It’s the middle of the week and we are back in the year 1942 and while the 6^th Australian Division walked out of steaming jungle into the deserted village of Kokoda, the 9^th Australian Division were under fierce fire on the hot desert sands of Egypt.

This post is about the battles at El Alamein, the first was in July 1942 which ended with an up in the air result and neither side being the clear victor.

Then between 23 October to the 5 November saw another battle and the axis army on a retreat they didn’t recover from.

The Battle of El Alamein was the last great imperial battle. More than 13,500 men in the Eighth Army were killed, wounded or missing including 2,694 Australians from the 9th Division, approximately one-fifth of the Eighth Army’s total casualties.

El Alamein was an obscure railway siding on the line from Alexandria. It was between the sea and an impassable swamp of the Qattara Depression. It was also the last defendable position before the Suez Canal 320 kilometres (199 miles) away.

The Aussies had been fighting in the European, Middle Eastern, and North African theatres of the war since 1940. During most of 1942 RAAF squadrons were active in the area providing air-cover for the various battles fought in the area.

From June to November 1942 the AIF and RAAF would play an important role in the battles and victory at El Alamein.

The purpose of the fighting in North Africa was to prevent the Axis powers from threatening Alexandria and the Suez Canal.

In 1941 with the arrival of the German General Erwin Rommel things most of the Allies gains in the area were lost to the Germans. After heavy fighting to Benghazi the Allies had fallen back to Tobruk, were Rommel held the 9th Australian Division under siege for ten months. The besieged men were referred to as trapped rats by Lord Haw Haw and the Aussie’s took pride in the name the Rats of Tobruk.

In an amazing logistical operation during the nights of September and October 1941, destroyers and cruisers slipped into the port and evacuated 15,000 Aussie troops, sadly at the end of October some of the evacuation convoys were bombed resulting in heavy casualties. Also, some Aussie infantry troops were standard at Tobruk leaving by road on 16 December.

Events outside the desert war in North Africa diverted Aussie troops and equipment elsewhere and even though the United States entered the war after Pearl Harbour and their presence was welcomed it became obvious that the need to defend Australia was realised. This led to the withdrawal of Australian troops from the middle east.

More next week.

Hey everyone, it is Tuesday here down under and time to look at another big cat, this week it is the Leopard.

Leopards are the third largest big cat; they are excellent climbers and unlike most other wild cats’ love living in trees. They can live in various different habitats and have a wide range of prey. They are generally found in the Saharan regions of Africa as well as Asian countries like Turkey, Korea, Jave and India.

They are easily recognised by their rosette patterned coat and their extremely long tail which is darker in colour then the rest of their body. Although their base coat can vary depending on its habitat, those living in open grasslands are a golden yellow, while those living in deserts are yellow or cream in colour. Then there are those who live in mountain regions and they are a deep gold colour.

They like to hunt at night, though females with cubs prefer to hunt during the day, they hunt all kinds of creatures from small rodents to small monkeys and impalas.

They are super strong and can drag a fully grown male antelope or a young giraffe which can weigh up to three times that of the leopard into the treetops.

They will attack humans and are considered more dangerous than lions or tigers. Humans have been a threat hunting them for their fur.

There are also snow leopards which are found in the snow caped mountains of Russia, China and the Himalayas they have woolly fur and interestingly not loud roars like other big cats.

Black leopards also known as black panthers are found in dense, wet forested areas of India and southwest Asia.

Good morning, all, well it is Monday morning, and I am hoping this Monday is a good one and that I am productive and not just tired, as I am so over being tired all the damn time.

This week we are in Northern Europe which if I haven’t said before and I don’t think I have and I am too damn lazy to search and find out, is a loose term that generally includes the Nordic countries of northernmost Europe such as Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway.

This week we are looking at Finland which borders Sweden, Norway and Russia the capital is Helsinki which occupies a peninsula and surrounding islands in the Baltic Sea.

Helsinki is home to the 18th-century sea fortress Suomenlinna, is an inhabited sea fortress composed of eight islands, of which six have been fortified; it is about 4 km southeast of the city centre of Helsinki. It is popular with tourists and locals, who enjoy it as a picturesque picnic site. Originally named Sveaborg (Castle of the Swedes), or Viapori as referred to by Finnish-speaking Finns, it was renamed in Finnish to Suomenlinna (Castle of Finland) in 1918 for patriotic and nationalistic reasons, though it is still known by its original name in Sweden and by Swedish-speaking Finns.

It has a population of around 5.6 million, its currency is the Euro, and it has two official languages Finnish and Swedish.  However, even though English is not their official language, you’ll find many Finns speak English well. English has become widely spoken, especially in urban areas and among the younger generation.

The Flag of Finland, also called siniristilippu, dates from the beginning of the 20th century. On a white background, it features a blue Nordic cross, which represents Christianity. The state flag has a coat of arms in the centre but is otherwise identical to the civil flag.

The national coat of arms displays a crowned lion standing on a red field. The lion holds a raised sword in its right gauntleted foreleg and is trampling a curved sabre. The lion, the crown and the sword and sabre handles are gold, as are the gauntlet joints. The blades and the gauntlet are silver.

The brown bear is Finland’s national animal. For ancient Finns the bear was a feared yet revered and respected animal. The importance of the bear in the minds of ancient Finns is demonstrated by the fact that there are over 200 different names for the bear in their language. 

The lily-of-the valley is Finland’s national flower because its attractive and sweetly scented flowers are very familiar to most Finns.

The Head of State is the President of the Republic, and the Government is led by a Prime Minister. Finland was formerly considered a semi-presidential parliamentary system, but pursuant to the 1999 constitution and the 2012 constitutional amendments, it is now a full parliamentary democracy.

Human rights in Finland are freedom of speech, religion, association, and assembly as upheld in law and in practice. Individuals are guaranteed basic rights under the constitution, by legislative acts, and in treaties relating to human rights ratified by the Finnish government.

Finland consistently ranks among the countries with the lowest crime rates in the world. Violent crime is relatively rare, and the overall crime levels are significantly lower compared to many other countries.

I slept through the night, when the alarm went off at 5am I got up went to the toilet took my meds and went back to bed till 6.30am.

It is 10 degrees and my BGL was 5.0.

I still feel like shit but still managed to go to the cemetery, we picked up Sue and took her with us. When we got there Dave & Leigh and Liarna were getting out of their car. A short while later Sandy and Skylar turned up. It was wonderful seeing them all and after a few minutes Skylar was less shy and started to run around and have fun.

After coming home, I went back to bed for a bit.

Sam mowed the back yard and helped Tim with a couple of other tasks out the back.

I am having another early night off to bed at 6.30pm, I hope I feel better tomorrow.

I slept through the night, woke at 4.45am decided I would get up and have a shower. I feel a tad better than yesterday now.

It is 16 degrees and my BGL was 4.8. It warmed up by 11am also the wind picked up and is very strong.

I made myself two soft boiled eggs for lunch.

I felt worn out by 2pm and should have had a nap but didn’t and now it is 5pm and I am falling asleep.

I went to bed at 6.15pm and slept through the night, this morning I am still not good, but we will see how I go during the day.

Much cooler this morning, only 8 degrees my BGL was 4.3.

I read on Facebook that Jono and his girls were in a car accident yesterday afternoon and all are in hospital.

Freya isn’t the best, both girls have broken collarbones, and Freya has multiple small brain bleeds. She has been seen by a neurologist and had a CT scan and is the care of the trauma team.

Another early night for me.

Steps 4,388

I went to bed at 6.30pm and slept till 9pm after that I was pretty much awake till 1.30am.

There was more drama between Sam and Tim last night which is why I was awake for so long. Nothing new, just the same old issues.

It is 3 degrees and my BGL was 3.9.

I went to make my porridge for breakie only to discover I was missing an unopened box, very frustrating.

It has warmed up nicely to 21 degrees at midday.

Steps:3,991

I had a good night but this morning I am struggling to keep my eyes open.

Ok I went back to bed for an hour, and I am more awake now.

At 9.30am I decided to close my eyes while sitting in my armchair, as I was so tired.

It is 8 degrees and my BGL was 4.0

By midday it had warmed up to 22 degrees and by 2pm it was 26 degrees.

I received a text from Kelli that made me really happy. Tim is wondering why I am so tired I said I thought it was a mix of being unwell and Parkinson’s and it should pass.

Sandy went and bought me bread; this also made me happy as I could have a sandwich for lunch.

Steps:4,558

I had a good night, and I feel more awake this morning. It is 12 degrees and my BGL is 5.4.

I had a dental appointment, just a checkup and cleaning, my teeth are not as bad as I expected. I was told one tooth is in need of repair but I’m not sure if we can afford it.

Tasha dropped me off then left to drive her friend to work before coming back to get me. I had to wait 40 minutes for her to get back and pick me up. I was not happy.

The temp reached 27 degrees

I am so tired that I am going to bed at 7pm.

Steps: 3,555

I had a good night and I feel more awake this morning. It is a warmish 17 degrees this morning and my BGL is 5.5

I had to turn the air con on at 11am as it was just so hot, the temp was 26 degrees.

Tim arrived home at around 1pm he will be here for a couple of hours before returning to work.

By 3.30pm it had cooled down and I turned the air con off and opened the doors.

Tim got home from work at 6pm.

Steps:4,642

Ok let’s step back to the Kokoda Track and 1942, the Australian retreat continued and after a fierce battle at Ioribaiwa the exhausted Aussies had to withdraw to Imita Ridge only 50 kilometres or 31 miles from Port Moresby.

By the end of September, it was clear that the Japanese would not take the battle to Port Moresby which was a good thing. Due to all the retreating the Aussies felt forced to undertake they were closer to their supply lines, the Japanese however found themselves far from their supply lines. The Japanese were also exhausted and starving and by the end of September the Aussies were pushing them back over the Owen Stanleys.

Sadly, the fighting was far from over and MacArthur was complaining about slow the pursuit of the Japanese was going across the mountains. General Blamey was also complaining but he was caught in the middle between MacArthur and the Australian Prime Minister, and you can bet MacArthur was breathing down his neck demanding this and that be done.

On the 2 November the Aussies retook Kokoda, which was abandoned, however, this was bot the end of the fighting to expel the Japanese.

While the Aussies were fighting in Papua the United States forces landed at Guadalcanal the battle there took six months before the Japanese finally withdraw on 6 February 1943.

Total casualties of Aussie on the Kokoda Track from July to November 1942 were 1,680 of these 625 were killed, this didn’t include the battle of Milne Bay.

Blamey and MacArthur planned that the Aussies would mount a rapid offensive against Gona in mid-November, of course this was easier said than done with the Japanese bunkers were well defended.

The terrain was swampy with shoulder-high, razor sharp kinai grass and it wasn’t till 9 December that they succeeded.

It has been estimated that the Japanese lost 7,000 men during the Papua campaign.

After Papua the Aussies remained under Japanese fire in the mandated territory of New Guinea until the end of the war.

I haven’t felt well for the last few days, and still don’t feel much chop after doing anything I find myself tired again, and it’s getting me down.

Anyway, here is a bit more about tigers, did you know there are eight sub-species of tiger, they are the Bali tiger, Bengal tiger, Caspian tiger, Ind-Chinese tiger, Javan tiger, Siberian tiger, South China tiger and the Sumatran tiger. Although the Caspian, Bali & Javan tigers are now extinct. The rest are still endangered.

The largest tiger is the Siberian tiger found in Russia.

The smallest tiger is the Sumatran tiger found on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.

The South Chinese tiger is considered to be the evolutionary ancestor of all the tigers in the world. It is the most endangered.

There are tales of the Great Bengal Tigers being ferocious man eaters but almost all wild tigers avoid humans, thus fatal attacks by tigers on humans is thankfully rare. They generally will only attack if provoked or injured.

Many adult males claim territory as their own keeping other males out a territory is usually about 52sq km or 20 sq miles and usually includes a body of water.

Tigers communicate by using different sounds.

There are some white tigers, they have white fur and chocolate-brown or black stripes, they also have blue eyes were other tigers have yellow eyes and are very rare. Most of them can be found in zoos.

Here I am still feeling sick, but it is time to visit another country this week we are going to Venezuela which is a country on the northern coast of South America with diverse natural attractions.

Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, it consists of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea.

It comprises an area of 916,445 km² (353,841 sq mi), and its population was estimated at 29 million in 2022. The capital is Caracas. The official language is Spanish

Along its Caribbean coast are tropical resort islands including Isla de Margarita and the Los Roques archipelago. To the northwest are the Andes Mountains and the colonial town of Mérida, a base for visiting Sierra Nevada National Park.

The current eight-star flag of Venezuela was introduced in 2006. The basic design includes a horizontal tricolour of yellow, blue, and red, the National Coat of Arms on the upper hoist-side of the yellow band and an arc of eight white five-pointed stars centered on the blue band. It dates back to the original flag introduced in 1811, in the Venezuelan War of Independence.

The official currency is the bolivar, named after the hero of South American independence Simón Bolívar, it was introduced following the monetary reform in 1879, before which the venezolano was circulating. 

t is home to the world’s highest waterfall, Angel Falls and the second longest river in South America, the Orinoco. It also has the longest coastline to the Caribbean Sea. It is also the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter and also has vast untapped reserves of natural gas.

Another food night, slept straight through till the alarm went off at 5am.

It is a nice morning the temp is 17 degrees. However, it is raining and looks like it will all morning.

Tim and I went to Kmart, and I bought a new steam mop, Tim has been in a right mood and was getting on my nerves. He tells me he is in pain so I can understand him being in a mood.

Tim has admitted he doesn’t feel well today, I thought as much just by looking at him.

Steps: 5,693

Another decent night, I did get up at midnight and used the powerfit as I was feeling a bit restless. I went back to bed and the next thing I knew was the alarm was going off.

I had a shower first thing this morning and when I came out to the lounge-room Tim had turned the heater on, I nothing but I did turn it off.

It is 18 degrees and my BGL is 5.5

By midday it was nice and warm with a temp of 24 degrees.

Steps: 7,996

Another damn good night slept straight through from 8.35pm to 4.35am, I like nights like that.

It is only 6 degrees this morning and my BGL was 5.1

It has warmed up to 24 degrees, I managed to fold the clothes and put them away, vacuum and tidy the kitchen but that’s all I have zero motivation.

Steps: 6,480

Not the best nights, I slept mostly through the night but with waking every so often then going back to sleep so it was a night of broken sleep.

I was feeling so tired I closed my eyes for 50 minutes, opening them when Sam walked in.

The temp is 12 degrees and my BGL was 5.1. By 10am it was 23 degrees and my BGL was 4.6.

By midday it was 29 degrees, the wind was so hot I had to shut the house up.

Had a cheese pie for lunch and with only a couple of bites to go a small bit got stuck in my throat, as a lot of coughing and retching I managed to dislodge it.

It is 11.20pm and I have been asleep 2.5hrs but now my body is moving too much to sleep, so I got up for a bit.

Steps: 6,555

Not the best nights, I was up between 11.20pm and 1am, I slept from 1am till the alarm went off.

It is 11 degrees or for American followers 52 degrees and my BGL was 4.7.

I am so bloody tired after Sam goes to school I will close my eyes for a while.

I ended up going back to bed for an hour.

It did warm up, got to 25 degrees and for the second day I changed into shorts.

Steps:4,650

Not the best night, I went to bed at nine but felt more awake then tired and this caused me to toss and turn so I got up for an hour or so, then back to bed and straight off to sleep till the alarm went at 5am.

It is 12 degrees Celsius or 53.5 degrees Fahrenheit and my BGL is 4.5.

By midday it was 25 degrees or 72 degrees. I have not felt so good all day.

By 3pm it was 28 degrees or 82.5 Fahrenheit.

I was so tired I fell asleep while watching telly. I am so tired, but I will stay up long enough to take my medication before bed.

I went to bed at 8.30pm but at 10pm I woke up, something startled me, so I got up used the powerfit and now back to bed.

Steps:6,058

Had a good night, up with the alarm, Tim had gone to work he should be home around midday, he to take a bus to Sydney to pick up people and take them somewhere.

It is 15 degrees now and my BGL was 4.7. By 11am it was 22 degrees and I changed into shorts.

I am still not feeling good which may be why I am so damn tired again; I was getting the new steam mop set up and suddenly I felt so tired my eyes started stinging.

Tim arrived home around midday.

By midafternoon I started to feel like death warmed up. It is only 6.30pm and I am going to bed.

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If you suspect your child of being autistic, you will need to get them to see a specialist as in a paediatrician, there can be different signs depending on the age of the child. The earliest this is diagnosed the better the outcome for the child.

It their first year they may not be interested in other people, nor will they make eye contact or smile like other babies do.

As toddlers, those with ASD might not respond to their name. They might focus on one or 2 activities repetitively, like lining up toys. They may not be interested in playing with other children. They might develop unusual ways of speaking.

Older children with ASD might have difficulties in social situations, following instructions or making friends.

There are what is regarded as behavioural red flags such as

The child often has marked repetitive movements, such as hand-shaking or flapping, prolonged rocking or spinning of objects

Many children develop an obsessive interest in certain toys or objects while ignoring other things

The child may have extreme resistance to change in routines and/or their environment

The child may be resistant to solid foods or may not accept a variety of foods in their diet

There are often difficulties with toilet training

The child may have sleeping problems

The child may be extremely distressed by certain noises and/or busy public places such as shopping centres

Hello everyone time to step back in time to 1942 and learn a little more about the battle on the Kokoda Track, I thought we were done with it, but I turned the page in my book, and I am back at Kokoda.

Late August found the Japanese withdrawing from Milne Bay and the Aussie’s withdrawing from Isurava, it was while under heavy fire from the Japanese that the Aussie retreated to Templeton’s Crossing.

By this time the Aussie’s were doing it tough with the appalling conditions and the lack of supplies the health of the men was shocking to say the least. Apart form battle wounds and the problems being able to treat them due to circumstances they were in, the men also had dysentery and malaria which of course was made worse by lack of food which made the men very weak, thus making it hard to fight off any disease.

Of course, in his safe Brisbane GHQ MacArthur still didn’t get how out numbered the allied forces were, he thought there were more allied men then Japanese, he was wrong. In reality there was around 400 Aussie up against 5,000 Japanese. He had the idea that the Aussie’s were inefficient jungle fighters due to the continued retreats.

When asked for more aircraft he refused.

He also relived some of the best commanders of their duties, ironically on the eve of success.

On the Kokoda track the supply lines were indifferent and would be trucked to Ower’s Corner which was at the start of the track. From there it was up to the carriers to transport the supplies on foot and mules.

The Papuan carriers played a vital role in the movement of supplies, when they reached an area called the Ubiri track it wasn’t possible for the pack animals to go any further. So, the local people carried these heavy loads the rest of the way. These amazing locals also carried the wounded down the track for medical treatment.

There was another method of dropping off supplies this was to fly them to Myola a relative flat area near Templeton’s Crossing, however, this was often unsuccessful due to the pilots being inexperienced in the type of flying needed.

A large percentage of supplies were lost in the jungle or damaged in the drop; it didn’t help that many of the supply planes had been damaged at Port Moresby during an air raid.