“Ting ting'” goes my phone in the pub in Winton, Qld, where we are waiting for our meals to arrive, recalling the travels of the day over a particularly mellow Sauvignon Blanc.  No, it is not an incoming message.  It is the diary reminding me that it is 7.15pm on Thursday:15 minutes to MW Choir practice.

This is the third rehearsal I have missed, and I will miss next week’s too.  And it is the one thing I really miss about being away.  Most other aspects of being at home can be passed by for a few weeks, but singing does not fall in that category.

But in compensation we have seen some wonderful features of the Australian landscape.  The broad vistas of the Flinders Ranges, the magnificence of the Big Red sand dune at the edge of the Simpson Desert, and the “jump up” hills of SW Queensland are some of the stand out items – standing out in part because of the huge distances between them.  And the huge distances are themselves impressive, mile upon mile of flat, arid landscape which is not lifeless but which somehow provides a habitat for a few mammals, birds and insects and even provides a living for a few hardy souls.

The one vaguely musical component of our travels was this afternoon when we found the newly opened Waltzing Matilda Centre the only place in town serving proper coffee.  I took the obligatory photo of the statue of AB Banjo Patterson and we saw many versions of the song in print, and that was it.  There was no-one singing the song and it did not seem appropriate to do so solo.  So we left.

I hope that tonight’s rehearsal for Messiah has gone well, and I look forward very much to re-joining everyone in a couple of weeks’ time.