A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away…….
Actually it was not that long ago, and depending on where you are standing far far away is a relative term.
I won’t get into any technical jargon this early in this update. I feel it is my duty to not only not bore you but to educate you as-well.
Nothing like not not using a double negative in a sentence.... NOT!!!
I Wrote a LONG Story and Lost it all. (to say that I was a little upset is beyond me)
So here’s is a short version. I can’t be bothered to write it again.

I have forced leave over December and Wonder Woman as per usual is working (I think I'm being done in here)
Over new year’s we (I) decided to go on a little outback tour.
THEGIT (that me), Spiderpig, and Trenticles. In the Suzuki (flappy paddles)……… Camping……. In the outback.
The planning portion went well…… I sat on the couch and asked the boys where they wanted to go, they looked up from their devices and shrugged and said… “the outback mate”
Their answer was not exactly inspiring….
Was I getting a taste of my own medicine?
Is this a sign of things to come?
What does my future hold?
These are the questions parents ask themselves when attempting to communicate with children attached to battery powered smart devices.
So I decided to try a different tack.
Attempt 2: Open google earth zoom onto Australia and try again.
It would seem shifting focus from device to device is easier than engaging with humans. Trenticles points to a spot in the middle of the Island close to Alice Springs and mumbles.
“That looks cool”, his eyes cloud over, his head drops back to his cell phone and I’ve lost him again. MAN I was so close.
Spiderpig is gonners, he will only come out of his room on four conditions, the internet is down, there is no power, he needs to eat or needs to “slat ‘n monstor kak”.
“Looks Cool” is not a place the Suzuki can get too, “looks cool” is also about 4000km in one direction.
“Let’s try some other place?” I fruitlessly suggest to the top of Trenticles’s head…..
Sorry for you pal… I’m on my own. All their attention is lost and the best answer I can get from here on is “the outback”
And So we travelled, 2000km onto the edge of the outback.
The conversation on the trip was like rapid machine gun fire. Short blasts of noise, followed by, silence, the ticking of a cooling barrel and Christmas beetles.
The kids took their turns sleeping, looking bored and eating. I passed the time thinking of lots of topics to talk about including how difficult it must be to be Dr Spok and to be a cling-on.
We engaged in short fire yet gripping conversations about Life, Girls, Cartoons, School, Sport and what the future holds for us (them really).
A road trip with kids is great fun and causes one to leave behind Adult issues and look at life from a kids point of view. It really is great.
Except for the part where you have to drive and they get to sleep. In the 2000km that we covered the terrain changed about 3 times. As we left the city it was like the natal midlands with rolling hills and green grass plains, then into the free state where it’s so flat you can see until next Tuesday, after that it changed to the Karoo, the biggest difference is the size, its BIG, the grass plains go forever.
If you were to drive to Cape Town from Musina you will get a different view every 100 or so km. Here on the island you are not so lucky. I think that’s why the Aussies have a jittery eye when they start talking about the outback.
The Route was Melbourne, Mildura, Broken Hill, Wilcannia, Hay, Melbourne.
I don’t know where the saying ‘one horse town’ comes from but if you have never seen one come to the island and I can show you lots of them.
You can stand on one end of the town and see the other.
Below is a Google Street view of a typical town that we passed through. That’s the town………
https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-35.6087149,142.5795411,3a,75y,92.51h,80.28t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1syf3TOV1oIRkOTw25_ZTfjA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656Now go back and have a look at how much beer is outside the bar.
WHATTTTT………them outbackers can chuck a schooner back better than a student at a 21st with an open bar.
“If the ocean was whiskey, and I was a duck, I’d swim to the bottom and drink it all up.” 
At this point, I would like to go off topic a touch here.
**** this is like a thread hijack but that requires another willing participant, not its not really ****
This serves a triple purpose,
1. To give you a break from the outback,
2. To build a back story for my next section
3. And to keep some sort of consistency with the rest of the letters that I write.
Unlike JK Rowling I’m not going to write an entire chapter about Huffelpuff, Quiddich, Herminie Granger (hotty), Ginny or some Snowy owl called fishbreath.
I’m just building some context so that you can almost believe the rubbish you are reading.
More to Follow,,,,,,