Chapter 34

I was watching Joey construct his solar wall panel. He had two cement sheets which he had cut to size, there was a hole at the top and another at the bottom, "That's for the pipes Tony, I'll use a bit of stove pipe for that. I've put the sheet against the wall and marked out where the holes go through."

He had cut several strips of sheet about an inch wide, these he used as separators between the two sheets, "That acts a bit like double glazing, the air gap prevents heat loss. I'll paint the face with silver frost to act as a reflector."

The two sheets of corrugated aluminium were already riveted back to back to form a series of tubes. The sheets would be painted matt black on both sides to absorb the heat. "I've spoken to the sheet metal place in Bairnsdale, they are making up some sheet metal channels to go around the outside, once everything is set up we can get the glazier to fit the glass. Then it's just a matter of cutting the holes in the wall and fitting the thing in place. I still need to look around for some adjustable registers for inside, for the time being we can stuff a bit of rag in the holes when we don't want it running."

"You've put a lot of thought into this Joey, if this one works out alright I think you might have quite a few orders for more."

"I don't mind making them for the Sundowner Tony, but I'm not interested in making any more. If anyone wants one I'll give them the plans but they will have to get someone else to build it."

...

Jess and Cheryl were cooking something up, I asked Dom if he knew what was going on, "Not sure Tony but when them two get their heads together it can only mean we are going to be broadsided with something."

Sure enough, that evening they gave us both barrels. Cheryl said, "When we got married, we decided to hold off on the honeymoons so that we could get the Sundowner up and running. Now that things are under control Jess and I have decided it's time to have them."

"Jess and I have talked this over, we still have Kitty and Jack working with us. We figure that they can help out while one couple takes a week off, when they come back the other couple can have their honeymoon."

"Taffy told us that their week at the Walhalla Lodge was perfect, they had a nice room with a balcony overlooking the creek and it was really peaceful. Jess has talked to Trish and we have made the bookings. Dom and me will take the first week and then Jess and you can take the second one. Are both of you boys happy with that?"

My memories of Walhalla and Trish immediately came to mind, we had both moved on and were now 'good friends'. "Yes, I'm quite happy with that Cheryl, Walhalla has always been a favourite place for me. How about you Dom?"

"I've never been there Tony so I can only be guided by what you folk say, let's go ahead and do it."

"Right, I'll give Trish a call in the morning and confirm our bookings. I don't know about you, but I'm really looking forward to spending some time there."

"I don't think any of you will be disappointed, the place is still getting over the last flood but the area has the most amazing scenery. The bush is absolutely stunning, it's rugged and untouched, there's mountains and gullies with little creeks running through them. The wildlife is everywhere, I could go on for hours extolling it's beauty."

"I think we have agreement Cheryl, this husband of mine can't wait to get back sniffing around Trish."

"Jess! that is totally uncalled for, you know as well as I do that what Trish and I had is long in the past."

"Yes, I'm sorry Tony, that came out wrong, I know you love the place, Trish and I are good friends. I was just taking the Mickey out of you, that was silly of me."

"OK love, guess I'm still a bit in love with her but I'm certainly not going to be 'sniffing' as you put it."

...

Ernie had been talking to the road crew ganger. The Tar Gang was coming through to resurface the highway and could be looking for accommodation, he said he would introduce the supervisor when they arrived. When he turned up he offered us a proposal that was too good to refuse.

"We will be in the area for three days, if you provide accommodation and meals, we will do your drive in for payment. Are you interested?"

"Sounds good, how many men are we looking at?"

"Including myself there will be six bodies."

"The only thing that worries me is the cabins are just newly fitted out, I would hate to see tar on anything."

"That's not a problem Tony, the boys all wear overalls which they take off when they finish work, same goes for their boots. There won't be any tar on them when they go into the cabins."

"Right, looks like we have a deal."

Three days later we had a brand new sealed drive in, it sure beat the pot holed gravel we had been using."

...

Dom and Cheryl took their week off and came back looking relaxed and happy. "You were right about the place Tony, it is without a doubt the most breath taking scenery I have ever seen. The Lodge with it's rustic look fits in well with the area, Trish and Rob treated us like royalty, nothing was too much for them. It was great mate."

"Trish and Rob are a great couple, we got on really well with them. I think I learned a lot from watching the way they ran the place as well. I would definitely go back there again."

"As I said Cheryl, "My favourite place"."

"I can't wait to go." Said Jess.

"How did Kitty and Jack work out Tony?"

"Very well, they enjoyed themselves and I think Doug and Alice are getting two very capable workers."

"That's good, Dom and I was a bit worried we were leaving too much for you to handle. Looks like our concerns were unfounded."