Mar2015_MT MEE RAMBLINGS

There is great interest in the forthcoming Mt Mee Celtic Night.  There was a story on this event in the last Grapevine, and I won’t bore you with repetition.  The programme has been amended slightly though.  The doors (and the bar) now open at 6pm and the Mt Mee School songs will open the performance – at 6.45pm.  ‘Celtic Fusion’ take over the stage at 7pm and perform until 8.30pm, when the haggis is to be ceremonially piped in and toasted.  Supper follows, and the Lone Piper will be perambulating around the Hall, bringing pleasure and gratification to all as we dine.  Then it is back to business with the Fusion mob.  And there will be folk dancing  all throughout the evening, with two skilled callers leading us through the movements.

At the end of the night we plan a big Celtic jam session, with everyone who has thought to bring an even remotely Celtic musical instrument sitting in to make one big big noise. (Yes Angie, be quiet and I might bring a tin whistle!)

This evening is going to be a ripper – it is on Saturday 28th March.  Make your bookings now! (See ad on page 3)

Local Federal member Wyatt Roy has responded to our pleas for help to have our mobile phone coverage improved.  He brought Malcolm Turnbull’s Secretary for Communications – Paul Fletcher, all the way from Canberra to Mt Mee to meet and talk with residents.  Despite the short notice, more than 40 residents turned up in the Hall for a very productive gathering.

Paul Fletcher explained that there is now a government fund set aside to subsidise the providers Telstra and Optus in establishing new cells for needy areas.  The providers are required to tender for the grants, and the merits of each tender will be judged by the government.  This will be a competitive process with something like 6000 areas seeking help but funding for just 300.  So there is no guarantee that we will succeed.  But we did have a sympathetic ear from Secretary Fletcher and Wyatt is right on side.  He will be pressing the providers to tender for the Mt Mee job.  Let’s hope!

In the longer term, the arrival of the fibre optic broadband cable on the Mountain will necessitate a new wireless broadband tower.  The tower will give internet access to the many Mountain residents who currently have none, and could be an ideal site for mobile phone antennas too.  But this is some years away.

Arrangements are already well in hand for the ANZAC Day ceremony at the Dahmongah Look-Out.  Please note that this centenary year service will be a big one, and that we plan to begin ten minutes earlier than usual – at 5.50am.  The service will be followed by the usual ‘Gunfire Breakfast’ and then we will move down the road to the Hall for a social gathering.   The bar will be open and there will be a morning tea and sandwiches funded by Council – thanks again to Cr Adrian Raedel.  This will be an excellent opportunity to catch up with the old and new friends that you usually only see briefly at funerals.

Guest speaker at this year’s service is Billy Goulburn, who served in the Afghan conflict and came home severely injured in body and mind.  Billy now works with others who are still struggling with the difficulties that he faced down over several very hard years.  He will talk of Gallipoli, but he will also tell of the age old problems faced by traumatized servicemen as they try to return to normal life.  I can tell you that this will be a riveting address.

Don’t forget that it is 5.50a.m. start, and that we would appreciate knowing in advance if you intend to lay a wreath, and whether you will be using your own or one of ours.  Call Neil on 5498 2148 or Ian on 5498 2104.

And in conclusion, my warmest thanks to all of those who congratulated me on my inclusion in the 2015 Australia Day Honours list.  I was very chuffed, not just for myself and Kay but for all of those wonderful people on our Mountain who have worked so hard to make some very significant advances for our community.  We have had some great teams and some great outcomes!  Please share in the plaudits!