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Leo, Roving Reporter Report from: wellington Story filed: Fong Lees lane Good day dear reader. In this particular article I would like to tell you about my recent trip out to Wellington. I travelled west for the annual festival called Fong Lees Lane as my taiko group, Kumi Taiko were performing. The festival takes place in and around the narrow Fong Lees Lane in the centre of town which used to be the old chinatown of Wellington in the early days. The Wellington Arts run the event to celebrate the Chinese heritage and culture that helped shape Wellington into what it is today. We performed in an old shed that used to be Fong Lee's grocery and dry goods store. The building has a big sliding goods entry door that opens up to the lane and we played there so that passers by could see us. We played throughout the night, attracting a big audience each time. We had some breaks in between and thankfully we did - if we didn't our hands would have soon been covered with blisters from beating the drums constantly with our bachi sticks. There were a lot of food stalls in the lane and at times you would be overwhelmed with the different smells of food. There was this stall next to the shed run by a bunch of women selling some really nice Vietnamese food and they liked our playing so they gave us all home made spring rolls and yes, they sure were some good spring rolls. It seemed like the whole of Wellington had shown up, and some people from Dubbo too. At the end of the night during our last performance there was a parade with lanterns and a traditional Chinese dragon that paraded through the lane. Overall it was a really nice experience and totally worth the two hour drive there and back. Leo Roving Reporter

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Leo, Roving Reporter Report from: The Joan Story filed: NSW State Band championships Hi folks. I recently went down to Sydney with my school's symphonic winds ensemble to take part in the 2023 NSW State Band Championships. We performed three pieces and we ended up coming second which was very exciting. However, what was not exciting was getting up at 5:20am to get to school for 6am to catch the coach. We had to get an early start so we weren't late. I'm sure many of you are aware that it takes a little while to get from Bathurst to Sydney. The trip there was quite long and boring but it was pretty nice that I had brought my headphones with me so I could listen to music so it wasn't a complete bore. We arrived at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith and immediately unloaded our gear and moved out. I play trombone 2 in the symphonic winds and while I was at the venue I looked at some very shiny and pretty trombones at the instrument shop that was set in the hall's foyer. We played second in the competition and we got to watch at least one other school perform before us and they were quite good. I think we did very well, we played our best and it paid off. After every contestant had performed and we had received the results, we had lunch. There was a food court in the same complex as we were, and I purchased some very delicious chinese, it was incredibly good. After lunch we hopped back on the bus and headed home. I ended up talking with one of my friends for at least half the trip back about different types of guitars and what one we would like to have and so on. I caught up on some sleep on the way back too and before I knew it we were back home. It was a very exciting experience and I can't wait to return for the Nationals in 2025. Leo Roving Reporter