Day Eleven - 30th April - Wilpena Pound campground '.....of rugged mountain ranges , of droughts and flooding plains'

The first excitement of the day was the arrival of two kangaroos who perused the campsite carefully looking for food, and ended up eating waste paper in a neighbouring campsite: not very nutritious! They were completely unfazed by our presence and looked very much at home - which I guess is appropriate as we are camped in their backyard.

Ewan was keen to show us some of the gravel roads he pedalled around in the Flinders Ranges. He and two hundred other mad cyclists were part of the Outback Odyssey last year.It involved a lot of rough rocky tracks traversing hills and valleys in the Ranges. A guy with a coffee cart followed them around and used Starlink to collect payment in remote parts of the Ranges ( I had to include that as Ewan says he was a lifesaver!)

So we crammed into Graeme's clean white Touareg car and headed for Brachina Gorge which involved lots of rocks, gravel, corrugations and even one puddle! The landscape was constantly changing as we entered the mountain ranges. The shapes of the mountains ranged from soft fold mountains to high jagged peaks stretching for kilometres into the distance. Many of them were deep pink and ochre, but also striped with colours from the earth from ancient periods of time. When I have thought about the Australian bush in the past, I always picture huge gum trees and brown earth. Within these mountains there are huge areas of native pine, and in some areas so thick that they almost look as if they are in plantations.There had clearly been some serious floods at some point as the sides of the mountains and creek beds had been gouged out creating wide flat creekbeds and uprooting trees. They were all completely dry at the moment except for one small pond with bright green reeds. I'm sure there would be spectacular waterfalls to be seen when it does flood! Graeme drove us skilfully over many challenging roads which made us very appreciative of the trials and tribulations that Ewan endured when he was cycling along them! At one of the Lookouts where the description stated we would see 'frolicking yellow-footed rock wallabies' we did see one. Jude's theory is that they get together and create a roster that means one of them goes out and 'frolics' to keep the tourists happy whilst the remainder have a rest! They have beautiful markings and colours very different to other wallabies. Recently when I mentioned to people that I was going to the Flinders Ranges the immediate reaction of a number of friends was " Ýou have to go to the Prairie Hotel at Parachilna". So we had a plan to go there in a couple of days but found ourselves only 30 kms away. An opportune time for us to visit as we needed lunch. So we set off, with fingers crossed, hoping that we could get in ( no phone reception to book!). In the middle of nowhere and kilometres of flat desolate plains a tiny town appeared. The Prairie Hotel is clearly the focal point with cars and people everywhere. A delightful old hotel with a large verandah appeared and with space for us. We started sitting on the verandah until the flies appeared and we decided to move indoors. The local art on the walls , the excellent service and the great food made it a great success. Two of us had kangaroo schnitzel and the others wild boar ragu. And of course, some crispy twice-cooked potatoes with lemon myrtle. Delicious!

We headed down the Outback Highway to return to camp. It was some of the most barren landscape I have ever seen. Flat plains with little or no scrub, rocky terrain and only a few emus, sheep and kangaroos to be seen. With the mountain ranges in the distance they were a stark contrast to the plains.

The good news is that we finally christened the jaffle iron. It's a few years ( make that decades!) since Liz and I had operated a jaffle iron. Graeme provided the perfect coals and we enjoyed a delightful dinner and the warmth of the fire. It's a big walk to St Mary Peak tomorrow and we're getting cold so it's off to bed. your contented correspondent Dianne

Day Ten - Monday 29th April - Wilpena Pound Campground Ikara Flinders NP Getting to know Wilpena.....

After much discussion (very tricky to make a decision with five opinions to consider!) we agreed that we would have a rest day with a short walk to get to know the place.

So I headed off to the laundry. In case you're thinking I spend a disproportionate amount of time in the Laundry, you may be right but changing the sheets seemed a priority given the amount of dirt we constantly trek into the caravan and bed. Anyway we met a woman who had greatly enjoyed our setting up process yesterday, and with smug joy she gave us dire warnings about the dangers of using the washing machine: it would make our clothes streaky with dirt and they would smell etc. etc. I ignored her, used the machine with no dire consequences. Some people love a disaster! It was coffee time so we headed for the small IGA supermarket which also sells coffee. No bread at all!! But very nice coffee and a sit in the sun on their very stylish decking. The entire building was very nicely designed and accommodated the Reception and Information Centre too. Prior to the trip I had looked up the activities available at Wilpena so we were all prepared for a cultural walk, an astronomy tour or something similar. When we consulted the guy at Reception he told us that there was noone available to do a cultural walk or anything else really as they were all in training this week! However there's plenty of walks and lots to see, so not really a big problem. After lunch we headed off to explore the The Old Homestead Walk on the inside of the Wilpena Pound crater to Wangarra Lookout.

Our first encounter was with two small kid goats and then their mother. Cute as they are, they aren't exactly native animals and their feral behaviours are not good for the environment. It was a lovely flat walk with lots of shade, overlooked by ochre rock escarpments and featuring some stunning huge gums with enormous bases, far bigger than any other gums we have seen.

Surprisingly there were some pools of water surrounded by reeds too.

The best part was that we did see some yellow-footed rock wallabies and the western grey kangaroos (at least I think that's right!). We stopped to admire the homestead of the Hill family who were pioneers in the Pound in the mid-1800s. They established wheat farms with varying success over many decades. The information boards included the experiences of Jess Hill, one of the nine Hill children, and a local First Nations woman: very different as you would imagine.

We all made it to the Wangarra Lookout to admire the view of distant mountains, treed slopes and rock escarpments. The boys headed for the next lookout while I dawdled home taking photos and the girls briskly went home in time to buy the very important firewood!! After spending time trying to capture tiny blue wrens I had to give up but the yellow-ringed neck parrots were a bit more cooperative.

The temperature started to fall so chili con carne was greatly appreciated and we thoroughly enjoyed another campfire. While we were contemplating the flames and trying to complete the Age quiz from last weekend there was a bit of a scratching noise and it turned out to be a spotted quoll perusing the campsite for food. None of us had ever seen one before so we were thrilled. They are small creatures with long snouts and a very long tail and covered in very distinctive white spots. Liz snapped a few shots as she was the only one who had thier phone handy so I'll try to put a photo in later. The stars are truly amazing here as there is no ambient light- easy to get a crick in your neck watching them! What a place to be! your relaxed correspondent Dianne

Day Nine - Sunday 28th April - Melrose to Wilpena Pound Resort Campground (Ikara Flinders National Park) Mountain ranges at last!

Our packing up skills are improving every day! There's less hanging around not knowing what to do and a bit more action. Liz and I have completed some more modules to achieve our certificate. One of my tasks is to use a drill to stabilise the legs of the caravan - all very exciting. And today, for the first time I had to do a module on pulling out the awning. No end to the new experiences when you're camping! We set off early headed for Wilpena Pound resort and a four night stay in one place! Hooray!

Our first stop was Alligator Gorge, a truly lovely deep gorge with bright ochre cliffs (Yesterday Ewan was having a chat with a guy who told him about Crocodile Gorge so Ewan was confused!)

Some very nice lookouts so you could appreciate the cliffs, the enormous trees, the native grasstrees and lots of lichen and moss in the cooler spots. The others decided to climb down 252 steep and rocky steps whilst I wandered across to a Gorge Lookout. I could hear them chatting as they descended the steps and then suddenly there was no sound. It took me a while to realise that ascending the steps required a lot of effort so there was no chatting! Then we paused at a springwater (?) tap in Wilmington to replenish our tanks with good quality water.

Next stop was Quorn and after some discussion we headed for the Quandong cafe for lunch. However we did need a few items from the IGA supermarket and I discovered that it was due to close at 2.00pm. Our estimated time for arrival was 1.53pm so Ewan stopped at the front door I jumped out and dashed in and swiftly went up and down aisles grabbing some essentials. There was not a huge range and we were all looking forward to some decent bread. Well..... the only bread on offer was gluten free, frozen Wonder white sliced and one packet of hamburger rolls. Not quite what we had in mind but better than nothing!!! The Quandong cafe was quaint and about to close so it was a very quick bite to eat. We bought some Quandong pies and some Quandong jam so that'll be interesting. It was Sunday so - note to self- next time don't expect anything to be open late in the day. Upon arriving at the Camping ground at Wilpene Pound we entertained a large number of campers already ensconced in their tents and vans as we tried to work out the best way to position the caravans and a tent. It was even more entertaining I'm sure, to see the maneouvring and yelling required to get all of our abodes in place and completely set up. We're better than television I think! There's lots of options for great things to do here so a few days will be fabulous! But the cold has set in so it will be desert temperatures: freezing at night and warm during the days. Lovely! Your well set-up correspondent

Day Eight - Saturday 27th April - Melrose Campground The remarkable Mt. Remarkable

We had one challenge to be overcome today: to climb Mt Remarkable. We knew that it would take about 5 hours and was 16 kms return. We had been looking at the mountain behind us thinking 'Its not that high - we'll be fine'. As with many mountain climbs you soon discover that there is yet another hill, and yet another hill, and yet another hill, all steeper than the last. It was a miracle that we managed to leave the campsite at 10am. By the time clothes were decided upon, people were showered, sunscreen was applied, sandwiches were made, snacks were distributed, clothing was discussed and changed again, water bottles were filled, hats were located, tissues were found and everyone had been to the loo, it was amazing that we left at all! Fortunately it was a balmy day in the mid-20s with a cool breeze: perfect walking conditions.

One of the distinguishing features of this mountain is the large amount of rocks and scree that has slid down the steepest slopes, so there was plenty of rocky paths to negotiate. There I was congratulating myself on buying good walking boots with lots of tread so I didn't slip and slide everywhere, and a guy goes past walking in his Crocs: was he mad??!! It would have been truly remarkable if I had managed to climb Mt Remarkable.....but I didn't. I did half of it and 7 kms took me four hours including rest stops so it wasn't easy going.

The views were fabulous: kilometres of flat plains punctuated by the occasional silo, with the misty blue Flinders Ranges in the distance. Lots of different vegetation including a gully filled with native grasstrees and some magnificent old gums. Although it was difficult to appreciate the vegetation when it really wasn't possible to lift your eyes up of the dirt and rocks too often, or you would be at risk of tumbling down the hill. As I write this I'm sitting at the campsite with a cup of tea and cake, and the others have yet to return. Five hours has been and gone and no sign of them yet. I'm not sure how long I should wait before sending out the alarm. Fingers crossed they return soon! Update: They returned looking exhausted but happy. It was 17.1 kms and took almost seven hours. A few drinks will be appreciated by all I'm sure! Chili con carne for dinner will help fend off the increasing cold but at least there's no wind tonight. So the end of a successful day for some! Your slightly disappointed and weary correspondent Dianne

Day Seven - Friday 26th April - Melrose Campground SA Laundry and rock climbing.....

With great glee we headed off to the showers and emerged smelling sweet and feeling fabulous. We do have a shower in the caravan but figured we might as well avail ourselves of all the amenities. I know it's not fascinating but a trip to the laundry provided much entertainment this morning. We made the acquaintance of the campground owner due to the stupidity of a camp-user who put FOUR times the amount of laundry detergent in one of the two washing machines. The result was so many suds that the washing machine went bananas and he had to extract the suds and the very sudsy clothes from the machine. Suds everywhere! We had a chat about the joys and downfalls of running a Campground. For example he installed 5 fire pits around the area and within two weeks they were stolen. Not good. You always seem to meet interesting people in the laundry. I had a lovely chat with a woman who had an unsuccessful hip replacement but is fronting up for a knee replacement next week! And we shared our experiences of babysitting grandchildren - always fascinating Once we'd taken care of the housework - ie one minute to sweep the caravan floor - we headed off foe the Monument and Nature Trail Walk.

It was a big test for those of us with new walking boots as the paths were very rocky and rough in parts. But an uphill ascent to the Monument commemorating locals lost in the Great War was situated at the top of a steep hill. Apparently they built another one commemorating WW11 on the flats in town as it wasn't possible for many older people to access this cenotaph! Who thought it was a good idea to place it on top of a huge hill I wonder?! We wandered along the Nature Trail admiring the tall gums and the hills and dales.....and providing words of encouragement to some of the mountain bikers pedalling past us! The mountain bike trails are a mass of rocks, ruts, steep curves, sand and rough terrain. In many spots a fall off your bike means rolling down a steep ridge. Not a sport I'm thinking of taking up in the near future. A

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Day Six – Thursday 25th April – Lyrup Flats to Melrose Heading north and finally a campfire!

After enjoying a glorious dawn (why was I up so early I ask?) I made a lovely cup of tea and watched the pelicans swooping over the Murray River looking for their breakfast. Ewan decided to shatter the peace and quiet by hand-grinding the coffee beans selected by Liz (Patricia’s beans for those interested!) Why would hand-grinding coffee be noisy I hear you ask??!! Well the answer is that Ewan has adapted a battery-powered drill to attach to the hand grinder to save the muscle power and time required to grind the beans by hand. Good grief!!! So much for the serenity…. After lots of coffee we were up and on the road early….well relatively early for us! We did our usual search for bakery and coffee for morning tea and found it at Morgan: very impressed with the coffee and custard tarts. Then on to the historic Burra for lunch. My memory was of a town with magnificent stone buildings, wide streets and a lovely atmosphere …..and it didn’t disappoint. It was ANZAC Day so the cenotaph in the centre of town had many colourful wreaths. We wandered around enjoying the architecture and ambience.

Then it was back on the road headed for Melrose - our next step. All that stood in our way was yet more acres of wheat stubble, mallee gums, salt scrub and - for something new - hundreds of wind turbines! They are truly amazing and we were surprised to see so many of them spinning in the distance for hundreds of kilometres. I was concerned that some weren’t turning at all and suggested that they may need some WD40 or similar to get them to run more smoothly. It seemed a perfectly reasonable suggestion to me!!However, Ewan informed me that they deliberately stop some by repositioning them when they don’t require the power. Its very hypnotic watching the slowly turning blades on hundreds of turbines and they were surprisingly entertaining on a long journey. We headed towards the southern end of the Flinders Ranges: a faint blue line in the distance for quite a while. We’re in the very busy Melrose Campground at the base of Mt. Remarkable. As it is the last week of the SA school holidays and a long weekend for Anzac Day the Campground is very busy with lots of families. Part of the attraction is that Melrose is known as the mountain bike centre of SA. That means everyone from 2 year olds to the elderly (but not us!) is dressed in bike gear. In the campground that means lots of small children and teenagers racing along tracks that surround it. Wandering around without looking is not a good idea as you are likely to be knocked over by a small kid on a bike! Unfortunately, Jude and Graeme have issues with the power in their van so Ewan and Graeme spent several hours diagnosing the problem. I would tell you what the problem is but it all sounds like Martian to me! We also have a problem with a disappearing brake light, but not brakes. Ewan is in his element trying to solve any mechanical problem. He and Graeme look very serious and use language the rest of us don't understand. The rest of us have given up trying to look interested and just get on with something we else! The good news is that we finally lit a campfire and toasted marshmallows. We still haven’t christened Liz’s new jaffle iron but that’s something to look forward to. My hands are freezing up again so it's time for warming-up near the campfire, and putting on the thermals before jumping into bed!! Looking forward to another great day ….and a hot shower…tomorrow Your optimistic but slightly grubby correspondent Dianne

Day Four - Tuesday 23rd April - Wyperfeld National Park to Murray-Sunset National Park. Stubble and salt.....and more salt.....and wind!!

Firstly, I have to apologise for the lack of photos – difficult to sort out with limited connectivity. The other weird thing is that my beautiful paragraphs seem to disappear when I publish the Posts. It sort of looks like verbal diarrhea, so sorry it’s so hard to read. I’ll try and work out what’s going on! We all had a warm cozy night’s sleep thanks to various combinations of thermals, socks etc. and a slightly warmer night. As we hadn’t showered for two days it was time to christen the shower in the caravan. It worked beautifully and Ewan watched the amount of water we used - apparently one bucketful was acceptable!! We packed up our abode and we were off, headed to Walpeup for coffee and a few essential items. As we passed through Hopetoun Liz stated that we were not stopping : I think she was experiencing PTSD from the coffee the previous day! Walpeup was full of surprises: no supermarkets or shops to speak of at all, yet another closed primary School, a lovely Pioneer Women’s Garden and a Silo Art that wasn’t in the book!!

The silo was a very vibrant and bright depiction of a young boy soldier from WW1 and his horse. The interesting thing was that it was fenced off as the silos next to it are a working concern. We could see it from the street and appreciated the colours and creativity of the artist. Further up the road we spent some time having a delightful shop in Ouyen. Ewan goes into withdrawal if he doesn’t spend some time browsing a hardware every few days so his eyes lit up when he spotted a large Mitre 10! We feel we have to assess every bakery (and the coffee!) available and the Ouyen Bakery was a big success. Ewan was keen to have a huge creamy apple turnover. Liz and I decided to share a pastie in lieu of the fact that they didn’t sell dim sims (she is seriously addicted to steamed dim sims!) Our other important purchase, apart from yet more diesel, was 15 kgs. of firewood. Liz and I are desperate to christen her new jaffle iron and to have a campfire. In the free camping grounds, you can’t collect firewood nearby so we decided we’d cut to the chase and we’d buy some firewood. So of course, today was almost 30 degrees and there’s a lot of wind and it would be far too dangerous to light a fire! Murphy’s Law! We seem to be on an exploration of lakes that have no water.

Today we saw lots of lakes in the Murray Sunset National Park, and they are all salt pans. Fascinating to see and some of them with a pink bloom due to a very clever algae that manages to survive in water that has 800 times more salt than seawater. At this time of the year they are very hard as the water evaporates in summer. The way the salt hardens creates weird shapes but they reflect the bits of grass and plants that the salt clings to.

There used to be a salt extraction business near where we are camping at Lake Chrosbie. It only closed in the late 70’s but would have been hellish work. During WW11 some Italian POWs were used for labour and lots of itinerant workers were employed from the early 1920’s to dig up the salt and carry 60kgs bags to camels, a purpose-built tram (but only for a couple of years) and eventually trucks etc.

As we walked and drove around them the birdlife was stunning, but we have yet to see any Major Mitchell cockatoos. I’m on a mission to take photos of birds so that Os (aged 5) can identify them in the book of Australia’s birds that he received for Christmas. So far, I have failed miserably as they keep flying away!! I’m hoping for a postcard to buy!! Over the last couple of days, we seem to end up driving at dusk – the perfect time for taking out a kangaroo or two. But, touch wood, we have managed to avoid a few kangaroos and some emus who seem to think it would be a good idea to cross the road just as we get to them!! Currently I am sitting typing this (to be published next time we have connectivity) overlooking Lake Christie.

We have set up Liz’s tent sandwiched between the car and the caravan as the wind is fierce and everything we put down seems to blow away. Ewan is making a wind break to shelter the gas so we can cook dinner. We are likely to enter South Australia tomorrow so, after consulting the guidelines, most of our veggies are going into a stir-fry as we aren’t allowed to take them in. And it will be fruit for dessert!! Another lovely day and we’re adjusting to the great outdoors with all of it’s challenges! Your happy and contented correspondent Dianne

Day Three - Monday 22nd April - Wyperfeld National Park Adjusting to the climate and botanical changes!

Well, it would be fair to say that we froze! Apparently, the temperature dropped to MINUS ONE DEGREE, and it was CHILLY! Tonight, we might be putting on a few extra layers of clothing to combat the cold! We’ve been trying to locate thermals and anything that will help! But the minute the sun comes up it warms quickly and so we’re anticipating 26 degrees later today! Desert temperatures around here. We’re off grid but still have plenty of power thanks to solar panels, the inverter and many pieces of technology which I find completely mystifying. (However Ewan feels that Liz and I should be masters of technology and takes great pleasure in giving us descriptions about every switch and light and power source and charging point and…….enough!) No packing up today so we headed for Patchewollock to negotiate about dog kennels: definitely no phone coverage at Wyperfeld so it was off to the closest town. We’re hoping to do some walking trails around the National Park. It’s certainly easy to identify when you’re in the Park as everywhere else for hundreds of kilometres is just vast acres of wheatfields. At this time of the year it’s just stubble. Every now and then you come across a station with their own silos for storing grain, which explains why the silos used for the Silo Art are no longer in use. And did I say the land was FLAT? Barely a hill in sight! Update: After finalising the care of Snoopy for the next few weeks we set off in just the car, leaving the caravan parked at Casuarina Camping Ground in the north of the Wyperfeld National Park. (For those interested Snoopy is having a lovely holiday at Treetop Kennels in Sunbury) We headed for Wonga Camping Ground to the south purchasing excellent salad rolls and coffee scrolls at the Bow Bakery in Hopetoun. Given the disaster with the coffee purchased elsewhere in Hopetoun the day before, we didn’t buy any. It seems that there are only two sizes of cups in Hopetoun - large and extremely large - so you can barely taste the coffee at all. Mind you the locals seem to love it! You do meet some interesting characters when you travel. In Hopetoun we came across this delightful lady with a pimped-up wheelchair: stickers provided by her grandchildren!

After more acres of wheat stubble, we arrived at the campground and worked out which walking trail to use. We chose the Discovery Track and finished it in less than two hours despite lots of coughing and puffing and panting from Liz and I as neither of us is completely healthy! There were storyboards, every few metres it seemed, with information about plants and animals. We are now officially experts on native pines and there are many around here. We can differentiate between shrub native pines, slender native pines, standard native pines, buloke pines etc etc. Ask us any time you want to know!!

While the storyboards are a great idea 90% of them showed photos of beautiful flowers which we couldn’t see, followed by the statement “flowers in late winter and early spring” which is very annoying when we are in autumn. However, we did mange to find a few flowers and a very odd bush fruit……without a description of course!

The other mystery is that the maps contain a number of Lakes, none of which have water at all, and may not have had water since the inland sea many moons ago! To be fair we did find one patch of mud! But then the big excitement of the day! We decided to go home via a 4WD track for 40 kilometres. We did read the warnings about sand and difficult terrain, but Liz and I had absolute confidence that Ewan and the Pajero could get us through. It was a fairly hairy experience: lots of hills, corrugations and huge drifts of sand which Ewan skillfully managed until…… We all went OH! when we saw a huge steep hill of deep sand before us. After each attempt Ewan changed the settings on the car (too technical for me!) but we kept looking as if we may get bogged. So we decided to retreat with dignity! It appeared that many others had done the same as there was a well-used space suitable for U-turns on the side of the track! So, we had achieved 20 kms of the 40 km track but had to turn back and go the long way, which made it a VERY long way! Fortunately, there was a stunning sunset to light our way so all was not lost! We arrived back at the caravan to find one of my thongs and our rubbish bin missing. A bit of wandering around located them although an animal had found my thong and chewed it! A pity! Tonight, we have multiple layers of thermals, jumpers, socks to contend with the cold so let’s hope we stay warm!! Your optimistic correspondent Dianne

Day Two – Sunday 21st April – Warracknabeal to Wyperfeld National Park......silos, coffee and the cold

Fortunately, we managed to pack up far more quickly than setting up so after hot showers and breakfast we headed off in a north westerly direction. Or that’s what Ewan told us as Liz and I seem to get very confused about where we were headed. We wanted to tick off a few more of the Silo Art experiences so we headed to:

Brim: silo art and met other grey nomads from Geelong who have a daughter who is a GP there. The joy was interrupted by news that Snoopy was misbehaving madly at Helen and Rod’s house and needed to be removed ASAP. Anyway, to cut a long story short she is being shipped off to Boarding kennels tomorrow after a short stay at Erin and Michael’s place. Very tricky to organize as, of course, phone connection ceases outside of small towns. Roseberry: two horsepersons painted by graffiti artist Kaff-eine. Hopetoun: the lowlight was the quality of the coffee which we had to throw away it was so bad but the highlight was Lake Lascelles with very tempting lakeside camping spots Lascelles: Rone’s artwork of older local residents

Womelang has art pieces of local birds painted by different artists on small water and grain tanks spread around town and a small lake. Collages made from metal depicted many of the local places including the general store which we had to visit. I was very taken with it last time as it sold EVERYTHING! It was , and still is, the Post office News agency, Bank, and sold hardware, stationery, books, groceries , deli food, take away food, plants and even electrical appliances! Sadly it no longer sold op shop clothes and second hand books, but was still fascinating. Patchewollock: Following the Guide we were advised to look out for the silo art and the mallee fowl at Patchewollock.

The silo art was easy to locate in a very small town (popn. 80). After chatting to some other grey nomads we decided to check out the largest institution in town : the pub (closed of course!). Through the trees we caught site of two huge metal Mallee fowls with a board saying ‘The Big Mallee Fowl’. Take that Big Banana!! Finally we headed down the roads -ever decreasing in size and smoothness - roads until we hit the bumpy dirt tracks of the Wyperfeld National Park. With only one other campsite occupied, the quiet and beauty of the stars was beautiful. We also managed, with tuition from Ewan, to set up camp on flat ground in record time (well it had to be quicker than the previous night!!) With an expected temperature of 3 degrees my hands are getting too cold to type so I’m off to bed! Your frozen correspondent Dianne