We are now up to Saturday afternoon of the Charters Towers Country Music Festival for 2011 and it has been an interesting day.


It started with breakfast this morning up at the Dining Room with about 100 other people of similar vintage having a huge breakfast and listening to poetry (good and bad) from about 5 poets. One face amongst the many I saw was Jo Cronin who taught the kids back in Moranbah a generation ago.

Jo was one of the poets and seemed to be very well known to the compare and a lot of the audience as being a regular face at the Charters Towers Country Music Festival and when all was over I went over and chatted to her. She couldn’t remember my face but as soon as I mentioned Brett she remembered and asked me how he was doing. She now teaches handicapped children out of Mackay North High School and when I explained about the problems Kathy was having with Corbin she asked me to get Kathy to contact her.

The days entertainment was either song writers competitions or singers competitions and most were very good some very average but got to hear Tommy Contor who with his father Viv, when he was about 8, played at a pub I was managing in the Pioneer Valley. Tommy is now all grown up and a very good singer in his own right and won the male vocal last year. He has entered a number of sections this year. His mum Barbara and father Viv must be very proud of him.

Tonight will be a packed house and every chair (and Stuart says there are about 2,000) will have a bum on it for the star of the Festival Troy Cassar-Daley. As our stand is just at the entrance of the main stage we have a close unrestricted view of the entertainment.



Troy Cassar-Daley



Luke Austin

                                                           

Last night was an 11pm finish and I don’t anticipate tonight being any earlier so we have both had a rest ready for the multitudes.

Sunday has rolled around with more of the same singing and song writing competitions but most has been easy on the ear.

Tonight will be the finals and the presentation and hopefully an early night as we want to pack up and get an early start tomorrow and get home as a reasonable time.

Tuesday morning I have an early breakfast for management at work and then 3 weeks paperwork to catch up on as well as a trip to Brisbane to get my head around. This was a gift from Stuart for Easter to see a concert I really wanted to attend and apparently Shell has been a party to this surprise again, also. Thanks Shell!!

Stuart will only be home for a few days and then he is off west for about a month doing the near western show run and I will really have the house to my self for a while as Ricki Lee is moving back home with her Mum. She is enjoying a little bit more freedom now with her license and car. Joel now has his learners permit so the worry factor just doubled. Stuart’s granddaughter Deanna has had her learners now for a while and typical of country kids she is breezing her hours as she has probably been driving on her parents property for quite a while.