11. Inland for a Culture Fix

What's for dinner Donna?

The drive from Green Patch to Bungendore was only two and a half hours - but we usually take longer by the time we have found a pie and filled up with fuel. We stopped at an historic Pub in Tarago - The Loaded Dog - but they had a big booking and didn't want any more lunch customers. The only other cafe in town didn't draw us in - so we went to the showground - set up camp - and What's for Dinner Donna? provided lunch for us at no cost. 

view from our showground camp

perfect spot for drying clothes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We loved the showground and decided if this was any indication of showground camping we would be doing more. I contemplated doing a still life painting - but didn't.

Playing around with still life subjects...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our cosy camp w/ Aldi beer stowed in car fridge

 

 

 

We drove into Queanbeyan to do some much needed washing. And took a turn around Aldi for some much needed food. Aldi is defs our go to if we can find one - so much cheaper! We brought the washing home and Pete strung me up a line under a shelter, under the most beautiful tree and nearby some horses practicing for an upcoming weekend horsey event at the showground. Making the horse go backwards around corners, and not react to sudden loud noises etc. We had hoped to see a bit of that action but they were nowhere near us over the weekend and the ground was too sodden to stomp over and check them out.

I've not had a lot to do with horses - they scare me a bit although I love their smell. My bestie Susie Becker and I used to ride at Heath Harris Ingleside often as teenagers - whenever we could get our folks to take us. The horses would walk/trot out along the Oxford Falls Trails - and when we turned them towards home they would take off - seemed like all we could do was hang on and watch out not to be knocked off by overhanging trees or brushed off on tree trunks. Thankfully we both lived to tell the tale and we loved it. I bought my daughter Danika a horse finally, for her 16th birthday...after she'd been asking since she was about three. Sadly it was probably a bit late by then, neither of us knew enough to own a horse - especially a very large male who knew he had us on toast. I was scared of Rossco and Danika was way too isolated in our Tucki Tucki corner of the world to really be confident on her own with him. I certainly worried about her. I think we mutually decided, after he kicked my four year old niece Jeli, that he was not a good fit for us. I admire people who are confident around horses. Pete has some good horse stories. He too is luckily alive to tell them.

inside the Lake George Hotel Bungendore

Blog time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to the oldest Pub in Bungendore for a beer - The Lake George Hotel - looks like a urinal from the outside - but very cosy in the main bar/restaurant. I spent Saturday catching up on writing blogs - posting two which I was happy about. When I went to select my wifi dongle - one of the options that popped up from one of a neighbours I assume, was 'Damon’s a shit cunt'! Charming 😂Wish I knew the story behind that!

National Museum. My Dad used to have a
car like this and we also had a similar
caravan which he built.

Canberra's equivalent to
Ballina's Big Prawn

 

As we drove towards Canberra we noticed poplars are popular. And when I saw a tower on the hill I said to Pete "what’s that tower you reckon?" Pete said "It’s like our big prawn - that’s their big thing :)"

National Museum

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Sunday we planned to try our Kings SUP/kayaks on Lake Burley Griffin and to walk around the National Botanical Garden. But the weather - windy and cold - was foul on the earmarked Sunday 20 Nov - the waves washing up over the edges of the lake like they used to over the end of DY Pool on a big surf day when I was a child. Not a pleasant day for a walk in the garden either. We found ourselves in the carpark of the National Museum of Australia - seemed like a perfect alternative under the circumstances.

National Museum

We wandered around for a few hours - loved all the displays and stories - trying to absorb as much as we could - until a hot chocolate and Portuguese tart beckoned in the Museum cafe, inside out of the wind. 

National Museum

National Museum
For information...
Write Town Clerk Katoomba NSW

Guac and nachos by the fire back at camp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mt Ainslie Lookout - nearly got blown away

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cressida Campbell Exhibition!

Wood Block on the left, print on the right

Cressida's childhood art works

Moving into circular wood blocks after
Her husband Peter died.

Cressida Campbell - Monday 21st Nov - BOM says "6.9 feels like 1.5".
I was looking forward to learning as much as I could; about her, her art and her process.  We had booked online for 11.00am - and got there exactly on time. I wasn't sure if the booking time was about staggering the people passing through, or if it meant a guided tour. I was delighted fo find a Tracey talking to a group soon after entering the exhibition, and I latched on to her/them for the next hour. So interesting to learn the process Cressida has perfected over her career.                                                                          

She draws her composition onto a ply board, she uses a fine Japanese inscribing tool to carve the lines. She paints with student grade water colours. She wets down the wood block, then a piece of linen paper, then the wood block then the paper and so on, until she lays the paper on the block and uses a hand roller to make the print. After she has separated the print from the block, she touches up both works with more paint before both, mirror images of each other, are finished and both are for sale. There were 14 block/print couples on exhibition. I learned to distinguish the blocks from the prints.

Materials used for a picture - a lot of white,
tiny little brushes, and wears a hand splint

After the guided tour I was able to go back through the whole exhibition to see all the works. I shouted myself her Exhibition book in the hope I will learn something about composition amongst other things. Pete had spent his time seeing all levels of the gallery. He reckons his grandchildren could exhibit there. 😄

The culture didn't end with Cressida. My friend Karen Hanna's sister in law Amanda Gear has been following our travels on fb. I met her a few years ago up north. When she saw we were in the ACT, she reached out and invited us to lunch at her place and a look at her studio. We sat down to a delicious vegetable frittata and salad, some of which came out of Amanda's garden, including olives. A glass or two of rose. Followed by home grown stewed rhubarb and icecream for dessert. How generous and lovely. We saw lots of Amanda's paintings and prints and heard her plans for a mobile studio and gallery space in her home. Carol King CDs played in the background. Thanks so much for your hospitality Amanda - truly unexpected and a delight. xx We discovered, after leaving, the reason it had been so cold was snow on Mt Buffalo.

My Cressida book

Amanda and us following delicious visit

Amanda Gear's studio

 

 

 

 

Bungendore Wood Works Gallery

We went home via a beer at the Lake George Public bar - not quite so cosy as the main bar which was closed. Went home to see if the awning had survived the wind and it had thank goodness. Our awning is great but we do have to consider the wind quite often - have only had to close it down once so far - other times we remove the centre roof strut to dim squeaky noises. A couple of times Pete has thrown ropes over it and tied it down a bit more. 

Last stop as we departed Bungendore the next day - Moruya bound, we called in to Bungendore Wood Works Gallery. It had been recommended by my friend Annie and some other travellers we met at the showground. Quite a beautiful shop - we had a chat to the man about the Hannah Cabinet that was flooded at Lismore Gallery in February this year. The man in the shop knew of the cabinet and told us it was found floating on its back which was a good thing and that is is currently in Melbourne being restored. A great news story.