Here We Go Again - Chapter 86 - Broome Day 8

The early morning milk run planes, some on mail runs, others heading out to places like the Horizontal Falls, buzz like oversized mossies from just before day break. It is only that I am awake and wandering around that their effect is noted. Robyn continues to snore oblivious to the movements of the early ones. Last time we were here we certainly were a part of the throng, the day we said the falls trip.

Our insect infestation has been thwarted. Only dead bodies remain as remnants to the battle with the chemical warfare tactics of the night before.

One of the frustrating things about travelling with others is the need for consensus. When first gathering brochures for Broome from the Visitor Information Centre one particular cruise and dinner experience has intrigued us. Umming and Ahhing about whether to go or not Silver Leader and Rose have decided the expensive trip, pearling and then dining on a seven course lunch, was worth it and we should book

.

Robyn calls – booked out. We are both annoyed, Should have just done it, to coin the Nike slogan.

There is work to be done and a shopping trip to be encountered. I have a webinar to prepare for and whilst my staff have drafted the slides they are in need of much enhancement. The drafting of the business plan and the discussions around it with them has not apparently sunk in as well as I had thought. They have missed the point completely and it will require some redrafting to be ready. This I will do via a meeting where I can present to them and show them what I mean by our Vision and Mission, conveyed in the presentation. 

Our business is not unique, but it is not what they seem to think. If you have ever seen The Founder (2016 Weinstein Company), the concept of McDonalds as far as Ray Kroc was concerned was not about selling food, it was about real estate. 

For our staff the perception appears to be Property Portfolio Solutions is about selling houses – any houses – but it’s actually about dreams of wealth and “sailing into the sunset” and their satisfaction, with property being the vehicle.

It’s hard when a perception is so strong and entrenched in the mind to bring the Vision to them. Without it though, I will be redrafting presentations until “the cows come home”.

Annoyances out of the way, we do need to do a shop. Woolworths is not far away. There is another annoying experience of the vehicular antics of those here. Obviously frustrated at the continual lines of traffic, a van toting vehicle springs from the right into my path. I brake heavily and the driver either oblivious or simply unable, does not even attempt to assimilate to the speed of the traffic. This is not an isolated incident and Robyn comments about whether this is a “taught” action for drivers here in Western Australia. Sure keeps you on your toes.

The parking area at the local Woolworths is not overly full. There is an overflow adjacent with several vehicles and vans parked haphazardly. We get a spot relatively close to the entrance and head to the air conditioned comfort of the centre.

Almost all the businesses in the centre have signs suggesting they are hiring. The worst manifestation of this anomaly is at the checkout at Woolworths. Large queues of product-filled trolleys await the seemingly sole checkout. The staffer lanets the inability of the business to attract staff. 

There is simply no supply to satisfy demand. But of course there is unemployment. The incongruity of it all.

Back in the van we struggle to put all the provisions away. A glass of Coke ends up all over the van as I sneeze having incorrectly attempted to consume the beverage. The cleaning comes with mirth at the differing places the ejection of the substance has reached.

One of the provisions was a roast chicken, now along with fresh bread rolls becomes lunch. In the making of the repast, I go to take a swig of Coke and manage to sneeze it all over the van. Not just on the bench but in a complete circle, ceiling and floor alike. The result makes us laugh more, making the ability to control the mess even harder.

That under control finally, it’s time to put away the shopping, which requires as much dissection of the large bulk meat fillet as anything else. Slicing, apportinging meal size portions and vacuum sealing all done and dusted. Robyn has some work to do, so Silver Leader and I are off for a fish on the top of the tide where we were yesterday.

The look of the turgid water with mud stirred in the rolling sea has lured us to try our luck. Only one issue, when we arrive the water is calm and, unlike yesterday where streams of muddy water were being taken by the tide, the water is clear. What a difference a day makes.

Not deterred, we hurl baits into the water. Bites are almost immediate followed by snags. This goes on time after time until, annoyed, we switch rigs to something under a float. The bait is sent back out and the tide takes the float with it, creating a great drift over the rocks which have now accounted for much of our gear.

Of course now with the baits away from the safety of their rocky hideouts, it becomes much more difficult to get bites. Now and again the float disappears only to resurface very quickly. We persevere for a while but with the sun setting it is becoming a lost cause.

All of a sudden a whale breaches not far from us, then another. For half an hour we are treated to a spectacular show or breeches, fin flapping and antics from the pod as they cruise by. Oblivious to the show going on, a group enjoying the pool adjacent are yelled at. They start hooting and hollering once they see what we are trying to alert them to.

The fishing may not have been exciting, but the whales and then the sunset certainly do. One might suggest fishing was the winner because certainly the fishermen weren’t.

Back to the park, dinner is thrown on the barbeque – steak and chips, ready for just such a case as we have created. It’s not every time we fish and come back paden with a bounty and this time is one where the fish remain in the depths waiting for another day.