Vishal and I got ready and drove to Moe - Newborough to begin the walk. The first 29 kms were part of the M1 motorway and hence inaccessible to pedestrians. The weather was fine with the day’s temperature forecast to rise to mid 20s. The walk via C103 took us towards the Yallourn power station. Just after 11:00 AM, we had to call it a day and return to Warragul to attend a function at the Victorian Railways Institute (VRI) Hall. David Mathews President VRI and Katherine Jackson General Manager VRI had organized this luncheon to support our walk and raise awareness and funds for the McGrath Foundation. We were welcomed by the Baw Baw Arts Alliance (BBAA) members who used the Hall for social activities such as arts classes, creative water colouring and shared other skills with those who were keen to learn. It was great to note that despite its age, the Hall was well maintained and put to a good use by the locals and for the benefit of the locals.
Thanks to David and Katherine advice, the organisers had catered for our special requirements for vegetarian food. After lunch, David introduced me to the audience as an old railway staff member from the Block office and now at 73, third time walker from the MCG to the SCG to raise awareness about breast cancer and support the McGrath Foundation. Instead of making a speech to share my thoughts, I opted for a question – answer session.
Before we had finished the interactive session, Michael Wang turned up with the van. We were very pleased to see our support van back with us. After Michael had quick lunch with us, he told us that the gearbox in the van had been repaired or replaced. However, he had just found out that the air conditioning had stopped working. He would have to take the van back to Melbourne and get it fixed before handing it over to us. In the meantime, Vishal and I would continue to drive the Ute.
It was great to see McGrath Breast Care Nurse Felicity Wright who had come to meet us at the function. We thanked David Mathews and Katherine Jackson from the VRI as both had travelled all the way from Melbourne to support us. We thanked Michael for coming out to deliver the van and attend the function. We expressed our gratitude to Felicity for coming to meet us. Finally, we thanked the organisers for such a generous hospitality.
While we were taking photos with the decorated van, a reporter and a photographer from the local media The Warragul and Drouin Gazette turned up and wanted to ask some questions. After the interview, we drove to a medical facility to get blisters on my toes checked out. We were told there was an hour's waiting but we were called in within minutes thanks to our friend Dr. Krunal Patel who saw my name and he knew about the MCG to SCG walk. I had no idea he was working there. The doctor fixed up my blisters and I thanked him and his assistant for their support for the walk.
Vishal and I decided to stay another night at Warragul. We booked into a different motel this time. The price was more or less the same as the previous motel, but this one had better views. I thought Sharad Patel might join us one more time and spend a few hours with us, but he didn’t come. Perhaps he was busy with other things. Vishal and I discussed the world’s political and economic problems with a special focus on India. We also came up with sophisticated and practicable solutions to those issues but before we could share them with those responsible to implement them, we fell asleep.
Коментарі