Thursday & Friday, April 21 & 22 2011 (diary)

The tropical monsoon trough has slowly moved north closer to the equator and away from Darwin and Australia. So we are entering the dry season, wonderful sunny days, and lovely cool nights.

This is what I have been giving each of my four bridge partners for Easter. I do this every year which they much appreciate.
I very much enjoy giving Easter eggs. During my married life it was of course my wife and children who were the recipients, than later on my own again it would be a lady friend if I had one. Now all those emotional situations have subsided it have become the ladies I play bridge with.
As a non-believer I have no religious distractions to worry about, so can fully concentrate on the (chocolate) eggs, but I hope in moderation.
I wish you a Happy Easter.

Saturday, April 23 2011 (diary)

No, no, I am not in Germany right now as adjacent photo might suggest. But this is what the weather there now looks like according to several Happy Easter reports I received from Europe.

Lydia (the owner of my holiday apartment in St.Peter) tells me that the weather there is wonderful at present (24°C), but unfortunately they have had hardly any rain this month, which of course is not good for their (milk) farm.
In Holland too the weather is mild and sunny right across the country.

Curiously, unlike in most of Australia (where it is Autumn and heading for winter), here in tropical Darwin we feel emotionally very similar to the people in Europe. For the humid sweltering wet season is over and we rejoice in heading into the dry season with lovely sunshine and cooler nights. So, like my sister and friends in Europe, I too have a real "Spring feeling" here this time of the year.

I have finally completed the clean up on my website. The presentation and description of the products I sell online had become rather chaotic over the years (through the continued adding of new courses I was writing). But that is now all presented in a much better and orderly manner.

Sunday & Monday, April 24 & 25 2011 (diary)

Pleasant surprise on Easter Sunday. When I accidently landed on the Walks in Spain website I saw that the dates for their Camino de Santiago 2012 tours have been released. (There will be 4 next year.)
So I booked straight away with them for their first Camino tour of the 2012 season (June 9-16) and have received their confirmation for that.
That is great, for I can now start planning my trip in more detail, and I have made reservations for the lovely Feldbergsblick holiday apartment at the Steingrubenhof in St.Peter (Black Forest, Germany) too.
I have also notified my Dutch Uni friends when I am in Holland for our 2012 Pimpernel Club summer reunion. That will now definitely be the week of 17-24 June. Other Hotel reservations have to wait until early next year after I have booked the various flights.

Sunday afternoon we had a lovely Easter lunch and afternoon of bridge at Liz and Colin Walmsley's place. Mainly last year's beginners group from the Palmerston Bridge Club, augmented by a few of us more experienced players (shown on above photo). We all had a great time.