Away with the Birdies

(Day Pod 2^nd April

The water in the beakers on the table wobbles with every gust that whacks Zoonie on her side. We are opting for two short walks today as the thunderous clouds threaten rain at any moment and we choose to stay close to home. Perfectly aerodynamic pelicans glide in to land into the wind on the crowded pontoons like A380s on final descent.

Swimmers in wetsuits emerge to grab towels making us feel we should ‘make more effort’ at this alternative exercise. The car park is empty as white caps scoot across King George Sound making it unsafe for the armada of little tinnies and hundreds of seagulls and pelicans cover the swimming pool pontoons, sheltering.

Some friends and neighbours of Malcolm and Christine, Doreen and Trevor who we visited very briefly on our day tour with our hosts, have very kindly offered us the use of their holiday home a short distance from here on the way in to the Albany suburbs. It is a very kind and attractive offer for the occasional break and we are formulating a plan to stay there for a couple of days soon so Rob can go on from there to do a shop while I set the washing machine going! Many farmers in the grain belt of WA have holiday homes here and we would be only too pleased to check on Doreen and Trevor’s pad for them as they are not allowed to travel so far for non-essential reasons.

Latest update on the loo spider is that he has now moved onto the door and he has very hairy legs I noticed from seeing him sideways on with the light behind him, before I fled next door.

We had a video chat with Martina this morning. We met in Fulanga, Fiji and then stayed with them in Newcastle twice as we passed by. They now have a rescue Jack Russell called Nala and because all four grownup children and one girlfriend are self-isolating at home this new little addition is getting lots of walks and spend her off-walk time fast asleep. Martina says she has become a wonderful distraction for all of them.)

In Perth on the day before our trip we were planning our return to Zoonie, whenever that would be. Rob was seen quickly by a doctor at the station medical centre to get his prescriptions renewed and then we checked out the train and bus services back to Kojonup to pick up the car. We would be using them, as you know, much sooner than we had hoped.

We returned to the Youth Hostel to cook a big meal using up our remaining food and then headed out looking for a bar where we could guarantee our 4sq foot personal space. Upstairs in the Aviary there was just one group of office workers around a big table enjoying the last of their social contact for a while, so we located towards the street side looking over the tree tops and watching birds swooping around oblivious of mankind’s turmoil.

In the glossy colour brochure of Perth there is a photo of couples sitting and supping at tables, enjoying the bar, bathed in sunshine, kerching smiles and bonhomie abounding and it will again one day I thought.

A young man with a clicker was keeping a continual count on the number of clients before he would have to tell them to wait for the allowed space to become available. With the good natured feel there was a hint of anxiety, how far would all this go?