Blogpost for January 2017
January come she will … and then, as if by magic, it was February. What happened? Well … come a little closer and I’ll tell you.
Bob and I flew into Sydney December 27th and celebrated my birthday the following day with Jo and her gorgeous girls. The best birthday gifts are hugs and kisses from those we love n’est pas?
We flew up to the Gold Coast at the beginning of the year where Michael Fix and I began our musical adventures once more. It is so easy to sing with him … I just love it! Our fist gig took place January 8th at New Farm Bowls in Brisbane. To be honest it’s hard to know what to expect from an afternoon show at the start of a new year. We were pleasantly surprised when an enthusiastic crowd filled the room. Who knew? And for a first gig it went exceptionally well. The only fly in the ointment (who mentioned ointment?) was that our brand new CD Shadows And Light would only be available the middle of the following week. C’est la vie.
We spent a delightful few days in between rehearsing and gigging with Bob’s nephew Peter and his lovely wife Janet. They only recently moved into their beautiful new home in Helensvale. The house is right on the water’s edge in the canal system on the Gold Coast and it’s heavenly to be in such peaceful surroundings. We’ll be back later in February too.
From there we had the joyful experience of our very first Festival in New South Wales, just north of Wollongong in Bulli at the 32nd Illawarra Folk Festival. The site where so much takes place is normally a Grey Hound racing track! No signs of the dogs when we were there though their holding pens were turned to a very practical use as the lock-up for instruments over the weekend.
We played four separate sets over four days and each time our fans grew in number and enthusiasm. I was totally blown away by the level of musicianship, the variety of music represented as well as dancing, story-telling and the amenities provided. For a relatively small festival it really packs a punch for quality and value. We hope they ask us back … soon!
My favourite part overall though was the fact that my gorgeous grand daughters came to the Friday afternoon show. They know that grandma sings and know what I sound like but had never seen me perform before. I was a little nervous … but luckily … they were riveted the whole 45 minutes. Yay! The face painting afterwards was probably their highlight though … can’t blame them for that … it was fantastic.
Our next run of shows took place the first weekend in February and I have to say they were particularly wonderful. First up was a house concert in Yatte Yattah held in a spectacular house in the middle of a 40 acre eucalyptus forest. To top it off the people who live in this splendid location are truly inspirational. Fiona and Ian were our hosts for the short time we were in their delightful home but we left feeling we’d met lifelong friends. The show was packed out and the atmosphere was electric – even without a PA.
(My thanks to Ian Stewart for these fab pics of the concert and of our fond farewell … I got him getting me too 🙂 )
We played another great show on Saturday night in Woy Woy on the central coast of NSW. We were invited by our hosts Michael and Ina to come for dinner on Friday night and stay. From one fantastic location to another it seems our tour is filled with amazing people and places. This time we stayed right on the water’s edge and were treated to a beautiful meal and enjoyed lovely company again. Our entertainment continued the day of the gig with a walk in the local national forest to a great look out over the ocean to Palm Beach where Home and Away is filmed. Next was an experience of watching Pelicans feed at a local beach followed by a dip in the ocean at another beach along the coast 🙂 xxx Never a dull moment n’est pas?
The show itself was fantastic. We really hope we get invited back!
Now … Michael Fix is enjoying a ten day cruise around New Zealand with his lovely wife Sue while Bob and I have fun with my brother Paul in Perth. Life? Is spectacular!
Something that came up in the last few weeks I’m delighted to share was an invitation to sing with the maestro himself: Richard Thompson at Cropredy this coming August. Well I replied straight away … Yessiree! This year just keeps getting better and better!
Thanks as always for dropping by to catch up with what’s happening in my peripatetic-Hobit-life. There is more fun to be had and many more musical adventures to share. Till next time … take care.
Endless blessings!
Christine xx
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Christine Collister 