It’s the annual Bridgetown Show today. The weather’s hot, so it’ll be very unpleasant in the exhibition halls and out in the sun. We haven’t been to the Show here before so it will be interesting to compare it to the last regional show we went to in Innisfail, Far North Queensland. I’ve submitted three quilts ($1 entry fee for each; $4 prize money to the winner in each category—it’s a BIG deal! <grin>), and will have to return to the showgrounds after 4pm to pick them up. But we’ll try and get there late this morning to avoid the worst heat of the day.
The other big “show time” today is the Federal election for the Senate and House of Representatives candidates. This is where we choose the party we want to govern Australia for the next 3 years. While we don’t have ‘presidential’ elections as such, over the years the egos of those who would be Prime Minister have taken on presidential qualities. So while we have to vote for a local representative, everyone really knows that they are voting either for John Howard (the PM for the past 11 years and leader of the Liberal Party) or Kevin Rudd (leader of the Australian Labor Party). Even a vote for the minor parties is a vote for one of the two big ones—the preferential voting system sees to that. Voting is compulsory and you’re fined if you don’t vote, so we can’t ‘vote with our feet’ and say we don’t like either party!
Update: We went to the show—didn’t think it was worth the $12 per person entry fee… We were there probably less than an hour, most of which was in the Centenary Hall where the handcrafts, flowers, photos etc. were on display. I won TWO first prizes!!! One for my “Christmas Star” quilt (Category: “Item by first-time exhibitor”), and the other for my quilt tote bag (“Category: “Sewn bag”).
After we voted, we did another “show time” thing—and went for a swim in the local pool which opened for the summer today. Nice refreshing dip, though tired afterwards! I did about 6x 25m laps very slowly—and with fins on. And the ‘show time’ connection? Our white bodies were on show to the sun for the first time in ages!!!
Rhonda Bracey: At Random 