Lets face it, there is not much to do here any more if you are not a military or medical type. You would have thought that the OZ soldiers would have everything under control by now wouldn’t you ?

I had hoped it would be the case, but the situation on the ground is pathetic. There are no police any more – zip, nada. The streets are empty and as far as I can tell, not one single shop open. I know it is Sunday but there is nothing.

I had been told that the only supermarket open was the Cool Storage, so I grabbed the vehicle and headed there. There was no-one on the streets and apart from the large contingent of OZ soldiers around the dock area, I saw no more. The Cool Storage appeared closed but a local ran across the road and indicated that it was open. I knocked on the metal external gate and eventually someone peeked through the hole (presumably to check for face colour) and let me in. I felt like I was sneaking in through the back door of a knock shop.

I assumed the area would be OK as the ANZ bank is just across the road. I intended to buy drinking water but it was all gone. They still had most of the usual items but some shelves were thinning, particularly breakfast cereal (not on my list). The till was not operating and there was a degree of nervousness from the owner/manager.

I did my stuff and high-tailed it home. No problems but it sent a few shivers up my spine. When I got home, I got a swift reality check. Being almost out of bogroll, it was high on the list. It appears I came back with a 6-pack of paper towels.

It now seems clear it is time to seek higher ground in Australia and I will be taking steps to get there once I sort out a few things here. I have been told that the prisons have lost their guards and most likely lead to the release of prisoners. I am not sure what that means but it doesn’t sound any better. Some of the hardier people I know took the Hercules to OZ today. Not too many people to call any more.

I can’t see things improving greatly for a number of days except if you are journalist. For them, this is what they get up in the morning for.