AOTNZ tour Gore

And oysters there were. A dozen each with pepper and lemon juice. And crumbed

butterfish and bok choy on rice in our motel room courtesy of chef Terry. Gore

was sulking under a vindictive cloud that looked as brown as the over-grazed

paddocks outside town - which of course were bathed in brilliant sunshine, as

indeed was the entire countryside South of Roxburgh. But a lovely appreciative

audience and memorable hospitality from our host Jim Geddes at the Eastern

Southland Art Gallery.

Free internet at the Digs so we caught up on some correspondence. Saddened to

hear of Hitchens' cancer diagnosis. A cryptic message from Billington reporting

his (Hitchens') 'coming out'. Seeking clarification I am advised that this

'outage' refers to a latent religious belief rather than a public reversal of

sexual preference. I find this hard to believe of one of the World's most high

profile atheists so will need to grill Billers about it further. I suspect he's

just being mischievous, knowing how much it would upset me.

Off to Waimate for Wallaby pie and possum socks. Maybe stop at the whiskey shop

in Oamaru. They have a tasting facility from where, on our last trip, we

purchased some of the last remaining stock of the old Wilsons distillery.

Andrew