The weather has turned balmy; perfect for fishing but alas no luck. Still it’s pleasant to stand on the jetty and contemplate the Norfolk pines that only grow near the beaches and watch the pelicans sail sedately past.

Hard to think this is mid-winter, and walking along the promenade towards Brighton, I cannot understand why more people don’t immigrate to this wonderful land.

At the weekend we walked along the river that cuts through Adelaide and snapped the black swans (how could Tchaikovsky paint them so evil?) and moor hens and so on.

It was all so very pleasant and we read about how there used to be a pleasure pontoon on the river in 1924 where the gay young things used to come and flap and dance and sip cocktails. So hard to imagine, but it ended in tears. There was an explosion and the whole thing sank and that was that….foul play I am sure. Quite a different picture from the pioneer ladies hauling their bricks up mountain tracks to build churches. Oh the sins of the city, full of churches and whores.

John and I decided to have a little session in a Chinese Massage parlour…he opted for a head and shoulders, to try and relieve the tensions of the last week at the snake pit, as he fondly calls his office. (He still hates his job; in fact it’s getting worse). I decided to go for an AOK ion cleansing treatment. You put your feet in a basin of clean water, with some electrodes in it, and for 30 minutes it generates a stream of positive and negative ions which help to stimulate and detoxify different organs and tissues. Sounds good. Imagine my horror when I was given a chart and saw how the water colour reflects your inner health! After 15 mins the water was bright orange. I looked at the chart and it would seem this was a signal from my joints. There were a few black particles which is a sign of heavy metals and some bubbles which are fats and oils. So not too bad. The lady next to me must be on her last legs. Her water turned black. (Chart says it’s detoxifying from the liver and gall bladder) Hmmmm. I walked away feeling wonderful and cleansed and just a little proud of my healthy life style! That woman should be warned!

Had to smile at some of the crazy animal stories this week. Watched the news last night and saw a report in Florida about a shark hurling itself out of the water and flipping itself over a surf board. The boy must have thought his end had come!

Then there is Happy Feet the penguin that sort of took a wrong turn and is now recovering from stomach surgery to remove a pile of sand from its innards. Apparently some big ice cutter ship is taking him home as soon as he recovers his strength!

And finally an endangered helmeted honeyeater was recently spotted near Melbourne.

He is 16, the oldest ever recorded wild bird of its species, and is nick named Dear Old Boy. I love it…its quite amazing he’s survived so long, being endangered and all that.

Still thinking of funny names, I remember Billy Connolly, when he was travelling in New Zealand came across a grave, containing an unknown body.  The villagers out of compassion erected a stone and engraved it with the words, ‘Here lies somebody’s darling’. How lovely. I wish I knew where it was, and could go and visit.

John and I are now watching the Chilean Ash Cloud with a personal concern, as it now directly affects us and our flight to New Zealand this Friday. He is just about dancing with glee to get a break, albeit for a weekend only, and I am excited as I will meet up with my old friend Lyn, and stay on with her in Wanganuii for a further week. She is going to help me turn my embroidery into a quilt, as I have finally finished the squares.

Here in Adelaide, I don’t think I will go to the next meeting of the South Australia’s Women’s Writers Group, as it is to be the AGM. Heather, who told us last time about forcing a young aborigine boy to eat worms, said the meeting will be like an old fashioned school committee…the office bearers just vote for themselves then get up and do a ‘musical chairs’ routine then sit down in their new position! The same ladies have been on the committee for the last 30 years, and are now all in their 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. I haven’t had much success in socialising. People here in Glenelg seem very insular, or else I have not found the right ones. But, I am full of resolve. When I come back I am going to join a bush walking club. And maybe take a bus trip somewhere. But for now, it’s off to the Land Of the Long White Cloud!