[Bob McNeill]

Big day , dawn service this morning in Orange, biggest crowd for a long time, frosty but clear. Dash home for brekky and fire up the blitz to warm it up, didn,t help as the windscreen iced up when we hit the fog 4kl,s out. rollout at 6.45 and head for Millthorpe for a 7.30 start, each year the marchers drop off but have noticed several Afganastan vets now attending. Leave the locals and head towards Carcour, the band always beat us in their moderns but since we act as tailend charlie they rarely have to wait. A short stroll from the school to the Memorial, leaving us to block the traffic on the old bridge, Then it,s off to Mandurama and again the number of old vets is dropping, only 6 from there this year, the schools all try hard with as many kids as they can muster, Mandurama has only got 19 pupils, all high School kids are bused out to Blayney. On to Lyndhurst, last stop for us although the band go on to Woodstock. After the service the local ladies put on a cuppa and cake after which for us it,s time to make tracks up over the Gap Rd [ dirt but 13K,s shorter ] thru Forest Reefs and in 1 1/4 hrs we are home for a late lunch while the Jeep has a bit further to go.