Alas our buddy, friend and pal Marc has now returned to the land of the long white something or other, we said our goodbyes over yummy Mexican food at Amigo’s, hopefully Marc will be back before too long or barring that, Adam and i will be able to sashay over to Canada.
And so another Mardi Gras Fair Day comes around and most every queen and dyke frets over what to wear whilst looking stylishly unconcerned. T’was a fun day and made all the more so because we organized ourselves so we were all in town at the same time and together, we moved and walked as a pack and it was hard not to feel a sense of pride at the beautiful and wonderous friends i was surrounded by, slowly the scorching sun and soup like humidity took it’s toll and friends slowly peeled away to search for cooler climes, the hardy amongst us found shade and the beer tent. I was somewhat heartend that this year i was not handed one flyer for a gym or tanning salon, perhaps i now carry the air of a lost cause on those counts, and the question begs to be asked .. why am i the only one not wearing my sunnies in the group photo’s, even tho i had them on me, should i read more into this than i am?
I’m partial to a monkey belly on a guy, and i’m partial to Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys, put the two together and we have a winning combination.
To placate the baying mobs of Marta fans who want more more more fashion, stand by for a spread of shere cutting edge beauty.
Photo # 1
Annie the primate Oakly, who would have ever thought tassles could look so alluring against a backdrop of natural fur? once again Marta shows that a real lady never steps outside the front door without earings, no one does ear furniture like Marta.
Photo # 2
Ya gotta love a girl who wears a ribbon tie, here we have Marta stepping out for a little show jumping, the Cindy Crawford beauty spots says ‘Look at me!, i am fantastic’.
Photo # 3
Not Marta, but a co-star showing how mutton chop sideburns were’nt the sole domain of Bernard King.
Taking a dive: Lest it been thought that I’m a total grump about Ostray-yah day, there was the alluring sight of drunk boys diving and bellyflopping into the harbour that did keep us mildly amused for an hour or two 
A couple of weeks ago while we were ‘celebrating’ Australia day i had a funny feeling in my belly. As we walked around the harbour and the crowds of people something was niggling me, it wasnt until later in the day that i figured out what it was, it was anger. As we sat on the harbour wall i looked at the crowds, many of whom were draped in the Australian flag. I kept thinking ‘Why are you celebrating?’ were/are all those people happy with the way Australia is spiraling out of control into an almost conservative dictatorship?, the constant attacks on unions, gay rights, refugee’s, workplace relations etc etc.
I dont know what angered me more, the fact that these people ‘wanted’ to celebrate or the fact that they were too indifferent to care. All i know is ‘I’ didnt feel like celebrating, how long before that changes? .. please dont let it be long, i cant stand to read too many more horror stories that our political reporting has become.
I’ve attached a couple of letters from the paper i kept from early last year soon after Howard was elected again as our prime minister, these letters give me some sort of hope that i’m not alone in my thinking.
Another trawl through the Tingle video archives has turned up my collection of ‘Shirty the slightly aggressive bear’ these clips still make me laugh.
My friend Marc from Canada is visiting at the moment, we dont get to see each other nearly enough, the last time Marc was here was in Aprill 2005, we had a short holiday in Melbourne staying with Phillip whilst there Marc and i got to visit the Andy Warhol ‘Time capsules’ exhibition, it was a fun day but very intense, Marc and i have both admired Andy for many years. The following photos were taken at the exhibition.
Just to keep Tyson
happy and quiet, I am today revisiting the ‘Tingle film and video archive’ I have dug out a favorite of many of us here in the Tammy inner circle, this is another golden moment from ‘Pot of gold/Pot luck’ what we have here is a maniacal bell ringer!, I kid you not, the little dynamo is/was called ‘Piffy’, this lad had a heap of mini cow bells laid out on the table before him, each tuned to perfection, the backing track would start and off he’d go, not just the melody .. oh no, the Piffster even had the harmony parts worked out.
About half way through the song the tempo suddenly doubled in time, sending poor Piffy into a whirl, he was like someone with ADD who’d never seen a ritalin pill!.
Bernard the judge gave I believe a perfect score of ’40’.
The response to Piffy was amazing when this show was rebroadcast years later, the next week as a surprise they brought Piffy back all grown up, but no less manic.
Photo # 1 Here we see Piffy revving up, is that a ruffled shirt I see under the satin jumpsuit?
Photo # 2 Piffy the performer, even during this complex song Piffy never stopped smiling, in this photo we can see he wasn’t sticking to the melody, here I think with multiple bells he was forming a complex CM7 chord, he may even have used the old trick of dampening the bells.
Photo # 3 Bernard has found a star, in what is believed to be the only time in his career as a judge, Bernard gifts Piffy with a perfect ’40’.
Photo # 4 Years later Piffy made a return to TV to prove has was no less talented and no less manic, it’s heartening to see Piffys lack of teeth had resolved itself by the time of his comeback.
Still the coolest place in Sydney, where else can you find advertisments for Iggy Pop and eczama within a few feet of each other?, it’s the only place i could live if i ever have to move to the big smoke, spent the last day of my summer holidays just walking the streets, shopping and eating and drinking (lots) as with any inner city place, on a hot summers day there is no place hotter, all that ashphelt and cement = hot hot hot.
Hmmm, me thinks it might be time to call the refrigerator mechanic in.
If there is one thing I cant stand is an artist who announces their retirement only to make a spectacular comeback when either the taxman comes knocking, or they realize they cant live with out the roar .. Or groan, of the crowd. One such person is the Aussie singer John Farnham who for a myriad of reasons I just cant stand, I was filled with glee when only a couple of years ago he hung up his touring boots and called it a day, alas I now read in our local paper that he will be returning to the concert stage with a show in my home town, please John, just go away.
