Pat, Maybe you can identify with this!
Mike >From "The West Australian" 16 May 1992:- TRAVELLERS on the Bussell Highway between Bunbury and Capel (2 hour's drive south of Perth) have been puzzled by the name of the Yowza Yowza Bowza petrol station for years. But if they stop to fill up, they are unlikely to be any wiser. The name came with the place when proprietors Aubrey and Minetta Lovelle took it about five years ago and they have been unable to trace its origin. Customers will, however, get a good laugh at some of the petrol station's unusual signs, ride a pedal chair while dining in the restaurant and learn why farmers find themselves in their current predicament. It reads: "The trouble started back in 1966 when they changed from pounds to dollars, that doubled my bloody overdraft. Then they brought in kilograms instead of pounds and my bloody wool clip dropped by half. "After that, they changed rain to millimetres and we haven't had an inch of rain since. If that was not enough, they brought in Celsius and now the temperature never gets over 40 degrees. No wonder me bloody wheat won't grow. "They then changed acres to hectares and I ended up with only half the land I had. By this time I had decided to sell out and put the farm in the hands of an agent. They then changed miles to kilometres and now I am too far out of town for anyone to buy the bloody place." The words came from an old farmer Aubrey met about 10 years ago. They appealed to Mr Lovelle who once farmed a property just across the road from the service station. The Lovelles have created a fun place. Restaurant diners sit on pedal chairs at a long table. The chairs were made by Mr Lovelle from old bicycle parts. The restaurant is billed as the "home of the pedal chairs". Before leaving it is worth dropping into the tiny Earth and Fire Shop where reasonably-priced pottery is on sale. The shop is run by five local women who make the pottery in the shop. Yowza Yowza Bowza service station is at Stratham, 10km north of Capel. (Note - Bowza comes from the Aussie word 'bowser' meaning a petrol pump). Mike.
