There are nine events on the list which fall outside of the government’s original six-month isolation period and, for instance, no decision has yet been made by the Toodyay Agricultural Society to cancel the 2020 Show which is planned for October or, for that matter, by the RAS to cancel the Perth Royal Show.

The fact that the directory contains our past shire president and other errors, pales into insignificance when compared with the damage this publication has done to our town.

Don’t undersell what you have in terms of property and lifestyle.

We who live here are well aware of the advantages, but no proper wide-ranging promotion has ever been done and hence Toodyay remains a secret jewel in the Avon Valley crown.

Promotion is all that’s necessary to bring our fabulous town and regional lifestyle to the forefront of people’s minds.

Consider this: we now have a new cohort of councillors and a brand-new CEO and they all need to prove themselves.

The best way they can do this is to get Toodyay on the ‘place to live and/or visit’ map once and for all.

I’m sure many will remember the exhilarating seminar the Chamber of Commerce hosted a few years back when ‘How to Promote Toodyay’ was presented by a dynamic group of young marketers.

There was a cost involved, of course, but I’m sure many who attended will remember the level of heart-pounding excitement they left us all with.

It’s now time, in my opinion, for this to happen.

Toodyay has got exactly what Covid-19 has shown us we all need – a sense of community and a need to down-size and re-evaluate what’s important in life – space, a clear blue sky, friends, family and less unnecessary stuff.

What this community needs are councillors who are prepared to represent them for the right reason, not financial gain.

In years gone by, very good, wise, community-minded people were on council representing the ratepayers with their dedication, and their only consideration was the well-being of the shire.

 

These elected members were not necessarily wealthy either, just community people wanting to do the right thing by fellow individuals and groups.

Possibly councillors need to re-evaluate their motivation for putting their hand up when the next election comes around.

What an absolute disgrace on this historic day.

During WWI and WWII sixty-five men and women from our community paid the supreme sacrifice.

This doesn’t include other conflicts or those that returned to their loved ones but still bore the scars of war.

The Toodyay community is proud of how these brave men and women went away and served their country so that we can enjoy the relative peace that we have today.

So, shame on the councillors elected to represent the community as well as the senior staff.

Both groups are well paid and so surely the few dollars that an Anzac wreath would cost would be pittance in a shire’s budget.

We believe the shire is dishonouring our brave servicemen and women who gave up so much for us and to not show any respect on Anzac Day. It brings out their true colours.

They should all hang their heads in disgrace.

The loss of years of contacts was my main brief thought and, as I considered what to do next, my intelligent friend called my phone which was answered by Pete at Toodyay Traders.

“Thank God,” was my next genuine and relieved reaction.

I’d put the phone ‘safely out of harm’s way’ on the trailer mudguard – as you do –and, you guessed it, I had driven off.

Apparently, my phone ended up in the middle of the road on the bridge.

But a local resident, more aware and careful than I had been, saw it, stopped and picked it up and, being a man of integrity, delivered it safely to Toodyay Traders.

Apparently a car in front of him missed it by a skerrick.

He and I both know who he is and, because a bit of mystery is always good for us, I won’t name him here but have thanked him personally.

The phone cover is a bit worse for wear but, miraculously, the phone is intact.

The experience reminds me of how thankful and privileged I am to live in this good and safe town and with people of integrity who make it so.

Thank you, my young friend, and thank you all.

The idea was conceived by several Toodyay locals searching for ways to connect to each other in a positive way and boost community spirit at this time.

One local asked the Christmas shop to switch its lights back on.

She said that when she returns to Toodyay at night, the town is dark except for the Christmas shop lights which make her smile because she knows she is home.

The idea was well received, with many people thrilled to have an activity for their kids at home to get involved in.

A new Facebook page called Lights of Toodyay has been set up for people to post photos of their creative home decorations.

This will enable a ‘virtual tour’ of the spectacle from the comfort of our armchairs as we all self-isolate.

The message behind Lights of Toodyay is to show that we are thinking of each other, our community spirit is strong, we will all get through this together and to remind people that you are not alone.

Please join us by putting some tinsel on your gate and make someone smile.

Within a minute a guy stopped and asked if I was in trouble.

After a short discussion, he agreed to run me home so I could contact someone.

I think his name was Brett but it could have been Brad.

He then offered to go back into town to see if he could find someone who could get my gopher or repair the puncture.

I said he had done enough, thanks.

So he left to go home, or so I thought, and I started to phone contacts who might help me.

After several ‘no’ results, someone asked whether I had tried Toodyay Tyre Service.

I rang and Chris said he could attend to the problem as soon as possible, so I went outside to wait for him.

After waiting 15 to 30 minutes, I was surprised to see Brett/Brad return, followed closely by a white utility towing a trailer with my gopher on board – he had returned to town to find someone to collect it.

Neither knew each other but Samaritan No. 2 readily agreed, saying he had helped gopher users before and had ramps.

The two of them off-loaded my gopher.

I had not met either of them before, and I still do not know the second chap’s name.

Having done their bit, they then left.

Shortly after, Chris from Toodyay Tyre Service arrived, quickly made the necessary repairs and had me mobile again.

When I asked how much I owed, Chris said “It’s on the house”.

It is nice to know there are still good people around who will do more than what is expected.

A very big thank you guys – I wish I knew your names.

Why Man needs to consume rare and endangered animals in the 21st century is beyond my comprehension.

It has been going on for far too long.

We have all seen bears in cages with tubes sticking out of them to extract their bile – health-giving if digested, apparently.

We have all heard of a dining table with a hole cut in it so that greedy rich men can slice open the skull of a monkey strapped underneath and feast on its brain while the animal is still alive.

And what about endangered tigers consumed for their virility-producing properties?

Then there is the magnificent rhinoceros, killed for its horn which is powdered and sold to fat rich men to get an erection – have they not heard of Viagra?

That’s enough – I could list more – but it only makes me angry.

But wait, there is just one more endangered animal that deserves a mention – the pangolin.

Evidence points to a pangolin as the original carrier of the Covid-19 virus.

They eat bat droppings, and why Man would need to eat this endangered animal is once again beyond my comprehension.

Mother Nature provides all the animals we need to eat – cows, sheep, pigs, chickens and more.

The sooner we stop the sale of endangered animals for human consumption, the better.

Mother Nature is not happy, and what with climate change and rampant human consumption, I don’t blame her.

It’s now payback time, and payback is a bitch

The whole world is on its knees because we disrespected the Mother who has provided us with the most.