News From Annette Stewart

Many of you will know former club member Annette Stewart who is nursing in the wop wops of Australia. She is keeping us up to date with dramas of daily life in the outback. Here is the latest 'Dear Diary...'

I, along with three others, worked through covering the clinic. A lot of the locals go away, mainly to drink! So it was fairly quiet although there is never a week goes by without some drama. A murder in another community resulted in a round of payback on the perpetrator's family so broken bones and knife wounds. When that all calmed down we had a run of gastro - rotten roo tails and emu were the culprits. In 40+ degree heat it doesn't take long for meat to go off!!

For us whitefellas Xmas was a sedate affair - all the rushing round, last minute shopping and general panic was something that we watched on the TV. Ours was more of an old fashioned Christmas where we all gathered at one of the houses, everyone brought food along, if there was any gift giving it took the form of baking or a plant that someone had grown. After a sumptuous lunch (people out here are great cooks - something to do with having to fill in your spare time!) most of us walked the airstrip and then went for a swim before gathering together in the evening for dessert and a DVD. It was lovely considering that nobody wants to be away from home at Xmas.

New Year we had a camp fire and live music - two of my work colleagues play the fiddle and guitar. At midnight wandered over to the church where the locals had a hymn, come country and western come kareoke thing on the go - so something for everyone including the thirty or so dogs milling round and scrapping and howling. Midnight came and went, 2013 serenaded in by two young men standing under a string of bare light bulbs singing along rather tunelessly to a key board and beatbox!! They made up in enthusiasm what they lacked in talent!

Am busy organising my next trip home - three weeks in March and will definitely make it to swimming this time - my last visit was rushed due to selling the house and re-homing the dog. Have to say am looking forward to some cooler weather - even the pool is luke warm. Swim there in the evenings but no good for any training sessions as they have the scavenger roaming round with its long hose attached and there are usually other whitefellas in enjoying a loll in the water. One day last week it got up to 48 C - the hottest temperature ever recorded here since records began - could feel my eyeballs drying out!!

Am also planning a trip to Germany in June and then either somewhere in Aussie September time although am also considering Burma/Myanmar - will have to see. I know that I will be moving on from here in the next year or so which is not unusual - work life expectancy for a whitefella (or woman) is about two years and I think that that will hold good for me. Where to then I don't know but that is part of the fun!!

Well Annette, I'd have to say rather you than me. We hope you can drop in to the pool in March and we all look forward to seeing you.