T.I. weekend

Rob has been away for two weeks and yes, I do miss him .... when I get the time :-)

Friday was a designated public holiday here on T.I. - Show Day - and the shire council had organised a community fun day in the park. We loved it - perfect weather, food stalls, tents for shade, chairs to sit on and .... a talent quest.

This was the first year that the council has staged a talent quest on Show Day - and they certainly made it worthwhile - first prize was $2000, second prize $1000 and $500 for third. For that money even I was tempted to maybe face the crowd. After all I am a graduate of the Ailan Kores - I've been on stage.

But somehow I missed the cut off date for registration so I settled for being an observer. And I am so glad I did - miss the registration, that is. We are talking serious talent here, and seriously my talent is not ..... it's just not :-)

The acts were amazing, fantastic, unbelievable. Torres Strait islanders have a natural ability to sing and harmonise - they make it look so easy - and listening to them is just pure pleasure. I'm talking young or old, male or felamle - they can sing :-)

The trusty Rotary sausage sizzle - Jen (bending over), Helen, Dorothy, Ron (at the BBQ) and Frank. Frank is our president.

This is the winning group - the Bani brothers - they have a great sound. Notice the backdrops - they're from the music festival. The organisers donated them to the council to be used on occasions such as this.

 

This young boy, Jack,  received an encouragement award - he brought the park to a standstill. He sang "Ben".

I don't have photos of the second and third place getters. Third place went to a young lad who did a sort of rap number, and second place went to a beautiful young woman, a new mum in fact, who sang a haunting ballad.

The talent quest is to be a two yearly event. This year's show attracted 19 acts and judging from its success, I am certain that the next one will be fiercely contested. Don't know if I'll be here, but it will be some show.

My Garden

Do you remember a while ago Rob - and Kacee - and I did a bit of a make over in the backyard? Well I've been working steadily since then and what was once a barren ugly piece of dirt is slowly becoming something nice.

Before - yuk!

Getting there :-) The pots belong on the deck - I put them out to get a sprinkle. All of the plants have come from cuttings.

The grass is slowly coming along. I've planted seeds and I sprinkle daily - it's a labour of love :-)

A pretty patch in my garden :-)

So - all in all - my weekend has been very full. I do miss Rob and I look forward to seeing him on Tuesday when I fly down - Qantas strike permitting :-)

But it's good to be busy. And on this lovely island, so far away, life is never dull - be it doing the everyday and mundane or experiencing the island way of life.

Life is good.