The Queensland Floods

Hello folks,

Many of you have been emailing, wondering if we're anywhere near the Queensland floods. Rest assured, dear readers, that we are safe and dry here in NSW. The flood waters at one point covered an area larger than France and Germany put together--and much of that land grows important crops, so we can expect prices to go up on our favorite foods like mangos and bananas. And the weather has been rather sultry. This is the extent of the inconvenience for us--nothing compared to the loss of life and destruction of homes for the Queenslanders.

Philip's father lives in Brisbane, luckily on high land, and our friends the Holbrookes, on their way back from the Reef, were stranded in a town called Gympie (hard G, rhymes with Blimpie), which turned into an island in the few hours they were there. Although this isn't my story to tell, I will tantalize you with the image of the 5 of them being airlifted out in shifts by a bug of a helicopter piloted by a dead ringer for Elle (the bod) McPherson, that is, if Elle were 6 months pregnant. You have to love a story in which the hero of the hour is pregnant and female!