Limbo... now there is a word with a lot of definitions. As it happens this word seems particularly fitting for our 1997. Whether this warrants a newsflash from the great down yonder is not entirely clear. But, you can make up your own minds by fossicking through our year in limbo:

Limbo:   1. prison or confinement

If confinement is about being isolated from the rest of the world, then Perth must be the largest prison in world! However, we have grown to love this place over the last 4-5 years. Its friendliness, beauty and hidden secrets still amaze us..... now that sounds more like something what's-his-name-Attenborough would have said. We like to refer to Perth as the biggest little village of the world. It has got the low population of a village (per m2) and the amenities we expect from a capital city. In spite of this comfortable Perth lifestyle, the isolation and ignorance for happenings in the rest of the world does get to us. As a result the travel bug does seem to return at least once every 12 months.

This year the travel bug returned on several occasions. Signals of worse to come arrived just six days into the new year. We delivered Matt, Jackie and Sophie at the airport for their journey back home through Singapore. Hild escaped just days after going to the Gold Coast (Queensland) for a conference. Rob had to wait almost two months for his escape to Brisbane (also Queensland) for a meeting. The major travel bug was not relieved till sometime around Easter - as in 1996. British Airways kindly delivered both travellers in Oslo. Picked up at the airport and driven 4 hours into the mountains just about brought them to Rygnestad. A very short week was sped up by ski trips, chatting in Valle Handel, chatting in the bank, chatting in the streets and visiting everyone - invited or not. Sadly, the lamming season had not started by the time we had to leave. This we put down to poor planning by the farmer..... We went on to visit Nina and other old and young acquaintances in Ås. Rob had not been back since he left the place back in 1992 - so he was pretty chuffed. And guess what? They all still remembered him............

Rob went back to Perth shortly there after with a week or so stop-over in Wokingham. Between socialising with family he fitted in some work related visits to Reading University as well. At the same time Hild was scouring all over Denmark looking for the last remaining data for her PhD. As it turns out she got it all, but she can not return to Denmark until the next generation of civil servants are in place... (say no more!).

We got June, July and August together on the same continent which is quite an accomplishment for us. But then Rob was off to the huge biannual conference in Singapore. He came back with amazing stories of midnight zoos and 3 floor computer shops. Hild is not quite sure if the whole thing wasn't just a smoke screen.. (or smog screen).

Trips away from Perth almost automatically end up being extravagant working holidays for us. This is a factor of Perth's incredible isolation. We tend to ignore this fact and as a result went to Melbourne for an October weekend. This is the equivalent of flying from Barcelona to Istanbul!

Limbo:   2. a state of neglect or oblivion

In a household with one person who can't say "No" and one person who is trying to finish a PhD, areas of abode are often characterised by neglect and oblivion.

Since Christmas and New Year with friends and family visiting in our humble flat in Mill Point Road, tidying up and cleaning have become less of an issue. In fact, Rob admits that while Hild was overseas for 2 months he did the dishes only once! In return, Hild has turned project:"Iron - on demand" into project:"Wash clothes and tidy up - on demand".

Rob has had his bit of teaching and supervising all through the year, and so has Hild. But since Rob endeavours to be the busiest person around, he has also been involved in a number of workshops and conferences. The time around his Singapore visit was particularly busy. His effectiveness was tested to the limits by squeezing a huge conference and two workshops into three weeks. One of the workshops also involved Rob getting up at some horrendous hour of the morning to give lectures. There was a competition of who would fall asleep first - and the winner should not be the lecturer. Therefore, for the benefit of everybody, Rob's lectures have later been changed to afternoon sessions.

Interspersed between workshops and supervision there has been numerous meetings and trips across the country regarding crop breeding in Western Australia, and the position of the SABC where Rob works. For scientists lessons learnt in such meetings are often frustrating and annoying, and on request - with money in hand - Rob can now write a book on this. This could come in the form of anything from status quo to increased pay and promotion. A few more months up ahead and we may start to see some results of late nights and long weeks.

Hild started on the last bit of research for her PhD when she arrived back from Denmark in May. After a couple of months she started 'writing up'. This is a process which she has been told takes 6 months which fits well with her scholarship running dry in March 1998. The dreadded 'writing up' phase clarifies to most PhD students all the interesting things in life. These involve going to conferences, SCUBA diving, beach life, BBQs, cinema trips and the like. Not to mention book reading. Hild is soon to have finished reading all the books of Danish author Peter Høeg. They are all recommended as brilliant reading (seconded by Rob). There is very little to be told about 1997 in Hild's project. The highlights were most certainly the Gold Coast conference and the rainy day in Denmark when she finally squeezed the last bit of data out of the Intervention Board. Fellow academics have expressed great envy for the data set on later occasions. On request - with money in hand - Hild is prepared to write a dissertation on how to get data which should be confidential from Danish civil servants.

We can blame a messy flat and stacks of dishes on work and studies any day. However, truth to tell, a certain Peter the Pentium is getting his fair share (and a bit more) of attention. The year has lead to an escallation of 'bits' to put into a computer. We are talking colour printer as should be obvious from this letter. We are also talking a whopping great big hard drive and a black and white scanner. The latter two objects are currently part of Hild's latest procrastination attempt. She has decided to move into the 21st century now and move all her references from paper to digital storage media. This may save a lot of trees (in the long term), but the dollars spent on carrying paper around the globe is more of an issue here. Whether this projects takes off is yet to be seen. The PhD is still ranking higher on the 'to do' list.

Rob has other motives with expanding the computing abilities in unit 23. This is yet a secret and may become evident to you all sometime in the near future. However, it can be revealed that it involves a whopping big hard drive and a colour printer.

Limbo:   3. a condition of awaiting a decision

Rob moved to Perth in late 1992 looking at a 3 year stint on nematodes down under. Hild followed in early 1994 hoping to get a degree in agricultural and resource economics. As it turns out Rob is now counting months of his sixth year and Hild is still here after 3.5. Transfers of words from the great up yonder clearly signal questions of 'quo vadis'. We can blame the indecision on awkward contract renewal procedures and PhD complications, but it may boil down to lack of vision or plainly too many options. Rob chose the Australian continent and it is now Hild's turn to roll the dice and spin the wheel. Deciding factors apart form luck will be demand for economists and timing of offers. For those of you who have experienced Perth, it is also obvious that Hild is going to have a hard time choosing something to match Rob's brilliant choice.

For some of you other issues of indecision probably spring to mind - knowing you (for example: trip to Europe in 1998, cheques for Christmas and kiddies). In quick/condensed response: yes, no, NO, respectively. You will have to give us time and we will keep you posted.