Saturday, April 5

It's after 11, we've both had a walk, the Coles order has been completed on-line and Marilyn has just put on the kettle ... all's right with the world.  We've stopped watching the news but, even in our self-imposed bubble, we're aware of the fact that there's an election coming up.  I resigned from the election workforce a couple of years ago but Marilyn has still been involved.  She's been encouraged to work again this year but I'm pleased that she has seen sense and refused.  The TV ads are for both Federal and State elections so I suspect the state is going to save some money by tacking a local by-election on the main show, although it's only for the Upper House in a couple of electorates and I don't think it includes us. No doubt somebody will tell us in due course.   Jamie has dropped off some application forms for postal votes in the Federal Election to save us lining up; he must think we're getting old.

It's very overcast here today but that's typical of the weather pattern at this time of the year.  I've already watered and hung stuff on the line and I think that is the extent of my day's work.

Friday, April 4

 I bought my first ebook reader in, I think, 2009.  It was a Bebook, manufactured in The Netherlands and used the epub format.  The Kindle had been released a year or two earlier but had a pricing structure which I suspected would prove to be too costly in the long term.  The whole idea of ebooks was new and I remember being on a plane to New Zealand in 2010 when a young woman leaned across and said,

"Excuse me, my husband suffers from gadget envy and wants to know what you have in your hand."  We had a pleasant conversation and they played with my bebook and were determined to rush off and buy one.

Later that year we were in Nepal and I introduced the gadget to the other members of our party.  They all headed off to duty free to see what they could find.  It's a good feeling to be in the forefront of a trend.

Since then, Marilyn and I have had several ereaders, mostly Kobo brand.  We found they were particularly useful when we wanted to read when we were out in the sun, like on the deck of a ship.  They were great when we were travelling but I found we were not using them as much now that we are back on shore.

Until ... We have become particularly sedentary and spend an inordinate amount of time sitting outside in our new gazebo.  What better time to read.  I dug out our old Kobos but they had died of old age and neglect.  Marilyn was quite happy to find something else to do but I was itching for another ereader.  Jamie wanted me to have a Kindle but, over the years I've downloaded hundreds of books in the epub format so I needed another Kobo or something similar.

"Don't buy a cheapie." he said. (He knows me too well.)  I investigated - nearly $300 for a Kobo but there was a cheapie on Kogan for $105.  I couldn't resist.  It came, beautifully packed in a presentation box .  The font was a bit small but my eyes aren't that bad.  I've had it a few weeks now and it was OK, although not as satisfying as a Kobo.  Still, I remind myself , it was cheap!  

Two days ago, it stopped working, refusing to accept a charge. It has died, gone to God, joined the choir invisible, turned up its toes, it's an ex-reader. It's so tiny I can't even use it as a paper weight. Jamie has resisted saying, "I told you so" but, of course, I should have bought a Kobo in the first place.

Thursday, April 3

 It was another trip to the doctor yesterday to have my toe checked, and it was all fine.  I was tempted to ask him whether I would be able to resume my career as a professional dancer but I suspected he wouldn't get the joke.  Fair enough, it's not really funny. 

I was watching Scott on Youtube this morning while he was wandering around Scotland looking for old wells.  I suppose if you lived in a place with such a long history it would be interesting to see the remains of the past.  In Longford, we only go back a couple of hundred years and the closest we come to ancient relics is the evidence of the car-racing track which existed her until the 1970s.  Interesting enough, I suppose but just scratching the surface of history.  He stopped at one stage to point out that there used to be a well at Balgownie. Balgownie?  Not the one near Wollongong, of course. The original Balgownie has been there for thousands of years.

Then he mentioned there was another well at Glennifer Brae.  That was the name of the big house in the paddock near our house in Gwyneville which became a posh girls' school, but that's not where he meant either.  

Later on, he found a site where the bricks were marked Blantyre Ferme and Blantyre is the name of the village where we began our lives before coming to Australia.

It's not unusual to have a connection to some of the things we discover on Youtube but to have three from one program is certainly strange.