A HAPPY and healthy 2018 to my readers.
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We must all be grateful that we live in or around a lovely country city, less than three hours by car to our state capital, with a moderate climate and lots of things to be involved with.
Residents have the freedom to complain about many things and to criticise our leaders and newspaper contents.
The fact that little notice is taken of the complaints is beside the point.
Bathurst is a great place to live.
Sadly missed
MANY thanks to all involved for the excellent condition of all sections of the Bathurst cemetery.
I’m sure that the hundreds of visitors to the site over the festive season would join me in saying thank you.
Several long-time members of our country community have passed away in recent weeks, including Keith Snell of Sofala, Ted Cutler of Raglan, Wyatt Thompson of Millah Murrah, and George Fenton of Perthville.
Each had made a contribution to the lives of their country peers.
Think about it
A FEW facts for 2018:
- Colour of the year sheep tags for 2018 is orange.
- Ewes for auction in Tasmania are advertised as V taggers and this description should apply to all Gudair Vaccinates. It looks correct.
- Users of Gudair are asked to Google the product and follow links to a video from the Tasmanian Department of Agriculture on the safe use of the product. The sight of a man’s hand reaction to a needle stick would make the most foolhardy of us much more careful when we are vaccinating.
- The Bathurst Merino Association Annual Ewe Competition will be held on Friday, March 2 on properties to the north of Bathurst city. There were many complaints made when the competition was run in that area some years ago as many of the flocks are growing superfine wool and the owners appreciate judges of that ilk. The association lost members from that area and some thought may be given when selecting a second judge.
Does it add up?
WHILE many rural properties have been selling for very acceptable prices, it’s worth noting that not many of them have actually been viable in probably 10 of the past 50 years.
Buying pressure from Sydney professional and overseas interests is making sure that the Central Tablelands is a great district to make investments.
The former valuation method of dry sheep equivalent per acre has completely gone as properties that can only carry 1 dse/acre have been sold for $1200 per acre and beyond.
Buyers may be wise to do a very careful risk assessment before signing the dotted line. Nothing looks more hopeless than an over-priced, poor soiled property in really dry weather and 14 per cent interest rates.
Looking back
A SNAPSHOT of our district shows us that properties that are normally stocked have not recovered from a horrible winter/spring and some are not far from hand-feeding again.
Some owners are excited that their properties are showing lots of corkscrew, red and umbrella grass, while neighbours with the same are despairing and planning to re-sow some improved pasture with plenty of fertiliser.
I wonder what some properties will look like if they revert to their 1940s appearance.
Don’t delay it
A CRYSTAL ball for the new year tells me that the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party might be wise to select a high profile candidate for the election of a Member for Bathurst very soon if they hope to win the seat that is held safely by popular Member Paul Toole.
The Nationals know that the campaign to be held in March 2019 will be fierce and a pop gun SFF candidate would probably not run a podium place.
Labor hasn’t run a strong candidate for some time, but a fresh, capable person would certainly muddy the waters of our electorate.
And finally
Thoughts after Christmas:
- Calories are tiny creatures that live in wardrobes and sew your clothes tighter every night.
Some quotes from US politics:
- Now that the election is over no one has an immediate reason for lying. J. Gaynor.
- Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards. If you disgrace yourself you can always write a book. Reagan.
- How could you ever vote Republican? A farmer sowed corn last year and told me: “I hope I break even this year, I really need the money.” JFK.
- It’s useless to try to hold someone to anything they say while they’re madly in love, drunk, or running for office. E.McKenzie.
- The hardest thing for me to believe about religion is that there were only two asses on Noah’s Ark. L.Wylde.