MONDAY 25 MAY     TOWNSVILLE

John was up early to take Truck to the Landrover place, not long after it opened. I pottered about and read, trying not to think of what this might cost us! John came back with Truck much sooner than I had expected. It needed tropical weight oil in the gearbox, not the cold weather oil of down south! That was all. No charge, except for the oil. What a relief!

Now that we still have wheels, I phoned and made a doctor’s appointment for midday – she has the same name as me. I want to get checked out because I’ve been getting really tight feelings in the chest, over the past couple of months.

John commenced some bread making and left it to rise while we went to the nearby medical centre.

The doctor was very thorough. She thinks the upper chest discomfort and tightness  is muscular, associated with the larynx spasms I’ve had, periodically, since a thyroid operation in late 1996. I thought it might have been stress related, from becoming uncomfortable with towing, and John’s tension when doing so. She did an ECG to be on the safe side – it showed no irregularities at all. That also was a relief. She sent me on to a pathology centre to have blood taken for a check of the thyroid function, when she heard that I only have a half one. I will not get the results until Wednesday, so have to be here in Townsville until at least Thursday.

John was very gleeful that it was me having blood extracted, for once. The pathology person was more skilled than some I have encountered, and extracted the blood with no dramas.

Back at camp, he cooked the bread and we ate some for a late lunch. At Airlie Beach I’d been able to buy soy flour to use in it, as the recipe dictates. It was good.

Drove to the Botanic Gardens and did a short walk.

John wanted to call in at the Jubilee Bowls Club, where he was able to book in for a game tomorrow.

We drove out the Charters Towers road for a way, just to look, and saw a sign to Mt Stuart – 9kms. It was a narrow, sealed road, to the top of a mountain behind Townsville, with many TV and communications antennas and structures on it, and a nice Rotary Lookout. It was a similar view to last night’s at dusk, but a different perspective, and much higher. We could see a big dam out the back – the Ross River Dam. Looks like a huge body of water.

It was dark by the time we got down the bottom of the mountain. There was a steady stream of semis setting off along the road to the west.

The park office was still open, so I saw the lady about staying on. She said we could only stay on our site until Thursday morning, because it is booked after that. So that decided it – we are leaving here Thursday. I was a bit peeved – they are hardly full here – I thought she could have offered to juggle sites around, to keep us on. Just a hireling with little initiative, I guess.

John wanted bacon, eggs and bread for tea. I had some bacon and the spinach left from last night – a nice, light meal.

Tried to phone the offspring. Got K on the radphone, and started to instruct him to send mail to Mission Beach. I am expecting some share material that will need reply to a deadline. Lost the link, so phoned him on the public phone. Left message on V’s answering machine. R was constantly engaged.

Watched some TV. Went to bed about 9.30pm. It has been a day of good news!