WHEN was the last time you took a stroll along Lithgow's Main Street shopping strip - or in Wang or Portland?
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You might be pleasantly surprised at what you can discover these days. Even if you're not on a specific shopping mission just your presence window shopping or socialising is a morale booster for those shopkeepers keeping our city alive.
The coffee's good too. Day trippers have discovered our CBD; time the rest of us did too.
One women's wear provider lamented to the column at the weekend that 80 per cent of her business - and browsers - came from out of town visitors these days.
"Locals still like to go to Bathurst to buy what they could get here," she said.
RAAF's noisy tribute
ANZAC Day in Lithgow sadly lacked the traditions associated with the solemn remembrance for the second year a victim of a more recent but persistent enemy, COVID.
But there was what has become a more recent addition to that tradition - the spine tingling low level flyover by a RAAF Caribou, storming down the valley across the war memorial right on schedule at 10.50 am then banking away to the north across the city.
This year the flyover had special significance with the centenary of the RAAF being celebrated. Seemed to be just above the tree tops, enough to scatter the cockatoos from the QE Park perches.
There was another rather delightful touch honouring the occasion when two pipers from the Lithgow Highland Band climbed to a vantage point on Scotsmans Hill to do their thing as only highland pipers can do.
Odd contradictions
STILL with April 25 and we can't help wondering how they can have wall to wall people with little evident social distancing cramming into footy stadiums but imposing tight restrictions on open air Anzac Day observances. Strange things happen in a pandemic.
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Unfortunate comparisons
SOMEONE popped a cute Autumn streetscape photo of Orange on local social media a couple of nights back unfairly, we thought, comparing the pleasant scene with Lithgow's claimed lack of contribution to Autumnal hues.
Obviously they're not familiar with the highway section from Donnybrook into town, a glorious avenue of colour at this time of year.
In fact it's a far more pleasant experience entering Lithgow from east of west than it is approaching either Bathurst or Orange at any time of year. So there!
The need is urgent
HOPEFULLY Council will act with a degree of speed in removing what has been deemed a dangerous (and very large) tree at the Main Street frontage of QE Park.
It's a risky obstacle course to negotiate there at present and the park toilet restrictions will create problems for many. Detour traffic for a day and let our talented tree loppers do their thing.
Chill came early
AN interesting statistic popped up in the weather reports late last week; the coldest April night in parts of eastern NSW - including Sydney - in 38 years.
Our days have been pleasant, though, so it's win some, lose some.