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SPRATTY SAYS 16-06-2007
A hive of activity enabled us to work through the sharp drop in the mercury during the week. Winter is well and truly upon us, with a mad scramble for coats and pullovers, not seen.. well...perhaps since this time last year.
Our thoughts are with friends in the Hunter Valley. Many folks lost a fair bit by all accounts, some of my car mates lost plenty. Mercifully the humans cost seems reasonably light. Like most things there is, I guess, lessons to be learned from experiences like this. Especially for us in the Clarence who live beneath the spectre of flood, a reminder that it's not if but when...it will be our turn to be the unfortunates on the news.
The SES were very impressive and one hopes they get the recognition they deserve. Particularly for the preparatory work they do that often goes unnoticed, especially when there is no flood in sight. The other group is the blokes that built the levy at Maitland. A number of similarities can be drawn between Maitland and Grafton, one of them being that a fair bit of thought and effort went into building the levy, theirs has stood the ultimate test, giving us hope that ours will too.
Last week saw the Redmen write yet another chapter in their march for back to back titles, with a third consecutive victory in a shutout. This time Lennox Head were put to the sword in a dazzling display of running rugby, a stark contrast to the grinding victories of recent weeks. To be fair, Lennox never gave up and offered few soft options up the middle. A merciless expansive game got them repeatedly out wide. I thought our halves were great getting the backs going and Jonno Speechley had a cracker after a short break, and by the way, his new race day 'do is coming along nicely.
On the work front Chris McCaughy's Sunday sessions have proved a big hit. I'm not entirely sure what gets discussed, but the feedback is extremely positive and Chris seems to be enjoying them. We are down to our last few 4x4 runout Couriers, I don't know where Rob Connell has been finding them but the well is drying up, so if you are looking for a super duper deal on a 4x4 ute shoot in and ask Rob a couple of tough questions. The ute-a-thon we have been on has produced plenty of great commercial trade ins, check them out as they have come from all over the place and we don't often see this kind of variety in town.
Our Caravanning education continues, most of it coming from our customers. I seem to be asking all the questions when I'm on deck, and some of the stories from the migratory hordes have been pretty special. Mrs Spratty reckons I'm still not ready to let loose on the highways though. It's all very exciting.
Finally our thoughts are also with the Barnier family. I never met Doug but by all accounts he was a true gentleman and will be sorely missed by the community.
Happy Motoring,
Spratty