Tuesday 4 October 2016

Stormy day, with lots of trees

Hi everyone,

It's been another heavily orange day.

Overnight I was woken at about 0430 by my pager going off for a tree-down job.  Well, I was woken by the second pager message, having entirely slept through the first one.  The core of it all was that we hadn't been able to muster a crew at that early hour, and neither had our neighbouring unit.  I went back to sleep and was woken rather late by a phonecall about this job.  In the event, I arranged to head out with a member from a neighbouring unit in our new jointly-badged storm trailer.  We worked well together and had the job cleared in about half an hour.  It was the first outing for the joint storm trailer I note!



A savage band of wind and rain swept over Shepparton just after this job was finished.  I was expecting to have more callouts come through, so to kill time in town I went for a much-needed haircut.  To my genuine surprise, no other callouts came in and so I went back to the farm to send off four job applications and also check that my mother hadn't floated away or started to build an ark.


On my way out of town I had a call inviting me to an interview!  Don't get excited: the interview is about vountary work as a Red Cross telecross worker (calling vulnerable people at home to make sure they're safe).  As I drafted applications for paid work later in the afternoon I had to smile at the fact that the only work anyone apparently wants me to do is that which they don't have to pay me for.
I'd just sent the last job application off when several brisk gusts of wind and a belt or two of rain swept through and caused my pager to start beeping.  I and two other members of our unit turned out with the neighbouring unit again as the jobs (all trees down causing traffic hazards) were mostly nearer their Shed.  We had a number of tree jobs to tackle, and once again I'm dead proud of how my people worked and how well the two units collaborated.



We were finished by about 1900.  I'd missed an appointment at the Blood Bank by then.  On the other hand, the sky turned on a gorgeous sunset as a consolation prize.

A photo posted by Stephen Tuck (@sdtuc2) on

I'm not sure what the rest of the week will hold.  There's been a request for SES crews to deploy in other districts that are being belted even harder than here and where the local crews could use reinforcements.  I've put my hand up to go.  As I think I said before, since I'm currently a welfare parasite, the country might as well get some sort of value-for-money.

No more to report.  Here's hoping for a night's sleep!

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