On the Grapevine

Established in 1962, the school was formerly known as Cobram High School and has gone from strength to strength, providing quality education for thousands of local children, many of whom have gone on to establish great careers.

Some weeks ago in this column, I asked former students for recollections of their time spent at the school.

Former student Peter Sutton attended his first year of secondary education at the school in 1976, the same year four of its students attempted to establish a new world record for yo-yo. At that time yo-yos were an established craze among boys and girls and the four enthusiasts — David Braithwaite, Darren Flanagan, Chris Hicks and Brian Salmarsh — smashed the record. This was recorded by the late Kenn Rogers who produced a book on Cobram’s local history. He was the popular long-standing principal of Cobram Primary School, formerly Cobram Consolidated.

The four youngsters broke the previous world record certified by Guinness World Records and also raised $500, a considerable sum of money at the time. Peter Sutton recalled that the principal Ian McKean announced at an assembly that they had broken the record but sadly a US college team had very soon after bettered their result. However, Guinness Records certified that the Cobram four held the Australian record.

An extraordinary effort by the four teenagers aged 14 and 15 years.

One of the lads, Darren Flanagan, went on to play VFL/AFL football at Geelong.

If you have a story of your school days that you would love to share with readers please give me a call on 0402 858 877.

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Get tested if you wish to isolate from the world

On January 4, I drove to Melbourne to be with my two teenage granddaughters, two dogs and a cat for a week or so while mum and partner had a much longed-for break, a week on the Gold Coast. They had booked this holiday three times previously and were forced to cancel each time.

The night before they left, 17-year-old Tess had her first real date, a night out in a restaurant with a nice boy who paid for everything then sent her home in an Uber, being too young to hold a licence. How wonderful! However, the next morning she became very ill and dad came to pick her up and used a RAT test kit which showed a positive test to Omicron. Tess deteriorated rapidly and being unable to keep water down was taken to hospital and put on a drip for 24 hours with dad at her side. Allowed to go home 48 hours later, she was extremely weak but a little better.

As close contacts, my other granddaughter Heidi, 16, and I needed to be tested. Yes, well, that we found is not so easy. I visited every pharmacy in the area of Beaumaris, Mentone, Black Rock and Cheltenham with no opportunity to purchase a RAT test kit. “They’re currently not available”, was the continuing response.

I went to two medical clinics to ask where I could purchase a kit, they did not know, they were out of them and so were the local pharmacies. Well, I knew that didn’t I!

One receptionist suggested the best thing was to stand in line at a testing centre, but she said that could often take up to two-three hours.

Not able to do this, I then inquired about a drive-through I could go to. She said they are everywhere! I must have looked dumbfounded as she said, ‘’Aren’t you from around here?”

I replied, “No, I‘m from the country.” She then suggested I should try the drive-through testing clinic at Brighton Golf Club.

That was all I needed and with Heidi on board we took off for the golf club, only to be confronted by a humongous queue of slow-moving vehicles, yet I felt there was no choice. Fortunately, we had brought fruit and drink to sustain us during the long wait. It was exactly four hours before we got to the front of the queue to have our test and told immediately afterwards that we must isolate for seven days or until we get our test results by text or email within three-five days. Nine days passed, still no response.

Without any symptoms we totally isolated for six days, wondering each day if we would hear. It was a stressful time for Heidi, all her plans with her friends had gone out the window and she was worried about her sister being so ill and not knowing if she also had the virus. The two girls had both been double vaccinated as they each work part-time in local cafés.

Now I understand our health system is under unprecedented pressure, with many Healthcare workers working ridiculous shifts, putting their own lives at risk every minute of the day and afraid they will take the virus home to the families. In some cases, workers are known to isolate themselves to protect those around them although not affected by the virus. Surely there has to be a better way?

The RAT kits appear to be the way to go with an instant result, but where are they available and are they accurate? Do people testing at home really know what they need to do?

Footnote:: On Sunday, January 16, Heidi and I received a text from the pathology company to say that our samples were no longer suitable for processing and no result could be provided. It was recommended to take a rapid antigen test (RAT) or self quarantine for seven days post our first test date. Oh and by the way, neither of us have experienced any symptoms!

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New Bunnings kid on the block

Six-month-old English Staffordshire Terrier ‘Bear’ is currently being groomed for an apprenticeship in the building trade through Bunnings in Melbourne.

Older brother Romeo, a handsome gentle 10 years old Rottweiler is a seasoned builders assistant to dad Dean but forced into retirement after gradually losing his sight after suffering a stroke two years ago.

However, despite his loss of sight he is capable of teaching the young pup all he knows and be assured this adorable intelligent pup will become a valuable assistant in the future.

If ‘clothing maketh the man’ then the love canine duo have it in the bag in their Bunnings tee’s.

PS — Do you have an interesting photo or story of your talented pup or senior canine you would like to share?