It's been a lot of fun staying in Charters Towers and we've all had a great time. We'd be sorry to leave if it weren't for the fact that we are all leaving together and setting off for a very exciting weekend when we will meet up with more friends and family.
I've shown you the garden, so now I thought you'd like to see the inside of a typical Queensland house. One very interesting thing about this house is that when Mrs P's sister and brother-in-law bought it, it was in Townsville, a two hour journey away from Charters Towers. Because Queenslander houses are made from wood, they are quite light and it is possible to lift them off their stumps with a crane, put them on the back of a lorry and move them somewhere else. It makes moving house a whole new ball game!
This is a very important item in any Queensland home.
Here I am sitting beside the water filter in the kitchen. You pour in the water at the top and it goes through a filter and then keeps nice and cool in the stoneware container. The glasses are in the basket ready for anyone who needs a drink. It's really important to drink plenty of water where ever you are but in the tropics it is very important indeed. In the heat, your body sweats a lot to help you keep cool but it means your body loses a lot of water and gets dehydrated. If that happens you can start to feel dazed and confused and then you get very ill. The Australians have a phrase to describe anyone who has started to behave a bit oddly in the heat. They say they have "gone totally troppo"!
As I show you around the house, you will notice that you can't see through any of the windows. They are all made of frosted glass like we have in our bathrooms. That's to keep the heat of the sun out. Can you see the window to the left of the cupboard and the one below? They are made up of narrow strips of glass or louvres. The louvres open up like a venetian blind and let the breeze in.
Here I am sitting next to some old 'Made in Australia' kitchen scales. Because Australia is such a new country, people like to hang on to anything old that they have in their houses. What is the oldest thing you have got? Can you see the louvered glass behind me? The louvres in some of the windows are tinted a really cute shade of turquise. It looks really pretty but also helps to keep the heat out.
Talking of keeping the heat out, here I am sitting next to some Acubra hats. Acubra is the most popular make of hat in Australia. Remember I told you about "Slip, slop, slap"? Well, you've got to slap on your Acubra to keep the sun off your head. Otherwise you'll go totally troppo!
Looking at old fashioned things made me wish I could travel back in time so here I am posing in front of a picture of an old fashioned country general store. You can see advertisements for Billy Tea ( that's tea you make in a Billy Can over a fire when you have your smoko); Vegemite (Australian Marmite) and, behind my shoulder, you can just see part of a poster advertising Rinso. Can you guess what that is?
Mentioning Billy Cans reminds me of another bit of Australian language I've got to teach you. A "Billy lid" is a kid!
After all this talk of hot weather, you might be feeling like creating a bit of a tropical atmosphere back in Cobden. If you are, I thought you might like to see a photo of this parrot that Chelsea made at school. It doesn't look too hard to make and I'm sure one of your clever teachers would be able to help you.
Before I started to pack my bags ready to set off for the airport, I just had time to help Mrs P's sister pack up some of her pottery ready to drop it off at the shop where she sells it.
This piece of pottery isn't going to the shop. It's a model of the church where Mrs P's son is going to get married next weekend. This is going to be a wedding present for him and his bride. I can't wait until I'm standing outside the real thing! I've never been to a wedding before.
When we dropped off the pottery at the shop, I just had time to pose in front of this mural that shows you what Charters Towers was like in the olden days. On the left you can see a very basic miner's cottage. On the right, above the trees, you can see a more elaborate Queenslander and to the right of that, a very fancy hotel.
In the picture, I am sitting on the back of a "ute''. "Ute" is short for utility truck and it is the sort of vehicle that workmen drive in Australia. The word for a workman in Australia is "Tradie" (short for tradesman". If you are a tradie's assistant, you are an off-sider. It's a whole new language, isn't it?
Well, the next time I report back to you, I will be on Tamborine Mountain ready to enjoy the wedding weekend. Speak to you soon! Hooroo!
Click here for some information about Tamborine Mountain
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