Snap and Scribble

Yesterday was a public holiday here – Darwin Show day. Maningrida’s a long way from Darwin and i didn’t expect it to be a holiday here, but it is. I spent most of the day sorting out my stuff, which finally arrived on the barge on Monday.

For most of the week, my house has been cluttered with things all over the place, as i’ve unpacked them from the boxes and tried to sort them out. It’s almost done now and i can move around again! It’s nice to have some decent pots and pans etc, after making do for the last 5 weeks. … Read more »

Tags: Life by will
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I went for a bicycle ride this afternoon – which is quite hard work in Maningrida. For a start, you have to carry a stick – to deter the dogs from attacking you as you cycle past. This place is overrun with dogs. Most of them aren’t a problem, but some of them tend to attack pedestrians, bicycles and even cars. It’s a major pain in the arse, and a bit of a deterrent to walking around as much as i’d like to.

My stuff finally arrived on Monday though, so i’ve got my bike now. And because it would be really silly to cycle around here without a stick, i’ve got one of those too! I’m not too worried about being attacked by dogs when i’m walking – i’m fairly confident i can intimidate them with my body language enough to stop them going me. But on a bike it’s a whole different matter and you risk not just having a nasty accident, but having a nasty accident and then being attacked by a vicious dog as you bite the dust! … Read more »

Tags: Travel and Places by will
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In the mornings, while i’m having breakfast, i listen to the radio – the Darwin ABC station, which is relayed here in Maningrida. And every morning they’re whingeing about how cold it is!

Admittedly, it is cold. It’s the cool season, after all. But it’s not that cold! It’s been about 16° in Darwin at about 7am – like it has here. Which feels pretty damn nippy, i can tell you. But it’s not really. Not compared to what it’s like down south right now, anyway! … Read more »

Tags: Travel and Places by will
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I’m almost at the end of my second week in Maningrida – and it’s flown by surprisingly quickly. This week at work went just as fast as last week – no sooner had it started than it was over. I’m starting to get a feel for the job now – to kind of see the outline of it, like you might see a person coming towards you in pitch darkness.

And i’ve made a start on a vegetable garden at home. Over the last week i’ve planted a few seeds in a couple of bodgily improvised seed trays (made from takeaway containers). Some of those were seeds i bought at Rapid Creek market on the Sunday morning before i flew into Maningrida. But i discovered the Outdoor Centre – a camping and tool shop here – also sells packets of Eden seeds. They’re a lot cheaper than the ones i bought in Darwin, too – weirdly. So i bought a few packets there as well. … Read more »

Tags: Travel and Places by will
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The title of this post reminds me of some weirdarse pothead i used to know in far north Queensland many years ago. He changed his name by deed poll to “Prohibition End” – so when he went to court the usher would have to call out “End, Prohibition”. I think this was the same fruitloop who later changed his name again to “Beautiful All” – so the usher would have to call “All, Beautiful”! And i won’t mention the group of Brisbane weirdos who all changed their surnames to “Freemarijuana”!

Anyway, this blog post’s got nothing to do with any of them – and even less to do with marijuana, i’m pleased to say… … Read more »

Tags: Travel and Places by will
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