The Life and Times of Peter Green
Archive: 29 February - 13 March 2016
Foggy, misty day over Kalorama
February 29thDeath comes in three's not sure why I believe that , it just does. In fact if ever there was a number that embraced my life it was the number three. Not certain why, it always has been (maybe that's really why our post office box at Prahran was 333). I remember the first prize I won was at a school fete and you had to give the spot for the pirates treasurer and I recall my guess was pretty much all three's. Next day at school assembly I won the main prize. I was more thrilled by the win then the prize which I have forgotten about- that statement makes me really think back. Possibly it was some table soccer game? So three's around death- Daddy Cools -Ross Hannaford, our buddy Robin's fave- Jon English and George Martin. All gone within the blink of an eye. The odd part- Ross Hannaford born at Newcastle, and Jon English dies at Newcastle! Of course this means the Jon English Collection jumps into the National chart at #23 (it's highest placing). Someone needs to create a word for album sales that happen when an artist dies.It's one of those days where they are working on the power lines in the national park , so we work on the decking and Mark in the garden while the power is out. It freaks some out not having electricity but there is a part of it that i do enjoy. Plus the romance factor moves up 100% (chuckle). I got loads of neil Finn work out of the way today, a solid non stop 6 hours worth. I'm up to date. Hurrah. March 1stSummer is over but someone forgot to tell Sol. Lots of stinking hot 40o days still so all over 100. Autumn but not many leaves, they know something we don't. I hear from Tim Finn and he is in town longer then expected so i can catch up in a few days time, will be good to see him. With the Enz and Crowdies so split and scattered it becomes extra special to see those guys. Life moves on and bands are like a marriage, a divorce of sorts sends everyone off in different directions.March 2ndOh record company wankers- seriously - they need us more then we need them. Will be great with the upcoming Crowded House releases, nice to work with a record company that has a high standard. The wheels are turning, still too soon to really be talking about Crowded House but exciting times ahead if you are a Crowded House fan. The year is going by fast enough, it will be upon us before we know it.March 3rdCheck with our excellent manager Bill, and get the ok to announce a 2nd NF gig early. Just makes my life easier. More live dates to come for Mr Finn, it's early days. Love that Bill always gets back to me even when he is in Abu Dhabi. The Brad Pitt of the musiuc industry (he'll like that line). Just in- Neil will play Quebec City Festival (Canada) on July 15th. www.infofestival.comOff to see the other Finn today, trying to work out how long to leave to drive to the city. Tim's staying in the heart of it so I'm sure the traffic will be crap. No Marie or the kids, Harper starts University this week, how the hell did that happen, when did he grow up and become a University student. It just flies on by. I like that he's a proud happy Dad. I manage a park directly opposite the hotel, only problem is it doesn't become a parking area for 30 more minutes, do i risk the parking gods and chance a fine. I sit till it's 7.00 and take a chance. It's such a brilliant convenient park. Tim surprises me with being exactly on time. "OK who stole Tim Finn..." I joke. I have to say he looks very very healthy and handsome. We chat, laugh, laugh , laugh. Tim hands over the final few signed photos etc which is great. It's a really cool evening, and he says- "we'll catch up on the next tour etc". I like that idea. March 4thThe hot weather is upon us again, Miss Banshee hates it, but always manages to find a cool spot. I put out some tubs of water for the local wild life , it keeps climbing past 100 and even the Kookaburra's look hot.Pay our Foxtel and another price rise from them soon yet they chop away another channel- goodbye Channel V. That hardly seems right, take channels away yet charge more. March 5thHappy Birthday to my Mum, she turns 78 and it's a really lovely day for her. It is freaking her out a bit that she is getting towards 80. Hell it's freaking me out too.One of the jobs during my lunch break from the office is too give the fountain a bit of a clean, but in a way that doesn't disturb the frogs. So lots of elbow grease, scrub scrub. It looks slightly better and the frog families are very happy. A lot more fresh water flows from the top. As I head inside and give the water fountain a test run, 2 black cockatoo's land and take a drink. I just watch them for a little while, such awesome birds, nice they appreciate the clean water fountain. I run into an old friend Kim, haven't seen her for a decade we have a quick coffee and a long catch up chat. She's so happy, nice to see. So many people are miserable and moan about everything. You just want to go shut the fuck up, but she's great, wonderful to see her. Still in a happy relationship . Now to track down Gina Patterson! (What did you say Marky *GRIN*). Sydney Mardi Gra is on and the streets are packed with 300,000 people. Sydney certainly shines tonight. Great to see Bill Shorten and the Rainbow Labor people marching. He receives a massive cheer. Labor are incredibly supportive over gay marriage, the LNP are all over the place , it's like a slow decay for the Libs. The Greens very passionate too. March 6thTry photographing a purple feather for my Mardi Gra prompt on sheepbook. As one does. (cough) It's on SBS tonight (Mardi Gra not my feather) , some good segments, but sometimes I wish they'd focus on the parade itself . After Mardi Gra the documentary "Growing Up Trans", which I have to say opened my eyes to young transgender- a lot- fascinating. Very brave people, all of them. I'd love for the makers to film a part 2 a decade later- that would be interesting. Excellent documentary.March 7thGreg mentions there was a pretty impressive party at Hessies old house at Elwood. It reminded me that it's 11 years this month since Paul died. We think of him so much, never leaves my thoughts, you are always left with that feeling- "could I of done more" but probably not, we were great friends and had lots of contact and private talks etc. Just sad that he isn't here.March 8thIt's now cost us more then $200 million and two years later and no sign of missing plane MH370. Sounds brutal but $200 million could of been spent on the living. Abbott must feel like a total goose- I wonder if he still thinks finding it is "tantalisingly close" - his brains are in his arse. Stupid comment from a stupid man. The sea will give it up when it's time. Speaking of Abbott I see his "Tradies Package" failed to give the economy the turbo boost that he (and Hockey) promised. It was suppose to be some super turbo charge to the economy over 5 years, but it failed after 1 month. No permanent lift in retail/business spending. Just another Abbott failure.Sad to hear that Daddy Cool's Ross Wilson lost his battle with cancer. Aged 65. Horrified that no news channels ran anything on him, I expected much more from the news, especially Melbourne, Daddy Cool were so popular in their time. March 9thOh now c'mon. Madonna's manager posing for photos with fans outside the Melbourne venue. Imagine one day if Madonna just walked out and said "Hello Guys" - now that would be cool. Just ripping down all those barriers in one smash, she'd be a hero instantly.The next two deaths- Jon English and George Martin. There are our three for the week. Our mate Robin worked with Jon so I imagine if there is anything after death, she'd be keeping a chair warm for him. March 10thI wake up and the mountain is covered in a very thick fog and misty rain is falling, finally relief from the heat. It's quite beautiful so i wander out and take a photo. What a fantastic place to live.I say Yes to the next election work with the AEC. Hopefully most of the same crew. I like seeing those political wheels turning. I am so boringly neutral on the day, which is how I should be . We are off mountain today for work- but drive past Montania so we have some lunch. It's at Mountain Gate and not very busy. Pretty delicious though the food. The traffic is light and apart from a few incorrect turns it's not such a bad drive, Green Arrow and The Flash are off tv for a month, enjoy the last episode of The Last Ship- really liking the show. March 11thLOVING my Lost In Space bluray box set (thanks Mark) one of the best presents ever. Danger Peter Green, Danger!!! When it moves from B&W to glorious colour it is indeed one of those "Oh wow" moments. Plus Judy is a bit of a space sex kitten, let's face it. Plus Mrs Robinson wielding that laser pistol- what a mum! Best saucer crash EVER!Reading "The Life Changing Magic of tidying up" (Marie Kondo). As we head towards death we should all have less crap in our lives (both physical and mental) as someone who looks after major archives I get that side of "saving history' but endless drawers of crap, Nah- feels rather empowering cleaning it all up. We watch The History Of Sex , which is the art created (photographs) created by Andres Serrano. C'mon you know him, cause some basic outrage over his Piss Christ. Really if it wasn't called Piss Christ those who bellowed loudly would probably love the image, it has such a golden glow to it. Anyway SEX is a little film about the photographing of the photos for his latest series. 5 months in Holland. We laughed at some, urghed at others, but it left me feeling artful and inspired, so this weekend may well be an art weekend. I guess a R rating for the History of Sex documentary, as it crosses over into the S&M area- it's all very stark but some of the finished images are truly beautiful. I was really into John Waters (Director) visiting Andres house- loved that little cameo. World Movie channel on Foxtel has some ok moments, but the odd nasty moment on IQ box where the final minute is cut off. I know Daddy Cool's Ross Hannaford hung out with our mate Paul Hester- so interesting that Ross was laid to rest at Blackwood cemetery just up from Pauls grave. March 12thA restless night, sadly Serrano isn't to blame, but my brain ticked over like a madams stopwatch in a brothel, so no sleep till Brooklyn for this little gryphon. As the sun rose I crawled down to the other end of the bed and watched Miss Banshee - she stares back- and a little soft paw pokes my nose. Cute and Crazy, Cat. She is a CCC.Seeing it's hard rubbish weekend, I decide to take a small drive around the block looking for a discarded picture frame (24 inches x 19 inches) I want a frame to work on.. but a lot of the hard rubbish was collected. I did find a cheesey wedding photo, the bride looking like she was stitched into her dress- urgh. Insane that women especially seem to go skin tight chunky when their puppy fat layering giggles like a jello michelin (wu)man. Ych. So I grab that to work on the frame for another piece of art. I'm almost tempted to do something arty to the wedding image but it feels a bit nasty on someones special day so think I'll just restore the frame and recycle it around one of our art pieces. Work on some video material at the General Store. My haven of peace, with the exception of Jack the dog- but he's ok he can invade my space any time. Our friend Claire inspires me , so it's an art day. Great to see so many protesters in Chicago - telling Donald Chump what a heinous arsehole he is. I always loved Chicago , this is just another reason to do so. I can't think of anyone worse then Trump to be president, watch America become a living nightmare of hate with that dildo in charge. A late night at Ailsa Craig, we've had a lot of those lately. Still it's a nice time of year to party on. There must of been a few parties in the hills, Mark said he heard the horrid thud thud of techno till 5.00. March 13thI wake up with a craving for coconut. My sister and myself both can't get enough of it- the smell, the taste and this warm weather, feels like one big tropical island. So I spend the morning making coconut/chocolate truffles. Between guests and Mark (OK me too) most are gone by lunch time.A really good article in The Age on James Merlino our local member and the deputy Premier. How his views changed (in a good way) on Gay Marriage etc. One day Mr Merlino will be the Premier of Victoria, I really do believe that, he's a pretty decent fellow, even a few dyed in the wool Liberals on the mountain say that, and they rarely ever say things like that. A long weekend for Victoria, if the weather changes for Monday we might escape to the surf beaches for the day. The other option is to catch up with Allie, Jane , Wendy and Doug for lunch. Of course we could just sleep in..... Say No To Trump the Chump! PG x |