TRAX Christmas 2019 get together
30th November 2019
Report written by ‘Old Bob, the Swagman’ (possibly using the proverbial thumbnail dipped in tar by the look of it, and translated from the broadest Strine into reasonable English -Ed.)
”Lookin’ down at me old diaries, I seez th’t It’s jist over 13 years since I last put a ‘narticle’ inter TRACKSHUN magazine, soz I thort th’t I’d better do anuther one fer yez all! (Chrismus comin’ ‘n all that.)
Now it jist so ‘appened that I had been makin me way along the Hawksbry when I realized that I’d taken a wrong turn near ‘Browra Worters’ and ended up at a place called Crosslands!
Well blow me down, as I wuz follerin up the crick there I saw a mob ‘ve 4 wheel drive things and I realized that it wuz all me old mates fr’m TRAX and they wuz havin a bit of a party ‘n cellebrayshun ‘n all that stuff, hey! Now, not bein’ a gate crasher, I didn’t want ter barge straight in so I thort that I’d jist skulk around in the bushes and have Captain Cook at what wuz goin on. Well, I counted about 23 of ‘em (near enough – the blighters wouldn’t stand still long enough fer me to make an accyrate, ‘er akkrat, ‘er good count of ’em. Anyway, they seemed ter be ‘avin a real good time. While I wuz there I watched ‘em ‘ave a radio controlled model car race! True! Young Joel Beatson‘s vehicle absolutely creamed the rest’v the field. Won by about 50 lengths it did. Poor old Philip Favaloro’s Subie, well, by the time this article wuz bein’ ritten it still hadn’t made it t’ the finish line. Maybe next year… not winnin – I mean maybe by next year it’ll make the finish line fr’m this y’rs race! (Onyer Phil baby – don’t give up!)
After the car races they ‘ad lunch. And wot a spred it wuz too! After all the members ‘ad got theirs ‘n were ‘appily eatin’, I sneaked up ‘n’ elped meself ter some. Wow, they sure eat well at TRAX!
Well, would yers b’lieve ‘t, almost as soon ‘s they’d finished desert they decided t’ ‘ave a post d’sert feed. Dinkum! It wuz a pancake cookin competishun and, I’m not sure, but about 7 ‘v the mob decided t’ see if they c’d win the prize! So many different flavours ‘v’ panckes! So many t’try! (mind you, I wouldn’t ‘v’ minded bein the judge, I hadn’t had a good feed fer a a few days ‘n’ wuz feelin a bit peckish), but spare a thort fer poor Olivia Shin – she wuz the judge – she had t’ sample every one of ‘em – looked a bit delicate at the end of the Trip Report Christmas get together competition! Anyway, she reckoned that young Olivia, Olivia Beatson that is, had made the best pancakes and was awarded the prize. Good on yers both!
Well, I spose I’d better finish there. The editor bloke told that ‘e ‘as a deadline (whatever that is), so I’ll stop. But never mind, yers’ll never know where I might pop up next, so I’ll see yers all later – an’ oh yes, Ave a ‘appy and really blessed Christmas. An’ don’t forget the bloke whose birthday it is, either. Otherwise – well, I’ll get ter ‘ear ‘v it an then there’ll be trubble – remember Old Bob ‘as ‘is agents ‘n spies everywhere!
Gotta go, the Chaplain bloke ‘as invited me t’ ‘ave Christmas dinner with ‘im an’ the family an’ it’l take me all the time there is t’ ‘ave a shave’ n get cleaned up f’r Church ‘n then th’ Dinner.
See yers next year.
Old Bob.