Saturday, April 16th

Today is my late mum's birthday and we find ourselves back in Wollongong getting prepared for our cruise on Wednesday.  We made the mistake of booking a 2.40pm flight from Launceston today.  It meant that I did one last mow and Marilyn squeezed in 4 loads of washing.  We were exhausted when we finally got on the 'plane.

It will be great to get away but I wonder how I'll cope on the high seas without my daily fix of politics.  Will Donald finally implode and will Bronwyn gain pre-selection?  (Breaking News: Bronwyn has been ditched!  Maybe she should have moved to Tasmania where dinosaurs still rule the world.)

I note that the Tasmanian dinosaurs have once again put Eric Abetz in the #1 Senate position, their other five candidates are all male and they have again failed to find a woman worthy of their trust.  To compound their amazing lack of sensitivity, they have demoted a Government minister to #5, because he is a supporter of Mr Turnbull.  Aren't they supposed to be on the same team?

I made a sad discovery in the yard this week: a dead baby wallaby.  It was perfectly formed, about 25cm long, and completely hairless.  There was not a mark on it.  

Last night we went out for dinner to celebrate Nera's birthday.  One of her friends was having her birthday in the same week so it was a joint party with, maybe, 20 people, at a new restaurant which has only been open for a couple of weeks.  There were a few hitches with an inexperienced team but the food was excellent.