CHARLES SWAN: A HERMON KNIGHT

Dr. Charles L. Swan and I share something in common. Both went to school, MH college (he, the Language School and me TTC) and later joined the staff. He joined our Queen's Hill School, then located above the Railway Station, Darjeeling, way back in 1914 in KG, and later taught in the present Mt. Hermon School - 1929-1936.

He is most remembered by us for his 'Going Home Day' songs. I met him in MH when I was teaching there in mid-'70S. I still remember how, one fine day in the staff room, he thundered: "You are APPOINTED to write!" What?

Was he a prophet? I have written three books already and am now preparing a souvenir on MH as a Tribute to these giants of MH - I refer to them as "HermonKnights".

When I edited the school's annual Hermonite magazine in 1978, this is was he said in the magazine:

"When I was a small boy in old Queen’s Hill, Miss Knowles, the founder of the school, was still Principal, and Miss Stahl was Vice-Principal. When I was appointed to teach at Mt. Hermon, Miss Stahl had only just retired from the principalship. So my memory leads me to think of the original purposes of the school. It was patterned after the Public Boarding Schools of England, but the pattern was given an American flare, and some major adjustments were made to fit to the Indian scene."

Dr. Swan died many years back. May he rest in peace. Hail Mt. Hermon!

IF PEACE DOES NOT PREVAIL

    If peace does not prevail because of our ego and stubbornness, because of our determination to defend our territory and sovereignty irrespective of consequences – we face the risk of war. Even small skirmishes may lead to a full-fledged war. This can and must be avoided at all cost.

   As the final hour toward that fate approaches the leadership of the world's two largest populated countries must re-think their decisions to go to war and avoid any move that would ultimately lead to a nuclear disaster on this planet.

    Sikkim – a sacred, hidden land, the last frontier of peace in the Himalaya – now faces the risk of being turned into a battlefield. If peace does not prevail in the Himalayan frontier it is not only because of those who are bent on destroying each other because of their hatred and greed and their lust for power, it is also because of our fate and destiny. The coming situation will remind us that “the peace of the grave or security of the slave” that we have witnessed in Sikkim in the past several decades will not last forever.

   On April 15, 1975, the Hindustan Times warned: “Security depends on people, not territory.” This applies to both India and China.

ON MY OWN

   In the remaining days of my life on earth and when I’m finally gone I would like to be remembered by these words of Theodore Roosevelt:  

                                       

   “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

A TRIBUTE Nar Bahadur Bhandari

Too late to talk about Sikkim when battle tanks roll down Nathula and non-Sikkimese occupy seats of power

  (This article is being republished as a Tribute to Mr. Nar Bahadur Bhandari, who passed away on July 16, 2017)

   Having retreated to my small corner – the fourth estate – after quietly bidding adieu to my two-and-half-decade-long struggle to fight for the common cause of all Sikkimese I reluctantly accepted the offer to give a piece of my mind during a day-long seminar  organized in Gangtok on January 28, 2010 by an enthusiastic group of young people who work under the banner of All Sikkim Educated Self-Employed & Unemployed Association.

The topic was “Article 371F” – a dead horse which still needed more flogging! – and many of those who were present and actively participated in the debate-cum-discussion were distinguished personalities in Sikkim’s social, political and intellectual circles.

(L to R) Jigme N Kazi, N B Bhandari, P M Subba and K N Upreti at the seminar on Art 371F in Gangtok on Jan 28, 2010

    Anti-merger veteran and former Chief Minister and President of the Sikkim unit of the Congress party, Nar Bahadur Bhandari, was there. His former Lok Sabha MP, Pahalman Subba, often regarded as the grand-old-man of Sikkim politics, who has fallen out with both Bhandari and his former colleague, the ‘Mandal Messiah’, Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, was there.

     Former Minister and senior Congress leader, Kharananda Upreti, the man who accompanied Ram Chandra Poudyal during the famous hunger strike at the lawns of the Palace in early April 1973 that led to the Indian-backed agitation, which culminated in the signing of the historic 8^th May Tripartite Agreement of 1973,  ultimately leading to the ‘merger’ in 1975,  was also present.

    Among the younger politicians present at the seminar were Padam Chettri, who only very recently took over the State unit of the BJP as its President, Biraj Adhikari, President of Sikkim National People’s Party, which still demands restoration of Sikkim’s pre-merger “Associate State” status, former Communist leader and now the Convenor of Matri Bhoomi Suraksha Sanghathan, Duk Nath Nepal, and former Minister and Convenor of Sikkim Bhutia-Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC), Tseten Tashi Bhutia, who is regarded as one of the few vocal leaders of the minority Bhutia-Lepcha tribals.

    Conspicuously absent from the scene were representatives of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front, which often claims that it has restored democracy and removed fear psychosis in Sikkim after Bhandari’s dictatorial rule (1979-1994).The truth is Pawan Chamling is now faced with the same charges leveled by dissidents within his ruling elite.

   Yesteryears’ ‘revolutionary’ and one of the valiant soldiers of ‘democracy’, R C Poudyal, suddenly turned ill and failed to come! With his absence Poudyal missed a great opportunity to stand side by side, shoulder to shoulder with sons and daughters of Sikkim to save what is left in order to pass it on to the generations of Sikkimese yet to come.  Others were invited but fear of what may happen to them if they come chose not to grace the occasion.

    Let them live on hope and die in despair. There is no space for spineless walking corpses, who are neither black or white and who will surely fade away into nothingness, to mingle with honourable defenders of the Sikkimese cause during the time of crisis when the need of the hour for unity and solidarity, despite personal and political differences, has never been felt so much.

   Added to this unique and historic gathering representing the multi-faceted Sikkimese society were Nagrik Sangarsha Samiti Coordinator and prominent critic and member of the old business community, Prem Goyal, Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) activists, Gyatso Lepcha and Mayalmit Lepcha,  former District Collector, S P Subba, and former police officer, Jiwan Pradhan.

    I not only offered my heartiest congratulations to the organizers of the 10-hour-long marathon session but also salute those who spoke out their mind and warmed our hearts and hopes. Together we made history on January 28, 2010, two days before the 28^th death anniversary of the late Chogyal of Sikkim.

    I was certainly the odd man out as I did not belong to any political or non-political grouping. The organizers created the right mood for Sikkimese from all communities and from all walks of life to speak their heart out on an issue that is dear to them for a very long time. That the speakers, mindless of who they were and what positions they held,  spoke eloquently and with conviction and emotion on a wide variety of subjects on one-point theme – Article 371F – is indeed a rare treat for any viewers.

    With tears in my eyes and heart full of burden I made my stand clear. “I have no wish to dethrone anyone or help anyone to get the top job. This is mainly because I have gracefully and very reluctantly accepted the death of my dream,” I told the gathering.

   I made it plain that the casual and directionless manner in which the political leadership among the majority Sikkimese Nepalese tackled the Assembly seat issue in the past so many years led to the death of my dream of a united Sikkim, where all people live in perfect peace, harmony, freedom and prosperity and where the country’s security concerns were fully safeguarded.

    New Delhi ought to realize by now that security, particularly in Sikkim, depends on the loyalty of its people, not just territorial acquisition whether by force or consent.

   I took a dig as I often do when the opportunity arises on those who often make the right noises but the wrong moves: “I quit everything when some of my friends and former colleagues who are educated, have some political experience and feel for Sikkim and the Sikkimese could not look beyond Chamling and Bhandari despite the pressing need to stand firm and pursue our common objectives.”

    I warned that activities of agents of division and disunity actively serving New Delhi, which seems least concerned about what is happening in Sikkim besides pumping huge amount of funds (and perhaps taking some back on the quiet) to its former Protectorate keeping the people perpetually drugged with power and money, will not only finish Sikkim and the Sikkimese people but greatly and surely endanger the country’s territorial integrity.

   Didn’t I make it clear in my book, “Sikkim for Sikkimese – Distinct Identity Within the Union” (published in Feb 2009) why Sikkim is facing a crisis of our own making: “Phony revolutions led by fake revolutionaries and democrats have created a system that thrives on lies, deceit and corruption. We are all victims of the ‘democracy’ that we longed for in1973 and 1993.”

   We may blame the Centre for the gradual erosion of our special status and dilution of our distinct identity. But we, too, are responsible for failing to look after our long-term interests and live up to the hopes and aspirations of our people.

  My message during the seminar was sharp and incisive: “It will be too late to talk about Article 371F when battle tanks roll down Nathula pass and non-Sikkimese occupy seats of power in Mintokgang (CM’s official residence) in the near future.” (Sikkim Observer)

OBITUARY

Bhandari gave us Sikkim’s ‘finest hour’

 Jigme N.Kazi

   He had been suffering from back pain – injuries incurred from police beating during his anti-merger days in early 1970s – for a very long time and finally hospitalized in Delhi. But he breathed his last in a New Delhi hospital on July 16, 2017, due to cardiac arrest.  “Dad was fine till the last moment. He did not reveal any signs that he was leaving us,” said his daughter Primula who was beside him when he passed away.

   Nar Bahadur Bhandari ruled Sikkim, the former Himalayan kingdom – now the 22^nd State of India, for more than a decade and half (1979-1994). The teacher-turned-politician began his political career in early 1973, when pro-India forces in Sikkim under the leadership of Congress leader Kazi Lhendup Dorji Khangsarpa – a Sikkimese Lepcha aristocrat – were gradually tilting towards India. Despite opposition from the Sikkimese people Sikkim became a part of India in mid-1975. The Sikkimese people led by the Chogyal (king), Palden Thondup Namgyal, Nar Bahadur Bhandari and other Sikkimese nationalist leaders lost the fight to retain Sikkim’s distinct and unique international status. Despite the odds heavily stacked up against them pro-Sikkim forces swam against the tide. Theirs was a losing battle but come what may they would go down fighting. The Indira Gandhi-led Congress Government, Congress dominated Parliament, Indian officials at the helm of affairs in Sikkim, Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Indian Army – were no match to the people’s movement opposing the ‘merger.’

    However, four years after Sikkim’s annexation the Bhandari-led Sikkim Parishad scored a decisive  moral victory when it trounced Kazi’s Congress-turned-Janata Party in the first Assembly elections in Sikkim as an Indian State and formed the government on October 18, 1979 with Bhandari as the Chief Minister.  Kazi, the grand old man of Sikkim politics, lost his own seat to a Parishad candidate, Athup Lepcha, from the remote Dzongu constituency in North Sikkim. The Parishad won 16 seats and with the help of an Independent (Sangha MLA, Lachen Gomchen Rinpoche, was actually a Parishad candidate) formed the government.  The Congress (R) party led by Kazi’s Cabinet member Ram Chandra Poudyal, who revolted against Kazi and New Delhi for unilaterally and illegally abolishing the 16 seats reserved for the Sikkimese Nepalese in the 32-member House, won 11 seats, leaving Nar Bahadur Khatiwada’s Sikkim Prajatantra Party with 4 seats. Khatiwada, the former Youth Congress leader who spearheaded the merger movement, fell out with Kazi in 1977 alleging that the ‘merger’ was ‘illegal’, ‘undemocratic’ and ‘against the wishes of the Sikkimese people.’

   The rest is history. Petty politics does not deserve much attention. But what needs to be mentioned here is that Bhandari’s downfall began when he, against the wishes of the people, merged the Sikkim Janata Parishad with Indira’s Congress party in July 1981. Three years after this unfortunate merger Bhandari was dethroned in May 1984 by dissidents within the Congress party. He was accused of being corrupt and communal. However, he fought back and formed the Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP) and returned to power in March 1985, winning 30 of the 32 seats. The Congress party had to bite the dust and had to be content with only 2 seats. Significantly, till date no national parties have won Assembly polls in Sikkim.

   For two terms beginning from 1985 Bhandari ruled Sikkim singlehandedly like an autocrat. His critics accused him of acting like a dictator until he was finally ousted from power by dissident SSP MLAs on the income tax issue in May 1994. His protégé and SSP legislator, Pawan Kumar Chamling, aroused the imagination of the people and using the OBC (Other Backward Classes) card and leading a pro-democracy movement, challenged Bhandari’s authority and came to power in the Assembly elections held in December 1994. Ever since Chamling’s Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) has been in power. Bhandari tried his luck for a comeback but his efforts to do so when he joined the Congress (I) in August 2003 and thereafter to revive his own SSP in 2009 failed.

    “Despite his age we still cannot write off  Bhandari politically,” observed  Suresh Pramar, former editor of Sikkim Express and Eastern Express. A day later Bhandari breathed his last. Significantly, Bhandari’s death came at a time when Sikkim has been in the headlines in the national media for almost a month. China has not only threatened to strike India at the strategic and highly sensitive border area in eastern Sikkim, it has also – for the first time since 1974-75 – stated that Sikkim was annexed and that China may back pro-independence movement in the former kingdom after de-recognizing the ‘merger’.

   When he was abruptly ousted from power in 1984 Bhandari claimed that he was thrown out because he refused to yield on his demands on constitutional recognition of Nepali language, citizenship for ‘stateless persons’, and Assembly seat reservation for Sikkimese Nepalese. Except for the Assembly seat issue the two other demands were met during his tenure as Chief Minister. The third issue, yet to be resolved, is posing a big headache to the Chamling Government.

  When he was ousted from power in 1984, I wrote:  “Perhaps history will look back to this era and recall this period as Sikkim’s “finest hour”. Bhandari then will not be remembered for the wrongs he has done but for the things he hoped to do and for the dreams that he set out to fulfill.”

   His stand, “We have been merged, we shall not be submerged” still echoes in the heart of many Sikkimese. Sikkim faces yet another crossroad even as the man whom many looked up for political leadership is no more. Between China’s latest bid to liberate Sikkim and India’s ‘democracy’ lies the Sikkimese people, who are uncertain and insecure of a future in their own homeland.     

'JOHNNY' ALWAYS CAME BACK:
At this moment I would like to share with the Hermonites something very personal. As I recall, in his 50+years in India Mr. Johnston left Mt. Hermon many times but always came back. I broke down when he and his family left us - I think in 1970. But he returned again. 
1979 was my last year teaching in MH and 'Johnny' (many of us students referred to him as 'Johnny' on the quiet) was the Principal. Mr. Murray left for good at the end of 1978 and Sir was the natural choice to replace 'Bhuntay'. And that is why I got the attached letter from him when I left MH - after 16 years - at the end of 1979. It appears from the letter that he knew me quite well!

It is customary for the Principal to give a gift to the outgoing teachers at the end of the year during a staff meeting. I didn't get one as Mr. Johnston informed the staff at the farewell meet that I was taking a 2-year leave. I never went back to MH but MH never left me and I have never left MH!
Sir visited Gangtok in early 1990 or 1991 after he retired from MH. He again visited us during the centenary celeb in 1995. He may have come in between but we remember his visits in 2010 and 2011 (his last one) with Mrs. Johnston and we had a good time.
Now that he has left us his visits will be no more. But we shall cherish the memories that we shared together in MH and elsewhere. Thank you, Sir for sharing your life with us. Now you have become our Guardian Deity! Cheers! Hail Mt. Hermon!

To Sir with Love and Gratitude For ‘a feast of memories’

Rev. John Johnston, who passed away this morning in Tasmania, wrote this letter to us after his trip around the world with Mrs. Johnston in 2010.

Dear Friends around the world……

This may not be of great interest to everyone who received my “Christmas” letter last November;   but I did promise to make a “report” of the expedition outlined then.  Many of the ‘reportees’ are those whom we met in India between Nov 24 and March 8, so it’s easier to go back to the email IDs I used before, and I trust  others in UK etc. will enjoy the ride!

I realised after some working of the old memory, that mostly this is a Hermonite report….. In our notes I can make out over 100 Hermonites, students, staff and TTCs with whom it has been our privilege to make connections… so you will appreciate too much detail would be overwhelming!  and I apologise to any who may feel “left out”!   During the course of these weeks we have covered a history going all the way from Val’s first contact in 1953,until our final visits from DGH in 2002….almost exactly 50 years of beloved Mount Hermon.     Also I find there are nearly a dozen “places” where these connections were made. We started in Perth when a touchdown there enabled us to meet Ranjit’s lovely daughter Shaheen (one of my junior monitors in 1986) and HER daughter Rachael   

The next bit of course is part of more recent history, when we spent the first weeks at our last Indian home, Barnes School, Devlali.   Even here MH caught up with us, as the new Principal Bryan Martin, V-Principal Trevor Jacob, and long time staff member, Brian Fernandez are all ex-TTC.   It was part of our “working holiday” to enter into the Barnes activities….chapels, dorm prayers, matrons’ meetings, blessing of new dorms and swimming pool, rehearsals for a splendid Christmas programme, Sports Day heats, and of course lots of interest in our former 8s and 10s who were getting ready for this year’s ICSE and ISC.    

 Taking an outing from Devlali we enjoyed meeting up with former staff, Frank and Val Freese in Pune, and inspecting Frank’s two wonderful new schools, extensions of Bishops, where Hermonite TTCs and staff, Henry & Hema Soggee, and Ferdinand Bunyan are in charge.  Also mention should be made of Shalini ( another of my 80s monitors) and her “little” sister, and Mrs.deSousa (widow of Norbert) and old MH and Darjeeling friend, Mrs. Nuges Madan.

From Devlali we went to South India for almost a week with Mrs.Mathai and Shanta, and latterly meeting George and his family, and former staff, P C Mathews and his family.  That week deserves a whole letter to itself, it gave so much pleasure! 

 But then it was off to Kolkata via Cochin and Bangalore  (sad not to be able to meet up there with a whole list of friends from Coonoor days.)    It was wonderful to be met by Sujit and Dipak from the plane at midnight.  Courtesy of Sujit (via Manoj’s P.O. connection) and Dipak’s India Oil connection we enjoyed first-rate guest house accommodation in Kolkata.     Our Christmas day visit to St.Pauls was a lovely experience and even there MH cropped up!    Anjali’s choir  (sadly for the occasion without Anjali) lifted our spirits, and a bit of old Darjeeling came up there when we met Jogen Khan (ex-St.Pauls) and Mary Ann Das Gupta (ex-Calcutta Girls).               For years Kolkata Hermonites depended on Anup and then Santosh, so it is great to see Sujit, Dipak, Sajan, Dipkantha and Dibyendu carrying on the good work.    Sujit, with much help from may others, finally got dates from us(!) and later organised a great get-together on Jan 9th.   There must have been between 40 and 50 at Hathi’s place, and Sujit has prepared a full set of pics of that occasion, and a complete list of Kolkata Hermonites…..thanks Sujit!         As usual we also enjoyed a lovely meal at Sajan’s with the old timers, including Rajeev; Singhanias have a 2 generation connection with MH!    Prabir mounted a great outing to his ancestral home for several of us, including Anjana, Anup’s sister, who was one of Mrs.J’s senior girls in 1953….time goes by !  

In between the two sessions at Kal we went to Siliguri, from where we were able to visit Kalimpong - only 4 hours thanks to the Gurkha agitation,  but time to visit  Gyanu Rongong, Binod Yonzon and his fine son Sidarth, Gandhi Ashram (sadly now without Fr.McGuire) and the sisters at St.Josephs convent .  The Siliguri visit in the hands of Ravi and his sons , along with Rajendra,  Kavita and family, and  Sushil  was really wonderful …how proud we are of these fine young(?)people.   After Kalimpong the Lakhotia vehicle took us on to Gangtok to be guests at the famous Tashi Delek Hotel.    A sensational morning visit to Hanumantok with Motilal Lakhotia left us with wonderful images of the Kanchenjunga range for our digitals !    The next day was one of the Highlights of our travels, when no less than 17 Sikkim Hermonites enjoyed dinner at the Hotel….among all the boys it was special to have Nim and Yanki Shipmo!   A great experience to see “my” students from the 80/90s mixing with our old timers from the 60/70s.   We were also proud to be the guests of Sikkim’s new Minister for Education, Narendra Pradhan, at a conference for his teachers, supported by another Hermonite, Roshni Pradhan……Dr.Uttam, and several others came again to the hotel next morning…….a feast of memories.

Besides THE Reunion during the second session in Kal, other highlights were meetings with the S K Agarwals ( Parents of Rashmi, Divya and Priya), Ramdin and Mridula,  Yasmin Mukand, old Committee member Alfred Martin (and Arpita), and DGH ex-Principal Bernard Brooks.  Also Dipkantha was able to fix a meet with Subirmal Chakraborty, now Principal of La Marts, where we also met Anjali who teaches there too.      A final meeting was with Aparna, and a ride with Runa to see Carol & Benu’s new apartment and meet Anuva.         Senior girls from the 80s will be interested to know of Ma’am’s visits with Sr.Decklen (St.Josephs K/P) in Siliguri,  Sr.Stella ( Loreto Dj.) in Kolkata Loreto (both of them now very unwell) and Sr.Cyril at Sealdah Loreto.        Then all too soon Sujit and Dipak saw us onto the train for Delhi, and all we had planned was history.

The Delhi phase is very much Firdausi’s story !   From her first appearance at the Station to whisk us off to her apartment (if anyone can whisk anybody in Delhi!!) until we left nearly a month later, she was our guardian angel.  (Firdausi Rahman was the star of 4 musicals in the 80s !).    As with Kolkata the Delhi visit was in two parts…a week of various visits….Dr.Navreet Singh;  Ex-TTC  Troy Calvert, Head at Frank Anthony School; the Lalls from Soom Tea Estate;  ex-TTC sisters at Ashok Vihar school, courtesy Thinleys’ taxi;  meals with Rajendra’s family (sadly in Delhi because of Anand’s accident); with Ritesh and his lovely wife and daughter; and an outing with Lance Fuller – ex-TTC and ex-DGH Principal.     Then a quite wonderful luncheon Firdausi organised for nearly 20 Hermonites at a very smart hotel at the end of the week……Sashikala, Ayinla, Pema, Anita, Beauty, Jasmina,Naveen, Harsh, Dipak, Gita,,…..even ex-TTC Andrew Hoffland,  and so many others (photos in Facebook) not least Firdausi’s beautiful little girl, and her honorary Hermonite husband Matthew, and Beauty’s daughter who is ditto her mum..   Then Mehaboob took us for two nights to stay in Meerut with his family.   There we also met Patricia Ismail and her family…..

Then the scene shifted to Dehra Dun, for a week with ex-TTC/staff Tashi and Tsering Dhondup, and 10 days with Namla Tsarong, where Ma’am did a workshop for the Monks and Nuns of the Tibetan centre where Namla has been director with Norzin assisting……what a thrill also to welcome Rigzin all the way from Dharamsala (for many years Secretary to His Holiness), and have tea with him and Sopal Tethong (Matron in 1953), and also with Namla’s brothers and parents.      Tashi &Tsering organised a meal for us to meet Rockey Gardner and Charlotte, Debasis Brahma with his wife… Thinley and his wife…..wonderful!  I also managed to squeeze in a visit with Debasis to Doon School, where he works, and a visit with Barnes ex-Principal and ex-DGH, Albert Temple to see his new school.

A very special item at this stage was a 3 day visit to WynbergAllen in Mussoorie…(where we were happily settled in 1977 until Mr.Murray came and called us back to MH !)   The new Principal, Leslie Tindale was our student in class 7 and 8… and our art teacher Mr.Misra and steward Terence Cashmore are still there.   Mussoorie holds many happy memories for us with Jenni and Lyndy…..I think I took most pics of Mussoorie!!

Then a few more days with Firdausi, where she hosted visits from Krishna, Shibesh and Narottam, and Joysree & AK;   then  we were on our way to Devlali to finish where we started,  at Barnes.   There a  special visit from Pune by Jayanta kept MH in sight.     Finally a couple of days in Mumbai to have a meal with Indranil and his new wife Sweta (all the way from Patna)….and a time with Tehmi Master, daughter of Dr.Master whom Hermonites of the 60s will remember…..a bitter sweet meeting since it was the first time seeing Tehmi since Mrs.Master passed away last year at 92.

Now if you think “this is more than enough”, find room for two more days….. in Singapore with 80s ex-staff Sunny Mathai and his delightful family…but after 4 months it WAS nice to land in Melbourne, to be met by Kris and Jenni’s big girl Annie, for whose graduation we remained a few weeks more in Melbourne until finally reaching Tasmania in April    ...Now greetings to all….      And the last question, when and where next ??!!

 John & Val, April  2010