Are you still a freelancer if your voice recorder breaks?

Because I am planning to attend the Myall Creek Massacre memorial ceremony this year I wanted to maybe do a bit of writing on the occasion, since it has been three years since I went up there to attend. The ceremony is held every year in the country near Inverell in New England, and it's a seven-hour drive to Inverell from Sydney. But when I had a look at my digital voice recorder I found that it had given up the ghost some time ago.

The batteries were corroded so I replaced them but even after doing that the unit still would not function. You can see the heavy corrosion up around the top of the unit on the rear side, in the photograph that accompanies this post.

I haven't had cause to use the recorder for many years. Looking after mum on the Coast I stopped pitching to magazines in mid-2012 so the need for a digital voice recorder dwindled immeasurably after that decision was taken. It's really not surprising - although it is sad - that the unit broke from neglect. It was stored in a hard plastic case which was a bit dirty, so I can only assume that what did for it was lack of use in the sweaty conditions that you find in Queensland.

If I decide to do some recording up at Myall Creek this year it'll have to be using my smartphone. I can buy a new digital voice recorder online but there's not enough time, I think, for the order to be processed and the unit delivered before I'll have to set out for Inverell early on Saturday morning.