Monday & Tuesday

The old computer here is now aflutter with post-it notes and I have the timeline for the novel. It took a while and may well change, but it's much easier to go forward with some sense of where I'm going. I wrote for much of the day, although I did stop to go for a walk.

I walked along the shopping strip and just happened to call in to the bookshop. An Angus & Robertson, it has a lovely big children's section but no Ebi, no Kora. :( I spoke to a staff member and she took my details and suggested I come back during the week and speak to the manager. It's hard work having to lobby each bookshop to get my books stocked. Of course Snow Play is on order in multiple copies, so that's good.

Norwood Parade has many, many cafes - I think I could eat out each day I'm here and not go to the same place twice. There's also a cinema there, and two others on the edge of the city. The supermarket, however, was closed for the Queen's Birthday Holiday.

I went to the zoo yesterday, with my own private guide. Planned to be a half-day trip, I got back at nearly 4pm. My guide, Rosemary, has been involved with the zoo as a volunteer for many years and had wonderful stories about individual animals and different breeding programs, not only here in Adelaide, but in other zoos throughout Australia and beyond. The time flew by.

I returned with soo many ideas, but I've just had to write them down and will come back to them later.

I took a quick trip to the supermarket before catching a bus into the city to meet with members of the children's writing group Ekidnas. The bus driver was very helpful and explained how their ticketing works, so I won't seem such a tourist when I get on the next bus. Dinner was fun, it was good to put faces to names I was familiar with and to meet some new people.