Well folks, we’ve made it to November. Who would have thunk it? I’ll refrain from political commentary, but maybe after this week we will see some sanity restored to our friends across the other side of the world as well. I think we’ve all appreciated how lucky we are to be Aussies – our political shenanigans have been tame by comparison.
Along the way, we in LUKES have managed to enjoy each other’s virtual company and admire some pretty amazing skills while in lockdown. Bravo, Bravissimo!
For those of you who might still be struggling as a result of the pandemic, please feel to reach out to your LUKES friends for a chat or even a visit/walk that complies with the Covid rules.
Editor: Jill Thompson info@longbeachukes.com.au
Table of Contents - PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
- WHAT IS THE COMMITTEE DOING?
- A RECOMMENDATION FROM CHERYL GARDNER
- GETTING TO KNOW YOU
- GENERAL REMINDERS
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I hope you are all enjoying your extra freedoms and have had a chance to catch up with some family and friends in the great outdoors.
Our new small committee is working well and we are pulling in willing members to work on sub-committees. Thanks to those who have agreed to take on these roles. Hopefully you will all feel you have a part to play in how our club progresses. To this end we are going to send out a questionnaire to find out how you are feeling about our potential activities in the “Covid normal” 2021. We will then set up a planning meeting to look at our options for next year. Please let us have any thoughts or suggestions you may have. We’ve had plenty of time to ponder on these things lately!!
Enjoy your freedoms and stay safe.
Cheers, Carolyn
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| WHAT IS THE COMMITTEE DOING? |
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Just to let you know what your committee has been doing. We’ve had two meetings since the beginning of the new, small, but perfectly-formed committee – one in September and one at the end of October. We are not necessarily meeting every month – just on an as-needs basis for about an hour. A sample of topics we have had on our agenda are:
- Governance and admin issues such as liaison with Kingston Council, insurance, reporting requirements and copyright issues and obligations. Les West, our Treasurer, still produces a monthly finance report, although there hasn’t been much action on that front this year. We have around $11,000 in the bank.
- Zoom nights and zoom hosting. Sally Baker has put up her hand to help run the Zoom meetings. Thanks Sally! Carolyn will be the Zoom administrator, to give Peter a rest at his request. Thanks again, Peter for doing this so professionally during a very demanding year.
- The Christmas party is being expertly handled by a sub-committee of Rick, Michael, Andrew, Brad, Mandy, Fran and Ali, and they have been updating you. Your RSVP should have gone to Andrew by now. At last count, we had more than 60 acceptances. This promises to be a riot of a night. If you are planning to make a video for the 12 Days of Christmas, time is running out! There are great prizes to be won.
- Thinking and planning for the future. As Carolyn has mentioned in her message, we are going to ask for input from all members, in the form of a questionnaire about what we might look like under a “covid normal” scenario from 2021. We will then hold a Zoom session, probably in December, for those who are interested in developing some of those ideas. We should have a better understanding of the numbers of people that can gather inside and outside by then. And singing may still be problematic. We will, of course, have to comply with the government’s and Kingston Council’s rules around the use of the Carrum Activity Hub, but we may want to think outside the square as restrictions come off. More to come soon…
By the way, apropos of nothing in particular, Carolyn and Noel report that the view from the top of the new Carrum station is stunning.
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| A RECOMMENDATION FROM CHERYL GARDNER |
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Cheryl is a dedicated uke player, has recently run a supercalafragilistic etc, colourful, “bright side” zoom session for us and has been attending uke sessions outside of LUKES as well.
Hi. I have joined the Melbourne Ukulele Community online during lockdown. The leader of this group put together a “Spooky “ video for Halloween from recordings sent in by the group. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxuD87SW7_A&feature=youtu.be
Anyone is welcome to join these Meetups. There are 2 sessions weekly, both 6 – 8pm on Mondays and Thursdays.
The Monday night session is geared towards those fairly new to ukulele, using a limited number of mostly basic chords. The Thursday night session includes some more challenging songs.
Fi, who runs the group, goes quickly through each song explaining finger placement for some chords, strumming patterns or anything which might be a little tricky. He then puts on the soundtrack and guides you through the song with the computer mouse, like “following the bouncing ball”. There is a 10 minute break in the middle where you are randomly assigned to breakout rooms, so you can chat to a variety of people. (One I spoke to was joining in from Scotland and had just finished breakfast!) Otherwise you can get yourself a cuppa.
Sessions are free unless you would like to make a donation. Click on the link to attend a listed event and you will be sent the details for the Zoom link.
https://www.meetup.com/Melbourne-Ukulele-Community/
Enjoy, Cheryl
Thanks Cheryl. The YouTube video is inspiring. Check it out people.
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Following popular demand for our Getting to Know You segment, we are highlighting two of our well-known identities this month – Andrew Hesketh (Vice President) and Tatyana des Fontaines-Burns (long-time former committee member). Over time, we hope to include as many people as possible in this part of the newsletter.
ANDREW
Andrew is the sort of bloke who always volunteers to help out – most often without being asked. It also transpires that among his very many great qualities as a true gentleman, he is a good cook. He shared his recipe for pitta bread with us at our last meeting (see Postscript).
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Q: What work roles have you had in your life?
Technical and Quality Management in the Australian Automotive Industry. Recently retired after working at the same company for 44 years, PBR.
Q: When I was a kid I wanted to be…
I was born in a Victorian country town called Terang and didn’t think much about what I wanted to be. There was a black smith shop at the end of our street and after school I remember watching the black smith shoeing horses and thought that would be good but didn’t like the burning smell of the hot shoe being placed on the horse’s hoof. I guess I was more interested in playing with friends than thinking about work.
Q: What has been your most exciting experience in life?
No surprises with this one, definitely the birth of our children, Andrea and Tim who are twins.
Q: Who has inspired you?
My parents were my role models. They taught me right from wrong and that the family was important.
Q: What would you like to invent?
Not really invent but it would be fantastic to have world peace and a cure for cancer.
Q: What do you wish had never been invented?
Again not really invented but, greed in mankind.
Q: What is your guilty pleasure? / obsession?
Not guilty pleasure at all, Cadbury dairy milk chocolate / obsession would have to be 50’s and 60’s muscle cars. I used to own a 1964 ½ 260 V8 Mustang but got rid of it a while back. I would love a 1957 Ford Thunderbird for leisurely drives in the country and a 1967 Camaro for daily commutes.
Q: What makes you laugh?
A good comedy like, The IT Crowd, Schitt’s Creek, The Windsors and of course catching up with family and friends.
Q: Favourite song or type of music / book / movie?
I love all types of music but the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s are the best. We were so lucky to grow up in this period of time. Most of today’s stuff is rubbish.
Favourite book would have to be the “The Happiest Refugee” by Anh Do. Made me laugh and cry, makes you appreciate how lucky we are to live in Australia.
Favourite movie would be the “Boat That Rocked” it is about pirate radio being broadcast from anchored ships off the coast of Britain and the British Government’s attempt to stop it.
Q: My favourite place on earth is..
I have travelled all over the world for work and pleasure and Australia is by far the best country in the world. My favourite place in Australia is a small town in Victoria called Peterborough. Lots of good childhood memories and we still go there today.
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Q: How did you come to join LUKES?
We were on a cruise from Yokohama to Sydney and I saw some people playing a ukulele which looked like fun. When we returned to Melbourne, I looked up ukulele clubs and found an article in the local newspaper on LUKES. The contact was Michael Bell who invited me down and I couldn’t have joined a more friendly group of happy talented people.
Postscript:
Andrew’s Pitta Bread recipe
Equal parts Greek yoghurt and Flour and a bit of bi-carb soda
Form into a dough, roll it out flat and grill on the barbie.
We are seriously missing our in-person committee meetings where Andrew used to reliably bring enormous choc chip cookies for our delight. Some things Zoom cannot do…Ed
TATYANA
Tatyana is a long-time member of LUKES and music whizz extraordinaire. She has worked tirelessly over many years to produce our music and she prepares and hosts try-out/open mic nights as well as other theme and singalong sessions. She also has the voice of an angel, even though she isn’t one, and she’s pretty damned good on the old uke as well.
Q: You have an exotic name. Tell us about your family origins.
Mum’s Russian (Tatyana is common as muck there). Dad’s Scottish (obviously the Burns).
I took on Mum’s maiden name (des Fontaines) when it was obvious the name was going to die out (no boys). Good stage name, but not so great when ordering pizza over the phone.
Still glad to have held onto the heritage which goes back a long way when King Louis threw the family out of France and they went to Holland for a few hundred years (hello Marielle, perhaps we’re related) then settled in Archangelsk in Russia till the revolution and then WWII.
Fun fact: My great great Grandfather from Archangelsk is a Saint! Has his own religious icon and everything. Haahahahaa I know… Ask me the story one day ;)
Q: What work roles have you had in your life?
Kmart. Bar work (staple work for actors…). Acting. Teaching (acting). Voice Over work. Stiltwalking. Mostly performing in one guise or another.
Q: When I was a kid, I wanted to be…
A Vet! Loved animals but wasn’t great at maths/science. Still haven’t decided what I want to be when I grow up! ;)
Q: My 15 minutes of fame…
In the 90s I was playing ‘Alice’ in the Brady Bunch Live at the Comedy Club in Carlton. At our very first show I stood facing upstage ready to turn for my first line. The scene change music played, the lights came on me and I turned to deliver my first line “Would you like a cookie?”.
Instead of hearing the next line from the other actor I heard whooping, clapping, cheering, stamping, shrieking, whistling and screaming “We love you Alice!!!” for several minutes.
I suddenly understood how a rock star might feel… Hahahahaa
I knew that the love and adoration was not for me but for Ann B. Davis and the iconic character she interpreted for the beloved children’s series. However I did get pretty good reviews for it so I will take a little credit for my impersonation of her… ;)
All in all a fun experience doing the show and that moment was a crazy little 15 minutes of pseudo fame…
Q: Who has inspired you?
Some great teachers in my life (Mr O’Sullivan, Peter Stephenson Jones, Richard Hayes Marshall, Geoffrey Milne). Also acting legends who wowed me and gave me something unattainable to aspire to (Reg Livermore, Evelyn Krape, Tony Sheldon, Dario Fo, Drew Forsythe, Anne Phelan).
Also my Mum who I took for granted for most of my life but after her passing I reflect on what a strong, passionate, loving, dedicated and disciplined person she was. She came to a new country and built a better life for her kids. She started a business based on her passion and worked like a dog in her love (Ballet) but also wasn’t too proud to do cleaning too when they were struggling financially. She was an inspiration to many of her Ballet students and my number one fan. I received masses of encouragement in my performing (as well as other aspects of my life) as well as a healthy dose of criticism…
Q: What is your guilty pleasure / obsession?
I always loved reading and good stories (was often in trouble for reading with a torch under the bedclothes although encouraged to read anything in a house full of books) so now some of the great long-form bingeable TV gives me the same pleasure as a good novel. It might be a pleasure but Charles Dickens wrote in serial form so it shouldn’t really be guilty... ;)
Obsession was always theatre and performing. Now a little with ukulele. Although I don’t get the time for either much these days… L
Q: What would be in your top 3 “desert island” discs?
Oh god…only three??? They’d have to be compilations consisting of Broadway musicals, 1920s music (Jazz/Ragtime), Music Hall songs, 30s, 40s, 60s, 70s, Queen, Blondie, Mother Goose, Jimmie & the Boys, Alice Cooper, Fleetwood Mac, Linda Ronstadt, Skyhooks, UK Squeeze, Monkees, Violent Femmes, Leonard Cohen, Trad Irish music, Latin Music (pretty much Trad everywhere), Redgum, Amanda Palmer, Fascinating Aida, Tom Lehrer…
Oh god that’s a big list…I pretty much love most music except Hiphop, Country & Heavy Metal… Love tunes and harmonies, great rhythms and well written lyrics. Although I don’t mind a bit of mindless 60s Lollipop if they are great tunes with fantastic singers J
I’d be cramming a few songs on those 3 discs. Might make them DVD size or use a 1 TB Hard Disk. ;)
Do I get to take a solar laptop to that desert isle??
Q: What makes you laugh?
My friends. They are hilarious. I love their wicked senses of humour.
And comedy that is clever (and stupid in a good way) with great timing and interesting in its examination of the human condition. Monty Python (& offshoots Fawlty Towers etc), Working Dog (anything), Geoffrey Atherton (everything), Chaser boys (and offshoots), Black Adder, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend…
I like silly but also dark (although not as dark as the League of Gentlemen…that just creeped me out…)
Q: Favourite books that have influenced you ?
Anything by George Orwell. Loved the Bronte sisters as a teenager (I preferred all that gothic gallivanting through the moors to the polite society of Austen & Tolstoy). Got obsessed by Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams in my youth also. And Charles Dickens. Comes back to good stories that look at the human condition and examine politics through the people it affects (Orwell).
Q: The movies/TV I like best are…
I adore Science Fiction/Fantasy (am a big fan of Star Trek, Gattaca, Dune, Black Mirror, Humans Babylon 5, Dollhouse, Buffy/Angel, Doctor Who (all), Torchwood, Handmaid’s Tale), Horror (more supernatural than boring slasher type stuff – Exorcist is one of my alltime favourites - book and film) and interesting stories that have psychological depth and make you think or change you emotionally. Also love a good comedy (see above for what makes me laugh). Not a great fan of Westerns or Romcoms unless they are particularly well done. Joss Whedon managed to pull me into a Western in space (Firefly). Is still up there with one of my favourite TV shows.
Q: My favourite place on earth is…
Anywhere near the sea. The snow is a close second. I have ‘beach-envy’ whenever I visit the ‘Aspendale Beach sub-committee’ (Michael, Carolyn & Jill – I made up the name…) who see the water out of their windows and enjoy the sea air every day. Although I’m sure I wouldn’t be envious in the summertime when idiot beach goers carouse into the night and block their driveways… ;)
Q: how did you come to join LUKES?
Rang Michael Bell’s number on the web. He was so lovely and welcoming and said to just come along. I came on a night when they were rehearsing madly for a show a few days later so I didn’t want to get in the way by asking any stupid questions. Marielle was sitting in the front row with Fran and looked over at me. She saw I had a uke but no music (hadn’t got that far yet) so she passed me her music and music stand and shared with Fran. We’ve been firm friends ever since. Then at the performance (that I went to watch) Michael gave me a job videoing. He’s like Tom Sawyer but in a good way. Kept the place running by pulling people into jobs needed and making them feel like an important part of the group. It’s because of lovely people like these that I have a firm attachment to this group. It’s essentially such a lovely warm, accepting, friendly group that doesn’t need big egos to survive. Also I adored the eclectic collection of songs the group had amassed (then in Book 1).
Q: How would you like LUKES to develop in the next couple of years?
Hmmmm… You mean if we ever get out of lockdown…?
No bloody idea. I just hope the group never loses the best thing about it. Friendly, egalitarian people who value each other and try to lift all members up not put each other down…
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- Have you signed up for the Christmas party, and videoed your song or stand-up routine? Consult the website for details – www.longbeachukes.com.au . Because we are not spending money on catering this year, there are lots of great prizes and giveaways to be won.
- There will be a Zoom Christmas songs workshop session on 1 December to get yourself limbered up for the real thing on 15 December. Fran Paddington will be the MC.
- We’ll be sending out a “LUKES future” questionnaire soon. Please give us your thoughts and ideas for the way forward from 2021.
- Send any other suggestions, ideas or contributions for the newsletter to info@longbeachukes.com.au Constructive feedback is welcome . Emails to this address will be forwarded to Jill.
- If you have changed your contact details, please let Veronica Young know at wonkie13@gmail.com
Continue to be safe. Wash your hands, wear your mask, keep your distance and spread the kindness. Heartfelt thanks to our health care legends and essential workers. We owe them so much.
Jill Thompson, Editor & Secretaray of LUKES
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