Sweet things in the Big Smoke

So I attended a very cool event in Brisbane town on Friday…

I had been invited to the QRRRWN (Rural, Regional and Remote Women’s Network) High Tea -held at the Marriot Hotel in the city.

I’m a bit like a kid in a candy store when it comes to nice accomodation…

Six pillows for one person – absolute luxury!!!

(I still brought my own though, is that weird?)

The Marriot room (I think it was a standard one) has the loveliest vintage-feeling bathroom too – seperate shower and bath thankyouverymuch.

Nice city views …

Love the juxtaposition of old and new. (Also love the word juxtaposition!)

It’s funny how some things ‘happen’ and push you from one viewpoint of yourself, to another… this trip somehow made me look at my blogging more seriously.

You will see I have even taken to adding my ‘logo’ to my images now.

Be reassured though, I will do my darnedest not to take MYSELF too seriously.  That WOULD be tragic.

Downstairs, in the events room, the most fabulous ‘High Tea’ was put on for us all…

Scones (well I guess they figured we’d like something familiar?) and some delicious pastries and ‘sandwich-stacks’ (am sure there is a fancy word for them, but that’s what they looked like to me!  They even had some shiny apples…

I stayed away from the healthy stuff (and tried some pastry).

Scrumptious!!

Can we have too many pastry #foodporn photos?

I think not!

Of course, there were wall-to-wall amazing women…

Georgie Somerset, dynamo, beef producer, VP of Agforce Qld (above) and immediate past President of QRRRWN.

(Did I mention she’s also a top chick?).

Alison Mobbs, current president of QRRRWN – her Twitter profile describes Alison as a ‘Queensland beef producer, educator, community builder. Optimist, idealist, vocalist, lover of life’. Living at Longreach. 

She is all that and more…

This was a partial view of 150 women (and two brave blokes) getting ready to be inspired…

And these are the ladies who inspired…

Georgie (being interviewer) with Robyn Bryant, from Mitchell in SW Qld who manages motherhood to three young children with leadership roles in her industry bodies…

Jenny Underwood, who is facing down the terrible drought in her corner of Australia – between Hughenden and Longreach – with humour and a camera (great combo!)

… and Genevieve Gleeson (right) who shared her story of resiliance from the ravages of Cyclone Marcia (you might remember our story from the same terrible storm).

I have been online buddies with Jenny for some time now – laughing (and getting close to tears) with her as she posts up an image from her day (or her archives) with a relevent song title and the hashtag #onedaycloser. Today’s image, for example, is of a newborn calf …

Caption: “It’s A Kind Of Magic”

She gives me earworm most days – I shall be singing Queen as I head off on the bus run today, for sure!

It was so wonderful to finally meet her –  she is warm and funny and strong and brilliant in real life too! She also took this shot when I caught up with this very this well-known media identity…

Robin McConchie.  Robin is the executive producer (and long-time presenter) of the Queensland Country Hour on ABC radio.  Her voice is warm and familiar – her wit pretty darned sharp, and her photography pretty neat too.  She is also a little brutal behind the lense if you are not ready for her!

Remember these lovely delicacies?

Well Robin caught me trying out the sugar ‘leaf’ from that rose decoration on the brownie…

This was the result! Apparently it was a bit crunchy… actually we decided we were notat all sure they were supposed to be eaten. 

This image also reminded me that I must check the BACK of my hairdo when preparing for being viewed in public in future.

Clearly I am out of practice! Heh!

Perhaps I am still trying to remove rose leaf from my teeth in this one?

Hoping that this one doesn’t accurately reflect my ‘resting face’. I believe I have hit on the main reason ‘selfies’ are so popular… self-editing!

Anyone recognise this chick? There is much to be said for the old lense-in-front-of-face and rain-on-mirror filter effect.

Perhaps I should come up with an app? I could call it the ‘Bush Babe Mask’.  Any takers?

Anyway, enough of my vanity… back to the gathering.

It was a wonderful event – my beautiful aunt and neighbour Bron (of Boogal Brahmans) joined me, and we laughed and cried with the stories told of motherhood under duress, surviving seemingly-endless droughts, dealing with floods and beaurocracy.

I caught up with many other active on-liners – like Trish from Bush Kids – and talked until I jaw ached. I would have done more selfies and people pics, but my phone decided to go into a coma just as proceedings were getting underway.  I almost had a meltdown with no phone… no pics, no tweeting, no contacting my family and no going out in case they wanted to contact me (because I literally CANNOT go a day without talking to any of them!).

So (post high tea) I stayed in my room and worked photos and drank complimentary pinot gris and ate from the room service menu.  Pretty much my idea of a good time! Sad but true!

And less than 24 hours later I was back here …

Arriving home, on my country roads, to the place, I belong… (Jenny would be proud!)

Ready to crash in my own bed, before hitting the road to see our girl in action on a horse. (But that’s another story, for another post!)

🙂