A DIFFERENT CONNECTION

OLD politicians don’t retire, they just go to bush race meetings.

One time Member for Burdekin Mark Stoneman was at the recent 100th anniversary of the 1917 formation of the Koorooinya Races.

A president of the club in 1978, he reports that this year’s bash was the best social event he has ever attended.

This is a big call and means that it outclasses even the hallowed Giru Show.

Surely not, but let’s not get bogged down in argument.

Mr Stoneman now lives near Giru so I will leave it to him to have it out with Mick Parison and Co next time he sets foot in the Giru Store.

Anyway, I’ve wandered off the reservation a bit.

The reason Mr Stoneman thought Koorooinya was such a blast was because it is out in the bush about 60km south of Prairie and there is no phone connection.

If you want to get a message out here you wrote it out in big letters with a stick in the sand and hope a pilot flies over and spots it.

“There were no phones and everyone was talking to each other.

“The kids were talking to the adults. It was a great time.

“No one was walking around texting or with a phone glued to their ear.

“Even the little kids were playing games instead of sitting down playing on iPads,” he said.

But, there was one occasion when the phones were brought into play.

It was at night and the generator ran out of fuel ( alcohol no doubt played a part in that little hiccup).

“All of sudden everyone had their phones out and had switched on the torch app.

“That was the only time you saw a phone,” he said.