On  Tuesday, July 19, 2005 12:52 AM, Michael wrote:

> >I'll now start putting my "thinking" cap on and begin looking at options
> for - if that's OK? - late October/early November 2006?  It'd be great to
> see you all again - and to meet Kuty at long last ... if he's up to a trip
> to the land of beer, birds and burgers?  :-))))<

> You mean steak sandwiches? Kuty loves his meat. And I rather like beer and
> birds.

G'Day, Michael!  As for the birds, we've got a new puppy called Oggie.
He's, (and believe me, I really hesitate to say this) a labradoodle: a
hybrid between labrador and big poodles that's apparently becoming the pet
du jour in OZ!  However, Oggie, (named after the traditional dish served by
my Cornish grandmother of a Tiddie Oggie, and the battle cry of the Royal
Navy's Devonport Field Gun Crew.) is proving a great way to meet women!
(Rental charges on application.)  :-)

> But October? I was thinking February or so. That's my plan at least. If
> there's no NEDFest then, I'd really like to do Jervis Bay around that
time.

February's still in the cyclone, (and wet) season for Far north Queensland
and the Great Barrier Reef, so Jervis bay is the better bet.  However -
because there are few boats there, and those that there are tend to be fully
booked - it's best to get in early.  The best boat, ( to my way of thinking)
is Ocean Trek that offers Fri- Sun trips.  As liveaboards go, it's far
removed from luxury, but it's one of my all-time favourite vessels.  It
used - in a previous incarnation - to be the Tropic Queen running out of
Cairns, and the boat chatered by Lee Marvin each year when he used to come
to OZ for the Marlin fishing.

> Seems like a good time to do that without lugging the drysuit around. And
> I'm sure you can point me to the relevant people to talk about that.

Let me know the dates and I'll start teeing something up!  :-)

(And I don't care if you don't care for smilies!)  :-)))

Strike