At the end of my second letter on this tour, I was headed off into the sunshine to have a lovely walk along the waterfront near the hotel. It was a beautiful morning and it certainly cleared my head and refreshed me. After that I was picked up by two friends, one of whom is a member of the Delius society and whom I have known for a great many years. He moved a few years ago to Perth and so there was a lot to catch up on! We had the most wonderful and relaxing lunch at a gorgeous restaurant near the city centre but on the waterfront too, with a delightful view of various boats - some small and others rather less modest! I had a seafood extravaganza which seemed to comprise just about every fish one can find in this area - except, curiously enough, the famous Dhufish! After such a big repast it was time to rest in order to feel full of energy for the evening's performance.

The second concert was really excellent too and I was very happy that both performances had been of such a high standard. The audience were fantastic and gave me such a warm reception - so did the orchestra, who were smiling and clapping hard in the curtain calls! I was glad that all our hard work in the rehearsals had been amply rewarded. Once more I listened to the second half of the concert but this time I was a trifle distracted by the bridge on a violin which belonged to one of the first violin section - it fell down with a loud crash and then was deftly moved across the 1st violin section into the lap of one of the inner players, who in turn passed across his own instrument so that the outer player could continue. This inner player then spent most of the movement getting the bridge upright, in the correct place and very carefully and quietly tuning the strings without being heard by the other members - or indeed the microphones, as this concert was recorded too! In the end, all was well and the violin was played by this inner player until the end. The symphony received another enthusiastic response and once more we headed to the sponsor's reception which was highly enjoyable. My friend from the Shell Lensbury club was there with her family and it was so nice to see her again.

The following day was my only other day off this trip and it was spent quite hectically but totally enjoyably. I was picked up by some friends who used to live in Yorkshire and have a beautiful house about 20 minutes from the city - we stopped off at a winery and a chocolate factory and some delectables were drunk and enjoyed. Then we had a barbecue lunch before heading back to town to catch Piers Lane's concert at Government house. What a beautiful building it is! Piers was playing in the ballroom and it was very smart indeed. The concert was terrific - an all Chopin programme with some of my favourite pieces. Afterwards I met the Governor of Western Australia who was very welcoming and a charming man. Then I went for a final dinner with Mark, Piers, Mark's girlfriend and two other friends and it was a lovely way to spend my final evening in Perth. I ordered some kangaroo which is a complete "must" in this country! All in all, I enjoyed this trip to Perth even more than my first one all those years ago.

Early on the Monday morning, Stephen drove me to the airport and I took a flight to Adelaide; by the time I arrived it was late afternoon and already getting dark. As it was also a public holiday there was very little that was open, so I contented myself with checking into my hotel and having an early night. The following couple of days were spent getting to know the orchestra in Adelaide and the conductor, Nicholas Braithwaite, who is English but has lived here for many years. The rehearsals all went well and the orchestra are a great bunch of people - all so friendly and enthusiastic about performing the Elgar. I have had very little time to see much of Adelaide because of the frantic schedule but I have managed to look around the central market which is crammed full of wonderful produce (all vegetables are double size of anything in UK!) and an assortment of little shops selling Aussie souvenirs. I did find time for a very quick Chinese shoulder massage which seemed more of a kung-fu workout for my masseur and was anything but relaxing for me, but left me feeling much better afterwards! I have also walked along Gouger street which is the main street of interest in the city centre, with a great variety of restaurants and shops.

My first concert here was last night and went superbly well - it's a great feeling when all the hard work pays off and the orchestra left me in no doubt at all about their feelings, stamping so loudly and cheering until the roof nearly fell in! I have rarely met a more warm orchestra and I am very much looking forward to the next couple of concerts. As I write, I have just returned from a really delightful lunch with the CEO of the orchestra - we went to a restaurant just outside the city centre overlooking the Torrens river; whilst we ate seafood and chatted I enjoyed watching a huge fountain leaping in to the sky and dancing in the sunshine. A perfect way to relax and prepare for this evening's concert which is being broadcast, so now it's time to head back to my room and rest.

I may not get a chance to write again whilst I'm in this hemisphere as the Tasmanian stretch of the tour leaves almost no room for anything other than work. But having had such a close association with the name Tasmania for all my life, I'm really looking forward to being there and I'll write something from Hobart if at all possible.

Until next time,

Tasmin