Julia wades in...

For the near-sighted, article reads (by-John Andersen , in the Townsville Bulletin) --

NEARLY THERE . . . Julia Galvin, of Ireland, during her epic ‘swim’

Bog champ conquers creek

She came, she saw, she bog snorkeled. Julia Galvin, world champion Irish bog snorkeller, took Julia Creek by storm. The two Julias —the town and the bog snorkeller— loved each other. Ms Galvin is a cross between bog snorkeling athlete and performer. As the sole competitor in the event, she played to the crowd, singing “I’ve Been a Bog Snorkeller”, as she sat at the edge of the bog hole seconds before her epic swim on Sunday.

She’d seen the bullriders go through their over-the-top prayer to the Lord before the bull-riding event on Saturday night and came up with one of her own: ‘‘Lord I want to thank you for the beautiful bog in Julia Creek. For some reason you have blessed me with this insanity, so please Lord, let me put it to good use. And seeing as this is Queensland, Lord, let me survive this drive.’’ She added the last bit after taking note of the many public service signs on her way to town.

She abruptly ended a radio interview in Julia Creek’s main street on Saturday morning when the interviewer introduced her as Julia Galvin ‘from the UK’. Ms Galvin stormed down the footpath shouting ‘I’m from Ireland. Ireland! ’A good sport, she came back, but the interviewer didn’t mention the UK again. The town turned out to see her perform yesterday and she didn’t disappoint. With her wet suit, flippers, face mask and snorkel, she cut an imposing figure as she strutted her stuff at the bog snorkeling arena, joking and singing. She’d already competed in the cow-pat throwing competition and was in a hurry to get to the fly-swatting contest.

Bog snorkellers, it seems, just want to have a go at everything.