All posts filed under: Women

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

How reading an article about over 50s women musicians changed my life

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Hello Folks, thanks for dropping by. Are you reading this post while sipping tea or coffee? That’s what I was doing when I read an article online which has changed my life dramatically in the last 12 months, and here it is: ArticleThatMayChangeYourLife. My new Shero– who I’ve never met but hope to one day- Ruth Miller had a gem of an idea to start an over 50s punk band, especially for women who never had a chance to do that when they were younger (for whatever reasons). YES. YES. YES PLEASE. In 2021, using the name Unglamorous Music, she launched workshops to teach simple song writing and instrument playing to women around Leicester in England; now there are 8 all-female bands gigging round her local area, and they’ve just released a 12-song sampler you can buy HERE (vinyl, CD or digital). As I’ve written in my previous post, the urge to start playing the drums came to me in a shaft of bright light from above, and that article about Ruth may have been …

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

My 2 top alternatives to avoid Valentine’s Day pressure

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Make no mistake, I love Love. Whether happily single, sadly recovering from a break-up, or delighting in new fields of play, I have never given up on Love for long. I believe this is healthy, that I am a healthy human, and that we all deserve love. However, what I absolutely don’t need is a dumb card and cheap chocolates. Or even a smart card and expensive chocolates. So if any human out there felt a little blue they had no Valentine, or was let down by an unsatisfactory experience, let me inspire you: why not organize a Galentine’s Day, or a V-Day flash mob? What are these 2 curious offerings you wonder? My favourite Australian feminist writer Clementine Ford drew me to the first one, when she recently offered a picnic in the park experience for 100 women, bringing gals together. It’s been around for a decade or so, and is about celebrating female sister-like connections; it’s so easy to let friendships slip by when we’re busy with work/kids/household chores/ageing parents etc. But who …

Happy International Women’s Day, hell yeah!

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Happy International Women’s Day. From the African woman who goes without food so her child can eat; from the Syrian refugee who puts her baby on a boat to a better life; from the lawyer or politician who advocates for equal rights; from the stay-at-home Mum gaining pleasure from the school run; from the wheel-chair user; from the butch/tomboy lesbian who wants no kids but to fix cars instead; from the Artist, the sex worker, the cleaner, the chef, the corporate Queen, the cashier: WOMEN ARE AMAZING. Happy International Women’s Day, and won’t it be a great fucken day when we no longer have to have this day, because we have Equality? I honour and celebrate EVERY WOMAN EVERY WHERE DOING WHATEVER SHE WANTS/NEEDS TO BE HERSELF, TO SURVIVE AND HOPEFULLY THRIVE, and to my dear old Mum, my first experience of Woman, who absolutely taught me to be a Feminist, first and foremost. I truly think that’s her greatest gift to me, and I have passed it on to my son, which I believe …

The Weyward Sisters: Back to Black/ Collaborative Amy Winehouse Tribute

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Originally posted on Sudden Denouement Collective:
Rana Kelly/2nd star to the Left, straight on ’til morning Oh, Amy Whenever I go walking In my stilettos, I hear you talking. Dream me up a way Of swishing my hips And pursing my lips And singing your riffs So that I find beauty Like you. lois e. linkens she puts her black dress on in the dark, anxious nails red and messy in their early-morning artistry. he left the candle burning in the winter window – vanilla and cinnamon on a Sunday evening, tears and vodka on a Monday morning. last week’s relief breathes into tonight’s regrets, but the shadowy smear on the glass is all that is left of him. Aakriti Kuntal/Writings of Aakriti Kuntal Rummaging through black air, nauseous red nails bearing oily seas Suffocating existence with conversations, conversations with glittering nail cutters, cracked moons laughing hysterically in them Conversations of fallen boyfriends, of fallen love Fallen being the new being Aurora Phoenix/Insight From Inside She scrawls lines up the back of her fishnet stockings wiggly-lined intoxicated rebellion strutting down memory…

Thank you! Here’s cake for my 100 Followers! :~D

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Yup, I just reached that sweet baby milestone, and want to honour all of you who’ve taken the time to read even one Post. I’ve always wanted to be a ‘writer’, ever since I worked out how to make a word on a piece of paper (I remember the moment; it was of course c-a-t). I felt like I’d made magic, and sometimes still do. When I write or read something poignant or visceral, I’m so grateful for my blessed life, where I can make Art in peace and safety, with a roof over my head and food in my belly. I’m going to donate $100 today to The Indigenous Literary Foundation here in Australia, whose mission is to provide language-appropriate books and reading classes to disadvantaged Aboriginal children in remote areas. I’m also going to eat a piece of cake. If I could share it with all of you, I would. Thank you so much for your support and love, gabrielle xxxxx