Sad (disgusting) news that people in boats and even towing trailers are looting houses that have been abandoned in Goodna because of the flooding from that horrific "once in 100 years" rain bomb. Police have arrested 5 so far - let's hope they get what they deserve in the local watch house!  Does JD still live in Goodna - or am I thinking of someone else?

Apologies for the 'shouting' headline but just wanted to catch the attention of Steve Iceton or anyone who may be in contact with him to encourage him to contribute any of those "mainly J troop" photos he mentioned on the GB for posting in the galleries on this site. He can make initial contact via the email links under the Guest Book or Message Board buttons on the Home page if he's having problems navigating into the MB. If anyone is in contact with Steve, please relay this message to him - many thanks!

Best wishes to everyone on the new MB for a very merry Christmas and (hopefully) an even happier new year!

I shouldn't make a joke about Covid because it's devastated so many families around the world, but I used "capers" in the heading for this post to try and lighten things up a little so I can tell the story of how they're treating Covid in downtown Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam's Covid epicentre.
We live in the coastal resort town of Vung Tau, about 2 hours by road or hydrofoil from Saigon (no longer the city's official name but still widely used by Vietnamese, especially in the south). The highway Vung Tau-Saigon has been closed for the past 6 months to stop people bringing the virus into our town and infecting us all - but it was finally re-opened a couple of days ago, despite infection rates still being much higher than last year (like other places in the world influenced by 'Big Business' - in VN's case that's foreign investors wanting everything done their way "or we'll take our money elsewhere" - we're being told that after locking ourselves away for more than a year (literally - only allowed to open the front door to collect the day's meals that have been left outside!), we're now suddenly having to learn to "live with Covid"! Amazing...
But the best bit is in Saigon. If you leave home, best take plenty of money and spare clothes because you will be rapid antigen tested before entry to any gov't agency, business, shopping centre or other venue where large crowds gather, and anyone who shows positive is immediately carted off by ambulance to one of the "field hospitals" (tent cities) with siren blaring - and never seen again until they test negative (follow-up tests every 7 days!). So you might "pop down to the shops" but not be seen or heard from again for weeks - or ever!
I can't help wondering how such treatment would go down in western countries where the snowflakes complain about 'infringement of civil liberties', 'loss of freedom', etc even when just being told to wear a facemask!!! 

Hello Pam - just letting you know we're getting mail failures for your binnroad... email address so unable to contact you unless via this MB.

Just tried to add a 'signature' and date of birth to Profile. It accepted the signature and told me I'd updated my date of birth - but when I went back to check it was still 0001-01-01.  We're all getting older, but I'll bet none of us is THAT old!!! 

Man Utd 0 Liverpool 5 - at Old Trafford, in front of Mr "Big Mouth" Ferguson himself (he who started the entire decades-long feuding with his smartarse comments on arrival at Old Trafford that he was there "to knock Liverpool off their perch")! Now he knows, if he didn't already, that it takes more than one swallow to make a summer! I've gone right off football since the big money replaced local pride and fervour - but last night's result has thoroughly made my day! Now can't wait for the inevitable social media memes of Fergie's face when the fifth goal went in - yeehaaa!!! 

Still took forever to open, so probably need a warning about that in the prelim "We are open" message.  Also a reassuring comment to follow the once-only link from MB to register.