WOMADelaide

WOMADelaide March 9-11 Botanic Park Adelaide

I arrived in Adelaide on Thursday 8th March and met up with my hosts for the weekend John & Chris... They have a true permaculture garden the whole garden its just magic. I set up my tent under the fig & pecan nut tree.. Wonderful spot. It was so warm in Adelaide i didn't need the tent fly. On my 1st day we spend time at a local cafe and then had dinner in the city. I guess the biggest shock for the day was the bus that turns into a train - well sort of. It has wheels on the side that help it lock into a road that can only take the bus. It gets a long at cracking pace and mostly through a park that is covered with cycle paths...

WOMAD kicks off at around 5pm so Friday morning was spend checking out the food markets. I now understand why Adelaide is home to food.. I would have to say these markets were actually better than the Victoria Markets... all you have is food... all undercover... Anyway Sandrs (chris's friend) and I coffeed here and had a wonderful lunch. The arvo was spent having a nap and then getting to WOMAD.

The 1st gig I saw was the Mahotella Queens - South Africa and they were good fun. Next on the bill for me was Lila Downs- Mexico - She is wonderful very tiny great voice and even better stories. Next was Lunasa - Ireland - I enjoyed it but it was just Irish music nothing special or new. The big bill for the night was Gotan Project - France/Argentina this was a production I think some 20 people on the stage... I did like the mmusic but not the stage act... so I took off to find food and listen fom a distance... Now food was a hard choice there were over 38 places to eat and drink plus two bars.... I was a bit shell shocked in finding what I wanted... enjoyed Mediterranean prawns :) and Coopers beer yum... As I was early for the next big show I managed to get almost front row to sit and eat and wait for Femi Kuti & The Positive Force - Nigeria This is a sax-driven jass-funk according to the guide - I just loved the beat... Lucky for me I heard the call of my mobile at 11pm when my friends were looking for me to head home... I was still a buzz as i went to bed around 1am

The good thing is that it doesn't start until noon the next day so you can catch up sleep. thats assuming you haven't wandered off to some of the town pubs that are raging on or taken in a Fringe show that were just starting this week.

Next day for me started with the Backsliders- Australian blues... I sat in the shade about 1/2k away from the stage due to the heat of the day.. it was going to be a scorcher... The next group I didn't take too was Sambasunda - Indonesia so I had some lunch - vegie curry. Now a highlight to WOMAD is it is trying to be Zero Waste so everything is recylced, plates, cups, forks everything and the bins are so very well labled... Its also trying to be Green & Global so for the 1st time it was Carbon Neutral... I did have a dig with my host John that perhaps there should have been a few solar panels around the place as the energy used was coming from coal - there was no mention of WOMAD buying Natural or Green Power for the event... anyway there is always next year...

For the band Augie March I found a cool spot in the shad near the bar - had a Coopers and just listened and lied down... Its that kind of event where you can just lie down in the dirt (no grass due to the drought) and chill with the music... I needed a nap I had forgotten what a beer will do to me in 38 degrees in the middle of the day... makes you very sleepy. But I was awake and ready to see Celenod - new Caledonia... There CD is on back order I'm so excited about getting it... The music well happy music with a good beat... I loved it so much so I told everyone to catch them next time around...

At different times of the day there is cooking by the singers. This is some fun and I went to see Lila Downs - again great stories and the food looked wonderful ... I didn't get to try it but I did wander off to get a Chia tea - then this was so good I had to get a second one :) I took this tea with me to listen to Deborah Conway & Willy Zygier - Australia and they were great even the dig she made at 3G.

The 1st big act for Saturday night was Habib Koite - Mali ( i want a CD but not yet sure which one to buy) the guide says the music is semi-acustic nylon sound, fevered rhythmic exchanges and extended jazzy jams. I have no idea I was just bouncing along with the crowd and enjoying it heeps...

I have bought this CD - Entran Finatawa - Niger... These guys are great its a desert blues and the group is made up of from the Tuareg nomads and the Wodaabe... Just top music and fun to dance too..The lead singer keep talking to crowd in french but didn't stop the crowd from responding. I've not yet received the CD but looking forward to hearing it...

I wandered off to get food and found a good spot to sit down and wait for the Waifs-Australian.. as as expected it was a great gig. I had to leave early as I was really keen to get a good spot to see and hear Mariza - Portugal. She is striking and sings Fado... Lucky Oceans discribed it as Portugese blue that never has a happy ending. Boy can this girl sing... and perform she is very interactive with the crowd and puts on a good show. I made sure I would see her 2nds show also... It was time to meet my friends and make our way home.. cuppa tea b4 bed and chatting about Mariza...

I work up sunday with both Lila and mariza singing in my head. Chris and I went to a permaculture meeting in the park next door to WOMAD.. this was interesting and I have bought my 1st book by David Holmgren. Looking forward to reading. I made it in time to listen to the Women's Voices - this is an adhoc jam session with Emma Donovan, Mahotella Queens, lila Downs and Yasmin Levy. It was abit of fun and it introduced me to Emma Donovan - Australian What a powerful voice this girl has. I have orded her 1st cd... its on back order so I wait a bit longer.

The whole time the music is play there is also act's walking around I got to meet the Zoo animals, Moody cows and bouncing boncers.. I also did a lap of the shopping lane and cd shop... some more chia tea and food and it wa stime to gatch Rebetiki... this was a fun gig - greek music by a Australian band... there were so many Greeks there and they got up to dance a lot of fun and top sounds .. I enjoyed...

More chia tea :) some food and listen to the all-star jam... Then it was time to suss out Asha Bhosle & Kronos Quartet... This was not much fun at all... I sat down at stage two instead and started to read my permaculture book... but mariza came on and she was just as good - but alas there was a lot of backfeeding with the base so it didn't sound so clear.. shame they fixed it by the end...

I listened to Salif Keita - Mali from the back row. It was good big production gig I liked it but to get into it I think you needed to be in the middle of all the people. I was hanging out to hear Huun-Huur Tu - Tuva/Russia... This was just wonderful.. I layed down in the dirt and just shut my eyes and listened to the rytham.. this is deep chanting - guttural and moving... it is accompaned with some tradional instruments... The whole crowd was just lying down and listening.. such a special quiet time...

this was the last gig at WOMADelaide 2007 - and one of the best. Time to head back to tent and catch up on sleep...

It was a wonderful weekend... must do... I just want to go to one in Europe now.. one day I hope

Victoria, Melbourne

Flight QF 648 departs at 23.55 on Friday 2nd March bound for Melbourne. I'm on it. I'm also flying business class :) Yep I thought bugger it use all your point up and get some sleep. I did go to friends in the avro after work and to get 3 hours rest... I did manage to sleep on the flight - you can in business class the seat folds out not totally flat but good enough you also have a very wide seat and there is just no way the person next too you is going to be sleeping on your side...

So I land bright eyed and bushy tailed (one day I'll know where that saying came from) Denice and I find each other via mobile phones and a few happy tears latter, a Melways, the car and a need for food we heard out of the airport in a northwest direction towards Sunbury. I didn't want to drive through the heart of the city to start of adventure... we were both keen to get out to the towns of outer Melbourne to see some 'country and bush'.

Some of you may remember the photo of me and a girl in a hotpot in Iceland - this is Denise she has imigrated to Victoria for 12-months or so.

I had no idea how hilly Victoria is - no wonder people like the place... and the towns so Australian... Unlike towns in WA the buildings are still turn of the centry and well kept... You can see that Victoria was a sheep and grain growing area... I just loved the feel of the sun rise as we made our way due east - we turned east at Lancefield and started to look for food at Kilmore. This is where it helps haaving an accent... Denise justs fronts up to a closed bakery and asked them to feed us bread... they do... they are so surprised that two girls from from Denmark and the other from Perth have arrived in their bakery at 7.30am - so excited by the way we met that they fire up the coffee machine and make us coffee whilst we eat our bread and jam. It was a lot of fun and from my perspective so nice that the happy conversations and affection I recieved in Europe is also found all over the place - travel make us realise people are kind and friendly.

From here we meander our way east ish with the aim of getting to Healesville... We stop some where and go for a short walk to look at some dry falls (foss) due to the drought... but its here that i get to see my st lyier bird - of course its the girl from Denmark that tells me what they are! Typical... Denise thinks this is funny, I have to explain that they are only found in the East coast... They are also big! about the size of a small chook... This is quite a shock when you have spent your whole life using the 10 cents coin and having no idea that they were big...

We move on - we find the best market on the side of the road... we wander around here I buy a dress and we drink Chia tea... I gould move to this bit of Victoria - not sure what I would do for work and i suspect when its cold I would hate it... but in the middle of a summer thunder storm it was just magic.. We are somewhere around Whittlesea and Yarra Glen. We have lunch at a cafe I fair dunkum pie! overlooking the Yarra... this is a bit of a trickly at this part of Victoria - I guess this far out of town (100kms) its lucky to be flowing I know the Swan isn't..

We never make it too Healesville... its time to get to the Patch or Dandenong's to catch up with Peter, Ana and family. Now with me driving again and Denice navigating we make it. We both get very excited when we have to drive through Ferntree Gully. I'm moving here! what a place - again the cold & snow would kill me...

We have a great time with our hosts - playing basketball with the boys was a hoot... We chat for some time about travel, lives, work and the world. Its fun. We start this again in the morning and its very late b4 Denice and I manage to take off sightseeing again. Again we try for Healesville - again we don't make it. We are having too much fun just enjoying the road from Warburton to Marysville... We drive up into Yarra Range National Park - its here when I realise I can't live in Victoria - its gets a bit of Snow here and I swear it was going to snow this day - I was freezing! Denice thought I was a dork i'm sure.

We stay a second night and make our way back to Melbourne the next day. We dumpt he car have a minor issue over a dent but it is cleared up and then head to the train statio to meet Cathy. finally Denice and I have that coffee i promised her in Iceland in Melbourn... this was so cool. We all have lunch down at Dockland which is reat - then its time for Denice to head home big hugs and a promise to see each other again soon... lucky for us we have sms

Cathy and I return to the Western suburbs to Melton. We spend most of the night night catching up on our lives and reliving our past together... this is fun... The next day we take off into Melbourne to go to the Victoria Markets... I still have fond memories of Cathy and I stomping around the Freo Markets buying my 1st leather motor bike jacket... here I buy Napal pants and wool jumpers - but just as much fun. We have lunch and get some food to make dinner.

Back in Melton - Cathy has to work for a bit so I take off to the pool to do a few laps. Upon my return we cook dinner - chat and talk about the our futures... all good fun.

Next day we are up early and both go to the pool its good fun I do a few more laaps and after her gym workout Cathy joins me in the pool... Its soon time to hit the road to Williamstown.

Williamstown is loverly - we haave a wonderful lunch at this harour side cafe after spending a few hours window shopping... then I have this bright idea to drive around the whole of Port Phillip Bay - Cathy had no idear we could catch a ferry from Portsea to Queencliff... This is such a great drive. I'm trying to convince Cathy that when I next visit we do it on a bike - some how I just didn't win her over - I know I'll be back to do this ride on a bike... soon hopefully... I've nto seen Cathy so excited when she gets to drive her car on to aa car ferry - we don't have them in WA and yes anyone in Europe would be very used to them - here in Oz this is one of the best i've been on. Thought I do like the punts in NSW - but thats another story...

We stop in Geelong and they have a fairswheel - big one so we catch a ride - this is a hoot... I feel like we were 18 again and being dag's like we sued to be and at time still are... I like tGeelong - we tried to find somewhere to eat but it was late and everthing was expensive so we make our way back to Melton via the Bacchus Marsh road... It was a hoot of a day and so good to spend time with a friend of my youth - such a special think to have mates that know you and still put up with your behaviour.

Next day Cathy leaves me at the ariport early to catch my flight to Adelaide for WOMAD - I write a few postcards and have a coffee. More on WOMAD next blog

WREN Freo 2007

Okay this wasn't as flash as Florence. It was great to go... there were 5 of us from Horizon Power that turned up to either all of the conference or justs bits of it. It kicked of on sunday 4th in the Arvo with the screening of the Al Gore movie and debate. This was the 1st time I had sean the movie. Its a great flick.. well worth seeing - I did prefer going to the Al Gore dinner b4 Christmas and meeting Al so much more. He is a good storyteller and sending a great message to the world. Yes I sought of got to meet Al when he signed my copy of his book and I got to ask him how many PV's he had on his roof - none but working on it was the answer. After the movie there was a bbq and I caught up with friends I meet in Florence and made some new friends

The conference was the usual type with different sessions happening at the sametime so us Horizion lot did a divide and concure thing to cover as many of the sessions as we could. I love the buzz of these things and more so when I'm especially driven to making a change in the world and our use of energy.

One the last day I attended the PV workshop. This was great I learnt so much about PV and its application and future use in energy production... I even think I now know what is wrong with my power system running a new washing machine - but more on that saga once its all working ...