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We’re well aware that our trip is slipping further and further into the past, meaning our relevance is also on the decline. But here’s our quarterly wrap, for anyone still interested in what’s been keeping us occupied in the past three months.
In an immediate juxtaposition to the first paragraph, the airing of our ABC Backroads episode temporarily thrust us back into the spotlight in late August. The crew did an outstanding job and it will always remain a wonderful memento of our bootscooting travels. Thanks to the strangers who messaged telling us about their own line dance stories, thanks to our friends and family who sent us running commentaries through the episode, and thanks to the friend who emphatically apologised for not being able to watch real-time because she had badminton practice that night (you know who you are, and really, it’s okay).
The pair of us met up in Brisbane late in August for SomethingQ, held at the Fortitude Music Hall. Thanks to Byron, Claudia, Julia, Bec and the rest of the team for all your work making the event happen.
What the audience did see: us speaking and dancing on stage and forgetting our own fun facts about the trip.
What the audience didn’t see: the pair of us walking laps of Fortitude Valley practising our speech, and inventing our own ‘green room’ for our belongings ie shoving them in a dark corner… to later find out there was an actual green room.
Looking ahead, and Kate’s time in Queensland is about to come to a halt (for now). Chasing her passion to inspire kids about agriculture, she has taken a position through the Leadership Development Program of Teach for Australia at Cunderdin Ag College for 2024. Any WA wheatbelt friends – Kate’s hair is now red but apart from that, it’s still the same High-School-Musical-loving, spag-bol-making, spreadsheet enthusiast who’ll be joining you in the west. Naturally, the move west has Claire hoping Kate might become an Eagles fan…
Claire’s enjoying Adelaide life, helping out a number of outstanding rural women with their businesses and also working as a freelance ag journo. Claire’s love of roadtrips is clearly genetic – Claire’s dad Rick has recently ridden 8000ks in three weeks with motorbike friends he’s collected over the years. Suddenly, our 46,000ks in nine months last year doesn’t sound nearly as impressive…
As we keep telling anyone willing to listen, we are delighted that our trip has had long-lasting effects in a number of ways. Across the past few months, we have connected keen bootscooters with local groups, we have heard about two ladies who struck up a conversation in Kmart having recognised each other from one of our events last year, and we have had a lady reach out from the UK asking us some dances she can teach at school. May the power of line dancing live on forever and ever (amen).
Yours in bootscootin,
Kate and Claire.