All posts tagged: books

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 …

From rockstar to writer: the return

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Hello lovelies, how are you all? Having just spent 3 months very focused on my punk cabaret band Mutton, including touring to 5 different venues, and being away from my beloved rainforest home for WEEKS, I’ve had an epiphany! I’m still a writer, even when I’m not writing. Which means I’m also still a blogger, connected to this community, albeit while it constantly morphs into something new. Of course, a writer needs to write, and practice their craft; gone are the days of my thrice-weekly blogging, and the constant commenting and connecting we all used to do here. Part of me misses those days… but they were also a particular time, pre-Covid, pre-TikTok; we are ALL different since then. So I write killer arts grants, for myself and others. I write songs now. I’ve entered a few Slam Poetry competitions, and will continue. I still write in my journal (although not daily). Last month I kinda wrote a love letter. Sure, I’m not published, other than a couple of short stories in anthologies years ago, …

Reaching a milestone: being asked to join a cool Book Club

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Dare I state the obvious? I LOVE to read. One way I resist Capitalism with glee is to lie on the couch buried in a book for a few hours. I’ve always been like that: as a quiet, dreamy child, I was never happier than when lost in the world of a book. Well, actually, playing with our guinea pigs was pretty good too (Lord Palmeston and Lady Windemere- photo sadly not available). So imagine my delight when last Sunday the phone rang, and my dear friend’s husband asked me in his deep formal voice if I would care to join his Book Club? I felt like a kid again, I was so excited. As soon as the invitation began to sink in, I immediately thought about what book I would suggest- somehow I have learnt along the way that this is the protocol. ‘”Girl, Woman, Other”, G, that’s a great book. They’ll think you’re edgy and cool/well-informed. And it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2019.’ Calm, succinct words continued to flow down the …