SATURDAY 13 JUNE     TOWNSVILLE

My brother was turning 60 today. Didn’t know if he would be all that cheerful about the milestone.

It was a beautiful morning. Townsville was getting daytime temperatures in the mid to high 20’s. That’s more like a proper winter holiday! Last night, we hardly needed the doona – and the bedsocks had been put away again.

I was up early, John later.

After breakfast, I walked to the Castletown shopping complex, further along Woolcock Street, but in the same block as the park – a very large block it was. I bought the weekend papers, milk, a new mascara. But my best and most essential purchase was a detailed street directory of Townsville! I browsed in a big bookshop. Wandering around the shops on my own, with no pressure to hurry, was delightful.

When I eventually returned to the van, it was to find that John had phoned a bowls club and put both our names down for a game this afternoon. Then he decided that I wouldn’t be back in time and phoned them again, to take my name off the list. Good – very good.

He went off to the North Ward Bowls Club, over near the Strand and the beach. I silently wished him luck trying to find his way there.

I read the papers and did some computing. I had been trying to record this trip as a blog, on a free site, but had found the program difficult, and hadn’t been able to incorporate photos into it. I wasn’t sure whether to persevere, or perhaps try to get a site designed for me. It was really frustrating, because I had intended to post about this trip, as we went.

John got back about 6pm. His afternoon, and game, had been “alright”.

Fish and salad dinner. Watched TV – football.