Wednesday 4 April 2012

Arrival and Departure

On 30th March at 1330 I left home. We picked up my grand-daughter, Madi, from Leamington, drove to Heathrow, caught a plane to Singapore, picked my grandson Chris at Starbucks there (!!!I kid you not), caught a plane to Brisbane 2 hours later, caught a plane to Gladstone from Brisbane by the skin of our teeth (blame Customs and Passport control for that), caught a launch to Heron Island. It was then Sunday morning (where did Saturday happen? Not around me). The journey out through the estuary was lovely, calm seas, blue skies, nice breeze. lots of nice things to see. And then we reached the open seas and it was dreadful. Chris was very ill, Louise was ill, I would have been ill but I was too busy worrying about the others. Half the ship (about 60 people) were ill.  When we got to Heron Island, Chris got better very fast - and I succumbed to all the stress and had a heart event which meant I went to bed and stayed there till next morning.

Heron Island is in the Barrier Reef, lots of snorkelling and scuba diving. Lots of birds including mutton birds who yodel all night. Starfish on the coral, sharks (little ones), rays, very big ones. There are 100 rooms on the island and it seems quite full at the moment. Lots of birds. It is very tropical. I have lots of photos but they will not be on this blog until we reach Sydney where I am hoping for cheaper internet access. The telephone is very expensive too and, of course,there is no mobile signal. We are, after all, 2 hours sailing from the main land. Once a week they have a barge delivery, that was today. The electricity comes three diesel generators, the water from a desalination plant. They use grey water for the toilets and irrigation.

Tomorrow we are going to Sydney. The idea of a repeat of that boat journey followed by two plane hops to Sydney was too much for me and we are flying out by helicopter tomorrow afternoon. The others are very excited about this. I was more excited by whether my Bank would honour such a large debit on the account - it was honoured.

So there we are - I would not come again. Better to buy a book of photos,

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I am weaver and - -. I dye my yarns with acid dyes, I paint my warps, put fabric collages and stencils on my weaving. I have three looms, a 12 inch wide, 12 shaft Meyer for demos and courses, a 30 inch Louet Kombo which is nominally portable but has a stand, two extra beams and a home-made device containing a fan reed. And last a 32 shaft Louet Megado which is computer controlled, has a sectional warp and a second warp beam and I am the proud owner of an AVL warping wheel which I love to bits and started by drilling holes in. I inserted a device for putting a cross in. I have just acquired an inkle loom and had a lesson from an expert so I can watch TV and weave at the same time. I am interested in weaving with silk mostly 60/2 although I do quite a bit with 90/2 silk. I also count myself as a bookbinder with a special interest in Coptic binding.