Camping Out (Lismore Part Two)

Some Fruity Highlights and Lowlights:
* Daytrip out to Protester Falls (left), The Channon and Nimbin with LisIsMore (LIM), CharleyHorse and the BrisVegas Girls. Walked through the bush and oohed and aahed at the waterfall. Unfortunately there was no swimming allowed due the prescence of some endangered froggies, but was still a beautiful walk. The Channon provided icecream and lollies, and Nimbin the usual cookies. And the scenery everywhere is just... ahhh... why do I live in the city again?
* Had a moment while drinking beer at the hotel of Ms Succulent, A Certain Boy and SlamminSam and decided that I needed to clipper the sides of my hair. But with the assistance and inspiration of the Unwanted Faerie it turned out to be a little more than a trim (see above). I think it is rather fetchingly fraggle-ish, and most folk seem to agree. Nothing like a ridiculous haircut to snap me into a silly holiday mood. Just need to remember that when hair be that short, sunscreen is a good option when heading out in summer. Very red burnt head the first day!
* For a town full of hippies its not that easy to get vego food. 'You'd be in the minority' the milk-barmaid informed me when I asked if I could get the combination omelette sans ham, bacon and chicken, before telling me I couldn't have it without meat because 'they come pre-made'. Grr. Mostly the vego option seemed to consist of ordering your meal and requesting no bacon, like nobody would actually construct a meal without meat. Weird. Mighty fine sweet potato and coconut hotcakes at Dragonfly though, and pretty good coffee too, so not all lost on the culinary front.
* Setting up the party. Reckon I've earned more than a couple of Butch Brownie Points for all the lugging I did. Turned up at 8:30 on the first morning, still in glitter eyeliner and a frock from the night before, and immediately starting loading up the truck at the Trop Fruits clubhouse. Couches, chairs, tables, first aid kits, fabric, bamboo, poles, you name it, we packed it into the back of the truck and then unloaded it at the showground. Next day was more of the same, including a whole house worth of furniture. Then I helped a lovely hippy boy, who apparently was on one of the first men's communes years ago, up to the party hire place to collect a couple of fridges and a pie warmer. He had a fabulous ancient Kombi ute, with the same brown vinyl seats I remember from the van my family had when I was young, and told great stories, and the hire place had a pet flying fox (and an old woman running it who thought the party was called Topical Fruits). The workcrew are just fantastic, and as we did our shifts so early we mostly worked with the locals. They are all mad as cut snakes, superfriendly, scarily strong and multitasking geniuses, lifting large pieces of furniture with one hand while taking a mobile phonecall and puffing on a ciggie and screeching instructions to the volunteers.
* Camping under the cattle sheds. We set up in the 'debauched dyke' corner, which ended up including a motley assortment of freaks of all proclivities and persuasions. Decorated a little: strung up fabric and hung feathers and silver bows from it, and of course some of the gayboys had fairy lights. As much as I missed having a cuddlebunny, it was rather nice to have my own tent to retreat to, just flop about on he blow-up bed reading and writing and dreaming. On recovery day there was a storm and lying alone listening to the rain on the tin roof of the shed and feeling the cool breeze blowing through the flyscreen was bliss.
* Ministry of Sound. Found out there was a MoS show on at a pub in Lismore, and tried to drag the other trashpuppies I was camping with to come along. Eventually one decided to join me, and we grabbed a lift in with another friend who was meeting people there. Got there after midnight and it was sold out. Friend of a friend was a VIP, so after maybe an hour of fluffing about we squeezed our way in, just in time to hear about the last half hour's worth. Was worth the trouble just to see that many barely-legal girlies in white hotpants and silver high heels, being courted by the usual poxy teenage boys, all with pupils like dinner plates. Surreal. MoS was basically like listening to a CD, but the local DJ who came on after was darker and dirtier and so I danced my little boots off. Strange night, but fun somehow.
* Wild things. The showground was full of fun fauna: for the first couple of days a frog lived in one of the boy's toilets, we saw a few rabbits, were woken every morning to kookaburras and baby magpies schreeching, could hear possums scratching across the tin roof of the cattle shed at night, and there were lots of bats at twilight.
* Didn't get up to any ouchy-fun, although I did pierce one nipple (see above). Think some of the more vanilla lesbians at our end of the shed were a least confused by me. And safe sex. Early on one of the ACON fairies had come and deposited a whole box of gloves, a whole box of condoms and some dams. For a few days they lay in the communal area, then when I came home one night they were all assembled neatly inside the vestibule of my tent. Hint? Or gift?
* Drinking cheap champagne and red bull at the campsite. Some things only work in certain contexts, and I think this mix is one of them. As be dinner of pizza-flavoured biscuits and two minute noodles, followed by coco pops for dessert. Actually, that's a three course meal.

Tell you about the actual parties soon :)