Welcome to the last Anne’s Diary for the year – and this will also be the final edition of the diary. I’m replacing it with a new page titled Scrap Book which will have its first outing in the New Year.
MySpace: With the invaluable help of my webmaster Mary Brettell, I’ve lately ventured further into cyberspace with a page on MySpace. You can hear songs, see photos, meet my friends and link to my web site at http://www.myspace.com/anneinfante.
Broadband: I’ve also finally made the switch from Dial-Up to Broadband to speed up my access to the Internet and my email address has subsequently changed to anne.infante@bigpond.com. The old address will still be accessible until 2010 to allow people who have it on my CDs to contact me.
Disaster Area: No, it’s not a new folk group. You’ve probably seen that parts of South-East Queensland were recently hit with destructive storms and cyclonic winds. I live at The Gap, which bore the brunt of a hurricane-like storm on November 16 and was the first suburb to be designated as a disaster area. Luckily my home is in a fairly sheltered area and, apart from some branches snapping off and our long easement/driveway being scoured out by torrents of water, we had no major damage. Many parts of The Gap are still in a sorry state with debris still waiting to be cleared and many wonderful, massive old eucalypts and other trees uprooted or snapped in half, or twisted off and hurled about. It was interesting as well as disturbing to be living in a disaster zone; the event was likened to Cyclone Larry which devastated Innisfail in March 2006 and as well as the Army and the Brisbane City Council workers, we had a flood of willing volunteers from North Queensland, the Sunshine Coast and Northern New South Wales who laboured tirelessly day and night for over two weeks to clear the wreckage, repair homes and counsel those traumatised by the damage they suffered.
With the continuing rain and warm weather, it’s heartening how many of the trees which were lopped right back after the disaster are already putting out new shoots but many on the hillsides and in the surrounding bush reserves lie where they fell, uprooted and broken. It’s heartbreaking to see the damage to our beautiful green bush corridors. The wildlife, although not mentioned in any of the news bulletins, also suffered losses and people reported finding dead possums, flying foxes and many beautiful birds that had perished in the storm.
Whiskey Gully Wines: On November 27, six of the Kookaburra Folk Club members drove up to Stanthorpe on The Granite Belt of South-East Queensland, for our promised visit to the folk club at Whiskey Gully Wines. We had our eyes on the weather, as we’re still experiencing quite violent electrical storms and drenching rain, but luckily, although it was raining in Brisbane when we left early on Thursday morning, we eventually outran it and had excellent weather for our visit. A number of Brisbane folkies have moved into the country and it was a great pleasure to catch up with old friends and share an evening with them once again. The Whiskey Gully Winery restaurant/folk club is in a lovely old Queenslander. Built in the late 1880s it has cedar fittings, wonderful open fireplaces and a mellow, welcoming atmosphere. We thoroughly enjoyed performing there and are planning another visit in a few months.
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John Arlidge, mine host at Whiskey Gully Wines |
Anne Infante, Mary Brettell and resident group Jelly at Whiskey Gully Wines |
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Senior Moments: I’m delighted to report that Senior Moments haven’t completely lost our brilliant flautist, Robin Etter-Cleave – she will be with us for our performance at Folk Redlands in February. For details as they come to hand click Performances.
Last Kookaburra Night for 2008: After performing at the final night at ABOFOTS (Maleny) on Saturday December 6 and the Folk Redlands 2008 breakup and Christmas party next day, Sunday December 7, we closed the folk year with the Kookaburra Folk Club’s last night for 2008 on Wednesday December 17. The evening was packed with performers and audience members exchanging gifts, cards and Christmas wishes and, as in 2007, John Lewis’s alter ego Pirate Santa arrived in his pirate suit, sang a set of pirate carols, and handed out Christmas cake.
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Pirate Santa’s Coming to Town |
Julie, Juliette & Anne
- Happy Christmas! |
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The Kookaburra Folk Club reopens on January 7 with two special guest spots – one of whom is Jelly from Whiskey Gully Wines who will be giving their last performance for at least a year as Emily is bound for France for 12 months to study at the Sorbonne. All our good wishes go with you, Emily.
However you commemorate Christmas/Solstice/New Year, may you enjoy every moment and celebrate safely with your family and friends and I wish you happiness and good fortune in the coming year.
Warm good wishes,
