Broome continued...Sep 18, 2009
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Blue fruit
Pitcher plant
They make necklaces from these red seeds
Tuesday 8th – Friday 18th September
First off an explanation re: the photos. We didn't have any new photos of Broome so we thought we'd entertain you with some floral photos we've taken along the way.
Gary: With Lorraine working and me playing house husband, our time has drifted along very pleasantly with little of note to report. I have not been able to find short term employment as yet but have been kept busy with paperwork. Our car has now been reregistered in Western Australia, normally any easy job but where I added our fridge and removed one of the rear passenger seats meant that a lot of paperwork & checks had to be done so that the car could be officially changed to being a 3 seat vehicle, I so wish I had brought the other seat with us.
Changing the car to be a West Australian resident also necessitated the need to change my driving licence over as well, as with other interstate nonsense this is a little less than simple process as WA does not recognise a NSW bus driver authority, here in WA they have an ‘F’ endorsement. Well after a lot more paperwork, lots of interstate postage and another medical it’s official I’ve gone from being an average middle age driver to an ‘F’ ing average middle aged driver.
On the upside, our good friends Josephine and Adam fly into Broome this weekend for a visit.
Lorraine: My days are quite different to Gary’s. I have been cycling off to work for my 8am start as the Acting Regional Support Officer for the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia. Sounds impressive doesn’t it? Yes, it’s a very responsible position, answering phones, transferring calls, typing up letters, opening the mail. Honestly, it’s a tough gig. Thankfully I get to spend my days in air-conditioned comfort whilst the temperature outside climbs up to 38 degrees Celsius. I’m also fortunate to work with some really nice blokes who have been welcoming and friendly and not giving the new girl too much of a hard time. It’s great to actually go to work and not feel any stress. I just do everything they ask of me, smile and leave on time every day and then a lovely deposit of money finds its way into our bank account.
There’s been one downside and a major one at that. I no longer cycle to work because some thieving git(s) stole both of our bikes from right outside our tent one night whilst we were sleeping. It’s the first time I’ve ever had anything stolen from me and it’s not a good feeling. We reported the loss to the Police but frankly, they have bigger fish to fry than bike theft so we’ve given up hope of retrieving them. Although Gary has cased both the campsite and the town looking over fences trying to find them but without success.
We spent a memorable night in the Roebuck Bay Hotel or The Roey as the locals call it watching the AFL semi final between St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs. AFL is the big ticket item up here so the pub was packed with punters eager to see who would make it through to the Grand Final. We had spare seats on our table so three aboriginal women asked if they could join us. Well it turns out that they are three of the most dyed in the wool St Kilda fans and how do we know this? Because they spent the rest of the match yelling at the top of their voices: “go Saints, go Saints!” Our table soon became the centre of attention in the whole pub. In fact, I think our table and guests were more entertaining than the actual match. We quickly decided that we should support St Kilda as well and they encouraged us to join them in their vocal support. When in Rome…….Whenever the Western Bulldogs scored a goal and had a good passage of play, the verbal abuse hurled at the TV screens was hilarious. And the Bulldogs star player Jason Akermanis came in for particular attention. Whenever he had the ball he was greeted with questions about the legitimacy of his birth and the middle finger from each of the ladies. It really was very entertaining and thankfully St Kilda prevailed and will be in the Grand Final. We departed assuring the women that we’ll definitely be barracking for the Saints in next week’s big match.
The big event on the horizon however is the impending arrival of our very dear friends Josephine and Adam who are arriving from Sydney on Saturday the 19th for a long weekend with us. We cannot wait to see them, catch up on all the news and generally enjoy their terrific company.
