back again....nearly

laptop stolen, again but it didn't turn up again this time so after borrowing other machines I bought a new one, well a refurbished one from Australia as much to avoid Windows 8 as for anything else. Thought I had only lost my photo collection but gradually realise that my financial history, house letting documents etc were also gone. The original laptop that I brought out to PNG and had died from the climate was dug out and computer shop extracted its hard drive providing a separate external hard-drive with all my old data.

Business trip to the capital and find that an official in the Planning Department has been bribed by  a Madang rascol to throw away a report of mine, to have a weekend in Madang and write a favourable report giving him planning approval. Luckily just in  time to get approval withdrawn for an enquiry. Also manage to trace the laws that require Local Government minutes to be public and to persude the bossman at the Trade Union Congress to nominate a trades representative for the Madang Council. So all in all a satisfactory mission. Little miss naughty also turns up, seems she has got her job back in a Moresby hotel, though with her predeliction for getting drunk in her spare time I guess she won't last more than 3 weeks before going back to her mother and daughter in Lae.

Back in Madang I should have learnt by now that elections mean an alcohol ban so that beer costs more in the corner shops and wine only available at a price in the ex-pat hostelries. The town council elections are running predictably slowly but no violence that I've heard of, 94 candidates for 10 seats and then 37 more candidates for the Mayor's post. With preferntial voting the poling and especially the counts take some organising but we hope for a new set of faces even if still rascols looking for their own enrichment, for next month.

ps  photos next time...