October 15th: Keynote delivered

Phew, what a busy day. Spent much of it on the road shuttling between the City, Flinders and the Hospital. Had to give lectures in two of those places. The keynote went quite well, and I fielded some questions at the end. It was quite a sedate conference with around 70 participants. Was able to pitch in with some nice, recent labour market data on South Australia, all of the forecasts are for workforce expansion. Quite where we will find the 70,000 or so extra bodies that we need to fulfil our requirements in the next five years was a critical question. Skilled migration is one answer, and it may be that we can attract some people from NSW and Victoria with our lifestyle. Of course, we don't have enough water for them, so they will have to get used to washing in sand! The only time I have washed in sand was in the outback, where there really is no water, and it was quite effective except that my hair stood up like Dennis the Menace for about a week. Anyway, most importantly, we need more accountants and auditors, so any of you guys in the UK struggling with recession, get yourself a skilled migrant visa and we will welcome you to Adelaide with open arms.

Mel started her new job yesterday - working with a terrific outfit that designs exclusive (really) travel experiences and accommodation for very elite clients. Their accommodation portfolio is out of this world. Mel is going to add so much value to this business, she is absolutely in her element. Good on ya, Mel.

With all my rushing around, I didn't get to Simon until past 6pm. He was already in bed feeling a bit off-colour. He felt cold and didn't want to eat. I did persuade him to eat something, and a very kind nurse took the ham sandwich that was delivered on his tray and toasted it for him. He perked up quite a bit after that.

He received a wonderful present in the post from the Swifts netball team in NSW, they sent him a team photo with all of their signatures. It is a real treasure, and we will display it on his bedroom wall. The male nurses on the ward have all popped in to have a look, I noticed that all of them, to a man, crouched down to see if it was possible to look up their skirts! Naughty boys. Anyway, thanks Swifts, also for the lovely get well card that you sent to Simon. You are on our 'heaven list'; Simon and I have a list of people that we would invite round for tea when we get to heaven. The list is quite lengthy and growing.

Rushed home worrying that Skippy hadn't been fed and would be fretting. He was still in bed....

Love Marian x