Forbes Eisteddfod Fun: More than 2 000 children and adults graced the stage for the five days of the Eisteddfod. Every session had a packed Town Hall to capacity with about 200 parents in attendance. Participants not only came from Forbes but from all over the Central West and even further afield, including Grenfell, Parkes, Bathurst, Griffith and Leeton. The individual categories were open to participants of all ages. The competition started on Saturday with piano, and vocal on Sunday. On Monday the first school groups on stage in the instrumental category, while the speech and drama section was on Tuesday. The most popular category this year, school dance groups, had its turn on Wednesday. Many schools entered for this competition. Other categories for groups were for bands and school choirs. The idea for an Eisteddfod dates back to the 12th century in Wales when it was a Welsh festival of literature, music and performance. The current format comes from an 18th century revival of the Eisteddfod.
Nice Weather for Ducks: The rain has shown no sign of relenting over the past few weeks and now the ground is showing the strain, with rivers and roads flooding throughout the area. The Lachlan and Belubula rivers along with the Mandagery creek have all experienced a significant rise in levels over the week. However, at this stage both Nanami and Forbes are expected to remain below the minor flood levels. The SES would like to remind locals never to drive, ride or walk through floodwater and to keep an eye on the updates. For emergency help in floods and storms, call the NSW SES on 132 500.