June 27, 2019

Hi friends. After a leave of absence and some tough growing pains, I’m writing again–trying to make sense of this chaos. Sharing with you some of the tougher aspects of my reality and passing storms…

June 20, 2019

Once Upon A Time

There was a girl who lived and died.

She loved the world, but the girl’s mother said:

“If I don’t break her spirit first, the world will–for the world is cruel”.

And so the mother set out to make sure the girl’s heart was thoroughly hardened—to protect her of course.

But instead the mother caused in the girl a deeper longing to know ‘true love’ and she spent her whole life searching in vain for love from those whose own hearts were also hardened because she had learned so young from her mother, “love must hurt”.

Along came a handsome young man with a sweet…

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Where the hell is Wandi Pub?

Out an' About

Wandiligong. It’s a mouthful isn’t it? So are the Parmas at the pub there, they’re a delicious mouthful.

Step inside this unassuming country pub in this cute little town and you feel like you’ve been wrapped up in your nana’s arms. It’s warm, cosy, homely and there’s no pretence.

If it’s winter the wood fire is guaranteed to be lit inside and depending on when you visit the fire might be going in the outside fire drum as well.

We were here on the first weekend in May, when the Autumn colours were still vibrant. It was part of a birthday weekend for our daughter Tash who’d recently turned 21.

Out in the beer garden it’s pure bliss

We stopped in to check the pub out and book a table for dinner that night … and ended up staying for hours.

The live music enticed us out the back to…

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Hampton Court Palace

Planning to the Nth

When I visited London in 2011, I ran out of time for everything I wanted to see, one of them being Hampton Court, Henry Vllls main palace. I headed out on Sunday morning to catch the train from Waterloo Station.

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Jo’s Monday walk : Porto Pim

restlessjo

I have just one more walk to share on Faial, before moving on to the island of Pico. Porto Pim is a strip of sand and pelucid bay, tucked between Monte Queimado and Monte da Guia, to the west of the town of Horta, where we walked last week. At least, it was, the day we took this stroll. Pretty as it is, there’s a dark side to this story. Take note of the factory on the far shore.

The beach is a conservation area, and is the first part of the island of Faial to have been settled, back in 1460. The ruins of a fortress guard the entrance to the bay, and there was once a thriving port here.

Today all is peaceful, though we did note that a lone yachtsman, moored and enjoying the serenity, was asked to move on by the maritime police. He wasn’t…

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The Sweet Lowdown: “Red Shift Blues”

O' Canada

The Sweet Lowdown

The Sweet Lowdown is an amazingly talented folk and roots music trio based in Vancouver Island, B.C. The group consists of Amanda Blied on guitar, Shanti Bremer on banjo, and Miriam Sonstenes on fiddle. Their wonderful harmonies and skillful musicianship and songwriting are starting to attract much-deserved wider recognition, including coveted nominations by the Canadian Folk Music Awards as 2015 Ensemble of the Year and 2015 Roots Group Recording of the Year by the Western Canadian Music Awards for their album “Chasing the Sun”.

The video above is for “Red Shift Blues”, a soulful tune from the band’s 2011 self-titled album “The Sweet Lowdown”. More info on them and their music can be found on their official band website.

(Photo Credit: Ashli Akins)

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Up-and-Coming Band: The Dead South

O' Canada

The Dead South is a terrific band from Saskatchewan that is up and coming.

They have a great sound that is tinged with roots, blues, folk and traditional country. If you haven’t heard of them before, I think before long all of us will be hearing a lot more of their wonderful music.