Living it up in Longreach

Whilst some of my work mates were living it up in London, I was living it up in Longreach. And as fantastic a time as they are having, I think I was having an even better time in Longreach.

All the pre organization was fantastic. All I had to do was pack my suitcase full of toys and jump on the plane. We were greeted at the airport by some lovely people from Longreach School of Distance Education.

The school is a wonderful place - well resourced and well thought out. We were given a tour, headed back to the motel for a rest, and then had dinner at the “Welcome Home Motel” which also unofficially doubled as the Longreach Art Gallery.

The next morning, there was a buzz of excitement in anticipation as the children waited on assembly ready for their two days of activities. I started off with year 1 and worked my way up through the year groups, and then finishing with the prep class in my last session. My sessions always end with a high five, and quite a few occasions throughout the weekend the cute children from year 1 would come past giving me more high fives with great gusto.

Each workshop involved trying plate spinning, spin stix and ball skills. Once they had a taste of all three, they got to choose their favourite prop, work out their favourite trick, and then show all their friends. I then did a little demo with some of the props.

At the end of the first day, the Deputy Principal said my workshop was the most popular of the day, and she asked if I would do a show for the whole group. I pulled out 4 plates, 2 spinstix and 6 balls. With lots of silly faces and whole heap of crazy moves I showed them how I like to play with toys. One girl in particular could not contain her laughter. And it seemed the more I told her not to laugh, the more she did. A great time was had by all.

Then it was home for a rest, and then back to the school for markets and a BBQ. I bought some jewelry and an amazing photo. But the main reason for everyone getting together was “The Outback Challenge”, where teachers, parents and home tutors formed 6 teams of eight for some silly games. We started with musical knees (like musical chairs) and finished with Limbo. A great time was had by all, especially my team, which was the winning team!

The second day was as fantastic as the first. After a rest in the afternoon, I had dinner at the local RSL with a huge T Bone steak.

I hope to visit Longreach again sometime. I had an amazing time!