Is that all there is....?

August 19, 2025

Is that all there is....?

I arrived in Blighty on the afternoon of Saturday 9th of August. Frankly it could have been any time. I felt like I'd been stretched over numerous time zone and then snapped back when we landed at Heathrow (cf,. Brian Aldiss: Man in His Time.)

It has taken me more than a week to rephase my existence. The psychological impact was immediate - total disorientation, and a sense of being semi attached still to Australia. I'm still vividly dreaming of the boat, strange zodiac trips and even stranger passengers.

The physical effect crept up on me. The cumulative impact of long, l..o..n..g flights, bumpy zodiacs trips and some time with Rod in the car had messed up my back. Pains in the legs, tingling feet and discomfiture sleeping were the results. Only now - after resuming my back strengthening routine - has my back and associated pains calmed down. The change in air pressure (up and down) has messed up my sinuses but they too have finally settled down.

Young people seem to fob off long journeys by train and boat and plane - not this Baby Boomer.

Another side effect of the Australia experience is that my taste in what is acceptable has changed. 10 days of considerable luxury on Seabourn's Pursuit has had a noticeable effect on me. This lunch time I met my old friend Roger at the National Gallery, Trafalger Square and we went for lunch.

There's a fairly pricey restaurant in the Gallery, which in the past I would have dismissed out of hand. Not this lunch time. I immediately felt at home as the waitress handed me the overpriced menu and wine list.Fond memories of the Restuarant aboard Pursuit flooded back as I ordered an anchovy and Parmesan summer salad and a steak (rare) and chips to go with a small glass of Pinot Gris -there was no Australian Chardonnay on offer.

The bill was reassuringly expensive.

The bloody everyday keeps butting in. It's that time of year for...the house alarm system and the gas boiler to be serviced along with the chimney to be swept - booked all three today. Registering for my distance learning university course has been a journey into hell - Kafka's "the Castle" writ large. I'm continuing my astronomy course but am switching to another award which means I have to re-register, except when trying to do that I was told the university had no record of my existence. After many attempts at trying to untangle that mystery online and with the course tutor a fellow human being in the shape of a university admissions advisor sorted me out. The course tutor had given the admissions people my wrong Christian name. Good luck with him naming new stars or comets.

The everyday is more and more barging in on my Australian adventure, pushing it further and further down the time tunnel, but....I still remember, and I have the fotos to prove it. I went to Australia and survived! Which is more than can be said for many an English cricket teams....