Big Chill Festival

On the same day as the concert just presented, there was another major event in Armidale - the Big Chill Festival. This celebrates the on-coming winter with two interesting dimensions. On the one hand, there are various bands playing popular music and some of the young people in front of the music stand were dancing to it. The other celebration is the presentation of interesting foodstuffs and drinks mostly sourced locally. The BCF started on the day before -  Saturday and I bought an expensive ticket (A$75) covering both days. I enjoyed listening to the music performed by high-class bands / soloists and also walking around the food and drink contributors and sampling their often very good wears. As usual, my phone was busy collecting pictures of what was going on, some of which are attached below.

AS

Peter and the Wolf!!

Armidale has a huge number of orcgestral concerts each year and 2023 is no exception. A week ago on Mothers Day I had the privlege of attending a wonderful concert presented by the Armidale Symphony Orchestra. Their contribution was brilliant. I often wonder how a small town of just 25,000 people can deliver such high class classical music performances.

On this occasion, the last piece played was Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. Apart from the music, the peformance had a narrator who explained to all the young children attending what the music was explaining about the story.

The second majpr work also blew me away. Beleive it or not, it was the world premier of a Piccolo Concerto called "The Wanderer". Moreover, the  composer, Matthew Pinter, was actually the orchestra's conductor! So our little town niw has a major composer. The Piccolo player, Lamoma Nightingale, is also a champion of new Australian music and plays with our country's leading orchestras. "The Wanderer" explores the New England countryside around and was warmly received by an enthusiastic audience.

An the first work on the agenda was no less than "Overture to Egmont" written by someone called Ludwig van Beethaoven. This work was written 213 years ago, but commemorates a sad event 455 years ago when the Spansih executed a Dutch nobelman Count lamoral van egmont.

Here are some views of the proceedings.

AS

Becoming Australian Citizens

I had a fortunate experience a few days ago when I went downtown to collect the audited accounts of Dot and my Superannuation Fund. Nearby I saw crownds congreating in our Mall and Iwent over to see what was happening. There I met a good friend who explained to me that a ceremony was about to take place in which immigrants were granted Australian citizenship. Nothnig like this happened when I became an Australian citizen. I simply got a letter in the mail in around 1974! - almost 50 years ago.

More surprisingly still for me was seeing our locel mayor arrive along with with our local members of parliament - both state and federal. Also joining in the proceedings and, indeed, opening the ceremony were two school captains and an Aborignal leader! We sang the national anthem and then the crown was informed baout how the ceremony would proceed.

Heaps of people were invited to come forward in turn, whether individuals, couples or even whole families - each greated with applause. I was standing adjacent to a friend of mine whom a play against in numerous bridge games. I've known David Bonsey for years and was stunned to see him accept Australian citizenship!

As is the case with Australian immigration, recipients of citizenship came from all over the planet, whether Europe, east and west Asia, Africa, and the Americas. They generated applause whatever their cutural origins. Armidale is heavily multicultural and I for one enjoy shopping for food at a Middle East store! Last week I was nibbling Turkish food and today I've consumed some Iranian dates as I'm writing thos blog message. Here are some images of proceedings, staring with Barnaby Joyce - previously a deputy Prime Minister-  addressing us with the Mayor and our state MP sitting to the left.

Here's an Aboriginal leader also adressing us and below is a school captain doing the same.

And here's one of the new citizens thanking us. The school kids sitting in front of her started singeing the national anthem.

All up the proceedings were very enjoyable. 

AS

Tour de Rocks?

 One annual event in Armidale is a cycling event called the "Tour de Rocks". It's a long up-hill and down-hill bike ride to the coast near Kempsey.  It's a distnace of perhaps 250 km and the overall drop in altitude is c. 1000 m.

This year I was out on an early morning walk at about 7.30 am on the day the tour was due to start downtown at perhaps 10 am. I was stunned to see about 7 pods of bike riders pass me going north on Rockvale Road near where I live. One pod was headed by a truck with lights flashing and two others were led by a police car. 

I managed to work out that the pods were probably community supporters of the event and not participants. That's because many of the riders looked elderly, while others were quite young. Nor do all the riders wear the customary uniforms of competitive riders.

Here's a few pictures of what I saw near home. I guess that some of these groups - if not all - were supporters of the event  and preparing to say good-bye to the competitors.

In 2023, the event couldn't use the usual route to the coast because of extensive road-works on the main Armidale - Kempsey road. So instead the route was re-directed for a similar distiance around the northern tablelands.

Armidale is certainly an interesting place with a constant stream of interesting cultural and recreational events.

AS

Roaming the New England Countryside

 Last week we had the privilege of hoasting Rebecca and Rob for a few days here in Armidale and they love exploring the Australian countryside. Late one afternoon we headed off to the wooded countryside alongside Tilbuster Creek for a rapid walk as the sun set. This is what we saw, but I apologise for the low light

On another day Bec and I went to the Blue Hole and the Gara gorge for a much longer walk. Just one year ago poor Bec suffered a major knee injury by she's recovered marvellously. Indeed, today, she just celebrated her a-knee-versary. The countryside around Gorge on the Gara River is 'gorge'ous - as these pictures show.

I hope you're enervated by these photos and want to come and stay with us to explore our extensive and massively beautiful countryside.

AS

Bach's Peasant Cantata

Amidale hosts a great Annual Back Festival, amazingly for a town with c. 25,000 residents. But we have a tremendous history of performing classical music and the Back Festival is one I never miss. This year there were 10 events over 4 days and only the 4th and 10th of those were freely open to the public. This blog focuses on the 4th event which was in, of all places, an arcade in the town centre now mostly containing office businesses. Only one of Bach's works was performed - the Peasant Cantata, which explores the vagaries of dealing with of all things, the Taxman. Here are my pictures and commnetary.

The commercial building where the performance was held has a long corridor leading to a lovely painting of Armidale's key buildings and sites. I elected to hear the performance from an upstairs balcony where a few imported seats were available.

Downstairs, the 6 or 7 members of the orchestra were positioned at the foot of a staircase which played an important role in the work. All the seating was imported for the event.

Here we are about to begin.

And then the two peasant singers descended from our level. I'd seen themwating close-by and wondered how members of the audience were dressed like this. Well they were great singers and played their role with great aplomb.

Then a bloke in a top hat emerged at the top of the staircase, presumably about to serve the peasants with a tax notice. By the way, as far as I could tell, the work was sung in German.

And here the peasnt couple are having sorted out their affairs, with the male peasant now wearing the top hat!

e

There was wild applause at the end froma very happy audience. By the way, I presume that the guy standing on the right was the parent of one of two singers.

I tried several times to upload some of the singing, but couldn't get that to work.

AS