The Red Cross Family Dance at Golspie was on a Friday night in July. The weather was bitter, though nothing unusual for the Southern Tablelands at that time of year. The crowd was not as large as expected — about sixty people in a hall that holds over three hundred. We bought tickets from the Red Cross ladies at the door, and a few more for the raffle. The prize (a bottle of whisky) would have kept the cold at bay, but the raffle was not drawn until after midnight. The drinks stall, set up by the Taralga Lions Club, stood in an alcove near the door. There was no-one on the dance floor when we arrived, as the band was late setting up. It was a country-style rock band — two-piece plus rhythm box — from Goulburn, an hour’s drive away.

The air was pungent with smoke from the Lions Club barbecue in the supper room. Beyond it was the kitchen with its big stone fireplace. As the evening drew on, the older people gravitated towards the fire, pulling up benches to its warmth. Local farmers and their wives sat watching the flames or stood in small groups chatting while the Red Cross ladies busied themselves with the supper.