More of livin' in the 60's....

There was an article in the Age "Sunday Life" magazine yesterday about Luna Park - icon of my childhood (and many others, still!!!)

Me mum was the 'head cashier' at both Luna Park and the Palais Theatre in the 60s - it was grouse... a wonderful place and time for a child to be growing up...

One of the stories my mother told us (and still does, she's 79 after all!) was when the Rolling Stones appeared at the Palais in 1965.  She was asked by some fans to get them to autograph some pictures and hard-saved for record albums (yep, vinyl it was way back then!!!) - so she took the 'stuff' and left it with them - unfortunately they did have the reputation as 'bad boys' - and they proved it to her... everything she'd taken to them for signing was destroyed - records, pictures, whatever she gave them!!!! She then had to apologise to all the fans that "trusted" her with their valuable possessions!!! And of course my mother hasn't forgiven them to this day!!!! "Dirty, rotten little bastards" is still her term for the Rolling Stones!!!!

So many memories of the 60s - so much happening - and sorry my posts are non-sequential - I'm jumping around all over the place - I've yet to even mention Australia's first foray into Vietnam in 1962 - guess we know what the next post will be about!!!!

By the way, I'm trying out a new browser - Google Chrome - check it out - I love it's 'intuitive-ness' (is that even a word??) - looks like it might be bye-bye IE and Firefox for me... I'm loving it!!!! 

some good news (finally), and some bad news...

On the good news side:

I got an email from some friends the other evening - they've been trying to get pregnant for so very long... it's been hard, physically, emotionally and mentally - and finally they're going to be parents!!!!! Way to go Amanda and Chris!!!! The picture opposite is their ultrasound of "flipper" - their term not mine!! - I did get a laugh out of that though!!!!

Have a Baby Cocktail Mocktail for me (recipe instructions: 1 part Pineapple juice, 1 part Cream, mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker / stirrer and pour into an unusually shaped glass. Add Crushed Ice and decorations!)

being the 'connoisseur' of cocktails that one of them is, she might need this... "Margarita Mama - Mocktails for Moms-To-Be" - at least she can 'daydream'!!!! because now comes the readjustment... the changing of lifestyle... the excitement!!! (ohhhhh, but please don't ever lose the 'art' of conversation!!!! it can happen!!!) - and the responsibility... who could be bothered (oops, that's just a 53 year old talking - thinking about having a child around now!!! really, I don't have enough energy for me and what goes on in my life...) I am extremely happy for them though - and they're going to need that stamina!!! they're lovely people, and they'll be great parents... so much life experience, so much wisdom - oh, I should say they're 20-odd years younger than me hence so much enthusiasm and physical ability!!!!



And the bad news is:

I go back to work tomorrow - yuk!!!! I can't believe my two weeks off went so quickly... it was a really good break... just winding down... a nice few days away (me, Allie & Louie) - life's been pretty good since we've been back... unfortunately the burning question now is "why can't I win some money so I can be a woman of leisure permanently"??!!! Oh well, them's the breaks I guess... trouble with being working class... oooh, but what does work have in store for me????

and just for the hell of it (and because it's from the 60s):

I was going through some photos the other day and came across this one... me (the tallest - must have been the oldest too - I'm just not taller than others!!!!) and family friends. It's 1962 and I'm 7 years old - don't you just love the pom-poms on the top!!!! and that hairstyle - actually, it's not much different than how I wear my hear now at 53!!!! (a better style cut though now!!!) things really do go full circle!!!!

but now, because it's my last day off, I'm going to have some bongs and a lazy afternoon - well, lazy after doing all the 'domestics' that I've been slack with lately... and I'll be back with more soon...

a bit of a 60s reminisce...

I was watching a television show tonight - Roller Derby Dolls - and it took me back to the 60s...

I used to go to Festival Hall in the mid-late 60s and early 70s with my brother to watch the Roller Derby - who could forget Adeline Hocker and Ralphie Valaderez (Valladeres) of the LA T'birds... I loved it!!!!

Australian Action 1966
Ann Calvello assists Adeline Hocker of the T-Birds to score on the Detroit Devils' Midge "Toughie' Brasuhn and Jan Vallow

ahhh, some good old gratuitous violence... entertainment for the masses... it was grouse... they were so skillful, graceful and downright dirty and nasty on skates - I was enthralled - I wanted to be able to skate like that...

but it was never going to happen with the mass produced, crappy, dangerous 'adjustable' skates that were available at the time, and that working class families could afford... but to have a pair of the boot style skates... how you could 'fly' around the rink in those (of course, the nice smooth rink probably made a difference too... footpaths and uneven school playgrounds weren't really conducive to skating well - hence my broken arm!!!)... and now they're even more streamlined... the evolution of skates!!! (Check out the first picture below of 'skating wheels' from 1870 Germany - if you're interested you can click on the pic and read the 'history' of roller skating!!!)

This was exciting entertainment and women were proving they were good at contact sports - they could 'give it and take it'... they were sassy, strong women and strong role models!!!

There's been a 'resurgence' in the last few years - here's a video trailer of the Roller Derby Dolls programme... young women searching for empowerment and identity - the right to be themselves - that age-old dilemma... enjoy...

If you want to watch the whole programme you can view it at ABC iView until September 24th (it takes a lot of bandwidth though!!!)

and Festival Hall - what a 'dive' it was... and it was the 'premier' live entertainment venue at the time...

It was used in the 1956 Olympics for gymnastics and wrestling, it also became the venue for the World Championship Wrestling (and I went to a lot of wrestling matches with my brother too!!!! so sad... but it was fun!!!) The Beatles played here in 1964... we didn't have a lot in the way of large venues in the 60s!!!!

I remember the streets surrounding the hall on any live venue night in the late 60s and 70s being totally jam packed with people... it was an amazing sight and the atmosphere was electric - my how times have changed and I've aged!!!! Dare I say "ahh, they were the good old days"!!!!

more 60s 'stuff' to come soon... (but I'm on holidays for a couple of weeks and I'm going to Malmsbury to stay with a friend for a few days !!)

nah, not the next instalment of the 60s yet...

but it is the first day of Spring so I felt it was time to "check in" - but it's hard to believe so much has happened in the last month... and I haven't posted anything for two weeks... I just found it hard to get the energy flowing in a positive direction... I had the flu this last week and a bit so I guess that just topped off a really bad, bad time...

but with this transition from winter's dark to spring's light, maybe now I can get it together and start moving forward...

so on that note, it's time to start planning some spring gardening - check out Gardenate and see what vegies should be planted NOW!!!

happy spring planting.... and I'll be back soon with some more 60s 'stuff'!!!!