Way back in the 70s I was married to a Kiwi whose lovely Mum kept sending Fred Dagg records and tapes over for us. Last night ABC TV had a Fred Dagg retrospective. John Clarke is genius of the first water. And who can forget the farty scene in Death in Brunswick when John Clarke and Sam Neill were carrying the corpse of the nasty chef through the cemetery at the dead of night?
Here is one of my favourite Fred Dagg songs:
Here is a tiny trailer for Death In Brunswick, too:
PS One day I was in Threadbear quilt and antique shop in Castlemaine and heard a most very familiar voice. Dashed in to the antique half of the shop and came nose to nose with John Clarke. Who of course I don't know in the biblical sense or indeed any other way except electronically. I did a sort of head scratching skid to a halt, checked the price tag on something and scuttled nonchalantly back to the quilt side of the shop...
Back to Christmas sewing. I am fooling myself that it is still amonth to Christmas I know. BUT - it is a month to Newstead Live best little folk festival in the world (Andy Irvine told us so. Which reminds me - still have to finish HIS quilt too...)
Ah, you have got to love Rolf Harris. Eighty years old and still coming up with Christmas songs. Who can ever forget "Six White Boomers"? We used to sing that all the time when we were little - Mum would piggy back us in the dam and sing it being a bounding kangaroo with her little joeys on her back!
And now Rolf Harris (who is 80, or will be shortly) has a new carol:
Put that on high rotation and keep singin'!!!! XXXX
I shall again try loading my video of Eric Bogle and John Munro singing at Maldon Folk Festival last week:
Hopeless - BUT I did find Eric Bogle singing on Youtube:
There is also a rather lovely version sung by Joan Baez on Youtube tho I am mystified as to why there is a picture of a woman whenever she sings "...waltzing Matilda...". Perhaps she thinks that refers to dancing with his girlie????
And those aren't Aussie soldiers in her stills...
For a great explanation of Waltzing Matilda, here is Rolf Harris to make all you ex-pats feel a bit sniffy:
And here is a "real" swaggie - my friend Campbell The Swagman.
Campbell travels all over the country, going to festivals and reciting poetry. He has a wonderful voice. He has only recently started flying to events rather than going by Greyhound or hitching lifts.
He is a lovely bloke, supports himself (and a lot of charities like the Fred Hollows Foundation) by busking - he has never been on the dole.
Sometimes he comes and stays - I love having him. He is the most appreciative eater - you scarcely need to wash plates after Campbell has eaten!!!
He had polio when he was young, but despite this still walks all over the place if he can't get a lift.
One Easter he was performing, as usual, at the National Folk Festival in Canberra. He then came to stay with me for a wee while.
My neighbours had a fit. Robyn rang me to say "I saw Campbell in Canberra yesterday, we came home and I just saw him walking down our road. How DID he do that????"!!!!
Ted Egan and Greg Champion wrote a song about him - "Where Ya Goin', Campbell?".
Having a song written about you is pretty special, I reckon.
Yesterday it was 41*C here. And going to be hotter today. Am going in to town to forage for groceries and more shade cloth for my garden.
And fly spray - under the verandas in the shade it is black with blowflies. I hate flies too.
Where is that predicted cool change????
Another quilt before I go:
Who did I make this one for? I had forgotten all about it until I found it whilst looking for photos of Campbell. Made it in October 2006, it is from an Aussie book - Margaret Rolfe perhaps???
On March 31 1908 Women in Victoria finally gained the right to vote, the last women in Australia to be granted this right. Kavisha Mazzella was commissioned last year by The Victorian Women's Trust to write an anthem, a wonderful song of Love and Justice. Kavisha gifted the song to the women - and men - of the world so we can all learn it and work to help the women of the world who have yet to achieve equality, and love, and justice. You can download a clip of the song here and there are links to the sheet music, notes for choir leaders etc on the VWT site.
Today I caught the train down to Melbourne, and we gathered on the steps of Parliament House:
This is the lovely and lively Molly who sang with us at Federation Square on Nov 28 2008, and again today in Parliament (she is 87!), Beth and Amy.
We weren't expecting to sing with Kavisha but she said we HAD to and I wanted to anyway! Queued to go through security and given big Visitor Vs to wear on our chests and ushered in to the Queen's Hall where there were lots of politicians, staff, visitors... And a stage for us... I am on the far left, with Mary Crooks from VWT next to me. We are a much truncated choir compared to the 400+ women who sang in Federation Square but we were just as vocal! Got lovely applause and encouraging comments. This photo was taken by Steb Fisher with my unfamiliar camera and therefore a bit fluffy. Steb took lots of photos, all of which will be MUCH better I know!
Kavisha Mazzella and Mary Crooks with a polly who's name has utterly escaped me (obviously NOT Bob Cameron who is my Local Member and who I do know...). See the statue of Queen Victoria overlooking proceedings? I wonder what she would have thought of it all?
And then we stopped at a Japanese restaurant just down Bourke Street and the VWT shouted us lunch:
I then went down to Southern Cross Station and caught the train home to Castlemaine I LOVE this station, beautiful curves like a woman's body. MUCH MUCH better than what was there before, barren noisy wet windswept and ugly as...
