7th November - Sail Malaysia Rally - leaving Tasmania

Thursday 7^th November

We have been getting very excited emails from Sail Malaysia, promising us, in so many words, FUNFUNFUN!  And yes it is getting very close to time…

I have been brimming with tears for many days – oh what a joyful companion I must be… Ridiculous, really, because I am so looking forward to continuing what is our adventurous journey.  (And by the way I am VERY sick of reality TV having appropriated journey.  A journey involves going from one place to another, NOT singing in a competition, or trying to win a husband on national television…)  Ridiculous also, because as my very sensible sister Monique reminded me, when we spent a bit of time together in Launceston on Monday, It’s not as if you are going to a leper colony never to return.  Indeed!

Monique with Dara, who is about to have twins

We will be very busy when we get back to Malaysia.

First of all we have to acclimatise.  Going from 42 degrees south, with a variety of weather ranging from bitter sleety cold to warm balmy sunshine, to one degree north of the equator where it is always HOT and often WET, will take just a teensy bit of adjustment.

(I don’t know if you can see how cold the air is, in this photo of the new treehouse, built by Jeff and a selection of my grandchildren.  It was FREEZING that day…and two of the boys – Hamish (13) and Leo (7) slept on this platform all night long….BRRRRR!  True Tasmanians.)

cold climate rhododenrons

We will also, just maybe, have to rehabilitate poor darling 2XS… I haven’t shared this piece of jolly news with Pete, preoccupied as he is with many MANY complicated issues, but…our friends Sue and Andrew, tied up just behind us at Danga Bay Marina, say they have not seen hide nor hair of Our Man Sharon.  We employed Sharon to come to the boat every day for an hour, to open all of the doors and hatches to let some air in, and to nip any mould problems, so to speak, in the bud.  What I am hoping is that Sharon has been very shy and discreet and…invisible…  All will be revealed late on Friday night.  Pete and I have every faith in Sharon, and in Terrence, the marina manager, who seems very efficient and capable of keeping his staff on the go.  But…who knows??

And then there is shopping to be done… We ate or gave away all of our food, including my beloved last little squares of cheese and butter, before we left so there will be quite a lot of re-provisioning, in between RallyFun.

And…we have to go to Lego World Malaysia in Johor Baru, otherwise I will be pronounced a no cred grandmother by a goodly proportion of my grandchildren.  I have looked at it on the internet and it looks like a hellmouth but maybe it will be…FUNFUNFUN!

So…watch this space…

Beautiful Tasmania (from Chris's facebook pages)

Today’s birthday girl – Chris Wilson!

Yes it is only minutes since her fabulous garden party 60^th birthday lunch…four years ago…

Chris and I have been friends, through sick and sin, since 1976.  We have tried to meet for lunch every week since then.  Of course we have not always succeeded but we have given it a good try.  I don’t think we have ever run out of conversation… 

Chris is a redoubtable bushwalker, and is president of the Pandani Walking Club, which has 400 members.  The above photo is one of many she puts on facebook, thereby keeping me regularly reminded of the extreme beauty of Tasmania.  She is clever, hospitable, fun, and funny – what more could I want in a friend??