A sausage sizzle then fancy dress night again
Regardless of the humidity and threats of rain

The first letter of one’s name it had to be
A—B—C-or D.

Reg chose to go as a robber, in black from head to toe
With Zorro mask and tyre lever he looked a scary foe
D for dunce – or delinquent, I wasn’t quite sure
So I painted my face with red dots galore
Small, cheeky freckles they were meant to be
And I wore a school uniform way past my knee
The two ginger mohair-plaits prickled my ears
Their itch and heat almost brought me to tears
But heat and humidity were all forgotten when I looked around
At the amazing sight my eyes had found

Coolie hated Sue was dressed as Susie Wong
And Ron, as Robin Hood, was looking ever so strong
His homemade bow and arrow did the trick
The oversized safety catch, prevented him, firing too quick
Her name starts with an ‘L’ the rest I can’t recall
But dressed as liquorice, she was the best of them all
Pat as a peg bag was quite unique
Dropped pegs beneath chairs during the night she did seek
Marlene the milkmaid carried a new tin pail
While Leslie the leopard swished her long tail

Gail the Gypsy wore jet black turned up hair
And a bloke in a horror mask gave us all a scare
David dressed as a doctor, respectable and tall
Dawn too, was a doctor, and when Nick took a fall
She raced to his aid with rubber gloves at the ready
Then she tried to examine him, nice and steady
However, Nick had only pretended to fall off the chair
“It’s his prostrate,” Dawn said, and Nick leapt in the air
Laughed we all did until tears ran down our cheeks
It’s a scene I’ll remember – for weeks and weeks!

But when the dancing begun
I had eyes for only one
Keith, in his tangled up royal robes, took to the floor
Bent back, head down, plastered arm, a King he was for sure
Painkillers and wine must have done the trick
Because he was dancing like an alley cat on a hot brick
On the dance floor, Susie’s King John wasn’t even a starter
He sat quietly in his chair contemplating the Magna Carta
Bruce dressed as a butler, looked beaut
Seems, whatever he dresses in, Bruce always looks cute
Not ones to stay out late, finally we took our leave
I wanted to be rid of my wig, tie and blouse with long sleeve
Oh heck! What a sight I saw!
When I closed the bathroom door
Reflected in the mirror was a face all red
And I realised, I should have used a biro, instead
For the watercolour pencil I’d painted my spots
Had turned from tiny freckles – into great big blots!
Measles, chicken pox or even worse
My face looked like a witch’s ugly curse
But warm water and soap took care of that sight
And soon I was sleeping peacefully throughout the night
The CMCA motto “Laugh more and live Longer”
Is very true, because at a rally, - we all grow stronger
Not unlike the jacaranda trees we want to be
Old, yet still able to blossom with beauty for all to see