TEXAS COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL

Texas (QLD) will come alive again in September when Texas Country Music Festival returns bigger and better than ever in 2023. Riding off the back of an extremely successful inaugural event in 2022, and after being awarded an Australia Day Award for Event of the Year within their Region, this year’s event promises to unite country music fans locally and from around Australia once again, proving that resilience, strength, and community spirit are certainly alive in Texas, Queensland.

Just as the small re is burning and passion grows, Poppy’s ex comes back on the scene, three years a er his abrupt departure.

Circumstances have since changed and the ex is disappointed that Poppy hadn’t been waiting for him.

And she has decided to adopt the young student that has come from a terrible family situation. is is not how he saw the situation playing out when he returned so decides to take circumstances into his own hands which could have long-reaching consequences in all their lives.

A Poppy in the Meadow was nominated in the WA Premier’s Book Awards for 2023

Nominated Title – e Premier’s Prize for Book of the Year.

It is also available online for purchase through shawlinepublishing. com.au

21-23 SEPTEMBER 2023

Jane, Andrew Ryan, Peter (Smokie) Dawson, Amy Ryan, Cush Ryder, and powerhouse acts including multi-Golden Guitar nominated Hayley Jensen and The Viper Creek Band.

Camping is open from 2pm Wednesday for those keen to set up and be ready for the Walk Ups.

From September 21-23, the small community will be inundated with tourists and country music fans alike who are keen to park up their caravans, roll out their swags, pitch a tent or sleep in a ute at Texas Showgrounds and enjoy the atmosphere and entertainment the organisers have planned. The festival will showcase a spectacular array of award-winning artists and songwriters including traditional and modern headliners. Festival organisers are committed to providing an event that is exciting and entertaining to all demographics from children to youth, to young adults, adults and the young at heart.

Thursday and Friday’s program will be dedicated to walk-up talent, however from 5pm Friday, the main stage will come alive with the likes of talented singer-songwriters Ruby

Saturday’s main stage will commence with a songwriter’s session at 9.30am with celebrated songwriters Andrew Ryan, Peter (Smokie) Dawson, Amy Ryan and Ruby Jane followed by a stellar line-up of performances by Scotty Mack, Tommy B Sinclair, and Peter

Chapman. The main stage will then ramp into overdrive when country music superstars Jeremy Turner, Brooke Schubert, Toyota Starmaker 2022 winner Max Jackson and Will Day take to the stage, leading into the headlining act of multi–Golden Guitar winners Brooke McClymont and Adam Eckersley. The entertainment will continue into the night when Billy Gudgeon brings the party to the stage with his high energy show.

“We’re super pumped to be headlining this year’s Texas Country Music Festival, it’s a killer line up and from what we’ve heard it’s an epic vibe so we can’t wait to bring the whole band to Texas to rock out” Brooke McClymont and Adam Eckersley

“Being a proud Gundy boy, I always love to support events in the region. Ros and her team put on a great festival last year and I’m very excited to be invited back!” Will Day Bringing visitors to Texas, boosting the local economy, and injecting the town with atmosphere and fun is the goal. If you are a keen country music fan or just love the camping atmosphere, then grab your tickets today at Oztix.

“IF you would not be forgotten,” once wrote the founding father of the United States, Benjamin Franklin, “as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing about.” And arguably the most memorable of all, are those that manage to combine, if not interweave both approaches out of the doings and deeds of their days.

The rarest figure of all, in public life at least, is the fabled philosopher king, a notion that was first raised and reflected upon by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato around 375 BC. Many have argued it has perennially been a role too lofty by half for anyone wanting to cut it in the real world. But two people in particular have consummately fitted the criteria of this almost mythical mantle.

The first is the ancient Roman emperor – Marcus Aurelius, and the second is Dag Hammarskjöld, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1953 until his premature death in 1961. What distinguishes these two figures, aside from having held positions of ultimate authority, is their sublime inclination to write and reflect very deeply upon the interplay of pressure and principles that helped to shape them into not just the people, but also the impeccable leaders they were.

Sustained selfimprovement, or the expressed willingness to do so, is not a trait that readily comes to mind when we think of world leaders, or anyone who occupies a role of eminence; however, it is an attribute that Aurelius and Hammarskjöld both shared in spades. Their ability to capture their

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