So, this is your chance to have your name added to our list of visitors.

 

Name	Visit	Stay
Pat & Mark Fennell Ray Herrmann Melissa Pollard Kim & Gus McKelvie Mike Fennell & Lauren Dickinson Stephen & Stephanie Quinton Kevin Brett Zach, Kelly & Tim		Sandy Bay, Murrells Road & Lloyds Road Huonville Huonville & Murrells Road Murrells Road Murrells Road Murrells Road Murrells Road Huonville & Lloyds Road

 

Thoughts from friends:

 

Getting a grip on matters arising from the Eurovision Song Contest.

 

From:   Kevin, ex Queensland, now Canberra

 

Europe and Tasmania have figured large in my imagination this past week, through a series of unlikely relationships that, being located in my mind, may be less readily apparent to others. Let me explain, and as you do, reflect on the relevance of a constructivist position in social psychology.

 

We began with your intriguing story of the Northern European lass offering succour on behalf of the Greens in the Lower Huon, an idea that certainly kept me thoughtfully active at night. What about an Ecolodge Retreat for young backpackers seeking solace in the wilds of Tasmania?

 

Then, of course, along comes Eurovision: The song contest for the culturally astute and newly geographically aware. The Norwegian blonde presenter who just couldn't wait to get into the spangly shorts of one boy's band, or wear the butterfly wings of a girl performer, well he was a personal favourite. And of course one discovers lands of mystery lost in the memories of an ancient time. One needs a very contemporary atlas to discover where the likes of Azerbaijan, Aspergerhstan (a place of limited social interaction and particularly long and boring speeches by just about everyone - See Canberra), Uzbekistan and other satellites of the former glorious USSR, lie on the map. And that's the thing; Eurovision takes one on a spectacular armchair tour of European physical geography, where choices between the topography of, for example, Romania, Croatia or Armenia leave one wrestling, torn with indecision, late into the night. In the end I let my social conscience and interest in minority groups influence my decision. I had to vote for Armenia, and confess to a profound new interest in the properties of apricots.

 

This leads me back to Tasmania, a special kind of New Europe, and in case you think I lost the thread, if not the plot, a land of peaks and valleys, shrouded in mists and mystery. 

 

I had been thinking since my last visit of a name for your property: picture the cow churn letterbox and the broken wooden sign by the end of your driveway; the shot gun dents in the "Wombats next 5 km" sign opposite; the broken glass and empty rum bottle at the turn- in. Not for you the trendy "Mountaintop's B & B" but something more poetic is called for.  "Hermannsburg", with its connotations of isolation, exploitation, coupled with good Christian living and indigenous art comes to mind, but sadly the name is spoken for; and might attract the wrong Jetstar ticketed crowd entirely. I thought of something more exotic, e.g. "Madrasah Al Kyrrandra" but that might attract unwanted attention from the authorities.

 

 My practical suggestion is that you hold a competition among friends, who are invited to contribute, say $100 into the Lower Huon Green with Envy Fund, paying to a BSB nominated by your good selves. This entitles entry to the competition and funds are to be used for the enhancement of your facilities: the specialist B&B catering for European backpackers looking for a tree hugging experience with creature comforts. The LHGE Fund is primarily intended for the spa and sauna facilities to be incorporated into the design of your ecotour retreat, and of course the associated security and surveillance infrastructure, so that one might keep an eye on things.

 

That compelling thought aside, after contributing, folks get to suggest a name for your property. The important thing is that the winner, and indeed runners up, if not all competitors of this competition get to spend, say, a week in the precinct of your ecocottage, working in the garden on pre-assigned tasks and under direct supervision, along the lines developed in Tasmania in the nineteenth century. Their unique historical experience is complete as they sleep under the stars and cook their own tea and damper and such. Think what that might do for your garden; and no muddy boots in the house.

 

Given my innovative role in this dream, I absolve myself from the donation and it would not be fair to offer my services in the garden, conflict of interest and all that. However, you will be delighted to hear that I have conceived a most appropriate name for your property:

 

Alzheimer'sztan

The land where time's forgot.

I respectfully commend this to you for a consideration.

 

Trust this is helpful. For now, I'm off to explore project opportunities in central and southern Europe; as Armenia, among other places, offers amenities one might otherwise only dream of.

 

 

Notes:

For additional context I recommend www.sbs.com.au/eurovision.