Days of Wine and Roses, and Dingos, and Kangaroos, and Wedge Tail Eagles, and the long roads of central Australia

If you're still reading after that title, you will get an idea of what we did on the last holiday. We made it back to Ferny Creek on Saturday night, and everyone is getting settled back in school. I picked 2 Wpg friends up at the airport today, and they are figuring out their trip around Australia. So we'll only see them for a day or two now, and more when they get back.

The wine and roses were in the Barossa Valley, which we experienced with Lesley, one of our new friends from the bus tour to Alice Springs. Lesley, an Australian who lived in the Canadian arctic and on Vancouver Island for many years, welcomed us to her new home north of Adelaide. Lucky for us... it's just on the edge of the Barossa Valley, so we were able to visit 3 wineries (Burge, St Hallam, and Orlando at Jacob's Creek). Lesley had scones for us on our arrival (yes, once again I managed to get lost, so we were late getting to those fresh scones), took us to Maggie Beer's for a cooking demo and tasting, and served a picnic lunch (quite late in the day because I got lost on the way to Lesley's) on the grounds of the Orlando info centre at Jacob's Creek.

http://picasaweb.google.com/brigittewiebe/BarossaValley#

From the Barossa, we drove up to Mildura, home to more vineyards, including Lindeman's and Wolf Blass and orange and olive groves amongst other farms. The farms are green thanks to irrigation from the Murray River, which was actually flooded in a few places, due to the huge rains they'd had the week before. That river winds a very sinuous path through northern Victoria and southern NSW. Yes, I know Australia is in drought, but the storms that hit Adelaide when we were there were intense, and there's more water than we expected in the Murray.

In Adelaide, we walked on the beach (Brighton and Sea Cliff) in between rain storms. At the Brighton pier, we met a local "oldie", who warned us away from his little terrier blend because the dog was grumpy. Grumpiness was due to the fact that the man wouldn't let the dog jump off the pier. Apparently this is normal for the dog, but because of the stormy weather, the man didn't want to climb down the ladder (I'm guessing it was at least 7 metres to the water from the top of the pier) to retrieve the dog. So the dog marched back down the pier, dissing everyone with his grumpy face, wearing his winter coat! All he wanted to do was jump from the pier.

Mildura led us homewards, back to Ferny Creek. But I've started at the end of our adventure, so I should move us to the beginning, which started with a drive to Adelaide 3 weeks ago (had to leave a few days later than we planned because the starter motor on the car broke), and then a tour group up into the centre of Australia.

What we managed to see probably is about 1/10 (or less) of central Australia. Alice Springs and Adelaide are about 1500 km apart, and it's another 1500 or so on to Darwin. Now we wish we had somehow managed to get ourselves up to Darwin, but we'll have to save that for another time.

We joined a group of exchange teachers and local Adelaidian (if there's such a word!) Australians on a bus tour up to Alice Springs via Woomera, Coober Pedy, Yulara (the resort that is home to Ulurua and Kata Tjuta), King's Canyon and King's Creek Station, and ultimately, Alice Springs. Our bus drivers/hosts were David and Sonia Camilleri who operate Banksia Tours. They've spent years in central Australia, so were able to offer their knowledge and lore. They provided meals, or the Exchange Teachers group organized meals in the more "urban" settings, and our accommodation varied from a caravan park in Woomera, to an underground hostel in Coober Pedy, to tenting in Yulara and King's Creek Station, to a motel in Alice Springs. From Alice we went back to Adelaide, where we stayed at the home of another exchange teacher, from Sidney BC, a very generous offer on her part. That gave us time to visit a few galleries and museums in Adelaide, and check out the Central Market for the second time -- specifically, eat at the Asian food stalls of the Central Market. From Adelaide we went on to Lesley's... see above... now you're going in a circle.

I'm going to talk about our experiences on each leg of the trip, but thought I should quickly get this message out to let you all know we are back in FC, safe and sound.

Happy Canada Day

Happy Canada Day

We aren't leaving until tomorrow morning, so we can wish you all a special holiday tomorrow. I hear the weather hasn't been the best, with huge wind storms in Manitoba, and rain in Ontario... probably it's perfect in BC! The wind is gale force today, knocking down a few little trees in the yard. The possums were skittering around on the roof last night, blown back and forth by the wind. The door was rattling in its frame, much to Nicole's distress.

We've celebrated my birthday, got the car fixed (starter motor burned out ... boo), removed a "nyle" (nail) from the tyre and fixed that, found an orthodontist to remove Kai's loose retainer, and now we're ready to go tomorrow morning. On to Adelaide, perhaps stopping in the Barossa Valley tomorrow evening. Sounds good wine lovers? Then on to Alice Springs on Saturday morning. Love these school hols! We're loaded up on talking books, ipods are charged, I've decreed when we're stopping for coffee, and we've got some good driving tunes courtesy of Top Gear Australia ... what more is there?

Maple leaf bickies were provided for classmates, the crossing guard at the school, neighbours, and us! Enjoy your celebrations in Canada.

The Day the Piano Came

We're getting to know lots of people here, some acquaintances, and a closer connection to others. We ran into a couple and their two boys on Saturday night, June 20, in Belgrave, after we'd all walked in an evening Solstice lantern parade. Other than the news that a local wine bar had just opened, and a chat about how gorgeous the many lanterns were as we walked down the main street which had been closed to traffic, she was aglow with the news that their new grand piano was arriving on Tuesday. Tuesday has come and gone, and the piano is there, in its own room. Ready for the many fingers that are waiting for it. The house is reasonably chaotic she said, but the piano room is all organized. The other, older, piano is now in the bedroom of one of their sons. Both teach music in a local TAFE (like our community colleges), and he is in a band.

As I'm writing this the news of Michael Jackson's death has hit the airwaves. On Friday morning in school everyone was wondering if it was real or a hoax. And everyone had their memory about music which they shared with others -- where they were when they heard about the death of Elvis. How the little boy of the Jackson 5 thrilled them with his soaring voice. My kids only really know about the clownish or media side of the man -- not the beautiful, clear voice that appealed to so many.

Most of us resonate to/with music. A while ago Gerald emailed me and suggested I could write about what I'm learning here about Australian music, so here's my attempt. What I do know, right from the first, is how much Canadian music I was hearing everywhere. I don't listen much to the commercial music stations, but when I do, there's lots of the same generic music you will hear anywhere. Pink is hot right now because she's on a big tour in Aus. AC/DC are coming next year, so there was a lot of talk about who got tickets and how quickly they sold out. And there's a big fight between the AC/DC concert promoters and the Footy clubs who have booked the same stadium for their pre-season shows next summer/fall. Footy is god at so many levels here. Discussions are now ongoing! There's a universality to a lot of the music we're hearing about here -- the airwaves, the Internet -- everything is everywhere. But there's great local stuff as well.

We missed Leonard Cohen and Neil Young earlier in the year, but several music lovers talked about them when they heard our Canadian accents. One woman mentioned how her husband and friends managed to get to 2 Neil Young concerts -- one here in Melbourne, the second an 8 hour drive away in Sydney. One of the teachers at FCPS was impressed that our kids knew about Leonard Cohen when he mentioned his attendance at the concert. And tickets to last week's Simon and Garfunkel shows didn't sell as quickly as hoped -- tickets priced in the mid $200 range are pricey. A woman stopped me at a local shopping centre after hearing the Canadian accent to talk about her love for the music of Canada's east coast, particulary Rita MacNeil. I finally had to drag myself away from her -- a very avid fan who was going to email Rita that night to tell her she had just met a Canadian in the shopping centre.

The love of music, commercial or not, is intrinsic to our being. I heard our kids setting new words to the "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" the other day. And tapdancing to the tune throughout the house. They now know the Australian anthem, but still burst out into "O Canada". We have discussed how "our" anthem differs so much from the other... much national pride. Ferny Creek Primary School has its own school song, all about being high in the clouds, and about the gorgeous trees that surround us. I am constantly amazed at all the bird song in the hills, hearing the birds calling to each other. Apparently bird pairs who stay together have a purpose or intent to their song -- a specific and vital form of communication that allows the bond to stay strong. The magpies are usually seen in pairs or family groups, as are the kookaburras. The kookaburras also use their voice to warn others from their territory. By the way, the sounds for the first Tarzan shows/movies were taped in the bush in Queensland. So that iconic jungle sound is straight from Aus. (This from another local parent/musician.)

While it's hard to take it all in, we have been picking up music knowledge here and there. There is one independent radio station (3RRR at http://www.rrr.org.au/ ) that I listen to that plays some great (long-winded sometimes!) interviews, and I'm always hoping they'll just play some more of the music they're talking about. I've also heard of some local radio networks, based in one or two little towns/suburbs in the area, that have an avid folk music following. We met 2 men at the Kallista market, who host folk music evenings once a week on a station that only has limited range.

And I know the Winnipeg Folk Fest is now gearing up for action in the coming week. We have heard about a few well known folk festivals in the region -- in April, when we were in Canberra, the Canberra Folk Festival was starting as we were leaving. And there are folk festivals along the Great Ocean Road, one in Port Fairy and one in Apollo Bay, both hosting Australian and international performers. The Apollo Bay festival made news recently because festival organizers are fighting in the courts with each other about one group paying themselves too much money.

As I'm often listening to ABC National, I don't focus as much on individual music channels, but almost every ABC program showcases an Australian performer, while a few focus specifically on music. What I'm going to do is provide some links to the shows that focus on music, and then keep adding performer's names to the sidebars of the blog. That way you can click on a person and check out their music. You will likely know about or remember bands like Midnight Oil. Peter Garrett, their big stage presence, is now the Labour Member for Kingsford Smith, and is Minister for Environment, Heritage and the Arts, elected in 2004. He is often in the news because of his political role, but Midnight Oil regrouped and performed at the Bush Fire Relief concerts in March, and by all accounts performed admirably. You will also know of some of the other "big" names -- Nick Cave is often talked about. Someone mentioned Neil Finn to me, and when I questioned the citizenship, they admitted he was originally a Kiwi (NZer), but they like to claim him as one of their own.


Rebecca, the owner of the new piano. mentioned her sister Angie Hart to me. I was talking about different music and thinking about ideas and she casually mentioned Angie to me. Angie fronted the band Frente for years, with international success. She's back in Melbourne now, and her new solo album is called Grounded Bird. Read more about this talented singer at
http://www.newherenowlive.com/profile.php?band=134#biography

• Another great music show you might want to check out on the Internet, via streaming audio, or podcasts (when available is MusicDeli. There are some excellent links and info on the page which is found at http:www.abc.net.au/rn/musicdeli/default.htm.
• Lucky Oceans hosts a show called The Daily Planet. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/dailyplanet/.
• The Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) awards honour the country's top songwriters, with awards voted by 30,000 musicians and industry professionals. A name you will recognize from the days of Yothu Yindi is Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, who won the award for Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year. His debut album, Gurrumul, has sold 140,000 copies on an independent label, with little commercial radio support. http://www.myspace.com/gurrumul. Even Peter Garrett gets in on the accolades!
• Last week the kids and I attended an amazing amateur musical evening called "The Gang Show", created and performed by Scouts and Guide groups from the Melbourne area. The performances were impressive given that it's developed, written (music and lyrics), and designed (costumes and stage set) beginning in February. The first half was about Marco Polo and the 2nd had an environmental focus on animals in the Australian bush. http://www.gangshow.org/current.html

It's hard to keep up... and I haven't even started on the classical scene... I'll save it for another day.

Thanks Gerald for this idea!

Autumn in Ferny Creek

Autumn is over. Winter is here. But check out the colours from one month ago.

http://picasaweb.google.com/brigittewiebe/AutumnInTheNeighbourhood#

Political Shenanigans

The Australian government is in its last week of work, with this sitting of the House to end on June 26. Starting about mid week last week, the shenanigans picked up.

• A female Greens senator, Sarah Hanson-Young, was walking late in the day with her 2 year old daughter in Parliament House when there was a sudden call for a vote. Given the short time frame, she popped into the Senate chamber with her daughter. The daughter was quiet, not creating a fuss. Apparently, in 2003, rules were changed to allow elected women/mothers to breastfeed their children in the chambers, and in the past few years, a few Senators have taken their children into the Senate, but their presence was ignored. So there was an assumption that this would be suitable. When the Labour Party had a change of Ministers the other week, children were present at the swearing-in ceremony, notably with their male parent, in the front row. In fact, the Governor General encouraged their presence when someone suggested the children leave... However, the Senate president ordered the child out of the chamber. That's when the noise level increased, especially by the young child, who was removed from her mother's arms. And if the Senator didn't vote, she would not be doing her "duty" as an elected representative, so she stayed to vote, and the little girl was taken out. Of course this has raised discussion on many issues related to parenting, work, how work intrudes into our private lives but our private lives aren't allowed to intrude into work. The more conservative-leaning Australian Family Association supports this because it opposes long-term day care!

• The leader of the Opposition, Malcom Turnbull, has created a firestorm about a supposed special favour by the Prime Minister's Office of a friend of the PM. A while ago the car finance industry needed to be bailed out financially (why they "need" this when the rest of us have to forge on without bailing out is an issue, I think). A government office was created to support this endeavour, and apparently a request was also made to support an individual car dealer in Queensland. An email was sent and much was made of the PM's involvement in the case. It now turns out the email is a fake, so there is a major waste of everyone's time while people are blaming each other in every news item that is aired or written. This during the week when the government was trying to pass a new bill regarding Emissions Trading, trying to create change in how pollution is handled. Mr. Turnbull is now back pedaling and assures all and sundry that he may have been "misinformed".

• A few months ago the Labour Party's introduced a bill to change the taxation of "alcopops". Alcopops are the mixed drinks that are sold in the bottle or can, e.g., the Smirnoff Ice drink we have in Canada. A very popular canned drink here in Aus is a mix of Jim Beam and a cola product. The Labour Party wanted to increase the taxes on these drinks, in an effort to, of course, raise more money, and also to supposedly discourage binge drinking. The coalition of opposition party members in the Senate steadfastly discouraged support, because they say it doesn't do anything about the problem of binge drinking, but is just a money grab by the government. And the Bill has to pass both houses in order to become law. Several opposition members have now decided to cross the floor and are now supporting the alcopops bill. Earlier in the term there was a threat that non-support of the re-introduced Bill by the Senate would cause a double dissolution of the government, causing the government to fall before its term ended. So now they may not be facing an early election.

The Dog Days of Winter

Don't know why I think these are the dog days of winter. Everybody tells me the "worst is still to come". In August. Colder, windy and mistier. But this feels like the dog days of winter. That term is usually used with summer, but there's something similar happening here. Maybe it's more like the doldrums of winter. We are half way through our exchange, our epic journey, and it feels as if things are slowly swirling, not moving forward or backward. But I'm thinking it will soon speed up, or seem to speed up.

I'm turning 50 in a few days. I thought it didn't have anything to do with that, but maybe it is. That's a good age. Several other acquaintances are turning 50 soon. And I'm getting a winter birthday for the first time. We'll be somewhere on or near Kangaroo Island for June 30. Must find some champagne somewhere. That's always a birthday requirement. When my mum turned 50, I was finished with University and starting on a "professional" job. That job was another epic journey. Half my lifetime away.

Tom has been slogging it out, with several weekends spent adding and changing comments on student reports and grading exams. More than 200 reports to do, with comments coming back to him about 2 spaces following a word, not one. "Duty of care" is a theme of the private school. The reports are for parents, not for the students. And the students' full names are to be recorded, not the familiar version most kids use -- Thomas, not Tom. Nicole, not Nicki. (Nicole is being called Nick or Nicki a lot and I like it. She's starting to like it...) And here we are, in the last week of the 2nd term, and he started with another set of 8 classes last week. A bit of overlap, but mostly new topics and areas to deliver. At least the year 11 VCE students continue through all four terms. He had an interview with an admin person in his school, and was able to discuss a few of the issues -- bus, yard and lunch duty, "extras" (replacing other teachers when they are ill or away in lieu of calling in substitute teachers) and all teachers scrambling to teach their 9 classes per term. 80 meetings/year, not 10. A host of differences. He is grateful to have teaching experience under his belt, or he knows he would be floundering, not just swamped. On a very positive note, the students are certainly producing some gorgeous art work. One group drew their shoes, then enlarged one section, then reproduced that section on a clay tile. Fired with a green glaze, pooling black in the edges, they are gorgeous and abstract and will become a ceramic mural at Beaconhills. A legacy of his hard work. In the long run, the experience is teaching Tom and the students a lot. Our kids are learning things they would never had the opportunity to learn in Winnipeg. I think we need a chance to catch our collective breath, and let the journey soak back into our minds.

Tom asked me the other day if I felt homesick at all, and I'm not. But there are things we all miss. Hearing friends talk about Vic Beach started the longing. And Tom wanted to be at Erika's retirement, as they have a long and rich history of teaching and creating art. So we made a video and uploaded it to YouTube for Erika's retirement party. It was impossible to load it via dial-up so I went to the local library and the situation proved more productive. One of the neighbours offered their computer time, but after more than one hour, I realized I was just wasting their monthly allotment. I think I've mentioned it before, but everything is locked down with regard to the amount of usage per month. Your monthly charges increase dramatically if you don't stay within your limit. So the library has proved to be a wonderful, public benefit to our family.

Last week we had several mornings of fog. It can be very thick on our side of One Tree Hill Road (I think that's my favourite road name around here). The low angle of the sun pierced the fog with sharp rays of light, dancing with water particles. Nicole stood in amazement in the light rays, letting them bathe her. Of course I did not have my camera with me. It's just a walk to school, after all. I did go back with the camera, but the angle of the sun had changed. That will be a memory in my heart.

The birds don't seem to mind the weather -- they have been singing their hearts out, although that may be because it's time to nest, so there is serious warbling and attracting going on. On the weekend we went to the Melbourne Zoo and made some discoveries. The male Bower Bird finds blue objects and spreads them on a trail to a nest he has carefully prepared for the love of his life. The female Bower Bird loves blue and follows the blue lures to his carefully prepared nest. She produces the eggs, and takes off, leaving him to raise the young! There is a trail of blue items on the walk up One Tree Hill Road, so we suspect there is a Bower Bird there somewhere. The Lyre Birds are calling as well. They are excellent mimics, and can sound like anything in their environment -- a chain saw, motorcycle, whistling person, car changing gears. They hang out along a trail off Sherbrooke Road, so they can be heard there. Although it might be a motorcycle we're hearing! And the Rosellas are eating all the buds off the camellia tree. One day I saw the buds and realized we would soon have a tree full of flowers. But there's a group of at least 6 Rosellas that come around and nibble away. And the black Cockatoos are occasionally around as well, but they are much quieter than their cousins, the Sulphur Crested Cockies -- the pteradactyl of the bird world, as a fellow walker noted to me. There is a little blue and red parrot, possibly a King Parrot, that sat on the fern tree outside the window beside the computer. Picked off a frond. Turned it over, and carefully removed each tiny little seed on the bottom. Next time you're near a fern, check out the seeds. Not that large. Once finished with the seeds, the frond is dropped on the ground. The grass in Ferny Creek is growing more lush every day with all the moisture in the air.

The kids enjoy their hot porridge in the mornings. And they wanted gravy for last week's roast chicken. Hot chocolate is always good. Comfort food. Something to warm us from the inside out. The wood heater in the living area does a great job of heating up that space, but insulation has not been a priority in Australia until recently. There is now a government grant to help homeowners add insulation to their roofs -- makes a big difference I hear. But people are also suggesting it would be good to insulate their floors and walls -- or add a layer between your feet and the cool (or hot) outdoor air. R2.5 to R3 is the going rate for insulation. Insulation works with both heat and cold. Everyone thinks we Canadians should be used to being cold, but while the out of doors is a gorgeous temperature (anything above zero in winter is gorgeous) compared to the Winnipeg winter, the indoors can be quite chilly.

The teachers had last Friday off to do their reports, and the kids and I went to a wave pool. Some decent waves! We brought boogy boards, and had a great time. Nicole got dizzy when they started a zig zag wave pattern. The three kids are looking forward to the end of term. They've been going to school since September (with the travel break to Hawaii and New Zealand in January), and will continue with 2 more terms before we head back. We will have extra week of holidays because Tom's school doesn't start back until July 20 (these are the benefits of a private school).

We are taking a bus trip to Alice Springs via Adelaide, Woomera, Coober Pedy, Uluru and Kata Tjuta, driving our car from here to South Australia to meet up with fellow travellers. Hopefully we'll make it to Kangaroo Island on the way. There will be other exchange teachers and families on the bus part of the trip up toward Alice Springs. Days can be warmish, but we have been warned to bring "longies" as the nights will be cold and we'll be staying in tents for part of the trip. Returning to Ferny Creek we'll greet Roberta and Aline from Winnipeg on their way to Australian travels. We are looking forward to showing off a few precipitous roads and gorgeous views, including the nighttime rooftop party courtesy of the possums.

How an angel at Bennelong Point gave Sydney its spirit

David Malouf March 25, 2009 (Thanks to Tom's friend, Stephanie Tonkin of Townesville, for this excerpt.)

If, as humans, we had to name our supreme achievement in the realm of making, it would surely be that piecemeal work of hands and generations, the city. Extraordinary, then, how often in such a collaborative enterprise, such a random collision of expediency and provisional hit-and-miss, of utilitarian dullness and commercialism and occasional caprice, a single building, the product of one man's vision, has made all the difference, providing a city almost overnight with what it lacked, a defining centre, or adding to an existing landmark a late-born twin and rival to create a new line of force.

Think of the Taj Mahal or the Golden Gate Bridge. Think of Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. If such a building catches the world's eye and finds a place there it becomes an icon, or what Wallace Stevens, speaking of poetry, called a "necessary angel": a presence that speaks powerfully to the senses but whose real message is for the spirit. Set such a building down in the muddle of a great city and the whole field composes itself anew. The city is drawn in around it, as if it had been waiting for just this miraculous object to appear and claim its place.

That, of course, is how it was when this building, Joern Utzon's Opera House, first arrived at Bennelong Point.

And those of us who lived through the 15 years of its construction - the piling up over weeks and months in all weather of so many tonnes of structural material, the assembling of so many hands, the precise calculations and engineering and technical know-how, the bringing in of excavators, derricks, cranes, lifts, girders to a site that swarmed like the pyramids, all mess and mud piles and unfinished arcs and unseemly arguments - will recall, when all the heavy work was done and those millions of tonnes had found their proper place and tension, and the finished object was cleaned down and unwrapped, what a work of playful lightness it turned out to be, a shining thing from another order of reality that had miraculously stepped clear of the mind that had conceived it, shouldered off its crust, and was actually there, spreading its wings on a new shore.

But a city is a living organism, an enterprise not simply of towerblocks and thoroughfares and squares, but of daily comings and goings, of human needs to be catered for and interests served. Those too are transformed by whatever new thing is set in their midst.

When Utzon's necessary angel alighted at Bennelong Point, the whole inner city shifted its ground. Circular Quay, The Rocks, Woolloomooloo and Walsh Bay took on a new existence. Macquarie Street found a goal, became what it was always meant to be, a grand boulevard running from Hyde Park to the water. And the lightness, the exuberant fantasy the building embodies and so powerfully spoke up for, provided a new vision of what a water city - and specifically this city, all light and vertical space and air - might aspire to be: a playground of the spirit, a model of how the useful and necessary may also, within the rules, become pure play.

Like all true works of art, Utzon's great house and explosive sculptural ensemble was a gift. Our role as the receivers of it is to honour the gift with our affectionate gratitude, and be taking it into our lives and using it as it was designed to be used, and passing it on.

David Malouf is an author. His tribute will be read during today's state memorial service at the Sydney Opera House for Joern Utzon, who died in November, aged 90.