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It being a lovely clear Spring day, today I packed a healthy picnic...
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collected my Dad, the eager almost 93-year-old, and we headed off into the bush.
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The picnic area is beside the headwaters of a river, with picturesque stony rapids, and deeper pools where lots of children were swimming - it was quite a warm day...
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We love these very tall gum trees, and you can see some of the many people who were camping here by the river...
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We set up our picnic under this wild fruit tree, which none of us could recognise. Anyone?
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Lots of red bottle-brush trees attracted many varieties of birds,
and Dad enjoyed identifying them for us.
He might have a bit of dementia, but many of his faculties are very good.
He described to us how this area would have been covered with thick undergrowth in centuries past, which encouraged the very tall trees to seek the light above the scrub.
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We drove through a district named Kerry by the early Irish settlers..
Here is the local church, and look at this closeup of the gate in the foundations:
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yes, a wee Irish shamrock!
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This sadly unloved building used to be the local Irish Pub, and would have looked very pretty and welcoming in its hey day..
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An old dance hall - it made me remember a tune from my childhood:
the bittersweet Irish song: The Kerry Dance.
Long-term readers of the blog might know I like to sing in choirs -
my very first on-stage experience of this was when I was about eight,
singing in a large school choir.
I found a version on YouTube, sung by Grand Ledge High School Madrigals.
A rather more sophisticated arrangement than the one I originally learnt, but it is the type of choral music I enjoy singing today:
The little farming communities have tended to be swallowed up by 'progress' - better transport and communication mean less local life, small holdings have been bought up and amalgamated into much larger farming establishments, the dairy industry has mechanised and there is no living for a farmer with a small herd, as in days gone by...
I wonder if those who remain are haunted by the ghosts of times past - and The Kerry Dance?
Have a great week, to be sure..
XXXX
It's kind of sad that progress has affected these communities. I love that poor neglected pub, what a shame it's now like that.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, thanks for the internet advice but I've been using google chrome for ages.
Great post and photos. x
I felt like I wanted to take over that old pub and paint it up, make a nice garden in front, and turn it into something. It has a lovely view looking out over the countryside. x
DeleteHello Patricia.
ReplyDeleteFirst I would like to thank you so much for the lovely kind words of encouragement you left for me..on the loss of my little Lady.. I so appreciated it and i can see who really felt for me.. thanks again.
When at school in Fremantle.. I used to belong to the choir.. and we sand Kerry dancing.. I love it. the Madrigals sing it so well..and they look really lovely.
What has happened in Australia..has happened here. Its so sad to see the farms just being left. But somehow, i feel sad for old Aussie..has it has a great history, and some of those buildings should be preserved.
What would Ned Kelly say to that.!!
Happy Sunday..love val
great post
Hello Val, You are welcome, re Lady; it takes time, you will still be thinking of her a lot. I love that you also sang Kerry Dancing - an old tune we never hear these days. When I listened again I thought it was quite a complicated melody for little kids to learn, but nevertheless we did, and I have never forgotten it. I would love to see the old pub building preserved in its nice setting. It would make a great B&B. Ned Kelly - so funny - he is the most-remembered history we have I sometimes think. love P. xx
DeleteWhat a terrific post! It was so nice that you were able to take your dad for an outing. You saw so many different things! I am afraid it is like you describe in many places as far as small holdings go. It is almost impossible for a small farmer to compete and make a profit.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kristie. Dad loves an outing with lots to see, and enjoys his country drives more than just about anything. He was a boy from the bush originally, of course. He grew up on a small-scale farm, in a different part of Queensland, and the living was not easy, but now would be totally impossible.
DeleteLovely post Patricia and bet your dad enjoyed his picnic - it did look delicious. What a shame these old farming communities are no more. Pretty much like here in the UK. I bet that old building would look wonderful with a bit of TLC from some locals who could bring it back to life.
ReplyDeletePatricia x
Dad loves everything, Patricia. And lined up for a coffee and scone later in the afternoon! It seems the same the world over, with small farming communities disappearing for all the same reasons. I should start a campaign to save that old pub! x
DeleteSuch a nice picnic and outing you planned for your Dad. It looks like a great place to spend the day. Of course "progress" has taken its toll here as well. I guess it makes the open spaces and old homesteads just that much more precious.
ReplyDeleteDarla
There you go - it's the same everywhere with the march of progress in the countryside. Dad loved his day out, and is always most appreciative, which is nice. He thinks a lot about the past and talks about all the places he knew back then. It amuses me that he forgets that a lot of it consists of my memories as well - I was the little kid in the car - and he acts surprised when I say 'I know, I was there' :)
DeleteI feel the same about progress taking over buildings/lifestyles of the past. I know one must adjust and adapt but I just feel that something very precious is being lost. Nevertheless, so great that you could get your dad out and listen to his remembrances. The Kerry Dance didn't appear on my page (You Tube?) but I'll try to find it or something similar later. Doesn't ring a bell with me, but perhaps will after I hear it.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was a YouTube clip Sanda - the mysteries of blogging, I don't know why it would not load for you. I originally chose another version but could not upload it onto my blog. Yes, it is sad to lose the remnants of the past; you have featured many interesting sites on your blog.
DeleteEntering spring.. I wish we were too.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful it must be for your father to go on picnics and drives, and how wonderful, that you get to hear his memories from the days gone.
It gets even better, as you can pass the stories onwards.
Have a nice October first!
Dad loves going out so, so much, Mette. He is quite happy at the home, but it is the freedom, the sense of escape, and also to see the open country and nature. It does help his memory too I think.
DeleteOctober already? nearly Christmas :))
Oh what a lovely day spent with your Dad - memories you will treasure Patricia.
ReplyDeleteI could live in that old Irish pub - the house has lovely bones and sitting on top of a hill with views to the farmland beyond - my dream!
Yes I remember very well The Kerry Dance as I attended Catholic schools and each St Pats day we sang them - great memories of the Irish concert in the local hall - a wonderful childhood!
Have a happy week
hugs
Shane xox
Hi Shane, you can see what I saw: that old pub has lovely bones. It would be fun to restore it. Aha, you too, experienced the St Pats day concerts - happy memories.
DeleteWhat a lovely day trip. Hope your dad had a great day x
ReplyDeleteThanks Fifi, he certainly did have a great day, and told us, many times....over and over .... :) x
DeleteThat is such glorious countryside, Patricia. No wonder your Dad so enjoys his trips out with you (and your delicious picnics). The change in agriculture from small individual farms to almost industrial-scale farming has happened everywhere. In both Wales and France we live in a former farmhouse, the French one much smaller than the other, of course. In each case the land is now part of a larger holding and the house was sold. Having renovated both times, I'd love to get my hands on that old pub!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Kerry Dancing, which I've been listening to as I type this comment. I too sang it as a child, in my case in a Church of England primary school :-)
It is a particularly pretty bit of country, which I always enjoy too Perpetua. Two former farmhouses to renovate - what fun. I'd love to do the old pub too! Who would have thought, I've found several people who remember the old Kerry Dance song - it was a good one for choirs. Maybe I should suggest it to my conductor.
DeletePatricia,
ReplyDeleteYour dad is almost 93? That is amazing. I'm so glad that you got to spend time with him. I miss my dad so. The countryside is so pretty, and the little church is charming. Look at those sweet animals and that white horse! I have a thing for white horses, you know. I haven't seen a red bottle-brush tree in so long. They are so bright and pretty.
I'm glad you had a lovely spring day with your dad. Happy October!
Love,
~Sheri
Glad you liked the pictures, Sheri. It was nice to find all these things for Dad to look at, and he of course loved every minute. Noone is more surprised than Dad is, that he has reached his nineties.
DeleteHappy October to you too. xx
This looks like the most delightful day, and I wish I could have accompanied you on your picnic. The sunlight,the vegetation, the houses (that Irish pub is so sweet, I'd love a house like that). This reminds me at some dim level of when I lived in Australia as a child, the atmosphere of all those things combined.
ReplyDeleteIt's a pity that so many small farming communities are being modernised. I know things have to move on but I appreciate the people who take the trouble to carry on in the old way, anachronistic though it may be.
So you lived here as a child, Jenny... glad if I brought back some old memories for you. It is still a pretty area, even if being modernised; and we'd all like to take on the old pub!
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