We won!

The Australian saying couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery certainly applied to the World's Biggest Pub Crawl we just attended in Maryborough this weekend.

It was certainly a lot of fun and some of the costumes worn by the patrons were very clever and original but the organisation of it left one needing a drink. If you've ever been to my home town you'll know it has a pub on just about every corner. At one time there were 22 fully operational hotels. some of them have closed down and fallen into disrepair but plenty are still open for business. There were 16 pubs participating last year but due to a heavy crack down by the licensing commission the numbers had dwindled to only ten this year. It started at midday and all ten pubs had to be visted by 6PM to make your participation count. Each person bought a card for $3 and had to have that card stamped at each hotel. The card had to be handed in at the lat hotel visited. They had buses to ferry everyone to and from the pubs on the outskirts of town but all those in town were within walking distance of each other. Getting all ten in by 6PM was no small feat. There was barely enough time to order a drink and get the card stamped before moving to the next one. Some pubs had queues ten deep at the bar so getting a drink at some proved impossible. There was simply no time to get drunk or even tipsy.

A huge event attended by a lot of people, many from out of town, out of state and even from overseas. Some bars had only two staff members on duty and very few were forward thinking enough to even set up outside can bars or softdrink stands. Everyone had to simply stand in line for a long time for both the bars and the toilets.

One hotel who did not want to participate for fear of attracting a huge fine was helped out by Rotary who had applied for a special license and set up an outside bar in the carpark. That one was withough a doubt the most efficient and best run of all. They had even thought to have a few portaloos handy.

At one hotel my sister and I went to line up for the toilet only to realise the queue went out the door. We were able to walk three blocks down the road and use the public facilities and be back with time to spare before Ben had even been served at the bar.

The good news is though that I have helped my home town win back the title from London. A small town with only a population of 26000 beat London if you can believe it. And I didn't even get drunk in the process.

Everyone was on their best behaviour and not once did I see anybody so drunk or so disorderly that it made the event a sorry one. We had left by 6.30Pm though and gone home so I'm sure there was some rowdy behaviour later in the evening at the two hotels who had provided live entertainment.

My sister works for the local bus company so we were fortunate enough to even have our own private bus to ferry us back and forth meaning we didn't have to wait in the long queues for transport.


Henry and Maya both had a lovely time with their cousins and my mother while we were gone. Only problem was Henry had to be bribed into the car to come home this morning. Three acres and lots of room to run meant he was as happy as a pig in mud the entire weekend.