Beef Jerky

Townsville 26.06.2008

I live two kilometres from my work at Townsville General Hospital. Just too far for me to walk so I bought a new bike with 24 gears. Seems easy to ride and I can now be at work in under 10 minutes. My legs are not used to the repetitive movement yet and I’m going to have to buy extra padding for the saddle as my Chuff is feeling the strain.

Beef Jerky is very expensive. I bought a small amount at $62.00 per Kg. Found a nice book on the Outback in my flatmates library and settled down on the balcony to have a read for a couple of hours. The temp is hovering around 27 degrees and there is a need to keep up fluids. Water is the best, I went into the fridge and spotted the jerky and returned to the novel. As I was absentmindedly chewing on the meat came onto the tough piece. It was well seasoned with pepper and a sweet outer coating of molasses type gunk. I was enjoying it. But the grain was course and strong to break. I twisted and turn trying to pry a lump off. It was then I heard a loud click or pop. It took me a few seconds to realise I had broken one of my next to front teeth. I had root channel work done on it about 25 years ago and it finally succumb to the tension I was exerting. There is a dentist at the hospital complex. His assessment and recommendation is a Post and Crown with an all up cost of $1500.00. Bloody expensive Jerky . I have found an old pair of Nail Clippers near the skip which i have used to cut small manageable lumps of jerky, avoiding the expensive option of rip, tear and pop.

A Cycle trail along both banks of the Ross River is fabulous. The trail is concreted and wide enough to pass with ease. I rode downstream towards the ocean. Four Bridges cross the river, some old some new. From the bridges with my Polaroid glasses I could see a myriad of fish life. Long slender fish slowly drifting in the tide called Razor fish along with some stingrays and herrings. Egrets, Herons, Hawks, and the ever present sulphur cockatoo kept up there chatters from the eucalypt trees. I found my self at the Townsville Museum at opening time. The main feature of the TM is the display around the finding and salvage of articles from the sunken PANDORA which went done off the barrier reef 200 years ago. This was the ship sent out by the British navy to find and return the Mutineers from the Bounty. The captain rounded up a few of the Mutineers and sailors in Tahiti and stuffed them in a Lockup Box on the rear of the ship. PANDORA BOX. I have seen the Marie Rose Henry the 8s ship at South Hampton UK, The Vasa war ship at Stockholm and this presentation is gust as good. Because of the rough seas the relics salvaged were stowed down low in the boat. A vast array of treasures and mementoes of the South Seas were salvaged

This last weekend Townsville was being visited by the Australian Off Shore Racing circuit. 1.5 Million dollar boats, that can reach speeds of 170 kph . I read the interpretation panels which said they utilise 800 lt of fuel each race. There are up to 4 races per day and eight or nine of the big boats in a race. The race circuit is off the strand just along the foreshore near the Town centre. The streets reverberate from the din kicked up from the engines. The noise is accentuated because it is echoed back from the Bluffs under Castle Hill.

My very good news is that my partner is coming over to be with me at the end of next month. We will both do agency nursing for a couple of months then head up to Asia for a look around.

Next weekend is the Townsville Show and Rodeo. I’m keen to get some good buck jump footage for my videography.

I wonder what will happen next

Alvin