ANZAC Day

Today is ANZAC Day in Austalia and New Zealand, the date is shared for rememberance in Italy as Liberation Day - completely unknown to me but from a very reliable Italian source.

This shot is of the man setting up the PA system before the dawn parade in Queeenstown. He is a bit of a blur, moving quickly in the rain with umbrella in hand to shield the speakers. Unsure of the time things started and having been told a ballpark figure of 6am I popped along after work to find this solitary figure working from the boot of his car. My confusion was shared by 4 Australians who had turned up in plenty of time to watch proceedings, they informed me that if you get there any later than 5.30am in their home town, you are stuck at the back and can't see anything. This was around 5.45 so perhaps they like being at the back.

The light rain turned to heavy rain as the time approached, torrents were the order of the day as the soldiers finalised their dress rehersal, rifles and all. Umbrellas began to appear by the dozen and without realising I was stuck at the back after hiding under a tree for an hour with my leaking umbrella and soaking bag. Luckily the dress rehersal had provided me with all I needed see, the order of service had been handed out to the crowd but mine was safely tucked away in the dry of my jumper.

Thunder and lightening greeted us before things got under way, a true test of peoples resolve this morning. Including my own. No wind to speak of made the whole thing very bareable and any complaint was insignificant compared to the occasion. My shorts and cotton hoody seemed more than adequate for an autumn morning, being slightly chilly is perfectly adequate in these circumstances.

After the singing and bagpipes and guns and silence and tour bus interruprting, the trudge home in wet trainers with sore feet after a busy night got the better of me. With the cold getting into my bones I decided to hitch hike the 1.5 miles home, the first car stopped! A rather generous chap named Mark took me right to my door, he was heading home from the parade too, buying that second Poppy had paid off.