Free hour long sessions were held in two large marquees with some fantastic speakers. Steve Bisley, Wendy Harmer, Rachael Treasure, Sally Dingo, Fiona O'Laughlin just to name a few. We were so lucky to have such a wonderful event so close to home.
The first session we attended was featuring Richard Fidler, Philip Nitschke and Tristan Bancks.
This was a thrill for me as I'm a huge Richard Fidler fan. He is a great interviewer.
The topic they were being asked about was "The Book That Changed My Life". They each spoke on their chosen book and why it affected them the way it did.
The audience was then asked to raise their hand if they were able to identify their own Book That Changed My Life. Probably only about 20% of hands went up.
We decided to raise this question at our Book Club and to take turns to bring our book and discuss it.
Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.
That's been one so far. One member shared that this was the first book that utterly engaged her and transported her to another world so completely. It was read to her in early primary school by her favourite beloved teacher.
Even now when walking through the bush she sees a banksia flower and imagines a Banksia Man.
I did have the same experience with this book. It was read to a enraptured class sitting on a mat by an early childhood teacher. I don't recall anybody fidgeting or being disruptive, we were all just enchanted.
Now everyday I walk my dog through bushland. I often stop and run my fingers over a banksia and think of the evil characters when I see the old ones with their "mouths" and "eyes".
Pretty scary character really.
I guess among all the British stories we had, this was one we could identify with in our own surroundings. We could actually almost see these little fairies as we walked through our local bushland as children.
Whenever I see the little flower 'caps' from a gum flower, I still know a gumnut baby has lost her hat.
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