I became hopelessly lost in Longford last week.
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Even with Google Maps, I could not find Longford Equine.
If you were watching, from behind your curtains, you would have wondered at my four U-turns in front of the racecourse - they were dizzying, as I grew angrier that while the red dot on the map said I had reached my destination - I had not "arrived''.
Dear reader, the next step was obvious: I had to think for myself.
Merde!
I took off my specs. Shut down Google Maps and looked around me.
Mmm - down 'there'?
A wriggly little track, some big puddles, a couple of barns, rangy gums and oaks, peace and quiet, a 1940's tiddler of a yellow-painted office that looked like it just grew and stayed.
Found!
Meanwhile, also while lost in Longford, I heard Tasmania was about to go into a snap, COVID-19 lockdown.
About 12.30pm, as I crossed Wellington Street, I texted my boss and signalled I'd be back within the hour to help with my bit of St.Giles COVID outbreak management plan.
It wasn't till much later on Friday afternoon, actions and communications sorted for our Hobart service, that he wandered into my office, smiled broadly and read me my text message: "Looks like we're going into lick-down''.
Reader of a certain age, you will understand that crossing the street, in bright Friday sunshine, without your spectacles, while trying to see your phone screen and texting, might lend itself to such errors.
Seriously, though, St.Giles, as you probably know, is a largish organisation - we have close to 500 staff across Tasmania.
In Hobart we support more than 2000 children and some adults living with disability.
A snap lock-down means we switch, within hours, from normal operations to delivering our essential services, COVID safe.
Last year, when COVID started, we met for about four hours every day, by Zoom for months.
I remain truly proud to be part of an organisation that stays ahead of the challenges COVID presents.
Last year, we made hundreds of our own PPE kits, we developed systems to keep our teams and participants safe while we managed to not miss a moment's care in our shared supported living homes as well as important Telehealth appointments for children with disability and impairments.
Every scenario was thought through, problem solved, gaps identified and acted on - mostly in a 24-hour turnaround.
In my former role, a journalist specialising in health and Tasmania's often ineffective bureaucracies, I could have dreamed of reporting such efficiencies.
The larger the institution - Health Department, Education Department and local government especially - I often reported to be less nimble and effective.
StGiles is a smaller player, but efficient with its resources and our specialist model of experience, combined with confident, competent decision making, in a timely manner, is inspiring.
It's energising to be part of effective solutions.
St.Giles' comparatively small outbreak management team and its ability to be brave, make sensible decisions and act, is Tasmania at our very best.
Finally
I heard blasphemy on the wireless last Sunday when a woman with an unfortunate 'tone' said "did you know that a tablespoon of olive oil has the same number of calories as a kilo of zucchini?''
And her point?
Apparently, she was all about density of calories - although I'd have no idea, because I exercised my liberty and turned her off.
Expanding on her logic/science I imagined that a slice of our freshly baked chocolate cake probably had the same number of calories as 20kg of zucchini.
Hungry reader, have you ever tried to eat 20kg of zucchini?
And if given a choice - would you take your calories from the chocolate cake or the zuch?