Fantastic Hobart

Marg and I had a great time in Hobart on the weekend. We flew down there on Friday afternoon and returned to Melbourne on Sunday evening. In between we had two days of sensational weather and were able to spend some time with our goddaughter Claire, her mother Marg and Marg’s partner Brian. Good food, good wine, good company and great surroundings – the perfect weekend.

On Saturday morning Marg and I spent a couple of hours exploring the stalls at Salamanca Market. We never buy much there but we always enjoy it. Claire found a good spot for breakfast and I had something called Eggs Salmon Rushdie – unfortunately for this particular salmon, the death sentence had been carried out and I thoroughly enjoyed every mouthful. Nothing beats Tasmanian salmon. A highlight of the market visit is always stopping for a while to listen to the great Chilean band Arauco Libre – those guys can play!

On Saturday night we ate one of Brian’s specialties, a north African lamb dish, and washed it down with a couple of bottles of Wellington sauvignon blanc – excellent!

Sunday was Father’s Day. I had text messages from both Tess and Casey, which was great. We drove down to Franklin on the Huon River and had lunch in the old courthouse – more excellent Tasmanian food and wine. Franklin was terrific – wouldn’t it be nice to live there and watch the river flow past every day. Swans, ducks – very peaceful. I loved the footy ground, right on the river’s edge. If the ball went out on the full you’d need a boat and a pair of oars to get it back!

On the way to the airport we called in at St Mary’s where Claire teaches. Her classroom looked really good. I’ll bet those girls enjoy being in Claire’s class. At the airport I caught about a quarter of the Pies giving the Kangas a football lesson – that was a good way to finish our short visit. I listened to the after match summary on the ABC during the flight home.
It was over all too quickly, but a thoroughly enjoyable couple of days. Can’t wait to get back to Hobart again in the near future.

Bruce Cockburn and me

For the past 30 years I have been a huge fan of Canadian singer songwriter Bruce Cockburn.  In the mid-70s Cockburn’s album In the Falling Dark was reviewed in Rolling Stone.  I was so taken with the review that I went out and bought the album, having never heard him play or sing a note before.  I was not disappointed.  I absolutely loved that album and still do, having played it hundreds of times over the years.

When Cockburn came to Australia to play at the Port Fairy Folk Festival in March 2004, I was lucky enough to see both performances.  I went backstage with my mate Dave and we shook his hand and chatted briefly.  Cockburn even signed my CD copy of In the Falling Dark, which I thought was pretty special.

It’s hard to say why I like his music so much.  I think I just admire his ability to use words so well – he paints pictures with them at times and at other times he is very forthright.  The verses just seem to stay in my head and I really like listening to the same lines every time I hear my favourite songs.  There are many, including World of Wonders, If I Had a Rocket Launcher, Tokyo and Gavin’s Woodpile.  I also thoroughly enjoy Cockburn’s guitar – he is a class instrumentalist.

I know he is revered in Canada and I’m quite amazed that he isn’t better known in Australia.  Those who know his work generally share my admiration for his artistry and his amazing body of work.  Cockburn, of course, has a social conscience and isn’t afraid to speak his mind.  He is definitely an artist for our times.  Long may he continue to write and play great songs.

His official website is here.

The Cockburn Project website is here.

The Autograph Hunter

A short story I wrote about my boyhood memories of chasing autographs at Collingwood games has just been published in a new book, ‘The Barrackers Are Shouting‘. The book is edited by Michael Roberts, the club historian.

I’m pretty happy to be included in a collection that also includes contributions from Eddie McGuire, Nathan Buckley, Joffa and others.

The book is available from Collingwood Football Club and good bookstores. Details are here.

Hi there!

Welcome to my blog. I plan to use this as my personal space to write about the things that interest me. In brief that means music, sport, travel, movies and quirky things I come across.

I work in education in a curriculum support role. You can visit my education professional development blog at pdspot.com.

The posts here will be occasional, rather than regular. Sometimes the inspiration just flows, sometimes it doesn’t …