The Life and Times of Peter Green
updated 14 June 2025
 "Charlie and Finn, my cure for everything, even the Flu". |
May 26thI head off with Mark to my mechanics at Monbulk to clear our stuff out of the Red Beast. She looks so sad (if cars can look sad) sitting on the back lot while we cleared all the bits. I did keep the hand drawn "slow" sign that prevented me from getting speeding fines. I give her a last minute hug. Hopefully off to some sort of new home soon. You served me well Red Beast, and at times protected me during disasters etc.We call into the bakery for a coffee and a sausage roll. I can tell Mark doesn't get out much as he goes "wow , since when is coffee $5.00". A few years now dear friend. It's windy all up the East Coast. Not too extreme at Kalorama, After surviving the insane wind storm disaster in June 2021, wind gusts will never be the same again. As long as no trees come down on the new car. It's a much smaller target now I guess. May 27thHappy Birthday Neil Finn. My ex boss turns 67 so I send him a message. You know the years are creeping past us all when Neil Finn is starting to hit seventy. For myself I am forever 17. We all know that. I put up a clip from Wellington NZ, Neil's 21st birthday all of those years ago.I call into the BP and my friend comes out and tells me it's closed. Someone broke in and robbed the place. Thankfully not while he was on duty. There goes my fuel and free coffee. Glad he is safe. May 28thNot much sleep for some strange reason, so awake early and head to Food Bank. The new car is full of boxes to be used for the food to go in for those who need it. Andrew puts me in charge of music today, so I find something left of centre, much to the horror of some. I ask Ros to find something more mainstream.Home, and I send Andy White an email for his birthday and put up a few posts, so many May birthdays. Markys YouTube Wed and here is another live clip from Crowded House at the Hanover Grand in London. June 3rd 1996. It's IN MY COMMAND from the Crowdies Together Alone album. Wow, what a really fine version, so many people loved this one. Nice to see Mark Hart with the band, playing his heart out (no pun). My friend Kelli calls and she has someone for my old car already and an envelope of cash. I tell her to keep some of it but she refuses. So I head off to Monbulk but I go buy her some wine and chocolates to say thank you. I feel like I am going on a date. LOL. Before I visits the mechanics I call into The Salvo store at Monbulk and see Libby and Christina. Lib's going to be our new boss at our store and she's great. She has the best rock and roll heart. I stay for an hour, and just chat. Kelli is happily surprised by the gifts, dealing with the public every day has very little joy I'd stay. She gives me the rego plates for the Beast and I wave goodbye, only slightly teary. I pick Marky up and we head to Spotlight for him to buy some new pillowcases, which are on special. The Church debut cd is stuck in the car cd player , I always forget that those early cds , car players hate. Next, a rare treat of junk food at Hungry Jacks. We sit in and eat. Surrounded by school boys putting in job applications to flip burgers. We supermarket shop on the way home. Back in time to watch ALONE (Australia). We have fallen for the show. May 29thThe petrol station is open again and they give me triple Qantas points and free coffee, so a nice way to start my Thursday. Funny to fill up the car and it's $30 less.I forget to mention it, but today this Famous for 16 Minutes diary turns 29 years old. Almost 3 decades, incredible really. Thanks everyone for returning to read my waffle and oddball moments. May 30thIce grey skies today. Winter is hiding around the corner and wants to chill my bones. I accidentally wrote "chill my boner" which is probably correct as well.Oops.Happy Birthday to our dear mate Fen. I give her call, hopefully the card and present arrived safely. I never feel I can trust Australia Post. After coffee at the bakery I call into Burkes Lookout for a bit of a clean up and hike. It's not too bad. I spot 2 older guys enjoying the view. Well I hear them first, endless emphysema coughing and here they are smoking. It's their life, so I guess I should shut up. I fill up one bag with trash, which isn't too much considering I haven't been here for a few weeks. I arrive home and wash the new car, it's smaller than the red beast so much quicker to wash. After that i chose some big pieces of firewood. Strip to my singlet and put some muscle into it. I manage to cut up a decent amount, work up a sweat. My sweat smells rather sweet today. Will do more tomorrow. Home, and I start on the Harold Holt Experience. So I remove the Lost In Space set out of the seventies TV. I start work on the aquatic coral backdrop. The Chinese submarine is all painted up , a mysterious grey … I went for the colour of a shark. A predator submarine with a Chinese flag on the side. Coral and seaweed added, the shark with a foot (Harolds?) in its mouth, shells, a flying saucer, and scattered micro versions of newspapers with the headlines around our missing Prime Minister. How often does a PM go missing totally, never to be found again. I add mood lighting and repaint the TV and add more green glitter to keep it more sea like. I rescrew the cover glass and the Harold Holt Experience is complete. I'll take it into the charity on Tuesday for the Book Cave. Big shout out to my charity friend Deb who helped with some much needed objects for it. I think it's a 7/10 but people who saw it today loved it. May 31stI get to sleep in for an hour more, my bed is so snug. It's nice.I work in the office in the morning, a lot of archiving that needs doing. I make a note that Neil Finns original CH stage coat and Paul Hesters coat arrive back this Tuesday from being on display at the Music Vault at the Arts centre. More stuff will go to exhibits later on. After lunch I work in the garden, that part is endless. Everything grows so quickly up here. Mark breaks my lasagne dish while washing up. In all fairness it just broke which happens to baking dishes all of the time. He was worried I'd be freaked out as it was a favourite dish but nah, cool as cucumber. Shit happens. We both loved the "Splice Here" documentary… but it gets me itching to work with film again which Mark will kill me for. Anyway a cool documentary and really worth checking out. God bless you Quentin Tarantino , a man with a golden heart! June 1stWinter. Last night had a bite to it, Midnight and myself disappeared deep down under the bed covers. She still got up for her 4 AM feed and it felt cold. The sun has been trying to break through all morning but no warmth.It will be fifty years on June 20th since JAWS the movie was released. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in LA has an exhibit on the movie-hundreds of original artefacts including the giant fake shark himself. He was nicknamed Bruce. I've met Bruce on the Universal lot. He's been repaired a few times. Steven Spielberg was only 26 when he directed JAWS. The movie still makes me jump in my seat. Happy 50th Bruce. I'm heading off to warm myself up by chopping some more wood. Mark says I am rehearsing for my addition for "ALONE" (Australia). I'd last 10 minutes…ok maybe 20 minutes. In the afternoon I thought I'd surprise Mark with some chocolates from the Olinda shop. I decide to visit the girls at Eclectic Corner in search of a cool shirt or present for Mark, but no luck. I hear 2 tourists talking about Dr Quirkys Vintage Emporium so I stalk them and follow them. It's just out front on Olinda-Monbulk RD. I walk in and feel like I am at home, so many cool things. I have this strange urge to go into the side room and a small area has vintage amusement machine games. As I turn I jump slightly as a Zoltar fortune telling machine comes to life and the head turns and stares at me. I have always been fascinated by Zoltar and know that one day I will own a Zoltar machine. Yes many readers will remember it from the 1988 film "BIG" … it's just as spooky here at Dr Quirkys Vintage Emporium. Unlike Tom Hanks I don't deposit a coin and make a wish today….but I will on my next visit. I need to have a think about that one. I do however buy Marky a Happy Bunny collectible metal toy that walks and plays drums. Mr Bunny isn't as evil as Zoltar (Is Zoltar really evil though?) but the Bunny does have red eyes. I pay at the counter and speak to Liam the shop owner. We chat for a tiny bit and he says he is a Producer. I boldly say "I'm a Producer too" and mentioned Hessie and some other projects. Turns out he produced the Suzi Q documentary..yes the cool one on Quatro-which we love. We promise to catch up soon, and he sounds interesting. Next time I am bringing Marky as they would have a lot in common. I grab some of the delicious and almost healthy hamburgers from the Olinda Fish and Chip shop for an early dinner. June 2ndI let the art centre know they can return our Crowded House jackets tomorrow. Mark will be here so he can sign for them. Good they got displayed for so long. Working out what else can go out to them that the public will recognise. I'm thinking Skyhook Shirls Jester top from 1975. That's always cool one.Loving ALONE (Australia) we are now viewing season two which is shot in New Zealand. You'd think for that season they'd change it to ALONE (New Zealand). We already have our favourite survivalists. Isn't it funny there is always someone you think is a bit of a wanker. We Boo the people who drop out after only one day. I'm sure that would be us, gone after only 1 day. June 3rdMidnight my furry alarm clock wakes me up early, which is good as my bed is warm and tempting and it's bloody cold. It hit zero this morning. The car is covered in ice. Not many cars on the road this morning, I guess the Hills people are all snuggled up in their beds or lighting their fires.I arrive at Salvos and my book cave is in a bad way, someone changed the set up. Good I intentions but it mean I spent 2.5 hours trying to fix up the mistake. A total pain in the arse but it got done. It put me in a bad mood. I put up the Harold Holt Experience TV. After only ten minutes a lady asks me if it's forsale. This makes me smile and improves my grotty mood. I get everything done today. Just on time, I was worried the wasted 2.5 hours would put me behind so I skipped lunch. Joan spoils us all with some amazing homemade Rocky Road. She gives me a chunk to take home for Marky. You can tell it's flu season, plenty of people coughing and I think I might have been way to close to a guy when he lets loose. I bet I get sick. Our phone is back on at the house, thankfully I didn't have to deal with Telstra , so I call Mark. The Art Courier arrives with Neil and Hessie's stage jackets that we lent to the Music Vault for 6 months. Great that thousands of people got to see them up close. We have an early dinner at our friend Carolyns "Kelly's Tavern" at Olinda. A nice big roaring fire. Some locals say hello. The food is great. During desert Skyhook Greg calls which is nice. June 4thI hear from Sis and she and MIM are having a great time in Japan. They are back later tonight. Mum misses them a lot.I sleep in so get changed and rush out, almost a beard happening, no time to shave. Off to the Free Food Program. A quick takeaway coffee on the way from the gals at the Olinda Bakery. They are always a happy bunch in the morning, so nice to me. I give them a big bag of lemons as they always need them for their cakes. My arms are bit sore from carrying boxes to peoples cars full of produce. Everyone is appreciative. I load a few into the Black Beauty who haven't arrived and will attempt to get it to their houses at lunch time. Home and it's Marky's Youtube Wednesday. A little nod this week to our mate Bob "Bongo" Starkie and his fight against Leukemia. So Mark gives me the file for Skyhooks rehearsing at the Pint on Punt at St Kilda. It was the little gig I organised with Bongo for the 30th anniversary of "Living in the 70's". So many Skyhook band members from different line up's turned up. Bongo takes over on lead vocals for Balwyn Calling and we capture both soundcheck and the gig. It was packed that night , and many familiar faces turned up from our past. October 28th 2004. Bob gives me a call tonight so we have a good chat, he's in for his 4th lot of chemo, he's fighting the good fight-bless him. June 5thIt's only been 24 hours and already 2000 people have enjoyed our Skyhooks live rehearsal clip. That went up yesterday. The largest 24 hr viewing numbers since we released HESSIE. We are both surprised and overjoyed. Life in the old Skyhooks still. (Footnote-it's now hit 14,000 views).There might be life in Skyhooks but I had a crap night. Yes someone passed on that flu bug to me and I was awake all of last night. I call the boss at charity and I'm not coming in. More fear of giving this to someone. I can feel my freaky immune system fighting it. I need some cold and flu tablets and I know the ones I want. So off to Olinda I go. I find the pack, it has lots of White Willow in it and within an hour I start feeling way better. I sit at an outdoor table in isolation and sip a coffee and send off a few texts. I make Apple Crumble for desert. Many many years ago when we lived in the Woodface apartment next to Neil and Sharons mansion at East St Kilda I was taught how to make Apple Crumble. By Mr Neil Finn. One night when we were all playing scrabble I told him how much I enjoyed the Apple Crumble and next day in their kitchen he showed me how to make it. It's nothing fancy, pretty much the standard recipe on line. Possibly he might of added some plums from the plum trees that grew on Woodface's property next door. Anyway I made 4 small mini Crumble deserts tonight and they were great. So thanks NF. Under Mr Trump America pays more on Interest on its debt than it spends on defence. We are now watching Season 3 of ALONE (Australia) and they are back to beautiful Tasmania filming. Yay! June 6thIt's COLD! A few cold and wet days ahead. The East Lawn covered in ice? It may well be covered in snow this weekend.My Flu is about 80% gone, it lingers a tiny bit but I am boosting my vitamin C to help. My day starts with a laugh when I see Chump and Musk abusing each other. Good grief they are both so fucking lame. Pass the popcorn. Olinda Bakery is quiet this morning, I sit outside in case I give this bug to someone. I have big disaster coat on so it's fairly snug. As I drive home I make a quick decision to call into the Burkes Look-Out carpark and go do a tiny hike and clean up the hike track and side area. . As I near the hang glider launch area the wind just bites my face. Only 2 brave souls out hiking and one of them is shivering. I admire the view, you can see all the way to the Port Philip Bay (or Narrm as called by the Boonwurrung people) today. I fill one bag with rubbish, I try to grab as many tiny plastic pieces as I can. Get it out of the system so no animals eat plastic. I arrive home and Mark is in the exercise area of the art room. I get my 30 minutes of exercise chopping some of the bigger logs for firewood. Mark packs it away neatly and takes in tonights fire wood to keep us snug. We are a good team. He tells me I am looking good for Season 4 of ALONE. Impossible, I could never survive without chocolate. I'd have to sneakily stitch bars of it into my survival coat. We are both in awe with the number of views around our Skyhooks Rehearsal at the Pint on Punt with Bongo singing lead. The viewing numbers keep on jumping, and it's only been a few days. It just hit 14,000 views, we would have been thrilled with 1000. Anyway for whatever reason this one has taken off we would like to thank all the music lovers that continue to check out our YouTube page. June 7thNoise 11 (thanks Paul C) runs a piece on our Skyhooks video. So glad they spell Marky's surname correctly in the article. The Noise 11 Facebook post has had the second largest number of "likes" during for the month.I make a dash to the car as the heavens open up and sleet starts to fall. You can feel the air has a bite to it and it must be snowing somewhere close. I sit outside at the bakery as I wonder if I am still contagious and don't wan't to give anyone this bug. All the sniffles etc have nearly gone. I'm super excited that SUEDE release their 10th studio album "Antidepressants" in early September. I like the new single ‘Disintegrate' and the clip. Wonderful that Producer Ed Buller worked on it, he worked with Suede when they released their debut single "The Drowners" way back in 1992. Such a cool band. I remember walking around London, desperate to buy The Drowners on day one of release before boarding a flight back to Oz. I got a copy as they were opening the boxes at the Virgin megastore on Oxford street. I played it so many times on the flight heading home. What great band Suede are. June 8thThere is break in the weather so I head outside with the axe and chop a load of wood. I like using an axe, it would probably be my choice as a murder weapon, I wield an axe rather well, I get its balance. I attack some of the largest cuts of wood and Mark applauds my fine efforts. He's probably encouraging me along just so he doesn't have to do this . HA! Anyway it's good to get another wall of wood ready for use. Keeping us warm and we both love a good fire.My friend Chris sends me a text that he heard RRR give Split Enz MURDER a play last night. Which explains why the Split Enz MURDER video got a nice hit of new views I guess. I love that Split Enz video clip-each time I watch it, it just makes me smile, those crazy puppets. I'll add the link here, if you are feeling a bit blue- give it a view and you are sure to crack a smile. So time to say goodbye from our Winter wonderland on Mt Dandenong. Love to you all. Peter. Xxx |
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