Happy Days Are Here Again

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, flowers are blooming – it’s spring, spring, spring! Okay, so it has only been three days so far and the weather systems aren’t quite following the calendar we follow but the worst is over (please let the worst be over). No more laying awake, covered with goosebumps, far too cold to sleep. Soon it will be far too hot! No more watching the cat stagger around in the morning, looking like she’s had a big night out when in fact she’s been curled up asleep. Even the cold has been too much for her this year and she wears a fur coat.

So I’m a little over excited. You might have guessed but I’m definitely a summer person. The days are longer, the sky is blue and I can sit and read and say it’s far too hot to even contemplate doing something else. Of course, I am lucky enough to spend all my working hours inside a well air-conditioned building with the only indication of the temperature outside delivered by people coming in and out (verbally or via flushed, sweaty faces). I tell you, everyone loves talking about the weather (exhibit A right here). But we haven’t reached the height of summer yet (hallelujah! I hear some of you proclaim). At the very least it will make a change to stop complaining about the cold and start complaining about the heat (I’m so there, it’s not funny).

Of course upcoming warmer weather means upcoming outdoor performances! The first of which will be at Araluen Botanic Park on Sunday the 18th September from 2-4pm. Araluen always looks lovely, no matter the time of year but this will be during their Springtime Festival (see, they love spring too!) so hopefully everything will be in bloom, which is always spectacular. So you definitely don’t want to miss that. And if you’re going anyway why would you not coincide your visit with that of an award winning concert band playing fun music from a range of styles and decades? (I know I’m blowing our own trumpet there – actually I’m not, the trumpet section generally does that).

And that’s not the only outdoor gig we’ve got coming up. You can also catch us at the Karagullen Expo on Saturday the 8th October, again from 2-4pm. And if you’re heading to the Kelmscott Show you might catch some of our fantastic ensemble groups playing around the showground. They really are fantastic and will add so much to the ambience of the day.

Which leads to our final gig of the year and one of my personal favourites, Carols by Torchlight. This year it will be held on a Friday night, the 2nd of December. So while the day has changed, the venue hasn’t, all your usual favourites will be there and things will still kick off with the Toy Parade. It’s always a fun evening, with a little bit of magic sprinkled in.

Here’s to spring and all the wonderful things warmer weather brings. Sure, in winter you can curl up by the fire but unfortunately employers generally don’t like it when you do that all day (especially if you don’t have a fire and had to devise your own). In the warmer months the heat is all around! And this is Australia. We like spending time outside, around the barbie, kids running around, jumping in and out of the water (pool, beach, lake, river, dam, it really doesn’t matter).

So here’s to the happy days we’ve got coming up! They’re finally on their way.

I Am The Doctor

Oh, if only. If Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, this must be the worst. Everyone is coughing and spluttering and it’s everywhere. I see sick people. Even when I’m standing in front of a mirror. Still, the show (or rehearsal) must go on, even if numbers have been severely decimated (temporarily. We hope. I’m fairly sure it’s just colds and not a return of the plague).

On the plus side, it’s not all doom and gloom. Good news for Whovians (I’m presuming this is a thing and that I haven’t just incorrectly interpreted a bumper sticker. Which, incidentally, is where I get all of my know how) but we are working on a Doctor Who piece at the moment. Guess what it’s called? Go on, guess. I’ll give you a hint – I used it in the title. Great how things work out. Though I think they mean Time Lord rather than medical.

And it’s not just Doctor Who fans who are in for a treat. Children of the 80s and 90s – rejoice! We have some crowd pleasers from that era coming your way. And if you’re keen for extra cheese (and who isn’t? It is what holds a pizza together after all) feel free to belt out the lyrics as loud as you like. We know that you know all the words. Even I know the words and I spent a large chunk of the 90s playing with Barbie dolls (please note it was age appropriate at the time).

So where can you catch all this awesomeness? The first place we’ll roll out some of these new (for us) hits is at Araluen on the 18th September. Fun music, stunning location, gorgeous weather (fingers crossed!). What more could you want on a Sunday afternoon?

It sounds just like what the doctor ordered.