Column 299

Leo, Roving Reporter
Report from: An old playing card table
Story filed: new beginning

Hi people, Leo here. I hope you're enjoying your Christmas holiday. I know I am. I'm sure everyone is excited with Christmas just around the corner and the new year approaching. For me, all I want is to start fresh, put everything from 2021 behind me and start 2022 with a clean slate. I'm moving up in school to Year 8 and also moving to a new school campus. I'm going to start the new year like I'm starting over again. I want to learn, I want to pay attention to what's happening around me and I want to have fun while doing the best I can. My message to everyone is to try and do the best you can in everything you do, have fun in what you're doing and have a good time with the people around you. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful new year. Thank you for reading my column.

I'll see you on the other side.

Until next time 

Leo Roving Reporter

Column 298

Leo, Roving Reporter
Report from: My stomach
Story filed: Food and Words 2021

Hi people, Leo here. On the 20 of November my mum and I embarked on a trip from Bathurst to Martin Boetz's Cooks Shed, right on the Hawkesbury River at Sackville for an amazing event called Food and Words. Food and Words is a Writers' Festival that my aunt Barbara runs and organises every year. My aunty is actually the person who started the festival. At different times, my mum and all her sisters have been helping out at each festival over the years. A few of my cousins have helped my aunty with the festival too and now that I'm old enough it's my turn to help out. My mum and I started the day set up in front of the shearing shed that was the festival venue (it is also a restaurant), greeting the guests as they arrived and signing them in with the QR code and getting their proof of vaccinations. Then we signed them in on the computer as well. When there were no more guests to check in, the festival started. I then  mucked around on the ipad when there was talking from the guest speakers and when they had a break I would come down from the rock I was sitting on under the big tree on the hill and have something to eat. I do regret not listening to some of the talks, but my mum listened to most of them and some sounded interesting. Like the scientist who studied the nutritional eating habits of locusts and how that can help us understand humans! The food was amazing and I had a great time but the best bit was at morning tea where we ate delicious homemade sausage rolls and onion tarts. The food was top notch all day, Sadly my mum and I could not stay for dinner which was a shame, as later on I spoke to my aunty on the phone and she told me what was for dinner and it sounded so amazing. I will definitely be at the next Food and Words.

Until next time 

Leo Roving Reporter

Column 297

Leo, Roving Reporter
Report from: My desk
Story filed: HMS Belfast

Hi people, Leo here, How are things? I hope everyone is going ok. My family and I are all ok apart from my mum and I recovering from a  sneezy cold I caught (and then two or three days later gave to my mum ). Other than that, we're traveling well. Now that we've gone back to school and work, I've set up my modeling bench so whenever I have a little bit of time to spare I can sit down and work on my model's. Right now I'm working on my model of the HMS Belfast, a British light cruiser. The model is based on the ship The Belfast from the battle of the North Cape, December 1943. The Belfast is now moored as a museum ship on the River Thames near Tower Bridge in London, England and is operated by the Imperial War Museum. When it's safer to travel, The Belfast is definitely on my must-see list. The model is going well, I made it a long time ago and that was when I was just starting out making models, now that I sort of know what I'm doing with models I've taken it apart and am now redoing it. At this point, I'm up to painting on it's camouflage. The model was originally given to me by my godmother. She specifically gave me The Belfast because her uncle had a wooden model of The Belfast when he was a kid, and it was as big as his body. When I've finished the model I'm going to make a sea diorama for The Belfast, with explosions around the ship and smoke coming out of smoke stacks. Until then, I'm really enjoying the process of making it and I'm only up to the painting. Once I've done that, it's gluing it back together then adding the details like the radio wires.

Until next time 

Leo Roving Reporter

Column 296

Leo, Roving Reporter
Report from: My desk
Story filed: Dreaming of the future

Hi people, Leo here. Now that restrictions are easing and we're allowed to go out and go back to school and work, I hope everyone is doing ok and that you've gotten to see other people. Monday was the first day back at school and oh boy was it good to see my friends again and people in general. Really, what I'm looking forward to is traveling again. I've had enough of looking at the same streets, walls, roads and buildings. What I need is to go somewhere else for a bit. Soon my family will be going on a holiday, probably in the school holidays so we have a while to go but I just hope nothing stops that holiday. As usual we will go down to Bermagui. I sure can't wait to be at the beach! We've then arranged to go and visit my Aunties, hopefully it's smooth sailing from here on in. So folks don't forget to go out, see some friends, and go to a park after being cooped up for all this time during lockdown. I'm sure we will all enjoy it.

Until next time 
Leo Roving Reporter