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SPRATTY SAYS 04-11-2006
Jacaranda is certainly a pretty special time in this part of the world. The trees provide a sensational backdrop to a comprehensive program of events that just seem to keep on coming, with all the events taking place during what is probably the nicest time of the year in the Clarence, mid Spring . Crowning night in the park in particular had a slightly eerie, almost magical feel about it. There is certainly a special feeling in the air around town at the moment, the Festival organisers have done a terrific job perpetuating the uniqueness of the Festival, yet growing and enhancing it into something pretty special.
With the Junior Jacaranda quest winding down CC girl is heading back to earth. After dabbling in the glamour and glitz of the quest she appears to be resuming her newfound love affair with the sporting life by adding touch football to her repertoire. The Junior Jacaranda however remains an excellent opportunity not only for accelerated assimilation for newcomers like CC girl, but also to ‘shine’ while having fun, congratulations to all the participants especially the winners and their families, and of course to the judges in difficult circumstances, who I believe chose wisely.
On the workfront,Jacaranda naturally has a huge impact. Preparations for Jacaranda Thursday seem to happen quite naturally, a production number is a matter of course for business houses around town. My sincerest apologies for undermining any positive images you may have had of your favourite TV show, but Cilla, Lyndel and the crew had precious little talent to work with, and even less in the attitude department.
November sees the launch of the Mark II BF range of Falcon products, highlighted by price reductions of many models, new styles and colours. They look great. We have also received our first unit in the new look for Transit range and it looks fantastic. On the product front however the big news must be the arrival of the turbo diesel Santa Fe, that draws on the sexy new look, adding a state of the art 2.2 turbo diesel engine. I drove it to the Gold Coast and back in the last week or so and found it not only frugal on fuel but surprisingly nippy. Naturally the diesel comes at a premium over the petrol variants, however Hyundai have despecified the new diesel a little in non-essential areas to keep the pricing extremely competitive. The result is sensational, with a seven seat, very quiet, and economical vehicle with good looks and power to burn, at a price you would expect to pay for a five seat petrol 4 cylinder.
Finally a word on gas fitment, after jumping through what seems like a thousand flaming hoops, even having to resort to utilising our very accessable and helpful local member Steve Cansdell, the man of a thousand handshakes to overcome redtape, we finally have everything in place to commence taking bookings.
Happy motoring,
Spratty