I can't remember its chemical ID, but it has to contain the element Hydrogen. The only place the gas detectors had not checked was in the many drains under the site, a welder is cutting steel over an open grate, say no more, the volatile gas has built up in the drains, one spark and ‘whammo'. The substance we are referring to will be combined with a suitable perfume and another chemical from just over the road, it produces dish washing detergent. We complete our duties, everybody is unscathed but stressed.  An I.C.I. person will me, were the pressure relief valves at the Chlorine Plant set for 300 atmospheres, maybe. I was never present, but they have activated in the past causing great angst to the surrounding population, the yellow pungent odor would play havoc with your washing. WATER AND FISSION CHIPS. One place you did need your Security Pass was Lucas Heights Nuclear Research Establishment. When you arrive at security a thorough going over is your lot, once passed the guards you are ushered to a change room and issued with white overalls and over boots, where are we going? To the reactor that's where, our De-min plant supplies the water for the cooling pond, a real big pond, don't know how deep but you can clearly see to bottom, good place to cool of on a hot day, well that is if you want to be ‘nuked'. But the residents are ‘hot chips'. Your job was to service the upright Ion Exchange Unit and live, and all sorts of precautions are place. You will see numerous people with IQ's slightly greater than mine, (they can do their own shoe laces up unaided), all sorts of experiments are going on, but don't ask me what. People will have their arms inside glass fronted small rooms encased in thick rubber gloves, or manipulating articulated handles, just like my flight simulator joystick. So you complete your work and you are taken away, you are none the wiser. A man will place your hands and forearms in a machine, panic sets in as you feel a clamp grab your hands for a couple of seconds, a needle on a dial registers some figure, only word I can think of is roentgens', but there ai'nt any. While there you go to a couple of Laboratories' and perform your service duties on some more equipment. And then the ritual of getting out the gate, you have returned your ‘whites', now they search your car and your person and wave you goodbye. A few months later Ken, the Boss asks me to return to Lucas Heights and install a de-min plant in some "concrete building", now I will learn something from this exercise. With all the security dispensed with we proceed to a newly completed building, this is not just any old building; it is circular, it has walls 2 yards thick and internally lined with 4 inches of lead, the door is about 3 yards wide wedge shaped and 2 yards thick with the lead on the inside. The door will open and close moving on a small railway line. Inside is an empty, stainless steel lined deep pond and an area is indicated where our Ion Exchange plant will be located. Folks, I cannot contain myself but the equipment is installed and commissioned and water begins to fill the pond, this will take some time and I will not be there to see it filled, and now the questions. Irradiation is the word; I.C.I. has built a prototype irradiation laboratory, my questions will be answered by my guide. We go to a building to see the most marvelous stuff, it's a large room we enter and all around the walls are glassed cabinets, I must stress the room is at ambient temperature. There is every fruit and vegetable you see in ‘Farmer Charlie's, all the produce is on small plates and containers, every item looks as fresh as the day it was harvested. My guide explains that some of the items are 6 months old and you can eat them if you want, but not now. "We haven't got the ‘dose' right yet, this will allow you to have your Fission Chips one day soon-------." How can this be, well as near as I understand, the irradiation destroys the fungus and bacteria that produces decay, give me some I will live for ever. Probably this technology is used today. Remember, what has happened in the past with nuclear has been abhorrent, we have a lot to understand, get it right you ‘Boffins' and you so called elected by the citizens, shinny bum Pollies. I will see other great advances and interesting things through being involved in Water Treatment.       WATER, AND ‘KNOCK KNOCK YOUR BELL'S STUFFED' Apologies' Mrs. Avon, your facility was a great place to visit. When we first installed the water demineraling plant the security guards were armed, that will indicate how much credence they placed on their range of products. The de-min plant was serviced at regular periods, we cart all of our service equipment to the top floor and commence our work. Regular visits by the security insure all is in order. I will point out that you could purchase perfumes and other items, at cost, you put your order in on arrival at it was delivered in a sealed shopping bag when your were leaving. Some really great products were available, no seconds. All of the ‘damaged' stuff was taken to the tip, security guards would be on hand to watch the bull dozer crush all of the rejects, they would leave when it was all buried. I often wonder what would have happened on the day I pinched some cream and some perfume. A worker had been around to lend us assistance at some stage and inquired; "you like Avon products?", we nodded and nothing was thought of it until leaving. We carried extension leads and the ‘rattler" gun in a canvas bag, as we pack up I throw the bag onto my shoulder and unfortunately it drops the floor, a muffled sound of breaking glass can be heard followed by the delicate aroma of perfume. The bag has been ‘salted', what do I do, report it to the guards', leave the premises? Well I chose the latter, throwing the bag back on my shoulder we proceeded past the security with a nod, packed the service vehicle and off. The short story is the worker has deposited 1 / 2 a dozen items of cream and perfume in our bag, I swear we didn't have a clue, in the fall a jar of cream has shattered, my shoulder reeked of the stuff. It pays to check. Suppose I could tell Farley was popular at home, suppose I could tell you the canteen was a veritable sight for sore eyes. WATER AND THE ‘HUNTER'. As one progressed up the ‘food chain' reliance on your availability to move at a moments notice was your position in life. All too frequently a phone call over the weekend would be for a request to; "can you be at Mascot Monday morning, 7am, a ticket is waiting at Ansett check in, we have a urgent job at-------". We always had a travel bag half packed, these were our responsibilities as service personnel. Whyalla wasn't quite that urgent, but important never the less. As well as the BHP Steel Mill, Whyalla was a rather large ship building yard, many large boats and oil drilling rigs were constructed in the area. I say area because the bow section is built at one place, the centre sections somewhere else the bridge decks and engine room in another place. All will be brought together and assembled and welded. Bet the measurements had to spot on. One particular Ship was the Iron Hunter, 55,000 tons of bulk iron ore carrier, forgotten all of the other statistics. The power unit was steam turbine, single screw, this was where Permutit entered, and me. Boilers mean water, water means de-min water and we supplied the equipment. In the latter stages of construction our plant was installed, the great ship was launched, wish I could have been there. But I got my turn again. Several months later and its time to commission the boiler feed water plant, this will be in preparation for the ‘shakedown run'. A workmate, Billie Griffin, would comment; "when I was in Submarines this beauty would be sitting duck, one ‘fish' in the after engine room and down she goes". Well, I am not in favor of war things but I guess he was right. Something did happen to the Iron Hunter, relate soon. The feed water plant was duly commissioned. A matter of many months elapsed, our ship picked up and delivered thousands of tons of iron ore to many ports. A tragic event was to occur resulting in disaster, a serious engine room fire resulted in loss of life and the crippling of the ship. When it was time to re-install the boiler de-min plant my work mate and me were sent to Port Kembla to complete the job. Bill Griffin was a real sea dog, he had been in the Royal Navy for 22 years, 11 of those years he was a Submariner, his story deserves to related, more interesting than mine. He had made the comment about the "fish". Didn't give all the details about the Iron Hunter, and by the way her sister ship the Iron Monach and I had a close encounter several years later. Our ship was crewed by 8? Engineers, a couple of oilers, the Captain and Bridge crew, the Cook and Galley crew. Most of the crew had separate quarters, we had been escorted through the ship at Whyalla, this day we were head down and tail up, no time for sight seeing. But Bill had not seen the engine room. It was more than a ‘room', it was a vast cavernous area and very noisy. A huge generator mounted aft on the port side was delivering enormous decibels, the boiler was making steam in readiness for a departure that afternoon, so we were all go. To get to our plant location you caught the lift, must have been 3 floors down, we worked frantically, but coolly, to get the water flowing. And just on time!, we were going down the gangway as the mooring lines were being cast off, Bill and I could have been going to sea, again. WATER AND APOLLO 13. I had been to Darwin twice before Apollo, our plants were in air re-fuelling depots in most large airports and service and installation was ongoing. The first trip to the top end was an eye opener, we seemed to be in the air forever, Sydney, Brisbane, Townsville, Mt. Isa, Darwin. You get off the plane and are struck by heat and oppressive humidity, the other thing that strikes you is walking 50 / 60 yards to the terminal and seeing the machine gun bullet marks on the steel RSJ's, great holes are gouged in the metal. Cyclone Tracy in 1974 destroyed the terminal, probably don't want to remember our dark days. This third visit I was greeted by the foreman of BP air re-fueling, dropped at the Dolphin Hotel Motel on Baggot Road and prepared for the next day. Had a good feed, ------- of course, watched the entertainment and retired for a good sleep. I was prepared for the night. And here they come, all night all you hear was the sounds of jet motors, some landing some taking off, and there wasn't many Domestic aircraft, if any. The Vietnam war is producing all that carnage and horror and the bombers and fighter aircraft use Darwin and many other bases as staging areas, the R&R planes are dropping in as well. The manager picks me up and off to the airport we go, the air re-fuelling depot is adjacent to the airport, of course, but instead of  the usual small planes that would be near by was this bloody monster, all grey, huge wings and gaping jet motors. On top was this great disc on a pod, several armed American MP's were in attendance, ready for anything. How can I concentrate on my job, I must know all about this huge plane. It was parked a matter 50 / 60 yards from our de-min plant, the manager begins to tell a fascinating story while I begin the service process. Apollo 13 has returned to earth, this I knew, what was not known was something about the logistics in getting them to safety. History tells us they had problems. The problems can be researched, what was related to me was that this great aircraft, we can call it a Starlifter now, was one of three that circled the globe tracking the space vehicle. One would take off while the other two prepared to intercept as they passed by they had a radar tracking configuration on the module for the duration. Did I get close to the plane, well how about 10 yards, "can I see inside", the MP was quite friendly, "sorry buddy but if you walk with me I can show you some things of interest", what a blast. The tail was up there and out there, 35 / 40 feet, the tyres were taller than me, the wings drooped from the top of the fuselage almost to the ground. Two pods on each wing, a jet intake you can stand up in, and I have forgotten the reason for De-Mineralized water in planes. Tell you in the next story. WATER AND ‘JUMBO's and FOAM ON THE RUNWAY.   Very close on the heels of Starlifter was the 747 Jumbo, 1970. I see one the monsters at Mascot during one of my many service trips to BP re-fueling, what a hulk, the tail is probably taller than the Starlifter but a bigger plane all round. Now where was I. The reason for de-min water, as this writer believes, was mixing it with Methanol, it was injected into the turbines and produced the extra boost for take off, I don't know if this was new technology for the 747 or for other jet planes or not, so there. Prior to all of the above, a service call is requested for our presence at BP Mascot. Leaving Brookvale to travel to Mascot I do not know this will be the quickest trip through the city ever. Reaching Taylors Square you used to travel to Mascot along Anzac Parade and out to the Airport, I am one of only a few cars on this normally busy road. All of the side roads are barricaded, police at every intersection. Without one stop I reach Mascot, very soon we find out why, all major roads to the airport are un-impeaded and then the fun starts. People are running everywhere, people are on hanger roofs, there's fire tenders and ambulances and police cars. Our plant is located near the tarmac where I am ushered, the foreman apologizes for the rush then explains the predicament. I think it was an Electra aircraft, and its got problems, the nose wheel will not come down and the aircraft personnel are preparing a contingency plan. The foreman takes us close to the tarmac. What turns out to be the stricken plane makes a low pass along the landing runway, fire tankers are spraying huge amounts of foam as he passes over head, and the foreman explains what will happen. The pilot will get as many passengers to the rear of the plane as possible, he will attempt to land on a flat approach. I wont give any more information, let me describe what happens next. The fire tenders seem to be spreading foam for miles up and down the runway, it must be many feet thick and then the plane flies low again and this will be his final pass, no nose wheel. For what seems an eternity nothing happens, and then way down south coming across Botany Bay you see our plane, he is low and sure enough the nose wheel has not dropped. At about the start of the foam he is very low the plane seems to touch down right in the middle of the mess. At this stage he is dead horizontal with the runway, he has touched down, a huge wave of foam seems to be pushed in front of him, and by now he is some 200 yards from passing in front of us, the plane is still parallel to the tarmac, the nose is still up, how's he doing that? As he passes us the foam is flying every where and I swear he disappears momentarily, the plane is slowing rapidly at this stage We go out as far as we are allowed and see a remarkable thing; as the plane comes almost to a stop it gently falls forward on to its nose, a matter of 50 yards it takes to completely stop. Every tanker in Sydney is quickly on the spot, doors open and tiny people pour from the cabin, I guess this was when every one all over the air field spontaneously began to yell and clap wildly, I saw that I was there, what a hero that man. Now what am I here for.    WATER and a POT PORRI OF PLANE STORIES. THE GIN AND TONIC. My company had me fly many hours and to many places, I traveled to every State by plane except the ACT. Flying is good stuff, although always pensive departing and arriving. One little narrative concerns a gin and tonic; The young trainee Cabin Attendant has accepted my request for one of my favorite drinks, we are between Mt Isa and Darwin. She returns with my order and places the nip of gin in the glass, very deftly she removes the lid from the tonic bottle, reaches over to pour it in my glass and the driver hits a small pothole, the tonic bottle ends in my lap, upside down its contents emptying between my legs. The poor dear is so embarrassed, my private parts are freezing, have you ever tried to remove, doesn't matter. Possibly the worst thing was the cream pants I am wearing, standing up to get off the plane you could clearly see the stain of the drink I didn't have, we left friends. ONE BUGGER OF A TRIP.  Adelaide to Sydney is a pleasant trip on the afternoon flight, that is if it the weather is fine. This particular time the conditions were not good, storms were brewing and became uncomfortable for the entire journey. Sydney is approaching and the late afternoon has developed into thunder storm conditions. The crew informs us we will be delayed while fuel is dumped, from all windows an occasional lighting strike can be seen. A pretty bumpy descent in the DC9 and we landed, I recon the pilot had engaged the disc brakes before touching down, we stopped within 5 seconds, walked through the rain to the terminal and went looking for a cab. It was a crappy night by this time and the Taxi driver was glad for a fare to Avalon. I am still a little shaky from the turbulence when we approach the Spit bridge, red break lights appear in front of us, the ‘Cabbie' hits the breaks and we do a 360, get me home. ANSETT WORKSHOPS, DUBBO.  We always flew Ansett, they offered great service and the cabin boys and girls were always out there, even you young lady. I had a chance to repay this service on a few occasions, one occasion was the time I traveled to ANSETT WORKSHOPS at Dubbo NSW. I had been to their workshops before this particular occasion time but this was Easter and bookings were heavy. A boarding ticket was waiting at the terminal, it would be a return flight that afternoon, I thought. Travelling light I was greeted and driven to the workshops and commenced to service the Ion Exchange plant, and then problems, no flight out till tomorrow morning, that would not have been a problem except; no tooth brush, no change of clothes. Anyway, ANSETT WORKSHOPS serviced all their prop engines, don't think jet motors at Dubbo, they completely stripped the motors of Fokkers, Viscount, Electras and the Sunderland, x-ray all of the components', repair and reassemble the motors. A really old truck was used to mount the re-conditioned motor to, the cabin had to be sound proofed I imagine.  A large wooden load prop gave the motor some semblance of a plane and off would go the testing. The noise from test pad was mind bending, For? The test pilot sat in the truck cabin and monitored all the instruments, "she's a goer". You will fly with this motor next week. Well, book into a PUB, I buy a tooth brush and a shaver, nice meal and some rest. A boarding ticket awaits at Dubbo Airport and duly I await the trip home on Good Friday. We are flying by Fokker, a very full Fokker, its the milk run, Orange, Bathurst, Mascot. I am certain there were 2 / 3 less seats for our compliment of passengers, why were the Cabin Girls standing up the back when we landed at Orange. We arrive back at Mascot alls well, but then wheres the company car? It's gone, it's not in the place I left it, frantic searching revels nought, security is alerted and a further search comes up ziltch. I have to spend an hour or more giving details, ring my boss and then catch a cab all the way to Avalon. Short story; the car is recovered a couple of days later, in the place where I parked it, bit of a mystery what?.         WATER and THE PLANTATION MANAGER EXTRAODINER. Its not often you get to live on a wine plantation. PENFOLDS WINES had one of their facilities at Wybong in the upper Hunter Valley, this vineyard grew mostly grapes for fortified wines, although the area was excellent for growing just about any grape variety. The Wybong Creek meanders through the property, the land gently slopes back from the creek. From the creek back the soil gradually darkens and is rich in minerals. A large dam is on the northern? side of the of the Winery Complex, all the wine making stainless steel vessels and pumps and wooden kegs and vats are installed in this imposing building. The laboratory is situated at the front of the building, the grape unloading area and the great auger is at the very front of the building. I will struggle to describe accurately the Homestead; The main residence faces east, there is several smaller homes that border a main street leading to the big house, these residences house the permanent workers and families and all of this is surrounded by the vast vineyards. I would like to tell you the Managers name, will seek permission, however, he and his staff will be the most hospitable people who ever grew grapes, AND HE SEEMED TO KNOW A THING OR TWO ABOUT WINE. My job? Install a water softening plant, Precipitator, Sand Filter, Ion Exchange vessel and pumping equipment. The polished water is to be used for cleaning and washing wine making equipment, some for drinking? Well I book into a Motel in Scone and travel to Wybong to await the arrival of our transport semi, meet the Manager and have a quick look through the facility. In due course the truck arrives and work commences, the first day went quickly, should have it up and commissioned in a couple of days, I thought. I was getting ready to pack up that afternoon and drive back to Scone when the Manager tells me "I'm going nowhere", I will be staying on the property, "but", during the day the Manager has gone to the Motel and picked up my belongings and booked me ‘out', I'm going to spend the next couple of days in the country, I can handle that. OUR EQUIPMENT IS INSTALLED ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE BUILDING TOWARDS THE REAR OF WINERY.  And so the installation proceeds smoothly, had a BBQ tea with the plantation people last night, couple of drinks and a game of cards. Had a bed in one of the cottages and slept peacefully, it has been a while since I fell asleep to the quietness of the country. The second night was all of the above, the third day will see almost completion and ready for commission, then problems arise, well not exactly problems, the manager has suggested that ‘a' pipe supplying water to our plant will not be installed until the day after tomorrow and can I inform Ken, my boss, of the ‘holdup'. Ken suggests that there is no point coming home until the job is completed and on line, as I put the phone down the Manager informs me that, ‘miraculously' the pipeline has reached the initial pluming connection, "no need to tell your boss". I don't think Ken ever knew the extent of our indiscretion. Had the plant on line mid morning the following day, it was time for sight seeing and more fantastic hospitality, we went all over the property and surrounding districts, enjoyed their company heaps, I even had some time to myself and had a bit of a fossik along the creek, even had a dip in the water. Maybe you will know some of my many relations, they settled in the Hunter circa 1853, the LOVEGROVE FAMILY. Cassillis, Colah, Denman, Scone, Merriwa maybe even Wybong or Sandy Hollow. I went to school at Colah. See BORN IN THE COUNTRY. (http://www.lovegrove.info/). Thank you Mr Manager, I have heard your name mentioned on frequent occasions and in high places, I have enjoyed several bottles of your splendid wines, best wishes to you and your family and continuing success in the Hunter, and thank you again. And please stop them, "come along bugger 'im up" the Valley.  Some years later I became a Tutor in Hospitality Food and Beverage, 55 subjects in total, I will bet that all of the tips and knowledge concerning grapes and wine passed on to me by the ‘Manager' have stuck, including Wine and Wine Appreciation, I am sure he told me that all of the information you will ever need is written on the bottle, research every word, then drink it silly, no no, savour it.   WATER AND THE APOLLO 11, AND EXPAND YOUR BELT. I probably need to explain that we all shared the service trips to the ‘Bush', Bobby, Les, Bill, Peter and myself will travel extensively. My question was how come I would get the trips around NSW in the middle of winter?. The south western trips would see us, (me), at Cowra, Blayney, Murrabura / Harden, Young, Cootamundra. The southern trips were to Goalbourne, and Canberra ACT, mid western was Orange, Bathurst, Kandos, Mudgee. Any body who lives in these regions know the chill factor in winter. Possibly one is as cold as the other at times, Blayney has the reputation of being the coldest place in NSW, this will be disputed. OK I had my whine, actually I am having one now, Mcguigans actually, a--------. But this story involves Canberra with a little bit on Goalbourne, if ever you want the best ‘Mixed Grill', try The Odeon in Goalbourne. Worked at the Abattoirs there, one of many we would travel to. You arrive in Queenbeyan and book into a Motel, heated, generally you will have time to do a small service job at the C.S.I.R.O. PHYTOTRON a small de-min plant in the Laboratory Area. The actual plant is in the open under a cover, the moment you arrive it has began to rain, the rain becomes sleet the sleet becomes snow, bugger this, back to the Motel and some creature comforts, your nipples are like frozen peas. After watching some TV news a Chinese meal is in order, how about Special Fried Rice and Crispy Skinned Chicken lemon and shallots, wish you were here. The following day is a little more conducive, we finish our previous days job and head for the PHYOTRON,  security is waived and we dress into, sorry we get all our gear off, change into complete whites wash our feet and proceed to the glass houses of The Controlled Environmental Research Establishment, service our water plant and ask questions. The experiments currently are endeavoring to produce a strain of wheat, a seed to go inland by a paltry 2 miles and grow. No big deal we think, well after all it is explained, the 2 miles by many hundreds will produce thousands of tons of wheat, we are impressed. What ever happened to this technology, maybe we sold the patent rights, again. A recent article has outlined that the Australian Government will commence----------. BULLDUST V MOONDUST  Your going to leave me now, but your welcome to join me, stay in the background and please don't steal my thunder. I go to the National University, The A.N.U, God I wish I could think of his name, Professor ---------, 1970. We had several small de-min plants in the Uni, the most outstanding on this trip was in the Science Laboratory. Serviced the gear and passed water, then the esteemed Professor has suggested I am entitled to see the most remarkable thing. I'll bet few people will bear witness to the stuff of Millenn'ium. My Mum reckons that Mr. Armstrong was a movie actor, "all of that stuff was in a studio, APPOLO 11, was American ‘beat-up", she wasn't that out there!, but what follows will do me. In a Laboratory he asked me looked down the tube of a microscope, I see many perfectly spheroid objects, all are grayish and somehow translucent, they look like marbles, they remind me of ‘Big Ring little Ring', under another microscope is a rock, just a rock, can I just tell you that The Professor has shown me the contents of Neil Armstrong's side pocket, or part thereof. ANU were one of the places of learning where experiments were granted. No need for me to eloborate, all I can say is that; THE WEBMASTER / COPYRIGHT PERSON FROM ANU HAS GIVEN ME PERMISSION TO CONFIDE IN YOUR GUYS. BUT THE EARTH IS STILL FLAT, BUT I KNOW NOW THE MOON IS NOT MADE FROM CHEESE.  Through out this passé attempt at self recollection I am thinking who can be interested, what's the point, men and women have wrote their eulogies, people who have gained much recognition, I just remembered, this is for me.  Any personal reflections are for you to decipher and if you have come this far, you're my hero. WE are somewhere about the mid 60's  / 70's. The importence here is that input will slow down, the boys will have a timeframe to relate to, they may remember most of the yarns from description. But there is a load to come.