He was sacked six months later and banned from Toodyay’s busy ambulance depot for making allegedly “disparaging remarks” about St John Ambulance emergency response policies at an inter-agency emergency services forum in Northam last July.

Local ambulance volunteers were ignored when they raised similar issues with St John Ambulance administrators several times previously.

WA Nationals MP Shane Love told State Parliament last November that he was “shocked and dismayed” by the sacking and that St John Ambulance WA should apologise to Charlie and “re-examine the way it speaks to volunteers”.

“Charlie raised the same things that we have heard from ambulance volunteers right across the state, from Albany to Karratha,” Mr Love told the Legislative Assembly.

“St John needs to understand that there is a view among many vollies across a number of districts that they are not valued and respected by St John.”

It is not the first time St John Ambulance has treated the Toodyay community with disrespect.

Charlie was previously banned from entering the Toodyay ambulance depot in 2018 for an alleged misdemeanour and ordered to tell other local ambulance volunteers that he was on holidays.

He was treated like a criminal before being reinstated and re-elected by Toodyay members as their local sub-branch chair.

Charlie has provided exemplary service to Toodyay’s St John Ambulance service for nearly four decades, including helping to raise funds for, building the town’s modern ambulance depot and frequently donating his time and equipment to help and improve local emergency response capabilities.

St John Ambulance administrators showed no respect by sacking a member who, day or night, was often the first responder to emergency calls to provide comfort, support and care to sick and injured people waiting for an ambulance to arrive.

It is interesting to note that the St John Ambulance Wheatbelt regional manager in Northam who supported our chairperson’s sacking is no longer employed by the organisation.

I myself have been a member of the Toodyay sub-centre for 40 years, including 10 years as chairperson.

I sincerely hope St John Ambulance WA has more concern in the future for volunteers and their families, and listens to their voices.

An honest opinion may not be flattering nor popular and it may be strongly critical but it should be based on fact.

Too many comments circulating in the community are based on rumour, subjective opinions and contain sweeping statements or they target individuals.

We each have a responsibility to contribute positively to this community.
Think first about where you received your information and your reason to speak.

Is the information factual?

Ask a question if unsure, rather than state an opinion as a fact.

Ask yourself before commenting if this furthers your understanding, clears a misconception or is factually correct?

Perhaps he could stage a protest about the Tiananmen Square massacre of peace-loving Chinese citizens 30 years ago by the Chinese Communist Party.

He could report back to The Herald on his experiences which would be much more enlightening than his current diatribe. (no prizes for guessing why reporting back would be short lived.)

Joe, hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times (capitalism/free society).

Good times create weak men and weak men create hard times (socialism/oppression).
“In the end, we will not remember the words of the enemies of freedom but the silence of our friends” – US human rights activist Dr Martin Luther King Jnr (1929-68).

Well, here we are in mid-2020, the NBN is up and running and we are seeing quite dramatic workplace changes with many professionals and others now working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

For those hoping to see Toodyay at last reach its long talked about potential by being able to attract a new demographic of young professional families able to work from home, I’m hoping that the long-forgotten and perhaps costly planning report is being dusted off and reconsidered.

Just imagine – Toodyay could be sold, touted and promoted as WA’s very own Silicon Valley where the bright young tech savvy entrepreneurs – and their families – can not only develop the myriad of new digital tools we now take for granted but also benefit by living under clear, unpolluted skies while leaving congested city roads behind and giving themselves and their children a taste of wide open spaces.

Even though Toodyay is pretty bloody good in most respects, it could be so much more.
Our shire administration and councillors are the ones to bring about the changes needed in an ageing population to help secure our community’s future.

We need to recognise the potential to develop new business opportunities in our community and help create new jobs to sustain the local economy while at the same time retaining our uniqueness.

A big ask I know, but I have faith.

Firstly, no camels but it was, and don’t be offended, like stepping back into a 1950s Great Britain. I mean that as a compliment.

In those days, people were hardworking, polite, courteous to each other, helped each other and were neighbourly. You could leave your door unlocked, safe in the knowledge that your property would not be touched.

People would acknowledge each other passing by, either on foot or driving (for those who had cars then), and there was no litter and the parks were spotless with no graffiti. Does any of this ring a bell?

As an outsider looking in, so to speak, this is Toodyay today.

Any of you who have been following the UK news, will see a country which is tearing itself apart – the unlimited hypocrisy, the biased press and the political correctness gone mad has ruined a great country. And it will be hard to get it back.

Hang onto what you’ve got, people. From what I see Toodyay is a magic place to live.
And to the politicians I say, whoever you are, promote Toodyay. It has so much going for it.

Sell the town to the rest of WA and to the world.

At weekends I watch tourists come here. It must be a welcome relief for them if they have come from the city. Build on that.

Allegedly I could be flying home to the UK in July sometime. I will be sad to leave.

Thank you to all those I’ve met. The friendship shown to this trapped Pom is very much appreciated.

Heidi, my partner, had lived in Morangup for more than 15 years.

Her first home was 13 acres (5ha) in Grandis Road and she purchased our current property in Morangup Road in 2012.

We first lived in an apartment in South Perth, but Heidi really wanted to get back to the farm.

She was well aware that I had lived in the ‘burbs’ all of my life and was not going to force the issue. She wanted me to come to my own conclusion.

The first visit to the farm and I was hooked – and fell in love at first sight.

It’s 38 acres (15ha), no sheep station of course, with beautiful views, a comfortable house in need of a facelift, a couple of paddocks and lots of untouched bush.

We moved in February 2016 and then the massive job of making the land productive again began – and has not stopped.

For a number of years I had been fascinated with permaculture and the clever techniques employed to work with nature to produce your own food and live a more sustainable life.

In 2018 I completed a Permaculture Design Certificate course and I have been able to put what I have learnt to good use.

We have had successes and failures along our journey, and I hope to share some of these with you soon.

The Shire of Toodyay is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the post-Covid-19 world.
Spending so much time at home during the pandemic has made people look towards a simpler life.

The uptake in growing your own food and gardening in general has been huge.
I had never, until recently, been to nurseries where all the veggie seeds and seedlings were completely sold out.

There are a large range of lifestyle properties in Toodyay which is not that far from the city.

We all know ‘flatlanders’ living in the city and suburbs, so why not invite them to take a trip out to Toodyay.

Who knows, they just might find their piece of the good life.