Mia turned 3 in February - a very grown up and determined little miss! She is very articulate and knows exactly what she wants. And, of course, she is getting more gorgeous every day.
I dashed off for a few days and spent most of that time with Annie and Les at Maclean. They have a lovely big property on a bend of the mighty Clarence River. They run an airbnb business as they have plenty of room - and they are very hospitable. I plugged in to their back yard and made myself comfortable. This time I didn't stay with Tracie but she visited me while I was with Annie, but an afternoon of talking is not enough.
Then up to Mackay I went to look after Tim and Oscar. School was back by then so it was a matter of getting them off to school in the morning and collecting them in the afternoon. Most of the rest of the day I spent in the pool trying to recover from 95+ humidity. I hardly caught up with any friends as it was far too hot. I did spend a couple of hours at the school with Oscar's Prep class several times and I will do the same when I go back in June.
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| Cory 10 |
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| Hudson 8 |
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| Cooper 7 |
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| Oscar 4 |
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| Tim 13 |
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| Mia 3 |
I had a quick trip then from Brisbane to Forbes NSW for the Solos' motorhome rally. I drove further each day than I usually do when I'm on the road and covered 1200km in 4 days. I should have kept driving as I arrived in Forbes to dreadful heat with no airconditioning allowed at the rally site. With about 350 motorhomes, we would drain the town's energy supply in no time flat.
There have been ups and downs. The heat has really knocked people around. I don't know if everyone was as bad as me but I have been very irritable and tired. It was so hard to sleep the first few days but fortunately things have improved. I woke this morning to a drenched van. I had left both side doors open for coolness. The wind obviously blew from both sides during the night and the floor and anything left lying untidily around was wet. A couple of times I have had to remove the awning before the whole van took off.
We had quite an experience with the movies that had been organised with a huge inflatable screen that couldn't deal with the wind. We watched The Dressmaker on Tuesday night - with inbuilt censorship. It seemed as though any time we got to a slightly saucy scene, the screen folded up on itself. I had taken a box of tissues ready for the emotional scenes and I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and planned on a private little pity party. Instead, like everyone else, I had a wonderful night of almost hysterical laughter. The screen was more reliable the next night and we didn't need people standing there with mops to push the screen up again. I was suddenly feeling the results of several nights with very little sleep and went to bed while I was still tired.
Because I came in early as a volunteer, I've had an extra few days. Some of the organisers have been here for weeks but I arrived last Thursday. The First Timers (about 70 of them) arrived on Saturday and the bulk of the group came on Monday. We will finish on Monday. Saturday is to be an Open Day when members of the community can come in and look around the vans. On Sunday there is a sports day (though I have no idea what sports there are and I am not likely to find out) and in the evening there will be a farewell function which will include a concert. I have been working with the First Timers on a skit and a couple of songs. I had put something together for our group from last
year but handed it over to someone else as the First Timers items are taking longer than I expected.
We have been well catered for. I'm probably like most of the group and have taken advantage of what is available - a welcome lunch for the newbies and the volunteers, a welcome dinner at the RSL, a final dinner at the Golf Club - all of which have been provided by the Solos Network or the community. Food vans have been on site for lunch and dinner. An ice-cream and coffee van seems to have done good business. I bought breakfast one day when there was a poets' breakfast - where I read a couple of my poems. And a bus does a round trip through town about every half hour so there is plenty of access to coffee shops, the clubs and grocery stores.
When I leave on Monday, I shall just meander home and be there by the week after Easter.
Stay tuned for photos.
