Cromwell, Indonesia and Babies

Back again! Due to picking up a very nasty bug that would not go away, I spent a bit of time in Perth, Australia. Perth would have to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world although somewhat islolated and bloody hot 43c, but great beach weather!!

I had plenty of time to catch on my reading, some very good and very very bad books out there. During my literary excursion, I came across this little extract from Oliver Cromwell's 1653 dissolution of the English Long Parliment.


"Its high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonoured by your contemptof all virtue and defiled by your practice of every vice. Ye are a factious crew and enemies of all good goverment.

Ye are a pack of mercenary wretches and would like Esau. sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money. Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess?

Ye have no more religion than my horse! Which of you have not bartered your conscience for brides?...Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation. You were deputed to get grievances redressed; are you not yourselves the greatest grievance?

Depart immediately - go, get you out, make haste youye venal slaves begone!
Lock up the doors""

Say what you like about Ol Ollie, he had a way with words and I could think of a mass mailing address for this speech myself.

Taking a decent amount of time off does bring some persective back into your life,.You can get overwhelmed, confused, frustrated, happy, sad, estatic, depressed living in Indonesia as an expat.

Somethings will never makes sense to me! How important can trip be that you, mum, the three month old baby sans helmet or any sense of self preservation for your yourself or child have to ride a motor bike like a lunatic thru the traffic? Or, how can a nation so proud that it flys the national flag at any and all places/occasions then turnaround thoughtlessly dump litter and shit (literally) without even a twinge of guilt?

Then in oz for a reality check to the other extreme. What kind of over over regulated place is this!

Baggage Handling allowance 30kg, we have 31Kg..1 am in the morning, "Sorry sir, you have to unload 1 KG from your bag because our baggage handlers can't lift it"...WTF, Who are you baggage handlers - 6 year old children, bugger me they can lift it in Singapore, Indonesia and all points north!

On the plane, here's your meal and enjoy your "plastic" knife...please what am I the world's worst perpared evil doer? Oz Custom's and Immigration: What do you do Indonesia? Where are you staying? Why did you come? etc etc... Answer "listen up sunshine its 3 in the morning and I am F...ed if I am going to justify to some overweight twit, why I want to return to the country of my birth" (ok that was a bad answer, as apparently that triggers the lets search everything bell..bastards)

On the road (aka Indonesian Motor bike comparsion). Look at the babies here, back seat, roped down with industrial strength cargo nets and speed camera's every 2 km (all in the name of road safety..pig's arse..revenue raising)

As for smoking...damn...its the orginal "burning at the stake" Actually not quite, because passive smoking of burning human flesh will apparently cause cancer in people several oceans away. They still tie you to the stake but in place of the burning, various tax payer funded green groups force you to snort tofu and soy bean milk, listening to the chant the "Koyto Good - America Bad" until your head bursts.

So all in all, I guess I am saying its nice to be back warts n all.