Sunday 2nd march 2008

Hi Mum.

  Hope alls good back home, as everything seems to be here. Heard you had a earthquake back there in Norwich, Linda was speaking to her mum on the phone and she told us the noise woke her at 1 O'clock in the morning and it sounded just like a steam roller running down the road, well it couldn't be a steam roller, could it, they don't work that early, do they. Linda also said that her mum told her that Jarrolds Printing have closed, we miss a lot of the news over here, all the years Linda worked there befor we were married. 

  It sounds as though we have gone a full 360 degrees. Here in Oz., when we first settled here, industrie was made up of many smaller producers and relied on import barriers to ensure their production targets. Now with the freeing of import controlls most small production has stopped due to cheaper imports being allowed into the country, the major industries were the clothing and footwear industries here in Melbourne, now this has all ceased and everything we purchase now are mainly sourced from asia. Our industry thats survived has been those that have grown and been able to export their produce, which are mainly in the food and mining industries, well we all have to eat and Asia need our minerals and iron ore to manufacture what we want to buy back off them. What goes around comes around as they say and it wont be long befor we are the poor man of asia and their produce will be too expensive for us to buy, therefor the industry will return here to be made with cheaper labour supplied throughout Australia.

  Called in on Noel and Roxan after doing the shopping at Aldis last night, Ziggy was running around outside playing with their dog on the lawn, hes growing fast. We were watching the news of more floods up in the north of Queensland. You wouldn't believe we have had nearly 6 years of drought all over Oz. and this year its been flooding up in the north nearly all their wet season, still haveing it dry down here, only the few wet days, we can only hope we get a change soon.

  Well all for this week.

                                   Robert, Linda and the boys