Benalla, Burrumbeet and Ballarat

For those who are aware of my complete lack of facility with card games, you might be interested to know that I was invited to a bridge party. The photo below perhaps explains this curiosity. My brother Ross and Christine have a tradition of a Christmas get-together with their Emu Bridge Road neighbours.

On our way back from the cousins’ reunion, we stopped in to see my brother John and Joy at their pub at Burrumbeet. Despite a power outage, Joy produced one of her usual famous lunches.

As kids, we used to sail on Lake Burrumbeet on the few occasions that our usual venue of Lake Wendouree in Ballarat was dry. For those who may not recall, this involved a particularly nerve-racking drive along the Avenue of Honour with the Arafura Cadet tied to the roof racks on the EH Premier. It is only recently that both lakes are again full of water after so many years of being quite dry.

Dad suggested that we drop by the Grammar school on our way through Ballarat. I had not been back since I left 40 years ago. A very pleasant lady gave us a comprehensive tour of the facilities, much evolved from my days there. It was interesting to realise how much Dad had contributed to the school during the days of the controversial amalgamation with the sister school. The evidence of my contributions were the several buildings on which I had worked as a brickie’s labourer during school holidays.

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