Posted on by photographyperthwa

The Hastings go to Hastings

But first, getting up to date. On Saturday evening we went to a concert at the Croydon Minster. The choir members do not audition and the choral singing was a little fuzzy – not up to WASO chorus standards. But the young soloists were excellent and the Rossini mass is very easy to listen to.

soloists - 1
Sadly I couldn’t get a photo with all four soloists looking towards the front. The second from the left was the mezzo. She had a really lovely voice.
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We could see more of the church before the choir arrived.

When we came out it was still light, with a cold breeze. Stephen had his thick coat (I had been using it in the church to try to get comfortable), but I had my denim jacket only. A brisk walk home was the best we could do to get warm.

On Sunday we did nothing very much – we talked with Matt and Hidde on Facetime at 11.30 a.m. Matt continues to look well and happy. In the later afternoon we went out for afternoon tea and shopping. We had pork pies for lunch, mostly so that we could tell Hidde that we had them, rather than because we thought they would be great. They were nice at the time, but have a strong taste of pork which seems to be haunting me still. Perhaps I need a Chinese meal or something to overpower the taste.

waiting for our train to Hastings - 1
Stephen’s finger on the lens here. We sat outside as we waiting for them to post the platform number. We were told it was usually platform 3, but we didn’t want to have to scramble up and around to another platform if it changed.
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Stephen with the sign on the platform opposite – we have arrived!

This morning we got up in good time to pack for our little trip. In fact, our train didn’t leave until 1.00 p.m., but we wanted to get to the station early to pick up our tickets. We were thinking of just taking my duffle bag for both of us, but I filled it up with my stuff, so Stephen has had to bring the other duffle for his clothes. We still felt we were lightly packed compared with when we went away with the car for a week.

We haven’t bought any food with us as it would have been extra to carry. We can prepare food at our AirBNB, but will probably just have meals out for the couple of days we are here. We have two nights, and are leaving at 5.00 p.m. on Wednesday, which gives us a couple of days here, more or less. We have a room on the ground floor, just down three steps, rather than up many steps, with our own private bathroom. It’s very inexpensive compared with most of the places available here, $103 for two nights including AirBNB fees. Breakfast isn’t included, but there are many options to buy breakfast nearby.

we are staying in the left hand house on the ground floor - 1
We are on the left, with the white door.

It was cloudy and dull when we woke up this morning, then fined up by the time we left home. We arrived here in sunshine, which tends to make a good impression. There is a coolish breeze, so we need jackets. We really enjoyed the train ride. Obviously when we were travelling along near the sea Stephen put away his paper to look out the window.

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Stephen in the town square with our destination, Jempson’s Bakery Cafe, in the background.
Jempson's in Hastings2 - 1
The cafe
Jempson's in Hastings3 - 1
Cup of tea for Stephen and coffee for me. We had tea cakes, a bit similar to Welsh cakes, quite delicious toasted.

Stephen didn’t do any preparation in terms of looking up the attractions of this area before we came. Whilst I am tapping away at the blog he is doing some research for the next couple of days.

Stephen was joking (I hope) with the waitress that we should get a discount because our name is Hastings. She confided that the manager had said to only charge us for one tea cake, not two – we were already being given a discount. I think we will come back to this cafe.

Posted on by photographyperthwa

Life after Fairbridge – Mandurah Songfest

Out for a walk (1 of 1)We had three nights at home, then set off again for Mandurah for the Songfest. It is a workshop, followed by a short concert, run by a choir in Mandurah.

We left Fairbridge on Tuesday at about midday, after most campers had left. We were really just taking our time and savouring the experience of being there. No rain the whole time meant there was lots of dust.

Coming down to Mandurah, we were surprised to find a Services stop at Baldivas, which we don’t remember seeing before. It has service stations either side, and on ours a large hall with fast food stalls, and toilets, of course. We plan to fill up with petrol and check the tires on the way home. The one on the way down is set up for trucks as well as cars, and we are hoping that the one on the way back to Perth is pretty similar.

We have stayed at the Belevedere Caravan Park in Mandurah before. It is comfortable, without being fancy. We took a short walk down to the beach last night, but didn’t get out until it was dark, so could not see very much.

Breakfast in Mandurah (1 of 1)

This morning we tried not to rush to get ready. The workshop runs from 10.00 a.m. until 7.00 p.m., and includes morning and afternoon teas and lunch. Therefore, once we leave here, we are away for a long time. We have a frozen home cooked meal to come back to, but may have a meal out if we can find somewhere inexpensive. There is a Chinese restaurant next door to the caravan park, so that is an option.

As usual, it is sunny, with 26 degree maximum predicted. It was chilly overnight, so we have been glad of the heater. Although we were comfortable at Fairbridge without electricity it seems quite magical that all of our power points actually work!

Monday 1st May, 2017

It was a very long day at the Songfest. We learned six songs and two rounds, some of which are stuck in my head, going round and round. We had some five minute breaks, a longer break for morning and afternoon tea, and about an hour for lunch. During the lunchtime break we went down to the shore front for a walk. Morning teas, lunch and afternoon teas were provided by the Mandurah Choir, which was lovely and helped to keep us going, but we also wanted to get out for a while in the bigger break.

We had an hour between the rehearsal finishing and the final performance, so went to the Dome for a sit down and coffee. At that point we were feeling completely finished, no energy left, but the break was long enough for me at least to be able to do the concert without discomfit.

Our choir director was lovely, keeping us involved and singing our best. The choir had already learned the songs, which provided a good base for the rest of us to pick up on the music.

There was a raffle, and we actually won a prize. It was heavy to carry back to the caravan park (about a kilometre away), but we were determined and managed it. We had a frozen meal and toast, quite comforting, and tried out some chocolates from our prize box. There was wine, marmalade, truffle salt(?), olives and chocolates, we had to open it to have a look when we got home.

We should have had black clothes for the concert, but choir members lent us a bit of gear so we didn’t stand out too much. Something to remember next time.

We were granted a late checkout, and woke up quite late anyway, so it would have been difficult to get ready by 10.00 a.m. By 12.00 we were ready and on the way home stopped at the Northbound version of the Baldivas service stop to fill up with deisel and check the tyres. Stephen was having a bit of difficulty and asked for help from another truck owner. He was delightful and even crawled underneath to check the spare. He is a mechanic by trade, with his own business. He said he and his employees are absolutely flat tack and can’t take any more business, but he did leave his phone number, just in case. He said our vehicle is known for being very reliable, which is why Winnebago use it as the basis for their motorhomes, and that was reassuring. And I have deliberately blanked out the child’s face, he would have been recognisable otherwise.

Baldivas Northbound (1 of 1)