TUESDAY CHAT

May I first wish all Aussies everywhere a very happy Australia Day.

 I am never sure if we in the west should be included as, in the beginning, nobody cared about this part of the continent (or island if you prefer to call it that).   It wasn't until the French appeared to be threatening to colonise the far west that the powers that be decided they'd best do something about it.  They send the army by boat and when they landed in what is now called Albany they hoisted the British flag and proclaimed the area to be theirs.  (Actually I think it may have been the Dutch who first discovered our west coast as Rottnest Island was named by them.  When they went ashore they saw the quokkas and thinking they were giant rats they called the island "Rat's Nest" in their language).

It was a couple of years later that a ship arrived in Fremantle and the *Swan Colony was proclaimed in 1829.  This was about 41 years after the settlement in New South Wales.  One thing we in the west often chuckle about is the fact that Perth is several years older than Melbourne.  There is always a little bit of rivalry between the states but you have to remember we are still a very young country and jealousies do arise at times.  *This makes Albany a couple of years older than Perth.

Very little has happened over the past week.  Phil and I both had blood tests.  He has received a call up to see our doctor about the results so he will see Dr Ken on Wednesday.  It may mean his blood glucose is a little on the high side or perhaps his cholesterol.  I think as we age these test results should make allowance for age.

Mine are a little more complicated.  Some may remember that at the end of 2014 I had a parathyroidectomy.  All seemed to go well but when I saw my endocrinologist last month he wasn't too happy about some blood test results so sent me to have one very particular test.  It was so particular that my usual pathology people only do it at their head office.  That is in West Perth and an awful place to get to across the river.  The lady at Beaconsfield kindly took about 15 minutes trying to find a laboratory south of the river that could do the blood test.  She found one (the opposition actually) only a couple of miles from us so I rang them and was told to be there at 4.30 that afternoon.  It seems this particular test has to be shaken well and then snap frozen so those that do it need the facilities for that.  I now have to wait until I get the results and then go see Dr Ken (not the Professor who wrote out the request).   By then Dr Ken will have had a report from the Prof explaining why he has done what he's done.  Whether anything will come of it I have no idea but apparently it all has something to with the calcium that the parathyroid makes.

Sorry to bore you will all this but it just amused me that there was such a rigmarole about what has to be done to the blood.   One day I will ask someone to explain all about it to me.  I can't even remember the name of the particular test but it had a very l.o.n.g name!

Once again, my Australian friends, enjoy the holiday today.  Huge fireworks display on the Swan River tonight which we will probably watch on TV late in the evening.

P.S.  Seeing the koala it reminded me that this week it was reported that an eagle had seized a koala and while flying, it dropped the poor little creature.  Apparently they recovered the koala and it was OK,  A very lucky little fellow.  Just a bit of Australiana there for you.