"I know you are a man of vision," she urged Chris Bourke, of Complete Body Craft, as she explained her grand plan for the rusty relic.

But even Ann knew it was going to take a fair bit of work to bring her vision splendid to life.

In hindsight the warning bells should have rung when the vendors offered to deliver the Rice horse float she bought off Marketplace on impulse - with an offer her partner Paul Blake said was "far too high".

"There was no opportunity to assess how much work was really involved," she admits.

"When the float rolled in the drive it looked - and smelled - like an entire Mongolian goat herd and their shepherd had been living in it for years."

Still, the well-known photographer was determined to see through on her idea for The De'canter Inn leading up to her 60th birthday.

"Really, honestly, all I wanted to do was drown my sorrows in my very own gin tin," she confesses.

"When this retro Rice horse float popped up on Marketplace I fell in love with the original mudguards and barn doors."

And, if she was being truly honest, it was the perfect "purposeful" outlet for Ann's growing addiction to Marketplace.

So, with a very reluctant (and "non-practising plumber") Paul in tow, the pair embarked on "12 months of furtive restoration and embellishment".

The float structure needed straightening out, the roof got a new skin, there was sandblasting and many hours of spit and polish.

Paul did the majority of the work stripping back the float, installing new flooring and the beautiful pressed metal a friend gave them for the interior, according to Ann.

Finally the vision started to take shape and The De'canter Inn was saddled up for Ann's 60th birthday bash in January, 2020.

Since then it's had several more outings as word spread of the beautiful bar on wheels.

"It was originally created for my birthday but now we hire it out for farm weddings or parties close to home," Ann says.

"It comes to life at night and looks amazing with all the decanters lit up and covered in fairy lights.

"The best thing about a mobile bar is that it's mobile; you can take the view to you."

The Pony Express Mobile Bar Co has given Ann a free rein to further indulge her addiction to Marketplace, shopping for those all-essential "props" to complement the De'canter theme.

Her latest acquisition has been five authentic Rice hubcaps - a real find, Ann insists.

"The appeal of the float is that it's an original 60s (just like me)," she says.

"There are quite a few converted floats around now but I find they lack the authenticity of the Rice or Taylors float.

"As a child I remember at pony club big families bundling ponies into a Rice float."

Ann confesses she has purchased a second float - "much to Paul's despair" - with the plan to convert it with funds raised from hiring out the first float.

And there could very well be a growing interest ("not from Paul", she jokes) in this type of mobile entertaining unit as COVID-19 continues to create challenges for hospitality venues.

"We are so lucky in the Rutherglen region, we've always been a thoroughfare for tourists," explains Ann who works at the well-regarded Cofield Wines.

"COVID-19 has seen the rise of smaller, more intimate weddings and more on-farm or at-home weddings.

"It's changed the face of the cellar door experience with the need to adapt to social distancing restrictions.

"Cofields moved to seated tastings, which resulted in a more personalised environment for patrons where we can sit down and talk and go through the whole range.

"I can't imagine going back now."

Ann says while it's fantastic to see motels with the no-vacancy signs back up again, the hospitality industry is still faced with staff shortages and the real challenge of maximising returns with limited seating capacity.

Having said that, she says the vibrancy of the town is reflected in places like popular eatery Caffeine N Machine and pop-up homewares shop Hens Teeth Trading.

In galloping into this venture, the aim was never to make our fortunes, Ann says.

If anything COVID-19 has encouraged the pair to live in the moment and explore their passion for photography in novel ways.

(Their fantastically fun "fine art" Christmas studio shoots, reindeer games and Paul's Santa gig is a story for another day!)

"Life is short - I think that's something people are still grasping," Ann reflects.

As for The De'canter Inn, well there's already been plenty of toasts to its success.

"It's been my cheapest bad idea," Ann laughs.