A day-trip to the Sydney Show

I took the ACT Miniature Enthusiast's bus to the show yesterday. It stopped for a "comfort stop" half way up. On the road between Canberra and Sydney there's not much choice in food: or:or (of course):(which is where we stopped). I did wonder if all the junk food on offer might cause this:
but it seemed everyone was fine.

At the show I met Judy, who has set up Modern Miniatures by Neu, an Australian-based site which deals only in the modern.She's absolutely lovely and coped rather well with my excitement at seeing a whole stall full of things I might just like to buy, either in person or online

I, of course, dragged Div over to meet her too.

Speaking of Div, she's finished the black and white house I visited at her place last year:
It gained a lot of interest and I was chuffed to read the sign that went with it:
Where else did I visit?

The local Community Centre, which had a library...(I missed the dolls house and miniature section) and a knitting group in the room upstairs...Just down the road I stumbled across an artist's studio open day (you can tell they tidied up especially!) I met Bill, the artist who owned the studio, who told me it was all cardboard. He showed me some of his other cardboard modelsand seemed surprised when I got so excited(Do you think we could convince him to make 1/12th plans and kits if we asked nicely?)

By this time I was completely exhausted with seeing the displays and trying to catch up with friends old and new. So I ducked back to the Community Centre for a quick massagebefore Rooruu whisked me off for our almost traditional trip to IKEA, returning me to the bus just in time for the return trip to Canberra.

So, what did I buy? Not terribly much (but certainly more than I have in previous years):
(Dangly charm things for inspiration board use. Scrapbooking frames to experiment with. Mini rug canvas for a couple of ideas I want to steal try.A swag of plastic bottle tops of some sort to use as plant holders and vases. Some cheapy random bits I picked up for a couple of dollars. Two more sets of IKEA lights. Three magazine back issues (at $2 each, I figured they'd make good bus reading on the trip home: except they didn't have the lights on...). The almost complete stock of vintage plastic houses from the same seller ($2 each!) and some flowers that aren't white for future scenes.)(Just to make you super-envious...)

Credits*: Fast food outlets, Dom Furcciniti. Operating theatre ("Aftermath"), Maree Flaherty. Revell House, Div Williams. Blue Hills Community Centre (Library and Nifty Knitters' Group) by Mountain Miniatures. Art studio and Miniature buildings, Bill Maguire from Leprechaun Miniatures Club. The Pysiotherapist, Colleen Tynan.

(*Yes, I actually got them all for once!)