A question - if I send in 'rich text' (HTML) does this cause anyone problems?  It just adds a couple of extra possibilities for enhancing the message.  Having asked the question I realise it's a silly one - only those who have no problems can read it anyway!

BRO TANAKA HOPEFUL OF RECOVERING LOST ITEMS

(extract from daily chronicle of Archbishop Adrian Smith SM in Honiara)

10th August 5.30 p.m.

It has been a quiet day. Our water supply seems to have worked the whole day, something to rejoice about. By means of radio transceiver, I received news of about 200 families stranded in the foothills west of Honiara for the past three weeks. Their homes have been burnt, they’re very short of food and they need humanitarian assistance. I contacted the Red Cross to see what we can do to help. The problem at the moment is access to these people. The MEF road block west of Honiara is not open to civilians. Even if we did get free passage to go through, there are so many trees down on the road, and I understand a bridge has been blown up, it will not be possible to get there by road. A visit will have to be made on foot. Brother Tanaka, a Salesian, who was doing so much to help the people in Tetere east of Honiara, called to see me today. He’s a little hopeful that he may recover some of the $18,000 worth of food he had bought for the people in Tetere, but which was seized from him by the MEF. Early this morning, we were warned that Church personnel would not be given permission to go through the road block at Alligator Creek, east of Honiara. One of our young priests, Fr Benedict Labusia who, for the past six to eight weeks has been east of Honiara, was able to come through in the company of the Cease-fire Monitoring Council. He attended a meeting of the CMC and members of the IFM and the public in general at Tetere this morning. It seems that the IFM east of Honiara are keeping to the terms of the cease-fire. Guns continue to be visible in the hands of the MEF even at road check points quite near to Honiara.