August 16th

Yesterday completely tired us out so it took us a while to get going this morning. We spent this morning and most of this afternoon preparting for the Prayer Wheel event, though late afternoon we took the girls out for a bit of fresh air. Ian had said that today was a public holiday so people can go to the EKKA. This was especially noticeable when we were coming home because usually around 5pm it's really difficult to cross the road because of the traffic. Tonight, though, there were hardly any cars and we crossed the road really easily!

This evening Jon went out to English conversation class. He said that there were a lot of people there - the two people who started last week as well as two new people. The group had a lot of fun and there was a lot of discussion going on. It is encouraging seeing new people coming every week and becoming a part of the group.

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!