Day 59 Wednesday
This morning I headed towards Wentworth again, but on the NSW side of the Murray and stopped outside of ‘Orange World’, which is a cross between an orchard and a theme park. The owner was really friendly and I think it broke his heart when I asked if the orange trees across the road were his. ‘No, but the owner lives just over there…’ so I headed off to ask permission while promising the owner of Orange World that I would be back to paint his oranges sometime soon. The owner wasn’t home, and after scratching his red heeler for a while I decided to just paint the orchard from the side of the highway, as the view of the poplars in the background was what had inspired me in the first place. It was a magnificently warm day and I peeled off my layers of clothing as I laid the layers of paint on the panel. When I finished up, I headed back into town for a swim and a shower at the aquatic centre and then dropped in to the Red Cross to buy a shirt, jeans and pair of shoes – all for $14 for tonight’s dinner gala at the local Tafe. It was a celebration of the graduates and a night of awards for the chefs and tasty bites for us guests. The theme was Spanish and after chorizo and potato nibbles and a few glasses of sangria, we all sat down to feast on the three kinds of paella they had made with the assistance of a chef from Spain. I was wondering how many of the ingredients were local, and pondered the thought that one hundred years ago, if you wanted to impress your guests at a dinner party, you would have all manner of exotic foods shipped in. In today’s global economy, it’s quite normal to have food from all over the world represented on an average dinner plate and to impress guests at a contemporary dinner party you might try to source all local ingredients. Ah, how times change. The night was further embellished with two Spanish guitar players and a flamenco dancer, followed by a local rock group, and a great time was had by all, not bad for $35!
This morning I headed towards Wentworth again, but on the NSW side of the Murray and stopped outside of ‘Orange World’, which is a cross between an orchard and a theme park. The owner was really friendly and I think it broke his heart when I asked if the orange trees across the road were his. ‘No, but the owner lives just over there…’ so I headed off to ask permission while promising the owner of Orange World that I would be back to paint his oranges sometime soon. The owner wasn’t home, and after scratching his red heeler for a while I decided to just paint the orchard from the side of the highway, as the view of the poplars in the background was what had inspired me in the first place. It was a magnificently warm day and I peeled off my layers of clothing as I laid the layers of paint on the panel. When I finished up, I headed back into town for a swim and a shower at the aquatic centre and then dropped in to the Red Cross to buy a shirt, jeans and pair of shoes – all for $14 for tonight’s dinner gala at the local Tafe. It was a celebration of the graduates and a night of awards for the chefs and tasty bites for us guests. The theme was Spanish and after chorizo and potato nibbles and a few glasses of sangria, we all sat down to feast on the three kinds of paella they had made with the assistance of a chef from Spain. I was wondering how many of the ingredients were local, and pondered the thought that one hundred years ago, if you wanted to impress your guests at a dinner party, you would have all manner of exotic foods shipped in. In today’s global economy, it’s quite normal to have food from all over the world represented on an average dinner plate and to impress guests at a contemporary dinner party you might try to source all local ingredients. Ah, how times change. The night was further embellished with two Spanish guitar players and a flamenco dancer, followed by a local rock group, and a great time was had by all, not bad for $35!
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