Wendy Personified

 



Welcome back to the Canola Way Connections blog space!

You’ll be hearing from writers in various guises. Primarily I’ll be writing from my home in Boggy Creek about my travels along the Canola Way. Since the Canola Way is not just about Canola in its glorious golden beauty (admittedly spectacular!), I’ll be spruiking all of the other breathtaking attractions that wayfarers might enjoy on day trips, weekends or holiday stays. You’ll hear from my alter egos too.

The Cool Bookie operates a second-hand space ( that’s ‘brocante’ to you if you are French) which offers books and more in Faraway on Ford St, Ganmain. Articles about all things book-ish already appear in the monthly Coolamon Chronicle sponsored by Coolamon Rotary and published as a joint activity with Coolamon Central School. You’ll have another chance to see the articles here.

Wednesday’s Child writes for the Ganmain Guardian, a monthly publication delivered to letter boxes around Ganmain. Wednesday’s Child writes about things that might resonate with readers pondering mental health issues.

Occasionally too, you may be entertained by the Law School Drop-out. Not a solicitor, this writer never-the-less taught Legal Studies for many a year to NSW secondary students. (Having a Law major will qualify you for high school teaching which, some might say, is a tougher job than standing up arguing a case before a judge) Spectacular lessons to Yr9 Commerce students (self-congratulation is no recommendation!) failed to impress the parents who were asked by said students “Have you written a will?” This was homework and far more useful, thought the Drop-out, than any written work. Not so. One irate mother accused her daughter of wishing her dead. It was a memorable lesson indeed! We all need to be a tad more comfortable with the way the law may impact our daily lives.

Ganmain is a Wiradjuri word meaning “scarred warrior” and is like Junee (“speak to me”) and Coolamon (“water basin” ) as towns named with indigenous words, whereas Temora originates from the Gaelic suggesting an “eminence commanding a high view”. It just goes to show how hard it is to guess which town name is indigenous and which might be Anglo-Celtic-Gaelic in origin. Matong too is an indigenous word meaning “strong” or “great” although the name Marrar appears to have an uncertain origin. If anyone can shed any further light on that mystery, please “connect”. Grong Grong at least sounds indigenous, which it is. The repetition of the word Grong means “very”. Therefore, this town was a very bad camping ground!! Subtlety was clearly not a priority when survival was at stake. Let’s hope that wayfarers stopping at the recently renovated Grong Grong Pub find the town more hospitable these days.

Having retired to the Riverina and settled along the Canola Way, I never cease to be enchanted by the tiny villages and towns which offer such grand options to every wayfarer. I hope that we can likewise help them cast their spell over you.

We hope to see you along the way!

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