NBO Plays at Bulla Railway Family Day

Our fourth time playing for this wonderful organization.
Extended Families via Leila arrange this day for carers of kids with disabilities.
Our main fare was the Australiana but later on we just played what came into our heads which happily was a LOT of stuff!
We have again seen at first hand, the wonderful theraputic qualities of a cheery upbeat musical vibe.
This year Aaron came back to play with us, but seemed more fixated on the  poster advertising our performance.
He also fell in love with a dripping tap close by, which enchanted and distracted him mightily,  but we all still got a wave goodbye as he left. His mate Eric was more resonant with our efforts, or to be more specific Rhomwyns' flute and Alasdairs' whistle. Both  mesmerised him. He could not see how the sound was made and Rhonwyn and Al patiently helped him in his own intense  world of discovery. We got a goodbye wave from Eric as well. All the parents told us how much they and their kids loved the music, even though somtimes it wasn't as clearly apparent as we normally expect. We could see that that appreciation can be expressed in a number of very different ways and after 4 years we are getting good at its interpretation.
 A number of lovely  little interactions with other kids took place over the 4 hours we were there.  I made a kitten noise on the violin and this 3yo lovely Chinese girls' face just shone with joy! So easy to do and such a reward for me!
These little acts were trivial to us but you could see the kids' excitement and interest. A wonderful day for everyone.
Attendees were: Rhonwyn, Dennis, Maryanne, Rosaleen,Neil, Mark, Annete, Trevor, Me, Alasdair and Shipmate Dave. Apologies from the two Bruces and Veronica.
Thanks all for coming.
Greg

Bush Orchestra at Iramoo Open Day

Our first outing for the 2104 Spring/Summer season went over well at the community day at Iramoo Community Centre in Wyndham Vale.
I rolled in with a relaxed attitude and a sore back to find the Ukelele Dolls starring onstage. We followed with a set of good old BO favorites. Present were: Rosaleen,Dennis,Maryanne, Neil, Katherine, Mark, Annette, Mira, Alasdair, Christina, Trevor, Kerry, Rhonwyn and me. As is now usual, an amazingly coherent and vibrant sound emanated from our somewhat haphazard group. Our traditional good vibe added to the open day and our second bracket bush-danced our way into the hearts and minds of the 6 totally enthusisatic dancers that Neil coaxed up to dance in 30C heat. Amazingly the change came just as we sped the Troika up to our traditional 200bpm. Had it not arrived the dancers would have had heart attacks.
Annete bought me a lovely sausage on bread with yummy onions. Rhonwyns' flute stopped working (this was not a good thing), Mark's new tamborine minus cymbals  was a hit. Dennis , Trevor and Kerry shone sartorially. Rosaleen  and her Vielle had to be kept away from the mike  as it was SOOOOO loud!  Katherine held it all together as usual and it was a great start  to our summer season.

Pics on the Facebook page.

Greg.

Artists, farmers and musicians

NFFC musos were both inside and out at the Substation on Sunday. Inside at the Artists Market it was a great lineup with Newport Strings, Paisley and Plaid, Angelicats, Bruce Williams and Friends and then Great Minds. Outside at the Farmers Market, Folkus were keeping the customers entertained. It was a beautiful day with lots of music.