The Life and Times of Peter Green
Archive: * - * 2014
Happy Christmas Everyone from the "Feast Of Friends" Kalorama 2014.
November 24thI call Andy White to remind him to reserve some tables at the upcoming Toff in Town gig-such a cool little venue I'm glad we have his album launch at that place- ok wish it wasn't a Wednesday but I think we will do well, I've noticed quite a few small mentions here and there, plus radio and all his new mates... it will be a good night.You know Christmas is approaching when I am searching for the ingredients for my special christmas pudding. (My Mums 100+ year old recipe..passed down-she's not 100 yet!!!!!)...it's a good one. November 25thI print out some photos at Office Works..this cool shot of Sharon Finn with blonde hair.. taken years ago... I wonder if she'll remember it, it's at a festival and Neil and Tim are in the background- love her bangs in the shot- very cute photo.November 26thThe Toff gig for Mr White and Jane and Rosemaree are in the car too. We score a park at the $10 car park which is great. Walk to the Toff which is nearby- so many people we know- I love this. I love their loyalty and faith... it feels great-so if you made the effort to go-thank you...you will be remembered well.The show is really cool, Andy convinces me to get onstage and hand some red roses out to the amazing girls in his band.. I feel a bit stupid but it's Andy so what the fuck.. I am like some oddball Molly Meldrum clone onstage (in a good way-well maybe)... dance side stage where no one can see me.. Andy and band playing so well..it all goes according to some plan. Love seeing Rosemaree at the cd stand, selling the HOW THINGS ARE cds- such a fine album, don't let this one escape you folks. I know we rave about it, but it really IS that good. We have fun with our mates, love them to death. Peter Farnan is in the audience and we chat side stage and take a photo next to a sign that says- "Do not stand here, this means you princess"...so of course I DO! We squash Wendy and Doug into the emergency seats in the 4WD, which is hysterical especially when we call into a certain establishment to eat and Miss Wendy tries to hide under the seat. It's a fun night, a late night, Rosemarees worn out and she does have to get up next day early- but so do I, even before her tomorrow...so I'll be most unattractive in the morning. So thats it, most of our Andy White promotion over with...oh check out Alison Thom too-who played before Andy -great voice. November 27thElection arriving soon- noticed 3 signs up near our area that say "Save The Palais-Kick the Liberals Out"! They make me smile. I believe Victoria will do the right thing, the few Liberal voters we know, most are not voting for Mr Napthine.November 28thPower off again today, we knew this would happen 4 or 5 times...they are doing it before the Summer heatwave arrives... so we go christmas shopping again...and catch up with Mr White at RIPE. Not too long till he heads to the UK, Italy etc.. The RIPE crowd are not as loud today... last time it was full of hysterical house wives..out of control.Eastlands is empty, no christmas rush here, it's bliss to walk through empty shops and zero people- retail is in trouble. I guess a lot of people are buying on line. Santa has a small line of people getting photos but he looks kind of snarly.. Santa with attitude! Slap him someone please! Call into Woolworths and grab some food for the Election tomorrow. I'm a bit nervous about my new posting in the Declaration area. My election boss has total confidence in me. More then I have. November 29thNo sleep I'm too full of energy. I wake up feeling incredibly "neutral" as I have to be, I'm paid to be.. watch me work hard today. I leave at sunrise..and drive to the Boronia Church of Christ which is my voting area. I arrive just as my #1 Marjo arrives. I must early some good points for being on time, well early. Help with set up, I do have some air of confidence today. I watch the election people setting up, signs etc.I meet the other 2 people I am working with, we get along well. The doors open and we are off and racing. Using a tablet today too, a first for this election newbie. The day rolls on by, I make 2 mistakes which i correct, the Declaration area is a hopping. 99% of people are cool... only 1 crazy who bolts out without lodging his voting forms... very weird. I close the doors on time and the counting commences. By 7.30 I get a call from a friend that he is fairly confident Labor has won- no way so soon! 7.45 Molly Meldrum tweets that Labor have won- Molly..how funny. I wait till the fat Liberal sings , could it be this easy, are the Liberal Party in such disarray ? I stay neutral but I'm happy dancing inside. We finish by 9.00 and I head home.. turn on the ABC in the car and they say Napthine will throw in the towel in 15 minutes... I so want to watch this....! Right on time he surrenders - and the Liberal Party of Victoria are now the only second Party in this states history to be turfed out after one term. Good riddance they really were crap. The people of Victoria are also sending a firm message to Abbott too, a one fingered one. One Term Tony YOU ARE NEXT. People are actually cheering in the hills as Napthine leaves it's echoing around the hills- love it. We go to sleep with a smile- now Labor have to prove themselves, but lets face it anything is an improvement over what we have had for the past few years. November 30thAll our bands jump on the national chart, musty be pre-christmas sales for Finn-Kelly and Crowded House- bullet performers! We like that.Abbott on the News making lame excuses about Victoria Lib loss..... he knows his days are numbered too- look at all that sweat and it's not even hot! December 1stMarks dad and Kerry arrive- good to see them. We do the drive and pick them up.. the weather improves after a grey wet start. I discover a new shop at Sassafras in the hills near us- it's called Seven Pages and love their arty bits and pieces-I will indeed return to that one.December 2ndI email all our crew for Christmas lunch- we are going to eat under the gum trees this year and I am doing my best to make it a vinyl christmas. I've ran out of FEZ hats- and am struggling to find more to buy. I've been converting them over for each person, their initial and some fake jewels! Far cooler then dull ol' Santa hats. Got to have some fun.December 3rdI'm awoken by Banshee acting strange .. she jumps in the air and hides under my bed..strange crazy cat! A few minutes later a small earthguake hits- 3.35... animals are so in tune-we humans suck.The BRUNCH staff make me pancakes- YUM... they will be on the 2015 menu..so I am a guinea pig but a very happy one, fresh berries etc.. truly delicious. They do spoil us. December 4thFoxtel guys arrive, nice upgrade to HD and free magazine etc... all good news. Need to watch "Looking" and "The Knick", plus "Hannibal" to replace all those shows we love that have finished recently.December 5thPick up the Enz cards from our wonderful printers, they've moved, just 5 minutes difference from their old address but the traffic is a nightmare.....I am so glad we don't have to drive to and from work..urgh! I count our blessings, no wonder so many people are angry human beings when driving. Horrid.Work on the FEZ hats, still can't find anymore at the shops, I only have half... annoying. December 6thSome friends drop in, they are in awe at how lush Ailsa Craig is. Two black cockatoos land and sip water out of the fountain-it blows their minds-we like that.December 7thTake 400 cards to breakfast and sign sign sign, and start addressing envelopes- I have a vibe... it's going to take ages but I'll do what we can. People forget how many we have on our database.December 8thDrive to Mt Evelyn and do the banking. We have some food at what used to be Morrisons- new staff and owners- coffee was good.I drive and visit Ruth and grab some of her jam jars. Give her cash and they are the perfect size.... I'm waiting to hear from my ranger friend about the secret fresh berry patch that he found for me...yey! December 9thI buy a few bits and pieces from Bunnings, some extra tables too-they were 20% off. You can never have enough fold up tables in my world.December 10thI air the sari's.. they are just amazing and make the most incredible table cloths. Email everyone about the parking, even with our large drive etc it's a crazy amount of cars so the oval it will be. A bit of an uphill walk but some exercise for our friends will do them the world of good.I locate some Nippys Iced Chocolate milk which is Nigel Griggs favourite brand.. never let it be said that our guests are not spoilt *GRIN*. Mark helps me wrap the gum trees in solar lights- we wander outside tonight and just love what they look like-magical. December 11thAllie, god bless her calls in with extra tables. chairs, ground cover and half her house. We have to ask if she is moving in? Em helps despite hiding in the car from mosquito's.I head off to the secret blackberry grove and fill up a huge bucket of blackberry's, not quite enough but I'll sneakily add in some raspberries too and the elder flower. I find out where Ruth lives and I buy extra cool square jars from her, just 110 size so not massive. Mark has designed the JAMAZING label (he has worked out several ways to say it , with several accents!). I'm only slightly scratched by the berry bushes but my arms do ache. Call into the Deli before it closes and score a coffee...I so need one today. I'm home and pull out Pops old secret recipe for the jam and a few hours later it's ready. I take a wooden spoons worth to the kids next door for the taste test- "that is really REALLY good" - I am smiling. By midnight the JAMAZING jam is bottled. I get a few dozen bottles out of it, I'll make some more when our blackberries are ripe. December 12thPower off on the mountain again-the final line work for the year. It's starting to drive us nuts with all these outtages.I buy some Persian fairyfloss which is incredible.... Mark and myself start setting up the yard for tomorrows "Feast Of Friends". December 13thNo sleep brain ticking over. I'm up at 5.00 and start on the christmas pudding and the other things on my 4 page list. Lunch is at 1.00 and we seem to be on schedule. Mark drops his 72 sausage rolls and makes new ones and hurts his eye. I fall behind and the schedule is out the window.12.55 and the yard is full of people.... all smiles..I'm not stressed but feeling tired. I could climb behind a gum tree and sleep. I hand over a box and ask our friends to decorate the christmas tree that is growing in the yard. I kidnap Merelyn and we head off to buy ice- the cube variety. The guy at the service station tells me "I did well on Countdown" and gives me two bags for free-which is bizarre. My "fame value" is $8.00 we work out on the way home. There is so much food today-our friends are just great. I smile as FEZ hats are worn. Nice to see Greg Macainsh chatting to Nigel Griggs ...I wonder do they talk about bass guitars? Andy White is indeed the lunch favourite and just nice he showed up. It's surprisingly hot today-so much Rosemarees phone case melts-how bizarre. Mark picks her to beat the hell out of the Santa pinata. I've filled it with gold chocolate aussie coins. Blind folded in my Keith Richards scarf... she takes some mighty swings and almost takes my head off not the Pinata. She's a good sport. God bless Doug and Wendy for locating a record player...we grabbed a new sound system but our record player died and I wanted vinyl to be played so they came to our rescue-we owe you guys. Wonderful for people to pick vinyl all day.. such varied choices. I could go on about the friendships and kindness and new friendships, but it would be endless- it was a wonderful day. Thanks to Giles and Fenella and Jen for taking the photos today. Stella and Wendy for helping with the kitchen food run and deserts... and our christmas elves who stayed and tidied up. An excellent time was had by all...and best presents-thanks everyone. December 14thOff for a coffee no real hangover just need some solid sleep... 10 days till christmas. It feels like it just happened.December 15thWendy needs a Fez, so i revamp and create one for her....I read that Hockeys budget is now out by billions and billions of dollars.... and the highest unemployment rate in 12 years. What a shit federal government. December 16thWe watch the final episode of The Newsroom. What a marvellous show- it should of been around for at least 4 more seasons. Bad decision to axe this one....December 17th39 years ago the fantastic Skyhooks played their first gig at Wollongong (Showgrounds).... they were previously banned so we missed out many times. I went with my best friend in the universe, the man with such fine musical tastes (yes you Marky) and we had a blast. We were hooked- forever, shit we love that band. They really helped change our life.Speaking of Skyhooks- we were hoping to have our 500th "Like" by January 1st on OFFICIAL SKYHOOKS facebook page, so please check it out and if you enjoy the page, give us a "like". That's my Christmas wish! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Official-Skyhooks/751125208300602 December 18thThe Split Enz christmas cards are endless... manage several hundred every day... my fingers ache... I'll get as many out as we can. There is a limit to even what i can do- I take them to breakfast, dinner table etc and sign and envelope stuff... I will be glad when we get a week or two off. I'm seeing them in my sleep-Enz cards everywhere.December 19thA very cool parcel arrives from Neil and Sharon, a huge bottle of Bolli in this exceptional gift pack- thank you Finn clan... we feel very special.The huge Christmas stocking is drawn and it's always exciting to let someone know that they have won... I'll know one lucky fan will have the best christmas ever! December 20thCoffee at the general store and sign 400 more cards... lots of people come up and wish us a happy christmas. Several of our favourite food places gave us presents this year- we feel the love guys!!!!!!December 21stNot quite the end of the year but Christmas just around the corner- so we are sending good wishes your way- may it be a happy occasion for you all and lets hope 2015 is indeed a brilliant year. Lots of Christmas cheer to Debbie too for continuing with this diary and all her fine efforts! Thank you.Ho Ho Ho Santa Peter |