From Kate in Hobart

Hi All,
Sorry to hear about Ian Patterson. He must have been a fair age I suppose.We have had a few friends leave in the last fortnight too. The saddest was Allison, the wife of one of Gavin's Antarctic friends. She was younger than me. I went to her memorial service held in a hall in a small country town in central Victoria. The hall was full to overflowing.They carried her coffin out to a waiting dray covered in wild flowers drawn by two large white horses with black plumes. The funeral
director dressed in morning suit and top hat walked in front of it down the main street and into the distance. A fitting farewell to someone who loved horses, wild flowers and her community.
We will be heading Edinburgh way next year for a few days. Here are a few photos from our West Timor trip. This first one is preparing to go out in the long boat to see the seaweed growing. Every one drinks bottled water because the town water is not safe. The bottles are all recycled and sold to these farmers who use them as floats to keep the ropes growing the seaweed on just below the water.
love Kate