Wednesday 31st July

The bus trip to Brisbane was surprisingly pleasant. I always enjoy the part through the hills of northern New South Wales and then when passing the bits that I don't like, the highway between the Gold Coast and Brisbane, I read my book. We actually arrived half an hour early which was a bonus.

I was much too early for my doctor's appointment so I walked through the gardens at Southbank and continued reading my book, Charles Frazier's 'Cold Mountain'. I even had a sleep in the sun. It was a majestic day.

The doctor had a bit of good news for me. Apparently I had made some response to the latest chemotherapy. I was quite stunned. After so many months of bad results I was caught most unawares. I was lost for words and it took a while for the news to sink in. We can't guarantee that I will keep on improving but the spiral downwards has at least been halted temporarily. A wonderful piece of news.

I spent the night at my brother's house and caught up with my father and Pat who had been staying for a while. It was a bit of a family get together.

Tuesday 30th July

I had to buy a bus ticket for Brisbane and was having such a pleasant time in town that I was reluctant to stop and go home. I visited the 'Medicine Wheel' to check their scented candles and soaps, then headed off to the health food shop to buy some organic fresh vegetables, next I went to a book shop to peruse the books and then I got really motivated. I looked at the furnishings in a lifestyle shop and marvelled at a mosqiuto net arrangement that made the bed look like a fourposter. Wow, such decadence. I visited Jane in her flower shop and wondered whether I should invest in some pot plants. I was obviously in a bit of a nesting mood. I think that I would like to change our house a little and make it into more of a home.

It must have been the visit to Berenice's house yesterday that was motivating me. She has made her little cottage into a bit of Bali. Over the years she has brought over shutters, wooden doors, screens, and big bits of furniture. It is all tied together with lovely soft furnishings and big, bold tropical plantings in the garden. Absolutely stunning.

I also checked out some accommodation in the streets near the shops because my father and his good lady wife intend to visit Byron Bay next week. I will be able discuss the possibilities when I catch up with them in Brisbane tomorrow. It should make for an interesting time.

Monday 29th July

With Hendra away Yana will be much busier at the noodle bar. He was given the responsibilty of opening and doing the lunch shift today so he left quite early. We had been spending quite some time together during the day over the last few weeks, and I missed him. Still I know he will be happy to get more hours of work in.

I have to go to Brisbane on Wednesday and so had my blood test today. I asked the collector to cast a spell over it so that I would receive a favourable result. The thought of the tumour markers rising even higher doesn't even bear thinking of. There simply has to be a change shortly otherwise things could well get grim. It would make the loss of my hair more palatable if at least an improvement was taking place.

Tess and I went down to the beach and enjoyed a lovely walk through the shallows. It was a simply glorious day and the ocean was wild. We both felt rejuvenated and inspired. The sea can be so therapeutic.

Sunday 28th July

Sunday emerged as an overcast day with quite a bit of wind. I tried sitting outside with my laptop, as I have made a habit of doing lately but found that it really was too cold. From what the farmers say, rain is sorely needed in these parts and there will be unfortunate consequences if the present dry continues. Cloud and wind are hardly going to help any.

Tess, Sam and I went to the Beach Hotel after four and settled down to watch a band called the wild Zinnias that like to play lively Irish music. It was a simply wonderful way to spend an afternoon and I enjoyed watching as the music got faster and faster. I got up and danced to the last song, reasoning that I didn't know where my health was taking me and it could be my last dance. I had to seize the moment and did so with great delight.

Later in the evening we popped by at the twin's house to say goodbye to Hendra who was going to Bandung in Indonesia the next day. At three in the morning they would be leaving for Brisbane as his flight left at eight. The lucky fellow, I could vitually visualise the whole trip that lay ahead.

Saturday 27th July

Tess had gone to her father's house at the Channon so we didn't have a car to get us around to the garage sales. Fortunately there weren't any really good ones selling household furniture, according to the local free paper, so we didn't miss out on much. I am sure that we will get a table and chairs for our dining area soon, but I don't feel like hurrying.

The weekend Australian newspaper reviewed Megawati's first year in office and came up with a negative assessment. She really hadn't done much at all. In fact she had aligned herself more closely with the military so some could say that things have gone backwards. How disappointing.

On the news later I heard that Tommy Suharto had been given fifteen years gaol for his part in the murder of the judge that had sentenced him last year. I was very pleased with this news and now hope that he actually serves all fifteen of those years. If that did happen then the Indonesian people could start believing in their legal system. His immense wealth would not have been sufficient to buy his way out. It could be a turning point in the history of the country.

Friday 26th July

It was nice to feel slender and flexible again. Such a relief. I could abandon my large sloppy jumper for a few days and wear something that was a little more close fitting. I only live in fear of the fluid accumulating quickly again. With each day that passes I should be able to breathe a little more freely.

Yana and I had a number of errands to fulfil and we wandered about Byron's streets with considerable enthusiasm. It is a nice town and does have a relaxed atmosphere. We then went grocery shopping together, which is always interesting. He finds supermarkets quite fascinating and can take forever making his way around. In comparison to the supermarkets of Indonesia there certainly is a greater variety of goods available so I can understand his behaviour. There is a totally new world for him to come to terms with and he enjoys embracing new experiences.

We made music with Yana's Indonesian friends till late at night. I might be tired when I go there but once I arrive I usually get a new lease of life. Time becomes irrelevant.

Thursday 25th July

The day was spent in the company of the kindhearted souls at the Radiology department at Byron. I had enjoyed the last six weeks because I hadn't needed draining. I only hope now that I don't have to return on a weekly basis. I really dislike the procedure with a vengeance. At least today I felt great when it was all over.

Wednesday 24th July

Tess had a job interview in Ballina so Yana and I went along as well. We could have been pulled up by the police, as the car can only legally carry two people. I don't like breaking rules but we both had to go so we could organise the transfer of the ownership of Yana's car. It didn't make for a relaxed trip, neither on the way there or on the way back. Fortunately it all went without a hitch.

I had a bit of a wander around Kmart while Tess was in having her interview. What a barn of a place. I couldn't believe the number of aisles devoted to children's toys, videos and games. What a hedonistic world we live in. One could spend a fortune there and I would guess, looking at the merchandise on show that it focuses on the sector of society that perhaps can least afford to waste their money on trivial items.

Tuesday 23rd July

The day was looking fairly ordinary until Hendry and Hendra suggested that we all go to the jam session at the Bangalow pub, twenty or so kilometres away. The road was hilly and full of nasty bends. I was at the wheel of Tess' little car while the others were speeding along in Debbie's car, way ahead. I have done so little driving over the last few years that I try to proceed fairly cautiously. Nights are so difficult too, because everything is so dark. People just have to wait for me.

There were a variety of performers at the pub. All did four songs, with some being very impressive, a few were quite capable and one or two could have stayed at home. I enjoyed being out even though it was a cold evening. It was something new and I'd never been there before.

The boys only did two songs, as things were getting a little behind schedule. They did one Indonesian song and one cover version, with the sound system not operating properly. Shame because it didn't do them justice. Nonetheless they enjoyed themselves and came back with big grins on their faces. They were something different.

Monday 22nd July

I woke up early and with considerable anticipation for today was the day that we were to take Yana's car to Clunes to be assessed. If it was worth the bother we would have it repaired so that it would pass its registration test. I had visions of the car stopping on the twenty kilometre trip and found that my adrenalin was pumping. As it was unregistered I was also worried that we would be stopped by the police.

When the car refused to start I felt deflated and cheated. What would we do with it now if we couldn't even get it going. Would it stay in the garage forever? Yana was not so easily put off. We pushed the car up and down our rather flat laneway and I puffed away with a full tummy of fluid. I'm sure that someone in my condition shouldn't be doing somethat so strenous. It would start and then I had trouble keeping it going. In the end I got very stroppy and kept it revving highly so that it couldn't even contemplate dying again. I drove it in a similar fashion and hoped that I wouldn't actually have to slow down anywhere to give way to oncoming traffic at any point. By this stage the adrenallin was really flowing and I was very anxious. It was with considerable relief that we spotted the garage in Clunes. I had despaired of ever getting there.

When we returned to Byron Bay I decided that I should perhaps go to the doctor to check out the rather unusual rash on my left arm. I didn't know whether to worry about it or not. I was in the middle of a very vulnerable period and needed to be careful. The doctor couldn't identify the rash and after a call to my doctors in Brisbane it was decided to prescribe some antibiotics. Apparently I did have a low grade infection.

Sunday 21st July

I wasn't very energetic today and decided to take it easy. Yesterday had been so full I probably had overdone things a bit. It didn't really matter. I was somewhat domesticated and had cooked a big bowl of vegetable soup that everybody seemed to enjoy helping themself to. That made me feel good.

Yana told me that his nephew, young six year old Rachmat, had had a recurrence of a tumour on his foot. The growth had been removed a number of years ago and so the family must have been very upset to see it return. I was similarly shocked. It made me feel very uncomfortable. I hope that it doesn't bode badly for the future.

Despite the progress of the new bridge in Yana's neighbourhood his last phonecall home indicated that they were all waiting till the last minute before they moved on. I hate to think of all those families being moved apart. Visiting the market at Balubur in Bandung wouldn't be the same if those families weren't there anymore.

Saturday 20th July

Byron was full of people, all for the 'Splendour in the grass' music festival. Thirteen thousand tickets had been sold, all accommodation booked out and even camping areas were reporting an influx of visitors. I noticed any number of people wandering around with bare feet and wearing their oldest clothing. It gave me goosebumps and I won't be discarding my socks for some time yet. Yana and the twins were run off their feet at the noodlebar last night and there was a definite holiday atmosphere in the air.

Yana and I checked a few garage sales but didn't come home with any thing significant. We saw an unprecedented variety of rubbish and I will never cease to be amazed at the huge amount of stuff that most people have in their homes. We are a materialistic society in Australia and will one day choke amidst all the junk we keep.

I hadn't been to the beach for quite some time and decided to rectify the matter.There was a coolish breeze but it was still absolutely glorious. I paddled in the cold waters of the shallows for a time and then just sat in the sand to savour the view. I couldn't tear myself away. Nearby a father and two young girls played with bodyboards. They were obviously visitors. Sam had told me that she had seen people surf in boardshorts recently but had found out that they were from Victoria. I suppose the waters here could be considered warm in comparison but I'm not so sure.

We went to the twin's house after ten. I just intended to drop Yana off and then head back home. Once I was there and the boys started to make music, time just flew past. They sounded superb and I forgot my tiredness. By the time Yana suggested we head off home it was past one thirty!

Friday 19th July

Yana and I had quite a number of things to do in Byron and while I was about to get in the car I was accosted by a neighbour, a twenty something male with a decidedly weird look in his eye. He launched straight away into his tirade, asking me not to slam the sliding door. I ask you, can you actually slam a sliding door? I may have to experiment to find out out if you can or not. He then said that he was asking me nicely although I am not too sure that he actually was. After repeating quite angrily that he was asking nicely and that he didn't want us to slam the door for at least the sixth time, he introduced himself as Dale. I am not looking forward to further contact with this chap. His grasp on reality seems somewhat tenous!

My white cell count is very, very low and I have to be very alert at present. Infection could be catastrophic. It is a problem because Yana doesn't seem to be able to shake his cough even though he is now following a regime of antibiotics. I will monitor the situation carefully. For the rest Yana and I discharged our errands quite successfully and I felt pleased with myself. It is a good feeling to think that everything is up to date and organised.

Thursday 18th July

I am still feeling quite apathetic. I can't concentrate on anything and seem to living in a vacuum. The news programs are full of important events but somehow they don't seem to make an impact on me. I don't like it one bit. I basically feel very, very tired.

Tess had a few errands to run in Ballina and volunteered to accompany her. Surely sitting in a car would not be too exhausting. I doubt whether I will ever be tired of the scenic drive and the sky was a big, bright blue. The world was obviously well.

On our way through Suffolk Park we noticed some bunches of flowers on the side of the road as the other day, a twenty-two year old fellow had been hit and killed while walking across the road. A young life had been prematurely ended. What a shock it would have been for his family and friends. Tragic.

I am not feeling very confident about my future any more. There are too many negative physical signs and the utter, all consuming exhaustion is also wearing me down. I am quite terrified, as I just want to go on, but I can barely summon myself forward.

Wednesday 17th July

You can always tell the locals from the visitors in Byron. The locals are wearing their winter woollens, scarves and beanies while the visitors trot about in tshirts and skimpy clothing. Today the weather was a little bit warmer but not so hot that one should be rash enough to dash about in summer clothing.

I went into the shops and was relieved to be out and about again. I had been locked up for too long. It made me feel that I was part of the land of the living again. Byron is such a vibrant, lively place.

By mid afternoon I was exhausted. I had obviously overestimated myself. I thought that I was much better than I really was. I lay down briefly to recuperate and then woke up five hours later. Even waking up was difficult, as I found that I was too tired to wake up. I am going to have to pace myself better.

Tuesday 16th July

Another lacklustre day and I am missing those beautiful mornings in Bandung. Perhaps I am going to have to put that city well and truly out of my mind. All this longing and yearning is hardly going to be productive, I should be grateful that I have Yana with me and my girls nearby as well. I am actually very lucky. Indonesia was a part of my past and I have to move on. It just isn't easy.

Sammie, bless her, organised with her flatmates to deliver the fridge that I had bought at a garage sale over the weekend. It looked tackier than I remembered it but Yana has set to and wants to remove the stickers and repaint it. He certainly has energy. We also now have a mattress and may try sleeping in our room tonight. That will make a change. We are certainly getting there little by little.

Monday 15th July

The beautiful weather that I have taken for granted has come to an end. Grey skies are not pleasant even though I realise that it can't be sunny everyday. Life is just not like that. Still it could be a lot worse.

We decided to connect ourselves to the internet as I am simply not getting into town very often. There are lots of things that I would like to access on the world web web and we have found ourselves an incredibly cheap provider who operates under the name of dodo. I don't think that there is any catch or trick.

Yana was given another day off which caught him somewhat unawares. He wants to work and accepts these setbacks somewhat stoically. Perhaps we need to find him an extra part time job since nothing seems to have come from the cleaning job at the Beach hotel. Tess is not finding it easy to obtain work either. Jobs are a bit hard to find here.

Sunday 14th July

The chemo really hit in and I basically slept my way through the day and night. The nausea was bad but I did manage to hold the contents of my stomach. It is marginally better than last time. Thank goodness.

Saturday 13th July

Yana and I were up visiting garage sales at eight o'clock in the morning. Even then we missed out on some good items. It would seem that one has to be out and about very early indeed if one wants a bargain. We found an old but working fridge that should be adequate once it is cleaned up. It only cost $40 dollars. We also bought some oil paintings of Chinese scenes that will have to satisfy my longing to vist those ancient shores.

Our crowning achievement of the day was Yana's purchase of a car for $75. At that price we could hardly go wrong and even if it isn't worth repairing then value of the car radio system alone would mean that he wasn't out of pocket. It is a Ford Laser and isn't in such bad state but the registration has run out. Yana is absolutely delighted with his new aquisition and is spending most of his spare moments tinkering with it. It will give him something to fill in his reduced working hours.

That evening we went to Hendri and Hendra's fortieth birthday party. It was interesting as there was a mixed collection of people, Indonesians, homosexuals, bisexuals, grassheads, aborigines and then ordinary people like me. Yana joined in the music making and that was particularly pleasant. In fact for me it was the most enoyable part. I hope that Yana doesn't get too involved in the excesses and extravagances of some of some of these hedonistic Byronites.

Friday 12th July

I was discharged from hospital around one o'clock and hurried to the Brisbane Transit centre. It was a relief to be out in the real world again although I had enjoyed the company of my new friends. The bus trip back to Byron was uneventful and passed fairly quickly. I had foolishly bought a packet of jelly beans and then couldn't keep my hand out of the packet. I only stopped when they were all gone. All I had wanted to do was to remove the nasty taste from my mouth. Jelly beans are my weakness.

Tessie picked me up at the bus station and we then went to the Thai noodle bar where Yana cooked me a welcome laksa. He has put in a huge number of hours this week and has come out of it with quite a bit of money. I gather that the owners were a bit shocked and he won't be able to work quite so much in the future. Shame really. He was so proud.

Thursday 11th July

I started a new drug regime at the Mater Hospital, and will be losing my hair in the next few weeks. Such a shame as it is looking so good now. Still I have to take the risk and hope that the new drug can make a difference. There is no point in being dead with a beautiful head of hair. Mind you I did momentarily wonder whether I should just stop with all these toxic nasties that are bombarding my system but quickly banished the idea from my mind. I can't give up. I have to keep on trying.

I spent the night in a four bed ward with three lovely women. There was Lil who was 77 and had to be on oxygen regularly. She had a charming Liverpuddlian accent and a good sense of humour. Mavis who was in the bed beside me had just had a book published on tenant's rights and was very seriously involved in the ins and outs of the renting world. Katrina, on the other hand, was a spirited lass with a lot of dreams. I enjoyed her enthusiasm and optimism. None of us were having it easy but we had a lot of laughs together.

Wednesday 10th July

Sam had gone to Sydney on Sunday night for a few days holiday and I was to drive her car to Tweed Heads so that she could get herself back to Byron. The road was very windy and somewhat unnerving as I hadn't done much driving over the last few years. The cars were building up behind me but I didn't feel that I could safely travel any faster. In the end I ignored them. They would simply have to be patient.

I parked the car near the bus transit station which I had finally managed to locate. It had been a scary experience crawling along the main road and hoping that the right street actually bisected and didn't run parallel. I thought that I was in luck and then found that the parking was all for one hour only. Poor old Sam could have picked up a number of parking fines before her plane landed at Coolangatta. I picked the least obtrusive spot possible and then left the car.

The bus to Brisbane was almost an hour late. I wondered whether I had made a mistake and was quite a tense mess before it finally appeared. I sat beside a teacher from Canada and she was pleasant company so the trip went quickly. At the doctor's surgery I had to wait a further two hours as Dr. Choo was running well behind time. As it turned out was waiting hours just to receive bad news. The cancer was still skyrocketing. What a numbing outcome. Am I dying this time?

Tuesday 9th July

Yana and I checked out a few secondhand furniture places in Byron Bay before he had to head off to work. Odd places they were, with furniture crammed into every spare spot. Dust, dirt and cobwebs had collected and all in all the atmosphere was not not attractive. Most of the furniture was not all that inspiring and if it did appeal it was definitely overpriced. We decided to take our time and focus more on the weekend garage sales.

I went to the library and checked the Jakarta Post plus the Pikiran Rakyat after having checked my mail and updated my webjournal. I was almost in tears as I loved those two newspapers. The news was just so much more interesting than Australian news. I wonder if we got an internet connection whether I would be able to gradually adjust myself to keeping up with events without feeling any emotional turmoil.

Monday 8th July

Tessie had to go to Ballina, a town about twenty-five kilometres south of Byron Bay, so I went with her. The drive is quite beautiful as there are some magnificent ocean views on the way. Ballina itself is not so inspiring, it is extraordinarily flat, but we checked out a few secondhand furniture places and did some shopping in a massive supermarket.

Yana is still working flat out. His legs hurt because he stands for up to eight hours a day and his hands ache from stirring the wok but he doesn't compain. He comes come exhausted and enjoys just relaxing in his new home. In comparison to Yana's mother's house in Balubur our town house is a palace. We even have a bit of a garden and a barbecue in the back yard. Roll on summer!

Sunday 7th July

The day was mainly devoted to unpacking. I had expended most of my energies yesterday on packing and cleaning and so was unable to keep going. I have to pace myself carefully as I am far from strong. Later in the morning Stu bought down the sofabed from Driftwood Ave that they have so kindly donated to us. The living room is starting to look much better now.

After the move and all the excitement of the previous weeks I started to feel a bit down. Understandable really. I have achieved most of my goals and now have to develop some more goals to keep me moving. Homesickness for Indonesia did envelop me but I will have to fight it. Australia is where I have to be and at least I have Yana and the girls with me. I am not alone or lonely.

Sleeping was much more comfortable this time as Yana and I slept downstairs on the sofabed and Tess took the foam seat part and used it as a mattress. This arrangement is quite workable and means we can relax a little and look around at our leisure. We don't have to buy bedding in a real hurry. I wonder whether Yana and I will ever sleep upstairs as we quite enjoy watching television while in bed. Downstairs actually suits us.

Saturday 6th July

Moving day. I have enjoyed living at Driftwood Avenue with Stu and Jane but it is time for me to move on. Circumstances have changed and so I have had to go along with these changes. Yana and I spent ages cleaning up the room and then Sam and Tess arrived to transport our wordly belongings. Not that they add up to much. Each move hurts. I still think back on my house in Cikendi, Bandung with great fondness. I did love that house. It has been sold now so that is an era which has come to an end. Very painful.

We hung up nice African and Indonesian wallhangings and started to make the town house look like a home. It was a little difficult as we were a bit short on furniture. Fortunately I had bought a small lime green table at a garage sale for $7 so that was a start and placed the tv that Tessie had bought up from Tasmania on it. The house is cold as the sun doesn't seem to enter so I seem to be constantly wrapped in my quilt. We have a slatefloored kitchen and dining area plus carpetted living area downstairs. Up the carpetted stairs there are two brickwalled bedrooms.The bathroom is upstairs and there is no downstairs toilet. The latter being a real inconvenience. It is a bother having to constantly trudge upstairs.

We had no mattresses so had to sleep directly on the carpetted floors. A little hard but not like the night when we had camped at Pangalengan in the hills of West Java. There the cold ground seeped up through the tent floor and there were rocks that seemed to dig into your hip bones. This was much more bearable. Even the traffic noise was not so bad, we had expected it to be worse as we are located on the main road. I suspect that it will all be OK.

Friday 5th July

We have been granted the house in Bangalow road. I am very excited at the prospect of having our own space. It may have been easier to take the furnished apartment I saw yesterday but I would like to make a home, my own home and so it won't hurt to start accumulating a little furniture. It could be a lot of fun. My future is indefinite so I should make sure that I enjoy the present, the now, and if that means spending a little on household effects, well then so be it. Why live with someone else's cast offs or old bits and pieces. That is not to say that I won't be frequenting garage sales but it does mean that we will be amking our own choices.

The day will be devoted to packing once I have completed all the organisational matters like getting money for the bond, paying rent in advance and signing leases. We will need electricity and won't have Bu Empon to organise everything for us any more. We really were spoilt in Indonesia. I never did any of the initial connecting type tasks when I lived there. Welcome to the real world.

Thursday 4th July

Yana wanted to go shoe shopping as he intends to play some table tennis with Hendry. I accompanied him and we found some reasonably priced shoes that we both can share. Yes, Yana and I share our shoes, as we have roughly the same sized feet. You wouldn't think so by looking at us, but it is true.

We also had to buy some cough mixture as Yana has a bit of a sore throat. He has had a busy time since arriving here so I suppose it is not really a surprise. Colds and flu are rampant at this time of the year. Yana was horrified at how much he had to pay for the cough mixture. Gone are the wonderful low prices of Indonesia. He has to adjust to his present world. At least he can pay for himself here and it was great to see him enjoying his new found independence.

I checked out three other units and was somewhat taken aback by the smallness of the living areas. It made me feel somewhat claustrophobic. As I am home for much of the day it would be nice to have a few different spaces to move around in. I really hoped that the big house on Bangalow road would come our way. It was a much nicer property for much the same money.In visiting the units I trudged over hills and dales, not realising the topography of the area and was thoroughly exhausted by the time I was done.

Wednesday 3rd July

Hendry and Yana were performing at Bangalow primary school today and I had to drive him to Baywood Chase in Tessie's car. Yana was bright and chirpy but I gather Hendry was exhausted after yesterday's efforts. It didn't surprise me, for he had moved constantly the whole time I had observed him. He was a natural teacher too.

Tessie had to move out as her time with Stuart and Jane had expired. Before she left to stay at her father's house, we checked out a town house along Bangalow road. It was quite pleasant and much more spacious than the first unit. There was even a bit of a garden. Tessie was most inspired and very keen while I took time to warm to it. It was not cheap but with three people contributing to pay the rent it was manageable I eventually realised. We put in an application and hoped that the property manager, who was a friend of Sam, could put in an good word for us. We felt that we would need some assistance if we were to be accepted as responsible tenants.

I had a quiet time as I was feeling fairly delicate. It would seem that I have to pace myself and allow plenty of opportunities for rest. There is so much happening at present that I tend to push myself beyond my limits. Marione, know thyself.

Tuesday 2nd July

As expected, we had not secured the unit that we had had our hopes pinned on. I was not upset, it was simply just not meant to be. It also meant that I would have to step up my search and look more widely. I tried to remain optimistic.

Hendry had arranged to present a cultural day for the schoolchildren at Byron Bay Primary School. I went along, dressed in my beautiful blue wedding kebaya, while Yana wore a sarong and a shirt borrowed from one of the twins. We sang some Indonesian songs and then Hendry presented a workshop on Rande, a form of silat exercises that closely resemble Kung Fu and hence were very well accepted by the children. The boys,in particular, were most attentive. It was lovely to be amidst children again and these ten year olds were very friendly. Unfortunately after two hours I was just exhausted, and I had only been standing there along the side, encouraging and helping a little. There were two classes still to go but I had to apologise and head off home. It was all too much for me. Obviously my teaching days are well and truly over. A sad thought.

Monday 1st July

A shark of considerable length beached itself onto the sands of main beach Byron Bay. Tess and I were too late to see it in the flesh but I saw the photos in the newspaper and it looked very nasty. People had been swimming nearby, totally unaware that they were sharing the water with a man eater. Nobody was too daunted by its presence because the surfers and swimmers were in full action again by the time we arrived to check the situation, two hours later. Unlike whales, sharks don't beach themself and this was a very unusual occurrence.

We still haven't heard any news on the unit front and suspect that our application has been passed over. In Indonesia I was treated like royalty when it came to houserenting. Here it is quite the opposite. Interesting contrast.

Yana and I got together in the evening with the twins, Hendry and Hendra, Jenise and Debbie to make some music at Baywood Chase. When I am there time flies. I don't feel sick and I don't feel tired. It is magic.

marionecp@hotmail.com