It was a bit of a shambles. Not because the crew didn’t know what they were doing but because the ferries they were using could carry several hundred passengers and it takes time to move that number. Tickets were issued to try and organize some priority but, inevitably, some passengers ignored the number they had and just turned up when it suited them to be there. The crew just had to wear it because the passenger is always right. People pushed into line and whinged when the passenger in front of them was a bit slow and, at the end of the day, the ship’s crew had to accept the blame. The trip to shore took about 30 minutes so, if you missed the first ferry, it might be a while before the next one was available. But that didn’t matter; there should have been more ferries. Sometimes, it’s hard to smile at human nature.
Realising there might be problems, we went ashore a bit earlier than we might have otherwise but were still met by Margery and Roy at 11 as arranged. It was great to see them again and we picked up our friendship as if it had never been interrupted.
We first met in January, 1987 when we arrived at Cathedral School for my first post as Headmaster. We had been offered a school house but someone had forgotten to arrange the airconditioning, our furniture hadn’t arrived and we found that it would take twelve weeks to deliver some new furniture than we had to buy. At that time, Roy was in charge to maintenance at the school and, realizing our plight, he wandered by to see if he could help, organizing beds and other bits and pieces to see us through. He said, ‘My wife makes a pretty good curry; would you like to come and have dinner with us.’ So started a firm friendship which we really value. As it happened, Marg had dropped something on her toe during the afternoon so was hobbling around trying to get the dinner ready while we chatted, all the time smiling bravely so as not to give the wrong impression.During the eight years we lived in Townsville, we saw them often, for dinner parties, canasta games, weekends away and so on. We really missed them when we went south again and never quite put together so good a friendship with anyone else. It was interesting that they commented that the days of frequent visits to each other’s homes, picnics and such-like have passed. I noticed an article in a newspaper this week about research in the US and Australia about the decrease over the last twenty years in community involvement and socializing. It’s something like dinner parties down by 60%, picnics down by 48%, and so on. We’re becoming a nation of isolates, expecting to achieve all our social needs through Facebook and talk-back radio. How sad is that?
Today, Marg and Roy took us on a tour of Townsville to see the changes which have occurred since we were last here in 1995. Of course, there was still evidence of damage from the last cyclone but the city is looking great. Cathedral School has developed remarkably but the huge rain trees are still there anmd the lagoon, so it was familiar. A recent development at Thuringowa is fantastic with the best pool complex I have ever seen. The Strand, which was always a little tired, has been extensively polished and is now very welcoming. There’s still a way to go (the Mall is a disaster!) but it is certainly a city on the move.Marg had organized a picnic for us to give us a change from the food on the ship and we had it on the waterfront. She even brought doilies to go under our drinks. Then, a quick trip to Castle Hill to get an overview of the way the city is expanding and back to the wharf to line up for the first available ferry. We had a terrific bonus when our grand-daughter, Madeleine, who had arrived for a holiday In Townsville just yesterday, came out to see us. Her mother, Melanie, drove her and it was great to see them both. Madi turns 16 in September and is now making plans for her future. She’s keen to work with horses in the short-term but is keeping her options open as regards her future career.
We were back at the ship by 5.30 and changed ready for another hectic evening of entertainment: 7 o’clock, Trevor Knight in the Vista Lounge, 7.45 dinner, 9.45 to the Princess Theatre to listen to Jennifer Grey and by 11 o’clock we were back in the Atrium Lounge to spend another hilarious hour with Larry Dunsmore on the piano. Larry does play well but his gift is interaction with his audience. We laugh out loud at the outrageous remarks. Sometimes he can be quite sharp, especially when his victim doesn’t understand he is being got at. Sometimes, the victim can give back as good as he gets. One fellow last night requested the Maori song by Dean Martin, you know the one which goes, ‘When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s a Maori!’ It brought the house down and left Larry speechless.Jennifer Grey had been at our table for dinner on Saturday night so we were delighted to see her performance. She was fantastic; anyone who can sing Wind Beneath My Wings and make I Will Always Love You sound reasonable has to have some talent.
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