Blood at the 'ba

The afternoon was passing quickly as we headed down the Ballina cutting.  Ballina has so many op shops that they hand out a map.  We were given ours at (naturally) the Anglican one.  It was nice, but the ADRA one down the road appealed to me more.  A lot more stuff to rifle through.

The next stop was Ballina Care, further east on Tamar Street.  This was the most interesting of the three.  Of all the descriptions I have seen of clothes for the more amply proportioned, theirs was the best.  And while you rifled through the rack, strange creatures looked down at you.  

They had some lovely Hornby china, but it wasn't my pattern, so I resisted.  We would dearly have liked to visit more of the Ballina beauties (next time), but it was getting late and we were tired.  Our final night's accommodation awaited us at the Mudgeeraba Hotel, which I still think of as Wallaby Bob's, because the last time I drank there, as a Uni student, it was still owned by ex-wrestler and rugby union legend Bob McMaster. 


The accommodation there was in a separate building out the back, sort of glorified workers' dongas, but OK. We settled in, headed over to the pub proper for dinner, and before you know it were deeply involved in trivia and musical bingo.  All went well until we discovered that Jan had lost an earring with great sentimental value, as it had been given to her by her late mother.  We searched, and searched in vain.


Next morning, Jan had a brainwave, and went looking for a cleaner. Bingo! One lost earring reunited with its mate.  Jan put them on.   

It was then time to pack up and move out. We had put our coldies in the little fridge in our room. Jan was emptying it, when the support bit for a wine bottle on the door collapsed and the bottle hit the tiled floor. Jan had tried to catch it as it fell, so the result was a lot of blood and a lot more wine.  We used up an awful lot of toilet paper, then went looking for a medical centre, leaving our room smelling like a winetasters' convention.

Fortunately, there was one just down the road, and they took Jan in straight away.  Needles and stitches later, we were able to have a calming coffee and a late breakfast at a cafe nearby.  Then we managed to squeeze in four oppies before heading back to BrisVegas.  The Red Cross was very neat and tidy and yielded nothing. Vinnies was nice too but there were bargains to be had there, including cute earrings for me.  The tiny little Anglican one, up a sort of side carpark, also yielded nothing, and then we found the best of them, the Uniting Church Op Shop.  

It is in an old house on church property, a bit out of town,  and there we found many interesting things. I couldn't resist an arty little white bowl, complete with holes, so pretty much useless but decorative.  Jo found a wonderful art deco wooden box with an intriguing opening.
We decided to call it a day, and headed for home, with one last stop to check out Studio Thrifty Four at Albion.  It is definitely one for the young, being very hip, but everything there is only $5 and proceeds go to the homeless.  The people there are lovely too.

We now had a car filled with so much stuff that Jan endured the final stages with a watering can on her lap.  Once they dropped me home, she travelled back to the Sunshine Coast in more comfort.

We had our usual great time (except for the dramas in Mudgeeraba).

Roll on the 2018 trip.