Thursday, November 10th …..

We treated ourselves to a show last night – Allo, Allo at the Earl Arts Centre. This local production has been running for a couple of weeks and has received very good reviews. It’s a very small theatre and our seats were right at the front and to the side, but we had a pretty good view of the naked thighs and had no trouble picking up the double entendres and sly looks.

This is standard British comedy fare, more than slightly bawdy and with frequent catch-cries, which everyone anticipates: Good moaning from the Idiot Gendarme who thinks he can speak French; It is I, Le Clerc, from the decrepit forger; Listen carefully, I shall say this only once, from Michelle the girl from the Resistance. The genius of the show is that everyone knows exactly what to expect and gets pleasure when it unfolds exactly right. Don’t expect surprises from Allo, Allo.

Everyone played their parts well. Rene was terrific but my favourite characters were Herr Flick and Helga. They showed great restraint in keeping serious faces even when they were involved in the most ridiculous situations.

Sister-in-law, Janet has gone home this morning. I think she enjoyed her few days in Tassie and has become quite interested in some of the crafty characters she met at the Craft Fair. Dianne who curated the Quilt Show, runs classes in quilting and Robyn from the sewing machine shop teaches how to get the most from the modern machines. I think Janet would find lots to do if she lived in this part of the world.

Now that the Craft Fair is over for another year, we start the process of reviewing the operations and analysing the comments and criticisms. We always receive lots of congratulations but, sadly, people are very quick to criticise. I’m starting to make a list of the comments which have been fed back to us to see whether we might do things differently in future years. The problem is you can’t please all of the people all of the time.

Wednesday, November 9th …..

It’s always a surprise, after the Craft Fair has finished, to discover that the world has gone on as usual and people have lived their normal lives as if the madness in Deloraine didn’t affect them. Reading Monday’s newspaper yesterday, I was surprised to see that the Westbury community, right next door to Deloraine, had held their Annual Show on the same weekend, the Apex Club in Latrobe had held The Truly Tasmanian Craft Exhibition, and there had been a Penny Farthing race in Evandale, just to name a few.

Surely, the organisers of these events would have realised that the world had slowed down while the Craft Fair ran its course, and that no-one would have the time to go to their events as well. The Latrobe one is interesting: clearly it’s an attempt to steal our crowd. Choosing the same weekend, and picking such a dodgy name is a blatant attempt to confuse our customers, appeal to the unthinking parochialism of Tasmanians (especially those on the North-West coast) and cash in on our reputation. The sad thing is that their Éxhibition’was started by disgruntled local artists who hadn’t been good enough to get a place at the Deloraine fair. And they have about 30 Tasmanian artists, while we have upwards of 180. However, we still get criticism that we are not truly Tasmanian and have too many mainland interlopers. Oh well, you can’t win them all.

The Westbury Show, like many other small-town shows, was only held on one day this year. Westbury is just 20 minutes from Launceston and most of the locals look there for their entertainment and community activities. There is certainly not the same feeling of anticipation as the date of the Show approaches as there used to be. Older residents still take part in the competitions and the local school teachers make a mighty effort to encourage their students to take part, but I’m afraid it is a dying event.

Still, the local paper continues to list the results of the competitions. M. Gibson once again swept the field in the Knitting and Crochet section, B. Dudman was the Most Successful Exhibitor in the Cooking, although P. Poulton’s boiled plum pudding took the prize in that section. In the Floral section, most exhibitors were listed with initial and surname, but one exhibitor is still featured as Mrs Fahey. I imagine an elderly lady who has been a stalwart of the show for decades and is known by everybody as Mrs Fahey (no first initial). Reading the results carefully throws up a few signs of the times: in the Photography section, there is a prize for the best digitally enhanced photo, and in the Primary Floral Art, there is a prize for ‘variety of garden weeds in a container’. That’s the sort of floral art I can relate to.

Of course, for the kids, it's the rides that matter. We can be cynical but the Westbury Show still plays a big role in the lives of a large section of society. It will certainly be a sad day when the last of the small, local shows closes its doors.

Monday, November 7th …..

Another beautiful day and our first duty at the Fair was at 10.30. I really enjoy working on the gates; it’s a chance to chat with people coming to the Fair for all the right reasons. Occasionally, you get a reluctant male dragged along by his wife but, in most cases, people are cheerful and looking forward to seeing the stalls and exhibitions.

During the shift one of the other Rotarians dragged me away to look at an idea he had, and I had a call from the local newspaper wanting an interview, so I wasn’t particularly reliable. A visitor from Caringbah Rotary relieved me at one stage and Jamie carelessly wandered by so he got roped in to take the money while I went off to the interview.

I was supposed to be the media liaison person but ended up with only four interviews. Everybody wants to talk to the Director, of course. The Director and I were interviewed together on Friday afternoon by Elaine Harris who runs the afternoon show on local ABC. She had been set up in a little tent near the main pavilion and ran her show from there. Elaine is blind and has all her notes on Braille sheets, which she fingers constantly. She also has a Braille writer so she can take notes as she goes. It is quite interesting to watch how she keeps control of what is happening while talking non-stop to her audience. A tall fellow, who acts like her husband, was hanging around the back of the tent, constantly checking that she had everything she needed, so she had a good support team around her: producer, technician and hubbie.

After our shift, Marilyn and I caught one of the shuttle buses to check out some of the other venues. Under the tree near the bus stop was a little family group sitting in the shade: Mum, little girl and littler boy. The girl had a CD player and a microphone, a shoe box for donations and a sign which read ‘Saving up for a real Karaoke player’. I dug in my pocket to find some change when Mum piped up, ‘Don’t pay her until you hear her sing.’ Fair enough, I thought steeling myself for an excruciating rendition of The Lion King, or something like that. Not so! She had a beautiful voice with perfect pitch and wonderful light and shade. 7-year olds don’t normally have any idea how to sing but this child was outstanding.

Because the bus driver wouldn’t wait I had to jump on so didn’t get the details of who she was. It’s a shame because Rotary might be prepared to help her develop her talent. I’ll have to pass the word around the Club and see if anybody knows her.

We were keen to see a glass blower at the Showground who was set up in a trailer that Rotary had built last year. It is a complete glass studio with furnaces, etc. We donated the trailer to this group called Fusion who are based in an old Hydro Electric Commission village called Poatina. They look after disadvantaged youth and run programs to give young people broader experience.

On the way back, we called in to an area called Rotary Park where we had set up several food vans and covered seating. There’s a pool there which the local Anglers’Club had stocked with trout. For $5, they will lend you some gear and help you catch a fish. There were about 10 ‘trophy’fish as well as many smaller ones so it wasn’t hard to catch something good. For lunch, we had Pig and Fig, a sandwich of Pork Loin steak, glazed with Fig and Apple – delicious!

We were all delighted when 4 oçlock came around and we could start taking down the stalls. It gets harder every year and I think we’ll have to look at new ways to set up. We’re all getting older and can’t bend and lift like we used to. However, with the help of some younger people from Apex, everything was stored away by 7 and we went to the Bush Inn for the wind-up dinner – and it was Roast Pork! Oh, well, it’s Roast Lamb tomorrow night so we can afford to suffer two meals of pork in one day, if there’s lamb the following day. Sister-in-law, Janet, has offered to cook the lamb so we’ll just sit back and enjoy a quiet day with a good meal to finish.

Sunday, November 6th …..

The crowd at the Fair today wasn’t as large as expected which is very surprising as Sunday is usually a big day and the weather was beautiful. However, there are just as many jobs to do whether it’s busy or quiet; there’s no rest for the Rotarians.

The day was generally uneventful although there was one unexpected treat. While I was doing my duty on one of the gates a small group of young women walked in, all dressed in white, with white faces and serious expressions. They were being shepherded along by a middle-aged woman who never spoke. The group assembled itself and posed, clearly inviting photographs. One of the young women placed a box, containing some money, at her feet.

It turned out that they were a group of dance students from the local High School. The shepherdess was their teacher and the exercise was designed to teach poise and the ability to hold a pose. They had obtained their clothes at the local op shop and painted them with various white paints. It was a delight to see them and they attracted the interest they deserved.

Today, I was determined to get a bowl of Tempura Mushrooms. I had missed out on the previous two days as they had sold out early, so today I turned up before lunch, successfully, and they were delicious. It’s hard to eat carefully at the Fair, not only because of the range of fabulous food available among the stalls, but because of the great (and free!) slices and cakes made by the ladies at the Hospitality Area. The ladies belong to the Inner Wheel, an organisation of wives of Rotarians. The Deloraine group is a particularly strong one, famous for their catering which is along the lines of the CWA – sweet and creamy and old-fashioned.

Saturday, November 5th …..

Day 2 of the Craft Fair began early. People were lining up at the gates by 8.15 and by 10 oçlock we had lines of cars backing up several kilometres. Saturday is usually a busy day but the arrival of people so early was unusual. The success or otherwise of the Fair often hinges on Saturday and Sunday. Friday is a working day and Monday is usually slow so we cross our fingers that the weekend days will be sunny and the crowd will feel moved to come along.

I spent all of the day around the main venue as I had done a bit too much the previous day and wanted to rest my hip as much as possible. We have a Hospitality Area where tired Rotarians can go for a break, a cup of coffee and a snack. I’m afraid I had three or four little breaks up there and I hope the ladies who were looking after the food didn’t think I was taking advantage. Still, the incident with my hip popping out is a cause celebre (pardon my French) and all the ladies are very concerned that I shouldn’t do too much.

Venue 5 where I spent the day is one of the areas where people come to eat. The Tempura Mushroom stall was doing great business and sold out by mid-afternoon both yesterday and today. Another stall is selling Rabbit Pies, and Wallaby as well and I can see that they are popular. The Raspberry ice-cream stall has a constant long line as has the coffee cart. The coffee cart is the first business open in the mornings as stall-holders and Rotarians line up for their heart starter.

This venue also has the Gourmet pantry which is an enormous hoecker with stalls selling gourmet food, mostly for the pantry rather than to be eaten on-site. The stall-holders can’t believe how quickly their stuff runs out the door. The Christmas Pudding lady always sells out on Saturday and has to rush in reinforcements. Last year a couple of stalls had no stock left by Sunday so packed up and went home. Every year, we have new participants who are gob-smacked by the potential to make serious money.

Apparently, we’re the only Craft Fair in Australia which gives out prizes. I mentioned the Hoffman Challenge yesterday where the second place winner received a fabulous new sewing machine. The winner of that competition received $1000 and, at the Award Presentation tonight, there were several other prizes worth $500 or $1000. The big Prize, the Premier’s Award, is a $10000 cheque sponsored by the Tasmanian Government. The jeweller who won had tears in his eyes; it’s not just the significant amount, it’s the recognition in the eyes of their peers. The judges are professional art critics and know what is outstanding.

Awards are presented for such things as Artistic Excellence, Stall Presentation, Best Working Exhibit and so on. The standard is rising each year and the judges are finding it harder and harder to differentiate the prize-winners from the rest.

The Award Presentation is a great night. We provide food, and drinks are available and the stall-holders have a chance to talk to their mates whom they might only see once a year in Deloraine.

Two more days to go! We’re starting to feel the strain and we’re not the ones who are working the hardest. For example, there’s a duo of Rotarians who look after the Food Area of Venue 5. They spend all day, wiping down tables, picking up rubbish and re-locating chairs. Ian is over 80 years old, and Maree is almost as old as I am. They’re typical of the volunteers who put in a ten-hour day making the Fair go smoothly. I’ve said it before: if Australia didn’t have its volunteer army, it would sink into the sea.

Friday, November 4th …..

There is always a lot of anticipation on the first day of the Craft Fair: will the weather be fine, will the crowds turn up, will everything happen as expected? Well, today is fine, the crowds have turned up and, apart from a couple of electrical hiccups, the organization has been flawless.

I spent most of the day around the Rotary Pavilion which, this year, has about twenty stalls and an exhibition of quilts. These are not the sort of quilts you might throw on the bed on cold nights; they are works of art and no more than 1 metre square. There are two lots: one group of 15 or so are the entrants in the Tasmanian Rotary Hoffman Challenge, and a second group of 20 which are the finalists in the New Zealand Hoffman Challenge.

The Hoffman Challenge which started in America is regarded as the ultimate competition for serious quilters. A few years ago, the New Zealand Challenge was set up and a local quilter here in Deloraine approached Rotary last year to base a Challenge in Tasmania. We only had a small number of entrants in this first year but hope to extend it more widely as people become aware of our presence. We have good sponsorship so prizes are generous. One of my tasks this morning was to present awards to some of the winners of the Tasmanian Challenge. One of the winning quilts was made by a Year 10 student at the local High School as a school project. It was her first ever quilt and a really nice piece of work. Another winner was a nine-year old girl who designed and sewed her own entry, a quilted bag she entitled Don’t Give a Hoot (because of the owl motif on it.)

I am astounded at what young people can achieve nowadays. Watching what the contestants on Junior Master Chef can produce in less than an hour shows that we often underestimate the capacity of children today. More likely, we don’t look in the right areas. We can identify outstanding potential footballers in primary school but we don’t identify those who have ‘intelligences’ in unusual areas, like cooking or craft.

Thursday, November 3rd …..

I flew home on Monday evening into the final few days of organization of the Tasmanian Craft Fair. Since then, I’ve had three trips to Deloraine and I am just starting to realise the realities of living so far away. A round-trip from Dilston is about 150 Km, which is OK for the occasional drive but just a bit too much for something that is done daily. I’ll need to look at alternatives when we get into the business end of organization of next year’s Fair.

Certainly, there is a possibility of parking the van here during the busy time and I can probably organize some office space in the town. We’ve already booked accommodation near Deloraine for the actual days of the Fair, because it’s a long way to drive home to Dilston after a busy, hot day in the sun.

When I was driving down to Deloraine on Tuesday, I noticed a white turkey wandering along the side of the highway. Now, that’s not something you see every day. I suppose it had wandered away from one of the local farms; maybe it had worked out that its days were numbered and Christmas is not that far away. Sadly, when I was driving down yesterday, there was a pile of white feathers on the side of the road and several interested ravens hanging about. I think the poor turkey met its end as road kill.

Everything is looking good for the Craft Fair. The hoeckers are all erected, the stalls are all built and today is the day that the stall-holders move in and set themselves up. We’re expecting 240 stalls and about 25000 people over the next four days. It will be fun but we’ll be exhausted at the end of it.