2003 Concerts

Concerts

Over the last few months, I've been gallivanting all over the countryside seeing concerts. I've had a ball!

The Rolling Stones Concert was absolutely fantastic. The experience began in the train en route to the Entertainment Centre - full of Stones fans. As someone remarked: "This is just like the Sydney Olympics or Expo '88 in Brisbane." Having experienced both of these party crowds I totally agreed. The concert started with "jungle drums" which got everyone to their feet with lots of screaming. Mick Jagger certainly didn't disappoint and the punters loved it. The mood was upbeat for the whole concert so everyone was thoroughly entertained.

ROLLING STONES Brisbane Entertainment Centre	The Rolling Stones Concert was absolutely fantastic. The experience began in the train en route to the Entertainment Centre - full of Stones fans. As someone remarked: "This is just like the Sydney Olympics or Expo '88 in Brisbane." Having experienced both of these party crowds I totally agreed. The concert started with "jungle drums" which got everyone to their feet with lots of screaming. Mick Jagger certainly didn't disappoint and the punters loved it. The mood was upbeat for the whole concert so everyone was thoroughly entertained.
JON ENGLISH Bago Vineyards near Wauchope	I first saw Jon English in 1972 in "Jesus Christ - Superstar" at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney. Since then I have seen most of the shows in which he has appeared. These range from concerts to stage shows to club shows to T.V. series. I have most of his record albums, cassettes and cds. I must be a fan! The Bago concert was quite different. It started in daylight and had such discrete security that I was able to sit on the grass right in front of the stage. And I managed to say hello to Jon English and also get an autograph. The audience comprised a mixture of ages from the local area.
CLIFF RICHARD Lyndeman Estate Winery in the Hunter Valley near Newcastle	Part of a gourmet food and wine festival, this was a big outdoor concert. A very professional show with violins, brass and a big, full sound. Cliff did a history of rock'n'roll singing songs from Elvis, Everley Bros and the Shadows etc. showing that he is a very versatile performer. He is still rocking in his 60s because he picks the best of songs from the past, he is backed by young, energetic performers and he cleverly updated his act with excellent dancers. Two pairs of dancers beautifully complemented the singing with a range of modern dance styles, not one of which even looked like rock'n'roll dancing. An older mainly female audience so it was like a big girls' night out and very enjoyable.
LONG WAY TO THE TOP (if you want to rock and roll) 50s, 60s, 70s Port Panthers Auditorium	Dad & I went along to this concert. He was mainly interested in the 50-60s music and I am a child of the 60s-70s. I was thrilled to see the 50s performers live for the first time and to again see the performers of my youth, especially Billy. There were some really special moments during this concert. The big screens behind the stage showed old pictures of our Oz rock idols and there was a tribute to those who did not survive to the present, the latest addition to that group being Maurice Gibb. I particularly enjoyed Billy, Russell and Brian - magic! From the audience reactions, it seemed that the majority of the people were children of the 70s.

March, 03

SUMMER FLOWERS ON SHANTRON FARM.

The New Year is getting into its stride and there are Summer flowers blooming on Shantron Farm. Here is a sample of the non-native flowers:

Gardenias.

The perfume is delicious! Four gardenia plants are blooming around the chook shed.

Pond Garden Plant.

Glorious in yellow and orange, these plants are starting to bloom around the pond.

Passion Flower.

Passion fruit gone wild. Delicate flowers with a touch of blue.

Chook Shed Shade.

This pant is growing with gay abandon over a corner of the chook shed providing welcome shade.

Sweet Potato.

The sweet potato vine is running wild again so fruit will appear in all sorts of strange places in my house yard. And ants have also appeared in strange places ....

Wester Boundary Protection.

This plant adds a bit of shade on the Western side of the house in the heat of Summer.

Gorgeous Colour.

And this common plant adds gorgeous colour to the house yard.

SPRING AND SUMMER SUNSETS ON SHANTRON FARM.

There's nothing like a sunset. Autumn sunsets are usually the best but this year they have been surpassed by the Spring/Summer sunsets.

Weird black clouds.

Pastel sunset.

Very Pink.

More orange.

Sorta grey with horses.

Even more orange.

Orange with con trails from planes.

Angry blue-black cloud.

More speccy con trails.

Clouds with pink underbellies.

Pink underbellies with a touch of yellow.

Looking a bit angry.

And as the sun sets ......

.... the moon rises.

AROUND THE GARDEN POND.

The plants around the garden pond are growing well. There are some beautiful lilly-type plants.

Day Lillies. They only last for one day. Ephemeral.

Two types of lilly.

And these ones grow like weeds.

Gorgeous delicate orchids.

Native bush tucker.

VERONICA UP A TREE ON SHANTRON FARM.

Veronica, the visiting cat, is up the liquid amber tree on Shantron Farm. Veronica is a Northern Territory cat, born in Katherine and then resident in Batchelor. She is the mother of Navron Fred, also born in Katherine, NT. Veronica is spending 2012 on Shantron Farm while her owner is overseas.

It is the end of Winter On Shantron Farm so the new leaves are starting to appear on the liquid amber trees.  The mulberry trees are also getting new leaves and good crops of mulberries. A bantam chook is sitting on eggs so I should have chickens by the end of September. It is time to get the veggie patch going again with lots of tomatoes, greens and herbs.

Watch Veronica up the tree.

SHELLEY, DANCING QUEEN.

COOGEE BEACH IN WINTER.

Beaches are great, even in Winter.  Sydney has a wonderful choice of beaches and I've had a long association with Coogee Beach.


The video tells stories of Coogee Beach, Sydney, Australia. From the Coogee Palace Aquarium which was opened in 1887 to the ocean baths at the north and south ends of the beach.

Not learning to swim, wagging uni lectures and walking from the Opera House to Coogee after a New Years Eve concert because nobody thought about transport.


OzLennox Online

GOING LENNOX SCOTTISH.

And probably a bit mad too - just like Macbeth and his mob.  Saw a production of Macbeth in the Glasgow Botanic Gardens in 2009.  Can't make head or tail of Shakespeare's language at the best of times and with Glaswegian accents on top, I couldn't figure out who was who.  Except they all seemed nuts.  And did I mention it was a wee bit cold even though it was the middle of Summer?

OzLennox Online

SEEING THE SIGHTS OF SYDNEY.

Glorious April days sightseeing in Sydney. We started with Aboriginal culture at Circular Quay, caught a ferry to Watsons Bay for a seafood lunch and visited The Gap.

We wandered around the Opera House at dusk as the lights came on around the city. Luna Park was all aglow.

The next day we visited Darling Harbour and watched Pyrmont Bridge open as the monorail passed by overhead. We saw the exhibitions in the Maritime Museum, looked at the ships moored outside and marvelled at "The Endeavour" sailing ship.

OzLennox Online

FLYING OVER SYDNEY BEACHES.

Flying from Port Macquarie to Sydney is wonderful when the wind is in the right direction and the skies are blue. i.e. most of the time.

The plane flies over the Harbour Bridge and Opera House and then chucks a right turn and flies down the Eastern Suburbs beaches - Bondi, Clovelly, Coogee, Bronte, Maroubra, Long Bay, Little Bay, Congwong Bay ... beautiful sights!

Another right turn and you enter Botany Bay, flying past Bare Island before landing.

OzLennox Online

BILLABONG KOALA PARK.

Hello from the koalas at Billabong Koala Park near Port Macquarie. This little bloke is Evo (short for Evan).  He is two years old.

OzLennox Online

SYDNEY HARBOUR ISLAND HOPPING.

I booked to go on an island hopping trip around Sydney Harbour, visiting Pinchgut, Clark, Shark and Garden Islands.

Sydney, however, didn't cooperate and decided to put on some amazingly disgusting weather - a real HISSY FIT!

OzLennox Online

HELICOPTER RIDE OVER KATHERINE TOWNSHIP.

I lived in Katherine, Northern Territory for five years.  The climate and environment were AMAZING.

I loved the helicopter ride over the town of Katherine.  My house was near Katherine River and opposite an old World War 2 airstrip.

OzLennox Online

WELCOME WALL UNVEILING

Sydney turned on a sparkling day for the unveiling of three more panels on the Welcome Wall at the Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney on the 2nd May, 2010.

Grandad, John McGregor Lennox arrived aboard the "Orizaba" from Glasgow in 1901, aged 12 with his mother, Sarah Jane Howie Lennox, four siblings, auntie and cousin.

Mac's wife was Irene Isobel Walker and her grandmother, Hannah Maria Reddaway arrived all alone aboard the "Rajasthan" from Devon in 1855, aged 16.

Three Lennox women were in attendance for the big event, resplendent in their Lennox tartan.

OzLennox Online

HOW TO BUILD A GARDEN POND FOR FROGS AND BUTTERFLIES.

1. Choose a site for your garden pond.
Pond after 6 months.

• Try to pick a piece of ground that is reasonably level. Buy a plastic pond or black plastic liner and dig your hole. Backfill and level your pond. Fill with water.
• Beware if you have a dog like Kayla that likes swimming. My pond is outside the house yard and I have provided another body of water for her to go swimming.

2. Create your pond habitat.
Red Stemmed Thalia.














Water Chestnuts.















Water Lily.

• Choose some water plants. Water lilies are always nice but try some food plants like water chestnuts or cress and add some decorative plants like red stemmed thalia.
• Add some water snails. They are great scavengers and because they are hermaphrodites (can be male or female) any two will breed.
• Add some little fish to eat the mozzie wrigglers (which they love so you can breed wrigglers and feed them to your fish). DO NOT overfeed your fish. A tiny bit of food once a week is plenty.
• If algae is a problem in the hotter months, add some shade to your pond. You can use chemicals that kill algae or clean out the pond by hand and learn to live with it.
• Put big rocks that stick out of the water near the edge of your pond so that frogs can easily get in and out.

Rocks so that frogs have easy access.














3. Around your pond.
Medium sized plants.














Ground covers for butterflies.














Lots of mulch.














Solar lights for night time interest.

• Plant some palms that will grow tall and provide shade.
• Use lots of lilies around your pond but be aware that some lilies are poisonous to cats if they chew on the leaves.
• Ground covers help to smother weeds and their flowers attract butterflies.
• Add heaps of mulch. Grass clippings are good. Make the area circular so you can easily mow around the edges.
• Solar colour-changing lights will add interest after dark.

ENJOY YOUR POND!

OzLennox Online