And then there was rain....

After a couple of weeks back in Hong Kong, I continued my travels to Australia. I must admit I was finding so many changes of environment a little wearing and my signature cough developed into full scale bronchitis. Still I managed to catch up with most of the important people in my life (not all) and to spend a weekend in Sydney with Kate and see the stage version of Priscilla Queen of the Desert. I enjoyed the show - good production numbers and a variety of old songs I could tap my feet to, but sometimes I found the humour depended more on gratuitous bad language than anything else. Guess I am showing my age. Don't tell me rampant conservatism is catching up on me.

However the events of the last weekend overtook the rest of my stay as the long drought in Australia was broken in Newcastle at least. On the Friday before I left, an enormous typhoon struck, leading to the beaching of a ship off Nobby's beach, and flooding for many people. Poor Kate who was coming to Newcastle for the weekend had a long trip (7 hours) on trains and substitute coaches. Trees fell all over New Lambton Heights which is high, including on the house two doors down from us. In lower suburbs such as Jack's mum's flooding was terrible.

We experienced our own damage, mainly to Christopher's room. He was stranded in the Workers Club unable to drive his car due to the floods in Hunter Street. On the following Monday, I went to Sydney with Kate and escaped to Hong Kong but the deluge continued at home........