Living with shackle draggers: Jacaranda festival

Saturday 25 October 2008

Jacaranda festival

I had a difficult week at work this week, with political issues becoming more prevalent. Actually I think that was one of the things that you could sort of stand outside of as a freelancer in the film and commercials industry. Not being 'permanently' linked to a company meant that one could concentrate on providing a service to your employer and ensuring the continuation of work. When you're full time, you sort of get embroiled in sides, even when you're trying to stay out of it. I think I'm quite a political person, but I don't use it for my own gain, at least not for my immediate gain, and not in a direct way.

My political overview of situations is intimately linked to my philosophical and psychological overview. I test things that i'm told 'are the way we do things' all the time, to see if they fit for me, and if they are fundamentally sound by my notions of fundamental. I know that some of you find this irritating (sorry!). I worry that my approach will get me into trouble with more senior people, or serious trouble with more people...depending on how you arrange the words... Then I think 'na stuff em'. Ha ha.. no i'm kidding, but i'm getting more confident to say what I believe is right and wrong, even though I know that it will often fly in the face of the fundamental approach that the company holds as dear traditionally. The main difference (I hope) is that my work persona is more focused on action outcomes than my unguarded me.

I come home with this stuff gnawing at me some days... but the great thing (depending on your perspective) is that I can completely forget all about it by Saturday evening.

Last night (changing the subject) we went to the 'Goodna Jacaranda festival'. The Jacaranda tree is a major feature of the Brisbane landscape, and Goodna, a bland place from an architectural perspective has more Jacaranda's than most suburbs. Consequently the relatively bland aspect of the area is transformed at this time of the year when the trees flower.

Another area that has a high concentration of these beautiful trees is the campus of University of Queensland - where they are known as 'the exam tree' due to their flowering coinciding with the lead in to a period of pre exam study.

The Australian landscape is so universally covered by the Gum tree (Eucalyptus) that it has become synonymous with the place. No other landscape in the world is so dominated by one genus. I understand there are some 700 sub species and collectively (if you were to put them all together) they would cover an area the size of England and Wales at current estimates, and the Australians are quite patriotic about them, and 'fair dinkum' and 'dinki-di' and 'a fair go' and lots of other stuff.... like 'mate-ship'. (Mate-ship is Australian for looking out for your neigbours... they think they have a patent on the idea). So given the uniqueness, and the beauty of the Jacaranda, I was expecting to see a celebration of it's uniqueness and beauty. Hey... call me old fashioned.

Instead, what we saw was a fun fare! The whole nine yard, with major rides, stalls, noise and of course... high prices. Needless to say the kids were thrilled. There wasn't even a single spot light on one of the trees! We did the ghost train, the bouncy castle, the bouncy harness, the snake handling, the camel ride, a side stall or two, batterred sausage and chips, bow and arra stall, wooden sword stall, and then headed for home, where I had less than two hours to get an assignment (ette) finished. I couldn't find the car keys. I'd put them on the floor when I took the picture of the firworks and the Jacaranda for you....! After 5 mins of scrabbling about, a couple came up and asked if we'd lost car keys... and then handed them to me. Phew.

This is the bouncy harness thing...