Living in a Ghost Town, Mojo Chasing, Pasta and Plastic – another week in isolation

Monday 4 May 2020   6.27am

 

Let’s cast our mind back a few weeks to a time when shopping became a sport as the competition for a packet of lasagne sheets, jar of pasta source or roll of toilet paper was as intense as any we see in our professional sporting codes.

 

Remember the Prime Minister and other Leaders begging, almost lecturing us to “cease and desist” stock piling goods? We were told “Panic Buying is stupid”.

We produce more food than we consume, exporting the excess. Likewise, evidence was provided confirming our local toilet paper manufacturing more than meets our needs.

 

All of this is true. So why are some supermarket shelves still empty now the panic buying has long passed?

 

What we do not have, and what threatens our food supply chain is packaging.

We have an almost total reliance on international supplies for the packaging in to which our locally produced foods is placed. The tin for the can of fruit and the resins that make the plastic for our milk containers all come from overseas, mainly China. All our plastic packaging is reliant on overseas supply chains.

 

Highly sophisticated, “just in time” based warehousing and supermarket delivery systems mean only 30 days supplies of goods are in the system at any one time.

 

The real threat to running out of basic produce was not our ability to produce food or make toilet paper. It was and is the reliance on disrupted international supplies of the packaging that make our produce supermarket ready.

 

Maybe stockpiling was not as silly as it seemed?

 

More importantly, maybe we can look at alternatives to plastic as our packaging of preference?

 

Important as our national food supply chain may be, there is something else causing me significantly more concern.

 

I have finally succumbed, it’s got me.

 

After 4, or is it 6 weeks of being overtly cautious, I am forced to concede to forces seemingly outside my control.

 

Despite meticulous planning, conscious foresight and diligent self education to live my best and safest life in isolation, I have still been struck down.  

 

I have fallen victim to that mildly annoying, hardly hideous and almost irrelevant syndrome of all.  

 

I have that common affliction of the mildly privileged.

 

I have a first world problem.

 

I have run out of coffee beans.

 

A change in my supplier’s delivery arrangements means the time between order and receipt is longer than usual, all exacerbated by it being a public holiday where I live.

 

Do I risk all, break isolation and seek out an alternative bean?

 

Do I go without?

 

Yes, a first world problem bathed in irrelevance.

 

Moving on:

 

What about those Rolling Stones?   

 

Pandemic inspiration sees their first original music release since 2012 and in many countries raced to the top of the streaming charts.

 

If you want to do yourself a favour, here is Living in a Ghost Town from the Rolling Stones.

 

Just a warning, if you have adverse reactions to strobe like images, I am not sure the video will appeal.

 

And to the world of literature:

 

This week, I will be reading What I Talk About When I Talk About Running a memoir by Haruki Murakami translated by Philip Gabriel. This book comes to me with both a high recommendation and a clear assurance it is much more than a repetitive dialogue about one person’s long distance running endeavours. Further, I am told an interest in running is not required to enjoy and take something meaningful from the book.

 

If that doesn’t seem appealing, and I understand why it may not, I suggest Ghost Empire by Richard Fidler. The book covers the 1000 year story of Constantinople and is one of the best, most compelling books I read in 2018.

 

A quick comment about last weeks (fortnights) book, the Once While Travelling  - The Lonely Planet Story. It is a generally engaging read although I felt it maybe 50 or so pages too long. The interesting learnings are “do the work” and “if you wait until everything is ready, you will never be ready”.

 

My podcast recommendation for the week is “The Mojo Radio Show”.

 

This is a weekly podcast hosted by Gary Bertwistle who among other things was a 2018 Australian of the Year finalist. Each episode is centred around a long form interview preceded and followed by some fun banter.

 

The The Mojo Radio Show describes itself as follows:

 

We interview todays leading lights in every area of our lives.... health, fitness, creativity, wellness, strategy, brand, performance, and management. If it’s helping us towards our dreams and a better life... we will cover it for you.

 

It is a weekly must listen of mine and one that requires concentrated listening. It may also take a couple of episodes to get the rhythm of the pod and it is worth looking at their past shows too.

And a thought to contemplate.

We typically want our fiction to be believable and our non fiction to be unbelievable  *

 

Stay happy, stay safe, remain supportive of others and accept the support of others, and enjoy your coffee while you can

 

Colin Morley


*Quoted from The Hustle