After the event, the implement in question was being fondled as the incident was recalled, leaving me with one image that it will take some time to forget. Have you ever seen a pen being sniffed in the same manner that a connoisseur might savour the aroma of a high-quality hand rolled Cuban cigar?
Once Hugh had departed, we were able to benefit from a brief course in Celebrity spotting for beginners - not that the instructions were too difficult to predict....
First, You’ve got to be out and about. It’s no good sitting around at home complaining that you haven’t seen anyone famous, you’ve got be out there, actively looking.......
Second, remember to have the camera, pen and autograph book on hand, just in case. I gather someone doesn’t leave home without them.
Third, keep your eyes peeled and make sure that you can recognise faces, which pretty much takes me out of the picture unless I start reading the sort of magazines that feature wall-to-wall paparazzi sourced photo spreads....
Last, but not least, make sure you’ve got plenty of time.
That last point was reinforced on Friday afternoon.
Once the cattle sequences had been finished and the herd was out of the picture, the crew started converting the set from the 1938 version of Darwin to the militarised 1940 version.
Arriving for my Volunteer stint on Friday morning, I was told substantial numbers of Year Twelve students from Bowen High had been recruited to swell the ranks of the 19th Infantry Battalion, and had been practising their parade drills on the hard stand outside the Sailing Club.
Since there was some chance that the group would be marched around the set under the watchful eyes of their sergeant-major, the prospect of an opportunity to indulge in a little badinage from the Grand View footpath while members of Hughesy’s Year Four class of 1999 marched past was something I looked forward to with gleeful anticipation. You can imagine the sort of thing, Get in step Jones (or whoever) you look like a swagman....