what's it all about??

now call me old fashioned, or just plain old, i don’t care – but i don’t get ‘muck up day’… getting dressed up (in costumes or 'civies') and then being slathered in shaving cream, pelted with eggs, splattered with urine filled balloons (or condoms) - or the myriad other 'activities' some have gotten up to – just doesn't appeal to me... 

i’ve been trying to find the origin of the term and the day, which has proven quite hard… of course, my first thought was ‘typical american crap’ but it doesn’t appear to be american in origin – well, they don’t use the term anyway - but they do have something called senior pranks which doesn't discount the concept perhaps coming from america… muck up  is used informally in both britain and australia as in “to ruin or spoil; make a mess of” - but only australia uses it as in “to misbehave” – although i suspect that some ‘pranksters’ rather than just 'misbehave', do actually ‘ruin or spoil’ the day for others…

although they ‘celebrate’ muck up day in britain there is a view that “the term is originally australian and was probably imported to the UK through popular australian soaps such as neighbours.” – those lucky brits…

so, if it’s australian, when did it start? it wasn’t around ‘in my day’ – and speaking to some colleagues ‘of my vintage’ the other day at work supported this recollection…

research hasn't led me to any definitive date of origin... i couldn't find anything about it’s ‘inaugural unveiling’… but i did come across a blog by debbie kruger about her younger life in sydney in the 60s and 70s - she's about 7 years younger than me so i found her reminiscences stimulating and entertaining - she happened to mention her muck-up day in 1979 and i learnt “the last day of school before the HSC exams was traditionally known as "muck up day," and was celebrated with a pre-dawn champagne breakfast”... that little snippet took a helluva long time to find in my 'quest for knowledge'...

the education system was changing when I was at the end of my schooling though – we had the leaving certificate (form 5 then, year 11 now) and the matriculation certificate (form 6, now year 12) - hsc replaced matriculation in 1970 but the leaving certificate wasn’t discontinued until 1972 so it was dependent on which school you went to as to when hsc was actually introduced…

so, there really wasn't such a thing as muck-up day in my era!!! my generation (and 'socio-economic' group) usually  'celebrated' leaving school by going to work and earning our own income so we could move out of home and buy what we wanted - mind you, we were living in a time defined as having 'full employment' in 1970 - yeah, there were lots of low-paid factory and office jobs to be had!!


i wasn’t fortunate enough to be able to continue my education after form 4 – i had obtained a 2-year scholarship to undertake matriculation but that still would have been an added expense and pressure for my poorly paid, overworked and separated parents who were both trying to make ends meet, because I would have had to change schools (good ol’ holy redeemer only went to form 4 – it really was a poor, working class catholic school)… there was also the fact that unless you had at least middle-class wealth then you certainly weren’t going on to university so a lot of working class families couldn't see the point in going further than 4th form...

as i was no exception to the norm i subsequently started work as a receptionist/telephonist/typist/clerk in september 1970 at 15 earning $30 per week - that paid rent to my mother and bought everything i needed - i'd 'come of age'!!! that's me at 15 with my first beautiful poodle companion golly (the cameras were crap then and so were the photographers more often than not! and scanning a poor quality picture doesn't help!!) …





luckily further education became easier for more people and those less 'well-off' were soon given the opportunity to go to university when, in 1974, gough whitlam and the labor party introduced an important reform in education – “the abolition of university fees, which allowed many young people and, importantly, women, an opportunity to obtain a university degree and broaden their career choices.”

it was an important change in australian education and an important time in australian politics, but now i've got domestics to do so i'll leave you with one of the  top 10 selling singles by australian artists in 1970 - the year i was venturing out into the world as a young adult - the masters apprentices with 'turn up your radio' - "bona-fide Australian rock legends" according to milesago - and what 15 year old wasn't lusting after jim keays in 1970???

one strong womon indeed…

mary mackillop was canonized australia’s first saint today… no mean feat for a strong, independent, feisty womon born in the 1840s...

she was born in fitzroy, victoria in 1842, the eldest of 8 children... she started work as a clerk in a stationery firm at 14, and soon became the primary provider for her family – her father was frequently absent, at one time mortgaging the family farm and leaving the family to fend for themselves while he gallivanted off to scotland for 17 months...

at 18 she became a ‘governess’ to cousins in penola, south australia (a family who appear to have been quite affluent for the time)...

she held a deep commitment to education and social justice for everyone and it was here she had the space, resources and ability to include the poor and under-privileged in her schooling activities… it was also here that she came in contact with fr julian woods… according to sr marie foal, author of Mary Mackillop: biography...

“Mary and Father Woods had a very close relationship.

"I think they loved each other very deeply," she said.

"Father Woods was such a charismatic character that when he moved to Adelaide, according to Mary, many of the mothers of the town locked their doors when they saw Father Woods coming past, because they didn't want their daughters to be running off and joining the Josephites."

in 1866 they opened the first free catholic school in penola, and the next year they formed the sisters of st joseph, the first religious order to be founded by australians, known as the josephites, and affectionately called the ‘brown joeys’ - they chose to wear a brown habit rather than the usual black one - they even had their own josephite emblem - now i'd say that was definitely 'making a statement'!!!

of course, there was a lot of resistance to the order from the clergy – religious orders were always controlled by the local bishops, but the 'brown joeys' insisted on governing themselves with mary as mother superior – a ‘slap in the face’ to the hierarchy…

nothing changes within the priesthood apparently - mary was excommunicated after 4 years with the josephites for daring to go public with claims of child sexual abuse by fr ambrose patrick keating from the kapunda parish…

 
according to an article MacKillop banished after uncovering sex abuse "The Vicar General subsequently sent Father Keating back to his home country of Ireland, where he continued to serve as a priest.

Father Paul Gardiner, who has pushed for MacKillop's canonisation for 25 years, says Father Keating's fellow Kapunda priest Father Horan swore revenge on the nun for uncovering the abuse.

"The story of the excommunication amounts to this: that some priests had been uncovered for being involved in the sexual abuse of children," he said.

"The nuns told him (fr woods) and he told the Vicar General who was in charge at the time and he took severe action.”

"And Father Horan, one of these priests, was so angry with this that he swore vengeance - and there's evidence for this - against Woods by getting at the Josephites and destroying them."

Father Horan was by now working for Adelaide's Bishop Shiel and urged him to break the sisters up by changing their rules.

When MacKillop refused to comply, she was banished from the church at the age of 29.

"Mary was not excommunicated, in fact or in law. She submitted to a farcical ceremony where the Bishop had ... lost it," Father Gardiner said.

"He was a puppet being manipulated by malicious priests. This sounds terrible but it's true."

Five months later Bishop Shiel was gravely ill and dying. From his deathbed he instructed that MacKillop be absolved and restored.”

note the priest was sent home to continue child abuse while mary was excommunicated!!!!! typical - and they still get moved around to continue their criminal behaviour today (now mary would be horrified at the extent of sexual abuse within the church - and at how long it's taken for them to acknowledge and start to address!!!!) and yes, she was un-excommunicated, but there were constant battles with the church hierarchy…

broken rites australia helps victims of church-related sex-abuse, and they confirm and expand on the above in their article Church sex-abuse victims see Mary MacKillop as their patron saint...

education wasn’t the order's only function - they also founded hospitals and orphanages, provided shelters for the homeless, former prostitutes and unmarried mothers. with no funding, they raised all of the money themselves - mostly by begging… property deeds have just been released showing mary mackillop to be a savvy investor – she had bought 11 properties with monies raised by the order and by going into debt (view youtube clip here)… definitely another ‘thorn in the side’ for ‘the powers that be’ – they would have preferred these monies go into the church coffers!!!

she died in 1909 – so it’s taken 101 years for the church to recognise her… "MacKillop's recognition as Australia's first saint might have come 20 years earlier if not for a delay that is still formally unexplained but says much about the tribulations the Melbourne-born nun faced at the hands of her male colleagues in the Catholic Church." from an article Cover-up held back Mary MacKillop's cause for decades...

growing up in a different era to mary i have a passionate hatred of misogynistic, patriarchal institutions, and i have to wonder had she lived in an era where womyn had less strictures placed on them and more opportunities available to them, would she have become a nun? somehow i doubt it… i don’t doubt that she would have been an advocate for the underprivileged no matter what, but let’s face it, there was very little scope in the mid-1800s for womyn to do anything in their own right - and people actually feared religion and abusive men less that unmarried, unencumbered womyn, so being a 'bride of christ' afforded them the ability to travel further and outreach to more people… would she be happy with all the ‘hoo-haa’ this sainthood shit is creating? i doubt it - i think she would prefer her legacy be the continued support of those in need, and that her order continue to make a difference in peoples lives…

ohhh, she was also an advocate for a womon’s right to vote and once attained, she encouraged all 'her nuns' to vote… “It is the duty of all of us to vote,” she wrote to her sisters in 1903. “Find out who are the members proposed for election and vote for those who are considered most friendly to the Church and to Religion. Every so called Catholic is not the best man.” – bet the hierarchy didn’t like that either!!!!!

goddamn she was one helluva womon taking on the misogynistic, patriarchal church hierarchy – she certainly deserves recognition here as one strong sister…

where does time go?

i can't believe it - the second week of my holidays has flown by and it's back to work tomorrow... it's been one of the most relaxing times i've had for a loooong time - and there were no family crises to have to deal with (which is rare these days)... i've enjoyed some beautiful spring weather which meant the courtyard door was open most of the time for me old girl and boy, who both loved being able to get outside whenever they chose - sad i have to leave them tomorrow... oooh, not only is it back to work tomorrow, i've just checked the weekend roster and i'm also working next saturday - now that's enough to depress anyone - roll on retirement!!!!!

i've shared some lovely times with friends over the past couple of weeks - i caught up with larry the librarian for an afternoon, and steph and pete came for dinner... i had lunch with irene in the city - we found an indian restaurant where a lot of indian people were eating (always a good sign) and had a tasty curry... sailor lily called in and we shared (as she put it) "one of lifes greatest taste trifectas - olives, dips and wine"... i did some cooking and tried out a new recipe because i've got friends coming on friday night for dinner - i'll be making vegan stroganoff - it's a recipe i hadn't tried before and i wanted to make sure it was worth the time spent cooking it - which is minimal luckily, because i'll be making it after work!!! - it also needed to be tasty - it is, it's delicious (although i did alter the recipe a wee bit)  - and rather than pasta i might serve it on jacket potatoes, or perhaps roasted garlic with rosemary potatoes, along with a salad and crusty bread... yum!!!!

i didn't watch any of the dvds i'd brought home (and they're all reserved so i'll just have to take them back to work and perhaps watch them some other time!) - nor did i do much reading - far out, where did the time go? it just wasn't long enough - my, to have 4 weeks off would certainly be 'luxurious' - but that would mean going the whole year without any time off - an impossibility these days!!! perhaps i need to check out the 48-52 option - is it available to 'part-time' (30-hour per week) staff? or maybe what i really need to do is sit down and work out what the minimum amount is that i need to survive and implement that budget and cut down my hours... hmmm, food for thought!!

i was determined to read at least one book by the end of the holidays - and i succeeded in this endeavour - finally, yesterday i finished "the journal of dora damage" by belinda starling (and recommended by lily)...

now, i have to admit to almost giving up on this book - i just couldn't get into it to start with... i'd pick it up, read a few pages, put it down, pick it up and put it down... i was about to put it in the 'return to work unread' pile and choose another book, but decided to pick it up just once more - i'm glad i did because once i gave it my total concentration i just couldn't put it down!!!

it's an historical novel set it victorian london in the mid-1800s where squalor and poverty are part of peoples lives and womyn nothing but chattels ... dora's husband peter, a bookbinder, is suffering from the typical illnesses of the trade - bad lungs, rheumatoid arthritis - consequently the business is in huge debt and the family (dora, peter and lucinda, their epileptic daughter) are in danger of losing everything (not that they had much anyway!!!)

dora, having helped with the business over the years, 'takes over the reins' and searches for more clientele... as her artistic and binding talents become recognised and highly sought after, she finds herself unwittingly drawn into the shady world of affluent, aristocratic men by binding their highly illegal pornographic volumes (a very risky business, especially for a womon)... she is provided with all manner of luxurious bindings - the softest leathers, silks and satins - for these explicit tomes... one of her major customers, an 'eminent' physician, also supplies her with laudenum for her husband - another shackle that binds her to these rich and powerful men, but becomes an addiction which eventually kills peter...

she realises her peril and the untenable position she has been put in when provided with a binding material she can't quite identify - but she soon delves deeper and discovers this unusual 'hide' is the skin of a female slave... it was time to extricate herself from this murky existence, but in refusing to bind anymore of these 'aristocratic obscenities' she discovers how entangled in their grotesque world she has become, how much power they really had and how many powerful men they controlled...

america was gearing up for the civil war at this time, and we 'meet' the abolitionist movement in london in the form of the "ladies' society for the assistance of fugitives from slavery" who talk dora into taking on an escaped slave named din to work in the bindery... a 'progressive' movement? you'll have to read the book to find out because that's all i'm telling you of the story...

so, after procrastinating i am really pleased i persevered and finished this book... sadly there will be no other books by belinda starling, who died not long after finishing this, her first novel, in 2006 - she was admitted to hospital for an operation to remove a cyst from her bile duct, but following complications she died of septic shock at the age of 34...

now i should get off my arse and get down the street - ooooh, i am so not looking forward to tomorrow - my time's far better spent with my family - we're all so much happier and healthier when i'm home!!!! i can already feel a headache coming on - although i suspect that's to do with the wind and hayfever or sinus problems rather than my impending return to work (but perhaps that could be considered an allergy)... best i stock up on ibuprofen and pseudoephedrine!!!

recognition of a sort...

i got home this arvo from a lovely lunch in the city with irene to discover a large parcel sitting in my letterbox... i've been waiting for some soy wax candles and thought this was it... but no, it was my national bowel cancer screening kit!!!!!

okay, i've now been recognised 'officially' as an older person!!! due to my age i've been 'invited' to take part in the national bowel cancer screening program... according to the dept of health and ageing (note the word ageing) "research shows that the risk of developing bowel cancer rises significantly from the age of 50." this round of 'invitations' are targeting people who turned 55 or 65 between july 2008 and december 2010.

it's not mandatory, so i don't know if i'll take part - do i want to know that i have bowel cancer?? not really - not now - even if "bowel cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in Australia, and around 80 Australians die each week from the disease. Bowel cancer can be treated successfully if detected in its early stages, but currently fewer than 40 per cent of bowel cancers are detected early."

and the kit - well, it contains 2 specimen collection sheets, 2 sampling sticks (in plastic ziplock bag), 2 small sampling tubes (in plastic ziplock bag), 2 labels, 2 large screwtop transport tubes and 1 reply paid envelope... you have to take 2 samples, no more than 2-3 days apart (but if it takes 3 days to get a 2nd sample i'd say you've got a problem anyway!!) and then you post the samples to a pathology service...

what else can i say - apart from i'm glad i don't work for australia post - wonder if the workers know they're 'dealing' with fecal matter in the mail - is that 'safe' - the amounts are minute and the samples are well packaged (but that's assuming participants follow the guidelines for packaging them properly - and that of course means people have to read the instructions) - and then i'm not aware aussie post is renowned for its 'gentle' handling of postage (let alone the weight of some items people post landing on the sample packages and perhaps, ummm, breaking the vials!!!!)

damn, i just don't quite qualify as a 'senior' yet - only 5 more years to go though - then at least  i'll get cheaper public transport fares (but fuck all else!!!!!)

and more bad news on the (extended) family front - i just got a phone call from me mother - her lifelong friend eileen's daughter's partner has been receiving 'experimental treatment' for leukemia for the last few months (at the alfred - now that certainly wouldn't have inspired confidence from me after my mother's dealings with them!!!) it was his last possible treatment though, i guess, i dunno - but they've just been told tonight that it hasn't worked and he only has weeks to live... a sad note to end on - i'm thinking of you margie & david...

one down....

yep, one week of my holidays is over already - only one more week to go...

it has been a nice relaxing week though with lots of walking the streets of st kilda and surrounds with my wee louie - i've done stuff-all reading so far, but did manage to finish the third season of true blood... now to wait for the fourth season!!!

i had visitors yesterday - finally i got to catch up with steph and pete who came around for a late lunch - we did have the 'pretend' grand final on in the background but as it was so very woeful we just glanced (winced) at it every so often - and steph is far more entertaining than the television!!!

as pete and i are both saints supporters we decided that we'd just treat the re-match with the contempt it deserved - the grand final was a draw and that's all there is to it - had there been time-on (like there is throughout the season) the saints would have won because they had come back with a vengeance and were starting to get on top... there's also the point that a draw during the season is worth 2 premiership points for each team - so what's wrong with a drawn grand final then - why does there have to be a winner and a loser (not a good message to send to youngsters!!) why can't the 2 best teams of the year end with a draw - what's the problem (and it does only happen 'once in a blue moon')!! so, in true saints supporter style, we chanted the mantra - "there's always next year" - and then continued to enjoy the company, the conversation, the yummy stuffed peppers and roasted garlic and potatoes i had made!!!

and wasn't i the lucky one... it was almost like having a second birthday when they arrived because they came  'bearing gifts'... i was given a lovely pair of earrings from malta - this is the first time i've really caught up with them since they returned from their last (but no longer so recent) trip overseas... i also got a small bottle of meletti - an aniseed-based liquor - a tasty wee drop similar to white sambuca!!! they brought a couple of bottles of howling wolves wine too - so it was a very pleasant afternoon (which turned into evening all too quickly!!)

i'll be sad to see him go, but my wee lou-dude goes back to malmsbury tomorrow - it's been lovely having him stay for the week, but it's just such a small space for the boy - no room here for him to run around in such a small courtyard - he's used to a big backyard and playmates these days... even the leash-free park isn't the same for him without his pack! but we've been on some lovely long, ambling walks around the streets though... there are so many magnificent houses in the area... and it's so green, lush and lovely at the moment... so many trees in bloom - it's just spectacular...

i've got a few things to do this week - have been thinking about getting my hair cut for ages now... so that's definitely on the agenda... the only thing with that is finding a decent hairdresser - i hate going to the hairdressers... they never listen to what you say - consequently i don't go to the same one twice usually - fuck up once and that's me not returning... and i hate all of those bright, glaring lights - and the music, and the small talk, and they're so very expensive, why??? and blah, blah, blah...

on that note it's time to go and make a cuppa and perhaps i'll do some blogging later in the week...