Interstate visitors

We live in Central Victoria, a long way from the tropics, but our area is fast becoming well known for its good food and hospitality.

The word is spreading, and currently our city is hosting 4000 visitors from the tropical north. The influx has caused a bit of a stir as the visitors are noisy, take up a lot of room in the local parks and like to party all night as they feast on the local produce.

There have been some articles in the local paper - the community is divided as to whether we should ask our visitors to leave earlier than they had planned to, or just to wait until they decide to move on themselves.

The visitors are keeping their plans to themselves - they are just hanging around, possibly enjoying the views of the historic buildings and the old gold mines. Maybe they have heard about the wonderful procession planned for Easter Monday when the world's longest Chinese Dragon will parade right past their lodgings.

Caution; bragging mother alert

My oldest son has always loved music, he is an audio engineer and now a "published" songwriter and composer. This is the cover of his first single - just released.
Congratulations mate, may this be the first of many.

The Bards of the Gorsedh of Cornwall in Eaglehawk

The theme of this year's festival was "Welcome back, Cousin Jack" celebrating the contribution of the Cornish in our area's history.


(and yes, there was a Cornish pasty competition which the kids from school won and came second in! - ask me any fact about Cornish pasties - I am now an expert!)

So, our school's contribution to the street parade was Cornish dancing - the kids looked very cute


Only one photo 'cos I was on video duty - picture the school principal dashing down the main road, video camera in hand, avoiding fold-up camping chairs, small children and the occasional cranky member of the public just so I could make sure I got every child in the film.

Then, the thrill of the fairground in the local park - which mainly meant I sat at the Red Cross tent looking after one of the little kids from school who was lost and whose mother couldn't be found - two hours later I escaped .....

and, just when I thought my day couldn't get any more unusual....

I discovered the Bards of the Gorsedh of Cornwall in the midst of a ritual which involved a flower dance, the annoiting of two new Bards and lovely singing, mostly in Cornish.

I sat with a friend and enjoyed their celebration, then quickly checked out the results of the vegetable competition (not happy with the second prize for "Basket of vegetables", considered paying the necessary $2.00 to challenge the judge, but decided against it LOL).

On the way home I noticed a sign on a milk bar advertising "Soft Serve" ice-creams and figured I had earned one today. Took me right back to my childhood - it was a proper "Dairy Queen" - didn't know you could still get them, and it was only $2.00! (A much better use of the $2.00 coin than challenging the judges, I thought)

Local festival

One of the highlights of the year for the community if which I am the local school principal is the "Dahlia and Arts festival". It is always a busy time, and the local primary school has to be involved.
So, today it was my task to drop off the entries into the local Flower show. Our school is a "Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden" school and as such we have a large vegetable garden.
This meant I was up early and off to school to collect the entries which had been prepared yesterday.

It also means that:

I now have a car with a front seat full of water (how was I to know that the "Herbs in water in a container" would spill as I took the corner a little too fast?)

The large pumpkin grown by Grade 3/4 has a knock on its side (Yes, I should have put the seat belt on it when I drove home last night)

The aforesaid bowl of herbs needed a revamp - the basil wilted overnight, so I neeed to whip into the garden a grab a bunch of leafy green stuff to fix it up - I hope that it was Salad Burnett I grabbed and not some weed

I have learned that the silver beet was meant to be in that glass carafe for showing - not just for the night, so yes, I did have to go back to school to collect it

I have also discoveed that "10 runner beans" really means "10 runner beans on a plate with a serviette underneath them" - thank goodness the supermarket was open

ditto for "3 cucumbers OK" - (and for those not in the know OK does not means "looks allright" it means "one kind"

and I now know how to open the large display fridge in which the "basket of vegetables" spent the night at the front - this, sadly was after I spilt it trying to get it through the too small windows at the back. (sorry to the gardening guru who arranged it beautifully yesterday - I tried!)

and all of this BEFORE 8.00 am on a Saturday!!!!!

I must have looked stressed because the kind lady steward at the show made me a coffee as I mastered the art of finding the sticker and matching the exhibit and the card on the tables.

No photos - no time.

I have dashed home for a coffee and a cake before I dash back for the "Gala Parade" which in our school's case involves little girls and boys doing Cornish dancing along the highway, wearing lacy white dresses and flowers in their hair (and for those who are of a similar age to me, it also involved teaching mothers how to make hair curl using "rags")

Don't mention portable sound systems to make the music loud enough to me - if you thought the Flower Show was stressful, it was easy in comparision!!!!! Let's just say that in the end we hired one!

Jasmine's giveaway

My friend Jasmine is having a giveaway one her blog - yes, it's a quilt.
Go to http://www.banaghaisge.blogspot.com/ for a chance to win.
Now, am I out of trouble, Jasmine???