Mayor4Unley

It was sad to hear of the death of Sisto Malaspina, killed by a terrorist in front of his Pellegrini's coffee shop in Bourke Street, Melbourne. He was a mate; a friend to all who visited. He remembered you after years of absence; and after only a few occasional visits to Melbourne. I had the pleasure of having coffee (many short blacks) with him earlier this year. When in Melbourne, a visit to Pellegrini's was always my priority. Pellegrini's will continue as an institution (because the coffee is just so good; simply the best) and the family will maintain that special relationship with the clients. RIP (far too early) my friend.

Pets, especially dogs, are good for your health. They are very understanding and help to soothe the pain during troubled times. In general, in my opinion, people with pets are of better nature; more compatible members of society. I was interested in the results of a study by canine scientist and PhD student Mia Cobb and sports scientist Dr Craig Duncan. It showed that when a dog and its owner were in close proximity their heartbeats were significantly lower. Dogs and their owners were strapped with heart monitors and after initial separation, when reunited together on a couch both dog and the owner where found to have heartbeats that dipped or rose in synchronisation. An amazing discovery 🐕 I bet the same isn't true for cats. I'm sure that they would maintain a steady heartbeat; whatever 🐱

I have a new friend; actually two new friends. A couple of young Murray Magpies (aka. a Pee Wee or more formally as a Piping Shrike) have come to the garden and do regular patrols; hunting for spiders, moths or grubs and insects on the lawn. I started feeding them small bits of meat; pieces of chop or left-over sausage. That was a big hit and they have adopted me. This morning one flew at me in excitement to get some food. The dogs are not happy with this new friendship; so I will have to build a feeding platform head-high above the ground. As a matter of interest, there is confusion about which bird is displayed on the South Australia flag. Is it an Australian Magpie or the smaller Murray Magpie? More information from Wikipedia ... "The piping shrike is the emblematic bird that appears on South Australia's flag, State Badge and Coat of a Arms. The bird appears "displayed proper" with its wings outstretched and curved upwards. Although the image of the piping...

The other day I joined a table of other people for a meeting. I sat next to a woman I knew. We have often passed idle chatter and shared experiences. But, something was wrong and I wished that I had sat elsewhere. The perfume she was wearing was strong and just didn’t suit her; it wasn’t her. In fact, the scent was too old for her. Thinking about it, I would not have found it pleasant on an older woman. I remember some years back at work, in separate incidents, I passed some honest comments to a couple of women about the colour of their tops. I’m into giving honest feedback; and sometimes it is unsolicited. Years later, and only recently, I was surprised to learn through a friend that those two women to whom I had provided feedback had never worn those tops again. One gave hers to the Salvos, the other handed it down to her sister. I sorta felt bad about it, but it quickly became a passing thought. Friends should be able to pass on honest feedback. So, back to the woman si...