The bits of stuff that fall in the cracks between Life, Music and outrageous fortune.		  
 
 
 
September
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1) The auctioneer closes the deal at $1.25 mill. 2) Ed Nimmervoll gets really worked up 		Another auction and Ed gets enthusiastic
23.9.10 - I told you that my place got auctioned. Well, last Saturday the house next door went under the hammer as well, only this time because Lorraine actually owns her house, she'll (briefly) achieve millionaire status, her house realising $1.25 mill. (pic 1)
It was Ed Nimmervoll's birthday the other day, so I
called a meeting for today at our regular haunt, Café Latté. It was good to see Ed and good to see him get animated (pic 2) over his pet concerns re' the Oz rock 'industry'. Ed stays tuned to what's happening now on the Australian music scene and laments that while the past has already been largely obliterated, the present is equally vulnerable to disappearing without a trace. I mentioned the grief that EMI is giving Aztec Music about future licencing of our back catalogue, not to mention the rest of a who's who of Oz rock legends that were at one time or another on the EMI roster, and we agreed that something has to be done to bring them to their senses.
I was still reeling under the influence of an authentic Italian hot chocolate as I bade Ed farewell and headed back to the Camberwell PO, where I was delighted to find that David Johnston had sent me a copy of his book, The music goes round my head. Now that I've finally finished Lipstick Traces I might give it a whirl..
 

Bill watches trunk #1 fall - oops!		 The return of Bill the lumberjack
16.9.10 - I'd mentioned to Bill that one of the things I had to do at my new place was cut down a twin-trunked tree that had grown up so close to the clothes line that I could neither raise nor lower it, nor could I make it spin round like any Hill's Hoist-type clothes line should. Bill got that dangerous gleam in his eye and promised to drop round with his power saw one day and take care of it for me.
Today was that day. I heard a tap at the window and by the time I got out to the clothes line Bill was already assessing which way the trunks were likely to drop. He decided to cut the easy one first - and, of course, it fell right onto the clothes line, bending it over at a 40 degree angle.
We belatedly attached a line to the second trunk and it obligingly dropped onto the ground without damaging the now sad-looking clothes line. We managed to straighten it up to vertical pretty well and it now spins round OK, but it steadfastly refuses to go up or down. Oh well, one out of two ain't bad..
 

Ross covertly checks his watch		 Ross Ryan calls round
15.9.10 - One of the joys of moving house is that I can actually invite the odd person around to my new digs without fear of the house suddenly collapsing. I'm happy to record the visitation today of one such odd person in the shape of Ross Ryan (pic) and we spent a good hour in my sunny lounge chatting over a cup of tea. (pic) Ross rarely performs these days, but when he does he makes sure it's remarkable - for example his recent-ish visits to Papua New Guinea beat anything Spectrum's managed in the last few years. Mind you, if Glenn from Darwin's Buff Club calls me again when he's sober, we might have a contender.
  
 

1) Daryl earns his Rudd-spotter badge 2) Edward Rudd's grave		 Dead Rudds in abundance in Wagga
14.9.10 - I playfully suggested to Roger Ansell that we were looking for a good time in Wagga and had decided to visit the cemetery, but somebody had suggested to me some time ago there were several Rudds buried there so I thought I should at least check it out. The other lads came too for a mosey around and Daz won his Dead Rudd-spotter badge coming up with about nine of the Ruddy blighters.
I've yet to scrutinise the pics so I don't know if there're any relatives amongst them, but thank you to whoever it was that suggested I check it out in the first place
 

Lois hopes forlornly I won't put her pic on the website		 Mum in personal non-earthquake disaster
8.9.10 - My mum lives in Auckland, which is in the North Island of NZ, so wasn't subject to the earthquake that shook, and continues to shake, my home town of Christchurch. Nevertheless, she managed to inflict considerable damage on herself (pic) and was quite lucky not to be laid up in hospital by the looks of things. A visit to the museum with her friend Susie, a missed last step on the staircase and a headfirst fall onto the marble floor was all it took. She needed four stitches in her gushing wound, but was happily buzzing round the local shops the next day!
19.9.10 Hmmm. I've just spoken to my mum and she was very annoyed that I'd gone and put her picture up.and she's demanded I fix it.. Mums' wishes must be respected..
 

Chris Kay, bro' Michael and Joy display vintage posters		 A rainy night in Croydon
5.9.10 - A deathly quiet weekend gig-wise provided opportunities to socialise and Chris Kay was kind enough to add me to the guest list at his Croydon home on Saturday night. I'd visited Chants' guitarist Matt Croke that same afternoon and he'd very kindly given me a gorgeous Michael Kelly Les Paul Junior-type guitar to fill my self-imposed humbucker void, so I took it with me to show it off to Chris, his brother Michael and partner Joy after tea. Chris had unearthed some Ariel gig posters, (pic) including the provocative Stoned Again poster, which might well have been the very Stoned Again concert that got busted by the local constabulary. It was a funny old night, and I might even tell you about it some time..
Speaking of Matt Croke, he's got some very fine guitars, (incl. another Michael Kelly), that he's keen to sell and I promised I'd put them up, plus us his contact details, on the Classifieds page. As well as the Kelly he's got a mean-looking Godin and a burgundy Fender Strat', so if you're interested you should check them out on the Classifieds page - even if you're not a buyer, they're worth having a look at.
 

1) The ring master, Bernd Rohrmann 2) Evri goes ape on bass		 Another bent night with Bernd
5.9.10 - For the last couple of years at this time, Bill and I have been invited to play at Bernd Rohrmann's un-birthday party at the Black Ruby restaurant , but this year Jimmie Sloggett, Gloria and I were selected by Bernd (pic 1) to join the audience and enjoy the meditative stylings of harpist Michael Johnson, soprano sax player Fiona Burnett and guitarist/bassist Evri Evripidou (pic 2) who truly surprised me by playing flamenco-style on his custom six-string bass. (!) I was also delighted to meet Judy Gunson of the Stiletto Sisters amongst the guests, another former performer in Bernd's annual private musical circus .
 
 
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