Nicholas Quirke was shocked into consciousness on 16th January by the raucous dawn chorus. A Kookaburra belting out its song along with other unusual and strange bird sounds. He observed that the British birds sound so polite in comparison. Problems with the car delayed start of day as a mechanic had to come and revive the dead battery of Pete’s Alfa Romeo. Once it was running they took a swift 15 minute drive around Currumbin Valley with Pete regaling Nicholas, at his request, with tales of his many stints on ‘Neighbours’ and ‘Home and Away’. The car was running smoothly so they picked up Fi and Chilli (or is it now Tilly) the Dog,  for walk on the Beach. A cool breeze and beautiful sunshine. made it a lovely amble along the sand with a guided tour of the buildings and residents and the flight path under which the properties sat. Fi had talked lots about Japan where she often flew and it tempted Nicholas to look into squeezing a few days there into his schedule.The walk culminated with Peter giving him a history of the ‘Surf Club’ and showing him a typical venue, at a spot where ANZAC day celebrations are held.  There was not much time between getting home and going to meet Chrissie for lunch in Bumbles at Budds Beach in Surfers Paradise which meant a very quick freshening up and a visit to the garage for a final check on the car. Pete was in full educational mode and gave Nicholas a potted history of how Surfers Paradise came to be, how it was built, the creation of islands by developers, ‘Capri’ and the formation of Budds Beach. Nicholas really liked the venue which had a homely, hippy vibe, though he found the service surly. It was another lovely lunch with stimulating conversation and more stories of Chrissie’s time in Prisoner Cell Block H, as Miss Vernon, It was a long lunch at the end of which Nicholas said a final farewell to Chrissie. Back at home Nicholas settled down to Watch the Australian Open and sadly watched the demise of two young feisty Australian players.  Pete cooked a supper before Nicholas retired to pack his suitcase ready for a flight the next day and he enjoyed a Facetime chat with Cole before drifting into a deep sleep.