big e et al and in particular @Justis I tend to go off like a 'coffee pot' - as my Mum used to say, who brewed her coffee the old-fashioned way, in a pot and one had to watch when the foam began to rise and stand by with cold water and quench it and turn off the heat.
I am o.k. don't want to defend myself - have sat on enough planes to know that there are plenty of people with coughs and colds taking to the air - difficult to change schedules etc. . . . in my case I and my ever worsening cold were ignored by my 'kids' all that time and despite my requests I was not taken to a doctor until the last moment (the outer suburbs of London are a maze, difficult to navigate by an outsider, and one needs a local to even find, let alone, get yourself to a medical service) - and i was totally traumatised by what I was witnessing; my beautiful girl dying and taking everything along into that maelstrom of constant pain, despair, including husband, child and me. She is much better now, due to a miracle, a drug called Palbocyclib and the indescribable and inscrutable effect of people praying and sending good wishes her way!
for Justis:
I think you made no secret on here that you are of Portuguese descent??? after our talk and my mention of de Quiros, I remembered doing a radio show where I had had to research the name 'Australia' and where I found out something really interesting.
Well, the Portuguese being the intrepid explorers, navigators etc. they were - had made it all around the world, including Peru;however under the guise/rule of Spain, who were then ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs.
One Pedro Fernandes de Queros took part in an expedition in 1595 from Peru across the Pacific as 'first Navigator' under Alvaro de Mendana de Neyra. They came across what are now known as the Marquesas and the Solomon Islands where de Neyra died. De Queros married his widow and together they returned to Peru. 10 years later - in 1605-06, on the order of the Spanish Vice King of Peru, de Queros took another expedition across the Pacific, this time in a more southerly direction and first encountering a number of islands, which were later again discovered by James Cook, came across the northerly section of Australia. He realised he had discovered the fabled south land and named it 'Austrialia del Espiritu Santo' (no spelling error, the 'Austria' part was in honour of the Spanish Habsburgs, but essentially the Southland of the Holy Ghost).
He established a colony called 'Jerusalem' in or around what is now Gladstone - and returned to Peru and then to Spain.
It took another 70 or so years before James Cook set off on his historic voyage of discovery.
The end of de Quiros life is not very pretty - he returned to Spain, lived there and was regarded as an imposter and died impoverished but wrote down all about his discoveries.
But of course, Australia had been discovered long before then by a migrating group of people who came in on foot and by primitive boats from the north via a land bridge - our Aboriginal First People.
I thought this might be a story worth telling and I hope that collectively we manage to learn to survive in this now harsh land which has given wealth to so many, freedom to others and which we all call home!
