Jan 2009

Well after a good night sleep we woke early and made the 8am Bush Poets & Balladeers Breakfast Show. It was great. We saw some new acts and a few of the same one’s we saw last time. It was enjoyable.

We went back through town and managed to catch the last song of 8 Ball Aitken at the centre stage. We really enjoyed their style of music so we got a timetable and we found they were playing at 5pm.

We pencilled it in, and then we made our 2pm show – the Lonesome Train. They were a happening rockabilly band. They were fabulous fun and had lots of people up and dancing.

We strolled around for a bit and then make the next venue and we had a great time. They were really good. The Atrium Acoustic Lounge was a brilliant venue and they gave a great performance. So much so we bought their album.

We saw this kid busking in the main street. He had the fastest fingers I've ever seen. Such tallent. Steve got talking to his dad who was sitting on a nearby bench and he said he'd been playing since he was five. He'd had a couple of teachers, but after only a few lessons got bored as he knew more than his teachers did. He said he now plays flamenco music, as its the hardest of all guitar music to play, and loves it cause its his only challenge. But he comes to Tamworth to make a few bucks and get his name out. As you can see in the clip, he looks bored shitless, because he is! He can do this with his eyes closed. He really has a gift, and at 15 life has barely begun for him!

Below is a shot of two wanabe guitarists who couldnt bring themselves to buy his album as it would just depress them more (we gave money instead - as his sign reqested - dont clap, throw money instead!)

We took the 8 Ball Aitken CD back to the van and played it loudly. Steve decided he wanted more sleep and a paddle so we took off 50kms out of town towards the lake.

Well we woke early after a great nights’ sleep. Steve to a hangover and me to wishing I could sleep another great 10 hours or so, but it was a great night. We did breaky and hit the road to the Sam Smyth’s Bush Poets & Balladeers Brunch Show (as of course there was no way we’d make the breaky show at 8am!). It was great for a laugh as there were people from Vic, NSW, Qld and from 14 years old to ones I couldn’t understand as they were quite old. Some of the people were just telling stories and they were hilarious!

Next on the agenda is 8 Ball Aitken & Band @ the Central Hotel. 8 Ball has a beard down to his waist! That was impressive enough to get us along.

Well due to Steve’s still hanging around hangover, we didn’t make it. Just as well, as we were both tired anyway…

Well the event calendar requires about a week to read all the events listed. Its 17 pages long and has the events listed in 3 columns in about 10 point font (so its quite dense). The program starts at 7am and runs through till midnight every night of the program with many events going on throughout the town in every venue available. Its incredible who must have organised this, as it’s a HUGE credit to them to pull this all together!

Although I do have to say, Terry and Ange, I wish they had some Healthway’s funding available here. Some smoke free events and even some healthy food wouldn’t go astray. At last nights’ event, the stall closest to us sold fairy floss, lolly pops, dagwood dogs (now this was a new one for me) – it involves an artificially died red stick of processed meat inserted on a stick that is then dipped in batter so thick it doubles the size of the meat (if you can call it that) and then a huge dollop of sauce is added at the top. I call it a coronary on a stick as there is at least one heart attack involved in each bite I’m sure. The only “decent” food on offer was sliced meat in a bun and these sold out about 1 hour into the show. Its made all the more interesting by the fact that the whole town is an Alcohol Free Zone (except in the pubs) so their cutting out the alcohol, but not the cigarettes and bad food. Oh well, room for improvement next year!

The show was great though. We had James Blundell (and we had the official pronunciation as being a silent “e” as in ~dle not ~dell) sing a few songs. He was the 1997 winner of the Star Track event. Then there were several other winners including Gina Jefferies who finished the show with about a dozen songs. She’s really a great entertainer. It was a great free concert and there were a lot of people there.

Today we took another walk through the main street – runs about 3 blocks and there must have been about 30 muso’s all playing at once. A bit of an ear full, but there were a few beauties. Caught Molly the fabulous cattle dog again and took some more footage. She gets told off as part of the act, and she goes and hides in the suitcase. She actually gets in and closes the lid on the suitcase all by herself. She’s really cleaver. He said its had taken 6 years to train her and he’s always teaching her new tricks.

We rested for the afternoon and then decided to see the band called the Woolverines. We’d never heard of them, but like the sound of the name. The band also had one of those long bearded fellows that looks really biker type. We thought it would be fun. Turned out to be the best $24 each we could spend! They had us in fits of laughter as they took us on a comical journey of the 15 year musical history that the band had together. They are actually finishing up in a few months time, but not before a trip to Perth, so if you see them round, check them out. It will be a hoot. With tracks like; Blow Up Plastic Girl, Redback on the Toilet Seat (they even have props for that one), and Why Don’t We Get Drunk & Screw, and my favourite; Boats, Bikes and Bullshit. Actually there were quite a few boating songs, you’d love Kev! We bought the CD. But I think the support act was even more of one to watch out for; Ami Williamson (John’s daughter) who had us in fits of laughter. She’s an even better entertainer than singer, and that’s saying something as she is a classically trained opera singer, but we’ve got the DVD of Ami as you wouldn’t believe it unless you could see it. We had a great night…

Arrived early to find the town already blocked off and really well setup for tourists to the town. The tourist office is open every day for the duration of the event and they are very helpful. We checked out the main centre of town. We saw great buskers; including Molly the most beautiful red cloud kelpie. She could do more tricks than most 10 year old children. Thinking we’d have to start training midget up as Molly was raking it in!

There was a busker not on every street corner as we’d been told, but every 50m! It did make it impossible to hear some of them as they were all overlapping each other. For the most part they were really good. Each busker has a number and you can vote for your favourite busker. I guess there is a prize? Found out the opening night concert was on tonight at the Memorial Gardens so we took it easy during the very hot day and headed over to the park at 5:30pm to get a spot for the concert.

The concert was really well done. They have a Star Trak Competition each year and previous winners have been Keith Urban, Blundell, Gina Jefferies and Casey Chambers. So the tickets to the events surrounding finals of newcomers to Country Music are rare as hens teeth.

Its strange listening to all the music on offer in the streets of Tamworth. I have asked myself the strange question of “what IS country music” as there seems to be such varying answers. The best I can come up with is its just about anything as long as there is no thrash and has some words of hardship included in the lyrics. Last years’ winner was a tiny little thing called someone Lee. She sang a song called Knocked Up which was probably about how her mum felt when she was 16 and pregnant with her. Most songs have some connection to how people feel, this is the common theme used to describe Country Music.

Due to all the well organised signage around the place, decided not to camp in the carpark over the river and we headed out of town for a not so restful rest stop… Kept awake by noisy neighbours pulling up ages after us and making noise for ages, as well as the millions of trucks flying past most of the night.

Scone is the horse capital of Australia. I’ve never seen so many horses in all my days. Sandy and Bree you’d think you’d died and gone to heaven! It must be a horse breading mecca also as we passed Emirates Park on the way out. A very flashy stud with a picture of a Melbourne cup type jockey riding a horse as their logo.

I had to take a picture of the Scone Veterinary Hospital. Not only did it look like a hospital due to its size and stature, but there must have been nearly 20 vets posted on the wall outside. Round the back was a huge stables area, possibly part of the original Victorian buildings, and they’d also built 4 horse float unloading ramps. They advertised every human speciality of medicine for the equine variety except notably plastic surgery!

Warmed up early so we headed off up to Glenbown Dam, just 10kms out of Scone. It was a sad place. Really uninviting for a State Park. There were very few trees and it really looked dry and unloved. We decided to head on to the next dam, closer to Tamworth.

Stopped in a strange little town called Wallabadah. Its claim to fame is that it has Australia’s only memorial to The First Fleet. According to their signage the descendants from all over the world call in to see it.

They had little garden beds all around the little park with a picture and name of the boat and tombstone like tablets with the names of all who sailed in each vessel etched into them in alphabetical order.

To top it all off they had a tall ships styled shade sailed covered picnic area to enjoy your lunch. It kind of felt like you were at a cemetery with all the tomb stones staring at you.

It looked like it had all been built around the previous caravan park for the town. The toilet and shower block of the caravan park formed part of the fenced of area. They still had their manicured lawns and power poles and taps dotted around the site and the vacant area running down to the river. The was a sign up saying you could stay for free but only for 1 night. It was a nice little spot right on the river.

Arrived late afternoon at Chaffey Dam. We paid our voluntary entry fee of $2 into the box and then on further inspection Steve found too much algae to want to take kayak or dog into it. So we headed up to the next town that had a caravan park further up the dam and was hopefully in better condition. The next town along was called Woolomin. We were now only about 50kms from Tamworth. We arrived in the small little town with not much more than a corner store and headed towards the dam. It was dirt for an undisclosed length of road, so we decided to stay in the free camp just inside the town

I haven’t mentioned books for a while. I’ve been devouring some for a while. Finished Mary Drurack’s Heirs Forever which is about Eliza Shaw and her pioneering family of the Swan Valley in 1830 to the 1877 when she died. It was really interesting the lives they led, the expectations they had and the perceptions they developed from their English heritage.

From there I devoured in just over 24 hours, Andrew Gross’ The Blue Zone which is about a fabulous gold dealing family man who is arrested for money laundering for the Columbian drug barons and the strange turn of events for his family. Very compelling read.

Now just started A New History of Australia, by Frank Crowley which run from 1788 – 1972. I’m finding on visiting all this historical towns so deeply affected by early Australian settlement, its intriguing to read stories of families and how they wrote themselves into Australian history.

There being no TV or NextG reception we decided to call it a night – early for a change…

Our trip around NSW so far...