LORIENT, FRANCE, July 2006
Friday 21 Jul 06 12.27am Sydney.
I've just finished some recording for a project with a singer/writer and
have a moment to reflect on the events of the last week. Sitting at my desk, I
am trying to absorb the last week and contemplate the next! At this point I am
leaving with Garry (Steel) on Monday 3pm to Hong Kong and Paris. John (Coker)
and Rodney (Ford) leave at the same time via Singapore and Clare (O'Meara) is
leaving via Saigon on Monday morning with another guitarist mate of ours. We all
arrive at the same time. Months of rehearsing and planning... I don't have an
allocated seat to get home yet....Mark (Oats) has arrived in Paris, Warren
(Fahey) left this morning. We are all headed to Lorient, Brittany to perform at
the Festival Interceltique. We catch the TGV and arrive sometime... I am not
sure. The festival attracts over 700,000 people and we are part of the official
Oz contingent. All very exciting!!!! When the festival finishes, I go home (I
hope), Mark stays in Europe, meeting us in Japan in mid-September, Clare goes
home via Saigon (I really should say Ho Chi Minh City) and the rest go to
Turkey!!!!! I kid you not! So, that's the plan. I hope to blog the trip as I did
in Ireland, Japan and our national tours last year. The weather over there has
been like an Australian summer, bloody hot! Here, it's been a cold winter and
with my trips all over the place touring and visiting, a bit of warm weather is
just what I need!
Saturday 22 Jul 06 1.17am Sydney
A bit of background... why am I up so late? I could always argue have to get
used to Euro time. Anyway, just finished a gig so I'm just winding down. Lorient,
originally 'Port de L'orient', was the original harbour for the East India
Company before the British took over the company in the late 1700s? Well,
anyway, so I've been told.... Anyway, the place got bombed in WWII (it was the
German U-boat base!) and virtually written off. When the Festival Interceltique
www.festival-interceltique-2006.com
(which was originally started in the 70s) fell on bad times, the director
Jean-Pierre Pichard, moved it from Brest to Lorient, so now the town and the
festival are going gangbusters. We get the train from Paris to Rennes, change
for Quimper (I wonder how you pronounce that?) and get off at Lorient. It's the
TGV, the fast train... whoopee!!!! Will keep youse all posted!
Monday 24 Jul 06. Sydney
John, Rodney, Garry and myself all meet at Sydney airport at 1pm, ready to
get on the plane. Lachlyne, our travel agent.... and another piper has popped
for in to say goodbye, etc. She'll be meeting us in Lorient in a couple of days.
I stop at the newsagent to buy yet another copy of the Da Vinci Code (which I
will never read) and head to the gate. For some amazing reason, Garry and I have
been upgraded to business class and with great service, seats that expand into
beds and tons of legroom, so we have a very pleasant trip. Lots of movies, and
programmes to watch. There's a short stop in Hong Kong and again we are
upgraded! enough time for Garry and I to talk about all sorts of things, mainly
audio engineering, how to balance home life with touring, what to expect in
France, etc. We get plenty of sleep and we arrive at Charles de Gaul airport at
6.05am, 25th July.
Tuesday 25th July 06. Paris
Charles de Gaul Airport is not as modern as Sydney and it's got a kind of
circular layout that makes travel through the halls a bit of a pain. We are to
meet at a baggage counter, where supposedly, Clare's TGV train ticket is
waiting. We are all arriving about the same time... and after about an hour, we
all end up together. The guy at the baggage counter is helpful, but after
another hour, we discover there is no ticket! Bugger! So, off to the train
station to change our tickets and get on a train. We can actually get a train
straight to Lorient from Mont Parnasse. Two of the tickets have been cancelled,
two will need to be reissued, with a charge and we need two more. It's all very
confusing and after a great deal of stuffing around, we decide to get a bus to
Mont Parnasse and then the direct train to Lorient. By the time we arrive at the
rail station, the train has gone and our new tickets are invalid. More expense
and a two-hour wait. Oh well, lunch in very fluid fashion. On the train,
travelling at about 260kph, we pass through a very dry countryside. Lots of
farmhouses surrounded by what reminds me of typical Australian rolling hills.
It's the driest summer on record... well, for at least 100 years. Finally, at
about 6pm, we arrive at Lorient. To be picked up by Celine and Marie, from the
office of the FIC. After a short car ride we are set down at our accom, a place
called the Foyer de Jeune Travelleres. It's like a backpackers, the rooms are
clean but modest. We are moving to accom closer to the venues tomorrow. We spend
the evening wandering around the town. Now it gets messy....we've had a big
day.... and after a beautiful meal at one of the cafes, I walk back to the hotel
to drop off our mate Andrew (Richardson, not Clermont). Because I have not
walked around the town, finding my way back to the accommodation becomes a
nightmare and without anyone to help, I am left to wander the streets alone
until all hours of the morning with no phone credit. Eventually, making my way
back to Andrew's hotel to retrieve John's phone number and having help from
various friendly locals I get back to the oyer, very sleepy!!!!!!
Wednesday 26th July 06. Lorient
We meet up again with Celine from the festival office and organise passes, train
and plane tickets for our forward and return journeys and then we spend most of
the day resting, unpacking, checking emails... exploring.....all that sort of
caper. I discover that the night before I had gone in completely the wrong
direction and I just can't get the idea of north into my head. The water in my
head is going down the plughole the wrong way! Slowly the town is beginning to
fill up. There are double the number of people in the evening and there is an
enormous amount of road works going on and various carnival rides, stalls,
outside eating areas being erected all over the place. Richard, another mate, is
arriving from Cardiff... his plane is delayed and he gets in at 11.30pm after a
three hours wait. We are still a bit jetlagged and the day ends a bit early for
us... then restarts at 3am, then 5am... you get the picture.
Thursday 27th July 06. Lorient
Lovely warm day... it's about 28 degrees. We are moving into a new accomm
situated in the university. Before we move, we decide to go to the markets in
Hennebont, about 30 minutes by bus. What a beautiful old French town complete
with cathedral, castle, stalls and the obligatory franchised Peruvian panpipe
band..... and an American Indian one as well.....There are lots of clothes and
fruit and veges... a lot of people about for a Thursday. Women doing grocery
shopping, a few tourists. One thing we've all noticed is the French style,
especially the women, beautifully dressed and groomed....makes the Aussie male
fashion look very shabby. Back to Lorient for a baggette, fresh crusty roll with
ham, cheese and tomato... yummy! We have to move around 5pm and the new accom in
the Deputy de Puy is with three other pipe bands from Oz. Lovely big rooms. It's
dorm-style accommodation but actually a lot better than most of the hotel rooms.
The guys (and gals) from the Adelaide City Pipe band are here. They performed
with me in Scotland the Brave and I am hoping to get one of their
soloists to play with us at one time. We are performing at the Australian
Pavilion right in the centre of town and the tent is full of the typical icons
with a bit of a twist, kangaroos playing pipes, koalas. My guess is the park in
the centre of town is a reclaimed U-Boat dry dock and there are other tents set
up along the quayside, the Arcadian one being the other most prominent. There is
also a tourist info centre which doubles as the press centre, a conference
centre with a radio station and a huge covered area with the dubious title of
the Celtic village! They do have fantastic crepes and smoked fish. We wander the
streets looking at all the pubs and after dinner in an Italian restaurant and a
chat over a few bevies... off to bed.. sweet dreams...
Friday 28th July 06 Lorient
... ONLY TO BE WOKEN BY BLOODY BAGPIPES! at 8am... This will not continue
without a revolution! Breakfast with the Australian Ambassador to France, Penny
Wensley. Lovely food, and introductions by all attending as to their roles, etc.
Everyone is excited about the festival and our Aussie presence. I am really
thrilled to be part of this festival and honoured by our inclusion with this
special Aussie contingent. We spend a lot of the day getting the gear at the
pavilion together. Bass amps, drums and keyboards arrive and we set the stage as
best we can and then make way for the other acts to do their sound checking. I
wander down the street into a fiddle stall, fifty bows to choose from and
several violins. There are several stalls with all sorts of bagpipes, chanters,
Bombards, flutes, fifes... all sorts of stuff. Back to the accom for a rest,
etc, dinner, at the refectory, which is quite good, and then time to wander the
streets. Lorient is set on the Scorff River. There is a quay, which divides the
old town north and south. On both sides are the Irish pubs and the thrash Celtic
bands, violins, bombards (small pipe chanters), guitars, drums, keyboards, etc.
Up the hill on the northern side are the more trad, old-timey combos, families
of musicians, etc. One group, Pienze was a trio with Hurdy Gurdy, electric bass
and drums. Bloody hell, they were great... And so to the gig... well what can I
say... the Australian Pavilion is kinda noisy, the sound guys are still coming
to grips with the vagaries of the room and we are all suffering a bit from
jetlag... not one of our better nights!!!!! Oh well, you get that... tomorrow
everything will be fine.
Saturday 29th July 06. Lorient
We all crawl out of bed at 11.30am.. We all thought it was 8am 'mais non'
the trio of Welsh girls playing in the foyer started up at 11! Anyway, lunch at
the cafeteria and off to the rehearsal for the opening concert in the Grand
Theatre in town. Actually, it's just next door to where we are staying. We are
on the same bill as Warren Fahey, Mara, and John Williamson, etc, etc.... I have
to arrange a tune for the dancers, which takes a while, and then run the show
ready for the performance. Richard, a friend of Mark (O) and mine from Croppredy
and is helping with the merchandise... we meet up with our interpreter Soazig.
Now, I should explain Celtic names. Soazig is Breton for Françoise and then
there's a lady in the office called Gaedig and a Welsh guy called Carandog, most
peculiar! Anyway, the concert is sold out, we all play great and the sound is
magnificent!!!!! There are a lot of different players on stage and we join
together in various combos... I love working with Llew and some local Breton
musicians who are bloody fantastic also join Mara Kiek and them. After the gig,
we all jump in a car with the gear back to the Aussie Pavilion. It is jammed
packed!!!! Very difficult to get near but we find our way to the rear of stage
and watch the second half of Claymore's (from Melbourne) set. They're great!!!!
The crowd is rocking! So, we set up and hit it! All our weeks of rehearsal pays
off. The crowd goes crazy... We have one of the best gigs ever... seriously!!!!
Poor Richard has to help the security guard stop people getting on the stage.
Everyone is playing fantastically. The stage sounds a heap better... We got it
carpeted and that's soaked up a lot of the reverb from the roof... all important
stuff for musicians... anyway we all have an incredible time. Andrew (R) finally
gets to take a guitar solo... I'm sure he's been hanging out for that and Mark
crowd surfs! That's where the crowd holds you above their heads... man, what a
wild night!!!!!!!!!!! Eventually, the police arrive. It's 2.30am. We are very
loud and they close us down!!! Finally, rock star status in our declining years.
Sunday 30th July 06. Lorient
The days start to get blurred. At 11am the grand parade weaves it's way past
the far entrance to the uni and they’re some truly incredible sights. Soazig is
there to explain some of the eccentricities of Breton culture. Traditional
Breton costumes, ladies with tall lace hats, symbolizing some church burned down
by a monarch in the middle ages, men in amazing hand-embroided coats (it was the
man's job to do the embroidering), funky Breton bands with bagpipes, bombards
(rather like an oboe), drums of all sorts and sousaphones playing syncopated
trad tunes and other really wild bands from all over Europe. The spread of
Celtic culture is amazing. There are Galatians (Spanish), Macedonians (I think),
Irish, Welsh, and Cornish, etc. I spend the rest of the day wandering around the
place. There are markets and stalls set up right all over the squares and the
pubs are chockers. Lots of fiddlers, pipers, accordions. During the day, the
restaurants are crowded with patrons tucking into the local delicacy of Moulle
et Frittes (mussels and chips). Just wandering around is fantastic. Handmade
shoes (I eventually buy a pair of those), t-shirts, bags, jewellery, belts, etc.
We have a late gig starting at 1am and of course when we get there, the place is
going off!!!!! It’s a bit hard for some of the other performers... It’s a pub
and noisy at that! It's another crazy night. Whether we like it or not we have
to play to inebriates. The Bretons are a very relaxed lot. Their culture has a
lot more fun in it than I expected. A bit Aussie almost. It's really starting to
get to me, no wonder so more people rave about it. I love to try to be objective
about the differences in cultures. One thing that has me amazed is how organized
Australia seems in relation to the European nations I've visited... yeah right,
Ireland, France and England! The French workforce is very unionised and the
economy is not doing too well. In Australia, we have access to cheap goods from
Asia and that has made us become more efficient (I hope). I am starting to sound
like I have just taken a huge leap to right... ooops! Now it seems France has to
face this reality and there have been riots etc in Paris. Eastern Europe is
still very poor and labour is cheap there... where was I? The gig... ah yes.
It's a bit hard for us to sell CDs to this crowd and guess what, at 2.30am the
police arrive and close us down again. We are getting a reputation for not being
able to behave!
Monday 31st July 06. Lorient
Crawling out of bed... it's noon and we have a rehearsal for our gig at 2pm
in Lann Sevelin with Willow, Warren, Brother (an Aussie band living in LA),
Martin Wyndham-Read, Mark Atkins, Claymore, etc. The venue is a stadium of some
sort and a big PA. Incredible sound and the techs are just great. They fix our
gear and we really do a great set... The crowd loves us. This is more like what
we want! It’s probably the best gig we've done as far tightness and quality. You
really can't compare the pavilion with a stadium performance. After the event,
we head back into Lorient to wander round the bars, listening to all the
countless other bands. Pipers, fiddlers, singer-guitarists, rappers even. The
sound of some of these bands is unique. The bombard, a real Breton instrument,
dates back to the middle ages. They're quite expensive e700, so I can't really
afford one. I'd love to try it out, except I'm a crap woodwind player and with
double reeds. That hurdy gurdy trio still sticks in my mind. There is very
little improvising here, mainly very good tune playing. We’ve actually got
tomorrow off and I for one am looking forward to having some time to do some
washing and try some more French cuisine. The whole festival has got something
totally unique going for it. I guess with my exposure to only Scottish pipers
(Scotland the Brave, etc) I didn't realize the wide variety of music in the
field of pipers. When you hear players like Carlos Nunez (a Galactan piper, much
like Davey Spillane) and all the other incredible musicians, you realize places
like Australia are just so far away; the exposure to different musical styles is
just not there. It’s such a shame. We are a sport-mad nation, and I for one
believe we just don't give our musicians and artists the credit they would get
in Europe... OOOOPS! This a public announcement on behalf of Marcus Holden and
the views expressed, etc... It's true enough. The Fiddlers Feast is as unique as
any group here and truly representative of Australia... we're all mad though! I
guess we are here because someone does recognize that and the French are
starting to do the same. Enough, bed!
Tuesday 1st August 06. Lorient
Welcome to your day off. Problem is I can't remember much of it... Ah yes.
We head off to the standing stones near Carnac. Kilometre after kilometre on
huge megaliths somehow put into place by some ancient Bretons using who knows
what technique. A lifetime's work, several lifetimes' work. Who knows why? the
only other objects greater than the stones are the cars and after we avoid a
traffic jam reminiscent of Kiama on Boxing Day (south coast NSW) we stop at a
very old church with a piece of teak holding the roof up. Now get this. I've
been to Bali several times and the carving on the beam is a Hindu crocodile,
absolutely. Looks like a ship's main brace and why not Lorient or in the old
Port D'L'Orient was where the French set out to trade with whoever. I mean, just
remember one of the reasons why the English established a colony in NSW was
because they didn't want the French to claim Oz; La Peruse and all that. History
is such a wonderful thing. I love the saying that is written by the victors. How
true is that! I can't imagine what the aborigines thought when Arthur Phillip
sailed into Sydney Harbour in 1788. The year after the settlement of Sydney was
established, the French revolution took place. The French were trading with the
Indonesians, etc (as were the Dutch, William Janz, etc) for years before the
British decided to muscle in on the action. We end up heading back to Lorient to
get to the beach on the other side of the town. Not so easy. We end up wandering
round the foreshores and eventually end up overlooking the ocean towards the
west. There is an old German pillbox, metal, nearby. Could you imagine what that
would have been like? Some poor bastard getting fired upon bombed, the whole
thing resounding with bullets, etc. Must have been hell inside. How bizarre! On
the west coast of Ireland are Napoleonic towers, built when... well that's
obvious and here not far from Finisterre (the end of the earth in Latin) is a
similar structure. Seems, while Australia was growing from a prison to a colony
the French, English and everyone else were fighting among each other. Okay, so
enough history, back to the town, food, go see some music, chill out, how's my
washing?
Wednesday 2nd August 06 Lorient again
Today is press conference time and we also have a special concert at the
Palais des Congres with three other fiddlers. The press room is upstairs at the
Tourism Information Centre on the southern side of the Quay near where we were
staying for the first two nights. Garry is with me and he asks the interpreter
what sort of things we will be asked. Basically, the director of the Festival,
Jean-Pierre Pichard, and the media contingent interviews all the groups. We get
asked some fairly curly questions. Jean-Pierre is a regular visitor to Sydney
and asks us what it's like to live in a city where making money and sport are
the way of life more than anything else. He's very well informed. We discuss the
influences that the melting pot of Sydney has made on our music and how we view
the Celtic nature of Australian culture. It’s a lot of fun and a real insight
into the French reality. The nurturing and protection of their own culture is a
wonderful thing. To lighten up the seriousness of the interview, we mention that
the police have closed our gig down twice for being ratbags...! Not so sure
about whether we should be proud of this or not? Garry and I are in search of
breakfast after the conference and end up at the tapas bar where the hurdy gurdy
trio was playing last weekend. The way the French do coffee is different to the
Italians in Australia and the Spanish tapas bar is the closest to what we are
used to. The sound check for tonight's concert brings with it another
interpreter, Gwen. She is very helpful ad we revel in the superb sound system at
rehearsal. The concert is sold out (again) and we are the last group on.
Dominique Depuis, a fantastic young French Canadian fiddler, a Scottish fiddler
and an Irish one as well. What can I say? We are so different, the crowd goes
ape. The room is so hot. There is very little air conditioning and people are
becoming sick from the oppressive heat. It's really like a steamy Sydney day (a
Sauna) and yet the crowd still love us. We're back at the Aussie Pavilion again
and another loud raucous performance, we sound like a rock band.
Thursday 3rd August 06 Lorient
We have several things to do today. A radio interview at 4.30pm and a gig at
11.30 between Mara and Claymore. Llew and Mara (Kiek) are old friends, having
lived for several years just down the road from me in Burwood. We've
collaborated on various projects including an Imax movie and school shows,
concerts, etc. It's great to see them again and we plan to go sightseeing
sometime in the next two days. They are old hands at travelling in Europe,
originally performing at Lorient in the early 80s. They have also played a lot
in Bulgaria and written ballet music, etc, for years. Gwen, our interpreter
turns up for our radio interview and through her I am asked and answer questions
about our little group and the musical concepts of it all. We play a version of
Music for a Found Harmonium to the cheers of the gathering audience in
the studio. It seems last night's gig has helped our reputation no end and as I
am leaving a two French Canadians, Henri-Paul and Felix from a band called
Suroit, who have been listening ask me if we'd like to get together for a jam.
Absolutement! About half an hour later, we all gather down stairs. There's a
group of harpists (now what's the collective name for that? I wonder?)
performing where we thought we might get together. No matter, Gwen has a lovely
yacht moored just across the road at the marina. Blimey, it can't get any
better. Beautiful sunny day, French wine, swapping tunes with Felix, who turns
out to be a great fiddle player, sitting on a yacht. Gwen as it so happens plays
the pipes as well. Man, the idea of just sailing away into the sunset is almost
overpowering. So, next we all go out to dinner. Moulle et Frittes of course.
Much chatting about how we can get gigs in each other respective countries and
with a couple of hours to spare, and it still being light (it doesn't get dark
till 9.30pm) we try to catch a Breton band at a venue up the hill. Somehow, it
doesn't all work out mainly due to my forgetfulness (Sorry Richard) and we all
end up back at the Pavilion for our gig. Henri-Paul and Felix turn up halfway
through the set and the place goes berserk again... No cops this time! It’s
later in the week and we are playing earlier. What a blast!
Friday 4th August 06
What day is it? I never seem to make breakfast. The latest I've got to bed
is... well the earliest has been 2am! We are doing two gigs today. A daytime
concert and the evening's madness. Well, no that's all been changed. We are
working at 3pm. At the first concert, Henri-Paul and Felix get us with us again
and it sounds great. They have a fantastic energy about their playing and the
crowd laps it up. After the afternoon gig, Felix, Clare, Mark and Henri-Paul sit
in the middle of the Pavilion and play tunes. I am off doing some bloody
business rubbish, so miss out, damn. Anyway, a large crowd gathers and the music
is infectious. At about six, the pipers come in and oh well there goes the jam.
We are trying to get to play with the guys from Suroit in the evening, so I have
asked Murphy's Pigs to swap with us. They are very happy to and this keeps us
free to get to the Arcadian tent by 10pm. There have been some really
interesting musical combinations going on over the festival. We've all been
sitting in with Murphy's Pigs, a great bunch of policemen from Brisbane and
really fantastic ambassadors for their profession. They really sound great when
Rodney plays drums with them. Garry has been performing with John Williamson,
who even in the noisy Pavilion, has been going down a storm. The Welsh girls who
volunteer as security at the Deputy De Puy, where we are staying have been
singing harmonies with Murphy's Pigs and we've done some collaboration with
Claymore on the concerts with the dancers. All, very good. Mark even got up to
play drums with Dave De Huggard, the bush accordionist from Melbourne. Along the
quay, between the Australian and Arcadian Pavilions, street performers gather. I
am wandering around trying to find some food when I bump into Mark, Clare and
Garry playing some bluegrass with some young French musos. Unfortunately, the
whole evening goes horribly wrong from that point as the other performers at the
Arcadian (French Canadian) tent don't know we are guests of Suroit and in the
confusion, we never reach the stage. Bugger! Saturday 5th August 06. Llew, Mara,
Dave D and myself are going to watch a Baggard rehearsal and then have some
lunch at Carcarneau, about 50k away. Llew has hired a small car for less than
$50AUD per day and very adept at driving on the right (or is it wrong?) side of
the road. Just remember, it's always cheaper to book a car on the net from
Australia. There are spectacular vistas of beautiful Chateaux along the rivers.
We are heading north-west (I think) towards Quimper (pronounced Campair!). After
a few wrong turns, we turn up at a renovated old farmhouse, which has been
acoustically treated and is the permanent rehearsal rooms for the Baggard (pipe
band). These guys are a grade two band and have bass, drums and electric guitar.
They are all quite young and the whole thing reminds me of a school band... but
what a school band. Such an amazing sound. I guess the equivalent would be the
local school band in Oz playing rock and roll. There are about ten bombard
players and four pipers with three electric violins and an electric cello.
Pretty groovy music and what a way to preserve the heritage of the region. We
really have no comparison in Australia, with the multiversity of cultures here.
It makes things back in Oz like MLC's fantastic multicultural music program and
the erhu orchestra at Geelong Grammar all the more important. And we do
celebrate our cultural diversity, which is also fantastic but not enough. Just
the fact that I am standing here listening to these kids is an indication of how
far absorbing different influences into the music can get you. After about an
hour of the Baggard, we head off for some lunch at nearby Carcarneau, which is
small walled village at the mouth of the river. It's a medieval town with
fortifications and there is still a strong Navy presence her. The maritime
history of Brittany is rich. We board a small ferry and head over the island. It
a beautiful day, the town is colourful and there are musicians everywhere. A
clarinet and Cello duo in the small amphitheatre, young kids playing the
accordion, and fantastic group of Spanish looking guys playing the psaltery,
panpipes and other assorted instruments. Just in case you don't know, psaltery
is a trapezoid instrument with parallel strings, bowed or plucked. I've always
wanted to write a piece called a Batter and Psaltery. A batter is a drum!
And of course we are headed for lunch... and guess what Moulle et Frittes and
white wine. Lovely! So, we head back to Lorient arriving at our digs around 5pm.
Another late night for us. Another crazy crowd and we haven't not got an encore
or the whole of the tour!
Sunday 6th August 06
Our last day... boo woo! We have a performance at 3pm and another at....
well we're the filler tonight. We'll play with everyone. The gig during the day
goes great. We love these sorts of gigs, a crowd more family orientated and we
can play at a more sensible volume. A chance to play more subtle material and
explore of musicality rather than bang’ em over the head. After the gig, we head
out to buy presents etc for our families. Shoes, jewellery, shirts, t-shirts,
stickers, leather belts etc, etc. A beautiful seafood salad for dinner with some
members of a young French heavy metal band who love what we do...what a bizarre
sort of thing. Anyway, time to frock up and collect our possessions, scattered
far and wide, it's a big night. By the time I return to the pavilion Murphy's
Pigs are on stage with half of Fiddlers Feast, well, except for John, Andrew and
I, they're all on stage. Sounding great. We have a long set and we get set for
the big finale... We do a fairly long bracket and get everyone up for
Waltzing Matilda. Twenty people are on stage for the finale and the crowd
loves it... We say our goodbyes and a young Scottish band (the focus country for
next year) finishes the night. I can remember dancing a bit and ending up at our
accommodation via the transport I've ordered to take the gear back to the uni.
We've all packed a so at about 3am, we try to get some sleep. It's a 6am pickup
for us on the bus!
Monday 7th August 06
6am ... Bloody hell, we all get on the bus. Me on the wrong one and drive
for 7 hours to Paris. After about an hour, I fall asleep for the rest of the
journey. It's midday and we head through the city to the airport. Still half
asleep, I don't change buses which is a mistake. It takes three hours to
off-load the drums and eventually after having to retrieve Garry’s accordion
from the other coach (I am taking it back with me), I arrive at counter only to
find my ticket isn't valid!!!!!! At this stage I am bit tense, but thanks to the
staff I am very quickly issued with another ticket and I board the plane in
plenty of time. Homeward bound! What an adventure, one of many we hope. I head
home to a weekend's performance at the Melbourne Town hall and then over to WA
with Diesel and strings... no rest for the wicked, I say. Au revoir, my friends
see you all very soon.
I must at this stage say a big thanks
for a whole heap of people...
Warren Fahey for getting us there.
Ambassador to France Penny Wensley
Everyone at DFAT including Magali Delpuech
All the Aussie delegation: Kathleen, Jane, Geoff, Alan
All the support staff from FIC: Celine, Cecile, Soazig, Gwen, Myriam and all the
other drivers, translators etc.
All the sound crews (especially the guy who did front of house for us at the
Pavilion) including Eric, Jeremy and everyone else I forgot
And of course the musicians Llew, Mara, Dave, Warren, John, Vinnie, Chris,
Claymore, Brother, Martin Wyndham-Read, Willow (John Williamson), Suroit, my
fellow Feasters and the thousands of other fantastic groups etc etc.
I am sorry if I left anyone out..... There were so many memories.