Trundle ABBA Festival.

We  were in need of a little break and the booking we had made a few months ago to  of attend the Trundle ABBA Festival was just the tonic we needed.
We packed up our little caravan and along with three other fellow travelling pairs headed off in convoy to the small central west NSW town of Trundle.
Six years ago a very struggling Trundle decided that an ABBA festival may help their dying township....little did they know !!
ABBA fans came from everywhere and it has grown from strength to strength, and this year it's 6th festival  was amazing.
We were booked into the showground camping area and found our spot and set up camp,

Alternatively you could camp at the race course. Both of these need pre-booking.

We had a great BBQ tea with all our friends , had quite a few drinks and chats around the fire  and settled in for the night.
The next morning we were greeted with a stunning sunrise,

We got ourselves organized and headed off downtown, to see all the sights.
People filled the main street, and there were many  people dressed in ABBA style fashions, and many not... but here a few of what we saw.

The couple below  were camped near us, and after taking  their photo and chatting to her the next morning realized it was the same couple.

The weather had been predicted to be sunny,warm and clear, but the clouds rolled in for a while and rain fell and we all took shelter.

But it wasn't enough to dampen the spirits and the  party  continued on.

 The sunny skies reappeared  and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Even our friends Wendy and Dennis got into the swing of it (slightly)

The beautiful  historic Trundle Hotel is the centre for most of the activities, with shops open to browse, market style stalls set up along both sides of the street and many wonderful food vendors to feed all the hungry hordes.

Among the market stalls were these gorgeous metal Australiana  sculptures of the Bird of Paradise plant, emus and grass trees.

These were so beautiful and would have loved to buy one, but they were a bit out of my price range.
Also while wandering the street I spotted these beautiful  gum tree flowers and couldn't resist  a photo.

After lunch the ABBA train,a historic set of 10  restored 1920's carriages pulled by restored diesel  locomotives made it's way from Forbes to Trundle loaded with ABBA fans.
This train was from the Lachlan Vintage Railway.

And this is where we made the greatest mistake............
At this point we decided to head back to camp as the others in our group had done, not realizing that the street  fun was just starting..
Apparently we missed the fashion parade and competition, dancing and much more partying in the main street.   Our thoughts were to head back to camp have a rest ,drinks nibbles and get ready for the Bjorn Again concert in the evening.
Brian and I took the drone up  at this point and captured  the main street. In the bottom of one of the pics you can see the ABBA train.

We four girls had booked to attend the evening concert and the men had opted to stay at the camp grounds and relax.
We arrived  after  the gates  were open  and secured reasonably close to the front seats.

And as dark began to fall the audience numbers began to swell.

Firstly we were entertained by the hilariously funny Kransky Sisters and then after a few speeches the main act that we had come to see, Bjorn again  started.

What an amazing night we had. It's been ages since I went to a live concert  and we all had a ball, giving up our seats by the second half to join all the other crazy dancing people down the front.We left the oval on a high and walked back to camp. Many people stayed on to be entertained by  "The New Normal" band at the hotel well into the night.

After another great night around the campfire and  a good nights sleep we all packed up  the next morning  and headed home again, vowing to return next year together again  and do the Trundle ABBA Festival in style.

I would highly recommend  to any one to give it a whirl, you will thoroughly enjoy yourself( but book early).

I had a few problems  uploading this post, so am finishing with a very short clip from the concert.

So until we meet again,take care of you and yours,

Cheers,

Jane and Brian.

Remembering Our Heroes

When I was growing up ANZAC  Day was always a big deal. My dad had been a returned serviceman having  fought in New Guinea during WW2 and my Grandfather at Gallipolli in WW!
So it was with great pride that each year in our small town we as children would march proudly alongside our returned heroes and participate in the following solemn ceremony to commemorate our fallen heroes also.
Recently I found some  gorgeous old photos that my oldest  brother had taken on one of those Anzac days, and loved seeing  my father calling the march and my sister marching proudly in her  sporting house colours of Boronia.  The quality of these photographs  is quite poor so  I apologize for that.

Our small town still hosts an Anzac Day march and ceremony albeit on a much smaller scale.
The returned servicemen,  school children, and other people who march  in honour of their family members all assemble at the memorial hall and then march along  the main street  up to Len Guy Park for the ceremony.

Our numbers have certainly dwindled, but the spirit of the occasion hasn't.

Many local residents and travelling  visitors gathered in the park to  take part in  a moving ceremony  that was  beautifully conducted by senior students from the local school.

Many of the local groups  laid floral wreaths as tributes to the fallen  and a minutes silence was observed.

I hope that Anzac Day continues to be a special day in our small town, as so many men and women gave up so much to  give us the wonderful life that we all so enjoy to day,
Lest We Forget !
Also this week our small town celebrated their annual race day, we didn't attend as we had our beautiful little granddaughters visiting with us and so instead went with our drone to a nearby field and took a couple of aerial shots of the course.

By all accounts it was a very successful race meeting with glorious weather, great racing and gorgeous fashions on the field. Maybe next year we may attend.
The weather  over this last week has been just beautiful, lovely sunny days and nice cooler  overnight temperatures.
The sunrises and sunsets have  just been stunning.

 That early morning light is just so  eye catching   and I love to see that early light hitting the trees and rocks  near the house.

Equally as beautiful is the late sun setting in the west,

It truly is a beautiful world we live in and we  really need to take the time to appreciate all that we have been given.
So until we meet again,
Take time to appreciate everything,
Look after your self and each other.
Cheers
Jane and Brian.