Yes! we said when asked to help at the B and S Ball on 19th May. Lend a helping hand, have some fun with fellow workmates, their spouses, and other generous helpers and support Strathearn Village’s annual contribution to the Horse Festival held in Scone. With no background briefing about the B and S Ball or Strathearn’s involvement we went with an open mind. Would I dress up? What did our ‘help’ entail?
I was advised before hand to wear something warm, so decided on the traditional waiting ‘blacks standard’ with a twist – cashmere stole secured with a festive brooch, er, not for the husband though! Yep, it sure was cold!
As we walked onto the paddock near the Racecourse I thought we had the venue wrong! Was this a paintball Skirmish? Some of the ball attendees had gone to a lot of trouble to dress up. But what were they all painted with? Of course I had to ask what the go was (hoping against hope that us olds would not be targeted) Everyone was plastered with some sort of dye, and I mean plastered – faces, clothes, hair!
‘Oh yes! That’s what we do – spray each other with food dye. It’s a tradition of the B and S. Great fun!’ The op shops must have done a roaring trade as many commented on their Op Shop outfits. I guess if their ball clobber got trashed by food dye they wouldn’t be so concerned.
So our help on the night? Approx 25 volunteers at the B and S served Roast Beef rolls (see photo above) and sausages in rolls from 6.30pm to 2am and breakfast from 6am – 8am to a bright, enthusiastic and energetic crowd, a little bleary for breakfast maybe! The numbers? 200kg beef, 600 sausages, 35kg bacon, 80 dozen eggs, 1800 bread rolls, 130 loaves bread. I assumed no-one went hungry!!! We can’t forget the cooks and washer uppers and planners working behind the scenes to make a truly great night for patrons and volunteers alike.
The cashmere number? A bit overdressed maybe…
