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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Holiday greeting

Hello from Ballina, where the little motel jug is boiling and I'm about to make a cuppa with our own teapot and leaf tea, a travelling essential for us.

So far, we've been driving north slowly, checking out Big Things and visiting some of BB's schoolfriends. Today I'm visiting Julie Barratt's Barratt Galleries in Alstonville, dedicated to Artists Books, to see her set-up, see what is onshow and pick up some of my books that have been hanging around the place.

By tonight we'll be in Redcliffe with the lovely Sacha, preparing for Christmas day and Woodford.

Yesterday we hung out on Sawtell beach with friends and their very young children. I sat there wondering why the word 'Sawtell' rang HUGE bells in my mind, so I rang Colonel Duck and asked him.

'1976,' he replied, 'New Years. We camped there and celebrated my 30th birthday.'
Ahhh! Sitting there as a 41yo, it seemed a long long time ago. It's still a very beautiful spot, despite the bastard who drove his 4WD onto the middle of the beach because he couldn't be arsed walking from the carpark.

If I don't get a chance to post again before Thursday, may you and yours have a wonderful whatever-you-do-at-this-time-of-year.* And stay safe. We're trying, on this horrible coastal highway.



-- Post From My iPhone

8 comments:

Mindy said...

Merry whatever to you and yours too Ms Duck and stay safe on that awful highway.

Anonymous said...

Next time some dolt drives his 4 wheel drive p@nis extender somewhere it shouldn't be, take a few shots with your groovy iphone, & email them to NPWS or the local council, reporting time, date & place. And if you're feeling reckless, leave the dolt a note on his windscreen saying he's been reported. But don't sign it or get caught doing it. We value your personal safety.
Drive carfully, take care, enjoy.

From the Anti-4WD Dickhead Collective.

Kerryn Goldsworthy said...

Have a wonderful time and a very happy Christmas, A. Duck, and may I say you are an inspiration iPhone-wise. Looking forward to further communiques from the field.

Also and incidentally, congrats to Bernice on a truly fabulous typo (if that is what it was).

Mummy/Crit said...

Have a lovely one Ms Duck. Still looking forward to the Woodford updates. Say hello to any Morris dancers you see, specifically Geoff who has spectacular piercings (bullring in his nose) and a son aged about 5. He's from Brissie so he ought to be there.

Anonymous said...

When I saw the Ballina Big Prawn from a distance a couple of months ago, with my marvellous eyesight, I thought it was a Big Pig.

Ampersand Duck said...

Ha! Best Beloved has been pointing his Crackberry with a 'clicking' motion at bad drivers for a couple of years now. It doesn't actually have a camera, but it does wonders in slowing them down.

Will do, Crit!

It *is* a bad highway. I always try to avoid it, but we were visiting people we haven't seen for years, who were only in Australia for a short holiday. Next time we'll go back to inland driving.

Anonymous said...

might recall i spent a good long time there too, and sadly there's two maybe three local beaches with traffic access (no reckless driving and speed limited to 40).
byrd

Anonymous said...

I am kicking myself that I have been taking a sabbatical from my feed reader - Sawtell beach?? I live two blocks from there! Hope you enjoyed yourselves.