TEN OLDIES HAVE A BALL

There were ten of us oldies at the Salon de Refuses exhibition at the Murwillumbah Art Gallery at the weekend - and not a case of dimentia between us. They say 'if you don't use it you lose it' and, so far as I am concerned, that's absolutely relevant to grey matter as well as muscles et al.
Everyone of these friends drips interests and skills, they all have a great sense of humour and a full diary. We travel from many parts of the North Coast of New South Wales to meet at a central point for lunch, about every two months on average.
As usual, we enjoyed the gallery that's set in an idyllic part of the world, on a green hill with views of Mount Warning as a centrepiece. The many windows of the building have been carefully planned to frame sections of the meandering landscape and these are often as captivating as many of the art pieces on the walls! You can count on the exhibitions themselves always being challenging and/or satisfying.
Most of these friends have known each other for donkey's years, and some go back to when our adult kids were toddlers. We all share a concern that society distributes the goodies equally, although we realise there's a long way to go before our wish comes to fruition. I think our energy will be spent in this direction until the day the undertaker arrives!
We had coffee and cake on the gallery balcony as planned, but afterwards gathered for lunch at a great little open air cafe in the main street. Conversation probably began catching up with what our kids were up to, but expanded to a great range of topics, including how to use our latest computer programme. It was, as usual, hard to get a word in.
We solved climate change problems there and then (!!?), and worried about the need to bring in emissions trading in a manner that would be fair to all. Even though, I hasten to add, we were all very much aware of the need to act on environmental protection and sustainable living ASAP. No matter what the cost, there is no choice.
We also spent a lot of time talking about child abuse and what is happening to Australian families. It's important that our society is at last talking about this issue, instead of ignoring it.
Hey dear reader, I'd love to hear what you think about some of these issues. A post will take but a couple of minutes ... Just click on 'Comments'.
Cheers
June