After a hectic week….more will be revealed about that in the coming year… I floated the idea of heading to the Goondiwindi Races, which I attended last year for the first time as ‘Fashions on the Field Presenter’ and had an absolute blast. So when the work at our ‘Farmer Dave’ headquarters in Ashmore became too much and my mate rang to say we had to head west, I had few inhibitions to turn off the computer screen.

Off we headed in my bright orange BB prize car…which was rather scary as my insurer had sent me a refund of my year’s premiums saying that ‘I had cancelled my insurance’. After me spending an hour on the phone (who would have thought it wasn’t just phone companies that do that to you?), my Fiat was roadworthy and we were ready to head off…

Only problem being… we had no idea how to get direct from the Gold Coast to Gundy. I do the 6 -7 hour trip to and from the farm every week, but that is an hour and a half north of Gundy, so we were ringing all sorts of mates to find out. An hour later we had some printouts from RACQ saying that the quickest route was actually the longest by kms, so off we headed away from the piles of paperwork and emails, with tunes from Dusty Springfield to make the white lines appear to move faster.

Brian, being a former ‘Home and Away’ character, is a pro at singing and took it upon himself to use the time to at least get me to sing one line in tune and in proper melody… Let’s just say my dancing is better then my singing, cause when we arrived at the ‘Welcome to Goondiwindi, Australia’s friendliest Town’ signpost I was no closer to singing in tune or even aware that ‘melody’ wasn’t one of Dusty’s backup singers…

Awakening with a sense of urgency, we headed to my mate Erin’s place for what seems like the done thing… to get half plastered on quality Australian Sparkling prior to making a classy entrance trackside. So a quick trip to the Bottle O was in hand, where to my surprise I met with a lady whom I had grown up next door to but had not seen for over 20 years… Incredible isn’t it, how we can be so close but not cross paths.

That meeting set the tone for the rest of the day…  meeting old friends I had not seen for years, surrounded by alcohol…

There was the agronomist who still convinces…well, sometimes… my parents to use herbicides, the dozens of blokes from Grammar and Prep, the ladies that used to look at me funny when I would start fidgeting at church, my sisters many knockabout mates who used to come around on school holidays and, best of all, Amanda who I used to stay with as the youngest kid whenever mum needed to go to the city for shopping or the extended times for cancer treatment… It was a fantastic catch up on old times, of riding motor bikes, having near death experiences, and killing roosters.. even her recollecting of playing with Barbie… I asure you I was just being nice by helping her choose outfits.

It truly was a great day and mate did I feel like I belonged! What I think I missed so much in my life is feeling part of something… Growing up I was so different…in my own head, in the Nationals, around camp gay shindigs, just in life really… but here at the Gundy Races I felt like I WAS part of the community… maybe it’s about being finally comfortable within myself and actually letting others be comfortable with that.

Just goes to show so much of us ‘not belonging’ or feeling ‘part of a community’ is actually ‘us’ not ‘them’.

So it’s Monday morning, I’m back in the ‘Farmer Dave’ headquarters ready to tackle the work I ran way from in one piece. I ate too much and drank too much, but I am the happiest person on the Gold Coast because I HAVE a community. No, it’s not defined by my race, my parents’ religion, my sexuality, or my politics… It’s where i feel I belong…even if I am not there.

I hope everyone who reads this has a place where they feel like they don’t have to watch what they say, or be careful of who they are talking to or need to be wary of… A place where it’s the people that give a sense of place and belonging, not a location on a map.