The Long Way Home - Chapter 16 - Gladstone Day 14

We have had a small leak for some time. A dribble that lined water along the wall in the ensuite. This morning we woke up to a lake. A puddle really. But something much larger than previous outcomes.

There have been investigations of our own. The wall behind is inaccessible. We tried getting in via the toilet capsule area and the hot water service but both seem sealed or in the case of the hot water service require the removal of 30+ screws as well as hose disconnection to even get past the dry area. We can mitigate the issue by turning the water tap off.

The incoming water pipes and their connection to the van are all below the level of the puddle so unless water has worked out how to defy gravity, they are not the issue. By deduction we have ruled out the shower, the sink and the washing machine. There are no wet areas between them and the lake. Leaving the deduction that the toilet might be the problem.

Again though, there is no apparent access to the area behind it where taps (and the leak) may be.

Being Sunday, there is no chance of arranging a caravan plumber. Being the festive time of the year only adds to the frustration. Cousin Bruce drops by for a look and suggests there is an excellent repair house in Bundaberg we might like to check out. Given we are still potentially a week away from receiving test results we may simply have to deal with it in the meantime. Getting a slot in Bundaberg hopefully does not come with the lead times we have experienced everywhere else or we might be there a month as well.

Supposedly everyone knows we have “significant” unemployment not only in this country but around the world (not over population of course) and pundits speak of a skills shortage, certainly any long term solution must lie in education. Unfortunately everyone knows this, but getting people to work in “unattractive” vocations, getting their hands dirty when the media suggests there is something better to be had (even a right), is really the issue. So we bitch (and put me in this category) about long queues and lead times, non existent services and the like that should be available and blame it on Covid.

Too much to consider on a Sunday morning.

Family day in the form of a huge cookup, with the Parnaby crew is on the agenda. We are contributing a trifle, a signature dish of Robyn’s.

Bruce has been on the job early, slow cooking 3 large pieces of meat in the slow cooker/smoker. Along with the meat, he has put together a vegetable “mass” of various greens laced with peppers and salami. Another family member is contributing a 2.5kg potato bake. More than enough to feed everyone and have enough left over for lunches and snacks for the week.

Six families in all gather on the back deck of Bruce’s house, between watching reruns of the Two Ronnies and the Ashes Test discuss matters affecting the world in terms of family influence. Covid restrictions lead a significant amount of the conversation.

Gladstone is effectively a mining town. Everyone at the table (except of course Robyn and I) have jobs because of the mines. My cousins, Bruce is a supervisor at the refinery, John a truckie ferrying fuel to and from mining related businesses and Kaylene is a teacher. The next generation, those with partners lunching with us, work in the refinery or at least directly in the industry. 

Those not here are at work, which includes one on a gas platform in the Indian Ocean. He is on a six week rotation but because of the restrictions for movement of people in Western Australia may take a double term because sitting in quarantine for two weeks on his return cuts into his time off with his family. This is a difficult decision given his wife is pregnant and his father is suffering terminal cancer. We have heard lots of these types of stories and feel for them. It’s different though when it’s a person close.

Bruce, John and the others bemoan the present restrictions and laugh at an apparent bad batch of Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) which all but caused a shutdown of the Rio Tinto plant, suggesting everyone taking them was positive to Covid. Productivity is being reduced significantly when you consider two to three hours a day are taken up waiting for test results to be processed.

My family gathered here are speaking about life as it affects them in these times. All of this group are vaccinated and none are yet to contract the dreaded virus although they know of many who have.