Where are the photos?

When I am at a conference I usually run around snapping photos to pop into blog posts. Today, however, I have let the side down so, dear readers, you will have to make do with a couple of snaps and a slab of text.

Trade Fair this morning

For those not in the loop I am attending  the 28th Annual Conference of the NSW & ACT Association of Family History Societies hosted by The Botany Bay Family History Society at Tradies in the southern Sydney suburb of Gymea. Today was a Genealogy Expo day with the conference proper kicking off tomorrow for two days.

First impressions stick and mine was good as the venue has a large adjacent carpark and I was able to get a convenient spot when I arrived for the day (and when I returned for the Meet and Greet this evening). A very friendly doorman greeted me as I arrived and directed me to the expo area on the lower ground floor. There was no way I could have got lost as there were volunteers from the host Society at every turn to direct visitors to the conference area.

As I was working on one of the trade stands demonstrating the Flip-Pal for Gould Genealogy I did not get a chance to wander around the area but I can report that there was a lot of shopping and socialising taking place. I enjoy showing off the Flip-Pal as it gives me a chance to sit down for most of the day and an opportunity to meet many new and interesting people that I would not otherwise meet. 

I had a break from the Flip-Pal in the middle of the day when I presented a workshop on my of my favourite topics, geneablogging. I hope that I was able to demonstrate the value of blogs for genealogy to those who came along. This old teacher loves having a chance to tread the boards; thanks to the Conference Committee for including me in your program.   Thanks also to Michelle Nichols, Jonathan Auld and my two new Twitter mates Charlotte and Kelly for tweeting about my session. 

Having spoken nonstop for over three hours I enjoyed catching up with some old mates for lunch in the Club Brasserie where I had a yummy steak sandwich and a very long drink of  mineral water. After a couple more hours of Flip-Palling I set out to find my motel. It is close to the venue, the sheets and pillows are clean but my room reeks of cigarette smoke (no wonder the windows I can't reach are wide open and letting in an Arctic breeze). Before I set out for the meet and greet I cranked up the aircon and left it running but this hasn't done a lot for the aroma in the room.

I carpooled to Tradies for the Meet and Greet with some of my motel neighbours from the ACT. The atmosphere at Tradies where we were greeted by ball and chain decorations and Botany Bay people in period dress was a great improvement on the motel room. Special mention must go the the sartorially splendid Conference Chair, Allan Murrin, in his powdered wig, white hose, gold-buckled shoes and knee length britches. As someone who loathes standup functions I appreciated having a chair to sit on during the meal and proceedings.

Congratulations to The Botany Bay Family History Society  for your friendly welcome, your superb organisation and an entertaining Meet and Greet function. I look forward to tomorrow's proceedings where I will endeavour to take a few photos.

This episodic post sounds a bit like a 6th grade essay on "My holidays" but I hope it will convey some information about the Conference to those who could not be with us today.