After another month on remote Lihir island off Papua New Guinea: Settled back into what seems to have become my morning 'life' every day - walk out the front gate at 04.30 for about a 6.5km walk through the local casino's gardens and then alongside the Swan River. The cygnets and ducklings had all grown up, and left the lakes; but the usual summer migration of hundreds of squawking white parrots had arrived. They'll all disappear in a few months. Traditionally, meet up with other folks on the walk, including an Indian guy who works in a restaurant and, every single morning, arrives on a lawn between the casino and the river to feed dozens of screaming seagulls and assorted water birds with food left over from the night before - primarily French fries and rice, If I'm a bit early and he's not arrived: the birds are all assembled and expectantly waiting - I look around for Alfred Hitchcock! On the other hand: if I'm a bit later: I walk past a covey of elderly Asians doing their Thai Chi moves in a corner of the casino car park - that one just elicits some smiles and waves…. I try not to disturb their rhythm.
Sometimes, I'm striding along with what (I think) is a reasonable pace, and someone will actually WALK past me - I've taken to consoling myself with the thought that they are 50- (perhaps, even 60-) years younger than me.
I get home, have a light breakfast, catch up with emails and the TV news, then go for another 30-minute (or so) walk in the other direction from home….to clock up a total of around 60km (about 37 miles) per week. Reminded me of the old joke: two guys are chatting: one says that his dad has taken up walking 5km every day. Second guy says: "That's great, good for him." First guy responds: "Yes, but now we don't know where the **** he is."
Then, if it's sunny (and not heading for 40°C) I have a sunbake on my balcony for a half-hour or so to top up with natural Vitamin D from sunlight to combat osteoporosis.
Then had another contact from the aid agency I've been with for nearly 30 years now asking if I'd go back to Lihir again to work with the business advisory centre I'd help to set up in the role of a 'Business Mentor'. The request was to be for most of January, home for a few days, back for most of February, home for a few days, back for most of March. As it turned out: on the 17th day of the 26 day January commitment - was informed that February and March were not going to happen.
After leaving home at around 22.30, took flights from Perth to Brisbane to Port Moresby to arrive knackered on remote speck that is Lihir island at 17.30 next day- fronted up at the office which is responsible for accommodating the hundreds of mine workers and was told which 'house' and room I was in - which was not in the house usually reserved for us business centre staff and volunteers. After a day in the office: go 'home' that evening to find a note on 'my' bed that I'd been reassigned to a room in the correct house. Collect a new room key from the office. Pack up and trek to the house and reallocated room, open the door to see that it's most certainly occupied. Back to the office - about a 15 minute walk each way - to be allocated another room in the same house, but: there's no spare key for the room to give me. Walk back to the room, accompanied by a guy with a master key to let me in the room - then wait for him to go back to the office, have a key cut and return! Welcome to Lihir.
Great to catch up with the regular staff employed by the gold mine who are all on Fly In / Fly Out (FIFO) contracts. If anyone actually follows any of these ramblings: you may recall that I had a fall off the short, but steep, steps to a 'shed' off to the side we referred to as The Hub (used for meetings, mentoring, etc) and fractured a couple of ribs - which subsequently predicated the installation of a more sensible set of steps and a landing, with railings. Then, a few weeks before arriving back on the island: one of the fan control switches had overheated somehow, burst into flames, fried the electrics and burned out a chunk of the wall by the door. The fire occurred at around 6.30pm but (luckily) a guy was walking past on the road, saw the fire, rushed in, grabbed an extinguisher and put out the fire before totally destroying The Hub, and spreading to other buildings. Some mine staff jokers decided that it was all *my* fault, again! Bevan jinxed The Hub!
Probably, nobody reads this far, but, some may recall that: I was having dental problems, and potential treatment was exacerbated by me being on Warfarin (blood-thinner for the tin heart valve) and Prolia (6-monthly injections for osteoporosis) - so, no dentist would touch me to further the only recommended solution: extraction of five teeth. The only option was that the procedure had to be expedited by a 'dental surgeon' specialist. The problem was: I was bobbing back and forth to/from PNG and then a series of inevitable closures during the Christmas / New Year hiatus. A dentist had suggested that I employ a frequent mouth rinse with salt water … tried it and it seemed to work a treat: very little dental pain - could have been a placebo effect, but: I settled for that! Got back from PNG on a Sunday night / appointment with the dental surgeon on the Monday - scheduled to remove three teeth the following Monday. All went pretty well - just a 'local anaesthetic' (but a heap of it in both the upper and lower jaws). Did not actually feel the teeth being evacuated, but there was a lot of crunching and grinding to get the residue out, then suturing up the gaping holes in the gums. 'Surgeon' did a good job (and so he should for a nice, even, $1,000 for three extractions) and was fully recovered by next day, and ready for my morning walks. The practice required 'payment two weeks prior to procedure' - I'd said: "Is that in case the patient dies in the chair and can't pay?" Which was either: the truth, or they had no sense of humour!
Then - another request from Canberra to go back to Lihir and co-present (with the same guy I'd been with before) a workshop to about 20 local islanders on how to evaluate their prospects and options, to set-up and operate a new business. Currently scheduled for April/May, 2020.