Cranky people in Clermont

Clermont (pron. Claremont- named after a French guy who settled here in the 1860s) is a town of 3,000 odd people- well, maybe they're not all odd but they sure do have some bad tempered people here, in the shops at least.  When we were at Theresa Creek Dam a woman told us about a really cranky shop assistant here, and we've encountered them in the bakery, one of the two supermarkets and the sewing shop.  Really abrupt and terse, not a chance of a smile or a joke, what's wrong with them?  It was a pleasure this morning to go to the other supermarket, the smaller IGA rather than the Super IGA, to be served by a pleasant young lady who smiled and said good morning.  I commented how nice it was to see a smiling face, and both young assistants laughed, said they'd heard that about some of the other shop assistants.

I visited the shoe shop, which is in the process of closing down, with all stock drastically reduced.  Marg and John bought two pairs of shoes yesterday and were very pleased with their purchases.  With my terribly broad feet I can never find shoe bargains and thought there was little chance of finding "C" fittings, but yes!  so I'm now the possessor of a new pair of shoes, $50 off the original price.  Yes!  And there were C fittings wherever I looked, and some very nice styles too.  Shame they have to close down.

The bakery's quite good, but only opens on Tuesday and Friday for some reason (and don't expect smiling or even courteous service).  They were being besieged, no wonder as it's the only chance to buy fresh bread.  Luckily we'd been warned so arrived there about 11 am yesterday and were able to buy what we needed but there was little stock left.

There are several clothing shops, a newsagent, sewing supplies (good for me because I have a hem down and neglected to bring my emergency repair kit).  Post Office, ANZ bank, etc.  Mitre 10 some distance from the rest of the shops.  Several service stations.

At the top of the main street are 4 old train wagons which have murals (wagonals?) painted on the sides- they depict the different industries such as cattle, agriculture, mining and sheep, although the town owes its existence to gold originally and later copper mining.  They say one can still find gold in the area, but it's not a cheap hobby- we already have the prospecting licence but you also need to buy a prospector's kit for $100 which then allows you to prospect on certain land.  A lot to pay out for a day's entertainment with little hope of finding anything.

The caravan park, run by the Council, is like others we've seen, with many semi-permanent vans and tents occupied by people working in the area.  As with the other towns, there's a shortage of accommodation.

We're having a quiet day today after our hectic yabbie-catching time at the dam.  Probably tomorrow we'll go for a drive around the area, possibly even revisiting Rubyvale for another go at the Willy Wash if we feel like it.