Then I said, "Let's get into the hallway before someone sees you. We can call your parents." She probably didn't want to be anywhere near me, but th... shock of suddenly standing naked in front of the whole school had overwhelmed her.We had just about reached the door when the effects of the nettle dust kicked in. Joyce began to squirm in pain and pull at the robe. As we reached the darkened hallway, Joyce opened the robe, dropped it to the ground, and began to dance and whimper from the. Murray, a poet born in 1938, had gone to University of Sydney. He's been declared an Australian "national treasure."My mobile rang. It was Rachel. "I'm going to hear a visiting poet read. You'll want to get here to hear him, too." Who is it?" Angus Sinclair from Wollongong." Really? I haven't seen him in – oh – 15 years." That's why I'm calling. I'll meet you in 20 minutes at the Cultural Centre, okay?" Right. I'll put on clean clothes."Oh my, I thought. Angus Sinclair. Martha's Angus. [see. What I'd prefer to remember as the final Crystal Passion gig was the first one at the Sisterhood Women's Music Festival where she was accorded so much respect and adulation.And no way was Steph a replacement for Crystal. The best that Stephanie Dickens could be was a surrogate Crystal Passion: able to do the job but never able to match the real thing.But Steph was available and, what's more, she was thrilled to accept the offer. It was a huge step forward for her. The Palms weren't really. Exactly how a labourers might be. Or maybe an infantryman? Jonas wondered, suddenly no longer quite so sure as he had been. He expected an infantryman’s hand and grip to be hard, but quite this calloused and rough? He smiled briefly and nodded.The workmen got back into their vehicles and drove off. Jonas gave it a few seconds then casually followed them. Ten minutes later he knew he’d been wrong. “Fuck!” he snapped, watching them as they started to work. The men were exactly what they’d said.