2017 Farina vs Rest of the World

The 2017 annual Farina cricket match was held (rather unusually) in ideal conditions. In recent years the event has been marred by wet weather, sometimes making travel to and from Farina almost impossible. This year the grounds were hard and dry. The ABC found enough funds in their coffers to send a reporting team, and in the images below, Kevin Dawes can be seen being interviewed.

As usual, two captains were appointed, the home team being captained by Kevin. The two sides were then selected from willing players and the game rules were announced. The important rules being…

No player may score more than 30 runs. No player may be “out” until they have scored at leat one run. Each innings consists of 25 overs. (or about)!

At least one woman and one young boy played, while a few able bodied men did their “thing”. Many of the players had trouble bending down far enough to pick up a ball – let alone chase one! Not wishing to name names, but one of the umpires had to be given a chair part way through the game as he couldn’t stand up any longer!

Nevertheless, all players enjoyed themselves immensely and although there was some confusion over the number of overs that had been played, everybody, spectators included, had a most enjoyable day.

After the winning team was presented, (Farina won again of course!) everybody relaxed around drums of burning old railway sleepers (it gets damned cold at night in the outback you know!) and yarned to mates over a few cold cans until dinner arrived from the bakery. This year dinner began with a glorious thick pea and ham soup created by Anne, followed by pizza and apple turnover. What more could one ask for!

The Wednesday Camp Oven Night And Happy Hour

Wednesday nights we collect a number of camp ovens, and the cooks put together a meal for all volunteers. The meal may be a roast – stew etc. – but it always feeds the masses, and nobody goes hungry. In fact there’s normally enough for seconds! Sweets and tea/coffee are included.

In previous years the camp oven night used to be under the stars, however now that Tom’s shed is a going concern, we eat and sit in comfort. Project updates and work rosters can be easily heard (and seen) prior to the meal.

On all other evenings we have a “Happy hour” – which runs from 5pm until about 6. This is normally held in the camping area around a couple of large(ish) campfire rings. Temporary overhead lighting is used as darkness falls. During this hour or so, volunteers report on all allotted projects, and based upon this information, new tasks are set and allocated. This keeps everyone up-to-date with progress, and allows problems to be sorted out. Often a few jokes are bandied around, and sometimes someone will volunteer to entertain.

During my week 4 on site, one young member (Nick’s daughter) did her “thing” (it was over in a flash, but highly appreciated!)
A few of the candid shots that I collected are included below (not everyone is included – who wants to troll through 40 odd grab-shots of people in the dark!)