Tuesday, 1st January, 2008

We saw the new year in at the little reserve at the back of the house where a good few people had gathered to watch the fireworks - received some tasty lamb chops and sausages from a lovely Fijian Indian family in return for use of our loo. I wish we could have these get-togethers more often.

The best news is the release from prison of David Hicks though some folk think not and express the desire to keep him locked up forever, what with him being a traitor and all that. Apparently his choice to support Bin Laden rather than George W. requires eternal punishment despite the fact that the latter is responsible for far more acts of terrorism and the death of over 750,000 people in Iraq alone. And, as a writer to the SMH pointed out, Hicks may have trained with "the enemy" but he didn't trade with them and hand over $300 million to Saddam in the process.

Well, we are six hours into 2008 and it's going well so far with a lazy morning doing the crossword and a picnic in the park this afternoon. I was very happy with 2007 and feel sure I will be with the next 365 days (it's a leap year) stretching out before me.

I've learned a new word, too: kakistocracy which means "Government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens". Food for thought there ...

Tuesday, 4th December, 2007

A week and a half since the election and the euphoria still lingers. The unthinkable has occurred, they've gone, they've really gone, the wicked witch is dead and I've cut the "NOT" off my 'NOT HAPPY JOHN" bumper sticker. A journalist writing in The Age said she felt as though she'd met a new man after eleven years of abuse. I haven't felt like this since the Berlin Wall came down.

I still can't believe how quickly and easily Castle Howard collapsed after all those years when it seemed indestructible and impenetrable - one moment it was there, towering grimly over us as we huddled in the coldness of its dark shadow and in an instant all that remained was a pile of broken bricks and mortar, smouldering in the sunshine of a new day.

I know, I know, Kevin could turn out to be worse than Attila the Hun - but nevertheless I'm allowing my smug smile to linger just a little longer ...