First though, a thank you to all of you who responded to my request for information post. I’m not sure much has changed but IF you DON’T see the pictures after logging in to alloveroz, can I suggest that you try downloading WordPress.COM, then when you log in, using your username and password, in you should get all the pictures.
Now, back to our past few weeks!
Well, as you all know we got home at the end of July in the pouring rain to cold, cold nights. We kept the log burner in 24/7. We then spent most of the time getting sorted out for Roger’s Dad’s 100th birthday weekend. Roger and his brother Brian had several discussions with him, which usually went along the lines of, Dad, ‘don’t know why you want to make such fuss about it’, to which our response was, ‘well it’s up to you’. Finally a sheepish grin and ‘alright, go ahead then’!
On the Saturday morning we rang a quarter peal for him at Mandurah and Brian brought him down to listen to some of it. He said he thoroughly enjoyed listening to the ringing.
A tick in the box!
Most of the band had rung with him when he rang at Mandurah and Rockingham.
This is a quarter peal rung for Dad’s 100th birthday by some of our friends in the UK.
The Cubby Hole is a ring of very small bells hung in the roof of our friend Stephen’s garage in Garvestone in Norfolk.
It has been beautifully built and the Ringing Rroom finished in wood by Stephen who is a very good carpenter.
It is a really nice place to ring.
We know that the ringing would have been very good.
Then on Sunday we had a few of his friends round for morning tea, followed by a family lunch and then a few more friends for afternoon tea.
Brian had nipped home in the morning and installed the electrically controlled chair that we had bought him for his birthday.
Dad rang up when he got home and again the following morning, to say thank you and how much he had enjoyed imself.
They can’t get him out of the chair now!
Setting Out Again
So, at the beginning of September we set out for Mukinbudin to meet up with a few other Bushtracker couples. An uneventful journey got us there late afternoon, our ‘oft times’ travelling companions Brad & Denise and Richard and Marge were already there and we joined them for the 4 o’clock, tea / wine / beer, get together.
The next day, though the weather was pretty bad, we did have a break for long enough to walk into town to check out a craft gallery, a cup of coffee and the ‘closed for lunch on Monday & Tuesday” pub!
This part of the Wheatbelt has many granite outcrops, some of which are quite spectacular and today we were suppose to be going to visit Berringbooding Rock but the weather was so bad it was cancelled. Pat and I decided that we would go into Merredin on the Great Eastern Hwy, the nearest town,100ks away. We had our first decaf cappucino of the trip!
Today (Wednesday) we did make it to Berringboodin Rock, in sunshine!
During the depression the out of work men in the area set about building a water catchment system on this rock. Clockwise from the top;
1 A bunch of Seniors setting out for the summit! The water containment wall is in front of them.
2 A water contaiment wall was built all the way round the rock, approximately 3 km.
3 The water is directed into the concrete tank. I think this is the largest concrete tank in the southern hemisphere.
4 A natural pool that was re-engineered to make it a safe swimming hole for the workers. Probably much needed with temperatures around 40C in the summer!
Out here in the wheatbelt there are obviously times when the locals have little to do. As we have seen, they practice their welding by making various constructions from junk around the farm.
On the way back from Berringboodin we came across this particular example. The windmill being the power to make the horse’s parts move.
Another day we went, as a group, for brunch in Westonia, a small mining town about 50ks away.
All the buildings have had their facades re-newed but there is very little behind them!
On the following day, Friday, we were ready to head off on our trip when we heard that the Queen had died. After a brief discussion we decided that we should head home and contribute to the ringing tributes to her Majesty.
When we tried to leave the car park we discovered a problem with the caravan brake controller. We tried various solutions but the switch was jammed in the dashboard. Roger managed to pull it out with some long-nosed pliers and, surprise, surprise, it worked and we made it home.
The girls, Janine and Sally, had managed to fit the muffles and they and two others had tolled the tenor for an hour. Well done them. On Sunday we rang half-muffled for the service at Mandurah and then went to Perth and rang a quarter of Grandsire Triples at the Belltower.
Thursday September 9th 2022. A very sad day for the UK and most of the world.
We rang the eight bells on the afternoon of the funeral in remembrance, of a great lady.
May she rest in peace.
Alloveroz 
Hello Roger and Pat
Have been thinking of you often over the past times. It is a long time since we have been to Perth so have not had an opportunity to call in and say hello. Have enjoyed reading your posts of your Dad’s 100th birthday (what a fabulous achievement) and were very interested in the bell ringing activities. We have written a little outline of what we have been doing over the past little while. We send the outline to a few friends and individualize each message according to the participant. We’ll send yours via your email address. If you would like to receive messages in some other way please advise.
With our very best wishes
John and Phyllis
Hello John & Phyllis,
I had just sat down at the computer to make contact with you, since we had not heard from you for a while hoped that nothing was amiss.
So, terrific, we will look forward to receiving and reading your missive.
Then we can reply with what weâve been up to.
Great to hear from you.
Cheers,
Pat and roger