Another week flown by and its raining here, in the middle of Dry Season! After over two months of clear blue sky sunny days- so much so that Vicki would joke by going to the window and saying "I wonder what the weather is today- Oh my, another blue sky day!"-we've had two days of dark cloudy overcast and rain. In fact, its rained so much the Gibb River Road has been closed and my flight to Ngallagunda was scrubbed this morning due to a soggy runway. This wouldn't be a bad thing, except its not the hot rain of January. This morning the temp was 50 F when we awoke, so it feels a lot more like New Zealand weather. And we don't have the clothes for it. And no heater. All the space heaters walked out the door of Retravision this last weekend- the locals are complaining of the cold. We bought a small quilt for nights. Down in Sydney and the Hunter Valley they are having "massive floods", so we can't complain. ("Massive" is the most overused word on the TV here- Vicki and I laugh whenever we hear it.)

Last weekend was Race Weekend here in Derby. We puttered around on Saturday and went to the Races in the afternoon. This was some of the sorriest horseflesh we've ever seen. Definitely not Keeneland. It was an orgy of beer drinking and punting. One of the U.K. med students hit a Trifecta and won $120, and my boys reportedly did pretty well. When people ask me this week how I did, I've said "I lost my shirt!" which gets a funny look. Not an Aussie idiom I guess. We had a good time watching the people as much as the horses. At least there was also a funny hat contest.

Sunday the horse races were followed by the mudcrab races. These were sponsored by the local Fishing Club. At least half of the crowd seemed to be tourists. Anyone may buy a crab, put a name on its back (girlfriends/wives/de factos were popular!), and enter it into a race. Again, beer and betting were rampant. Between the races, bush poet Murray Hartin recited a rambling rhyme about a jackaroo riding his swag on an airplane named "Turbulence".

Saturday night we ate some of those mudcrabs. One of the doctors at the hospital, Eric is from Singapore. He and two of the local pharmacists, Andrew and Cameron caught a mess of mudcrabs and invited us over for a taste. They cook them by breaking them up and popping them in a wok full of peanut-chili sauce. Over rice they are delicious.

Two more weeks until the end of the term. I've been working with the staff like crazy to help organize the Men's Pit Stop for this Friday. We will set up on the lawn in front of the Shire offices and do quick health checks for men all day long. I just hope it stops raining tomorrow!

Click the pic below to see the races:

A Day at the Races