Tag Archives: Darwin

The 2002 Bali Bombings | My experience and my memories

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This post is not like my regular food posts. Today I’m recalling the memories and experiences from ten years ago. This post is by no means a complete recollection, I don’t want to bore you with minutiæ, it may not even be the highlights, it’s more likely the things that come to mind as I write. I’ve decided against including clinical images. I realise most readers of this blog prefer to see food rather than burnt and traumatised human flesh.

Saturday night 12 October 2002

I attended a dinner meeting of the then Australasian College of Health Service Executives (now the Australasian College of Health Service Management). It was a good night, I spent time with my friend and colleague, Dr Len Notaras plus many others. [That had been a good year. On 20 May, I accepted Len’s encouragement to act as the General Manager for the Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) while maintaining my role as Supervising Pathologist and Director of Pathology for the Northern Territory Government. ] That night in Kuta, Australians, other foreign nationals and the local people of Bali and Indonesia were enjoying a night out. Map http://goo.gl/maps/ZHdGP


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While we slept in Darwin bombs exploded in Kuta. In the end it’s thought 202 people died and another 209 people were significantly injured.

Sunday 13 October 2002

That morning the news services reported on the bombings. There was not a lot of information about the health needs for the people injured. A young man who was slightly injured managed to catch a flight from Bali to Darwin and he presented to the Emergency Department at RDH. He provided the first insight for us on what happened. Later in the morning I was receiving telephone calls that we needed to meet at the hospital because Darwin may be used as an entry point for the survivors who needed acute critical care.

Dr Len Notaras was meeting with Clare Martin, the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory who was in communication with the then Prime Minister of Australia, Hon. John Howard. Len provided reassurance to the CM and the PM that patients could be brought to Darwin and we would look after them.

At Richmond, RAAF flight crew were departing in a C-130 to pick up some of our doctors and assess the situation in Bali. The initial thinking was there would be a scoop and run operation of walking wounded. The early information was vague and inaccurate. We had a general surgeon (Dr David Read) and an anæsthetist (Dr Sue Winter) take satellite telephones with them from the RDH. These two doctors were reservists and full time staff specialists at RDH. With our RDH telecommunications we were able to collect raw information from the field. Such information proved invaluable and much more accurate when compared to information from official sources.

In the early afternoon the hospital executive including senior clinical leaders met to discuss how we would manage patients being flown across. We didn’t know how many patients nor what condition they would be in. We called in a lot of staff, being careful not to call in the entire staff knowing this would be a multi-day campaign and we were conscious of fatigue. Many clinicians, pathology scientists, professional officers, administrative and general duties staff volunteered to help. I have memories of garden staff coming in to move equipment and patients as we decanted patients and equipment around the hospital, to the collocated Darwin Private Hospital and to home.

The RDH Boardroom which acted as our command and control centre. It’s not like the modern day room we have in DoHA.

We agreed to decant the two general surgical wards on the second floor, we got all the patients in the hospital in the know and many agreed to go home or somewhere else. We decanted the less sick patients who needed to stay to an old vacant cafeteria area. Some patients we had to force to stay, they wanted to leave to allow their place to be taken by a bombing victim. By the end we had discharged 100 patients to make room and to free up staff.

We moved high dependency patients to the co-located Darwin Private Hospital. We were lucky, we only had one patient in our Intensive Care Unit. We were lucky, Darwin was hosting a meeting of anæsthetists that weekend. We were lucky we had a reasonable amount of time to prepare.

Like any other hospital, despite making bed space available, we still had patients presenting to the ED to be seen. I recall one of my pathology staff fell from his bicycle and needed attention in the ED at the time. A young girl swallowed a fish that went down the wrong way and ended in her airway. She needed urgent attention while the ED went about quietly and calmly preparing.

By the evening we had the second floor clear, the medical wards had also reduced their patient numbers, the ICU had a single patient and we had kitchen and support staff in to keep the hospital going.

Throughout the night we received calls from Dr David Read and Dr Sue Winter who had flown to Bali with the RAAF. We were on the telephone with DFAT and other agencies. The then NT Minister for Health came through at 2100 ACST and she did a walk through with Len and me. We knew in the early morning the first flight would come in and then over about six hours we would receive all the patients. We knew some patients were also being flown to Perth. It was spooky walking through the empty surgical wards of a silent hospital.

During the evening a burns and critical care team from Adelaide arrived to assist. The team from the Royal Adelaide Hospital worked seamlessly with our staff. We had local General Practitioners volunteering to help.

It became known across Australia what we were preparing for and over the next thirty-six hours what we were doing. The news spread across the world. Within Australia, Australians were calling us and sending us food. One lady from Adelaide sent up a heap of pies by an overnight courier. Another lady rang a local Darwin pizza shop and sent pizzas.

In the weeks following I received letters from school kids from around the world. A bloke in Texas sent me hundreds of US dollars in notes and coins in an envelope.

Over the Monday morning and early afternoon, four flights of RAAF C-130 Hercules flew in and brought patients to us with burns, trauma and high speed shrapnel and blast injuries. I remember the smell of the patients, the burnt flesh. I remember how they looked, the most severely burnt patient had no ears, lips or nose. I thought one patient who was being wheeled in in front of me was dead. Then his arm moved and I knew he was alive. He did not survive. I was in the ICU before he died. His bed was gushing with fluid that was coming away from him. We later learnt he wasn’t Australian, he was Greek. Our ICU team were able to make contact with his family in Greece. They were told in his last hours a hospital chaplain held his hand, spoke, sang and prayed with him as he died.

If you’re medically or nursing qualified, the most fascinating and invigorating and spirit enhancing thing was watching specialist physicians, surgeons and their trainees along with other medical practitioners and registered nurses working together. I mean truly working together. The traditional medical referral system was halted for a day or so. Surgeons worked their science and art wherever they could. Debridement and fasciotomies were being performed in wards, corridors and operating theatres. Physicians were working as metabolic teams. They didn’t know their patients, there was no time and many of them were too sick for a relationship with their doctor. We enlisted medical students to ferry pathology results and assist in other very useful ways. The pathology and radiology areas were run ragged. I made time to visit Building 13, my building, the Pathology Department at RDH. My close colleagues in the laboratory, my friends were working frantically. Results were needed by physicians to stabilise and resuscitate patients. Over the days my speciality interest in Clinical Microbiology was needed. The hospital in Bali did a great job but they ran out of supplies and equipment early. To keep cool and to find relief, many patients before the burns took over were conscious enough to cool themselves with water from wherever they could find it. The water wasn’t always clean. Some patients were sitting in water. Bali is replete with multi-antimicrobial resistant bacteria. The patients’ burn wounds were being infected before they left Bali. We spread multi-drug resistant bacteria around Australia as we transferred patients around the country. We had introduced an infection control nightmare. I struggled to stay on top of that plus everything else. Fortunately Darwin has the highest concentration of infectious diseases experts in the universe.

After all the patients arrived, the job was to assess, resuscitate and for the burns patients transport to a burns unit in another state.

With colleagues in DoHA in Canberra and the connections we had with the ADF, senior clinicians from RDH arranged for a milk run around Australia to transport burns and some trauma patients around the country. We did our best to place patients in their home state or territory. That couldn’t always happen. Their clinical needs were paramount. Some patients managed to get direct flights into Brisbane and Adelaide via other aeromedical evacuation (AME) services. I recall with some happiness seeing the Brisbane team arrive and recognising a senior staff specialist from the Princess Alexandra Hospital come and retrieve a couple of patients.

I can remember so many inspiring stories from the days and weeks afterwards. We had visiting dignitaries from within and without Australia. We received updates from burns bosses in the other Australian centres about the patients we shared, those summaries were shared with staff so they knew the destiny and outcome of the patients they got to know briefly but intimately. The cooperation amongst the burns units around Australia was great. There was a lot of information sharing between everyone.

It was about that time I applied to become the permanent General Manager of the Royal Darwin Hospital. I remember the disappointment of being turned down. May to December of 2002 was the most meaningful period of my career. I’ve done lots of other things and done things I’m proud of. The proudest career moments though for me were sharing time with everyone from Royal Darwin Hospital. Working with the best hospital staff anywhere on earth. I’m conscious that most people think their workplace, especially if it’s a hospital thinks where they work or where they trained is the best. I just know what I know and I’m happy with that thought to last me forever.

Since then the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre has been established. I was there when it began and now I work in the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing and part of my job is the administration of the funding agreement associated with the NCCTRC. I work with my friend and colleague Dr Len Notaras, AM just like I did when I was in Darwin. The icing on the cake has been the contract between the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane and the NCCTRC. I did the bulk of my medical and specialty training at PAH. It is fantastic to see them working together. RDH and PAH are my two favourite hospitals, the hospitals that built my career, the hospitals that made me the person I am, it is such a good feeling knowing they have a working relationship around trauma.

Last weekend from Thursday evening to Saturday evening I found myself in Darwin for the NCCTRC’s war and disaster conference. I had the best time. We had a dinner with Hon. John Howard, OM AC speaking about the Australian Government’s experience at the time of the first Bali bombings. The new Chief Minister Hon. Terry Mills spoke too. Kamahl was there too to entertain us. Len Notaras’s wife, Robyn Cahill also sang at the dinner. On the Friday we had a clinical symposium for the RDH and visiting PAH clinicians as well as some special guests like Dr Mark Little from Cairns Base Hospital. He spoke about the evacuation of the Cairns Base Hospital for Tropical Cyclone Yasi. On the Saturday we had a Clinical Conference which I spoke at. I also did some media. Here is a short clip of an interview. I’ve been told other aspects of what I said were reported elsewhere http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-04/bali-bombings-doctors-warn-on-disaster-response/4295686?section=nt

Back to ten years ago. Move the clock forward four weeks and we had a barbecue. There was some criticism given the nature of most of the wounds were burns. We thought about it and agreed that the best way to thank the entire hospital was to hold an event revolving around food and letting everyone have some down time. A barbecue was still the best option.  So in mid-November, Len and I and others from within the NT health bureaucracy arranged a huge staff barbecue. I cooked meat and happily fed the hungry. I remember Rodney, one of our groundsmen coming back four times. I remember that night arranging for platters to be delivered and for Len and I to walk through every ward and to speak with and share food with everyone on night duty.

The staff barbecue. I cooked lots of meat.

Move the clock forward a year and some of us were included in the special Bali bombing investiture. I thought long and hard about it. Was I worthy. I wasn’t sure. I decided to agree to accept membership of the Order of Australia. Afterwards there was criticism. How did people get chosen? Why only so few? I queried whether I should relinquish my membership. I spoke with people close to me and I was reminded by so many that I represented the hospital, the people of RDH. Whenever I look at the lapel pin in my jacket or sign my name with the post nomials, I think of the victims and I think of the people at RDH. I try not to always think of the same person but to think about everyone I can remember from that time.

Move the clock forward ten years and what have we done? We have the NCCTRC. We have the Office of Health Protection. We have the National Incident Room which I manage. We have national health emergency preparedness plans for mass trauma and other events. We have evolved. We have grown.

Inside the Aileen Plant National Incident Room.

Importantly the relationship between Australia and Indonesia has grown significantly. The relationship between Darwin and Bali has blossomed. The relationship between RDH/NCCTRC and Sanglah Hospital is fraternal and now involves regular staff exchanges. The relationship between the people of Bali and Australia has become intimate in so many ways. Whatever the motivation was for those responsible for the bombings on 12 October 2002, the result has been a development of preparedness and response from the health sector and a closer bond between the peoples of two countries and two cultures.

Gary

Some extra reading

War and Disaster

Bali Honours List Below the list of the individuals honoured by Australia for their contributions in the response to the October 12, 2002, tragedy in Kuta, Bali.

In Honour of Some Heroes of this War (please read to acknowledge them as many have not)

The Darwin Hospital miracle

Full list: Bali honours

Sanglah General Hospital http://sanglahhospitalbali.com/v1/index.php

Map http://goo.gl/maps/dLw9v


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Back in Canberra

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I got back to Canberra last night after a weekend in Darwin. After a sleep in I went for a walk and then to lunch with Bron.

Click on the images for high resolution versions.

On my walk I said hello to Mr Owl

On my walk I went past Weber’s circus

For lunch Bron and I went to Ricardo’s Cafe.

I had a really nice caramel thick shake. Sadly it didn’t agree with my IBS.

I had a Wagyu cheese burger. Sadly a part of an upper left molar broke off while eating it. The burger was delicious.

After the burger I had a pineapple. This was made with meringue and pineapple marshmallow.

This is the inside of the pineapple.

For dinner I had a light meal of salmon.

Salmon with mashed potato made with blue cheese plus asparagus and broccolini.

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A weekend in Darwin

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A weekend in Darwin

I travelled to Darwin on Wednesday for meetings on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. On Wednesday afternoon when I arrived I was interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Commission’s (ABC) Mick Coggan on my memories from ten years ago and what has happened in my career since then. This Friday, 12 October, we will remember the people killed and the people injured after terrorists detonated bombs in Bali. I hope on Friday I will blog about my memories from 10 years ago.

The interview was aired on television and radio over the Thursday and Friday morning. I also did a live radio interview with Pete Davies from Darwin Mix 104.9 radio station.

I’ve not seen nor listened to any of the recordings. I’ve been told by work mates, my parents and friends on Twitter that I came across okay.

On the Thursday I co-chaired a national governments meeting which went well. It was held at the Royal Darwin Hospital. My old hospital from 1996 to 2007. Whenever I visit the RDH I soak in the atmosphere and the changes. I love that hospital.

I was also in Darwin for the War and Disaster 2012 conference. The meeting consisted of a dinner on Thursday night, a clinical teaching symposium on Friday and a clinical conference on Saturday. On the Saturday afternoon a public forum had also been planned. I attended all the functions.

On the Wednesday evening however, I took my work colleagues to the Hanuman restaurant in Mitchell Street. This is a famous restaurant in Darwin known for its fusion of Thai, Indian and Chinese cuisines. Its signature dish is the Hanuman oysters. I suggested we enjoy the oysters, Pandang chicken, red curry duck, a whole fish and some Chinese pork belly. My colleagues and I really enjoyed the meal. The lighting in the restaurant is not conducive to photography with an iPhone so I have not posted any high quality images here (just a poor image of the oysters and the fish). The oysters are always good. They are done in a multi-welled terracotta dish with little terracotta lids over each well. The oysters are steamed in lime, lemon grass and coriander. If you ever venture to Darwin and dine at the Hanuman I will always recommend the Hanuman oysters.

Hanuman oysters

This was the fish after we had finished. Yes I ate the eyes. I did it discretely to not upset my work mates.

The Thursday dinner was held in the Darwin Convention Centre (if you use iOS6 Apple maps will send you to the wrong place) in the Darwin Waterfront Precinct. We enjoyed speeches by the new Chief Minister, Mr Terry Mills and former Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, OM AC. We were entertained by Kamahl. My friend Robyn Cahill also sang. Previously at a RDH review Robyn coaxed me and some other senior clinicians onto a stage to do YMCA. Unfortunately photographs recently surfaced. I will not be posting them here. If you’re curious I was the Native American.

The dinner itself was very good. We enjoyed a mixed cold entrée of salmon, chicken and beef. For a main meal I was fortunate enough to enjoy an incredibly well cooked rib eye fillet steak. Dessert was a mix of small and light pastries which were delightful. By the end I was hanging out for a cup of tea.

On Friday the clinical symposium was held at the RDH in the auditorium. I hadn’t been in there for years. I had forgotten the place had virtually no 3G signal. I was without communication with the office which wasn’t good. The symposium itself was excellent. I learnt so much. It was good to be immersed in a clinical milieu. I felt at home not only because I was in Darwin at RDH but because I was sitting amongst clinicians. I understood what was being put up on the screen. I didn’t doubt myself and have to question myself like I do when seated in policy presentations or budget discussions. Having just spent five years in my current job it was remarkable how comfortable and happy I felt being surrounded by clinical discussion and thinking.

At lunch time I did something I haven’t done for more than five years. In 2003 I weighed about 100 kilograms. I was very heavy for my height. I decided I needed to lose weight rapidly so I could begin exercising again. I chose a high protein and low carbohydrate way of life. My lunches often consisted of meat, just meat alone. On Friday I lined up at the hospital canteen and asked for a small serving of pork belly. I used to do that every day. I’m the sort of person who enjoys repeating old habits. I like nostalgia. This made me happy.

A small serving of pork belly to relive old memories when I lost a lot of weight.

That evening after a very stimulating day I attended a reception at the NT’s Parliament House for the opening of a small photographic art exhibition to remember the ten years since the Bali bombings. As far as formal receptions go it was pretty good. The nice thing about Darwin is the recognition that the usual formalities can be modified. The appropriate attire for such an event in the presence of the NT Minister for Health is Territory Rig. That is long trousers, a long sleeve shirt and a neck tie. Very simple. Unfortunately the Governor of Bali could not be present. The exhibition was opened by Hon. David Tollner and Dr Wayan Sutarga the President Director of Sanglah Hospital. Dr Sutarga is a real character. He was in charge of the hospital for the first and second Bali bombings. He has done an enormous amount of work for the hospital and has worked with Australians like Dr Len Notaras, AM and Colin McDonald, QC to cement a strong bond between Darwin and Bali.

After the reception I had a hankering for some fish and chips. I wanted Barramundi.

Barra and chips

The Saturday clinical conference was held at the Darwin Conference Centre, it was a long day. We registered at 0745 ACST and didn’t finish until after 1800 ACST. It was a very good day. Many of my friends presented. Some relived the events of ten years ago and others looked at changes in their specialty areas. Given I had moved from the NT government to the Australian Government I presented the changes that had occurred in the Department of Health and Ageing and how we have evolved into a better prepared area for health protection matters.

I got in early and captured this image before all the seats filled up.

The afternoon’s public forum was inspiring. Julian Burton, OAM spoke about his experiences as a victim of the Bali bombings. Sally Sara, AM spoke about being an ABC journalist in war zones and gave her perspective on the importance of telling stories so that Australia as a nation can know what is happening in places where reporting is not encouraged and journalists are often in danger by the kinetic forces of war.

On Saturday night I was invited to dinner by Len Notaras to Char Restaurant at Admiralty House on the corner of Knuckey Street and The Esplanade. I’d eaten here once before for a work related lunch. The venue is delightful. The food is sublime. The lighting was good but the group I was with didn’t really allow for me to whip out my iPhone and capture food images. I admit, I haven’t really come out to this group of friends that I am an amateur food blogger.

At present I’m in Adelaide waiting for a flight to Canberra. I love visiting Darwin and catching up with friends. I love Darwin. If you’ve never been there you should visit and stay for a while.

A park in the waterfront precinct just before arriving at the convention centre.

Conference lunch

My lunch on the flight flying from Darwin to Adelaide.

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Five years living in Canberra

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Today marks five years I’ve been living in Canberra. In 2007 I moved here from Darwin after living there since February 1996.

If you follow me on Twitter or you’re a Facebook friend you’ll know my natural habitat is any place that is warm and moist. I like living in warm humid small friendly cities. Having grown up in Brisbane (not that Brisbane is small, it’s larger than all the capitals in Australia in terms of geography), I reckon if you can survive a February and March you can live in any humid city.

Canberra is not warm and moist. Canberra is friendly but it is mostly cold and dry. I’ve lived with very dry skin all my life as well as allergic rhinitis. A dry climate is not a natural habitat for me without pain and discomfort, and medication and bucket loads of moisturiser.

Aside from the weather, Canberra is a good place to live. It’s small, it’s almost rural, it’s designed and best of all the people are friendly. Not Darwin friendly mind you, but pretty friendly. I like that as the national capital we have Eastern Grey kangaroos living all around us as well as foxes, wombats and echidnas. Having had the opportunity to visit cities like Washington DC, London and Ottawa, Canberra is not an architecturally grand or even beautiful city. It doesn’t have the capital feel that Washington DC and London have. None of that matters though, it’s our capital. More people should visit Canberra to see what goes on and then go and visit Darwin and Brisbane and far north Queensland to warm up and see really beautiful parts of the best country in the world.

So how much longer can I live here? I like my job, I like my friends here, but I don’t like the weather.

I like that one twitter follower once called me Canberra’s eating machine. That will do me :-)

I am home :-)

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I am in Darwin. Darwin is where a good part of my spirit or soul or whatever lives. It’s a place I long for.

I’m here for a night for meetings earlier this afternoon and tomorrow morning.

Tonight I’m staying at SKYCITY hotel. I don’t normally stay here but it’s the only accommodation I could get. We have V8 Supercars here this weekend and there is no other accommodation. This is not a bad place. My only disappointment is that it doesn’t have Channel 10 reception so I missed the Jamie Oliver appearance on MasterChefAU tonight.

The good thing about this hotel is complimentary wireless internet and air conditioning that doesn’t work which means I stay happily warm and moist.

Outside the hotel are a couple of V8 Supercars. One is a Ford and the other is, well you know, the crapolden.

The only good thing about returning to Canberra tomorrow night is that I’ll get in just as the second State of Origin match starts.

SKYCITY Casino and a FORD V8 SUPERCAR (iPhone)

SKYCITY Casino and a FORD V8 SUPERCAR (iPhone)

SKYCITY Bathroom hand basin. This is a good way to store stuff (iPhone)

SKYCITY Beef burger (iPhone)

The beef burger was pretty good. It was a little too salty. I didn’t have the time to go to the wharf tonight like I usually do.

 

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Black Friday

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I’m not a superstitious person. Today was just another day. I went for a walk at 0445 AEST and as usual was listening to 2UE via 2CC on my 2CC iPhone app. Tim Shaw does the overnight program. He’s okay, he’s certainly not my favourite radio host. He was banging on about Black Friday like most radio presenters would be today. It got me thinking, will today be a bad day or a good day. Each day is what you make it. Sometimes things happen that we don’t like, it’s how we react that determines how we feel.

I got to work and on my walk to the post office the view of the sky was magnificent. Anyone who knows me knows how often I bang on about how much I dislike the weather in Canberra. It is too cold and dry in Autumn, Winter and Spring and too hot and dry in Summer. I much prefer tropical and sub-equatorial weather like in Darwin. The only glorious thing about Canberra though is the bright blue clear sky on most mornings.

From the Woden Wind Tunnel Check out my instagram post http://instagr.am/p/JVbX5ERNMP/

This morning at work was busy but profitable. By profitable, I mean it was a good morning. More importantly I had lunch with Bron at Thai Spice. The menu is pretty good. we started with (#10) coconut and almond prawns (Deep-fried King Prawns coated with shredded Coconut and Almond flakes served with Sweet Chilli Sauce). You get two of each, that is four per serve. These were delicious.

Coconut and almond prawns

One of the great things about this restaurant is the quirky attitude they have to serving drinks. We simply had diet coca cola, yet each time we have a drink they are served in different styled glasses. Sometimes wine glasses, sometimes dessert bowls, and often with odd fruit. Today our cokes came with apple wedges. We’re assuming is deliberate and not cluelessness.

My diet coke served in a wine glass with an apple wedge.

For mains we each selected a curry. Bron chose a delicious (#19) Gaeng Mussa Mun Nuea/Gai (Beef or Chicken Curry with Peanuts & Potato in Coconut Milk). I chose a reasonably nice (#18) Gaeng Phed Nuea/Gai (Red Curry with Beef or Chicken in Coconut Milk). I say reasonable because the beef was a little tough. The sauce though was heavenly. It was rich a spicy and went well with steamed rice.

Gaeng Mussa Mun Nuea

Gaeng Phed Nuea

I like the Thai Spice in Woden and happily recommend it for anyone who wants a lunch time meal near a big shopping mall.

This afternoon was really good at work. There were some last minute urgent things, but mostly a good afternoon.

I have wanted to try the take away place in Jamison for a while. There is also a foursquare entry.

I wanted battered fish and potato scallops. They serve them in a cardboard box that gets wrapped in fish and chip paper.

Fish and potato scallops in the box

When I got to my place I ate from a plate. The meal was pretty good and I’ll happily go back. As one twitter friend says though, this is nothing like the Stokes Hill Wharf in Darwin.

Fish and potato scallops on a plate

For dessert I had ice cream.

Ice cream with cream

So my Black Friday has been a good day.

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My happy place

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Today I spent most of the day in work related meetings. I also spent some of the day out doors with work mates looking at things. That meant I was exposed to the best parts of Darwin. Warm but not hot. Moist, and by moist I mean soaking warm rain going in all directions including horizontal and wind gusts up to 100 kilometres per hour.

After work this afternoon I ambled up to Stokes Hill Wharf for dinner. Ever since learning I was coming to Darwin for these meetings I have been craving a solo walk to the wharf and sitting down to a plate of battered barramundi and chips. For those not familiar with the barramundi, it is a premier fighting fish which also happens to be a very fine eating fish. Firm white flaky flesh. It is only better when you catch it, kill it, fillet it and cook it in a pan with butter and some lemon. You can then throw the skins in the air for the eagles or into the water for the crocodiles.

On the Stokes Hill Wharf there is an eatery and an open seating area with tables and chairs. Tonight Darwin was in a post Tropical Cyclone waring phase and with a tropical low we had heavy rain and wind gusts up to 100 kilometres per hour. I didn’t want to get my iPhone wet so the images are fairly timid.

Tonight’s chips were so crispy and the barramundi so good. I was in a very happy place. My skin was warm and moist. My tongue, mouth and belly were happy. I’d had a great day and I was happy. I wish Bron had been here too.

I love the sound of heavy rain on a metal roof. Most houses in Darwin do not have roof gutters. There is no point. Listen to the power.

Normally you can see the land across the harbour. This isn’t even heavy. Later in the evening it got stronger in terms of wind and rain.

It looked ominous across the harbour.

An ominous looking scene across the water

Battered barramundi and chips

After finishing the fish and chips I sat around and tweeted and watched the weather. I knew I had to come back and do some work so I decided to walk briskly back to the hotel. It’s just under a one kilometre walk so I knew it wouldn’t be too bad. The wind was strong and the rain heavy. It. Was. So. Much. FUN.

Before I forget, did you see those chips? They were so crispy. They were the best. THE BEST!!!

When I got back to the hotel I knew I wanted dessert. I rang room service and asked for Coconut panna cotta with kaffir lime fruit salad.

Coconut panna cotta with kaffir lime fruit salad

And before I forget we had lunch at one of the best restaurants in Darwin. The Hanuman Thai.

Fish and lamb curries at The Hanuman Thai

All in all it’s been a happy day.

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Rain. I love it (and food)

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This is the sort of rain I like. Warm and heavy. It’s not as heavy as I’ve seen it, but it is really good.

I also like eating and while here in Darwin I’m staying at the Vibe Hotel on the Darwin Waterfront.

Tonight I had salt and pepper squid with palm sugar, mango and mint followed by a lemon curd meringue. The squid was really nice. Not at all chewing and the salt and pepper coating was just right. The meringue was remarkably good given it’s room service food. I feel good now. :-)

Salt and pepper squid with palm sugar, mango and mint

Lemon curd meringue with passion fruit and mango

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My new work area

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I recently agreed to move work areas to make more space for work mates in an area of the branch. The new work area has worked out really well. As part of the plan I have promised to stop storing papers just for the sake of it and become ruthless at not holding on to things.

So far it’s working well. One of my walls used to be a pin board so I thought I would make it a feature wall.

My new feature wall. Queensland and Northern Territory Flags.

You will notice the NT flag is upside down. It’s a distress call. I want to go back and live in Darwin :-)

I will never hide the fact that through and through I am a proud Queenslander. The greatest state in Australia with the most wonderful people and attitude to life. I also feel that part of me still exists in the Northern Territory. The Top End of Australia has the best weather, the friendliest people and the most comfortable life style. It’s humid and warm and full of muggy goodness. I can’t call myself a Territorian because I don’t fulfil one of three criteria, viz., born there, lived through Tropical Cyclone Tracy or spent 20 years there. I want to call myself a Territorian and a Queenslander. Come state of origin time you will read more about being a Queenslander.

F/A 18 Super Hornet Squadron 322 Tindal

The main photograph is especially dear to me. When I was working in the NT the CO of RAAF Tindal was severely unwell with an infection and the medical officer at the base sought my advice. The CO recovered and he gave me this framed photograph. It always reminds me of the times I’d travel to Katherine and would see the F/A 18 Super Hornets flying low and loud. I love feeling the sound of a jet fighter.

My desk now looks a lot cleaner than it has in the past.

My desk

I’m enjoying my new work area.

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My skin says thank you

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For friends who know me well, read no further, you’ve heard it all before.

I’m here in Darwin for a couple of days for work. I always love trips to Darwin, especially when it’s cold in Canberra, or for that matter I like visiting Darwin any time. It is such a nice place.

The reason I love Darwin is because I love humidity. I have very dry skin and Canberra’s dry weather leaves me in discomfort and occasionally pain every day I am there. As soon as the door opened on the aeroplane last night I felt the humidity engulf me and bathe me in muggy goodness. My skin felt good. I started to sweat and felt happy.

Today was pretty good work-wise. After work, I walked to Stoke’s Hill Wharf and had fish and chips.