"***Once Sid got out of the shower and was all toweled off and any strayhairs had been shaved away he got dressed in his clothes and they leftagain wi...h the girl who had gone out while he was getting ready.Eventually they arrived at a hall that was frequently rented out forspecial events and the parking lot looked full tonight. Sid felt atightening in his stomach, so many women and they were all going to beseeing his now hairless body displayed for them in a dress. This was byfar shaping up to. Without electricity, there’s no computers, no fax machines, not even telephones. We would have been sitting around in the dark, staring at each other.”We went inside and hung up our coats. I followed Mom upstairs but went into my room, kicked off my shoes, and dropped off my books. I was about to go back downstairs when I heard Mom call out for help. I wandered down the hall to her room and stuck my head in the door. “What’s up?”Mom was standing in front of her mirrored dresser, in the process. Green skirt, green jacket, ughhh! I shed the uniform and tugged my jeans back on, throwing them on the bed for disposal and going for a cuppa. There were photos in the box, all ages, different places, holidays home and abroad and some of my school pals. Actually, we looked really smart in our uniforms, white blouses and house ties (mine was red and blue) cute little ankle socks and black buckled shoes, the tie looked hideous but the rest of it was okay. It was at this point, draining my coffee. There aren't any real topics, just acrimonious backbiting within the parties. Australians don't talk about the real things." Don't be so cynical." Yes, dear." Go look at possible flights." Yes, dear." And stop that!" Yes, dear." She threw a cushion at me.We went to Asakusa on King Street for dinner, Rachel had the chicken teriyaki, as usual, I had a large assorted sushi. While we were waiting to be served I reported. "Okay. We're flying to Perth cheap, and uncomfortable, but we're coming back.