Part 3 - Second Week of Festival

Day 8 - Second Week of Festival - Monday



Acknowledgement:  Many of the photos in this posting were provided by Jan B.

We had a communal (bacon & eggs) breakfast to celebrate the wedding anniversary of Shirley & Chris.  Again, it was very warm.

We caught the 10:30 bus to Shoppingworld where Chad Morgan was scheduled to play at 12:30.



Renaa Campbell

We arrived in plenty of time and scored seats at the back of the seating area in the shopping centre.  By the time we had had coffee or milk shakes people had left and we were able to move forward.  Stuart and Chris scored seats in the front row about 3 metres from the microphone.

We enjoyed the earlier acts and waited impatiently for 12:30.  It was well worth the wait.

Chad Morgan had a lead in an act of a husband and wife team ("The Muirs") who sang three songs and were very good.

Then the star act came on and it was amazing.  Humour, songs with great lyrics.  We were in stitches.  Forty five amazing minutes with an 84 year old entertainer.

Chad Morgan



After Chad finished Stuart borrowed Wendy's new CD and got a photo with his "mate".  Chad is on the left in the photo below.



Chad Morgan with Stuart

At 6pm we headed to the local Nemingha Tavern for dinner, with Chris and David doing the driving (before taking the cars home and getting the bus). 

Nemingha Tavern

At the start we had the entire dining room to ourselves. After some time two female entertainers arrived and entertained us for two hours.  A few other people arrived, but the place was mainly ours.

The Gang at Nemingha Tavern

We drank the pub out of red wine - by purchasing their only bottle.

It was a good night and we caught the 9:25 bus home.  Of course, the obligatory night-cap followed - outside in the very warm conditions.


Day 9 - Tuesday 23rd January


Sleep was hard to come by as it stayed hot all night, so we had to decide between heat and quiet or noisy air conditioner and cool.  It was a mixture of both.

As was the pattern, it was a slow start to the day.  Chris ran Jan & Stuart to the car air-conditioning mechanic to fix their problem.  After that the ten of us drove to Nundle - about 55 km away.

On the way we stopped and checked out Chaffey Dam - a local water supply reservoir.

Chaffey Dam

Good Friends at Chaffey Dam

I also noted a sign of interest that
was worthy of inclusion.

Nundle is a an old town with a woollen mill, a gold mine museum, some craft shops, a coffee shop made from a container and an old pub. 

The coffee shop had a speciality of a donut in a cup, topped with ice-cream and topping. 

"Container" Coffee Shop

It was very good. 

The woollen mill is one of the few mills still operating and we were provided with an excellent explanation as to how strands of woollen fibre are produced - and the value of woollen products, specially in hot weather.

We bought some woollen socks.



Nundle Woollen Mill

The pub ("Peel Inn") had a great outdoor area with a local band ("The Slowdowns") playing music.  We drank, ate and listened to music.



The Gang in front of the Band

It was rather interesting to note that the only people to have a beer were the three drivers!

On our return we had some relaxation, a swim, and a happy hour - in Heather & Robert's unit.  This was a prelude to cooking and dinner under the stars.

We went our separate ways about 10 pm and hoped for a good night of sleep.

Acknowledgement:  This blog is hastily produced and published as time permits.  Sometimes this is late at night, sometimes after festivities.  Often there are typos.  Many of these typos are identified and communicated to the editor by a wonderful person called Fay.  Sometimes photos are changed as better versions are identified.  I hope all readers accept these conditions for this blog.  Editor.


Day 10 - Wednesday 24th January

Various activities were discussed as all parties wondered what today would produce.  Heather and Robert said goodbye as they departed.

It was still hot although thunderstorms and rain were likely.

Shirley and Chris headed off to the Locomotive Hotel to check out a band called "Uncle Bob's Jug Band". Jan and Stuart arrived soon after the show started.  The others went various directions.

Uncle Bob's Jug Band was a group of six talented musicians that (mostly) sang well known songs, but often with word modifications.  For example:
I hope you had the time of your life
became
I hope you had a good time with my wife.

Whenever there was a gap, jokes were told - mostly suitable for adults only.

Instruments that were played included guitars, tea box double bass (home made), harmonica, wash board, home made drum, spoons, whistle, thongs and a milk churn.

Uncle Bob's Jug Band

It was a wonderful three hours of (free) entertainment.  During this time the band drank at least eight jugs of beer.  Often other entertainers would join in for a few songs so we saw about ten entertainers for the day.

At the same time an artist was doing a painting of the band.  It was sold after the gig for $1300 to someone in the audience.



Painting - Three Hours of Effort - Sold for $1300

Shirley and Chris saw the same artist doing the same type of thing on the Queensland coast some years ago.

We all joined up at the Austin Tourist park around 5pm and rested before cleaning up and heading out to the TRECC (Tamworth Entertainment Centre) to see The McClymonts.

The show started at 7:30 with an up-an-coming artist, Brad Cox.  This week he won the coveted "Star Maker" award  He was pretty good.

The McClymonts (left to right: Molly, Brooke & Samantha) then provided over 90 minutes of top quality music.  They were excellent.  Three beautiful young ladies (all are mothers) who make (as Neil Diamond would say) "a beautiful noise".

The McClymonts

We were home by 10pm and sat outside for a discussion on the activities of the day. The thunderstorms and rain never came.


Day 11 - Thursday 25th January

The thunderstorms and rain were still threatening as we started to wake up and get moving.  It was an even slower start to the day.  It was 26 degrees at 10 am.

Washing machines were given a bit of a work out, before we headed off to Joe Maguire's Pub to try and catch Murphy's Pigs.

Around 11 am we departed by car for Joe Maguires pub, to see Murphy’s Pigs – an Irish style band.  We were there soon after but could only manage a table outside in the sun. 

The Gang at Joe Maguires



Murphy's Pigs at Joe Maguires

The umbrella was insufficient for the task at hand.  We waited until the “Pigs” had sung a couple of numbers, then we departed.

Good Sticky Date Pudding at Calala Inn

Our next stop was Calala Inn for lunch.  It was an excellent pub without music and very good food.  We took nearly two hours over a leisurely lunch.

After a bit of shopping in the IGA next door it was time to drive the short distance to the TRECC, for Troy Cassar-Daley.  We were there comfortably for the entry time of 3:30.

 

 

Troy wandered on to stage at 4pm and started a great two-hour show.  The show was evenly spread with Troy Cassar-Daley songs and up-and-coming artists each singing one song.  Most of them were very good and may have a great future.  A number were only teenagers.

Troy Casser-Daley

These artists were Anthony Taylor, Sam & Lee Dyball, Brad Butcher, Chloe Styler, Martin Vella, Missy Lancaster, Jen Mize & Duncan Toombs, Finnian Johnson, Phoebe Jay, Felicity Kircher and Andrew Sweet & Gretta Ziller.

Troy sang a few duets with his wife – a very good singer in her own right.

We arrived home soon after 6:30 and then commenced a late happy hour.  Dinner consisted of a happy-hour-snack thanks to the excellent lunch.

Storms threatened, but never arrived.

Day 12 - Friday 26^th – Australia Day

We were all moving by 7am or soon after and on the 8:30 am bus. 


Waiting for the Bus

By 8:50 we were in a small queue outside the “Tamworth War Memorial Town Hall”, ready for another try at Murphy’s Pigs.  By the time the doors opened, to the free event, the queue stretched down the street and around the corner.

At 9:30 the doors opened and the eight of us spread ourselves around, about six to ten rows from the front.  The Town Hall has a big rectangular area downstairs and a balcony above, around three sides of the hall.  It apparently seats 1000 people.  By the time the music started the hall was nearly full.

At 10 am the ten-piece band came on stage and burst into 60 minutes of superb Celtic music, with a few jokes thrown in.  The acoustics of the hall was excellent, which is good as we are back here again tonight.

Murphy's Pigs at the Town Hall

We learned a bit about the geographical origins of Celtic music, which came from the regions of Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, Wales, Brittany (in France), and the northern tip of the Iberian peninsula.  Renaa Campbell was a guest on stage and she sang one song.

We departed soon after 11 am and we all had milkshakes (seven chocolate and one vanilla), which took a toll on milk supplies in the coffee shop.

After that we all wandered in different directions, after checking out the route of the cavalcade (i.e. parade) at 9am tomorrow. Chris & Shirley and Jan & Stuart had a walk then a seat and some more music in the Atrium, via Matty Rogers.  David & Bev strolled up to the Tamworth Music Hall of Fame.  David & Wendy found a watering hole (read Tamworth Hotel) with more music.

On the way back to the bus we saw four children busking, aged 13 down to 4.  There were making lots of money.



Very Young Buskers

Stuart, Shirley & Chris met up with David & Bev at the Hall of Fame.  Although quite small, it is well worth a visit to view the historical information.

We met up at the camp in early afternoon and started to prepare for our late Aussie Day lunch (or was that early dinner?).



Mates Chilling Out

We have seen and listened to some great music from the genre of Country, Country-Rock, Rock, Bluegrass, Hillbilly, Gospel, Choral, Heavy Metal and Jug music.

As we were going out later we had an early dinner at 5:30 out in the open.  The weather was starting to change but it was still pretty warm.

The BBQ was cooked, the wine was opened, and we dined in style.

Dining In Style

Around 6:45 pm the rain started and we changed our form of transport from bus to car.  We arrived at Tamworth Town Hall (again) and admired the beautiful building.

Tamworth Town Hall

John Williamson appeared and played two great sets of over 60 minutes each.  His encore contained three numbers. His stage resembled an outdoor scene, complete with a realistic camp fire.

John Williamson's Stage

We got home just before 11 pm.

 

This posting is complete apart from a couple of photos.

Last updated around 11 pm Friday 25th January


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