Show reveals its enduring popularity

By TIM HOWARD

Grafton Show is showing its enduring popularity with the community as most categories of exhibits report increased entries says Grafton Pastoral & Agricultural Society president Rex Green.

“We’ve been very happy with the exhibits this year,” Mr Green said. “We‘ve had very good crowds. – in fact Friday was probably one of the best I can remember.

“We’ve also had the pleasure of conferring life membership on some long-serving patrons of the show, Ray and Helen Donovan and Paul demonstrate the ancient craft of turning fleece into yarn.

President Janice Kent was spinning some 19 micron merino fleece grown by a relative on a property near Walcha into a yarn she could knit into beanies, vests or gloves.

She said the yarn could also be woven into other different kinds of garments.

“It’s a great feeling to be able to take a raw material through to wearing apparel,” she said.

But she said modern technique did also have their benefit.

“For the fine and very fine work, I will get

Annunzio turns out wire jewellery of surprising sophistication and no little charm.

He said business had not been great on Saturday, but knew from experience it picked up later in the day and into the night.

“It’s always good at Grafton,” he said. “Even when business is slow, it always picks up.” taking the old cabinets apart, fitting new frames with caster wheels and putting them back together again.

Supreme Champion Glenys Wallbrook has been busy these last two and a half years, working on her entry in the quilting section.

It was worth the effort, with Glenys claiming the Supreme Champion award for her beautiful piece.

It’s been more than worth it, Yvonne and every other steward in the pavilion reckons.

Instead of six staff struggling to move a cabinet into position a single steward can now do the job.

Society president Rex Green said Paul’s life membership was not just due to his work this year, but did admit, it was the “icing on the cake”.

There was plenty of glory to go around in the Fletcher household with wife and long-time volunteer Vicki starring

Fletcher.

He was also taking a keen interest in the performance of the new lights that have been erected in the past year at the showground.

“So far, so good,” he said. “I suppose the proof of how effective they’ll be will come after we’ve been using them for a while.”

Mr Green said it seemed the Covid pandemic had created some unexpected benefits for the show.

“It caused some problems for use early on,” he said. “But it seems that the time people had at home gave them a chance to develop their hobbies.

“We’re finding we’ve got so many more entries across all those sections from people who are first time exhibitors.”

There were a lot of good stories coming from the 2023 Grafton Show. Here are some. Grafton Fibrecrafts Group

The group made a return to the show with members setting up spinning wheels to some mill spun cloth,” she said. “It’s just too time consuming to spin yarn that fine.”

Janice said the Grafton group was preparing to celebrate it’s 40th anniversary next year.

“We’re regulars at the show,” she said. “We don’t come every year, but we’re regulars I would say.”

Annunzio, the Wire King

Operating from perhaps the smallest stall in the Grafton Showground pavilion Annunzio, the Wire King, reckons he had been coming to Grafton for more than 40 years.

His booth in the Pavilion would fit comfortably into a telephone box, but its been a hive of activity.

If you looked carefully at some of the show ground stewards, like chief steward Yvonne Robards or her offsider Max Johnson, you would have seen his handiwork pinned to their shirts.

Working with little more than rolls of wire, pliers and some very sturdy fingers,

Glenys wasn’t around to talk about her work, but everyone at the pavilion was in awe of her work.

“Every stitch was done by hand,” chief steward Yvonne Robards said. “There’s not a single machine stitch in it.”

Life membership deserved

The chief steward in the pavilion, Yvonne Robards, gets a lot of satisfaction seeing awards handed out to people for their efforts.

But she was most happy to see a one of her colleagues, Paul Fletcher, receive the ultimate accolade, a life membership, this year.

The reason was Paul’s ingenuity and industry throughout the year had made her work and all the other stewards in the pavilion “1000%” easier. It was a deceptively simple solution to a problem that had vexed stewards for years: how to easily move exhibits about.

The simple answer was to put the exhibition cabinets on wheels.

But that was easier said than done. It involved in the hand cooking section.

“Vicki won at local and regional levels and went to the Royal at Sydney,” Yvonne said.

“She missed out on a place there, but only just, which is a terrific effort.”

She said entries this year was so prolific they spilled out into the annexes of the pavilion. And just because people were newcomers to the show, didn’t mean they missed out on awards.

“We had a newcomer, Glen Martin, who’d never entered anything in the show before,” she said.

“He put entries in seven different categories and won prizes in every category.”

The Grafton CWA, which uses the show as its major fundraiser, was also making the most of the show’s record numbers.

By mid Saturday afternoon the kitchen had churned out 43 dozen scones and was firing up the ovens to cook more.

Continued page 16

1933 To 2023

The Casino Food Co-op turns ninety this year. As a part of the celebrations, we will be recounting some of the achievements and challenges throughout each decade from 1933 through to the present day over the coming months. If any community member has any historic photos they would like to share, please contact Annabelle Toohey at the Co-operative on 0266622444.

Local Author Shows Vulnerable Side In Delicious New Memoir

Charlotte Ree’s Heartbake: A bittersweet memoir (Allen & Unwin) is out now.

Twenty four hours before Sydney went into Covid lockdown, Charlotte Ree decided to leave her husband. It was a difficult enough time for those who were locked up with their families or even just other housemates, but to suddenly find yourself alone was a tough time for Charlotte.

“I moved into a new house,” she said. “And was so sad and lonely with no joy in food and life in general was devoid of colour and taste.”

Originally from Goonellabah, Charlotte started reaching out to her Sydney neighbours from a distance.

“I started cooking for my neighbours,” she said.

“I would bake banana muffins and knock on their door.

“Every Saturday I’d pick up baking dishes from their homes and make lasagne from scratch.

“These were people who were essential workers and one was a single mum who had been made redundant.”

After Charlotte wrote a piece for Vogue magazine about the breakdown of her marriage and learning about self-love, the feedback made her realise she needed to go further.

“The article was a ‘divorce coming out’ story and I got amazing messages from strangers of all ages,” she said.

And that’s where Heartbake: A bitter sweet memoir came about.

“I wrote the book as I went through the divorce,” she said.

“I see it as a memoir of self love, about looking after yourself.”

The book is a journey as Charlotte masters each meal following her search for love in friendship, family, romance and self, with recipes included.

“I am a home cook, not a chef, so these are easy recipes with easy ingredients,” she said.

Rural Scholarship Program Promotes Leadership

Coffs Harbour’s Dr Liz May has been honoured as one of 24 recipients of the 2023 NSW Rural Scholarship Program.

The one-year scholarship program began with the finalists attending the Future Women Leadership Summit in Sydney as part of the 2023 NSW Women’s Week celebrations.

Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh said regional women like Dr May are the lifeblood of so many local communities.

“Dr May is training as a specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology. Originally from Tamworth, she has a passion for regional healthcare,” Mr Singh said.

“Dr May hopes to connect with like-minded women and access one-on-one mentoring so she can further her career.

“She already goes above and beyond for our community, and this program will boost her leadership potential as she inspires the next generation of local leaders.”

Dr May said: “I’m particularly passionate about equity in healthcare, in particular equitable access for regional women to essential healthcare including contraception and gynaecology services.”

The scholarship program is designed to connect driven and passionate women from all ages and backgrounds, and help them in developing leadership skills as they progress to the next stage of their career.

The cohort participating in this program reflects both the creativity and diversity of women in rural, remote and regional NSW, while offering practical support and advice.

Not only do the recipients get access to the coveted Future Women Platinum+ Emerging Leaders Program, valued at over $6,000 each, but all 237 women who entered receive a complimentary one-year Gold membership, which gives them access to FW Advance, a year-long career development webinar series, and a 50 per cent discount to attend last month’s Future Women Leadership Summit.

To find out more, visit: https://futurewomen.com/ rural-womens-scholarship/

“They are what people want to eat, comfort food, healing food.”

Charlotte Ree and The Book Warehouse will be appearing at the Star Court Theatre on Tuesday, 9th May, 2023 at 6pm.

This is a free event with sweet treats on the menu and drinks available to purchase at the bar.

Secure your free tickets by phoning 6621 4204, email lismoreinfo@bookwh. com.au or drop into 107-109 Keen Street, Lismore.