The Chaff

Lahana

Lahana is the name of a boat competing in the Sydney to Hobart this year . This vessel has our boss on board . John Honan is part owner with Peter Millard the skipper . Peter is Caroline Honans husband . These two intrepid souls not only own the vessel but they are crewing for the race also . 

The Sydney to Hobart is not for the fainthearted , I would certainly think twice myself . When it turns nasty , this race is the most dangerous in the world . 

So I dips my lids to the lads .

John is the third generation mogul . History shows that the third born can find the going tough . 

Witness Lachlan and James . We're hoping John bucks the trend !

It appears that John and Peter have done their homework and have been crewing for some time preparing for this event . 

No wonder we couldn't get an answer about the four per cent . John was out of range you see , in the middle of bloody nowhere , somewhere in the vast ocean that could swallow him up any moment . And that is a problem , he is the future of the company and here he is risking his life . 

Peter and John are trying to beat the likes of Neville Crichton while trying not to get knocked into the sea by the boom . Quite a tall order . 

But I'm with him . He's my Boss so naturally I want him to do well and also survive . Lahana is currently positioned 7th for line honours and 60th for overall classification about halfway . Go Manildra !

Wild Oats is the Maxi to beat . Or Alfa Romeo or Konica Minolta ....?

Except Konica Minolta is now called Lahana which is where we come in.........!

Lahana means cabbage in Turkish . 

The vessel should be called the Manildra Magic and if they want a decent crew they should let us know .

On Monday there was a photo in the Herald with a Lahana crew member lying down relaxing up the bow of the boat . Look nobody does lying down relaxing better than me . Just thought I'd mention it .

Here is the fleet heading for the heads .

Congratulations to John Honan and Peter Millard the skipper they have finished in eighth position for line honours . At the time of writing only ten boats had finished , Lahana were fourth for NSW vessels . Overall classifications will be decided once the whole fleet has finished .

Here are some photos borrowed from various media . 

Xmas Card Loud And Clear

Hear Ye Hear Ye

It's not often that the working man and woman here at Manildra agree on something without exception . But I have not heard one bad thing about the Xmas Card given to us by Brunner ( John B ) .

Everyone thinks it's a good thing ...... Ok in fact we all think it's the bloody greatest thing that's happened here for ages .

I'm going to spend mine on .........hang on my wife has snaffled it and it appears it is already spent . So thanks Brunner ( John B ) I'm going to love all those hair products and face creams !

I keep mentioning that the gift comes from Brunner ( John B ) . Well what do you think ? 

I looked at the list of bosses on the card and for the life of me couldn't imagine say Tony F. or John C.  coming up with the idea of giving the staff a hundred bucks each for Xmas ..... Can you ?

Take Daniel for example he's like a Swiss Bank that gives nothing away . His view of Industrial Relations Down Under would indicate he would rather walk over hot coals then give away hard cash as a gift .

Apart from the Bank of Scotland recently , Scots generally have a well earned reputation for tight purse strings and Tony is a shining example of this tradition . I'm fairly certain this was not his brainchild .

Chillers is Chillers . The fall guy , gets blamed for everything . He would be the character that everyone boos at the pantomine . And he plays the role to the hilt ..... The gift wasn't his idea .

Gary Eggo is well known for being a serious and responsible paymaster . He is that diligent and careful with it you would swear it was his own money . I don't think it was his idea but I'm not 100% sure like I am with the other signatories . He is very supportive of a Xmas party so you never know .

Brendan Lea can be a generous fellow no question , but not this generous . 

There is one anomaly and that's Carolyn , I knew she was influential but I didn't realize how much !

I'll have to watch it around Davo now , his Missus runs the joint ! 

Jokes aside , I've heard way too many people saying the Xmas card is better than a party . Wrong wrong wrong , nothing is better than a good party especially one where all the workmates and their partners get to bond over food and alcohol and music .

Parties are magic with synergies created that are not captured with a gift voucher no matter how generous the amount .  

Play that record again mate , I'm going to dance my arse off just as soon as I've drunk this schooner and eaten this tucker 

The next day at work is a pearler . It always is after a Xmas party .

Have a good day everyone . 

  

Concrete Stuff

A brand new Smoko room . With all the bells and whistles .

I especially like the cabinets that now house the vending machines . Let's hope that the dickheads that normally brutalize these items will not rear their ugly heads . Also the shelves are really well thought out and the materials used are perfect for this type of room . 

A very significant gesture by the incoming General Manager . It sends a message that workers are important and deserve a decent Smoko room . Well done , I like it and I am glad to see it being used because otherwise the office workers will snaffle it for their own . 

The best thing about the room is , it is real and ready . No empty promises . 

The real surprise has been the gift vouchers , talk about morale booster ! Normally recalcitrant employees have been well impressed with this latest manouvre . I heard it mentioned that Brunners has had no time to organize a Xmas party so we are getting these generous vouchers instead . What can I say but Bravo Bravo Bravo !

This is real shit , concrete stuff for us because we're good . Brilliant !

Unsolicited , unnegotiated , unexpected !

Not unnoticed ................  

It also augers well for next year . Perhaps we now have a Manager that will go the extra mile for a Xmas party . One can only hope .

One bloke mentioned to me that he would rather have a voucher then a Xmas party next year. If this is the prevailing view then I suppose  the problem is solved right there . 

I disagree , I think a really good party is better but that's just me . 

Whatever happens we'll see but there is no doubt these vouchers are hitting the spot right now . Merry Xmas . 

Xmas Greetings To All

It is the same card as last year . 

except for this addition ! Glory to the Highest .......... 

 All the best to all you readers . 

The Cripps And The Bloods

The Secretary and President Of NUW , NSW

The Union have had a lot going on this year . No need to elaborate but there has been plenty .

Still we have just experienced a negotiation with unprecedented support from this same Union . 

Cheers to that . 

Random Whinging 3

Now we've got the EBA out of the way , it's about time to get back to what we do best . That's whinging !

So to kick off , I'll send the ball long and try and trap the fullback in the in goal .

The Lab currently has a dream shift on offer . Sunday day shift to be precise and it's a pearler ! 

Double figure full tests just for starters . Which ones first ?  Hang on there are a dozen trucks waiting for C of A s . Talk about pressure . For any Labonians working that shift they better make sure they don't get on it the night before , because hangovers don't get much worse than this .

The way I see it any potential mistake is going to cost more than the savings from the bizarre roster that the Lab rats have to adhere too . Just put them back to the normal 24/7 , it's worth it for sure . They'll be happier too . Win Win for everyone concerned . 

As far as the Packers are concerned , if there are a few more weekends where they are brought in for overtime the they too will be entitled to think they could get back on the normal shiftwork roster . 

There have been many copies of the EBA floating around . People should take a copy home . It's a valuable document and good to refer back to in the future . Don't go asking me stuff , I wouldn't have a clue . I'm just there for the sandwiches . 

Although of course there is the drug and alcohol testing stuff coming up , I'll be on board for that . You can rely on me to be highly involved in this process as I do not wish to be testing positive . At the same time I wish to retain aspects of my lifestyle which I enjoy . Should be interesting !

Perseverance 2

Creature of habit that I am ...........here pictured ready to go if the people of NSW need me . Another year , another pair of Blundstones .

Ok so they've picked an attractive intelligent woman over me . Fair enough really ! I wish Kristina Keneally well .

If I had my time over , I would have gone to World Youth Day instead of the latest Rave .