2015

Dear Friends,

2015 has been another relatively quiet year in which we continue to thoroughly enjoy our retirement. We are both well for our age and with a lessening of the alcohol intake Michael has been told this month he is in the best shape he has been for several years (apart from the ever-present need to lose weight).

We have avoided the lure of overseas trips with the low dollar providing even less of an incentive. This allowed us to spend a little more time on our Tasmania trip during January and February. While staying the bulk of the time at our favourite cottage at Beauty Point we sampled a week or so at a couple of new locations. We started our stay at Binalong Bay at a cottage with a magnificent view north along the Bay of Fires in the north east. The only downside was the poor mobile phone signal but we were able to visit several locations new to us as well as familiar haunts like Pyengana cheese factory.

Then we had a week in a beautifully modern first floor apartment on the esplanade at Penguin with sweeping views of Bass Strait. Again we were able to visit some of the new drives on the north west such as the relatively newly sealed Tarkine Wilderness drive through Arthur River to Couta Rocks. We were last there on a 4-wheel drive guided tour with Michael's parents exactly 30 years ago.

While at Beauty Point we made the long 2-way dash to Hobart to visit Salamanca Market and the Wooden Boat Festival. It was very interesting indeed and the weather was glorious. However we have never seen the Hobart waterfront as busy before - the number of visitors was enormous helped by the passengers from a cruise ship in port.

Of course 2015 was the centenary of the ANZACs landing at Gallipoli. Michael's great uncle Robert Sowerby had emigrated with his aunt's family to Sydney in 1912 and when war was declared volunteered for the 4th Bn of the Australian Imperial Force in 1914. His battalion formed the second and third waves of the Gallipoli landing on 25 April 1915.

We looked for a quiet dignified place to attend the 100th ANZAC Day dawn service and chose Devonport where we returned just before 25 April. Our excellent modern detached town house was just 5 minutes walk from the War Memorial. He did not march but Michael wore his great uncle's specially mounted Gallipoli medals at both the dawn and mid-morning services. A respectful crowd of about 5,000 attended the quiet spot on the banks of the River Mersey. Both services were extremely moving.

Great uncle Bob survived for 34 days at Gallipoli before his death on 29 May. We raised a quiet toast to him 100 years on. A JP friend of Michael's visited the 4th Bn cemetery in Turkey on ANZAC Day and brought back treasured photos.

Michael has enjoyed several years of challenging radio controlled yachting. At the end of August this year he competed in the Australian national championship with his RC Laser. Over two days on Sydney Harbour he achieved his target of finishing in the top half of the fleet being 19th out of over 40 boats. To the dismay of his fellow sailors in the local Paradise RYC he retired from sailing and sold his yacht a couple of weeks later.

With increasing involvement in his Justice of the Peace work the time saved from sailing has allowed him to spend time becoming a JP mentor and volunteer more document witnessing hours at the local shopping centres and Magistrates Courthouse. He attended his first State Conference of the Queensland Justices Association in Caboolture and showed true dedication - the venue was a local school hall with no air conditioning on a 33-degree day and beset by violent hailstorms as we left to travel home!

While we stayed overnight in Brisbane prior to Margot's laptop on which she creates our family tree was zapped by a power surge on her desk at home in the same series of electrical storms. Her backup USB drive also perished but fortunately the SD card in the laptop acting as a second backup survived so 15 years of effort were safe. Margot's family history research still takes up a lot of her time. Offsite cloud backup now figures high on her list of tasks.

We will be on a tour boat following the fleet on Sydney Harbour at the start of the Sydney-Hobart race on Boxing Day. Then we aim to spend our usual few weeks in Tasmania again next January-February.

We send best wishes for the festive season and a happy and healthy new year.

Margot and Michael

Bay of Fires from Binalong Bay, far NE Tas

ANZAC Day Dawn Service at Devonport, Tas

Robert Sowerby Gallipoli Medals proudly worn

12 degrees in Devonport in April with Spirit of Gazmania

Last outing for RC Laser #172 at Australian Nationals, Iron Cove on Sydney Harbour