ANZAC Day for the Woodpuddlians..

ANZAC Day is such a special day for me. My pop was a soldier in New Guinea and missed the first 4 years of my dads life because he was away. Dad was born after Pop left so he had a great shock when he met his father. I get pretty emotional thinking about the sacrifices that have been made for me and my kids by the soldiers of yesteryear and I do acknowledge the hard work our current crop of armed forces do.

We left home at 5:15AM this morning, how’s that for an early start to attend the parade with our Scout Group at a local R.S.L. Local that is to where the Scout Den is, not local to where we have moved now.

This year I thought we might do something a but different so I organised a Gunfire Breakfast back at our den for anyone wanting to join us. We usually head to the local Maccas after the March and frankly it costs me a fortune with my 3 sons and TM. The hardest part in organising any activity is when, even with 2 weeks notice folks don’t seem to think they should RSVP. Sheesh I find this so frustrating.

The ANZAC March was a great time for us all. We had a great turn out and marched with the rest of our District so there is quite a turnout of us. We were by far the largest group of marchers and all the kids were so well behaved. There was a short service afterwards and while I don’t think they were supposed to all the kids sat down when the priest told the dignitaries to ‘please be seated’. Most of the Scouts did too, obedience is well taught I guess. All the Leaders looked up and down the lines at each other and there was a lot of shrugging…lol I think it was good we left them as the service continued peacefully but it was different to see them sitting. They were soooo quiet and respectful instead of the normal fidgeting and niggling at each other that happens so maybe the sitting was a good idea on the kids behalf. They did stand at the appropriate time and then sat down again quietly.

A very special thing was listening to a bugle playing Reverie??? that could be wrong .. but this young girl played on the bugle herr great grandfather played at Gallipoli.. I lost it.. sniffing and sobbing … even now I’m tearing up thinking about it.. told ya I’m a sook. and she played it so well. Her great grandfather would have been so proud of her.

The poems and odes that are read are also a very special part of the day.

Lest We Forget

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them. Lest We Forget

The Gunfire Breakfast was a GREAT success so that’s 2 successful events planned by ‘moi’ in one week. See privately I’m amazed that anyone came to either event because not many people remember how to RSVP anymore

So we had 27 people back at the den for breakfast.. 3 extra turned up who I wasn’t expecting but 3 didn’t turn up who indicated they would. We served

• baked beans… won’t buy so much next year
• bacon
• eggs
• bread - the toaster didn’t work
• sausages
• tea coffee milo
• juice

After wards we stayed back with some other leaders to have play out the back and a giant tennis ball/soccer ball got lodged up in the gum tree. For 90 minutes the 2 men and 6 kids tried to get that ball out of the tree. All this time I inventoried, cleaned and reorganised the Mother’s Day Stall boxes and chatted with my Joey Leader. Occassionally we would glance out and have a cack. Small branched were scattered under the tree as they threw a variety of items to try and dislodge the ball. Such as

• witches hats
• rolled newspapers
• coke bottles full of water
• frozen bottle of diet coke
• other balls
• sticks of various sizes with a large one being taken by the tree too…

at this point the score was Tree 80 People 0. Enter the ladies. We jimmied up some string onto a couple of tentpegs. Threw it up and over the branch, attached some larger rope and pulled it up and over. The men then took over again and were seen to be absolute idiots as they then swung around. Tree 90 People 1.. the stick came tumbling down. MG my 15 yo then grabbed the tent pegs out of frustration threw them at the ball in the tree and was about to storm off when the ball came down…LOL Tree 100 People 2.