An Affectionate Episode in Ipswich with "Furi Bear" and Laura

DAY 5

Our trip to Ipswich to meet our Grandchildren on their home turf was quite an emotional trip in more ways than I expected. It also gave us a chance to see more of what I had always imagined rural Australia to look like (and I wasn't disappointed) and although much of the journey was via their motorway system we were high enough in many areas to get a broad view of the countryside. It helped that I didn’t have to drive and we were grateful to Richard and Sheree to offer a very comfortable drive in their Volvo. I was amazed at the number of toll stations on the route from Narang to Ipswich, but the quality of the road surface and the huge areas under construction for the extended rail network were very impressive.

Flooded Ipswich 2011

We left the apartment mid morning and the journey took about 1 1/2 hours which was good considering the holiday traffic. During the drive Richard pointed out various interesting  locals site of interest and as he is a Queensland Fireman he had ample knowledge of the 2011 floods which had caused so much damage in Queensland. It was quite a sobering experience when we crossed a bridge and realized that the construction work below was a complete rebuild of a supermarket complex. There were a number of signs outlining the height of the floods and we were thankful that our families had not been affected too much although we learnt later that our Ipswich family had to be evacuated from their home and that snakes had invaded their back lawn at one stage.

Love that Fretwork!

We eventually arrived at the outskirts of Ipswich and Lyn and I were impressed with the sight of so many houses built in the Aussie style that we had imagined from books and films. I gather there is a State Law in Queensland that protects these houses from being demolished or altered without consultation, unlike the fiasco in Auckland where the heritage and character Of Parnell and the Inner city have been ruined. Many of these Aussie houses had the typical corrugated iron roof with a large verandah around the front, the wonderful fretwork around the verandah and of course many are in brick or wood and have been preserved beautifully over the years.

A Traditional Ipswich House

The following item explains the main points about Ipswich

In the 1850s, Ipswich aspired to become the capital of Queensland. Although it lost this honour to Brisbane, it was a prosperous and confident city and this is reflected in its buildings which include imposing public offices, several of the oldest churches in Queensland, numerous fine mansions and a large number of historic houses and cottages.

Pasted from <http://www.ipswich.qld.gov.au/about_ipswich/heritage/heritage_buildings/>

Furi Bear, Laura & Hillery

After negotiating a number of back streets (i.e. we were temporarily lost) we finally reached our destination. It was delightful being able to spend some quality time with our Grandchildren and their Mother Hillery had prepared a lovely lunch. The boys were fairly nonchalant about our visit, but Laura was extremely welcoming and within 5 minutes of our arrival, she asked if she could recite a poem to us from her local school choir repertoire. This lovely 8 year old then proceeded to entertain us with her poem about a girl named Louise,finishing with loud applause from everyone. Then Laura asked if I would like to meet her big teddy bear, so we went upstairs to her bedroom, she climbed up her wooden bookcase and came back down with a L_A-R-G-E teddy bear. The children then decided to show us their skills on a couple of backyard trampolines, and believe me they were very good, especially Deklan. Flynn of course was buried in his books (he is an avid reader and is a bright intelligent boy who is doing extremely well at school)

Laura & Grandad in Conversation

Laura meantime was giving me a vivid description of her school and when I asked if they had to sing a good morning song to the Teacher, she replied "No, the Teacher calls the roll and we answer, Here!, as she called out our name" I said "What if the Teacher stutters and says "Laura, Laura, Laura"  …. Without even stopping for a second she replied " I would say "Here, Here, Here!" THEY SAY LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE AND I SURE DID FEEL MUCH BETTER!

Sheree decided it would be appropriate to find a spot at a little park close by for a photography session to record our visit and we duly followed her to the park. We had a lot of fun and

A group of "smilers"

 managed to secure some excellent photos for our albums and as usual when you are having fun, time flies fast! I was feeling rather sad that I would soon be saying farewell to my new found family and when Laura came over and suddenly gave me a cuddle, I would have been happy to bring her back to New Zealand with us! The final heart rending moment for me personally came when Laura and I were discussing the big bears name. She said he was called "Furry Bear" and proceeded to write this on a small heart shaped "Post-It" note so that I wouldn't forget as I was an "Older person!"

 When I looked over her shoulder she had written "Furi Bear" and gave me the whole block in case I wanted to write the name again so I would be sure not to forget. This little gesture brought the tears welling to my eyes and I had to stagger away to regain my composure. I treasure this little note block and it has a prominent place on a shelf where I can view it every day.

Laura & Furi Bear

We finally managed to say our farewells and as we drove away, I wondered if I would ever return to this place in Australia that had given me so much raw emotion to handle in such a short space of time. I hoped I would.

Richard decided to take us on a different route home so we could see a bit more of the countryside and as he pointed out a number of interesting sites I realised just how scenic our own South Island is compared to Queensland and why it has become a popular tourist mecca. I know that Lyn and I look forward to our annual holidays in the South, albeit very brief holidays. We did see some fascinating ant hills and marveled at the wonderful old buildings in the little townships as we drove through.

Collectibles and Cafe

We stopped at a Café on the outskirts of Ipswich called the Ipswich Antique Centre and this was a prime example of good use of an old building. It was full of old wooden furniture, historical bits and pieces (all for sale) and even an old Golliwog sitting on a bed with a stuffed fox hovering close by. The coffee was very welcome and we left feeling quite refreshed.

Once we arrived back at the Apartment and as it was our last evening in Brisbane our hosts prepared a lovely meal of  BBQ leg of lamb (cooked on a Weber) with all the trimmings and a delightful dessert of Ice cream, Macadamia nuts and Frangelico Liquer. Delissimo!

We sat around chatting until late and then it was off to bed in preparation for leaving in the morning for New Zealand. It had been quite a day!

FOUND THE GOLLIWOG PHOTO!

Foxy Friend watching over Golly