A training exercise to test the skills of the State Emergency Service was almost called off mid stream when a massive storm hit the area.

A stormwater drain being used for pumping and sandbagging practice, rose over a metre in less than ten minutes during the deluge. Tarping practice, which was being done on a large metal frame in the path of the storm was also suspended. The Westpac Surf Life Saving helicopter, which was helping out in the exercise, was also grounded during the storm, with the crew taking shelter in a mobile command van at Cooper Park.

The storm soon passed and the exercise resumed.

Check out the highlights below or on YouTube.

After much umming and ahhing, our property at Kanimbla is on the market. Although it is a wonderful block of land, the added burden of paying of the land whilst it is producing no income, has made us rethink our priorities. It is currently sitting on a number of “For Sale By Owner” web sites, so if you or someone you know is looking for an idyllic setting, have a look.

These are not two things that you would normally associate with each other, however they came together last weekend. As part of a Team Leader course, we had an exercise where we had to make a truck from Lego that would carry a piece of cement for 5 metres, and convince the judges to purchase our truck using a 2 minute commercial. We decide to go high tech and make a real commercial, and of course the most successful commercials are those with a song. Since it was about the SES, what better tune to use than SOS by ABBA.

The result is now on You-Tube.

If you are wondering about the start, the orange Rhino was our team mascot. His name was Neil.