Fiji, Happy Birthday!

Kiwi Heather is back from Africa - and I will be blogging her adventures only not now - so, last night, "Friends of Heather" met up for dinner at 'Good Luck' in Rat Alley at Lan Kwai Fong.

Lovely night. Lovely food. Lovely people. Pity that Keith ended up drenched in red wine, but you'll be pleased to know, Heather, that we saved the shirt: Kiwi Pre-Wash stain remover and Walex Washing Powder. Worked a charm.

But here's the story: over dinner, Valerie announced that she's been doing her taxes so reviewing her travel diary and only this afternoon made a remarkable discovery: she has lived and worked in sixty different countries in her life.

We were all instantly agog. "What is the most beautiful country you've ever been in?" we wanted to know.

She thought about it. "Every country has spots of spectacular and breathtaking beauty." she said judiciously, "But if you want an entire country that's spectacular and breathtaking, I'd have to say Fiji."

Yayyy! Air-punch, "Go, FIJI!"

"But what would you say if Denise wasn't sitting right beside you?"

"It would still be Fiji. It really is the most extraordinarily beautiful country. I was constantly blown away. Everywhere you look, it's just so especially spectacular."

"And who would you say are the nicest people in the world?"

"Mmmm, if you're asking about helpful, honest, honourable, decent, charming, kindly, nice to be around, that would be ... mmmm? I'd say it's a toss-up between the people of Georgia, in former USSR, and the Fijian people."

Yayyyy! Go Fiji, Go Fiji, Go Fiji!

Happy Birthday, Mai Vanua Loma! 39 today! And many, many happy returns. Centuries more!