An Island Off an Island

One of the (many) things I love about Bruny is how a person is recognised by their first name + occupation. Makes me feel like I’m in a picture book or something penned by Dylan Thomas.

Day one last November; about 8am when we had just surfaced, a white van came tearing up the drive and out tumbled my most anticipated Bruny character ‘Shaun the Postie’. Well let’s face it, as a mail junkie he was always going to be a highlight.! Mainlanders listen to this; not only does Shaun: a) come early b) he comes every day (M-F) and, c) if there is a parcel he brings it up to the house and leaves it! No nasty little card shoved under the mat saying ‘we tried to deliver your parcel but you weren’t home’ when you know you were in the kitchen. AND if you’re not around and he needs an OK to leave it he phones you. Shaun is my hero.

Marcus’s equivalent of Shaun is Tristan from Bruny Couriers, who arrives in a variety of vehicles depending on what he’s delivering – in M’s case it’s often a Bunnings order that won’t fit on the ute. Last week there was great excitement when Tristan arrived in the BIG truck with crane,and our solar panels were offloaded up onto the deck. Which brings me to …

Mark the Spark, and his offsides Joe. Mark and Joe have just spent the day installing our new solar system after some preliminary work a week or so ago. There was a break as we waited for the winds to abate so the panels could be installed. Shaun may be my hero but Mark is my lifesaver. In February he solved my connectivity issues so Jan Richards Consulting can operate from the studio without the Director ( that would be me) having a melt down when the internet connection failed.

As an added extra Mark & Joe offered plumbing assistance – love these guys!

Who is left you ask? Why the fabulous Phil the Painter. When we arrived the paint was very fresh but not quite ‘our ‘ colour. Live with it? Paint it ourselves? Enter Phil, a master tradesman and all round great guy. He also hung the wallpaper I’d bought on (an expensive) whim some years ago. There were a few tense moments when we wondered if we’d have enough ‘ hey Jan, are you able to get more of this?’, but all was good in the end. Love your work.

Love from Jan the Resident!