Convention Day 3
The last day of the convention began at King George Square again. There was a market in the square where, while waiting to meet up with the other bookcrossers, I released They’re a Weird Mob by John O’Grady and found a face-painter to give me another ballycumber on my hand (it would have been more impressive on my cheek, but I remembered from previous face-painting experiences how much I hate the feel of drying paint on my face so opted for a hand instead):
[album 128913 05brsun19.jpg thumblink]
[album 128913 05brsun20.jpg thumblink]
Once we’d all gathered, we took some group photos (I’m not even going to attempt to name everyone!), and then headed off down Albert Street, where there is a literary trail of plaques along each side of the street, each commemorating an author with a connection to Brisbane or Queensland. We followed the trail along down one side of the street and back up again, releasing books on each plaque as we went. To my disappointment, I didn’t have any books by any of the authors on the trail, but I did have a few books by other Australian authors, so I released those on some of the plaques:
| Val Vallis [album 128913 05bratvallis.JPG thumblink] Lily Makes a Living by Lolo Houbein |
Sam Watson [album 128913 05bratwatson.JPG thumblink] |
| Gwen Harwood [album 128913 05bratharwood.JPG thumblink] |
Tony Maniaty [album 128913 05bratmaniaty.JPG thumblink] |
| Thea Astley [album 128913 05bratastley.JPG thumblink] |
Ross Clark [album 128913 05bratclark.JPG thumblink] |
| Michael Noonan [album 128913 05bratnoonan.JPG thumblink] |
David Malouf [album 128913 05bratmalouf.JPG thumblink] |
| Kevin Hart [album 128913 05brathart.JPG thumblink] The Search for Harry Allway by Alex Buzo (My 1000th release!) |
Jill Shearer [album 128913 05bratshearer.JPG thumblink] |
| Venero Armanno [album 128913 05bratarmano.JPG thumblink] Parachute Silk by Gina Mercer |
Nigel Krauth [album 128913 05bratkrauth.JPG thumblink] |
| Brian Penton [album 128913 05bratpenton.JPG thumblink] |
Criena Rohan [album 128913 05bratrohan.JPG thumblink] |
| Jack Lindsay [album 128913 05bratlindsay.JPG thumblink] Playing in the Sand by Christopher Hudson |
Steven Herrick [album 128913 05bratkerrick.JPG thumblink] |
| Thomas Shapcott [album 128913 05bratshapcott.JPG thumblink] |
David Rowbotham [album 128913 05bratrowbotham.JPG thumblink] |
| Francis Adams [album 128913 05bratadams.JPG thumblink] |
Andrew McGahan [album 128913 05bratmcgahan.JPG thumblink] |
| Paul Grano [album 128913 05bratgrano.JPG thumblink] |
Janet Turner-Hospital [album 128913 05brathospital.JPG thumblink] |
| Clement Byrne Christensen [album 128913 05bratchristensen.JPG thumblink] Brown Sugar by Nancy Cato |
Gerard Lee [album 128913 05bratlee.JPG thumblink] |
| Jessica Anderson [album 128913 05bratanderson.JPG thumblink] |
Hugh Lunn [album 128913 05bratlunn.JPG thumblink] |
| Rodney Hall [album 128913 05brathall.JPG thumblink] The Keeper of the Nest by Moira Watson |
Philip Neilsen [album 128913 05bratneilsen.JPG thumblink] |
| Oodgeroo Noonuccal [album 128913 05bratnoonuccal.JPG thumblink] The Scent of Eucalyptus by Barbara Hanrahan |
Gary Crew [album 128913 05bratcrew.JPG thumblink] |
| Vance Palmer [album 128913 05bratpalmer.JPG thumblink] |
Steele Rudd [album 128913 05bratrudd.JPG thumblink] |
Once again, our books were attracting attention, and were being picked up almost as fast as we put them down.
[album 128913 05brsun21.jpg thumblink] [album 128913 05brsun22.jpg thumblink] [album 128913 05brsun23.jpg thumblink] [album 128913 05brsun24.jpg thumblink]
Just as in Sydney, there were other signs that Bookcrossers had invaded the city:
[album 128913 05brsun25.jpg thumblink] [album 128913 05brsun26.jpg thumblink]
[album 128913 05brsun27.jpg thumblink] [album 128913 05brsun28.jpg thumblink]
The convention was fast drawing to a close, and there was only one more event remaining – lunch at a yum cha restaurant, where we were plied with food, more books were exchanged, and we bid a sad farewell to most of the convention attendees. And I realised that for the first time at a Bookcrossing convention, I hadn’t had a chance to talk to every attendee – there were just too many people there. It’s amazing how fast Bookcrossing has grown in just the few years it’s been around.