On our cruise we got talking to a couple at breakfast one morning. They were from Perth. We told them we had visited Brisbane, Sydney, Alice Springs, Ayers Rock and Cairns.
"What did you think of Alice Springs? They asked
We liked it," we replied and told them about our trip there.
They told us it is now a pretty lawless place with huge problems with the indigenous population and violence which is out of control.
Later on our voyage we were to hear a different side of the situation from a university professor. Peace between the two very different kinds of people is a very difficult balancing act but one that can be achieved, she argued.
The majority of people on the cruise are from Australia. They always seem to me to be hugely nationalistic and there were plenty of shouts of "Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi." I don't think we have an equivalent do we although I'm sure a former prime minister would like a call of 'Boris Boris Boris Oi Oi Oi."
I detest this "isn't everything great" breezy attitude that is generated in many areas of life including on board ship, a kind of aren't we all fun people having a jolly good time, when we know much of this is put on and in reality a cruise ship is a business with all the stresses that come with that.
And today more bloody forms to fill in. I am also suffering internet jealousy. There's no wi fi unless you are prepared to pay a considerable amount extra and then apparently it doesn't really work. Having wi fi used to be a perk. Now it's expected and we expect to have it for free. That should be a given.
With no connection I just know the emails are piling up. Still answering them will keep me quiet for a day or two on our return.
I am very aware that while we are on holiday the work back home is mounting up. I use the word work loosely as it's all voluntary stuff. So I am having to prioritise what I do and attack it in some kind of order.
First thing will be to make corrections to the Norfolk Ancestor magazine. This is the magazine of the Norfolk Family History Society and I have been editing it for eight years. I take pride in being their longest serving editor. But now I have decided to hang up my pen and hand over the reins to somebody else who will modernise the look of the publication. I am very aware of my limitations when it comes to design work. I'm more of a content person, generating information.
With that done I will turn my attention to updating blogs and my personal diary. I never take my diary abroad for two reasons. Firstly it's too bulky and secondly I have a fear of losing it.
This December marks 50 years of writing it. In that time I haven't missed a single day. My first entry was on December 23rd, 1972. That may seem a rather random date to start a diary. I had tried to write one on a few previous occasions but always gave up and lost what I had written. For some reason on December 23rd 1972 I decided to give things a real go and have continued ever since.
Then I will have my book on the Le Paradis massacre to finish. Shortly before leaving for holiday I received a call from publishers Pen and Sword confirming their interest in the book and I now have to source up to 90 photographs to illustrate the text. I will be getting together with my friend John Head to do this. John is much more organised than myself and will be able to access the necessary photos much quicker. My photos are all over the place. Editor's note - you will know from a previous blog that the book has now been turned down and we are considering alternative ways of having it published.
Then I have more walking to do. I still have to average around four miles a day to complete my target of 1500 for the year on behalf of the East Anglian Air Ambulance. I must admit that I will be glad when the challenge is complete, and I don't have to go out and walk four miles every day just to keep up with my target. I am on schedule to complete the challenge around December 28th. It would be somewhat fitting if I could complete on Christmas Day but at the moment that seems to be a bit optimistic.
The other two things I must rip into on my return are the December issue of Hethersett Herald and the church Good News magazine. So I will certainly be busy. You could say this is the lull before the storm.
My aim as always is to get the December Herald out on the 1st of the month and then to follow this up with the January edition before Christmas. This is the edition that includes the village Christmas news. That's why it has to be published before Xmas. Nobody wants to read Christmas news days or weeks after the festive season is over