While we’re talking about Fly in Fly Out mining jobs….
Years ago I went out with a Fly in Fly out mining exec, no surprise there after all I grew up in Western Australia. In fact I’d suggest that any West Australian female, who didn’t marry her childhood sweetheart, eventually went out with either someone working on the mines, a member of the SAS, or both.
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© The Ponder Room
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Anyway the Miner romance lasted for a surprisingly long time, especially given the six weeks on, one week off work arrangement. If that wasn’t hard enough, it was during the pre-mobilephone/internet era, which meant communication could only be made by mail, and the mail service only operated once a week. While this sounds harsh the reality was it made for some very creative, romantic letters and even more romantic reunions.
As an example Valentines Day would often see a ‘pamper pack’ winging its way to a far off sandy destination. The contents – a home made carrot cake, a smuggled minibar bottle of Galliano (it was pre-alcohol testing days), and if I was feeling particularly generous a ‘boys magazine’, of a non-car variety, you can make up your own mind whether this last addition was a naughty or nice thing to do, to a fella trapped in a male-only minesite for six weeks.
Years followed with Mr Miner declaring the virtues of my home made carrot cake to anyone who would listen, even to his mother, a member of the CWA, who took it on the chin.
Then the day came……
There I was in the kitchen combining the ingredients for said carrot cake….an egg, some olive oil, water and …… the upturned contents of a packet cake mixture.
Jumping around the corner in a surprise visit, Mr Miner was mortified with the sight before him, no doubt reliving all the years I’d been deceiving him with my wily packet cake ways……oh the shame.
Little wonder I guess that the relationship fizzled out a short time later, after a far greater deception was committed on his part.
Remembering this does make me ponder…
- What constitutes homemade? After all I still had to use ‘hand power’ to mix and ice said atrocity.
- Would it have been such an affront to humankind for a city boy, sans CWA links?
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Or was it a forerunner to our eventual irreconcilable differences?
6 Comments
Correct, I did once go out with a FIFOer. I think you’re right, everyone did – or does, there seem to be even more of them now.
LOVE the carrot cake deception!!! But yes it is still hand made … and I assume you didn’t ever technically proclaim that you had made it from scratch … so he should’ve just been very grateful!
I am obviously also a Western Australian as I went out with someone from the SAS and a mining type person. (And actually a RAAF pilot from Pearce too a long time ago….) Anyway – not the point of the comment.
I think he should have just considered himself lucky you sent him a cake at all! I think a cake is a cake – more interested in how yummy it is than how you made it.
Take care.
Amanda – hey thanks for helping support my theory, I wonder how many others are out there???
Yep there do seem to more of them, on both counts and correct I didn’t actually say I made it from scratch, the packet just happened to find it’s way into the bin kinda quickly
Farmers Wife – hey good to hear from you, hope all’s going well. Another theory supporter beauty. SAS, Mining and RAAF well done….did you end up with someone from the navy by any chance? I agree a cake is a cake in my book.
I agree, still home made. Inspired package idea. Well done.
Thanks Chris, yep had heaps of fun making up different packages over the years, FIFO relationships do have their advantages