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Chapter 9

 

 

Diana's stopped fiddling about with the technology.

“Before we settle down to enjoy the, hole by hole, replay of this afternoon's game," she says. "We’ll start with your camera and run thought the photos you took of me this morning, to see if any of those poses is too raunchy. I might need to keep those for my collection. The rest will have to go I'm afraid.”

"Oh shit!" I thought she's forgotten it. She’s gone straight to the stolen Olympus. It was under my coat on the chair. If she looks at the content of memory card in that Olympus, she'll discover I stole it. That's reason enough for her to call Security and turn me in, without risk to herself. Those people don't like petty thieves.

I can already hear the sirens in my imagination.  At least jail might save me from Geraldo's stiletto. But I'm not sure which is worse. Big men in prison are said to like handsome boys like me. At least the stiletto will be quick.

She’s taking the xD card out of the Olympus...

Now I’m deep mierda.  The hotel phone is by her hand. Will she call Security?

On the 60-inch TV, larger than life-sized images, of total strangers, appear on the screen. Two men and a woman. But amazingly, they are near the pool at my hotel.

A second woman must be taking the photos. There’s a camera case on the table, and a woman's bag.  

“Who are these strange people?" Diana demands. "Friends of yours? Who’s this, and this? And who's holding the camera?”

Ok, I'll have to make up an excuse: “It’s not actually my camera.” I’m stammering. “I picked it up at the boat place. Someone had lost it. I was going to hand it in today.”

"So, you thought you would give them some bonus photographs of me posing for you?" she smirks. "I don't think so! I think you're a liar, a thief and an attempted blackmailer."

She’s still scrolling forward, through the Olympus owner’s photos, looking for the ones I took of her.

“Wait a minute!" She scrolls back and enlarges the image: "There’s you and Geraldo talking in the background. And here you are again. And he’s got an arm around you, like an old friend." 

“My god! You're telling the truth about that prick!” she declares.

 

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Travel

California and Las Vegas 2025

 

 

 In March 2025 Wendy and I flew from Sydney to Los Angeles (LAX) and caught a shuttle bus, south, to San Diego.

 After a couple of days in San Diego we joined an eleven day cruise to Mexico, aboard Holland America’s ‘Zaandam’. 

You can learn about the cruise and an earlier Mexico trip by following this link: Mexico

On returning to to San Diego, we hired a car to make our way up the coast to: Santa Barbara; San Simeon; and Carmel-by-the-Sea; to San Francisco. 
We then flew to Las Vegas before returing to LA, for a few days before flying home to Sydney.

 

To see my photographs from the California trip follow this link

The text is copied from contemporary postings to my Facebook page

 

To lean more about Hurst Castle follow this link

 

Fiction, Recollections & News

The Secret

 

 

 

Lansing Michigan was a fine place to grow up, she guessed.  It was nice; and safe.

Her dad worked in the Michigan State Government and her mum stayed home. They weren’t rich but they were comfortable. Their new house was big, the nicest they had lived in and it was in a really good area. 

She had never been overseas, unless you count nearby Canada, and that was mainly on trips to Niagara Falls, usually when one of Mum’s sisters came to stay. When they passed through Sarnia, into Canada, Dad would always say "Yea! Overseas again!". It was about his only joke.

Sometimes they went through Detroit. But after what had happened there the last time, she shut that out of her consciousness. No wonder she is timid and takes fright easily. Now if a friend even seemed to be driving in that direction she would go into the foetal position and shut-down.

Read more: The Secret

Opinions and Philosophy

Gone but not forgotten

Gone but not forgotten

 

 

Gough Whitlam has died at the age of 98.

I had an early encounter with him electioneering in western Sydney when he was newly in opposition, soon after he had usurped Cocky (Arthur) Calwell as leader of the Parliamentary Labor Party and was still hated by elements of his own party.

I liked Cocky too.  He'd addressed us at University once, revealing that he hid his considerable intellectual light under a barrel.  He was an able man but in the Labor Party of the day to seem too smart or well spoken (like that bastard Menzies) was believed to be a handicap, hence his 'rough diamond' persona.

Gough was a new breed: smooth, well presented and intellectually arrogant.  He had quite a fight on his hands to gain and retain leadership.  And he used his eventual victory over the Party's 'faceless men' to persuade the Country that he was altogether a new broom. 

It was time for a change not just for the Labor Party but for Australia.

Read more: Gone but not forgotten

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