The Elvis Capital of Australia

Yes, I have been to Parkes. Famous not only for The Dish (which you must see if you never have) but also for the Elvis Festival held every year. The mayor told us some great stories about The Dish. As I wandered down the main street after breakfast I tried to find a familiar location from the movie. It turns out that Parkes built too many brick monstrosities in the seventies so they had to film in Forbes, half an hour away. He also told us that while it was indeed very windy while they were tracking the Americans in space, they never actually lost the signal. In fact, the Americans lost the signal of Apollo 13 and the Australian scientists at Parkes worked out where it was and let the Americans know. They didn't put that in the Tom Hanks movie.

I was there for a Public Libraries New South Wales - Country symposium. It has been twenty years since the association began and while there was some strategic planning done the main purpose of the gathering was networking and celebrating. We had a dinner on Saturday night with a Viva Las Vegas theme.

This is the Wagga crew. Anne is a dance teacher and has access to brilliant showgirl costumes. We also had the option of black tie. Check out my false eyelashes. I was so impressed with them I didn't wear my glasses.

These two fellows are book vendors who really got into the spirit of it. Next to me is my lovely manager, Claire.

Anne and Wendy won a prize for their brilliant costumes. We danced and danced until we hurt. This morning we had an AGM before the four hour drive back to Wagga. Tomorrow we drive to Melbourne for Charlotte's birthday party - it's a secret so don't tell her!