Cardless cash

I know that sometimes I'm a late adopter of technology, but at least I'd heard of "PayWave" before it arrived in my mailbox.  But I hadn't heard of "cardless cash" until I read about it.  This enables you to withdraw cash from an ATM without a card, by using your smartphone.  CAB offer the facility allowing up to $200 per day, and Westpac will offer something similar later in the year.

As I understand it, with the CBA, when you want to withdraw money, you use the app to say how much you want.  You then receive two PINs, one via the app on the smartphone and the other by SMS. Both of these are transmitted to your phone.  When you get to an ATM, you enter these numbers.    

I watched the clip on the CBA site and it seems that you don't need to enter your bank PIN either on your phone or at the ATM.   Security is provided by your phone password (which the bank is not concerned with).   True, most phone users set their phone so that this needs to be keyed in after a minute or so of inactivity, but even so, it left me wondering, particularly about the fact that the bank having no responsibility in the process for checking that the phone is not being improperly used (such as requiring a PIN known by the bank to be keyed in).

So, I had a look at the "fine print", as a footnote to the expression about the user not being liable for unauthorised transactions.   
This states, "^{^}This means we’ll cover any loss should someone make an unauthorised withdrawal on your account using Cardless Cash - provided you protect your phone and phone password and immediately notify us of their loss, theft or misuse, and of any suspicious activity on your account."

Hmmm, if you lose your phone, can you be said to have failed to "protect" it?  If someone loses their phone, will informing the bank be the first thing on their minds?   How quickly do you have to notify the bank in order to be able to say that you've "immediately" notified them?   I haven't used this facility (and am unlikely to do so) so perhaps I've missed something, but otherwise it seems to me that there are a few "loose ends" here!

Baba Rosa

Baba (S's mum) died on 10 June.   She was 89 (would have been 90 in September).

Although her passing is, of course, sad, she had a fair innings for a girl born in Bosnia who was taken to a labour camp in Germany during the war. She came to Australia as a refugee in 1950 on SS Nellie, where she spent time at the Uranquinty migrant hostel before making a new life in Melbourne, Christmas Hills and Canberra. 

Her funeral will be in Canberra on Saturday.

Growing Up on the Railway in the South West

I'm afraid that when I see a second-hand book shop, I can't resist wandering in and checking the railway books section.  So it was in Fremantle, where there's a branch of the Elizabeth's chain (pity there's no Elizabeth's in Melbourne).

I'm a bit selective about the types of book that I'm prepared to buy, and especially aren't attracted to generic books (such as "Steam Trains Around the World").  I look for books dealing with specific matters, such as researched histories of particular lines and reference materials (such as timetables).    So, the title "Growing Up on the Railway in the South West" didn't appeal to me when I first saw it, but in the absence of anything else of interest, I bought it.

 
I'm glad I did, because it's quite interesting.   It's a collection of recollections, all in the first person (but I suspect, told to the author) of a wide variety of people associated with the railways in the south west of Britain, especially (of course) the Great Western Railway.   It covers engineers, shunters, signalmen, porters, clerical workers, engine drivers, crossing keepers as well as a passenger and a chaplain.  There are reminiscences  from before World War 2 right up to the  publication date of 1998.  One chapter concerns the clerical worked who started work in 1917!  He retired in 1966, but apparently was still around at the time the reminiscences were being collected.  Thus, it touches on the effects of the depression, war, nationalisation, the passing of steam and the coming of diesels and there are even one or two mentions of privatisation. 


A few impressions emerged.  One is the length of time that some people worked on the railways.   In a number of cases, they started quite young in a very junior role and retired over 50 years later (although of course long-serving employees were more likely to have been chosen by the compiler).   One of the chapters is a daughter's recollections of her father who worked on the railway for over 40 years, but always refused promotion because it would have involved moving to a different town, even though his role was quite  mundane (although there are also instances of people who progressed through the ranks to quite senior positions).  And, especially in the pre-war era, transfers to other locations which today would seem to be quite close were regarded as going to a distant place!

Dr Beeching, and his widespread closures are frequently mentioned.   As I've remarked before, his is a household name, even today in British railway circles!

Another impression was the large numbers of people employed:  a contribution by a person who worked for many years as a shunter at the Swindon workshops refers to the fact that this establishment alone employed between 22,000 and 23,000 people (in the 1950s).  I'm not sure of the basis for this figure, as I see from Wikipedia that the peak employment was 14,000 and the figure in the '50s would have been less.  Perhaps the higher figure takes into account those employed in the proximity of the workshops, such as shunters and the like.  Nevertheless, on any view, the railways were clearly very significant employers.

Italian Masterpieces from the Prado

The exhibition at the National Gallery covers three centuries of Italian art, from the Prado's collection.    Of course, Europe was a different place in those days, with Spanish rule extending at times into parts of what is now Italy.

Titian, Salome with the Head of John the Baptist

I can't claim to know a lot about Renaissance art, but I certainly enjoyed the exhibition, in fact more than I expected.  It covers three centuries from Raphael onwards.
  
The captions are comprehesive, describing both the individual pictures as well as the various themes.

Raphael, Holy Family with St John

We attended on the Sunday afternoon of the long weekend, so of course there were a lot of people present.  Even so, it was not over-crowded, but we were glad we'd pre-purchased tickets as there was a long, slow-moving queue to buy them on the spot (this had eased off later in the afternoon).


However, with tickets in hand, there were no delays at the entrance at all.  If you think you may wish to return, ask for a pass-out as you exit into the shop.

Also, on display, just off the lobby, was also a special exhibition of William Blake's works, although mostly etchings.

And, if you go, allow a few minutes to admire the bears in the lobby area.  Kitsch, yes, but amusing.

Are (were) there foxes in Tasmania?

When we were last in Tasmania, on a number of occasions we came across information in motel rooms asking us to report any sightings of foxes that we made.   But we didn't see any foxes.  Now it seems that there may never have been any to see!

Hawley House, Port Sorell - but no foxes?

According to this report, the story that foxes had been deliberately introduced had no firm basis.  The report doesn't even discuss the story about a fox or two that hitched a ride across on the ferry (as told to me).

I guess the outcome, namely that there don't seem to be foxes in Tasmania, is good news.  Pity it's taken this long to come to this conclusion.

D Day - 70 years on

D Day, the day on which the Normandy landings ("Project Neptune") commenced,  occurred on 6 June 1944, seventy years ago.  As is well known, this was the largest ever seaborne landing.

I don't underrate the historical significance nor the challenging logistics of the operation, but I do think the extent of Australia's participation in it needs to be kept in perspective:  there were about 3000 Australians involved.

The context,  as Wikipedia tells us,  is that 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on D-Day, with 875,000 men disembarking by the end of June and presumably there were many more involved with the air and naval support (I see that most of the Australians were in these areas).

I do find it interesting how particular historical events are commemorated, and others are hardly mentioned.   Perhaps it's understandable that we don't hear much about one of the great turning points in the war, the Battle of Stalingrad, but there are probably other events that also remain in the background (the Battle of El Alamein comes to mind).  Presumably,  an element of selectivity is inevitable when thinking about historical matters, but it is interesting to reflect on how the "selection" process operates.

Autumn leaves

Well, I know it's winter now, but the autumn leaves in our area were, as usual, quite attractive (although they have since fallen). 



















Not so attractive were the leaves of the plane trees which cluttered up the area for a while.  Eventually the Council came along with a team and cleaned things up, doing quite a good job I must admit.

Taj Mahal on the Swan

We weren't too far away, so while were in Perth, we just had to drive past the "Taj Mahal on the Swan".   It's still there, unfinished, and little seems to have changed since it was reported 3 years ago to be on the market, perhaps because the Oswal family finances seem to be somewhat "complex" (this link is also to a report some years back).

It is said to be caught up in a morass of legal proceedings!  As to a value of $70 million+?   Well, maybe the land (this is prime Peppie Grove real estate) is worth a bit....but the unfinished structure?    Can't see it, myself.

Upgrading the railway line

There's been some publicity locally about a lot of money being spent on the local railway line.   I previously mentioned this here.  True, I'm aware that some modifications are required on the line so that a wider range of trains can operate on it, although $100 million seems a lot of money.  But there are some marginal seats along the line, and an election is getting closer.  Big amounts of money like this always scare me, but perhaps in the minds of our leaders, big figures are "impressive"?

However, it seems that some of work being undertaken isn't strictly needed, such as painting.  I'm only an observer, but it does appear to me that the paintwork at our local station was in reasonable shape - yet a crew has been here for days, re-painting.  On the other hand, maintenance on other parts of the network is said to be suffering, as Marcus Wong points out.  Is there an issue about priorities here?

Publicity

Reading the local Serbian language newspaper, we were interested to see a photo of Julie Bishop, and an advertisement to the general effect that the Australia government was monitoring how it could assist in the flood relief efforts in the Balkans.

But, wait, what's the advertisement immediately below?  Oh, it's in support of the appeal to pay Captain Dragan's legal costs!   Captain Dragan is, to say the least, "controversial" (see undated but probably a little out of date report here).

This is hardly a cause that the Australian Government would be expected to support!  I'm assured that the placement would have raised a few smiles amongst the readership!