Day 37 Wednesday 14/6/2023, Kenilworth, warm 23

A warm morning. Woody walks up the street to QML pathology for a blood test then cooks a breakfast of mushrooms on toast outside. Breakfast done and he is off again to the legendary Kenilworth Bakery for 2 of their lip-smacking donuts. One pistachio and one lemon curd.

The park is less than a quarter full this morning and those who are staying are chatting in the sun. Magpies and butcher birds hop about. The trees here are a picture and I’m curious about one that appears to be covered in dead brown flowers. On closer inspection it’s a Golden Rain Tree like the ones we saw in Gunnedah but at a later stage as the flowers are brown and falling.

Walking across the road to Kenilworth Dairy we pick up a few goodies. They make cheeses, yoghurts, and divine chocolate mousse. Yes, more food. The fridges are groaning.

After lunch, to walk off all the food sampling, we take poodle Nic down the shady lane that is Charles Street to the river. There’s a park here that trails upriver and back to the Showgrounds.

Elle, our media queen, spends her afternoon in the library using their wifi to download some TV shows in the event of being without TV reception in the coming days.

I’ve already selected a seat on the Main Street to sketch McGinn’s Cafe, so I grab my bag and wander over to the seat in the sun. Expecting a relaxing hour, instead, I find out how busy this little town is. Cars constantly park in front of the cafe and in front of me like musical chairs. Cars, they’re the bane of Urban Sketching. The sketch gets half done by the time I give up. A chap and his dog sit down on the seat and we chat. He’s homeless and currently camped in a tent in the Showgrounds. We’ve never seen so many homeless as there are at present. No doubt the result of Covid, floods, and the rental and financial crisis.