CADFAEL'S CACHE

Greetings from Australia! To be exact, southeast Queensland.

This is my very first blog and to be truthful, I'm not sure what I'm doing!

I guess the main purpose of this blog is to stretch my wings, to meet and talk to as many people as I can. As I am not exactly in my first youth, and still marvel at being able to hear a telephone ring on the other side of the world when I press a few buttons, you will understand why my "mind boggles" at the internet. But I love it!

The second reason why I am launching myself into the blogging world is tell everyone about the novel which I have written and with which I am trying to take the publishing world by storm!! Love that "by storm," a description much beloved of the media! Conjures up images of some mad thing charging into a crowd, waving something lethal - like a dish mop or broom :D

But will tell you about that next time!

A little about myself:

I am a granny of three + two delightful teens, the children of my much-loved daughter-in-law. I live with my husband Andrew in a small country town in southeast Queensland, just over an hour south west of Brisbane. We've lived here 14 and a half years and not regretted one moment of it. Being refugees from a place called Wellington Point just outside Brisbane, we are grateful to be able to savour the mountains. Wellington Point, right near Cleveland Bay and the Moreton Bay isaldns, has changed from a farmland and family acreage area to a sea of red, white, black - you name it - roofs - brick "brawl-boxes" and nappy valley.

When we first came here to Boonah, we purchased a 35 acre small farm on which we raised Scottish Highland cattle and mice! Yep, mice, of all breeds and varieties.

For 10 years our business was a mouse circus - you can see it in action on You Tube (mouse circus Australia) - and while we didn't make a fortune by any means, we had a good living. It was bloody hard work chasing work. The agricultural show season in Queensland starts in February and goes until mid-October. In between shows (fairs for Americans!) the mice performed at schools, children's parties, "open days" at pet shops and vet surgeries. The problem however for the shops was that no one went inside the shop, they all stood outside and watching the mice in action!

Our biggest show of the year was the Brisbane Exhibition (the EKKA) where the mice performed for 10 days straight! As with all the shows, the mice performed for six hours per days, different mice for each "shift." There was the morning shift - usuall 9am-11am, the afternoon shift, 1pm - 3pm and the night shift, 6-8pm. Each shift of mice numbered 50, so for a day's show we needed to take 150 mice. We used to take males and females (separated of course!) but the males used to brawl all the way to the venue and arrive bleeding. When put into the circus, they fought, sunk and hung around the pub! SOund familiar, ladies ?

The "pub" in the circus is large, pottery "broken" tea pot called The Cat and Rat! If you go to You Tube you will see it in the circus!

Sadly, after 10 years we decided to sell the circus, but unfortunately no one wanted it. I gave away mice and sold mice to breeders, however the circus is still packed into it trailer. Maybe some day someone will come along who's not afraid of hard work and will make their fortune with it!

In the mean time, I have 6 pets rats whom I adore, and am the mouse judge for the Queensland Rat & Mouse Club shows!

That's all for today, folks :)

Diana aka Cadfael.