Wednesday 23 September 2015 - Dinner Concert, Pilliga Pottery, Pilliga, NSW (#123)

The next evening on the “road trip” saw us in a very different environment when we “went bush” to visit Pilliga Pottery in the middle of the Pilliga State Forest, near Coonabarabran. We arrived, via a very corrugated dirt road, just on nightfall when guests staying at the Barkala FarmStay accommodation had just sat down for dinner. We set up in a lovely adjacent room, and just started playing. The sound quickly brought interested onlookers into our room, where they settled with dessert and coffee to listen to the sound of the pans (which absolutely intrigued them). It was a very informal concert, with the next song being determined by suggestions from within the band. When the guests asked for something to sing along with, we obliged with Bohemian Rhapsody (luckily our playing was better than their singing).

After the concert, the staff offered the band free dessert and coffee, which was quickly accepted. We then set off to find our accommodation for the night. Most of us were staying in an isolated house about 3km further into the bush. With general instructions, we set out in Lisa's 4WD and Sarah’s car. But halfway there, we realised that the potholes in the road were too big for Sarah’s little car when carrying a load. So Steve, Issac, Jacob and Tony walked the second half of the trip through the night air. The house was delightful inside and when we woke in the morning and went for a walk, we realised how isolated and beautiful it was outside. A great experience for us all, especially Steve (from the USA) and Sarah (from France). None of us really wanted to leave, but we had a Steelband Festival waiting for us in Brisbane!!