Dear Reader – I have been thinking of you but unable to do anything about down-loading pics and commenting – we have been relly visiting in Tasmania and are now catching up with Perth Western Australia – dear people important to us in each place. However getting pics up on line on the computer here has proved impossible despite working perfectly fine a few months ago. Which is a shame, I have a couple of beauts for you, but they will need to wait another week or so it seems.

While in Tas we spent a couple of days up in the far north east of the state – former tin-mining country, rich in many aspects of cultural heritage. Now cattle and sheep are produced here. Spent a couple of nights with BIL and wife and family in thier shack in a delightful area near Musselroe Bay – long empty beaches loaded with shells, in the hinterland we saw kangaroos 6 feet tall and more, didn’t see the dreaded snakes but did see wallabies, goannas, echidnas and wombats. No TV or radio – just good family company and hanging out. In the shack there was a toasting fork leaning up against the fireplace – being summer, it was not in use. The handle caught my eye – indeed the whole construction shrieked “handmade” in confident bushie construction. Despite being totally aluminium heavy guage wire, the handle has the appearance of being knitted – garter stitch comes to mind. How it was done I have no idea but pormise a pic at the first opportunity, next week, when we return to Montevideo, Unless a miracle intervenes.