(*) Water cascades down

From since I awoke,
I always knew that when this
Time came, I'd be right.

Oh, "She'll be right, mate,
Don't you worry about me,
I'll be fine," we choked.

Those ties that bound us
Are now forever broken:
Where to go from here...?

Nine years have passed already since my dad died... and that time has gone like 'that' (snaps fingers). My brother and I realised last week... both mum and dad died on Fridays in April at c.6pm... oooohhh! lol. Here's a pic I received recently and quickly scanned tonight, taken when dad was awarded his OAM in c.1986 (I have to check that date again...) What's an 'OAM'? An 'Order of Australia Medal', which dad received from the Governor for his services to youth thru Scouting. Here's a pic of my mum, my Nan (no, it's not the Queen Mother! pmsl!), and myself and my brother, all taken at the same time c.1986. Whenever I see that pic of myself, no-one believes it's really me! I've changed so much. Time does that, doesn't it?

Here's a pic each of the three boys in their wedding suits... time doesn't stop for them, either.

I was able to pull two casual shifts working at the local Bathurst Royal Show last weekend. Here's two pics of the front gates I was working at for two of the three days, collecting tickets and monies from visiting show-goers. One of the local High Schools runs as one of its' programs a Circus for its' students - very kewl! Apart from heaps of rides and sideshows (the Show is the biggest outside of Sydney), I managed to catch a few displays before my feet gave out on me. Here's a cake that defies description, and a small selection of local veggies that was part of a HUGE display! Here's a small selection of some of the very kewl rides... 1 2 3 4 , and a great old steam tractor farm engine that puffed and wheezed away, but looked really cool - can you see its' external radiator, where the water cascades down the outside? The weather was absolutely perfect for all three days, and at a guess about 60,000 people came along for some fun in the country sunshine. Oh... and this dog was found "Not Guilty" at the Dog Trail, you know... (groan...!) They had the 'Racing/Diving Pigs' as well, but I never got to actually see them thru the gathered crowd (it was shoulder-to-shoulder people on Saturday!), but could hear it all anyway lol. I had a great time myself - having a free pass for all three days was a huge bonus, and I was fortunate to have my 'breaks' at the same time the Holden 'Stormriders' Precision Racing Team Utes did their high-speed stuff around the showground circuit! (They do all their practising in Fords, you know... pmsl). And then, from one extreme to the other, there was the Vintage Sprint cars - that needed to be towed back to their car-parks behind a quad-bike, as they need to be jumped-started... they looked like a kids' ride roped one behind the other... amazing stuff. I had a weird moment when, as I was walking around on the Saturday arvo, the sound of a bagpiper playing 'Amazing Grace' powered over one of the PA's - I almost 'lost it' - that's what we had played, complete with piper, at dad's funeral! The Saturday night fireworks I could see from home - they lasted more than 20 minutes filling the skies with colour, sound and smoke. I was glad to get home on Sunday arvo - all those km's of walking around collecting tickets and parking cars wore my poor feet out - I jumped in a rare bubble bath as soon as I walked in the door... and promptly forced myself to not fall asleep in there! Yeah! Like a good medicine, is the ol' bath! And I had no trouble with the 'carny's', even if they do smell of cabbage... (Thanx Austin! lol).

Here's some pics I've found on my net travels recently... these first two are of the area I grew up in around Sydney NSW, a suburb on the Northern Beaches known as "Allambie". It was only a few km's from Manly and the sea. The first pic highlights the different locations in the area - and it's sure changed a lot since I lived there last in the mid '80's. This last pic is of my old Primary School - by the look of this, it has hardly changed since I left in 1976! (Thanx to airviewonline.com.au for the pics).


I was very saddened to hear of the sudden unexpected loss of ex Split Enz and Crowded House drummer and good-guy Paul Hester the other week. All the good ones get to leave us too early... The Crowdies are one of my Top-5 groups of all time, you know!

Random thought... one of the things my mum wanted me to have of hers was the stereo - it has a turntable! I've got about 150 records, but've been without a turntable for about, oohhh, 7 years!!! Whoo hoo! The stuff I've been listening too... the memories that comes flooding back from certain records or songs... who'd believe that I actually have an original 1968 Atlantic copy of Iron Butterfly's "In-a-Gada-Da-Vida" LP?!? Ack! PMSL.

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On This 12th Day of April...
Born: Herbie Hancock (muso, 1940); David Cassidy (singer, 1950); Tiny Tim (singer, ?).
Died: My dad (1996); Harry Secombe (2001); FD Roosevelt (1945).
Events: The Beatles first No.1 single "From Me To You" released 1963; Yuri Gagarin becomes 1st man in space, 1961.
Useless Trivia: My goldfish will never ride a skateboard.
My Soundtrack: Paul Kelly "Songs From the South" CD
Weather: gloriously sunny low 20's, almost cloudless, light SE wind.

An act that'd be hard to follow
Your pride you'd just have to swallow
It's got a great beat
And turns up the heat
It's the In-a-Gada-Da-Vida drum solo.

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Cyalayta

Email: mal [@] maljam [.] cjb [.] net
Message Board: http://malboard.cjb.net
"Excuse me, which way is the stage?" (Audience member, lost at Altamont, 1969.)

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