Oh, the drama, Australia!  Schapelle is free and hiding somewhere in a luxury resort in Bali as she prepares for a lucrative ‘tell all’ interview with Channel Seven.  I did a very unAustralian thing on Sunday and didn’t watch either her biopic on Channel Nine or the INXS miniseries on Channel Seven.  What I had hoped to do was watch Rake on the ABC but an early night tucked up in bed proved to good to resist.  On second thought, perhaps wanting to watch Rake makes me more Australian than I thought?

With all the excitement in Bali and on TV, it’s amazing that other affairs of national interest still managed to unfold.  The era of locally manufactured cars in our country looks set to end in 2017 which is when Toyota has said they will close their Altona factory.  Thousands of jobs will be directly and indirectly compromised.  It’s easy, I guess, for politicians to look upon this as a necessary step in how Australia redefines its manufacturing sector over the next few decades.  It’s cold comfort for those who are trying to put food on the table in 2014.  

Perhaps the millions that were going to shore up the car industry could now be diverted to the farmers trying to survive the drought on the east coast?  Surely a country should be supported to remain able to produce its own food?  Especially a country whose high quality food exports are held in such high regard by its major trading partners.

I’m afraid that’s what you get from me when I’ve had two nights of solid sleep in a row.   A couple of paragraphs written from the top of my soapbox.  Who did you watch on Sunday night?  Any thoughts on how manufacturing in Australia seems to be in a terminal state?

Did you hear about the proposed David Jones and Myer merger?  I don’t think it has progressed beyond a headline grabber at the moment but it did get me thinking about Myer.  About how I can’t remember the last time I actually bought anything from a Myer store let alone clicked onto their online shopping site.  About how despite this, I have found that Myer stores are often a very convenient, well lit and climate controlled walkway between places I need to go to.

The problem for me is that Myer seems neither here nor there in the retail landscape.  David Jones and the luxury boutiques have nabbed the luxury end of the market.  At a high street price point for fashion and shoes, so many of the chainstores here and overseas know their market and serve it well.  The same applies for homewares and electronics.  Those of us who do need a quick fix of a well priced ‘something’ often find what they need at Target or Big W where you don’t have to wait hours to find a manned counter because you can always use the self check out.  Myer just seems to be somewhere in the retail wilderness and I am not sure how it will find its way back.  Especially with the almost daily news of the global retailers who plan to expand into the Australian market.

The big issues aside, how good are toasted pikelets smothered in butter, sugar and lemon juice?