And the rest ...

It's now 1.10 p.m. It took a while writing and spell-checking that last bit of blog.

On Saturday I went to Pickwick House with Mark. This is the shop that he and Tim own, supplying hardware and restoration materials for Victorian and Edwardian houses (of which there are a considerable number - at least in this part of Melbourne). This is of course where he usually is when we 'chat' or exchange emails. Here I met Tim, who I still think of as about age 10 or 11 (Jack's age) and who has no memory of me whatsoever. On the way back to the house we bought Spanakopita and Baclava for lunch. Tim came round for a meal later on and we ate the beef that he had brought back from the country the previous weekend. I've been eating a lot of meat! My stomach seems to be coping. I don't think I'd eaten beef - other than minced - for over 30 years. It was actually very good. I think my body must need meat at the moment.

On Saturday evening Mark, Kim and I went to see their favourite band, the Prayerbabies, at the Railway - about 10-15 minutes walk away. We got there for about 10.30, when the band comes on. They were brilliant! Lots of cover stuff, but in their own style - don't know what you'd describe it as, never having been good on musical style. My regret is that I didn’t get up and dance. I would have a couple of years ago. I feel heavy and unfit at the moment. But that is going to change! We got home around 1.30 a.m. on Sunday. Actually, part of the problem this week has been that I have kept having spells of feeling overcome by tiredness - so that I can hardly keep my eyes open. Perhaps still the after-effect of jetlag (the 'lag' bit in fact).

Yesterday, Mark and I spent the afternoon at the Royal Botanic Gardens whilst Kim and the kids went to a family party. The Gardens - alongside the Yarra (or Birrarung) River - contain a wealth of plants and shrubs. There are over 700 varieties of eucalypt you know! There are black swans on the lake and bell birds calling from the trees (an odd chiming kind of sound). I'll definitely go back there next month for another look. We went to look at the Exhibition Centre too. Mark wanted to show me some of the paintings from the Heidelberg School, but these have been moved to the Ian Potter place in Federation Square (where I'd intended to go on Thursday but didn't stop because the Aboriginal Art exhibition was closed). We looked around the art gallery then had tea in the cafe.

I got up early this morning, in order to see Kim and the kids before they left for the day. I’d given Emma (7) a 50 p piece at the weekend. She was proudly taking it to school for 'Show and Tell'. She told me last week that she'd asked Kim if she could take me to Show and Tell!

Before coming out this morning I re-packed my case. I've sorted out some stuff to leave at Mark's until I return next month. The case still feels ridiculously heavy, but I can't leave anything else behind. Be warned if you're thinking of buying a 'travel pack' - they are heavy before you put anything in them!

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