Wheel of Fortune

Today is the day. Our first scheduled outdoor gig of the season. And given that it’s still September we are taking a big gamble. We are putting our faith and hope into an entity bigger than ourselves. That’s right. The local weather forecast. Possibly our first mistake right there. But what choice do we have?

September is a funny month. You can either have a perfect, sunny, spring day or you’ve got winter giving it one last shot with a sudden downpour. Or spiteful spitting. Well, not today. You’ve had your fun, you’ll just have to wait for a summer storm. We’ve been burnt (or rather soaked) before. I say not today. Today is going to be sunny with a light breeze, birds gliding across a deep blue sky. Because if I decree it, it must be so. Right?

If you’re reading this in the morning then you’ve got plenty of time to mosey on over to Araluen Botanic Park where we will be playing from 2-4pm as part of their Araluen Springtime Festival (see! It’s in the name! The weather has to be spring-like). If you’re reading this after, well, you’ve missed a fantastic afternoon. Essentially Sunday afternoon perfection. And you missed it (unless we had to cancel. Then you missed nothing). But never fear! You’ll still have a few more opportunities to catch us before the end of the year. You’re next opportunity being Saturday, 8th October at the Karagullen Expo Markets, again from 2-4pm. I’d write that down right now.

So here we go. Ready to take a swing at the wheel of fortune.

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.