Thanks very much to all of you! We'll certainly keep you up to date with our travel plans; at this time we're thinking about staying 2 weeks, mostly in the greater Sydney area with side trips to rain forests and snorkling.

We're especially pleased to hear that Denis Kevans and Seamus Gill are still alive; we'd love to meet them and sing them the Portland, ME, adaptation of their song:

ACROSS THE WESTERN SUBURBS
(By Denis Kevans and Seamus Gill © 1973)

Tune: traditional All for Me Grog

Oh, me name it is Fred,
In Sydney born and bred,
And the inner-city used to be me home, boys,
But it's caused me heart to grieve
For I've had to take me leave,
Now across the Western Suburbs I must roam, boys.

Chorus:

Under concrete and glass,
Sydney's disappearing fast;
It's all gone for profit and for plunder;
Though we really want to stay,
They keep forcing us away,
Now across the Western suburbs we must wander.

Now where is me house,
Me little terrace house?
It's all gone for profit and for plunder,
For the wreckers of the town
Just came up and knocked it down;
Now across the Western Suburbs we must wander. (CHO)

Before I even knew it,
We were shifted to Mount Druitt,
And the planners never gave me any say, boys;
Now it really makes me weep,
I am just at home to sleep
For it takes me hours to get to work each day, boys. (CHO)

What's happened to the pub,
Our little local pub,
Where we used to have a drink when we were dry, boys?
Now we can't get in the door
For there's carpets on the floor,
And you won't be served a beer without a tie, boys. (CHO)

Now I'm living in a box
In the West Suburban blocks,
And the place is nearly driving me to tears, boys;
Poorly planned and badly built
And it's mortgaged to the hilt,
But they say it will be mine in forty years, boys. (CHO)

Now before the city's wrecked,
Those developers must be decked,
For it's plain to see they do not give a bugger;
Or we soon will see the day
If those bandits have their way,
We will all be driven out past Wagga Wagga.