Wednesday 28 July 2021

Incompetent Twits and the Trailer

With the delivery of the drawer slide the last modification to the camper trailer has finally been completed.  Two mounting plates were required which I manufactured from some spare scrap metal.

I’ve mounted a folding shower screen across the front of the trailer underneath the folding hard shell bed.  It needed to be inside the dimensions of the trailer to avoid it being struck by trees etc.

P1010535

When extended it needed to be clear of the side of the trailer.  This meant the drawer slide required an extended length of 2.4 metres.

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Extended

The next photo shows what it look. like when open.  I haven’t pegged down the base.

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Of course I have now realised I need to make a bracket to go on the side of the trailer for the gas instant hot water heater. 

Now for the “incompetent twits” comment.  I am (of course) referring to the federal government’s vaccine program.  This morning I was up and off to meet my 8.00am appointment for my second Astrazeneca injection.  On advising the surgery receptionist I had arrived for my appointment I was informed I didn’t have one!  Well I did….. and Jan was with me when I was last at the surgery and was advised of the date and time for my second shot.  The receptionist then told me they only take COVID vaccine appointments for a Friday morning (today being Wednesday) and I didn’t have a booking.  No point in arguing with the receptionist so I enquired when I could book.  “We are fully booked until Late September” was the reply. I informed her I’d get the injection somewhere else.

That has proven to be very difficult.  Most of the vaccination centres are doctors surgeries and they are fully booked for the next month.  How that can be reconciled against the urging of our political leaders to get vaccinated NOW defeats me.  This vaccination rollout is painfully slow and too dependent upon local GP practices.  There should be mobile vaccination centres with leaflet drops into letterbox advising the population when and where to get vaccinated.  I won’t be voting for this lot at the next federal election.

Meanwhile a sizeable percentage of the local population has become very blasé about the COVID threat and isn’t interested in vaccinating.  The pandemic has scarcely touched Western Australia resulting in people not seeing the threat.  I suspect that will change when there is a major outbreak and then there will be a chaotic scramble when all the unvaccinated panic.

8 comments :

Jennie said...

Sorry to hear about your difficulties getting your second jab, Tom. That is one thing that the seem to have got right over here. We still, however, have a lot of covid cases. Jennie

Tom and Jan said...

Jennie I was having a well deserved moan :-) The news outlets here in Australia are reporting the NZ vaccination rate is lower than here?

Jenny said...

Hi Tom, think your last commemt was to the wrong Jenny? This is the Kiwi one. Our vaccination rollout is going big now, with major events planned. Sadly the first big one didn't get the high numbers expected. Seems those with one dose are about 1 million and 680,000 have had 2 doses, includung both of us, so still a long way to go. We are just so lucky that the nasty new variant is not running amok here, yet. Guess it's only a matter of time. So awful to see the Sydney riots on TV from those who want to be free.

Tom and Jan said...

ooops... Got my Jennie's Jenny's mixed up.

Yes, last weekend there was a mass gathering of "freedom march" protestors in Sydney during the middle of a pandemic lockdown. Talk about the turkeys voting for Christmas!

Catherine H said...

We were supposed to drive from Qld to get back to Tasmania, and now we are in the midst of doing the "long drive" via Mt Isa, Alice Springs and Sth Aust in order to attempt to be able to get back, a 5000km detour. We will have to re-schedule our 2nd jab also, or maybe even get it in another state. We are taking note of places we would like to re-visit on another trip in the future, at a slower pace.

Tom and Jan said...

Hi Catherine
The longest detour in the world!!!!! We actually drove that same route on Christmas holiday 20 years ago. I'm unaware of your caravans off sealed road capability, but did you consider the Birdsville Track from Birdsville to Adelaide? It would greatly shorten the distance.
Tom

Catherine H said...

No our van is not suitable at all for off road, and neither are we, only the Ford Ranger, and that is why we had to go for such a detour. We are surprised how good the Stuart Highway is, and things are going well. We're in Alice Springs tonight, and in the midst of a winter heat wave, which has been the last 4 or 5 days, and final day tomorrow.

Tom and Jan said...

There are a few things to see and do if you want a little R&R in Alice Springs. I used to regularly drive between Alice and Adelaide. The journey usually took 15 hours, although I wasn't towing!