Agnes and Ecstasy – vol II        OCTOBER 2005                             

Altogether too much excitement this week.  The Good Titan was working overtime. For those of short memory or who skipped vol I – the Titan is a benign magnetic force beneath Agnes which attracts and then keeps people here. He has great plans for Agnes. First, there seems to be a ground swell to ‘Get Agnes a Water View’ (aside from the one at the top of the hill as you drive into town or from the Town of 1770 six kilometers up the road – keep up!).   A steering committee of twelve Locals has been formed and I understand they plan to get quotes and then building approval from Miriam Vale Shire Council (hushed tones as one reads the name of that august body) to build a 128 meter long (height not yet determined but engineer's mock-up to the left) angled mirror and position it on the southern bank of Round Hill Road such that motorists can at least see a reflected view of the beautiful beach. 

Cleaning contract for the mirror has already been let to one of the steering committee.

As for my own building works, we are now the proud owners of a written contract for 30,000 gallon zinc with attractive classic cream trim (I could have any colour I wanted as long as it was classic cream) water tank atop our little hill.  To the casual eye it will look like a flying saucer.  So I plan to make up a couple of luminous green skintight outfits for my husband and myself to don and prance about on the tank at night to frighten the shed-dwellers driving by.

We had the most incredibly frustrating, infuriating, anguish making, snapping-off- ferret-head type introduction to doing any business in Agnes when we came up initially to buy land.  A simple exercise you may think?  Almost everything here was, at the time (May 2005), for sale. Much still is. Prices were marked and advertised. Sale signs were up.  Does that mean the owners wish to sell, does it mean that the owners will part with their land for even the advertised price?  NO.  In fact NO three times. We held each other close to draw strength then girded our loins before making one last try to buy the land we wanted no  matter what the real estate agent endeavoured to tell us. 

So, outside the last real estate office there perched a snappily dressed lady with frightened hair and a coffee cup, death stick in hand and welcoming smile.  We told her our plight.  She took it on board.  No nonsense, just action.  We returned to Sydney and four weeks later we were the proud owners of our preferred block of land and at just a tad under the advertised price.  Oh joy Oh bliss to find a real estate person who knew their job and didn't take 'No' as the first or final answer.