Laggan Pub Lunch

On the road to Laggan
Say cheese! Among the turbines Outside the Laggan Pub Laggan Pub Dwarfed Grey skies

12 February 2020 / Words by Ron Tollenaar. Photos by Ron Tollenaar, Rob Wilko and Rod Nicholas

07 February 2020

In another life and a previous social setting my nickname was Rainman, so it was not without a little trepidation that I peeked out of the curtains on the morning of my first organised run with the Canberra Chapter and scanned the sky for any tell-tale signs. A few clouds about but nothing threatening so we’re off to a good start.

A quick run to the rendezvous point at Queanbeyan and the “early birds” are already gathered. Over the course of the next twenty minutes the rest of the group arrived, and 13 assembled cars set off at 9.20 headed for Bungendore and on to Tarago where indeed the rain started to fall. Ah well, we really couldn’t complain too loudly as we haven’t had decent rains in Canberra for well over two months and with fires still burning it was not going to ruin our day.

On to Goulburn and the iconic Paragon Cafe where we joined by another four members, two of whom, looking at you Rob and Tony, had come from Sydney to join us. The cafe staff and service at the Paragon cannot be recommended highly enough, getting out coffee, scones, cakes and other yummy things for 25 people in record time. The word was soon passed around the group that Dimmey’s department store next door, which has been around almost as long as Goulburn itself, was closing its doors for the last time and many of our members were tempted inside to snap up a bargain or three.

So, we regathered in the central square and threaded our way slowly through the Goulburn traffic and onto the bustling town of Crookwell. Along the route we took in the amazing views of the wind turbines placed on either side of the road, some only fifty metres away, what an impressive sight they were too.

Passing through Crookwell it was only a short sprint to our final destination, the historic Laggan pub, where we enjoyed a hearty country meal, some refreshments and the telling of the usual tall stories.

Much fun was had by all and by about 2.30 we were ready to return to Canberra by various routes and the roofs were down again - no more rain for the run home.

A big thank you to everyone who turned out for my first run in challenging weather conditions, and remember to pack an umbrella next time I’m leading the run. 😊

More photos:

  • Rod Nicholas’s photos can be found here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Zv92mvBM9jKCzszu9 

  • Rob Wilko’s photos can be found on our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/mx5canberra/ 

  • Ron Tollenaar’s photos can also be found on our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/mx5canberra/