Well let’s see. For starters temperatures were up around 34ºC for a large part of the day and we arrived at around 11:30 a.m. so it was already baking us as we got out of the car. Sunscreen had been liberally applied before we left but we needed a lot more as the day wore on.
Luckily… well deliberately really… the sunscreen we used was an insect repellent as well and boy did we need it. There must have been five times as many flies as people! I love Australia but the flies are *really* tedious. I think god must have out them here to remind us we weren’t quite in heaven yet though you might be forgiven for thinking you were otherwise. 🙂
Anyway the place was heaving… people and kids everywhere. Petting zoo, fairground rides, stalls, food… you name it and it was there, including a large stage and screen facing a hill which was to be the seating area for the afternoon performances.
The kids had so much to do they were beside themselves… but both were there to perform as well as have fun. The school has a large Arts section and an even larger Music department that really excels in what they do.
After an hour or so I left the kids to do their own thing and went to sit down in front of the stage… in literal fact about 5 metres from the front. I love live music even when it isn’t ‘professional’ and though some of the kids performances were a bit ‘shaky’ they were all still very good.
I was there sitting on the bench in the heat from about 1:00 p.m. until Delta Goodrum came onstage to sing Happy Birthday to the school at 6:00 p.m. By the way my opinion of her rose at least 100%. She was *very* pleasant and really does have a good voice. She was making a ‘flying visit’ and though having another engagement that night made time to talk to kids and old staff she remembers from a few years ago when she was at the school and to sign autographs.
The kids seemed to have fun but of course there were the usual issues and dramas to contend with.
For example, the youngest forgot she was supposed to be onstage singing with her choral group so missed the first song they sang and had to rush onstage during the seconds between the end of the first song and the start of the second. The eldest daughter was in Junior Band… and somehow forgot her flute.
She managed to borrow one which she left next to a friends trumpet in the music dept., but just before they were due to perform and they went to collect their instruments… they discovered the doors were locked. After a short panic the results of the raffle were called while the head of the music dept raced up to unlock the doors so all was well.
Shortly after this… the youngest daughter came up to say she’d been on one of the rides… and had thrown up all over her special ‘Performer’ t-shirt so could she have $25 please to buy a new one! Agghh….
Come straight back with the change says I as usual. Two hours later she appears with her mates doing *their* bit right at the end of the afternoon. Where’s my change? Err… seems she put it down with the t-shirt and it was stolen.
Anyway, all in all it wasn’t quite as bad as I thought it was going to be and as a matter of fact I actually enjoyed most of it. Roll on the next ‘celebration’ in five years time! 🙂
The Eclectic Interweb 