August 19th

This morning we did some preparation at the flat, then went to church and did some more. I drew up the outline of the new building for one of our prayer spaces (not bad, even if I say so myself) and Jon did lots of photocopying.
Once we were finished we went down the beach and the girls and I went swimming. The girls got hungry so Jon went and got chips. The girls played again while I sat and read, same as Jon. Then they got hungry again so Jon went and got a plate of Chinese food – Bethany particularly liked beef in black bean sauce, Abi liked the sweet and sour beef – then he went off again and bought Abi and Bex a Dagwood Dog each (see EKKA entry!).
The girls pleaded with me to make a sandcastle together - they said I was really good (I told them I had been taught by an expert!!!)
When we got in we found that Ian had sent us some photos for tomorrow, so we put the presentation together. It took longer than we had thought so when we had finished it was nearly dark (5.30pm - even after 5 weeks it is still weird and we can't get used to it at all.)
Having come along by Kangaroo Point Cliffs last Monday night, we thought we would go and have a proper look at them as they are floodlit at night. We took sausages in the hope of using an outdoor bbq but all of them were being used, so we came back and ate them at home.
This evening has been a mix of things - we have done yet more preparation for tomorrow, planned the children's story for the morning service, packed one suitcase and wrote our goodbye cards - not bad for one evenings work! Sunset tonight over Mt Coo-tha was fantastic again - Jon is getting a lot of practice with his camera...we have MANY sunset shots now.

August 15th

Today we went to the EKKA - the Brisbane National Exhibition where there are fairground rides, animals are exhibited, people enter competitions for craft, etc. and there are shows and loads of other stuff. Ian had suggested we went as it was an experience not to be missed! He was right...it was amazing! It was very busy - and we have been told that there is a holiday tomorrow (People's Day) so people have the opportunity to go - so goodness knows what that would be like with even more people there! Not only that, but Thursday is a school holiday as well for school kids to be able to go to the EKKA.
We saw loads of animals being exhibited in competitions - cattle, dogs (like Crufts), fish, etc. and there were quilts, paintings, fruit displays, sugar craft (which had to be seen to be believed, some were so good they didn't seem real) and lots of other things as well. We were able to see baby emu which are all stripy and very sweet as well as other baby animals.
The show is known for its Showbags - selections of sweets, toys and other things. Showbags originally started as a free sample bag that were given to visitors at the Show. Now, a single Showbag can range from $1(40p) to $50(£20) depending on its contents. The Showbags are mostly popular with young children and teenagers. We worked out it was worth looking at what you got before parting with your cash - some were much better value than others. There may be details in the show guides you can buy on the day, but we had already checked out the bag contents online and in a show-guide that came with the local paper last week. We all got one bag each!
The finale of the day was a show in a big arena which had motorcycles do aerial tricks, cars racing around doing some cool driving, a girl was shot out of a cannon, a man rode a bison and 50 people did whipcracking simultaneously. The finale was fireworks (ooh, aah). They were pretty cool!
Jon and the girls each had a Dagwood Dog (traditional EKKA food) – a sausage dipped in batter on a stick, usually dipped in tomato ketchup – a sort of meat lolly! We also had Fairy floss, candy floss in the UK. All in all a good day but so tiring!