G'day Ted,

I'm rather astonished to find myself in my 28th consecutive term on the committee of the Bush Music Club, about 2000 km south of you ... and that is after a term 33 years back, before I wandered down to the Tasmanian Hydro and the Snowy Mts Schemes.

There have been good years (as well as a few jointly scripted by Nicolo dei Machiavelli and Grigori Efimovich Rasputin) but the BMC has not vanished in a democratic vortex. Of course, we know you have a slightly different approach to democracy up in the Deep North. Maybe you need some consultancy from Ron Edwards, up the hill in Kuranda, on how he runs his folklore society (unless that WAS the model).

Another local source is Bernard Bolan's hemi-demi-semi-autobiographical song "The Folk Federation" - written after his term as foundation Chairman of the New South Wales Folk Fed. I know how he feels, having spent a few decades myself as Folk Fed. NSW chairman - in 1978/80. Bernard's little ditty was on his 1970s LP "The Liveliness of the Long-distance Bernard Bolan" but I think it is on one or the other of his two new confusingly named CDs "An Eclectic Collection" (Festival Records" or "An Eccentric Collection" (Self published).

Anyway, have fun ... democracy doesn't hurt - even Queenslanders!

Regards,

Bob Bolton