Shire of Bland
Silo kick
Dinner in the pub
Hello from the "Shire of Bland". Seriously that is what it is called. Susan wanted to take a picture of the sign but stopping from 100kmh when it is pissing down with rain was not option. Tonight's blog is being typed from the front bar of the Royal Hotel at Mirrool and is fuelled by many pots of CaRLTOn dRAUGHt hic.
Today started miserably with pouring raining at the Warrumbungle Holiday Park. We packed the swag under the BBQ shelter as best we could, keeping the mattress dry and the moisture on the outside. Sleeping under the car awning managed to keep the swag reasonably dry overnight. I had a shower when the rain was at its heaviest since we had payed for it.
We drove through Gilgandra, Dubbo, Parkes, (we saw "The Dish" in the distance) Forbes, West Wyalong and were heading to Narrandera when we saw a sign indicating free camping at Mirrool. Susan checked the Camps 5 book and saw the red recommended tick so we pulled in. I don't think we had a real idea of where we were going to stay since it poured with rain most of the day and dry spots would be thin on the ground. Sometimes you get lucky and this was certainly one of those times. The free camping area contained a BBQ with a steel roof and concrete floor which is where we chose to pitch the swag.
We wandered to the pub for tea. The pub being the only business in town apart from the wheat silo. Interestingly the hotel is actually owned by the community. We had a terrific tea with copious amounts of well cooked food. This is a good example of what a community can do by capturing passing trade. The big event in town is the annual kick a football over the wheat silo competition. The silo wins about 1 in 4 years. The first year the competition was won by Billy Brownless. The funds raised have been used to develop the community facilities.
The bizarre thing that happened tonight was that Susan heard the name Simon Harris mentioned in the bar. Yes you guessed it there were 2 Simon Harris's present go figure.
......POSTSCRIPT
Tiles in the front bar
Tiles in passage way/foyer
As Simon showered this morning I watched intently the flies that were sheltering from the rain on the underside of the guy ropes on the awning. Is it true flies cant fly in the rain? I saw that in an children's animated movie about bees at Takura!
The Royal Hotel in Mirrool is one of those relatively untouched pubs featuring many of its original federation era features such as stained glass, pressed metal ceilings and tiled walls. Tiles in several areas had an interesting arc of chips caused by the location of the dart board. As noted by Simon the pub is owned by the community who have plans for further restoration in coming years, it will be interesting to call back here next trip past. I is worth a visit if any readers are passing by.
Tiles in lounge/ladies bar
Tiles on walls of staircase
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