Sunday 11th February 2007. Melbourne, Victoria.

This morning we are off to North Brighton to have lunch with Auntie Cheryl and Uncle Gary and we have a delightful time!!!

This afternoon Tom and I are attending the final day of the Midsumma Festival which is being held in Treasury Gardens. It was actually wonderful today to see so many people celebrating with such gusto their pride in themselves.

I also turned the whole experience into an educational investigation and learned a great deal about CAN Victoria which operates educational programs state wide with a focus on rural education.

The idea is to foster appropriate, sensitive and accessible information, education and support services for people infected with or affected by HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Providing services from counselling to library resources; from same sex youth education to workshops; the idea is to support resource needs in rural areas. The Country Awareness Network advocates empowerment and inclusion.

We head off in the late afternoon to see that icon of Australia and Melbourne's favourite housewife...Dame Edna Everage. This is the last show of Barry Humphries, Back With a Vengeance tour here in his home city and for me it is a real cultural high point of my trip.

Tonight I meet a lovely lady called Lorraine whom I have the most interesting discussions with about the city, its architecture and the world of travel.