Having used up our months allocation of freedom camping at Wyllie Park, we moved back to the showground. If the nights remain as cold as the last two, we will be very happy to be on power. Camping at no cost is good but being warm is better.
Sarah's new premises needed some work to make them habitable so we got stuck in.
To celebrate moving in to the partly complete, but usable, premises, Sarah had a party on my birthday with all the families of the team. We drank champagne, made a couple of toasts, chatted a lot, sang happy birthday and went home pleased that the enterprise was well and truly launched. We retired to Patricks Rd for a birthday dinner which was of Al's usually high standard.
Father's Day was a beautiful spring day so we all went to Scarborough for a picnic. The wind was a gentle northerly so we flew kites on the beach. When I say we, I mean all the kids from all the families at the park. Everyone wanted to fly a kite. We only had one tense moment when someone let the line go and a kite tried to escape to Redcliffe. Happily another kite caught the wayward one before it could get away and we didn't have to chase it at all.
I had the guys from Strathpine Mowers make some small items of hardware for me to extend the truck mirrors and to accommodate the new, large, fresh water jerry cans
Its Monday night and we've just enjoyed this week's episode Andrew Denton's Enough Rope, one of the most intelligent and interesting programmes on today's TV. His final guest, Billy Bragg, singing the version of "The Great Leap Forward" he wrote for his Australian tour included the line "If you've got a web site, put me on it" - so I did - here.
On Friday 20th, Al and I washed the Motley and I did most ot the remaining work to install the new water tank. In the evening we all attended the private opening of Uncarved Women. It was a very good night with lots of good cheer, a wonderful speech from Sarah and many toasts from me. The inner circle repaired to Cafe Zanetti afterwards to calm down a bit before retiring to our beds On Saturday we had a kitemaking day at Patricks Rd. Kelly is working on a Kitemaking Badge for Guides and Ross didn't want to be left out so two kites were built. On Sunday we went to Bunya Sports Ground to test fly them. Both were inclined to misbehave because the sails weren't quite straight so a little modification is called for.
I finally finished the installation of the new fresh water tank. We now carry 280 litres plus 40 litres reserve in the trailer. This should enable us to camp totally self-contained for over a week, longer if we forego showers! While I was under the truck I noticed that the base plate of the electric steps had cracked and needed repair. The magic men at Strathpine Mowers manufactured a reinforcing plate and all is once again in proper order.
I reworked the two kites and their flight was much improved though Kely's kite revealed an inability to fly properly in higher wind speeds