Five Friends visit Parkes

Dane and his wife Kelly, hosted The Five Friends fourth official meeting at their home in Parkes.

Unbeknown to Libby and Jo, Dane and Kelly are expecting their first child.  CONGRATULATIONS!!  "The boys" were privy to this information at the Grenfell visit, but apparently didn't feel the information newsworthy enough to pass on (Men!!) 

After spending "rigorous" hours planning of our visit to the Philippines we had time to be shown around the town of Parkes. A lovely lunch of Pasta and Pizza was had by all at a local restaurant, Bella's.  While the waitress was most apologetic for our meal being delayed, we took the time and enjoyed a lovely bottle of red and good conversation.

Our visit to Parkes also coincided with an art display by Sean James Cassidy's (Melodies of Woven Light).  Unfortunately the majority of the collection had been sold at auction prior to our visit, but the items still on display provided a preliminary insight into Philippines inspired art.

After the historic tour of Parkes and our mandatory photo shoot, we had a quick afternoon tea at the Hendry's.  Thank goodness Dane has overcome his fear of Banana's and baked a delicious banana cake after which we  all departed in our various directions.

The team will meet for their final pre-trip preparations in January at Lake Cargellico.

On a final note: Libby, Jo, Frank and Dane have been on a msission introducing Graeme to the world of blogs, skype, wiki's, and desktop publishing. Graeme, although sometimes unsure of what we could possibly be referring to, or where on earth any of this will take us, hands us the reins to carry on.  I don't think we have disappointed him yet!!
So while this blog comes 'posted' from me (Jo), I would like to acknowledge Graeme's input into the creation of this post.

Parkes' History

The town was named after Sir Henry Parkes (GCMG), born 27^th May 1815 – 27^th April 1896.

He was an Australian statesman and known as the father of Australian Federation for he was one of the earliest advocates of a Federation of the Australian Colonies. He is considered the most prominent of the Founding Fathers.

Henry Parkes was a commanding figure, tall of stature with a mane of a beard and rugged facial features. He was a commanding orator who adapted his message to his audience. He had little formal education but read extensively and this assisted his political life. A vain man he often resigned from parliament if he didn’t get his own way only later to seek re-election.

A bad manager of his personal affairs, for he died penniless, however in his parliamentary career he chose good treasurers for his terms in office and they provided sound financial administration. The town was named after him and the main street after his wife Clarinda.