Visitors from Gloucester, NSW

This morning I was having my regular Coffee, at Cafe Pirouette, and reading the paper, (in the sunshine outside the building) when a gentleman poked his head out and asked: "Is Denis Wilson here?".

He introduced himself as Rod Besier. I knew straight away who he was, so I responded to his wife by saying "so you must be Robin Besier". We shook hands, laughed a bit and got straight into swapping notes about the campaign against coal, coal seam gas, and in favour of protecting rivers. What a pleasant way to start a conversation.

Rod and Robin Besier
outside Cafe Pirouette in Robertson

Me with Rod and Robin Besier
Photo courtesy of Monica.

Under the name of "Save Gloucester", Rod and Robin Besier have become self-appointed media monitors for the Gloucester Region, including the Barrington Tops area, and the Manning River catchment. They circulate their postings and other intelligence, via the "Coal Communities" chat list, and I get regular updates from them, which I then sort through and circulate the most relevant "water" issues to the Australian Water Campaigners group, and other selected contacts. This system has worked extremely well, for more than a year. So, we were off to a good start.

I ducked home to get my camera, for some "happy snaps", and then proposed we go for a quick drive around the village.

"The Rocky Hill Horror Show"
"Not another BLOODY mine in Gloucester"

I suggested that I take them for a short drive to show them the best view in the district - overlooking the Macquarie Pass, and Lake Illawarra and Port Kembla. We stopped outside Woody and Kirsten's farm, appropriately adorned with a Shoo Cockatoo sign already. Rod added one of his Bumper Stickers to the fence.

The Rocky Hill sign from Gloucester
with the local "No Coal or Coal Seam Gas" sign
on the farm fence above Macquarie Pass,
courtesy of "Shoo Cockatoo"

A "before and after" image
opposing the Rocky Hill mine in Gloucester.
Lake Illawarra and the Tasman Sea are visible beyond
the Macquarie Pass escarpment (just below us).

Rod and Robin have spread their media monitoring net much wider in recent times, and monitor just about everything that Alan Jones says about water, coal and coals seam gas, (plus his favourite hobby-horse of Political Staffers who have switched over to advising the Mining Industry). In this issue Alan Jones skirts the word corruption, but only just. I follow his lead on that.

We swapped a few more stories, then Rod and Robin set off for Bowral, Sydney and the M7 which I am reliably informed leads to places the other side of Gotham City. As far as I am concerned, all maps of points beyond that ought be marked "Thar be Dragons".