What a disaster; it has been ages since I have written to this site (that's all I seem to say these days), however with two other sites to keep going along with all the other things I am doing, I'm afraid my personal one tends to get left behind.  Still, who reads it?  I don't know.

The show went very well, and you can check out all the detail if you go to the Little Theatre site. There is the possibilty that we might take the show to the Gold Coast to a theatre called Spotlight, and if this happens it will be in late August.

There was good news on the Visa front, when the latest budget announced that our visa will now only have to be renewed every 10 years, as opposed to every 4 and they have removed all work restrictions.  We are very grateful for this, however we are still working towards our main goal, which is to be granted permanent residence.  We have lived in Australia for over 15 years now, and it does seem unfair that we are still considered to be temporary!

We have just celebrated our second Scarecrow Festival, here on the mountain, it was supposed to have taken place last month, but the weather was so bad that it was postponed until last weekend.  Regretfully, the weather has been so unseasonal, that last weekend was a washout too.  Still the scarecrows have remained on show and this morning I took photos of some of them.  I have posted one here and the rest can be seen in the gallery.

Next week we are going to busy as Graham and I will be involved with our second season with the local Make a Wish Christmas in July event.  It covers three very full days, and I will be filming and Graham will be taken the photos.  Hopefully the weather will improve, as more of the events take place outside; the forecast is for fine weather, so, fingers crossed!  

Will post more here after I finish the editing of the film for the DVD I shall be making for the families who will be here for the event.

I have been feeling very guilty for not writing up this site; trouble is I have been busy seeing to the TMLT website and with all the rehearsing and preparation for the show which is opening this Friday, there simply hasn't been time. 

I am have just finished madly working on an Overture for the play I am in.  It's a play with a difference, because it is in the style of a silent movie, so I am providing all the music, with a drummer playing along side. 

It has been quite a challenge because I have never prepared for anything like this before and it certainly isn't a doddle.  I have to provide a theme tune for each of the characters then do the usual fill in music througout the action.  This is not easy because I can't really take my eyes away from the stage, however at the same time I have look at the music, because I haven't as yet memorised all the pieces!  Still it is quite fun. 

 You can read more about it on one of my other sites: http://www.tmlt.com.au/next_production 

Eric, from the roofing company, arrived this morning, and said he could fix the roof by fitting a gutter guard, so this will probably be done next week or soon after.  He reiterated that it isn't possible to change the level of the gutter, putting it down to the original wooden beam being out of true.  We talked around it, but there wasn't any way that he was going to budge, so in the end we decided to leave it. 

I really don't have the energy for a fight, and at least the gutter guard will stop the leaves from getting into the gutter, even if it won't be possible ever to get access to the gutter itself; so, hopefully it won't be necessary.

Would you believe it?  We still have problems with the veranda roof!  I was a little concerned because the gutter wasn't straight, and I asked the builders to fix it; however they said it wasn't possible because of the way it was attached.  My neighbour, who has been in the building trade got his ladder out and said he would fix it; however when he looked at it he saw the cause of the problem: the new roof sheets did not extend over the gutter by a few centremetres, but the whole way.  In other words the roofing sheets completely cover the whole of the gutter.  He drew us a picture, but today, I thought I might be able to take a picture and here it is.  Although there are gaps, because of the profile of the roofing sheets, you can see that it completely covers the gutter, making it impossible to clean.  It doesn't stop there, because where they have joined the gutter, it leaks.

Living as we do, on the mountain, and relying on rainwater for all our needs, this is not a good layout.  Strictly speaking, they should have shortened the roofing panels.  Needless to say, I have contacted the insurance company to see what can be done.  I am expecting to hear from them in the next couple of days.

At last the veranda roof is finished……well, almost!  What a saga.  After several telephone calls and messages stretching over a period of a couple of weeks with promises made, and broken, regarding the men returning to finish the job.  Finally we were informed that two able fellows would be arriving on Monday to finish the job.  Sure enough, they did; however they were not men from the firm that started the job, but from a Patio company.  It seems work is often given to them when the original company are “too busy”!  

Still these chaps seemed to know their business and before long they had finished the job.  Because one of the panels had been damaged, due to the previous chaps not really knowing what they were doing, another panel has had to be ordered and we are expecting the men to return to finish it next week (we shall see!).

Below you can see the before and after shots.

Old Roof

New Roof

Well, I thought I had cracked it.  I checked and double checked, but when I embedded the video into my Video Page, it still had a letterbox shape; so, apologies.  If you want to look at it without then go to YouTube: http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=WK7bZITBhLw

Friday 16 January 2009

On the Video Page I have just uploaded an excerpt from my recent performance of The Messiah - the Hallelujah Chorus.  Apologies for the letterbox effect; I can't work out just yet how to get it right, even when it looks OK in YouTube.  This is something I must work on. If you want to watch it without, then go to YouTube: http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=0Zyjs1BV6pI

I had placed the tripod and camera just inside the entrance to the main part of the church, so that the over all visual effect looked balanced, however, the audience didn't even notice it there and often walked right in front of it, so because everyone stands for the chorus, this had the effect of obscuring some of the view.  As I was playing the piano at the time and the camera was unattended, regretfully, there was nothing I could do about it.

In the photo below you can just see my head peeking above Ruth’s music stand – I was playing the top part of the piano and my friend Sue, the bottom.

I will upload another excerpt once I can figure out how to remove the letterbox effect.

Friday 16 January 2009

They started work today - huh!  And yes, it all started to go swimmingly: they removed all the old roofing and all the beams, then they started to erect the new roofing.  The problem began when they realised the individual segments were not fitting properly.  It turned out that the chap who did the measuring of the job hadn't done it accurately and as a result everything was out.  As it is just before Christmas and they need a new part to accommodated the segments, this will not happen until next month.  Here is a photo of what has happened so far - more in the gallery.

23 December 2008

The front veranda roof was damaged in the recent hail storm when the hail was as large as golf balls.  The next day we looked at the veranda to see that it had large holes in it, all the way along.  We telephoned the insurers and they arrived within 36 hours and the whole repair authority was agreed in less than a week.

The other day all the fittings arrived and the job will be done on 23 December.  How's that for efficiency?  (Well I am keeping my fingers crossed that they actually do arrive on the 23rd, otherwise the materials will be all over the front garden until the New Year.)

Yesterday was spent completely ripping out all my flowering Jasmine, which I have grown since just after we moved here, nearly 15 years ago.  It used to frame the front veranda, but I thought that in order to make it easier for the roofers, I ought to remove it.  I also took the opportunity to cut back on some other plants in front of the veranda and now it looks awful!  I don't know what i am going to replace them with; it all looks so bare and unloved.

We have decided not to have the same roof as before, because it was prone to damage from hail, and as we do have quite a lot of hail storms, it wasn't really the right type of roof to have.  We are going for an insulated tin roof.  The whole front of the house will look so different, so I have taken some before photos to go with the after ones, when the roof is completed.

TAMBORINE MOUNTAIN LITTLE THEATRE CHRISTMAS PARTY

SEE THE PHOTOS!

We had our Christmas party on Saturday. It was a great; well over 30 members came to Wick and Lyn Howard's place and we all had a good time.  We even had a couple of party games and Santa came along and handed out our naff presents.  Jim's "breaking wind" present certainly livened up the fun.  

Each year at our Christmas party, Santa gives out the presents.  They have to be awful, the naff, the better!  In theory they shouldn't cost more than $5, and these days that pretty much guarantees they won't be up to much.  We have had some corkers over the years.  One year Graham received a model donkey cigarette box, which dispensed the cigarettes through the posterier when the tale was lifted; much mirth all round.

I used my new camera that Graham had given me for my birthday to take the photos.  They aren't bad, however, as in all small cameras, the flash is pretty useless unless one is extremely close to the subject.  Still, they are fine for what they are.

We had a little disappointment with the caterers; they were supposed to be cooking our dinner on a spit, but they turned out to be pretty awful, with the food having been pre-cooked at a factory!  Still, we didn't let it spoil the occasion; we will simply put it down to experience.

The venue was at the home of a couple of our members, and was ideal; roll on the next one!

Have a look at the Mutt amongst the two Geoffs below........

Barbara 15 December 2008

Santa hands out the presents.

For more photos go to the Gallery Page.

Many members of our group and friends gathered together at the Zamia on Sunday 30 November to celebrate the first 85 years of the theatre. It has been "dark" for over two years and we are now looking forward, eagerly, to the refurbishment, so that we can continue in the fine tradition of providing good entertainment in an historic building.

To watch the video go to the Video page for Dial-up or to YouTube for High Definition broadband and widescreen viewing.You will see a choice just under the viewing window which says, watch in normal quality or watch in HD.  [That's me, holding the 8; Graham is taking the photo.]

1 December 2008

After all the rehearsing for the Messiah and the performance on Sunday, I actually had a complete break the next day, my birthday when Graham and I joined our friends, Sue and Ken, Brian and Else, and Peter for a very pleasant lunch at George's Seafood Restaurant in Sanctuary Cove.  I took my camera with me, but completely forgot to take any photos; too busy eating and chatting!  I had Dover Sole, which was enormous.

 After we finished and went our separate ways, Graham and I decided to check out a new shopping complex that has recently been opened just off the Motorway, called Homeworld Helensvale, which is on our way home.  There was a very large Clive Anthony's and we went in there as we needed a new electric kettle.  Whilst we were wondering around we came upon a new musical game which you run through your computer; it consisted of a set of "drums" and "guitar" and you play along with what is on the screen. (It is more complicated than this, but I won't go into  details here!).

"How did you spend your 70th birthday, Barbara?"  The photos tell it all...........

24 November 2008

I am performing today in a unique performance of The Messiah with the Gold Coast City Choir.  The choir's regular pianist had double booked and as a matter of urgency, Ruth Gurner, the director needed a replacement; easier said than done for a marathon such as The Messiah, and also being short of cash to pay anyone.

Sue, my piano playing partner and friend, mentioned that I had some duet music of the The Messiah.  To cut a long story short, I was contacted, checked the music against the original vocal score and it all seemed to be there and in the right keys.

The interesting part of the story is a) how I acquired the music and b) who is used to belong to.

The photo below shows me playing the part of Alison, a wronged widow, in a  play that the drama group I belong to produced.  As you will read the reporter got the details of the characters and real people muddled up.  I played Alison and Pam (the person mentioned below) played the character, Barbara.

We experienced a pretty violant storm here on Sunday 16 November, so I did a little filming of it which you can see on the Video page.

It was pretty bad here, but compared to some of those poor people at The Gap in Brisbane, we got off pretty lightly.  We only sustained some damage on the veranda roof, and, as we are covered by insurance it should be OK!  We were without electricity for less than 24 hours, which was much better than 10 years ago when we were without it for three days.  My veggie patch took a beating, but I haven't actually lost anything there.

A few months ago I decided to try to grow some vegetables and they have grown, and grown!  My next door neighbour had some old potatoes that he had been given by a local greengrocer for his chickens, along with some other old veggies, and we planted them.  There was a vast difference in breed, including reds, whites and Kipfler, so they have all looked slightly different as they have grown.  One of the plants seemed to die off rather soon, so, today, we thought we would have a look and see what the plant was hiding and the picture tells the story: our first crop!

We will wait a while to see how the other plants go, before checking them.  I also experimented with growing some in a double hessian bag and another crop was of some special organic seed potatoes which are just now coming into flower, so it will be interesting to see how they all compare.

I have really gone quite mad this year with growing vegetables; it must be over 10 years since I have grown anything other than tomatoes (and they were never successful).  I have just planted some sugar-loaf cabbages that another neighbour gave me, and I have two lots of different beans: French and some yellow dwarf been, although I have had to put in some climbing stakes, because they are growing rather tall.  I also have carrots, spring onions and silver beet, so we should be well served if they all do well.

2 November 2008