Tuesday, November 19th ....

It was Probus this morning, with the guest speaker talking about growing up on a snake farm in Africa. It was interesting and he talked about snakes he had met and the time the Royal Family had visited the farm. At the end of the talk, he invited questions and the hands shot up. That's good, I thought, they must have enjoyed it and wanted to know more.

Not so! Everybody just wanted to tell their own snake story. I imagine nobody listened to the tale and were just waiting their turn to take the floor. Even the fellow in front of me, who snoozed through the whole thing had his hand up. 'That'll be you in a few years time,' said my darling wife.

The meetings are a delight because the old fellows seem to save up their comments and jokes until the meeting and can't wait to get them out. The fellow who slept was bursting to tell an off-colour joke and was surprised when the ladies sat po-faced and didn't laugh.

The attached picture is my official photo in the 10000 Tasmanians project. The Japanese photographer taking the shots is making an archive of what Tasmanians look like today and, in 100 years time, people will look at it in wonder. I know when I look at photographs of my ancestors, they are a different race.