After the windy weather we had at Brooms Head, it was a great blessing to have fantastic weather at Keith and Sandra’s property at Ramornie, a new camping spot for our Chapter, but well known by the Banana Benders. Keith has done a lot of work setting up a Bush Camp by clearing some trees to make the area like a park, and he has flattened ground out between the trees to give us flat sites. He has a large machinery area, and we were able to use the concrete floors to set up the tables.
On Friday, we played Grocery Grab, with Lorraine calling the numbers. This game was won by Pam, with others not too far behind. Then we enjoyed Happy Afternoon, sitting around the multitude of camp fires. At dusk Keith led some of us down to the Orara River, to watch the fireflies emerge from the brush, twinkling away as they signalled for a mate. Some of them even made it up the hill, almost to the camp. After that, many of the Mob were able to use the fires to help cook their meals.
On Saturday, Keith led the agile ones down to the track that he has carved out of the hillside, down to The Overhang, where there was native art on display, and guano from the micro-bats occupying the caves in the roof of the overhang. All incredible stuff to see.
After Morning Tea, the athletic ones, and others, played the Nonathlon, a round robin of nine Chapter games. As expected, Ray came first, then Don M came second, and Pam was third. Yvonne had to settle for the wooden spoon. They were all issued prizes to celebrate their wins. We enjoyed our ever-popular raffles, and enjoyed “Happy Afternoon”. Later in the afternoon, we all gathered to watch Gordon Ramsay (aka Ray) and his assistant Don M. grill the sausages, patties and onions to go with the salads the ladies had made. The actually barbecuing was better than any comedy show around in the theatre with both ‘cooks’ having tong fights and hindering each other’s cooking effort.
It was hard to pack up and leave such a lovely spot on Sunday, but most of us had appointments that had to be kept.
Everybody gave a huge thank you to Keith and Sandra for inviting us to their property, and we are certainly returning in the future.
PS
One of the founding fathers of the Clarence Valley Ramblers, Rex Watkins celebrated his 86th Birthday on 11 Sep 2025. His family invited the members of CVR, along with other friends and relatives, to join the Birthday Party lunch at the Grafton District Services Club on Sat 13 Sep. Many of us were able to go and have fellowship (and cake) with the birthday boy.
