A Cuppa With Kerry: The Two-Day Break...Day 2

So, you know I had a day in town and treated myself to a night there so it wasn't all a rush. Well, what a good idea that was. It's great to know I have new specs on the way and I have comfy boots for the winter. I went to the State Cinema to see the fabulous Judi Dench in Philomena. What a sad, sad story. So much is hidden from us really. The film industry has such a powerful way to share with us the things that we might not otherwise know. How many thousands of young women have had their babies taken from them over the decades...the centuries...see it if you get the chance.

Anyway, after a lazy start to day two of my mini-holiday (11am checkout woohoo!) I wandered down to the restaurant for a breakfast of poached eggs and tomato on toast and good rich coffee. Had a lovely conversation with the lady who took my order. She was tired because her ten month old bub had been restless all night. I thought about how hard it must to be work when you have small children. I was lucky enough to be at home when my children were small. I'm sure I'd never have coped with going out to work. I suggested that it might be tough for this woman to come to work but she smiled and said she had a very supportive husband who would dress the children and take them to where they needed to be dropped off. I don't want to judge but I couldn't have stood the idea of dropping my babies off anywhere when they were small. I just wanted to be with them...and for them to be with me. I was in my early thirties by the time I had my first child. Perhaps that is why...or perhaps I was just lucky to have the opportunity to stay at home with my little ones. I'm glad the lady has a supportive husband, and I'm glad she finishes work in the early afternoon. I hope she gets to spend lots of time with her little ones. They grow up so fast.

After a delicious breakfast designed to keep me going all day, I took a short drive to New Norfolk. I'd heard that there were loads of antique stores there and with my appetite whetted by my venture into the Franklin shop a few weekends back, I decided I'd like to go and take a look. It was a bright, sunny, breezy day...just right for taking a little drive and wandering around a new town with new sights and sounds. That's what I was after most of all...something new...something fresh...something to delight my always busy mind. And that is what I got. I left the car near a lovely park and headed towards what looked like the place to find the shops I was looking for. Two steps around the corner I was accosted by a young man with glasses, an accent and a trolley full of trays of strawberries. He had a spiel designed to sell and sell he did...to me! Seven dollars later I was the proud owner of a half kilo box of strawberries that were half the size of my head and smelled like heaven must. Lunch sorted, I popped them in my bag and kept walking. Now I wish I'd asked for a photo but I was so astonished by the way this man appeared out of nowhere, that I didn't have the presence of mind. Bemused, I continued my stroll down the main street. Three buskers I counted and two I contributed to. The guitar and harmonica man was the best. Again...no photos. I must gain the courage to ask people so I can share with you here. I must overcome the shyness...and be bolder! For now you will have to use your imagination a bit. What a lovely day it was, wandering into this shop and that, chatting with people along the way. Lots of newness...just what I needed.

I took a walk in the park when it was time to eat those delicious strawberries; they were every bit as good as their aroma promised. I found a screwdriver on the grass and popped it in my pocket. Serendipity. I noticed some 'twigs' from a corkscrew willow and collected an armful for school. They are sure to inspire some sort of creative project. Free from nature. Thank you. Lovely. On the way back to the car to deposit the twigs in the boot, I noticed a fallen bird's nest. On closer inspection I discovered that the whitish fluffy stuff woven in among the grass and fine twigs was cigarette filters, stripped of their brown paper coating and carefully fluffed to make a cosy home for baby birds. How sad really. Those filters are in the cigarettes to draw the toxic chemicals out of the smoke before the smoker inhales. Poor wee birds starting life nestled in a bed of toxic chemical soaked fluff. I wonder how it affects them...especially when they are wee things with bare skin, just out of the eggs. Food for thought. I have the nest in the boot of the car too. It will be good to talk with the children about how our thoughtlessness can affect the creatures that live in our world. It's a good illustration of a big concept. It is also a wonderful thing to see what a bird can do with just a beak. How lucky we are to have hands and fingers to manipulate things with...but are we too clever for our own good?

At one point in my wanderings I was given a map and directions to Willow Court. I decided it might be worth a look and was just blown away by the volume of the place and the incredible contents thereof. I was taken on a thousand journeys as I browsed all manner of things...some of which it is embarrassing to find in an antiques store as I remember many of them from childhood and my teenage years and twenties...am I really that old??? Yes, it would appear so. The photos below were all taken as I wandered through this amazing place. It was originally a hospital and as I walked the halls and rooms of the old nurses quarters, I was struck by how cold it was compared to the cheery warmth outside. I suspect it is a happier place now as a tourist venture than it was back in the 1800s when it was an asylum for the insane. I'd like to go back again some time for another look, when I know more about the place. I'm planning to do a little research.

I headed back to Hobart mid-afternoon to ensure I had time to visit Mawson's Huts replica before I drove home. I'll write about that in my next post. Hope you're inspired to get out and about to see somewhere new near you!! If you are I'd love to hear about it. Remember you can add comments easily at the bottom of each post. Cheers for now, Kerry