October

My recaltricance just doesn't improve. Had to blow the dust off the programme before I could open it.
However, we are still at Heavitree Gap and Maureen is feeling very pleased with herselfas she has now shed 20 kg at weightwatchersand has achieved her goal weight.
Since I was last here, the weather has turned from decidedly cold mornings to decidedly hot days.
first we had 155 days straight without rain and when it did we got 20mm, thenwe have had 3 weeks of 39o temperatures...... but after all This is "the Alice"
In January they began a cash for cans scheme. The exercise alone that I got from doing this was worthwhile without the pocket money.
But everything has it's down side. We were wandering in the bush near one of the communities when I got my feet caught in a loop of wire, swivelled aroud trying to free myself and fell onto my left hip, breaking the point off it. Cant do anything for it, just has to knit by itself.The doctor says 6 weeks for the pain to stop and 3 months to heal.
I met a man named Howard who had lived in Sydney and worked as a bookeeper, but went blind in the mid eighties,now he sits in his back yard all day and scratches in the dirt with a stick
For some reason I was reminded of a book that my 5th class teacher read to us called "Children Of The Dark People", about 2 abo Kids who get lost and find their way home.
I did a search for the book and found one in Byron Bay (second hand as it has been out of prinf for a very long time)I biought it online and that was instant, but it took 3 weeks for it to reach me by post!
Anyway I have promised him That I will read it to him, then maybe post it on to my sons' children.
Only since being in Alice have I begun to realise the enormity of the problems facing the Australia as a whole with regard to the aboriginies. The government (of whatever persuasion) hands them near $1000 a fortnight "sit down money don't know how to use it and have nothing else to do so they buy grog.
 Picked up cans from one place last after a weekend party. There was 35 empty VB block cartons  which equates to 1050 cans or in money terms $2100.
I would estimate that half of these people are alcoholics, and could go on with many other statistics which all add up to involuntary genocide.