And he did it! Up at 4.00 a.m., breakfasted and on the first train out of Sandgate to Roma Street to get the numbers of the Sydney train and the rush hour commuter trains! He’s got them all now except the elusive 05 so if anybody sees it please let us know where so we can track it down! Did you also know that there is a non-stop express from Brisbane to Shorncliffe every morning!? You can’t travel on it 'tho as it is the first commuter train of the day going out to its morning starting point!
I welcomed a lie-in having been awake until 3.00 a.m. listening to a marvellous presenter talking with the people up north who were bunkered down waiting for hurricane Yasi. She deserves a medal for the comfort and support she gave the listeners for about 7 hours. It was a good insight for me into what a frightening experience they were going through and certainly was compulsive listening. Morning TV revealed the horrible reality of what Yasi had done – devastated homes and townships, smashed boats and marinas, lost banana and sugar cane plantations, stripped trees, floods – heartbreaking. After a terrifying night not one casualty but three births!
There are 6 cyclones due this year and Queensland has had three so far. Heaven knows what the last 3 will do and if the State can take any more pounding. It is truly an awful sight to see the most beautiful of coastlines looking like a war zone. It will take years to get back to normal. All those luxury holiday resorts on the mainland and the islands have just disappeared as well.
Very little to talk about but that all day but we managed the cycle ride to the pool and a swim.
Friday we were up early to meet Keryn at Indoroopilly to go and collect their car which we will have the use of today and over the weekend with them at one of my top ten places to holiday in – Noosa. Lovely. Thank you so much both. We took advantage of it and went to the largest shopping mall in the southern hemisphere at Chermside – big but not as nice as Indooroopilly! Then to our local foodmarket to stock up on weighty items whilst we had transport. Useful.
I forgot to mention that our pier at Shornecliffe will be on UK TV soon. When we went there last week it was busy with workmen constructing rooms, gardens and pathways on the pier itself for the UK DIY store Homebase. They made 10 adverts featuring room and outdoors mock-ups for screening from March onwards and used local professionals and materials. They paid tribute to the area and its people and donated $600,000 to the flood appeal. So look out for it and you may see this bit of Australia and its lovely blue skies trying to con you into thinking it was England!