Colin's Dream Journal

[The Spangled Drongo]

The Power of Perl I'm being shown around at a new job. I think it's at a big bank. A young woman is telling me about what I'll be doing. She says that as long as I can program in Perl I'll be okay. She shows me some graphics programs written in Perl. I don't actually know Perl but I figure I can learn it quick enough so I don't say anything. Now I'm going up an escalator with my friend Carlo. He says that he wants me to keep it quiet that I know him. I get the impression that he thinks people will think I got the job because of his influence. I'm not sure how to take that. Now I'm at home with my parents. We're in the garden at the old house in Five Dock. I tell them that I have quit my old job and taken up this new one. They are concerned that I've done the right thing. I try to explain to them that I'm bored with my old job and need something new.

[The Spangled Drongo]

A Lucid Dream I'm in the old cafeteria at work. There's been some kind of conflict and I've been conscripted along with a lot of other men. Now the conflict is over and we're being released from service. I ask someone if this means we're being demobilised. Other people are going to celebrate but I decide to leave. I go outside and look for my car. I can't find it. Now I'm walking along Parramatta Rd past the Union Theatre. I look at some stone walls to my left and suddenly realise I'm dreaming. I'm excited by this but I manage to keep the lucidity. I walk up to a rather plain looking woman ahead of me and tell her that this is all a dream. She agrees with me. She doesn't seem surprised. I keep walking and looking around. After a while I start to run. I go bounding along the road in complete abandon. I feel wonderful.

[The Spangled Drongo]

Illegal DVD's I'm out in the garden. I've just got up and I go to a picnic table and sit down to have breakfast. I call out to Mum. I can't see her but I know she's nearby. I stand up and look behind me and see Gran. She's putting out some washing. I call out to Mum and ask her where Helen is and then answer my own question by saying that she hasn't got up yet. I see a pile of newspapers and pick up a catalogue of electronic goods to read and then sit down again. On the front page is a cartoon. It shows John Howard as a rather ludicrous duck-like figure. He's in an electronics showroom. He's saying to the salesman "You know those DVD's you're showing of the football match are illegal".

[The Spangled Drongo]

Soggy Bookmarks I've given one of my bookmarks to someone. Sherrie I think. She has done something to it and it's a soggy mess. Maybe dropped in water. It's completely ruined. Now I'm talking to someone about travel expenses. The person says that you can only claim for 140k, but I say that I wanted to take the bookmark to Tweed, which is further. Now I'm talking to Sherrie about the bookmark. She's standing at the top of a subway entrance I think. I tell her that she won't get a share of the profits from the bookmarks now. I'm giving her a humorous rant but then I realise that she's looking at someone standing behind me. Ripples in the Driveway Sherrie tells me that she's worked out the cause of ripples in the driveway. She shows me that she's mowed the grass outside the gate and this has revealed the problem.

[The Spangled Drongo]

Denny in the Carpark I'm in the city. I drive to the entrance of a government scientific organisation. I hear a sort of commentary voice that says that organisation is full of Mensa members. I decide to see if I can park in the building's underground carpark. I'm expecting it to be full of cars but it's empty. As I get out of my car I see Denny getting out of hers on the other side of the carpark. I call out to her that I'm surprised the place is empty. She replies that there's a big conference happening and the bigwigs are parked in a special basement carpark.

[The Spangled Drongo]

Tracey's Totem Pole I'm at work talking to Tracey and some other people. We're discussing the possibility of another reorganisation. Tracey says it doesn't matter to her because she's so low on the totem pole.

[The Spangled Drongo]

The Earth Eye I'm showing someone an astronomical phenomenon. I point a telescope toward a sort of vortex in the sky and the Earth appears in the centre. I say to the person something like this shows how central the Earth is to things. It looks like a blue eye.

[The Spangled Drongo]

A Visit from a Coucal Sherrie and I are in the loungeroom. I look outside and see a beautiful feather just disappearing from sight. It's the tail of a coucal who's been hanging around the house. I slide the glass door open and it comes in. It looks like a delicately built dog. It's not shy and lies down at my feet. I'm concerned that Betty the dog might chase it away but she doesn't seem interested. Sherrie comments that it has beautiful delicate eyelashes. The Governess I & II Two narrative dreams in which I'm a young woman. In the first dream I'm an innocent girl who fears she is going to be killed by the jealous wife of her employer. In the second I'm a scheming witch who is plotting to kill the wife and take over. Dishonest Worms I'm watching a drama set in Victorian times by the look of peoples' dress. An old man is talking to another younger man who is sitting at a table with a woman. I gather the younger man has said something disparaging about working people. The older man launches into scathing attack and points out all the failed business deals of the other man in which other people have lost money. He finally runs down and comes to sit at the table. It seems that despite their differences the two men have to cooperate in some venture. The woman reminds them that if they want to catch their train they have only a few minutes to finish their dinner. The younger man produces a big bottle of worming mixture. It appears both men have had worms.

[The Spangled Drongo]

A Dead Dog I'm down at Wareemba. I meet someone who tells me that one of the local shopkeepers drums up business by giving away nice food. I go to the corner of Coranto St and Great North Road and join a group of people who are eating the food. I don't intend to take any food at first because I'm not going to buy anything but someone comes by with a try with slices of cake on it and I take one. Now I'm driving up Coranto Street towards Rowley Rd. I see a dead dog lying in the gutter. It looks like a German Shepherd. I conclude that it's been there for a while because it's all dried out. I wonder why nobody has taken it away. I have a momentary stab of anxiety that it's Ruby and then dismiss the thought. I decide not to tell Sherrie because I know she would be upset.

[The Spangled Drongo]

An Eagle in the Backyard (Last night I woke up to meditate at around 1am - that's my usual practice - and when I went back to bed an hour later as I fell asleep I repeated to myself "A lucid dream about an eagle". This is what I dreamed.) I'm at Five Dock looking out of a window into the backyard. I hear various birds and can see some doves. Then I hear an unfamiliar cry. I see that there is a medium size bird of prey sitting on the fence. It's tan coloured and when it turns towards me I see that it has a lighter brown face. It's wings are half opened. As I watch it drops down into the yard next door. I see that there is another similar bird which is fighting with a small goanna. I gather that this is the mate of the other bird. It starts to help catch the goanna. (The bird I saw was more like a hawk than an eagle but it's not bad for a first attempt.)

[The Spangled Drongo]

An Older Husband I'm in a video store. I see a rather short man. I'm reminded of something I read in a magazine about a man who has a wife who is 13 years younger than him. The article said that this man always researched everything in advance. It said that his wife was very nervous and unsure of herself because of her youth and this was his way of making sure that she didn't get flustered. It occurs to me that this is the same man.

[The Spangled Drongo]

A long series of narrative dreams that seem to involve the same character. He is called Geoffrey Robinson. It starts with him being interviewed for TV. On the Cattle Station GR came to Australia to work on a cattle station. I see him as a young man walking among Aboriginal people at the station. He's thin and gawky with glasses. He explains in the interview how had trouble fitting in. He talks about the size of the property. About 5 square miles. The Catapult Now GR is explaining some of the improvised machines he used to catch cattle. I can see him in the backyard at Five Dock. He is working on an arrangement with a long beam and a counterweight. It looks like a catapult. He's being helped by a couple of people. Living in a Container Now there's an episode of GR's life in which he is living in a container in the city somewhere. He's sick and seems to want to die. He won't come out of the container. The police have a warrant to get him out. In a Displaced Person Camp (I'm GR this time) I'm in a wartime camp for displaced people. I'm with a group of older women. I'm on good terms with them all. One of the them confides to me that something very good has happened to her. She doesn't say what. Later my group has to move to another barracks. We're packing up. I tell another of the women that I was struck by lightning and that the woman who confided in me was also struck but not as strongly. I say that although she didn't say as much I think the "very good thing" is that she has found a romantic interest. The other woman agrees. The Sinking of a Cargo Ship (I'm still GR) I'm in the story of the sinking of a cargo ship in WW2. I'm at the coast and I look out to the horizon. There are dozens of warships and cargo ships moving north. I can see that one of them has overturned and I note that its bottom is flat. Now I'm walking down a flight of stone steps. An old woman is in front of me. She goes to the right and I see her go up and touch the stone wall. I think a name has been engraved on it. I think about the cargo ship. I know that it's Russian. I wonder how the captain will fare when he goes back to Russia. Now the scene shifts. I can see a group of women. I gather they are involved in the early years of early TV. GR has just left the room. He is very distressed by the memory of the cargo ship. The women discuss how he is reluctant to talk about his wartime experiences. The 60's Pharmacy Now I'm in the city. I'm walking down a hill towards the city centre. I come to a busy street. I can tell by the size of the buildings and the cars that this is the 60's. I cross the street and go into an arcade. I'm a salesman. I go into a pharmacy speak to the chief pharmacist. I give him some of my bookmarks. I notice that there is a display on the wall in a couple of places that look like my antfarm worlds. I wonder how it's done given that computers are very primitive in this time. I gather that GR has fallen on hard times. The death of his wife and diabetes have reduced him to a shell. I talk the pharmacist into prescribing some insulin for him. I write the word "ping" in a circle on the wall in two places. I'm hopeful the insulin will help GR. Power Cable Now I've left the pharmacy. I have to climb up a grassy slope. I come to a bit that is too steep to climb so I step back down and move to my left. I come to the edge of the property. I climb up onto the footpath. There is a man there. I talk to him for a while. I notice that the powerline is right down near the ground. It looks dangerous to me.

[The Spangled Drongo]

Political Connections I'm talking to a man and a woman about behind the scenes deals done by the Australian government. They are both spooks. As we talk I'm looking at some bookshelves checking out the science fiction books. I'm told that at one time the present Japanese Prime Minister worked for a mercenary organisation alongside Frank Hardy. The woman mentions Norman Lindsay and calls him a "pathetic little fantasist". The woman says there is an abandoned installation in the jungle. There are unopened crates of equipment lying around. There is also a big plantation as cover. She says that even though there is a caretaker there no-one ever comes out of the shed. Now I'm driving down a jungle road with the spooks. I've been partway down this road in the past. This time we go right to the end. There is an open area with a chained link fence. The jungle has been cleared and I can see the shed and various trees and shrubs. I can see that they are introduced plants. I want to get a better look. There is an air of abandoned secrecy and menace. I can see a row of tall trees with with flowers. I think they are called "Rosethorn" trees. A Rigged Trial I'm a policeman. I've been summoned to a hearing because I've been accused of stealing a valuable feather. The case is a setup but because the feather was in my possession I decide that I'll plead guilty. I apologise to the court and get off lightly. After the hearing some of my friends say I should have defended myself but position is that that was what the corrupt cops who set me up wanted me to do. Now I'm with Dave Gray and another cop who I don't know well. He's a friend of Dave's. We're climbing up the stairs towards the top of a building. Dave and his friend agree that I did the right thing. If I had fought the charge it would have destroyed my career. Now I hear that a police union official (maybe Dave's friend) has decided to protest the corruption by flying his plane into a glacier. People say he should be respected for his courage and principle. Joy and Me There's something going on between Joy and me. I'm in a room with her and Andrew. I don't know if he knows about us. She asks Andrew about the weather forecast and he prints out some colour charts. He says he can get a closer view and produces another one.

[Jess]

Hey Colin, I like the style of your dreams. Short, sharp and interesting. You seem really able to record them as is, without subconsciously editing them in an attempt to make sense of them, something which I'm sure I'm guilty of sometimes. Nicely incubated eagle/hawk dream.

[The Spangled Drongo]

Thanks for your comments Jess. At the moment I'm still working on recall, so sometimes the details are a bit vague. But I try not to interpolate anything when I write the dreams up. I actually try to get them down as soon as a wake up and transcribe them later. I only change what I've written if I'm sure I've remembered an extra detail. I was really pleased with the hawk / eagle dream. The idea of seeing an eagle just came to me as I was drifting off. I figure that since the image worked I'll use it a bit more so I'm working on seeing an eagle again and using that as a trigger for lucidity. I actually have eagles in my part of the world so it's a natural thing to use. So far no luck. I guess the initial success is sort of beginners luck. Plus maybe the dream mind signaling that's willing to cooperate. This is a picture I took of a wedgetailed eagle that came to visit a while ago: He was a fair way off so the picture is a bit fuzzy.

[The Spangled Drongo]

On the Border I'm in a whodunnit dream. It's set in the area along the US / Canada border. I'm a detective. I'm standing at the bottom of a hill. An old 4 wheel drive comes down the hill too fast. It runs off the road, narrowly missing Sherrie and me. Now I'm talking to a young woman. She says she was the driver but I think she's protecting her husband. Chased by Thugs Sherrie and I are in a shopping mall in Casino. She goes into a shop and I wander into an older part of the mall while I wait. A young man approaches me. He's friendly and personable. He tries to talk me into taking a notebook (like my dream journal in fact) to an address in Nimbin. I'm suspicious of the deal and refuse. I think it may have something to do with drugs. As Sherrie and I leave the young man becomes nasty. Now we're crossing a busy city road. We get to the middle and set off to go to the other side. A motorbike roars past us barely missing Sherrie who cries out in alarm and jumps out of the way. Now we're being chased along an alleyway. We run into the local police station for refuge. The thugs follow us. Now we're in a room with them. At first it seems as if we have the upper hand. One of them is a woman. She has sort of turned into a fox. She has a sharp little face. I cover her head and hit it repeatedly with a newspaper. I uncover her head and see that she still looks like a fox. She snarls at me so I cover her face again and hit her some more. I know this is cruel but I don't stop. Now we realise that the police in the station are in cahoots with the thugs. We leave. (There's a passage here that's gone). Now I'm at Five Dock. I know that the thugs are outside. I close all the doors and windows. My family and I are in the lounge room when I see three faces at the window. I turn to Dad and ask where the gun is. He takes a pistol out of a display cabinet and hands it to me. I brandish the gun at the faces in the window and they disappear from sight. I'm not sure that the gun will keep them away.

[The Spangled Drongo]

Violence in the Local Council A fragment in which I'm talking to someone about the fights between members of the local municipal council. It's night. I'm watching cars pull up for a meeting. My phone rings. It's a mobile number and I realise it's my neighbour Lisa instead of the person I'm expecting. A Rented House Marek and I have rented a house in the city. We've just taken possession of it. He has gone out and I'm expecting people for a party. I'm sitting in the loungeroom when they start arriving. I don't know anyone and I'm rather taken aback by the number of people that have shown up. I go into the kitchen. There are more people there. I decide to look around the house. I look in the downstairs bedroom. It looks quite tidy. I conclude this is Marek's room and that he's already sorted himself out. Now I go up the stairs. They are narrow and dangerous. There's no handrail and at the landing halfway up there's a door with a sign on it that says "Don't sleep in this room or the whole house will fall down". I go into the upstairs bedroom. It's a complete mess. The floorboards are rotten and there are gaps in the floor. It's full of junk. I look out of the window onto the wall of another house. I'm pretty disgusted that a house like this can be rented out. Skyving Off at Work I'm at work in a big open plan office. I'm working on an interfacing problem that I don't really understand. After a while I give up and go to find Marek. I start talking to him about how slack the IT people at MNC were to create this problem but Marek shushes me because he's writing something down. I'm a bit stung by his tone but then I think I shouldn't have interrupted him. Now we're walking around the office. Two pretty young women come up to us. The prettier of the two wants to ask us a question but I'm not sure what it is. I look at her and think to myself what a pretty face she has. Now I'm getting myself a drink. I'm looking in a punchbowl. It's nearly empty with pieces of fruit in the bottom. I reach in and pick out a piece of strawberry and put it in my cup. Then I think that this isn't very hygienic so I find a ladle and get some more fruit. I notice I've picked up some peanuts as well. I plan to top this up with some of my ginger beer. Now I'm back in the IT area. I'm sitting next to Greg. He says he hopes no-one noticed that he has just come back from wandering around all afternoon. I reply that I've been wandering all day on two separate errands.

[The Spangled Drongo]

In Darwin's Library I'm in the library of the Darwin Museum. I'm thinking about tapes. It turns out that slight changes in the tape will mean that it never rewinds exactly the same. This is supposed to have significance for the theory of evolution. I know that this will be greeted differently by skeptics and believers. The Tapes Are Ready (Probably connected to the first dream.) I've finished a project. The results are on two tapes. They are in a sturdy envelope but I'm a bit concerned that it isn't strong enough. I show the envelope to one of the project managers. He hefts it in his hand and I can see that the tapes inside have moved but he says it will be fine. It strikes me that he doesn't care and just wants to send the tapes off. Howard in an Accident I live on the Kyogle road, maybe near the Mebbin estate we visited yesterday. I come down the driveway towards the road and see that a small car has come off the road and gone down the steep bank. I can just see the top of the car. I go across the road to have a closer look. I open the passenger door and see that the driver is John Howard. He's unconscious and looks little and frail. I call out to him and shake him but he doesn't respond. A car pulls up and a man gets out. I tell him who's in the car. It's going to be tricky getting him out because it will have to be from the driver's side and there are quite a few cars passing by. Now I'm walking down a crowded city street. It's 9am and everyone is rushing to work. I come to a T-junction and go to the right. I don't know what the latest is about Howard's accident. Now I'm with a group of people training for touch footy. There's a movement and I get into the line but the ball gets passed across me. I'm disappointed to be left out but I realise that this is because I'm not keeping up with the movement. I decide I have to get to work. I change my clothes and put an empty chip packet on one of my feet as a shoe. I walk a few steps and realise that I've only got one foot covered so I go back and put another chip packet on the other foot. ( Makes sense in a weird kind of way.) Now I'm coming down the stairs in the uni library building. I work on the ground floor. Workmen are just putting the finishing touches to the new colour scheme of the building. All the banisters and bookshelves are made of metal pipes and these are painted a different colour on each floor. On the ground floor it's black. On the floor above it's deep green. I walk along the corridor among the bookshelves. I think how lucky I am to work in the library. I hear people talking about Howard's accident but I can't make out what the situation is.

[The Spangled Drongo]

A Burning Volcano A fragment of looking at an extinct volcano. Inside the crater there are several shelves, and I know that they are usually all fertile and green. Now they're all on fire. I look at the crater and see that it's filled with smoke.

[The Spangled Drongo]

Go Fuck Yourself I hear about a Greek Orthodox ritual in which an adept with a very big penis is able to penetrate himself. This is only done on particular days. I go to the ritual and take part. I don't see any penetrations. I decide it's not my style. I talk to someone later about this and the Ronald Steele comes up. I'm not surprised. Now I hear about a variation of the same thing. In this case the penis is kept erect using a ring behind the head. I go to this one too. I talk to someone about this later and learn that this ritual and learn that this is an "unauthorized" ritual because it has not been performed according to the rules. I also learn that strong participants can create effects around themselves and weak ones are affected by them. It sounds a bit scary to me. Another Dead Dog I'm in an autopsy room. There is a dead dog on the table. I can see that its chest has been cut open. It looks quite peaceful lying on its back with its head to the side. It's Friday afternoon and I realise that the dog can't be left out all weekend. I ring for some attendants to come and take it for storage. When they arrive they ring the bell and I let them in. Apparently they aren't allowed into the room without permission. A Trip To The Islands I'm with Michael Moriarty in a train. We're traveling to Sydney's northern beaches. I look out of the window and see a group of islands off the coast. I comment to Michael about how nice it is and he replies that he's supposed to be doing research but in fact he's just enjoying himself. Remaindered Books A fragment of looking at a table of remaindered books. I don't find anything of interest and move on to another table. An Open Fire Door I'm at work. I have to go downstairs to another department. I go the long way. It seems like I have to go out to Goolmangar and back to get there. I find Dave Goulding in a car. I get in and start talking to him about something. Before I can finish he says "1 o'clock". I gather there is going to be a meeting. As I sit there I notice someone from another department come out of the fire door and then go back inside. It occurs to me that the fire doors may be unlocked. I'm back on my own floor. I take Anthony with me and go looking for the fire door. I ant to test to see if it can be opened from the other side. I leave Anthony on the other side in case I can't get back in and then go through the door and let it close. I can see that it is in fact unlocked. Now I'm talking to Dave again. I tell him about the fire door. He's not surprised. Paul is there as well. He points to a white spot on a urinal nearby and says that this is caused by bird shit. Now I'm walking down the corridor outside Medical Records. I pass a group of school children. They are sitting in rows on one side of the corridor as if they're in a bus. I gather they're on some kind of school excursion. Now I'm walking past the kitchens. There is a group of young trainees. They greet me as if I'm an important person. I come to the back door of the computer centre and then realise that it's been converted into offices and is used by someone else now. I go back the way I came. I feel a bit foolish. I pass through the pathology lab. I see two large troughs full of water. I note to myself that these would take a lot of water to fill. This would be quite a big deal in the light of water restrictions.

[The Spangled Drongo]

Weekend Sport I'm at the hospital. It's Saturday. I've been playing sport I think. I talk to Dave Riddle as we cross the loading dock. He tells me about a Rugby League team called the Arrows that is winning all its matches. We talk about what sport the Americans would play if they took up a new one. Dave says League. I say I can't understand why people prefer League to Union. Now I'm inside a big warehouse on the other side of then loading dock. I'm waiting for Dave to lock up so I can go home. I go out onto the loading dock a couple of times to see what the hold up is. The second time I do this I realise that I'm naked. Now I'm standing among some shrubs with a small group of people. I'm waiting for a woman standing in front of me to finish something I think. I get the feeling she's waiting for another woman to arrive. I can't help noticing how baggy her shorts are. I gather she has been playing sport too. As I wait I take a couple of spoonfuls of a bitter liquid from a container at my feet. The spoon looks the the little round one that Sherrie uses to measure out the Sasha's Blend for the dogs. Two Apples For Lunch I'm talking to a nurse in the hospital. We look for something in PAS and then decide it's time for lunch. I select two apples from some fruit. I see another apple that has a big bruise on it. I eat one of the apples as I follow the nurse. We are heading "south" in some sense, maybe towards Maclean. Another nurse joins us, maybe Loretta. I put my arm around her shoulder and ask how she's going. She tells me that her hospital has been closed and she's doing something else now. Seeing Mary-Lou I'm with Sherrie. We're at a counter waiting for something. There are other people there as well. They're clustered around Mary-Lou. She's dressed in sporty clothes. I don't think she sees me. Now she leaves and the people who were talking to her resume their places in a queue to get to the counter. They claim places in front of us. I'm a bit annoyed by this.

[The Spangled Drongo]

A Big Fish Farm I'm looking at a big fish farm in the ocean. It's circular and there is a smaller circle inside it attached to the side. I explain to someone that I'm only going to take the fish in the smaller area and let the rest go. The Escape Key I'm trying to transfer a file from Tweed Heads. I've been told that it's in the local operator's file area. I can't get it to work and I get very angry. I bash my keyboard and push 4 or 5 keys down so that they stick. I know someone has seen this and I rather shamefacedly unstick the keys. I notice that the escape key is missing from it's place on the top right corner of the keyboard. I ring someone and ask them to to perform the escape function for me remotely.

[The Spangled Drongo]

A Walk After Lunch I'm sitting on a bench in the main street of Nimbin. Next to me is an attractive woman and next to her is Neil Wornes. We generally go for a walk after lunch. I get up and go towards the park. I'm carrying a duffel coat and I go to the newsagents and ask the lady behind the counter to look after it for me. She jokingly refuses and then takes it to put under the counter. Now I'm standing in the main street next to the park. Some cars have lined up to drive into the park. I wait for one to go in and then walk in front of the next one, which waits for me to pass. I notice that the cars look quite old and battered. I note that you couldn't stand in the middle of the road like this in any other place. Now I go to the footpath next to the pub. I'm hoping the others are going for a walk down the street. They join me and we walk down the street and around the corner. Another old car roars off in a shower of gravel and heads off down the road past the Bowls Club. I think about the woman with me. I find her very attractive and wonder what her name is. Now we're at the bottom of a rocky slope. There is a path of sorts going upwards. It looks like it's been made by water running down the slope. I go up about 10 feet. I tell the others I've seen Stephen Hawking climb up to where I am. I say that he has more mobility than people think. I come down and show Neil that the surface of the rocks is like cracked plaster. I push down on it and can see that it has sort of bubbled from the surface and has some give in it. I tell him that this is what Hawking is interested in. He's Still the Smartest I'm talking to David Brown's mother. She's standing behind a counter in her garage. She tells me that David has beaten a champion from another country. His test scores were way ahead of anyone else. I ask her what his score was when he beat me the last time. She says she doesn't know. I wonder if she's lying. A New Path in Wild Divine I'm looking at a Wild Divine game. I realise that there are more energy events that I haven't tried yet. I see a character who looks like a circus acrobat climb up a pole and go to the left. I see that this leads to the events. I have only gone to the right.

[The Spangled Drongo]

A Special Dinner I'm in a big hall. A long trestle table has been laid out for dinner. There's seating on long benches on both sides of the table for twenty or so people. It's a special dinner where people buy a place and meet new people. I can see some of the guests arriving and finding their places. I see one man in heavy work books climb over the back of the bench to get to his place. I see another swap his place marker with someone else's so he can sit elsewhere on the table. I gather some of the guests have done this before and know each other. I look along the table until I find a place marker with my name on it. Killings in Cuba I'm with another man in Cuba. We're walking along a fence. We're talking about people getting killed and who is responsible. I see a couple of the locals look quickly around a corner. I gather that this is a dangerous place.

[The Spangled Drongo]

A Present From Mum I'm driving with Dad and Helen in Five Dock. We go up Mons St and turn into Rowley Rd. I comment that Mrs Richter's house would be a good buy. We go down Rowley Rd until we come to the house. I notice that one of the houses a few doors up is being renovated. I get the mail and see that there are some letters and also two small parcels, one for me and one for Dad. I recognise Mum's writing on the outside. Now Dad drives down the side passage and comes to a halt outside the front door. I look at my parcel. At first I think it's a bar of soap because of the shape, but when I unwrap it I see that it's two Tim Tam's and some dried fruit. I'm touched and amused. I wrap the contents back up roughly and get out of the car. A Cup of Tea I'm with a group of people. We've just come from a meditation session I think. We go to have a cup of tea. As we go through a door Annette tells me that she wants to keep the news about Gillian quiet for a while. I ask her what the news is and she says that Gillian is getting a house in the area. Now I'm looking for my cup of tea. I go back to a table near the door and see a cup but it isn't mine. I get another cup and sit down at a table with some people I know. It's late and I want to leave but I stay to talk for a while. How Are The Figures? I go into an office at work. I want to check on some figures that are produced daily and are always wrong. I go up to the lady who looks after this. Because I ask the same question all the time I pretend to be a shy child and mumble my question I do this to amuse her. She gets the joke and tells me that there were 320 entries on the report, which looks reasonable. At first I'm encouraged by this but then I realise that it's Thursday which is a special day in the cycle. The lady agrees. A man sitting at a nearby desk comments that the data in the report is always rubbish. He says the Police Department have written a special program to filter out the crap from their copy of the report.