Built by a Dub

Stephanus

A local Dub built my kids' cubby house (clubhouse) a few years back. I got on okay with him but gradually lost contact, I presume due to the "bad association" thing. Interestingly, he did this as a rush job for Christmas, and admitted that Christmas was a good time for him, even if it is an evil pagan celebration which he has nothing to do with! A lady from his congregation told me that they had a congregational picnic on December 25 so people wouldn't feel like they were missing anything special - not that it's anything to do with Christmas, mind!

Here's the cubby the Dub built:

"You've got the brain of a four-year-old boy, and I'll bet he was glad to get rid of it."
- Groucho Marx

bitter mango

steph, did you get a new scanner today or something??! all these pics .

aww, i wish someone would build me a little clubhouse!

refiners fire

Aint it sweet?
Whole time he was puttin it together he was probably dreamin of the sweet lil house he was going to live in in the new order. Its his dream home.

Stephanus

BM, I've got a new scanner, yes, but this spate of pics is me dusting off my digital camera.

The kids like their cubby, but it tends to get occupied by big hairy spiders!

"You've got the brain of a four-year-old boy, and I'll bet he was glad to get rid of it."
- Groucho Marx

ozziepost

A lady from his congregation told me that they had a congregational picnic on December 25 so people wouldn't feel like they were missing anything special

The congregational picnic is at Austinmer beach, not too far away, eh? It's at the same location each year and has become so much of a Witness custom for the southern area of Sydney and north Wollongong that the park at the beach is crowded with JWs. If you're in the area look for the red flag; that's the signal to show Dubs where to gather. If you look real hard, you'll probably see someone (or more) of the Australia Branch committee!

Dubs don't celebrate Xmas? Those householders are sure confused around Austinmer way!

Cheers,
Ozzie

"It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."
Anonymous

Prisca

Ozzie,

The folks in the other half of Sydney also go to the beach for a "picnic" on Dec 25. Check out any of the Northern beaches (Colloroy, Dee Why, Palm Beach) and you'll be bound to see some JWs celebrating, oops, I mean, having a nice day at the beach!

And someone always seems to bring along a Christmas pudding, oops, I mean "fruit cake".

The great thing about Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere is the ability to spend it outdoors, in the brilliant sunshine, with the kids playing on their new bikes and surf boards, while the adults drink beer and sunbake on the sand.

Stephanus

Actually, from discussion with my wife tonight, I now recall the rest of the story: the kids were away for the weekend so that the thing could be delivered "by Santa". Our Dub knew that he was playing Santa, but was okay about it anyway!

A flag, Ozzie??? Isn't there some Dub law against that?

I'd love to crash a Dub non-Christmas, non-celebration, but I'm a bit busy that day!

"You've got the brain of a four-year-old boy, and I'll bet he was glad to get rid of it."
- Groucho Marx

Room 215

Prisca, Steph, Ozzie...

Thanks for the Xmas snippets from the bottom of the world! I suppose you're aware that we in the northern half of the U.S. beg for-- and often get -- snow (you know, the frosty white stuff?)..
I suppose Aussie Christmas cards feature fun at the beach; here snow is de rigeur on all Xmas imagery.

Stephanus

Room,
You'd think so, but we have a lot of snow and winter imagery attached to Christmas. We eat copious amounts of roasted meats for Christmas dinner, even though it's often over 100 degrees your scale! A lot of restaurants now have a gimmick called "Christmas in July" where you can indulge in Christmas style festivities in much more conducive weather.

I rang the Dub who built the cubby house last night to ask if I could get the January mags (esp. the stats!) off him. He was able to fill me in on some stuff. Although there's no official police report out yet, it seems the JWs from Bulli/Austinmer congregations believe that the fire which gutted their Kingdom Hall was the result of arson. From what he said, I got the impression that the JW rumour-mill also has a suspect in mind!

He's still building cubbies and doghouses, but due to a new housing development where his workshop used to be, he's converted his garage to a workshop.

"You've got the brain of a four-year-old boy, and I'll bet he was glad to get rid of it."
- Groucho Marx

ozziepost

A flag, Ozzie??? Isn't there some Dub law against that?

Yes, Steph, there is, but only if you "worship" it like an idol. The dubs avoid the use/acknowledgment of national flags because they are part of nationalism/patriotism/idolatry.

As far as a flag used as a signal to others, that seems to be OK with them.

A red flag (or any other striking colour) is often used by Dubs to identify the location for a dub event. Why, we even may use one at our bbqs! ] So that at the Opera in the Domain during January, or Symphony in the Park (also in January) a flag is used to identify where the scores of dubs are to congregate. Both those evets are very popular. They're not all without a bit of culture. Or are they?

Cheers,
Ozzie

"It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."

Anonymous

Built by a Dub

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