... Millthorpe battleground

05.53 am Monday 06 December 2010 AEDST

Didn't make 8 am departure; I was behind schedule.

We did get to Millthorpe about 09.45 am. Temperature cooled down to about 18 C from Canowindra's sunny/patchy cloud 21 C. Drove through quite pretty rural country along Belabula Way to Mandurama, then onto Mid West Highway and then off again over back roads, some unsealed (wish Google maps would show this) to Millthorpe entering via railway underpass on south side.

All creeks very high and signs of flooding along creek beds.

Morning humid and cloudy, top of Mt Canobolas clouded out.

Many birds and many rabbits; also many different combinatons of roadside grasses and flowers.

Overtaken on Belabula Way by carful of young rural idiots in older model white 4 wheel drive ute with red P plates (supposedly limited to 80 km) who immediately increased speed to about 130 km on overtaking. They also squashed small tortoise who was crossing road (I had gone over, not squashed). Small, oval dinner plate sized tortoises quite often seen crossing roads around watery areas. Also often seen squashed, as are young Echidnas.

Apart from young idiots almost no traffic on roads until closer to Millthorpe.

Fair amount of activity in lower Millthorpe but market turns out to be at School on road from Orange at top of town. Had expected it to be in main streets or in front of railway station. Easy parking. Crowd mixture of yokel peasantry (wearing Target marpat* pants and shorts) and urban sophisticates from Millthorpe, Bathurst and Orange (wearing either quasi RM Williams and boat shoes or lycra rich semi sporting gear). many black fleece sleeveless vests in evidence, ubiqutous symbol of rural middle class (have several myself, fortunately for public a bit too snug for public wear).

Market in school ground shelter (now ubiquitous in Australian schools) is overattended and understocked. Unsatisfactory experience over bacon, egg and suasage roll, this combination being locally unheard of although standard at nearby Orange and Bathurst markets. Foood of supermarket origin rather than free range organic. No where to sit and eat (standard local market experience). No coffee in any form. Screaming adults, about raffles. Lolly fueled jet propelled school children. Ugly.

School ground well kept and pretty although we are surprised to see three demountables along edge of school green and no evidence of class room air conditioning. Had thought demountables now all vanished and air con becoming standard (as it should be; still remember Queensland fan only school experience and afternoon persperation making writing in excercise books impossible).

There were two demountables at Young yesterday but these were in front of large two storey block of classrooms under construction (must be unpleasant in demountables during construction work hours; not possible to keep noise down on construction sites).

Escape experience at school for coffee at La Boucherie. Many people about. La Boucherie overwhelmed by volume but we sit at end of big table, me with old out of print book on Edna Walling gardens which includes her own black and white photos and some pages ripped out of Home Beautiful circa 1983 with ? reprints of her columns. Includes tip on making stones out of rough home made cement for those who have trouble getting rocks for gardens (ie, me), which I copy onto back of bill from Canowindra motel. Coffee, very welcome, and toasted day old croissant, better than it sounds, ultimately arrives.

Then off to local shoppes. During course of all this stories about flooding in Millthorpe village on Wednsday afternoon emerge. There is visual evidence of this in amount of soil and sand across roads and various lots of twigs in low lying areas. Also true story of markets comes out.

Markets actually cancelled on Saturday. What we had attended was emergency Garage Sale organised by school on cancellation of market. Markets were to be held on oval, next to police house adjacent to school but too wet. Blayney Council would not allow to take place in drier streets or, as is traditional, in tarmacadamed yard in front of station because of cost of public liability insurance.

Heroic effort by school, although not much appreciated by me; feel cancellation at last moment a mistake as very many people turned up; markets should have been relocated to church and community halls in village. Fairly certain could have been relocated to Orange and that Orange market people would have provided emergency assistance, but no doubt local politics and feelings involved. Local market attending populace hardy stock and unlikely to be put of by a bit of rain and mud.

Millthorpe stores crowded to overflowing. We eventually leave as temperature rises to about 26 C and sun comes out at about 1.30 pm. Back to Hampton via Bathurst just after 3 pm, temperature at about 18 C, with cooling breeze. Lawn bad, but not quite at elephant eye level. Unpacking, resting, snacking, internetting, dvd watching and to sleep at about 11.30 pm. Temperature has fallen by then to customary 12 C, so back to preferred climatic conditions.

This morning cold and misty, temperature a bit above 12 C according to thermometer by front door on west verandah. Looks like overcast drizzly day, not ideal for lawn mowing. However Mt Washington must be conquered as there is huge pile of weekend clothes as well as Thursday's awaiting processing.

*marpat is the technical name for camouflage (from MARine PATtern), much beloved of chain store clothing buyers. the best was at one point considered to be from South Africa with colours of grey and lilac. Australia has dessert colours, ochres, yellows and olives. there are many designs and they change often. not certain whether term applies only to US patterns and their derivatives but UK has also used for long time and Australia's no doubt has descended from there.