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The organizing committee arrived at Bankstown Grammar School in convoy at about 4:30pm. Already a queue was forming with people waiting for the Convention to commence. We unpacked the several car loads of Convention kits, guessing competition/lucky door prizes etc. and I then set to "checking in" the growing crowd of attendees who had already arrived. The next couple of hours, I was relatively busy handing out kits to people as they arrived.
Initially, the arrivees tended to congregate in the hallway near the registration desk where they purchased guessing competition tickets, examined the photo display we had put up on the opposite wall, caught up with old friends who they might not have seen in some time, and made new friends. A couple of the trade stand operators for Saturday arrived and set up their stands ready for Saturday.
By just after 7pm most of the 45 people who attended the evening had arrived, the coffee and tea facilities had been set up, and the food began to arrive. People moved into the double room that we had labelled as Dean Spur/Dunlop Yard where they sat eating and continuing their conversations.
By just after 8pm, all of the food had been prepared and delivered, Robert Hodges (a Bankstown Grammar school teachers who, as a model railway enthusiast himself, had organized the catering as well as volunteering to participate in the clinic programme) set up his slide projector and proceeded to show us about an hour's worth of slides, mostly taken by himself, of New South Railways in the late 60s and early 70s. A wide mixture of locomotive types and locations were included and the group had great fun trying to identify where the various shots were taken. There was usually someone who could figure it out.
The slide show finished just after 9pm and, after a further period of chatting and purchasing guessing competition tickets, everyone gradually made their way out the door and off on their way home to prepare for the rest of the weekend.
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Fun and laughter was the order of the day when nineteen ladies attended the ladies activities for the convention.
June Larmour showed us beautiful samples of her card making abilities, paper-tole, cross-stitch and also permegano. Whilst half the group went shopping at a local discount store, the other half discussed the merits of beading with cross stitch.
The hit of the day would have to be the golliwogs taught by Marj Fainges. These caused great hilarity whilst we decided whether we had made a boy or girl golli. Some ladies were even quick enough to fit in a candlewicking lesson.
All in all we had a very busy day, we even thought about asking to have lunch delivered to us, so we could keep on sewing. The evening session was Tim Dunlop's address and the presentation of awards and prizes.
Sunday we joined the men on the coach trip to Thirlmere Railway Museum, but after a quick hot drink we continued further on to Berrima for some serious shopping. The coach ride home from Berrima had a few extra teddy bear passengers.
I would like to thank all of the ladies for their willing participation to join in the fun, this made both June's and my job so much easier, and also for their compliments at the end of the convention.
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Convention Badge/Logo designed and drawn
by Stuart Pattison - November 1999 Adopted as Convention Badge - March 2000 Copyright A.M.R.A |
Photos on this page are subject to copyright Copyright is held by the named photographers Photos are reproduced here with the permission of the copyright holders. |
