All the best to you Belly and your family for the holiday season, and the new year ahead. The same goes for all on the forum, its been another interesting year for us all.

Not one for new years resolutions as such, but have a few things to do in 2020.

Belly, you'll like this one; We brought a young lad from Fiji back with us yesterday, for a holiday with family in Brisbane. At the airport he wanted to spend his holiday money (bad idea) he brought with him $20F. I explained how he can't spend Fiji money in Australia, he needed to exchange it. Well, at the airport exchange they were going to give the poor kid $8A for $20F. I said to the woman behind the counter "rip off". I told Willy, your first lesson in Aussie business, "rip off", "They were taking your money unfairly in only giving you $8 for $20. He also has to learn how to shop, not paying $8 for a bar of choc, when he can buy it from the supermarket for $3, and he must share it with his young cousins. Anyway he ended up with a good "exchange" $20A for $20F, and he got to keep his $20F for when he goes home in a few weeks.

Paul,

Airports are for take offs, rip offs and landings. (rip offs both ways).

Ever notice how the exit corridors often lead through the booze department?

I do like the storey Paul mate of mine [fellow union official] always took extra cash with him and his family when on holidays there.
I have never been there, he told us about it and we sent a few dollars his next trip.
Hard life for some over there
Be a great world if we could donate and know it all would get to such folk.

Yesterday was a few firsts for young 12 yr old Willie, first trip in an aeroplane, first ride in a 'Uber' cab, and first Chinese take-a-way, sweet and sour pork seems is a favourite. Extremely polite boy, please and thank you all the time. He wanted to know why there are so many policemen at the airport, checking bags, checking passports, just checking everything, everyone in a uniform is a policeman to Willie....pilots etc.

Issy, the wombats send their love, and a big thank you....not so from the cats and foxes. The turkey wants to know what meat is on your Xmas list. He's just asking in case he needs to go into hiding.

Paul my family is not crowding in here this year frankly I would be happy with a tin of camp pie.
But you can never ever tell with my mob, brother rushes past taking his wife to Christmas with her family, and daughter to her mum for same
He will be back in the afternoon tomorrow, maybe with a first nation mate and his tribe
Intend to seat an old bloke who drinks too much at our table, he will enjoy that
So its ham all the meats about three days eating those meats with salad and no way to get my prawns on the table
Mud crabs 40 bucks for a small one blue swimmers twenty-seven a k but still pay that if my family would eat it,

I've just made another resolution, tell more people to cut the gum trees down from around their buildings, 500 metres seems a fair distance for safety.