Sunday, October 30, 2011

Shame Alan Joyce, Shame

Thank you for visiting my blog today; I hope you are having a good day.

I don't normally post anything quite like this, but I just had to put my thoughts out there somewhere ;-) 


Most Australians would have been shocked with the announcement that Qantas had grounded all their flights this weekend.  Qantas says it is the only action left to take to bring the dispute resolution to a head.  

Whilst I realise there are always two sides to every story, and there are most probably things I am not privvy to and would not understand completely, but I fully support the workers.  I believe they are putting the safety of the airline and its passengers, the security of the employees and the reputation of the company FIRST.

I DO NOT believe that this dispute is purely about pay conditions as the media is constantly reporting - it is more than that.  Amongst many other things, from what I understand, Qantas Pilots have been negotiating on a 'Qantas Flight/Qantas Pilot' clause - basically meaning if it is a Qantas flight, then Qantas qualified pilots should be flying the plane.  Engineering staff are protesting as moving operations to Asia could have a detrimental effect on the overall safety of the aircraft.  Baggage handlers are protesting on workers' safety conditions and pay.  I have not heard of any of the Flight Staff protesting, but I would imagine they have some grievances too ;-)

During my investigations to see what all the fuss was about, I discovered the following information about Alan Joyce, from Wikipedia

I quote some of the bits that caught my attention

Career
Joyce worked at Aer Lingus, the flag carrier of Ireland, until he left in 1996 to join the now-defunct Ansett Australia. Joyce spent eight years at Aer Lingus, where he held a wide spectrum of positions in Sales, Marketing, Information Technology, Network Planning, Operations Research, Revenue Management and Fleet Planning.


Joyce left Ansett in 2000 to join Qantas. At both Ansett Australia and Qantas, Joyce headed the Network Planning, Schedules Planning and Network Strategy functions.


Joyce was appointed CEO of Qantas subsidiary Jetstar Airways in October 2003.


Joyce became CEO of Qantas on 28 November 2008. He is a former Director of Orangestar Investment Holdings Pte Limited (holding company of Singapore-based Jetstar Asia Airways and Valuair) and Jetstar Pacific Airlines Aviation Joint Stock Company (in Vietnam).


Ansett Australia, Ansett, Ansett Airlines of Australia, or ANSETT-ANA as it was commonly known in earlier years, was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne. The airlines flew domestically within Australia and to destinations in Asia during its operation in 1996. The airline was placed into administration in 2001 after suffering financial collapse, and subsequent organised liquidation in 2002, subject to deed of company arrangement. Ansett operated for 66 years and 11 days after its first takeoff from Hamilton, Victoria.


This is what I have observed from the above information ........ it took Alan Joyce only 4 years to run Ansett into the ground .......... it has taken him 11 years to have a detrimental impact on Qantas, but Qantas was a bigger company to start with.

The airline is struggling, as most airlines are - fuel is expensive and it takes a lot to provide a good service to their customers - but to award the CEO with a 70% pay rise (as well as other board members receiving a payrise) and not even be willing to negotiate with the core employees about a measley 5% payrise (amongst other things) IS CRIMINAL!

I have been following this facebook page with much interest.



UPDATED News link added:


Other news links







So thank you so much for sticking with it and having a read of my 'vent' ;-)

On a side note - I was supposed to be in Sydney this weekend with my School Reunion (I would have flown Qantas by choice), but since I haven't been working this year, I couldn't afford to go.  I hope my friends that did go are not stranded too long ;-(

I hope you all have a good day - remember, any time spent doing what you love makes it a good day ;-)

 
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Monday, October 24, 2011

A Wedding, week-end away, sightseeing and Great Pizza!

Our beautiful niece, Lauren married the wonderful Brett on the weekend.

I give you a friendly warning now .......... a picture heavy post follows ;-)



We had such a lovely time in the Barossa Valley - staying overnight in the Barossa Novotel


Here are some of the things I made for them.








A keepsake for the Bride - this is the last of the shoes I made when I was doing ceramics - now if anyone else gets married, I am going to have to find a different keepsake for them ;-)

Here is our room at the Barossa Novotel


and this was our view - forever changing and beautiful ;-)

The happy couple at the reception, which was held at the Barossa Valley Estate.  The staff there were excellent and it is such a beautiful place to hold a wedding ;-)


On Sunday, we did some sightseeing with Brother-in-law & Sister-in-Law, Greg & Rosa, and visited Maggie Beer's Farm (again ;-) )



This time, I managed to get some photos of the peacocks!





The peacock kept teasing us - not fully turning around to display all his glory
Then he decided to go walkabout ;-)


ahhh, on the ground again!


Time for some more driving and we ended up at Roaring 40's Cafe for some late lunch.  We had heard about this place on the TV as it has won all sorts of awards for their pizzas. 




The food was lovely, but I had eaten way too much breakfast at the Hotel, so we asked for a doggy bag to take the leftovers home.  We had the leftovers later after we had got home an unpacked - it reheated beautifully ;-)

I was so annoyed with myself, I didn't even think to take a photo of the pizza :-(

So that was our weekend away - now I need to be off and do some unpacking and washing - we were too pooped to do it last night - and then some grocery shopping awaits ;-)

Hubby is on leave for the next two weeks so blog posts may be a bit slow - I am hoping we can catch up on our my 'to do list' around the home.

Catch you all a bit later ;-)


Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Another Custom Order ;-)

I got another custom order yesterday via ETSY for one of my cards 


this one is on it's way to a lucky somebody in Tassie ;-)



Monday, October 17, 2011

Halfway mark for UnstampaBelles Challenge #4 - Autumn

We are halfway through the month for our UnstampaBelles Challenge - where did that time go?

In the hope of inspiring you to try something different, here is another card made with NO STAMPS



Cardstock, acetate, DP, stickers from Blue Edge Crafts
Embellishments on front were from my stash - I think they may have been Jolees ;-)



Sunday, October 16, 2011

Thank ewe ......

I was able to spend some time in my little corner over the weekend and made a card ;-)




I would like to submit this card for the following challenges:

Cardmad Fairy #18 - spots and stripes
Creatalicious #27 - distress edges
Stamptacular Sunday #133- so distressing



 


Saturday, October 15, 2011

My First International Custom Invitation Order

I have completed my first international custom invitation order - it's on its way to USA!

I was asked to provide 30 clown shaped invites to Jennie for her daughter's 2nd birthday.

I must say processing the order was a real challenge as Paypal decided to have a hissy fit and not work with ETSY - but we found a work around - Jennie was a real gem in being willing to find another way ;-)




progress shot - first batch drying ;-)


I must admit, it was a challenge doing 30 of them in such a tight timeframe - having to allow 6-10 working days for postage from Australia to USA puts a real spanner in the works ;-)


Tuesday, October 11, 2011

New Fountain Sauce - My Review

I am a regular visitor to www.taste.com.au - the people taking part in the forums are great, and the variety of recipes available is wonderful.

I recently had the opportunity to try the new Fountain Tomato Sauce with lower salt & sugar ;-)

First up I must declare that I have received this sample for free and that I am a diehard Heinz Big Red fan!



I must say I am impressed.  It has a slightly different flavour than other tomato sauces - lighter in taste and texture - and the one big bonus for me - it doesn't give me reflux ;-)
So I can have as much sauce as I like - and I like tomato sauce ;-)

Thank you Fountain, you have a new customer for your Tomato Sauce.
I already love your Sweet Chili Sauce and the Mustard Sauce.


Thanks for visiting this blog today.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Birthday Cards

It was my birthday yesterday and it started with an early morning phone call from my Dad at 6:30 am!  Dad likes to do thing 'when he thinks of them' ;-)

There were also heaps of birthday messages on my Facebook page - what a lovely way to start the day ;-)

Hubby took his RDO (rostered day off) and we had a lovely day together.  We had a leisurely breakfast, and while he pottered about I got some crafting and blogging done.  Sorted some fabrics ready for my next two swap blocks, watched a TV show we had recorded earlier, and then went out to eat and have a few drinks (drinks for me - he is designated driver ;-))

I also received some lovely unexpected birthday cards and thought I would show them here


from my friend John - regular readers will detect a theme for our cards -
HERE is the one I sent him in July ;-)

This one is from Merry, longtime CraftMad friend and DT leader for UnstampaBelles.

I will be posting pics of my sewing over the weekend - Bathurst Car Racing is on - a perfect opportunity for me to squirrel myself away in the craft room and sewing room.



Monday, October 3, 2011

Challenge #4 - UnstampaBelles - Autumn colours


Challenge #4 for UnstampaBelles is up and running.


A quick recap of the rules:


No Stamps! This means no rubber stamps, no digital stamps, clipart or line art which includes pre-coloured versions. Inclusive of sentiment stamps.


You may think this will be difficult, but here are some suggestions on what you CAN use:
3D papertole, decoupage, quilling, iris folding, stitching, beading, origami, fancy folds, cutting machines (e.g. craftrobo, cricut), paper punches, canvases, stickers, rub-ons, parchment, etc.......




Due to graphic technology any entry with a graphic image will be subject to the Design Teams' discretion and we will contact you if we feel the entry does not meet the ethos of our challenge blog.




A technique challenge will be included as a bonus.  This will not be a requirement for an entry but if you do use the nominated technique in your project, it will count as two entries for you.


The Theme this month is Autumn colours and the Bonus Technique is Stitching, if you include this technique, you will get a bonus entry.


This months sponsor is Pizzazz Aplenty and the prize is a $10 surprise package of goodies from Pizzazz Aplenty






Pizzazz Aplenty began with only a bit of bling and some ribbon, but in the last few months, we've added so much more... from cardstock to cello bags, as well as charms, stick pins, brads, buttons, cords, twines, laces, and over 20 colors in flatback pearls and rhinestones.  The newest additions are teardrop pearls, button stick pins, leaf pins, heart pins, resin cameos and flowers!  Please stop by for a look at our store:Pizzazz Aplenty


Now for my DT entry.




ITEMS USED - SU Cardstock, paper flowers & rub-ons.  
Flatback Rhinestones & Sahara Gold String from Pizzazz Aplenty

Visit the UnstampaBelles blog and see who won the previous challenge - it was really difficult to pick a favourite! 

Check out the other DT entries - there are some wonderful variations on the theme of Autumn Colours.

I would like to submit my card for the following challenges:
Creatalicious - Anything goes
ABC Challenge - A for Anything goes



Sunday, October 2, 2011

I was featured ;-)

Hi everyone

I was featured over on fellow DUSTers' blog - Maddabling HERE

I do believe I blushed when I first read it - maddabling had some wonderful things to say ;-)

Pop over to her blog and see some of the other DUSTers that have been featured - there are some gorgeously talented people out there ;-)

Thank you maddabling for doing the feature on my Creative Corner of the world.