Skip to main content

Chatting


The normally busy cafe at Sofala was nearly empty.  We struck up a conversation with a gnarled old local with a long beard who had popped by to drop off some stuff. A finely dressed old gentlemen came in an ordered a sandwich.  His story was a fascinating one of starting work as a lad in the shale oil mine at Glen Davis. Its such fun talking to strangers, like a lucky dip.

This gate is at Sallys Flat which I have added as a locality at 100 Towns.

Comments

  1. The best part of travel is talking to random strangers. But it can also be the WORST part!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Grin. I haven't come across too many people that I don't like talking to but then again I usually leave the chatting to my husband and go inside the van and play with my computer.

      Delete
  2. I was hoping for more Hill End shots. I spent some of my honeymoon there and it was simply amazing. We traveled from Bathurst to Hill End on the 'Bridal Track' (irony here), have you been on that road, bit scary in parts but one of the greatest drives I have ever done.
    Terrific old gate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have actually visited Hill End lots of times and done reports in the blog so decided to keep it short and sweet this time. Back in the past I used to label posts as hill end district so click on the link and you will see not only HIll End but Sofala and the Bridle Track.

      The Bridle Track is a stupendous drive (and yes scary in parts). But there was a big rock fall in one section a year or so ago and that section of the road has been closed indefinitely so it is no longer a through road. I am hoping to go and explore the parts that are still open again soon.

      Delete
    2. Enjoyed looking at all the shots. Sad to hear the Bridal track is closed.

      Delete
  3. There used to be a show on SBS or the ABC where this fellow just rocked up to strangers in the street and started chatting with them. Eventually the most extraordinary stories would come out and usually from the most nondescript looking people. Just goes to show - everyone has a story!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I missed that show. I wonder what I would start yabbering about if someone from the TV show grabbed me in the street.

      Delete
  4. I like how encounters in the country can be so interesting since people are generally so unguarded. I don't find I have that many conversations like this in the city.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Certainly people are more ready to chat in country towns and caravan parks than in the city. I do remember when I first moved from the country to the city that I used to talk to people, on public transport and stuff. Soon realised that was not the done thing.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Coolibah?

Is that a Coolibah tree beside the abandoned house? Every Australian knows about Coolibah trees because the bush ballad Waltzing Matilda is nigh on our unoffical national anthem but most of us live nowhere near the inland where they grow. Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong, Under the shade of a Coolibah tree, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled, You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me. Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

The end

I retire from the workforce this week and to celebrate have decided to retire my current blogs and start afresh with a single consolidated blog -  My Bright Field  - to record the delights of my new life adventure. If you are interested follow me over there.  I will still be Sweet Wayfaring and collecting Royal Hotels.  The delights I discover along the way will appear together with my gardens and towns where I live.

Larras Lee

We passed through Bakers Swamp without noticing anything.  Then reached our last dot on the map for this trip - Larras Lee and saw this.  The roadside monument says: In Memory of  WILLIAM LEE  (1794 - 1870)  of "Larras Lake"  a pioneer of the sheep  and cattle industry  and first member for  Roxburgh under responsible  government (1856 - 1859).  This stone was erected  by his descendants.  --- 1938 --- This is a repost from a few days ago. Thinking I would use this for this week’s Taphophile Tragics post I dug a little further into William Lee’s story, it’s a very colonial Australian one. William was born of convict parents, living his childhood years around the Sydney region. In his early 20s he was issued with some government cattle, recommended as a suitable settler and granted 134 acres at Kelso near Bathurst. He was one of the first in the area and did well. A few years later he was granted a ram and an increase in his land to 300 acres. William developed a r