The Life and Times of Peter Green
Archive: 12 July - 5 September 2021
"I do love a good Graffiti cameo in the morning..." (PG)
July 12thI visit Olinda today, just some "me" time so I sit outside The Deli and have a coffee and scrawl a few things in my paper diary. I'm sitting outside and it starts raining-thankfully I'm under cover. People scurrying about like ants, running from a tiny bit of water, don't be so afraid.In the afternoon I continue to add names to Marks giant birthday card, it's really filling up, he's going to be so amazed. The people who contributed, we will remember and there are so many -just incredible. People appreciate all of his efforts over the years. July 13thWe love Mosquito Coast the movie and are really enjoying the recently released TV show. Some moan it takes too long to get to the Coast in the TV show but the journey allows the characters to grow. I can not wait for Season Two, bring it on.I did a stint at the Salvo's today , it seemed a very long day - but we helped a lot of people. That felt very good when i finally headed home. The "Boss" was very pleased with me I think. I got a lot of things done in the store but especially behind the scenes. July 14thWe are dealing with the Insurance people for a large part of the day-so far they are great. Pretty much all good news.I chat to Laura in the evening, the return of "Bath Chat" -always fun. Snuggle with Mark on the couch and watch movies till 1.00 AM. I feel sorry for people who have to go through Covid by themselves , that would be hard. I count our blessings. July 15th.I play a prank on a friend and mail him the Buffy box set that contains every episode. The things we do, got to have fun.I call Peter & Mark #2 and drop some bags of firewood in, a few nights coming up and just making sure our friends are looked after. Plus those lads are so good to us, nice to be able to do something positive. Melbourne enters a quick 5 day lockdown, but one wonders if it will really be 5 days, still plenty of stupid selfish people out there that will fuck it for the rest of us. July 16thBloody Cold today, the East Lawn covered in frost. Some pieces resemble sharp glass. Just reminder that Winter isn't finished with us yet. I'm wearing my ancient old seventies Ugg coat, it's so snug and rather large, I can almost curl up inside of it on the couch.My Dad is on my mind today, the anniversary of his death is approaching, way back in 1986. I try to hold onto images of him in mind but they do drift and there seem to be fewer. I call Mum and we have this lovely talk about him, one of the most wonderful conversations with my Mum in many years. July 17thLockdown has been extended which is no real surprise. It's funny as Lockdown means little to us, we just alter a few things and get on with life. The trick is to keep busy and do something a bit special a few days a week.July 18thWell my Mum had her first vaccine jab today. So far so good, it's a doomed if you do doomed if you don't scenario for her but so far I think she will be ok. I'm checking on her a lot , but a bit relieved she now has this. Gladys has lost the plot with NSW. The stupid Berejiklian took too long to lockdown and now NSW's numbers are jumping and every day NSW is the only state in Australia where people are dying from Covid. Seriously she is a clueless idiot! Just Morrison's sock puppet. I am amazed that people voted for this stupid dangerous cow. Blood on her hands. She is one of the few people that makes me furious.July 19thWe loved "Best Wishes, Warmest Regards-A Schitts Creek Farewell" documentary. Such a fun show.I called Foxtel, only because Mark would probably scream at them, they fixed all the errors on our bill, very apologetic and I'm now happy it's all done, new Satellite dish etc. One more thing ticked off the list. The list is now only one page in length instead of nine pages. July 20thI invest in 6 Maverick Twist Shots. We have worked so hard on the yard and helping the community. Nice to let our hair down tonight, have a roaring fire going in the pool room, play a few games of Pool and try these pretty but ghastly tasting shots. It's a really fun night and Banshee keeps an eye on us. Always wandering around while Mark kicks my rather cute arse at Pool. Miss B eventually settles down in front of the fire- she looks like a Hallmark Card image.July 21stI order 2 big bags of Wheatgrass seeds , yes time to enjoy that cold pressed healthy green goodness. Well I have to grow the grass first in the kitchen. We do try to be healthy, well apart from our love of chocolate. I need to start running more, now that the weather is slowly improving and Kalorama is less of a mud zone. I just don't want to be one of those old people with walking frames , getting their wheels stuck in pavement cracks and flipping over. I need to do more sit ups but I hate sit ups. I keep saying "I must do sit ups" but after the words have rolled off my tongue I run off and avoid them. A tad pathetic i know. Maybe Spring is a good time for sit ups. I'll easily convince myself of that. What about you?The "Contents" electrician arrives from the insurance company and it all appears to be good. No big hassles and most of it is rather obvious. The usual time lag around things because of Covid, so some repairs will take awhile. July 22ndI was a bit over people asking me about the William Ricketts Sanctuary, seemed every day people were asking, so I decided to do something about it. It was kind of sporadic as I was driving past -had my camera with me and just pulled the car over nearby. I did know about the secret creek that ran by the fence line and thought that might be the smartest way to avoid any security cameras. I wasn't prepared for the level of destruction around the sanctuary. The creek covered by hundreds of trees and a sheer cliff of debris, fallen trees and smashed gum tree limbs. Now I'm a good climber but please do not attempt to do what i did. I used every muscle (well almost every muscle! No love muscle was used) and it took about an hour. The first thing you notice is the destruction of the viewing rooms and soil erosion and slippage. I was so incredibly careful not to disturb the area as I'm sure several broken pieces lie under the sand and soil. There is stuff everywhere, but certainly a miracle as the vast majority of Williams pieces remain intact. Some had massive trees crashed cms from them, and several were not so lucky. The destruction at the Kilm near the top is huge and the arch near that has been hit, and cracked and pieces on the ground. The Kilm area smashed and statues outside with no heads. I was close to tears, it saddened me, but joy to see so much has been spared. I took photos- one has to document the good and the bad in life. After a time I was still aching and knew I couldn't exit the same way. So I pulled my hat down, used the toilets and sneaked over the gate via my secret exit. I did give the security cameras a little wave. At least i could tell people how bad and how not so bad it is. I will ache for days , my muscles insanely tight. But mission accomplished.July 23rdI was all set to return the boys car today and they told me to keep it for a few more weeks. very cool, why do i get the feeling that this car is going to live with me forever. Which is great as i have really grown to enjoy driving it. Nice and chunky, I don't like weak plastic 2021 cars.Flowers arrive this morning, and yes form a bloke-and the best note. What a wonderful way to start the day. July 24thMark still has no idea about his amazing birthday suprise. I sneak out today and pick it up, under the guise of dropping firewood and food into an old ladies house. I hide his fabulous new Apple Mac computer away for a few days. He is going to be so surprised. So generous that so many did this. Amazing we could make this exceptional gift a reality, I must be very sneaky-in awe that he hasn't sprung me yet around this.My neigbour Hisako grabs some of our lemons and rewards us with some yummy lemon treats. Mark goes one better and makes us homemade sausage rolls. July 25th3000 people at Sydney's anti-Lockdown rally. Watch what will happen, NSW will suddenly explode from Covid D and people will start dying. All Anti Lockdown protests do is extend Lockdowns-they just don't get that.I add the last lot of names to Marks giant Birthday card, it is packed. So many. It looks brilliant. July 26thHappy Birthday Bongo Starkie. Always nice to chat to Bobby. He wishes Mark a Happy Birthday for tomorrow, bloody Leo's I'm surrounded by them.I dance around the room with Banshee to Bruce Springsteen's "Spirit in the Night" from the Roxy Live show. 7/7/78. I drop a bag of firewood into Amanda , she's injured her foot so we have to look after locals like her. Though her drive way makes me feel like I'm hiking in Nepal again , a nice drop over the edge!!! July 27thI sneak out into the kitchen at some stupid hour of the morning and set up Marks computer, streamers, cake , giant signed Birthday card etc. I hear him head to the toilet at 6.30 and suddenly a "Holy Fuck" !!! So yes he has found it , so i climb out of bed and wish him a Happy Birthday. Now he is blown away, by the present but also the 130? people who donated. Mark has the largest smile I've ever seen, amazing. There are also so many incredible birthday cards. The phone is ringing all day and a flood of Emails. At lunch time i take us to the grove where I celebrated my last Covid birthday. It certainly has changed , hundreds of trees down, giant soil craters. We still manage to set up a table, a wonderful birthday cake from the girls at Olinda bakery and lunch from R&J at Montage. A few drinks and in many ways a fantastic birthday lunch. Happy Birthday to the best bloke that I know. We all love you.July 28thLockdown ends at midnight , so tomorrow I'm going to head to my not so secret Charity-The Salvo's and give them a hand for the day. I actually iron a shirt- a rarity!July 29thA good day doing charity work - we help a lot of people. I also managed to get through 12 massive boxes of DVDs for the store, all sorted, some go within minutes of being put out. My little Bluray area is very popular-every single bluray eagerly grabbed. It is a long day, and I decide not to cook tonight, so Japanese for us for dinner. I wish their legs wouldn't poke out of the cooking pot (grin).I spend the night cuddled up to Mark watching movies. July 30thMarky has been working on 2 Crowded House live songs and 2 Split Enz live songs. So 4 videos for the fans, which I'll pop up individually over the next week. So fans are already profiting from this new computer. They look great, glad i filmed things when i did on tour, nice to have a visual record.I finally mail my blackberry Jam to our mate Greg Macainsh. I was hoping that we'd drop it in but with Covid that is out the window for the moment. Bloody insane price to mail. We have a visitor this afternoon, a very fluffy grey cat with a tiny squeaky voice. She has been here before. Maybe twice. Banshee goes to the door and Hisses at her. I know I shouldn't but I feed it, it looks like it is starving. I put a blanket out as the weather is cold and just in case she has nowhere to go or is lost. I can't let the poor thing freeze to death. It's a nice cat with a soft little voice. July 31stFinally got the new light for the kitchen area of the office. So between my new lights in my section (tomorrow) & the kitchen, the Office is close to being back to normal. These things take so long after a disaster hits, especially during Covid.August 1stOur mate Jace arrives and installs the brilliant new office lights. They are so high tech and absolutely perfect. Great price too-thanks Jace.My new mate Tim looks like sexy Max Theiriot from Bates Motel. I went to the local IGA again with him and girls were gushing over him & a few guys giving him the eye. He's kind of shy, so the sexy aura he has probably freaks him a bit. Nice that we have looked after him during this weird time. Plus we owe him for helping around the yard. A lovely bloke on the inside and outside-you don't get to say that very often these days. Enjoy Byron Bay young man! August 2ndFinally some sun but still a cold wind blowing outside. I am hanging out for warmer weather. I am going house to house to see if anyone owns this fluffy cat that is still at our place. Worst scenario I take her to the vet and see if she has a chip.i think of Vali Myers today, it's her birthday, she would of turned 91. Holy shit, Vali at 91 , the thought just makes me laugh. Such a wild child lived inside of her. The Covid numbers in NSW continue to rise, that stupid Premier Bereijiklian locked down too late. I'm sorry to swear but she is a fucking idiot. August 3rdCrowded House have dropped off the map, is that it for the promotion of the album? Is it all over? How deafly silent and rather odd.I wake up early and give Maddison a call for her birthday. She loves her presents. I can not believe she is 8, we are both hanging out to see her, probably a lot longer now since Premier Gladys stuffed up NSW. Bet we can't even make it home at Christmas. I have a spare day so off to the Charity store. It's such a massive store, I really like the people that i work with, plus I'm one of the few guys so that's interesting. I help load new mattresses and some cupboards today for some poorer people setting up house. They were so appreciative. August 4thNo new Covid cases today in Victoria. You just get the feeling that Covid D is sneaky and hiding around the corner, waiting for all of us to relax.More calls to the Insurance company again, most of it good , pays to stay on top of things around them as they are flat out with claims, so you almost have to force yours to the top of the pile. The wheels are turning. August 5thFoxtel repair guy turns up, he has been here before and installs a new satellite dish. Much better reception too , he knows his stuff, so we are happy. Tick that off the list.The flower man gives me some Sunflowers, which was so nice. I wonder if he has a crush on me, whatever the reason they make me smile. August 6thI take the grey cat to the vet and yes she has a chip, so I leave her and they will contact the owners. Banshee can now venture back outside and my cat food bill will be less.Mark is just loving his new computer- getting it ready to be extra creative. I have a certain Cheap Trick "project" that I hope he will attempt down the track. A few ideas. I do some little story boards about a Graffiti style start. It might work? August 7thI call into Olinda Pizza shop and say hi to owner Duncan. He organised the chainsaw guys for our yard, so i want to support his business. As I leave a lady stops me and asks if I am Peter. I wonder if she is going to lob some illegitimate child on me is my first thought. But no she is the "Mum" of the grey cat. Turns out it's name is Luna, and now i know where they live. She is so thankful, which is really great. Apparently Luna doesn't always like people, but she loved us!August 8thInternational Cat Day- Banshee gets some insane amount of "likes" on my FB page. She is Queen Kitty.Hmmmmm tonights music in the office- Alice in Chains-Unplugged. All the way from April 1996. A cool cd. I get a really nice call from a mate, that made me very happy. Life is good. August 9thI chat to Nigel Griggs from the Enz for ages tonight, a bit of a Waffle-Fest from both of us. Nice to hear that Gavin the Goat is doing well.August 10thWe complete the census form , so that is done. Nothing too extreme in the questions. Wish they had more around transgender etc people. Seems a bit vanilla.Lockdown for Victoria will be extended, the numbers are growing here, thankfully not deaths. Only NSW has daily Covid deaths -very sad. August 11thI mail off my sisters birthday present. Mark created this awesome photo book , it covers her 50 years, she will love this.August 12thJeroen Weimar the Victorian Covid Commander has lovely eyes. That's all I'm saying.I'm at Olinda in the evening and decide it would be good to grab a 6 pack of Corona beer to go with our Indian Dinner. I go into the IGA's bottle shop but it is empty. No customers, no staff . I ring bells, call out. No answer. I wonder if there has been a robbery & start worrying someone might be bound or injured out back. So I wander into the staff only area, call out. It's very dark, and spooky so i go into defence mode and find a weapon-big scissors! I call out , walk to courtyard of the shop and no answer. So decide I'll go into the IGA supermarket and let them know. As I get to the door my friend Caroline is outside so I tell her and she thinks it's very odd. The IGA girl calls the manager on his phone and I say i'll head back into the shop. I notice the Corona 6 pack on the counter has vanished. Finally the manager enters form outback-he says he's been crushing boxes in the alley way. Strange as I went out there . So odd, who leaves a shop open and no staff and the cash register near the door. Oh well at least I didn't find a bloody corpse I guess. August 13thWell today I have been secretly doing charity work for 4 months. Still feels great, nice I've kept it a secret this long. I'm kind of loving it.I catch up with Lillie and her team at the Hub today. Mark comes down and we all sit in my old Kalorama Free Supermarket area while the amazing Miss Lille creates some wonderful food. Nice to see some of the locals too - a lovely afternoon. Lillie rocks, like a vision she dances across the floor with the radio playing, wooden spoon in hand, cooking up a charm. August 14thI'm off the mountain this morning, supermarket, fuel and lunch. Not many cars around, the supermarket busy with the survivalist toilet paper grabbers and cat food by the pallet hoarders. I just smile. Our Covid emergency ration area is all good. Bring on the revolution, bring on the Covid Zombie apocalypse. What no Tim Tams left, it really is the end of the world.August 15thAlison cooks Pikelets and they are awesome, Nice to see Charlie too even though we fail his rock quiz moment. It's a superb day, you can almost forget about Covid.Happy 70th to Nathan Brenner today too. Bingy Bingy Bingy Natty! August 16thToday is the anniversary of my Dads death. He has been gone for 35 years now. That seems like a long time eh? I now have far far more good memories than bad ones. Sis puts roses on his grave. Good girl.The Covid death toll in NSW continues to rise. The residents of NSW are dying daily now from Covid and idiot Berejiklian calls the Covid death numbers like she is playing bingo. It's in the double figures now each day. Linda McCartney hamburgers and my special soup for dinner tonight. Both rather delicious. August 17thI'm up early and cook bacon and eggs for Marky for breakfast. I have so much energy this morning. I haven't planned today out, so just rolling with it. Mostly yard work as we are clearing the entire broken fence line so the insurance company can put up the new fence.August 18thLoving the Bruce Springstein Greatest Hits cd- I seem to play this in the office, very late at night. You just have to sing along with Bruce. He suckers me totally and I'm ok with that. Working class man bullshit but glorious bullshit , yes I'm a Bruce fan.August 19thWe watched THE EMPTY MAN movie last night, enjoyed it; a few moments that made us jump. Plus I have a bit of a "thing" for James Badge Dale. I have a couple of copies of the original Empty Man comic from 2014? It translates to the screen reasonably well. I also love the start, in the mountains of Bhutan. I like that it is influenced by the semiology of Ferdinand de Saussure, who believed words have meaning only within their repeated context.August 20thThe Insurance company send their second electrician guy to run through the structure insurance items, and all good. A miracle though , the side power area in the kitchen suddenly works so one less thing to have done. Nice guy, hopefully it will be put into the system soon and the final items replaced/fixed.August 21stOuch a really bad leg cramp at sunrise today. I have been forgetting to take my magnesium tablets, usually just 2 a week, and this is the price I pay. I won't make that mistake again. Banshee knows I'm in pain and walks up from the end of the bed and hops in and nudges me and purrs. Cute!!!!!!!! I now forgive her for waking me up at 4.00 while she took a cat dump in her litter tray. Scratch Scratch .August 22ndA nice thank you card and some homemade hooch from the girls at The Hub. The cards turned out really well.Marks says the chainsaw has died, but I repair it in 1 minute. It was what i thought, I have to admit I did look like a smartarse, very confident, imagine if it still failed to work. Every so often I get it right and surprise him. No wonder he loves me so much. August 23rdHow cool is the "Becky" movie. Lulu Wilson looks like a young Buffy Summers. She's got some of Buffys moves too.I give the Listerine "Wear It Purple" promotion a bit of a push. It raises money for Rainbow Youth. Linda from the Bushfire Recovery people calls and we lock in a time for them to visit to remove 2 of the dangerous trees. I didn't expect 5 4WD's to turn up. Nice blokes, and they ticked all the boxes. So sometime during this Covid lockdown they'll do the job and the state government pays for it, so that is fantastic. One of the trees is at the perfect angle to wipe out the power pole and power box on the street so lets hope it is removed before that happens. I don't want us to be responsible taking all the power down on our street after having it off for 3 weeks due to the storm. August 24thWentworth (Prisoner) is back. The final season and wow what a great first episode. They certainly have made it their own. Love how they got someone to sing Split Enz "One Step Ahead" during a rather crazed section-it worked so well.August 25thWe wake to the terrible news that Charlie Watts died. A lovely talented unassuming man. We love The Rolling Stones, but they should stop rolling with no Charlie on the kit. When i found out I did burst into tears , only for a short while and unexpected. Mark looked like he was going to cry. Very sad all day. I post my favourite Charlie Watts moment on my FB page.Wendy & Doug call which is nice, a fun chat , a long chat an awesome chat. August 26thVictoria leads the nation in all subjects in the Napan tests. Excellent. One has to stay positive about such things, too many negative people out there.Happy Birthday to our neighbour Jodes, I sneak over a card and some champagne. We are fortunate we are surrounded by really nice neighbours now. The true test was during the disaster, everyone rallied together, fabulous. I let Mark in on one of my little secrets, that I have been watching "Fake or Fortune" online for ages now and decide we should watch it on our TV. Mark really enjoys it, our love of art , it's something we both appreciate. Thursday nights ABC TV. Another day, another person from the insurance company. Just signing off on more things. Covid slows it down, which we get. We are very patient. They are always called Anthony! August 27thA nice little box of Hunt & Brew coffee left for us at the front door. Thank you Chrissie- I'll add that to our Covid survival cupboard! Yum. I've always loved the designs on their bottles and the diverse coffee range.August 28thI drive to My Evelyn for some groceries. Also a bit of hard card from the newsgagency. On the way back I notice Kuranga nursery is open for coffee and some plants for sale outside. I ask the owner if they have any Eucalyptus Pulverulena and they do. I buy the 3 they have, it's sold out everywhere else. I might as well start replanting in some of the holes around Ailsa Craig.I head to the oval and run into Sam and Melody. I'm checking out a certain wall for the video filming. The sun is just beautiful . I lie down on a bench and almost fall asleep. Strip to my singlet (well my pants are on too) and it feels magnificent on my skin. Glorious sunshine. August 29thHappy 50th Birthday to my amazing sister Jennifer. I am sorry that your heinous Premier stuffed it so much that I can't fly up and surprise you!Sis's birthday which means it's the sad anniversary of the death of Shirl from our Skyhooks band. 20 years now since Shirl died. What a unique lead singer- he certainly was a one off. We hear from Benny which is nice, it's been awhile. He promises to give us a call so that is great. August 30thYum homemade fruit salad and Tamar valley (tassie) mango yoghurt. Lockdown really isn't that bad.August 31stBye bye Winter. Today we focus on yard work. We chat to our friend Charlotte when she is walking by and we are both doing the usual nature strip clean up. She returns 10 mins later with something in her hands, A baby ringtail possum. He's in a bad way but still alive and if we are quick he has a chance. He has lovely fur and markings. I take him off Charlottes hands and get him into a box, wrap him in one of my singlets. Being the manager of the Kalorama Free Supermarket was handy in 1 other way, I had 2 packets of hand warmers left so use these to keep his box warm while I drive him to the vet. The vet girls love him and he's into their heating area and will keep an eye on him. He has a good chance as usually they have very little . If he survives they'll release him near our house. Good luck little buddy. Good spot Charlotte.September 1stHappy Birthday Laura. Australia Post have stopped delivering and picking up parcels for 3 days so her birthday gift will be late. But we DO sing! That alone is a rare gift.Well I have my little cameo as a graffiti artist in the start of our Cheap Trick video. Mark says I have a natural flourish to the way I use the spray can. Maybe that isn't me, you can't see my face, is it my Graffiti stunt double? We attract a small crowd that we legally disperse because of Covid. I've used some special paint that will wash off with the rain. Mark is happy with the graffiti bit and now has to work his magic on the few other pieces. I've really given him so little but he always makes diamonds out of cow turds. I am changing his name to The Magician. He's my Magic Man. ( i keep singing The Heart "Magic Man" song to him). "But try to understand, try to understand Try, try, try to understand, I'm a magic man"! September 2ndHappy Birthday to Spock from BCO. He scores one of our homemade cards. Nice to have a talk and yes for a second time we sing!I take some time out in the afternoon to continue reading Seifers "Wizard"-the Nikola Tesla book. Wonderful, loving it. Lockdown was meant to be over today but no way, another month to go at least. September 3rdSome excitement for us at 9.05 PM. Our little "Cheap Trick-Live in Australia 1979" is now up on my YouTube page! Photos by yours truly, the insane dodgy film camera footage by a young PG, Tour posters , adverts- tickets (remember when International bands were $10.00!!!). A tiny bit of Countdown/band footage to stretch it out. I DO love todays morning Graffiti start-what a sneaky cameo! Anyway enjoy the 4.23 minutes worth. A massive thank you to the rather awesome Mark Goulding & thumbs up & thanks to Cheap Trick. Feel free to share. xx PGhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSpCIBE_qpo September 4thOh Crap! Luna the cat has run away & made a return visit to our place. Why do strays (both human & animal) turn up at our house when I'm juggling 20 things.I love our office, even now the archives offer up some suprises. I found a brown 8x10 envelope and inside four glossy band photos, all signed. REM, Cheap Trick, Thompson Twins and our beloved Pansy Division. What a cool find. I start boxing again every day. My brain has increased the production of endorphins , they are certainly sparking in me and I'm also feeling rather horny. Too much information? I've ran out of Birthday cards so I mail my cousin David a sympathy card- he has after all turned 60. His youth has died! HA! Hope he gets the joke. I am a bit domestic today, do some washing, empty Banshees litter tray and bake some milk chocolate Ganache tarts! Our Cheap Trick video has had 300 views now, so that is exciting, Lots of nice comments. September 5thA rather LONG diary (sorry Deb) but finally, FINALLY i have caught up. It's a rainy grey old day here at Kalorama and we are feeling the same around the Covid lockdown. I keep pushing us to continue to do things to stay busy. Some exercise-loving my boxing, something arty-Videos and be kind to those around us. We are all in this Covid shit storm together. Stay safe, stay happy.Love Peter (and Mark) |