Have a merry Christmas (whereever you are perched)

It is the season to ...

contemplate

be laid back

be laid
be

 Have a Happy Christmas

and may we all be on our perches

this time next year.

The State of Victoria Changes Government

In Australia the State of Victoria has just voted and is making history by changing government after only one term. The toxic federal Government is being partly blamed for the more than 3.5 - 4% swing to Labour but there have been lots of local issues as well - including the reignited and very polluting fire in a coal mine in Morwell where the people feel forgotten by their government and where there was a >13% swing against the government. Both major daily newspapers in Victoria told people to vote Liberal/National, but the people have obviously not listened. Many are probably like me and, facing increasing right wing stridency in the main stream media, have migrated to online news.

Not only has the government been changed (from Liberal/National to Labour) but the Greens are in the lower house of parliament for the first time. At the moment it looks as if they have won at least one and perhaps two inner Melbourne seats after a campaign based on climate, public transport and fairness. That is a significant win in a 'first past the post' system like ours.

Greens candidate  Ellen Sandell has just commented to cheering supporters: "You have told us you don’t want an $18 billion toll road ripping up our city, you want a 21st Century Public Transport network"

Kissing reluctant baby

The most commented photo of the election has to be this one that is being shared around twitter. It shows the Foreign Minister, Liberal Julie Bishop and Victorian Liberal State Premier kissing an unimpressed child. Ms Bishop is known for her pre-political career as an aggressive lawyer fighting against those seeking compensation for asbestos poisoning. One of the first things she did when becoming Foreign Minister, before even being sworn in, was to rescind  Steve Bracks position as consul General in New York. He had been Premier of Victoria for eight years and was eminently suited for the job. It was a portend of things to come.

Maribor Music 2014

The Maribor Music Festival is over for another year. Wonderful music as always and very appreciative audiences. Brava to Brigita and the organising team.

Maribor Music Festival in September

Maribor Festival website

Wooo hooo ... the Maribor Music Festival is on again in September and I am going.
I can't wait.  It is a festival you get hooked on  because not only are the concerts wonderful the town of Maribor in Slovenia (just south of Graz in Austria) is charming as well.This will be my fifth festival!

It is a rather sudden decision and I have been spending lots of time perusing relevant websites, mulling over possible side trips.

www.bahn.de

My favourite website of all time is www.bahn.de which is the German Railways website (in German and English).At a click of a button you can find out where and when European trains/ buses leave, how long they take, how much trips cost (prices vary depending on the route and time of day) and all the special offers. You can also find out which hotels are near the station or the airport or the centre of town and book them, often without having to pay until you arrive. What's not to like?

Nelson Jazz Sketches

Lambretta at Lambretta's

The sketches and paintings I did at the Nelson Jazz Festival are now online here.



The motor scooter (left) is high on the wall at Lambretta's Cafe/Restaurant which hosted  some performances... I drew it while I waited.






http://www.artsmitten.com/gallery/14/nelson_jazz0.htm

La Petite Manouche

La Petite Manouche (Burke Goffe and Robbie Averille)

Jazz Guitar duo La Petite Manouche* in action at the Berlin Bar in Nelson.

As the evening wore on the space filled with dancers.











*Jazz Manouche is the French name for Gypsy jazz also known as gypsy swing or hot club jazz (its origins are largely in France. (Wikipedia.)

Famous in Nelson

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Painting Miho Wada (Image: Martin de Ruyter, Nelson Mail)

The Jazz Festival has taken over Nelson with jazz in bars and cafes all over town. The planned jazz in the park was washed out yesterday and reconvened in a local church. I was there painting when one of the organisers spied me painting a funky Japanese jazz artist called Miho Wada.. He wrote me a long note asking to show Miho and the crowd the painting, with a big PLEASE! at the end.

The photo is from todays's Nelson Mail newspaper.

Sydney Symphony Orchestra

SSO 2014 brochure and CD

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra sent out a CD with their program this year. It was a master stroke, because the pieces are there in full (well, whole movements - over an hour of music) and once you have listened to the CD you want to hear everything on it live.

I am listening to Beethoven's 7th as I write ... just bliss. Besides which of course Christine Goerke is coming to sing Elektra with the SSO in February. Bravo SSO and Maestro David Robertson. I have just subscribed!



And here is a bit of Beethoven's 7th ... swoon ...