Around this time three years ago

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Three years ago there was an horrific fire which wiped out the town of Yarloop in south-west Western Australia. I wrote about it at the time and if you search for Yarloop the discussions will hopefully come up. They had a very well maintained museum which show-cased the railway workshops which had been vital in years gone by in keeping the train system functional. The museum was destroyed. The intense heat leaving engines just blocks of molten metal. All the intricate wooden models of cogs and machine parts went up in smoke. Today much of the town has been rebuilt and much of the land has rejuvenated. After the fire we put in a few weekends helping dismantle and roll up burnt fencing. Dairy farmers in the area had their work cut out just keeping feed up to their stock as well as milking twice a day. So volunteers helped clear the paddocks ready for fencing contractors to move in and begin putting in new fences. The two guys with us found the need to put some extra dirt on their faces. I thought I was quite dirty enough as I was. Another thing I remember from the time was a farmer bringing us a huge watermelon. It was hot in the bare, blackened paddocks and the icy-cold watermelon went down really well.