Wednesday, 24 February

The rains are here at last so my plans for today have been put on hold.  Marilyn went out early to take Madeleine for some tests and I had intended to spend some more time mowing.  Jamie must think I have too much time on my hands as he has sent me an advertisement for a job as Executive Director of an Arts Festival in Launceston.  I've directed the Craft Fair four times now, and that's a much bigger event than the Junction Arts Festival.  Interesting, but do I still have the drive? I'll have to think about it.

I have to say that I'm enjoying retirement.  The travelling is a big part of that but it's really the pleasure of getting up in the morning knowing that I have the whole day to enjoy without any commitments and no responsibility.  I can spend the whole day on the computer, or with a book or watching shows and not feel guilty.  Do I want to give that up?  

An email came through yesterday from an American crowd called Vacations to go.  They specialise in last-minute cruise bargains, mostly in the US but some in Oz as well. One deal was part of a world cruise, between Sydney and Dubai.  It's a Costa ship (not the Concordia!), 23 days duration, calling in to Fremantle, Colombo, 3 ports in India, through the Suez Canal and then Dubai.  Just over $2000 each for an Ocean-view cabin.  It leaves on March 14th so a bit close to the PNG cruise, but seems a bargain, nevertheless.

I'm watching Game of Thrones as I type this.  I can't understand the hype but it's well-made and must have a huge budget.  The early episodes are almost pornographic but it settles down and the story becomes more important than the sex scenes.  It was great to see the mash-up on Insiders on Sunday morning: scenes from Game of Thrones with Donald Trump's head superimposed on some of the characters.  The words are his own direct quotes, highlighting his shallow view of life.  It's had over 2-million views since then and was featured on the Whoopy Goldberg show.