This morning I got up and sorted myself out, before having a cup of tea and a chat with Tricia and Sam. I planned to go to the city a bit earlier than I needed to, so I could have another wander around the shops. Sam was heading out so offered to give me a lift to Tea Tree Plaza, where I could get the O-Bahn from, then Tricia said I might like to go to the Westfield shopping centre at the Tea Tree Plaza, so I thought I would give it a look.
I was actually quite impressed with the shops there, they even had a Myer. I spent a couple of hours having a mooch around the shopping centre and was not surprised that it was pouring with rain when I left – Adelaide seems very miserable weather-wise. The bus arrived shortly after I got to the stop and then made my way to the city.
From the bus stop I walked to the Festival Centre, then down to the Dunstan Playhouse which was attached to the main building. I had bought a ticket to see Raymond Crowe – the man who is famous for being an ‘unusualist’ and for his amazing hand shadows. He has been on the quiz panel show ‘Spicks & Specks’ which was one of the shows I watched with the guys in Melbourne. The reason I had recognised his name and chosen to see him, was because he is famous for the short film of his amazing hand shadows, set to Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a Wonderful World’, which I remembered seeing one day on Youtube (if you’re interested, check it out!). The show itself did not solely consist of hand shadows, there was also some magic, of sorts, and some comedy, but it was absolutely amazing and I was so glad I decided to go.
Following the show, I went back to Rundle Mall and had another wander around, this time mainly in the Myer centre, where I saw some bits in the sale which I was very tempted by... I then went for a coffee and made my way to Victoria Square for the Girl Guide Centenary event – a national event across Australia, where Guides around the whole country were going to be attending campfires simultaneously. I had called the organiser, Michelle, last night and asked if she needed any help; she had seemed quite thrilled to be having an overseas visitor and said I’d be able to help out in the ‘soup kitchen’, this meant I was very excited to be a part of the Centenary celebrations! She told me to get there at around 4pm, as it was due to start at 5pm, however, on the way to the Square I somehow managed to get a bit lost, so by the time I had rectified my mistake and found the Square, it was shortly before 5pm.
When I arrived, I saw lots of Guides sat on the grass in front of the stage and to the side were several tents selling various things including food and drink. I found the tent containing the soup kitchen and Judy, the lady Michelle told me to look out for. I then put on my new Girl Guides Australia Centenary top and joined in the soup selling – my role being very important; dishing out the slices of bread! I chatted to Judy, a Guide Leader, and the two other ladies selling the soup (parents of Judy’s Guides) and then Michelle came over to see us, so I introduced myself properly to her.
At 6pm it was time for Judy and I to go and join the masses by the stage – her group ‘adopted’ me so I sat down at the front with them. She introduced me to her Guides and they were all very friendly and incredibly excited about the campfire! Michelle welcomed the campfire, explaining to the girls about the Centenary and why it was such a special event and then introduced Una, who would be leading the campfire singing.
Una began the campfire with a brief story of Guiding and then the campfire was lit. We then spent the next hour and a half singing our hearts out to various campfire songs; some I knew, others I didn’t, but it was lots of fun. They put the words up on a big screen so everyone could sing along. We sang some classics including, of course, Campfire’s Burning, Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree, Land of the Silver Birch, Alice the Camel, Edelweiss, Heads Shoulders Knees And Toes, My Guiding Light and many, many more. The evening was amazing and I really felt part of something big.
When we were all sung-out and everything was over, I spoke to Michelle and thanked her for inviting me. She had expected about 100 people, but thought around 250 had come in the end, so was very pleased with the result. Judy and her girls were heading back to their hut for a sleepover, so I thanked them for adopting me for the evening, then made my way back into the city, to find a bus to take me home.
Sam was going to pick me up from the Tea Tree Plaza interchange, but when the bus pulled in I didn’t see the sign so by the time I realised that I was there, the bus had already started leaving, which meant I had to run down to the driver and beg him to let me out round the corner! Thankfully he didn’t mind and I then found Sam wandering around the platform, wondering where I was! We got in the car and he drove me to his daughter, Ann, and son-in-law, Greg’s house in Greenwith, where he and Tricia had been for dinner, along with his sister-in-law, nephew and Greg’s parents.
Ann’s house was beautiful, they’ve not been there long and were only just married, in December. I arrived in time for a delicious slice of lemon meringue pie. We sat and chatted about all sorts of things, including the places I have been on my trip so far and my perceptions of New Zealand. It was interesting talking to Greg’s parents as Pauline works with Hard of Hearing children and Ray is a teacher. We discussed the popularity of cochlear implants in South Australia and the seeming move away from the use of Auslan; a conversation where I felt I had to use quite a lot of diplomacy!
It was soon time for the main event of the night – the Socceroos playing Ghana in the World Cup. It started quite late, at 11.30pm, so we all watched the first half together; everyone cheering and shouting at the tv, but then when it came to half time, we all headed back to our own abodes. Back at Tricia’s, she, Sam and I all sat down and watched the second half; stunned by the ref’s decision to send of Kewell and then also give a penalty. We were all rather disappointed with the result and so went to bed, feeling weary and forlorn.
No comments:
Post a Comment