2017

As usual on Penang Island the year got off to a spectacular start with a firework display on our estate.

The weather this year though has been unusually wet, even through the dry season in January and February. Twice later in the year the island has suffered from bad floods. We are pretty well safe where our house is located but others suffered twice in quick succession in October and November.

Helen has enjoyed a busy year and celebrated her 60^th birthday in May. Her sister Ann and her husband Gerry came to visit as did daughter Dani and her boyfriend Greg. 
We had a few days together in Phuket to celebrate. Dani continues to do very well with her sports and activities promotions in Cambridge, UK.
Helen's activities during the year include' Book group, boot-camp, yoga, working for several charities and teaching her private English classes....as well many household necessities.

Nikki completed her penultimate year of medical school and as part of her final year she has spent 6 weeks with us in while she gets experience in a local hospital. Helen and I have really enjoyed having her stay with us and get to realize the dedication the career needs. Nikki has spent 2 weeks with a general surgeon, 2 weeks with a neuro-surgeon and two weeks with a plastic surgeon. All three have been great mentors. Her boyfriend Neal arrives from Japan next week and they will go to the USA together where Nikki will spend another 6 weeks in Los Angeles where Nikki will work with a Cosmetic Plastic Surgeon.

\We also had visits from David and Lyn and John and Carolyn Gray.....John is a friend from Pharmacy School days.

We continue to enjoy our house here and have paved the backyard and re-laid the lawn (twice) this year. Our resident orchid has excelled itself for Christmas with 6 flowers. We continue to run the house as a B & B via AirBnB.

The star of most of the comments from guests is Coco who has been as loving as always.  She particularly enjoys the Saturday Pearl Hill walk with a sausage or bacon waiting for her at the end. She also has the insight to know who is family and who is a guest.

We also seemed to have acquired another pet. We rescued two small House Crow chicks several months back. One passed away on the first night but the other one survived. It was fed chopped chicken liver and thrived. It learnt to fly and became somewhat independent but calls in regularly for food. He is the naughtiest of the pets having stolen some steak cubes from the kitchen last week. He comes by before going to bed for a little head-scratch.  He has been time-consuming but educational.

As usual Penang has its share of colourful festivals. Each year we visit Thaipusan with its colour and activity. You could go 20 years and see something different each time. There is also the full-on Chinese New Year celebrations and Hindu festivals like Matu Ponggol where the cows that provide money and food are celebrated.

The wet weather has made 2017 a difficult year for nature photography. I was entertained a lot by a pair of White-throated Kingfishers going through a breeding cycle and had a good trip to Fraser’s Hill in April. The local Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters deserted one nesting site but were found to be using man-made drains in the grounds of a large Chinese temple.

I made two trips to Fraser’s Hill with one being rather wet and the second one producing images of some of the endemic colourful wildlife.

In late October I spent two weeks in Darwin and Kakadu with friends from Singapore and Adelaide. We flirted with the oncoming wet season but loved Kakadu.

On the major photographic competition front I was short-listed for the BBC wildlife exhibition and the Comedy Wildlife International but alas was not a major winner in either. I did however top the scores in the salons approved by the Photographic Society of America.

I was also mentioned in dispatches in an 0n-line NZ newspaper for a tourist image

Shortlisted for BBC wildlife

Shortlisted for Comedy Wildlife

With the wet weather and off-season, I had a bit more time to make some produce. Bread and Kefir are now routine and various fruit-flavoured Kombuchas have been added to the list. The sausages produced are now skinless and healthier with less fat and more herbs.

On the local scene the Monday evening Pub Quiz at Healy Mac’s has been as popular as ever   and for a number of times the highlight of the week. The Stratocasters team has done well with 26 wins during the year and accumulating enough funds from the bonus round to go out for dinner.

My brother David will not rest if I don’t mention the rugby. The Crusaders won the Super Rugby competition while the All Blacks ran hot and cold. The men in black lost two games, which is seemingly unforgivable. They drew the series with the Lions…thanks in large part to eccentric French refereeing and Sonny Bill forgetting which sport he was participating in.

2017 was a year of electronic gadget failures. I lost a desktop computer, a laptop, a watch and a bread-maker. I have been putting my camera very carefully to bed each night. We have however upgraded our internet by getting fibre-optic cable installed which is attached to a super-duper router..

I did get to photograph the secret life of some local animals who relax when they don't have to pretend to be cute (only 1 was photoshopped)

Lastly we salute some good friends who have left us and wish several others who have some pending health battles all the best for 2018. We are with you all the way.

Merry Christmas to all and all the best for 2018