Shayne Halliday

We went to the Tarnagulla Car Boot Sale to sell some of the things still lingering in our storage shed.

When you live full-time in a motorhome, you become very aware of how much space things take up. Big Bob has his limits, and apparently keeping something because “we might need it one day” doesn’t make it any smaller.

Unfortunately, the weather had other plans for the sale. It was thoroughly washed out, with only four stalls turning up—and one of those was ours.

Still, the local fire department was running a sausage sizzle, and the Tarnagulla Hall Committee had morning tea covered. We might have been short on stalls, but nobody was going to starve.

We started with a sausage sizzle for breakfast. There are worse ways to begin a wet day than having someone else cook your breakfast, particularly when your own contribution to the event involves trying to sell the contents of a storage shed.

Then came morning tea.

Now, I need to give the scones their moment. These were the most amazing homemade scones, served with jam and cream. The gentleman on the left in the photo is the person responsible, and he deserves full credit. I went there hoping to reduce our belongings and found something else I would happily have taken home.

But even those wonderful scones had competition.

There was English Breakfast tea. Made with real tea leaves. Served in proper china.

I have always maintained that tea tastes better in a proper china cup and saucer, and I’m prepared to stand by that. You can keep your enormous mugs with inspirational messages on them. For this particular occasion, my inspiration was sitting on a saucer beside a scone.

There’s something lovely about being served tea that way. Someone has made the tea, brought out the cups, and given you a reason to sit down and enjoy it. Add homemade scones and friendly people, and suddenly the weather seems considerably less important.

The three lovely people in the photo are from the Tarnagulla Hall Committee. Between their morning tea, the fire department’s sausage sizzle, and the people we met, what could have been a disappointing outing turned into a fantastic day.

Of course, it would have been lovely to see more stalls and better weather. So much effort goes into these local events, and it’s a shame when the rain keeps people away.

But I’m very glad we went. We enjoyed breakfast, met some lovely people, and had a morning tea worth writing about. Literally, as it turns out.

A big thank-you to the Tarnagulla Hall Committee and the local fire department for making a wet day such an enjoyable one.

And to the scone maker: those were outstanding.

Are you a cup-and-saucer person too, or will any mug do? I promise to respect your answer, although I may quietly put the kettle on and try to change your mind.