Last Sunday, a little bit worse for wear after Saturday's wine tasting expedition, Louisa and I attended Mass at ST Francis Xavier's church in the village then went up to St Mark's Anglican church for their Harvest Festival. People bring boxes of vegetables and garden-ready plants, as well as cakes and other produce for auction to raise money for amenities for the church.
When we first arrived to live here we found that church is important because it is the only place you can guarantee meeting the community regularly. The congregat-ion (average 15 per Sunday at the Catholic Church) spends about an hour and a half chatting after Mass, usually about farming or gossip. It's like a community meeting. The Harvest Festival is the one time each year the two churches get together.
Fleur Gorrie, our neighbour, writes down who owes what as the auctioneer works his way through the goodies on offer. We bid successfully on three large cakes, a tray of scones, a tray of cup cakes, two jars of grape jam, and 5 doilies crochetted by Shirley Whale.
The doilies are old-fashioned lace and beautifully made by Shirley who was cruelly treated by her ex-husband and abandoned. He is such a bastard... My Mum would say "There's a special place in Hell for him." And there is.
I asked Shirley would she pose with one of her doilies, and she did. I am always snapping away, the locals have gotten used to this madman from the city who arrived four years ago and will never be a local because he wasn't born here. We spent $91 at the auction and they raised more than $500, which is far more than they were able to raise in the town of Gulgong (population 2000).
At the end of the auction it is traditional for a carton of chilled beers to be auctioned, then opened and shared around. One of the menfolk will pay $50 to bring it along while another of the menfolk will bid up to $60 for it. Then everyone has a beer. Pictured is Kevin Benson, local resident and the man who can remember everyone and everything. Prodigious memory. If anyone wants to know anything about anyone, they ask Kevin.
When we first arrived to live here we found that church is important because it is the only place you can guarantee meeting the community regularly. The congregat-ion (average 15 per Sunday at the Catholic Church) spends about an hour and a half chatting after Mass, usually about farming or gossip. It's like a community meeting. The Harvest Festival is the one time each year the two churches get together.
Fleur Gorrie, our neighbour, writes down who owes what as the auctioneer works his way through the goodies on offer. We bid successfully on three large cakes, a tray of scones, a tray of cup cakes, two jars of grape jam, and 5 doilies crochetted by Shirley Whale.
The doilies are old-fashioned lace and beautifully made by Shirley who was cruelly treated by her ex-husband and abandoned. He is such a bastard... My Mum would say "There's a special place in Hell for him." And there is. 
I asked Shirley would she pose with one of her doilies, and she did. I am always snapping away, the locals have gotten used to this madman from the city who arrived four years ago and will never be a local because he wasn't born here. We spent $91 at the auction and they raised more than $500, which is far more than they were able to raise in the town of Gulgong (population 2000).
At the end of the auction it is traditional for a carton of chilled beers to be auctioned, then opened and shared around. One of the menfolk will pay $50 to bring it along while another of the menfolk will bid up to $60 for it. Then everyone has a beer. Pictured is Kevin Benson, local resident and the man who can remember everyone and everything. Prodigious memory. If anyone wants to know anything about anyone, they ask Kevin.
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