Coogee Beach

My apologies for not taking the camera however the plan really was only to go to the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia at Maroubra. Nevertheless, after what was a longer than necessary process at the Consulate albeit painless this lengthy process meant that it was close to lunch time and warranted a detour.

So, from the Consulate we continued up and along Maroubra Road and ultimately arrived at Coogee. Dyah wanted some fish and chips and we found a little joint that seemed to sell such fare. We opted for the Barramundi and chips for AUD 9.00 and then crossed the road and ate in the park in front of Coogee Beach. It is autumn and the temperature is noticeably cooler. However, this doesn't seem to stop people getting into the swimmers and going for a dip or just doing some sunbathing to pass the time.

Eating in a park close to the beach always attracts the birds. The birds in this case are seagulls and pigeons. Be warned that if you feed the birds this only brings more birds.

It is school holidays in this part of the world so there were lots of kids and their parents around. It also seemed as though there were plenty of people taking flexi-days or people who have flexible work schedules that allow some midday day beach time.

A good morning and afternoon was had by all. Will enjoyed the park and seems to enjoy the noise. However, most of all I think Will enjoys the car seat as he goes straight to sleep no matter his mood.

Same Same but Different...

Yesterday, the family took a trip across to Maroubra as this is where the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia is. The reason for the trip was that Dyah wanted to register, and if I am not mistaken registering your existence with the Consulate is supposedly compulsory.

I have not been in or to Maroubra for at least eight years and probably should have consulted the map, Internet or other, to make sure that I was going to be heading in the right direction. However, the man in me got the better of me and I wanted to see whether I could get there on memory. I did not discuss this manly plan with the Missus and Will was in for the ride no matter what.

As it turned out everything was still the same in terms of getting there. The scenery was a little different by the route was the same. Although, it must be said that a lot of the roads are now 50km/h zones as opposed to the 60km/h I remember. All-in-all it took about 40 minutes to get there from home.

The Consulate itself I know pretty well from the outside have stood there many times protesting all manner of things from Sabang to Merauke and all points in between. I had never been inside. That said I was not expecting much considering the drab and dreary out shell of the building. I am not going to report that I was pleasantly surprised, as it was nothing to write home about. Next time I will take the camera and take some pictures.

You always have this idea that once you get the opportunity to visit an Indonesian mission overseas that they will be places of great order and tranquility where they are staffed with individuals seeking to serve the needs of Indonesians abroad. It hardly ever turns out this way.

It must have been Friday-itis as the Consulate seemed to be severely understaffed considering the number of "clients" or more aptly citizens endeavouring to obtain one of the various services available. It is also interesting to see expat Indonesians themselves in operation.

One of the many things that I noticed in my many years was the inability of many Indonesians to understand the idea of a queue and waiting one's turn. So, I was not surprised to see this inability in operation here as well. I guess you can take the person out of Indonesia but cannot take Indonesia out of the person ;) (no offence intended)

Finally, Dyah got to the window to register and was thrust a form and told to fill it in. Once the form was completed it just needed to be left on the counter and someone from behind the window would presumably come out and collect it. Dyah handed over her passport and it was officially stamped as having registered and told to come back in six months when she had a permanent address. Any protestations that a permanent address already existed seemed futile and remained silent.

I guess Dyah will be heading back in six months to hand over the information that she could have done on the spot.

Such is bureaucracy. And hence the decision to come back some other time to ask questions about getting Will an Indonesian passport.

With the form filled in we headed out into the bright sunshine of the world outside.

Teenage Suicide

I must have lead a charmed existence as a youngster because as I sit here typing this I cannot recall one time when I thought that I had had enough and it was time to end it all. That is not to say that I was not aware of suicide. One of my team mates on my U-17 rugby team committed suicide. The strange thing was that no one saw it coming! Everyone in the post match wash up seemed to think all was well. Even his mum thought things were good.

This brings me to the tragic story of Shane Riley from Sydney. Shane was just 16 years old and by all accounts a happy enough kid. He had been missing since last Friday when he left home headed to work at the local KFC. Apparently, his ancient history class had decided that they were going to take a trip to Egypt and the KFC job was a means to that end.

Shane never appeared for his shift. His parents stated that this was out of character for the kid and that this had never happened before. When kids go missing and their disappearance is out of character then the concern level is quickly ratcheted up.

The only clue to the disappearance was a mobile phone call Shane made to a friend. This call has only increased the concern levels as police have described the call of having a "degree of finality" to it.

Sadly, the lifeless body of Shane Riley was pulled from the water of Lurline Bay at 4.30pm yesterday afternoon. According to police the death appears to have been a suicide. The post mortem will probably confirm this.

My condolences go out to those that are left behind in this tragedy, particularly the family and those close to Shane. They must be scratching their collective heads right now and wondering what did we miss, were there signs, how did this happen, and the like.

Hopefully, Shane Riley finds the peace in the next life he could not find in this one.

Those with depression issues or he fear loved ones or friends might be in trouble then the following two numbers will be of value to you.

Lifeline: 131 114

Beyondblue: 1300 224 636

Racism and Sports

Racism in sport is not something new. However, when the ugly spectre of racism raises its head at increasingly lower levels of sports then there is a more apparent and urgent need to address the problem.

In a rugby league match between the Mascot and the South Eastern Rugby Leagues clubs in Maroubra on Sunday there is an alleged report of an under 12 player being racially abused by a person.

I hope that what I am about to write offends your sensibilities and if you never come back and read me again so be it. I want to offend your sensibilities because if you are a reader based in Australia then this is something that must be stamped out at all levels of the game! If you are a reader somewhere else then I hope that you join in the campaign to stamp out racism.

The more offended you are the more likely you are to do something about it. Write a letter to the paper, post something on your own blog (if you have one), or talk to your friends about it, but do something. It is alleged that the person making the remark was an adult.

It remains unclear whether this clown was a parent or a team official. Either way he is still a clown! I am competitive and I want to win. I am sure that is something that will transfer in the genes to "the kid". Yet, being competitive does not involve any need for me to racially abuse the opposition.

It is alleged that this person was calling the under 12 player a "black cunt". One assumes that the player was one of my indigenous brothers. I am not apologizing for the word and I am not going to disguise it with an asterisk or some other symbol. I want you to be offended. The more offended you are the more likely you are to take a stand against this. Calling a 12-year old a "black cunt" cannot be justified on any grounds, no matter how bad the kid is. But in this context of a sports match there is no justification I can see. Feel free to enlighten me if you can!

The punishment for the crime is to black-list the perpetrator (is black bad or something?) and to de-register the child. I have no problem with banning the perpetrator for a period of time in order that the person reflect a little on their racism and do something about it. However, banning the child seems to me to be punishing the child for the sins of the parent (father). To me this is inherently wrong! The picture is from the "Show Racism the Red Card" campaign.

The father of the victim on hearing the racial slur was then alleged to have king-hit the maker of the remarks and a fight then broke out between a number of spectators. An ugly incident all round.

It is my sincere hope that something is done about this sooner rather than later.