Wednesday & Thursday, August 26 & 27 2009 (diary)

Babette is on her way to Europe to join Antien (my ex) in Holland for Antien's 70th birthday celebration with her two brothers there. I am the only one of the four of us which is back here in Australia, as Jeroen has taken his wife Lisa on a holiday to Hong Kong.
Babette's departure from Brisbane is delayed by 5 hours as the plane needs to be refitted with new brakes, so her flight schedule is all over the place with free overnight stops in hotels in Singapore and Zurich. In between she emails me about her progress. It is wonderful how one can communicate, keep in touch, from anywhere to almost everywhere in the world, these modern times.

At the Palmerston Bridge Club on Thursday night I hear that a young couple who come to play with us regularly are moving back to Sydney, "... to be closer to all there family who live over there."
I smile. How different people's attitudes can be. When Antien and I emigrated to Australia in 1965 one of the great bonus spin offs was getting away from the family. We were sick and tired of having to visit aunts and uncle every weekend to show off our new born baby Babette. It was great, suddenly we had our weekends free to ourselves again.

Humidity is picking up here in Darwin, half the people have the sniffles, including me, barely a month after my antibiotics cure. This is the third cold I have had here since arriving in April. Ray from the bridge club tells me he takes regular capsules containing a combination of horseradish, garlic and vitamin C, supposedly against catching colds. I love garlic so I may give that a try. My Omega3 capsules I take everyday are doing a great job, my muscle cramps and pains have disappeared completely.

Friday & Saturday, August 28 & 29 2009 (diary)

I always enjoy sitting on Friday afternoons on the Palmerston Library Bistro terrace, watching the regular weekly Palmerston markets take shape. The camping gear manufacturer Oztrail has hit on a real winner with their square collapsible gazebos with pointy roof tops, many stalls have got them here. They are so easy to erect. Oztrail is a great company, I got two tents from them. Jeroen too has bought one of their gazebos for when they are out camping with their new boat.
A woman with the posture, looks, even voice of the English actor Robbie Coltrane is in charge of the markets. Her makeshift office is one of the tables next to me from where she direct the various stall holders to their allocated positions. I get into a coughing bout while sitting there, watching and reading, and just before 5 PM decide that enough is enough : I ring my regular GP and am lucky to get an appointment with him next Tuesday. It is possible that my bronchitis did not clear properly from my previous medication.
In the evening it is again bridge with Freda Parks in Darwin. We play well.

Saturday, August the 29th : Happy 70th birthday Antien. I hope you have a nice day celebrating with your two brothers in The Hague. Babette will no doubt too have arrived there by now.

Sunday & Monday, August 30 & 31 2009 (diary)

Not much happening a the present time. The humidity is starting to kick in here, quite a bit earlier than normal. Yesterday I went to Casuarina to buy a present for my bridge partner Freda Park who will be celebrating her 60th birthday next week. The Bar Zushi have opened a second eatery, an open plan set up in the Casuarina Shopping Centre. Here they serve mainly cold food, sushi and sashimi, plus a few soups. It is quite nice and I will come here again.
Sunday I have lunch at the Stokes Hill Wharf. It is very busy as I arrive, it is Fathers Day I believe, we never keep track of that very much.

I am reading Paris Noir at present. A collection of stories set in Paris. I have to smile when frequently is referred to "the old days" in Paris, referring to the 1980s. For me Paris during the "old days" was in the 1950s. I sure am getting on. As one grows older one gradually becomes more and more detatched from the "here and now" (the current awareness bubble) of the world. I don't mind that really.

Monday evening bridge with Mairead Kelly and we have an enjoyable night. Coming Wednesday to Sunday there is a large National Bridge Tournament ("The Territory Gold") here in Darwin. I will play with Freda on Wednesday and Thursday and with Mairead on Saturday and Sunday. We all look forward to that.

My thought frequently wander to Europe where Babette and Antien are revisiting some of the places dear to me over there, like the Kröller Müller Museum and my old living quarters at Leiden University.