New Years Eve Reflections

'Sarf & West mate, Sarf & West'
Pete Bernfeld
Mon 31 Dec 2012 03:00
T'was New Years Eve on the workboat
it will be at some stage, a work boat that is. God knows (whoever/whatever he/she/it may be)there's a fair bit of work to be done!
Nothing stirred, not even a mouse
Even the cockroaches are dead, thanks to 'Combat' roach motels, about the only thing I brought in Fiji that did what it said on the box!
All was peace and harmony
the stern anchor hasn't dragged (much) recently and no half-blind bastard has noticed the buoyed  line just after he's run over it
Even the ferries were nice
somebody complained, they're all going slower but I'm told it won't last

There's an air of expectation
I'm expecting an influx of boats to watch tonight's fireworks shortly and I expect some bugger'll cock up the anchoring, probably by picking up my stern-anchor buoy
And excitement in the air
as opposed to fireworks which'll be in the air. It'll be exciting to see where they land
So tonight I'll raise a glass
A
glass? Red wine at A$20 (£13.35p) for 8 litres, if it's drinkable. I'll rephrase that, it will be drinkable but whether it'll be an enjoyable experience is another matter. Tell you what, I'll rephrase that as well. The first glass might be a bit ropey but I'll bet it'll get better as the evening wears on!
To friend both old and new
No old friends around here to share the wine with, ditto for new friends and by the time any read this and pop round I'll have made a major dent in the 'cellar'. Speaking of which I would stow the wine boxes in the bilges but....cardboard gets soggy in water
Looking forward to the future
Actually I'm not thinking about the future at the moment. Somehow it'll take care of itself
And remembering times gone by
bloody so-called diesel mechanics. Bloody reefs. Bloody unforecast tropical storms
--------------------------------------------

I could go on but I won't!
In the cover blurb on the books I say that I'm sailing around the world researching my next book which will be on Bikinis of the World. At the risk of being very non PC (risk?) right now, anchored off the Botanical Gardens the research is mainly into sports bras of Brisbane. There's an awful lot of jogging going on here, in fact you could say that jogging in Brisbane is very well supported. Just my comment, you understand.

Thanks to everybody for all your various forms of support these last twelve months, I literally couldn't have done it (whatever it is) without any of you.

I wish you all a healthy, peaceful and prosperous 2013, not to mention a well-read one. Yes, the latest short story project has morphed into a novel, or at least a novella (whatever yardstick you use to judge which is which). I'm enjoying writing this one more than the others, don't know why. Possibly because I set myself the target of writing it in two weeks, excluding any research and actually coming up with the plot in the first place. The world's slowest-ever (surely) trip from New Cal to Ozworld took care of the plot and most of the research had been done for other novels/short stories. Whatever else needed to be looked up has been done at 4G speed (still not breathless but on the other hand I haven't sat and shouted at the computer in frustration either).

So, Happy New Year. May all your wine be uncorked, your beer chilled to perfection, all your Alka Seltzers fizzy, all your upset stomachs be transitory in nature and all your breathalysers negative.



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