A Little Bit Country

Our clothing theme for the day was 'a little bit country" and we had all managed that fairly easily, although Jan's country appeared to be Mexico.  We stopped at the big Lifeline at Drayton on our route to places southern, and it once again lived up to our expectations: cheerful staff and lots of good stuff.  I remembered buying honey the last time we were there.  I found my mystery kitchen object, which we later discovered is some sort of detachable handle, but I still can't work out how it works.  Jan picked up a couple of bingo items.

We then asked the lovely volunteers to take our photo. One of them insisted we needed hats, so while Jan retrieved her Clint Eastwood hat from the car, our photographer found hats for Jo and me.  We were not required to buy them.

Next stop Pittsworth.  I had checked out the oppies there last year, and didn't like Vinnies much, then found Beauraba Aged Care, where I found everything I was looking for for the van.  This time the situation was reversed, with Vinnies coming up with the goods, and Beauraba looking a bit sad.

My navigation skills failed me as we left Pittsworth and I sent us in the wrong direction. I don't know if the girls will ever let me forget.  We then meandered through the back roads to Clifton, which is a town whose glory days are long behind it.

There are two oppies, the Clifton Community one and the Darling Downs Community Shop, where the depressed socio-economic status of the town is reflected in very low prices and some sad-looking stock.  I found a Barbie doll in almost perfect condition for $2, and bought it for my granddaughter, who loves to "redesign" (think "mutilate") old Barbie dolls. In the first shop, all clothes were $2.

Somewhere here Jo found her Ugly Souvenir contender. She showed it to me and my face fell.  She said "That's exactly the same look as Jan's".  She interpreted this as "Wow, that's truly ugly", which was partially true; but the real meaning of the look was "We have been defeated by The Master".  The photo doesn't really do justice to its large size and cheap plasticity.  The broken corner is the final, subtle touch.

Just down the road from Clifton is Allora, which is a different kettle of fish. Like Maryborough, it revels in a Mary Poppins connection, as P L Travers once lived there with her bank manager father in a beautiful old timber home.  This makes the town a tourist/day tripper magnet, and there is a nice air of prosperity about the town.  The Salvation Army Family Store reflects this.  Jan complimented the shop assistant on the innovative way they display their jewellery using an old colander.  We spent quite a lot of time there.

Unfortunately, the Scope Anglican oppy does not open on Wednesdays, which is a pity, because it is a good one too.  The girls were reluctant, but I insisted we have lunch at the Railway Hotel, as I have been there before, and they have great food.  I warned the girls about the size of the servings so we chose form the Starters menu.  My plate of sweet potato chips was the size of a small watermelon, and provided us with plenty of leftovers.