Thistle Do! January Week 1, 2023
On the Road Again... almost. Billy Connolly's Rambling On. Readin', Writin' and a'Twangin'. Happy Snaps!
Tamworth Countdown
This weekend, in the run up to the Tamworth Country Music Festival, Doll has taken a couple of days out, off the grid, at our friends’ place in the backwoods of Bororen.
It’s quite, serene, almost people free and an ideal place to ‘get grounded’ and work on some new songs before setting off on two week, two and half thousand klm, tour of central N.S.W.
In the lead up, Doll has made sure all the song lists have been set, music charts are correct, contacts contacted, promo shots and posters posted and the accommodation sorted… although finding a motel room in NSW at any time of year can be a bit challenging.
Actually, make that, finding a motel room anywhere within 100klm of a beach for less than $300 per night during school holidays, can be a bit challenging.
Lord, how the money rolls in…
Mind you, that’s still better than the motel in Tamworth gleefully charging latecomers, spur of the moment, or tragically desperate, country music fans, $600 per night per room during last years’ festival.
For 50 weeks of the year you can get the same rooms for less than $200 a night.
Anyway, Doll’s been pretty busy… but still managed to find time to whip this up:
Meanwhile, in my role as ‘Dolly Wrangler’, I’ve got to make sure there’s no Pavlova leftovers (we can definitely Check that one off the list) and the car is fuelled up and… I think that’s it?
Actually no! I also have to:
STAY HEALTHY!
Which is going to be a bit tricky.
In the past month we’ve managed to side-step the following little bundles of joy:
Nits, conjunctivitis, a vomiting bug and a particularly nasty crypto-virus (although, if you want to lose lots of weight, this one is a game-changer… just don’t expect to move too far from a toilet for about three weeks).
In spite of my best efforts, I did take a direct hit from a gastro bug over the Christmas / New Years break (didn’t lose any weight, but didn’t gain any… so that’s sort of a win).
Happily, Doll managed to dodge it. But, I’ve never inhaled so much Glen 20 and bleach fumes.
So, with six days to go before trucking off, all I have to do is not get sick.
How hard could that be?
Readin’
This week I finished Billy Connolly’s latest book, Rambling Man (of course, being confined to the house/toilet for three days certainly gave me a lot more reading time).
It’s the Big Yins’ third book (that he’s actually written, the others were written by, well, others) and, as usual, it’s a cracker.
Using the humour and wit which has made him a world-wide comedy sensation, he trawls through the many memories of a long life on the road as a young man performing folk music and sleeping on floors or on the street (Top Tip: tie some fishing line from your guitar case to your foot just in case someone tries to steal it while you nap).
In the 82 years he’s been on Planet Earth, Billy has had numerous adventures and met a lot of people (many of whom he didn’t swear at, or make fun of). As is the way of those who have lived so long, a lot of the people he knows have died. So there is a touch of melancholy in his writing.
Still, a good read and you’ll get a few belly laughs, wry smiles and slightly damp eyes.
Three out of five thumbs up from Gb.
(Lost a point because I’d heard many of the stories before, but like Billy says, the line between his stories and actual reality, is getting a lot blurrier as age, Parkinsons and a foggy memory from too much alcohol as a young man, catches up with him).
Writin’
This week, not a lot of writing (as usual).
Plenty of mowing though. So much mowing.
And far too many hours trying to get my, usually super-reliable, weed-eater to work after it stopped dead in mid-hack.
Took it apart several times, cleaned everything out and just as I was about to give up and go ‘fully battery / electric', I spied a kink in the fuel line just inside the tank under the grommet.
Two minutes later:
It’s Alive! ALIVE I TELL YOU!
And very loud….
Still, while I was futilely ripping away at the weed-eater starter chord, I did come up with a few little humorous tunes which I’ll flesh out (or destroy) during the Tamworth run, including:
Am I Much Better Looking Now I’ve Won Lotto?
Doing Stupid Things - to stop me from getting bored.
I Need a Filling (sung to the tune of ‘I’ve got a Feeling’ aka: The Minties Song)
Ghost Wombats In The Sky (although I might change this one to Ghost Chooks as words which rhyme with ‘Wombat’ are a bit thin on the ground… dingbat… fruit-bat… cricket bat… ???).
Twangin’
Every night I’ve spent an hour going over old song set lists to keep them fresh and to add some fillers (twangy bits between verses).
Also, really been enjoying playing Dire Straits ‘Sultans of Swing’, and a throat singing version of ‘House of the Rising Sun’… which has to be heard to be believed.
Note: I will accept any valid Australian bank notes to stop throat singing. Probably…
Happy Snaps
This week was a bit quiet around Gladdy town…
Ok! Thanks for dropping by, let’s do it all again in a weeks’ time!
Cheers,
Gb