Last week I had friends up from the Simpson Desert.
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They were in town and stayed the night so they could do the shopping, chores, medical appointments, get spare parts and tools they can't do or get in Diamantina Shire but can in their nearest city - Mount Isa.
There's nothing remarkable about that - though it shows the importance of Mount Isa to the wider western Queensland and eastern NT community.
Going to the pub for a meal wouldn't have sounded like a remarkable achievement either back in February but in late May it was wondrous.
We booked in under the rules of a maximum of 20 people and had to eat to have a drink.
I tell you we were all giddy with excitement at being able to do something so normal again.
That return to normality was accelerated on the weekend with the news the Queensland government has brought forward end of Stage 1 restrictions as Queensland has no new cases for almost two weeks,
We still have not beaten the virus by any means and must remain vigilant.
But it is wonderful to contemplate meeting people and going on holidays again.
Let's keep up the great work.
Cheers,
Derek Barry
Editor, North West Star