All posts filed under: adventures

Does Chaka Khan know I polished Gertie the Giraffe for her at Australia’s recent Blues Festival?

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Of course she doesn’t. But I do. Hello lovely folks, thanks for dropping by. I am recovering from four days of a Blues music festival (as punter, not musician- not yet anyway). And three days full time work helping to set it up before that. “Artist Decor Assistant” is the official title; what it really means is lots of climbing up and down step ladders, staple gunning vintage fabric to the temporary walls of incoming artists’ dressing rooms. It’s the second time I’ve done it, and I loved it even more this year. Transforming a big, blank, box of a room filled with even smaller blank boxes into a vibrant, welcoming, eclectic and interesting creative space is thrilling to me… especially when one of the performers is Chaka Khan! This year’s line-up included one of my favourite disco singers; who here over 40 hasn’t danced to ‘I’m Every Woman’? Exactly no one. So when I was told to polish Gertie the Giraffe ‘… because she may go in Chaka’s room…’, I leapt to it. Never …

New year, new me: come visit my Australian punk cabaret band Mutton!

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Hello lovelies, it’s been a loooooooooooong time between posts I know. How are you? Hello once again, where I’m swinging by to invite you to visit my new creative project ‘Mutton’, a post-menopausal, post-modern, post-punk, pre-apocalyptic drums and bass duet! We sing, we swear, we play bastardised covers and dodgy originals, and we are having the best fun. You’ll find our website HERE. We have stunning photos, upcoming gigs, and a good feminist vibe. So pop in to say Hi. Who knows: perhaps we’ll end up coming your way one day? If you’re in Australia, you’ll find us in Gosford, Bellingen, Brunswick Heads, Wollongong and Sydney in February… Then back on the couch recovering for most of March haha. In complete and utter gratitude for the privilege of creativity and my drumming determination, Love G xO

In her honour, we played our first ever gig as The Ruths

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Have you ever been in a band? It’s a complex juggle of personalities, skill, nerves, and creativity. Hello Folks, thanks for dropping by. I’ve been ridiculously busy lately, but in the best way for me: various art projects, which of course also includes grant applications/rehearsals/long-distance driving to gigs/exhaustion/recalibrating. I’ve written before HERE about my ‘Band Me Up’ project, inspiring local women who always wanted to play music to actually give it a go; finally, our weekly rehearsals culminated in our first performance at a local pub’s [very low-key] Sunday afternoon Open Mic. It was a process to get there, let me tell you! Seven women, at seven different stages of musical prowess, including our funky bass player who only picked up her guitar three months earlier. She started out on tamborine, tried backing vocals and the drums (but I was very hard to prise off the throne), then finally found her niche. ‘But we’re not ready,’ some of us said. ‘You’ll never be ready, and you’ll never feel good enough,‘ advised one old musician. ‘You …

Too old to learn the drums at 56? Hell no! One year later…

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Welcome Folks, to the best year of my life. I mean that. Twelve months ago exactly I bought my first electronic drum kit for $400, played it for 2 weeks every day, then upgraded to a $1500 kit. I wrote all about it HERE. A couple of months later I spent $500 on a cute blue acoustic kit (which means the proper ‘drum kit’ you see with rock bands), then again upgraded to my now-much-beloved-almost-new-proper Pearl kit, with pride of place in my living room: And yes, I’d sleep there if I thought it would help me learn quicker. For me, drums are the perfect combination of rhythm, dance, meditation, creativity, focus, play, fun, and discipline. I try and play every day for an hour (sometimes more), and let me acknowledge here what a privilege this is: I don’t have to deal with a fulltime job, 3 kids, a struggle with homelessness, or even just grumpy neighbours. I am SO blessed. Last week marked six months of weekly rehearsals with my group of over-45 women …

It all started 9 months ago, and no, I’m not pregnant, (at nearly 57): it’s musical

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Hello Folks, and thanks for dropping by. My new direction began on a Wednesday evening, having a 5Rhythms dance in a hall with buddies, when a friend asked if there was anything I wanted to do that I hadn’t done yet? Great question right? To my utter shock, despite quick thoughts of “Dismantle the patriarchy/live in Berlin or Paris for a year/hike Machu Picchu/write a book/achieve world peace/horse-ride across Mongolia/install a plunge pool with infrared sauna” etc, a wide beam of light shone down upon me from above, and what came out of my mouth was: “Play the drums.” I kid you not: I surprised even myself. But I got goosebumps; I felt a rush of excitement and glee; my heart felt like it grew wings. And if there’s one thing I’ve learnt in my creative life, it’s to listen to those somatic messages. So I took a deep breath, and just let the concept hum through my body. Luckily, my friends smiled and cheered; it was a vulnerable moment of truth, and no one …

Seven months away from WordPress: am I back? Anyone still out there? And what have I actually been doing?

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Hello Folks, thanks for dropping by. I’ve been utterly missing in action I confess: have logged in maybe twice, read a couple of posts, shrugged nonchalantly, and gone again. Some of my fav bloggers have shut themselves down, and moved to social media more regularly. Some are still here, but kinda saying the same things to be honest… Of course, a number of blogs remain funny/sharp/fabulous etc, and I have just wandered around today catching up on Who is Where doing What and with what Success. I’ve personally been super busily OBSESSED with a completely new creative direction. It’s nearly nine months, and I have never felt so compelled, so inspired, so excited, so delighted! It’s better than a new lover. It’s better than a fine-dining meal. It’s waaaay better than Xmas or a birthday. What have I been up to? A new post will reveal all 🙂 Thank you for reading and wondering: can you guess?? In gratitude for new challenges, G xO

Yet more photos from the Australian desert during a silent bushwalking adventure (Part Three)

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Hello Folks, thanks for dropping by. I’m trying to upload more photos from my Meditation walk, but the dumb smartphone is not complying. How I wish I was back in the desert, just walking (Part One and Part Two are here). I miss the circle of power as we meditate together, which makes my brain buzz. I miss the break from no admin, no work, no housecleaning, no driving, no cooking! I miss the incredible gift of walking among Red Cabbage palms who only grow here, in a narrow gorge, with scientists still wondering how they arrived and thrive. I miss the simplicity of only having two outfits: walking clothes, and back-at-camp-&-sleeping clothes. Keeping warm, then safe from sunburn, then warm again saw a juggle of hats/beanies/scarves & sarongs (even though it was ‘winter’ in the desert, the sun is still strong). Fashion sense did not apply. It was such a relief to be silent. To walk and eat in silence; to pack up and down in silence; to spend time with new humans in …

More photos from the Australian desert during a silent bushwalking adventure, with brumbies & a camel (Part Two)

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Hello folks, and welcome to Part Two of my Yatra photo blog; Part One is here. Remember, a Yatra is a silent, meditative walk, a journey from the quiet heart… Except when it’s not. Wild brumbies galloped down the rocky river bed one night, making me fear for my tent and belongings. A sick-sounding camel moaned its way along the river bank, and the nightly howl of dingoes (both far and near) reminded me that we were out in the Australian desert, a long way from safety and suburbia! Not to mention the sometimes-very-annoying habits of my fellow travellers, particularly snoring. But that’s in another post 🙂 From the big to the small, I loved it. The chance to walk, think, rest, meditate, walk, swim (SO COLD), eat vegetarian food, and walk more, with like-minded folks of all types and ages, was such a blessing. I did one a year ago HERE, and really hope I get to do another next year, and every year after that… Yatra Australia pick different places to explore (this …

Photos from the Australian desert during a silent bushwalking adventure, with a vegetarian cook & dingoes (Part One)

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Hello folks, I’m back from the yatra, as calm and settled as can be nowadays. “What’s a yatra”, some of you wonder? This explains it, from the Yatra Australia website: “A yatra is a unique journey providing a special environment to engage with and enquire deeply into the potential of ‘human awakening.’ In the company of like-minded people, it takes place within some of the most pristine landscapes of our natural world. A yatra offers an integrative experience, combining physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual explorations in a secular environment. Being primarily based in the Buddhist tradition we also respect and draw from the wealth of many other wisdom traditions such as yoga, advaita, tao, modern science and tribal cultures. A flexible combination of yoga, meditation, silent walking, dharma teachings, experiential exercises, story telling around the camp- fire, wholesome meals and our intuitive way of ceremony and creative expression support an unfolding process. Got it? Let’s get on with it then. So we flew to Alice Springs, got the 4WD bus out towards Palm Valley (2 …