How are things where YOU are? (in relation to the Corona Virus)

[MMDown Under]

37 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I find it interesting that for the last few years, it has seemed to be the 'fad' to have someone interpreting the official speech, in sign language. I wonder how many people need the sign language. Wouldn't it be more effective to have a text crawler on the bottom of the screen. That would make it easier for everyone to follow and absorb the main parts of the speech. Although, I do have a smile sometimes at the way the sign language person interprets the speech.

Sign language has been around for a long time.  At Woodford Folk Festival, we always sit where we can watch the person doing sign language, whilst listening to the talker.  A text crawler on the bottom of the screen wouldn't work.  Sign language is the signer's interpretation of what is being said.  A whole language of the big picture, as it were.  You can actually learn the language at the Woodford Folk Festival.  When you have a number of different people signing the same speaker, you can pick up their different interpretations.  However, the message is always clear.  It can be amusing to watch, esp if the signer is a woman signing on something a man has said that a lady wouldn't normally say.  I worked with someone who could speak without hearing, yet her first language was sign language. 

[mr walker]

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

I find it interesting that for the last few years, it has seemed to be the 'fad' to have someone interpreting the official speech, in sign language. Although, I do have a smile sometimes at the way the sign language person interprets the speech.

My niece learned signing for her early childhood education role. It is quite intricate & the exaggerated facial expressions etc are an integral part, not just what they are doing with their hands.

 

I read that for fun is these times of social isolation, some families have created a game where they turn down the sound & try to work out what is being said by what the signer is doing. They then replay with the sound on & see how close, or not, they were. A bit of harmless fun I would think.

[MicCanberra]

3 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

I'm assuming you live in Canberra. 

Every beach place in Australia had old beach houses/fishing shacks.  These are not holiday houses believe me.  I've had a holiday house - this is where you holiday, you do jigsaw puzzles, read books, go for long relaxing beach walks etc and come back to work relaxed.

Beach houses are usually family fibro shacks.  These were usually built by their owners from stuff left over from their main city house, where they had their real jobs.  Stuff discovered at the tip was repurposed.  Everyone could own a shack, whatever your wealth.  Most men were handy, so were owner builders in the true sense.  Beach houses need to be loved, requiring constant work and maintenance  - mowing the lawn, keeping on top of lush overgrown gardens, fixing leaks, plumbing, etc.  If you left a Gold Coast beach house looking like a deceased estate, someone would soon break in, maybe even shift in.  (Both have happened to me in the past.)  I didn't have hot water until recently and there is no full size stove.  However, words can't express how much I love my tiny shack - Maison Mips - given to me by my great aunt.  It is one of the few original unaltered fishing shacks left on the Gold Coast.  

 

How could they when they are locked in as well.

[MMDown Under]

9 minutes ago, mr walker said:

My niece learned signing for her early childhood education role. It is quite intricate & the exaggerated facial expressions etc are an integral part, not just what they are doing with their hands.

 

I read that for fun is these times of social isolation, some families have created a game where they turn down the sound & try to work out what is being said by what the signer is doing. They then replay with the sound on & see how close, or not, they were. A bit of harmless fun I would think.

I would have never thought of that.  I would think it would be educational.  When you watch a lot, the hands are just for things difficult to sign such as No.19, name of a Company, etc.  They cover everything, e.g. when music is playing with no text they "play the piano".  I love it!

[MMDown Under]

15 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

How could they when they are locked in as well.

Thanks for the laugh.  I can stop worrying now!

(Oh I forgot to mention the reason I am compiling a group email list for our street, is because my daughter believes security will become a major issue, as people who don't have enough will take what they want. She is ahead of the pack.)

Back to worrying!

Edited April 3, 2020 by MMDown Under

[OzKiwiJJ]

I'm feeling very sad today. Our dream Rome to London cruise has been officially cancelled by Crystal. Of course, we knew it would happen but it still feels like the end of the dream. I've sent our TA a request for the full refund option but that will take some time to come through - Crystal are saying up to 90 days. 

[mr walker]

16 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I'm feeling very sad today. Our dream Rome to London cruise has been officially cancelled by Crystal. Of course, we knew it would happen but it still feels like the end of the dream. I've sent our TA a request for the full refund option but that will take some time to come through - Crystal are saying up to 90 days. 

Sometimes even when you know what's coming, the reality can still be sad. At least you have surety now & can move on with future plans, whatever form that may take.

I look forward to learning what you end up doing further down the track - I still owe you for some of the great advice provided ahead of our NZ trip in Jan last year - seems a very long time ago now.

Take care.

[Russell21]

1 hour ago, MMDown Under said:

Sign language has been around for a long time.  At Woodford Folk Festival, we always sit where we can watch the person doing sign language, whilst listening to the talker.  A text crawler on the bottom of the screen wouldn't work.  Sign language is the signer's interpretation of what is being said.  A whole language of the big picture, as it were.  You can actually learn the language at the Woodford Folk Festival.  When you have a number of different people signing the same speaker, you can pick up their different interpretations.  However, the message is always clear.  It can be amusing to watch, esp if the signer is a woman signing on something a man has said that a lady wouldn't normally say.  I worked with someone who could speak without hearing, yet her first language was sign language. 

The official name for the language in Australia is "Auslan", and the surprising thing is that it is not universal, it varies from country to country and not just the countries with a different spoken language. I have friends who come from a family where it is necessary as some members require it whereas some are bi lingual you might say.

[Docker123]

2 minutes ago, Russell21 said:

The official name for the language in Australia is "Auslan", and the surprising thing is that it is not universal, it varies from country to country and not just the countries with a different spoken language. I have friends who come from a family where it is necessary as some members require it whereas some are bi lingual you might say.

The comedian Adam Hills often has a sign language interpreter on his shows. The one I have seen sis a British woman. He gets her to provide all sorts of signs.

 

Some material in this video, but I am not sure why the heads do not appear. Perhaps it was an idea after the Tower of London show on SBS last night.

 

Caveat as always, not suitable for all audiences. 
 

 

[lyndarra]

1 hour ago, mr walker said:

It is quite intricate & the exaggerated facial expressions etc are an integral part, not just what they are doing with their hands.

 

 

I often wondered about that. Thanks.

[MMDown Under]

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I'm feeling very sad today. Our dream Rome to London cruise has been officially cancelled by Crystal. Of course, we knew it would happen but it still feels like the end of the dream. I've sent our TA a request for the full refund option but that will take some time to come through - Crystal are saying up to 90 days. 

Does sound like a dream cruise.  I can understand your disappointment.  Any chance of the same cruise same time next year?  What date was the cruise due to leave?

90 days for refund when cruise line cancels a cruise seems unreasonable to me.  It is not as if they didn't know they owed you the money.

[GUT2407]

3 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

The original question on this thread "How are things where You are?" After reading DiamondFour's posts I have considered how I feel.

 

The answer is I am devastated at the end of my lifestyle, a lifestyle I probably took for granted. We are self-funded retirees who have been fortunate enough to be able to cruise several times a year, and loving it. We have been to many amazing places and met a lot of lovely people in our cruising adventures.

 

This week we should have been enjoying a beach holiday with our three adult kids, their husband/wives and our young grandchildren. We would have been playing with the children on the beach, playing UNO as a group in the evenings, and reading books to the littlest ones. Ah.... what I miss. (Note to self: don't get teary.)

 

Next week we would have been embarking on the Sea Princess for a cruise to Hawaii and Tahiti. Not a new itinerary for us, but good anyway. We don't know when we will be able to cruise again.

 

I am also concerned that this pandemic will change the world irrevocably. Our country, and many of us, will be much poorer. We have to hope and pray that it doesn't take the life of some-one close to us. Keep well.

I think you are right, we will be in a different world when/if this ever ends, and the debt will be astronomical both govt and private debt.

[GUT2407]

I have ran a few trials with Auslan interpreters it is interesting, if you ever get the chance ask one to sign, “giving birth” you will laugh for hours. 
 

Also they change interpreters frequently, every 30 minutes from memory as it is tiring work.

[GUT2407]

Just back from more x-rays “The good news is, your hand isn’t broken. The bad news is you will probably wish it was eventually”.

 

I guess that is what happens when you fall on the concrete driveway one afternoon, spend the next day in bed recovering, then hit the tile floor before the sun is up the next day, the house was over run with paramedics and ambos.

[possum52]

10 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Just back from more x-rays “The good news is, your hand isn’t broken. The bad news is you will probably wish it was eventually”.

 

I guess that is what happens when you fall on the concrete driveway one afternoon, spend the next day in bed recovering, then hit the tile floor before the sun is up the next day, the house was over run with paramedics and ambos.

OMG Mr GUT, what are you doing to yourself? I hope your pain settles soon. Are you home or in hospital?

 

Take care of yourself. 

 

Leigh

[GUT2407]

14 minutes ago, possum52 said:

OMG Mr GUT, what are you doing to yourself? I hope your pain settles soon. Are you home or in hospital?

 

Take care of yourself. 

 

Leigh

Home, no way I was going to hospital during all this Corona virus.

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, mr walker said:

Sometimes even when you know what's coming, the reality can still be sad. At least you have surety now & can move on with future plans, whatever form that may take.

I look forward to learning what you end up doing further down the track - I still owe you for some of the great advice provided ahead of our NZ trip in Jan last year - seems a very long time ago now.

Take care.

Thanks. We still have four cruises booked. The first is around Australia in September so may not be viable but fingers crossed things might be better by then. The rest are next year and include our first cruise on Cunard, and a cruise on Pacific Princess, both of which we really want to do.

[OzKiwiJJ]

54 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Does sound like a dream cruise.  I can understand your disappointment.  Any chance of the same cruise same time next year?  What date was the cruise due to leave?

90 days for refund when cruise line cancels a cruise seems unreasonable to me.  It is not as if they didn't know they owed you the money.

That itinerary isn't offered by Crystal next year or in 2022, plus we already have cruises booked for next year. Also with the AUD in the doldrums we won't be thinking of Europe again for a while.

 

The cruise was due to start on May 24th. At least they've given us plenty of warning, unlike some of the other cruises Crystal cancelled. Yes, I think 90 days is a bit on the nose but I suspect they are trying to manage their cash flow. Oddly enough the mass market lines, with thousands more cancellations, seem to be handling things better than the luxury lines.

[OzKiwiJJ]

37 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Just back from more x-rays “The good news is, your hand isn’t broken. The bad news is you will probably wish it was eventually”.

 

I guess that is what happens when you fall on the concrete driveway one afternoon, spend the next day in bed recovering, then hit the tile floor before the sun is up the next day, the house was over run with paramedics and ambos.

Ouch! Take care of yourself, Gut. {{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}

[dillpickle48]

Gut please look after yourself.  You have enough problems without adding to them.  Good idea staying away from hospital.

 

[Aus Traveller]

1 hour ago, GUT2407 said:

Just back from more x-rays “The good news is, your hand isn’t broken. The bad news is you will probably wish it was eventually”.

 

I guess that is what happens when you fall on the concrete driveway one afternoon, spend the next day in bed recovering, then hit the tile floor before the sun is up the next day, the house was over run with paramedics and ambos.

Sorry to hear that. ☹️

[mr walker]

1 hour ago, GUT2407 said:

Also they change interpreters frequently, every 30 minutes from memory as it is tiring work.

 

Yes, during this current crisis I noticed a regular swap over of signers & wondered about it. Made a mental note to ask my niece next time I see her - whenever that may be??

[mr walker]

Mr GUT, please try and take care of yourself!!

 

Hope it all comes good soon.

[possum52]

1 hour ago, GUT2407 said:

Home, no way I was going to hospital during all this Corona virus.

I don't blame you! Look after yourself.

 

Leigh

[Docker123]

2 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

Just back from more x-rays “The good news is, your hand isn’t broken. The bad news is you will probably wish it was eventually”.

 

I guess that is what happens when you fall on the concrete driveway one afternoon, spend the next day in bed recovering, then hit the tile floor before the sun is up the next day, the house was over run with paramedics and ambos.

I think you need a better hobby.