SATURDAY 17 – TUESDAY 20 MAY     ADELS GROVE

Four days of work as usual, alternating jobs: twice on tents/amenities, twice on shop/reception.

Cook and daughter decided that they would leave, next weekend. They said they were finding it too “lonely” here, as single women. Contrary to the impression that some people seem to have, the outback is not full of single, eligible men! I suspected that it had also become clear that the cooking job was becoming more demanding, as the numbers slowly built.

H would become the cook. It would be interesting to see how that worked out – she seemed to be a person of quite firm opinions about how things should be done.

John’s daughter phoned him, one night. Staff were allowed to make – and receive – calls, after about 7.30pm at night, within reason, on the fax-phone in the office.