The rehearsal and performance was not quite as tiring as I had imagined. We arrived at 11.30 a.m. to get signed in and seated and the rehearsal itself got underway about half an hour later. The show is about two hours long, with an interval and we actually had a 15 minute break in the middle. Because the cast and musicians are professionals the break came quite abruptly as it is an entitlement. Unfortunately amateurs aren’t allowed this luxury, but because we were a mix we appreciated the benefits.

The whole thing was very interesting as although by then I knew the plot, it was different to see it actually unfolding on stage. It was a dress rehearsal so they were in costume and we all in our black gear. I was seated in the last row and had an excellent view due to the ‘bleaches’ we were sitting on.

At 3.00 p.m. we were set free to wander the streets and try to find a cafe, which we were able to do due to somewhat knowing that part of the city quite well. We had a chat with Matt whilst enjoying hot chocolates and a tart.

I had decided that if the seating was too uncomfortable and I felt tired I wouldn’t actually do the performance, but sit in the audience. But I’m so glad I didn’t as there were many moments of joy, including waiting for the curtain to rise, that I would have missed out on, including the cameraderie of being part of an approximately 140 voice choir. We were aristocratic some of the time and simple villages with country accents the rest of the time. People got up to dance on the stage in one part, just a few as there wasn’t much room. As well, we had to pretend to be asleep after taking the magic potion and some people were asked to actually lie on down on the stage for when the curtain was raised on the second act.

The principals had the same small amount of stage to work with, but as they were mainly singing it was actually enough. Different lighting effects helped to set the different moods.

Afterwards Stephen and I were on a ‘high’ and went and had a meal in the Chinatown Mall. Stephen tried not to overeat as he has been having stomach issues after restaurant meals, but he was still uncomfortable in the night.

We slept well for our last night (Sunday) and then did all of the packing up by 11.00 a.m. This had been given as the time we had to leave and it felt very civilized as we had the Sherwood set up for semi permanent living and there was a lot to do. We didn’t hurry, just worked through it and all was well.

We had a date in the evening to meet some friends at an Afghani restaurant, so we drove there and found parking in a large hotel carpark close by. We made use of the toilets there as well. We were able to relax, do a little shopping, and get ready for the evening.

The restaurant was decorated in a traditional way and the food was very good, but most of all we enjoyed the conversations around the table as we had a go at working out how to change the world to be a better place. To be resumed.

Afterwards we went back to our cars (we had moved to a parking space outside of a Lutheran facility which was closer to the restaurant and probably safer). We were all packed up for travel and we set off soon after our friends left to go to our park up for the night, St Kilda Boat Ramp Parking area. It is an official parking area for RVs and has a dump point and water taps, mostly for the boats, but handy for us. There is a little fishing tackle shop where we will pay our $8 for last night.

We had a good night, apart from a bit of wakefulness from being stimulated by the conversations and experiences of the last couple of days.

We have something a bit unusual planned for the first part of our trip before Ceduna and that is making us a bit more excited for the next phase than we would otherwise be. Stay tuned.