If Port Douglas was as close to a bigger city than Cairns it would be an outer suburb, so it didn't take much discussion before we decided that consuming our lunch on the Cairns Esplanade under the shade of a friendly tree would be a splendid idea.
With fresh prawns, fresh bread, the temperature a very pleasant mid-winter 30° and a gentle tropical breeze wafting across the Coral Sea we felt like the luckiest people in the world.
But it was "Freedom" day. The first of the organised protests held around the country by an ill-informed and generally archetypal unkempt bunch of inconsiderates, intent on forcing their views quite aggressively it might be said on others equally intent on trying to ignore them.
It's a curious thing, politics. Here were people genuinely convinced that the wearing of masks and vaccination is mandatory despite the clear evidence to the contrary. If they'd stopped shouting and looked around they would have noted that even wearing clothes was mostly optional in the spot they'd chosen to demonstrate, yet they persisted in their engagement of an ever less interested audience.
This is North Queensland, not noted for over-reaction, nor for that matter any reaction at all to stuff like this, so after twenty minutes of noisy shouting and banner waving it all just went away, not a ripple remained on the airwaves or the pool.
We had our freedom back.
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