Friday May 2, 2025
First event for the week was the Oysterbedz Mandurah. The weather was sunny and the evening was shaping up to be pleasant. I play inside where the bifold door open up to the fresh air of the Dolphin Quay. With people who brave the cold water for a swim and the boat goers passing by giving a wave to the board walkers I watched on whilst setting up. I commenced strumming with my sore elbow at the stroke of 6 pm. It’s a bit noisy in there so I faced my Bose L1 out towards the open alfresco dinning area to avoid the saturated natural reverb of the room. It works well. With the levels set as to not drown out the conversation it went well. A couple of friend’s arrived soon after each other and sat across the room heckling and having fun whilst eating their barramundi feed of fish and chips. We ordered at the same time and I chose the spaghetti seafood marinara. It was amazing. With a full belly I commenced my last set and finished at 9pm. I packed the trolley and in one single load I had the van packed heading for home and was in bed sound asleep by 11pm.
Saturday May 3, 2025
Carmel Cider harvest Festival.
I woke up at 7:00 am to heavy rain. Not a good day for the maiden voyage travelling with my caravan however I hitched up the van and off I went in the driving rain. An hour later I arrived at Carmel Cider. Andrew (Croc) Carruthers was there busy serving customers and organising the pizza oven for the day. I said a quick hello and I began to load equipment through the already bustling crowd of cider enthusiasts. The smell of pizza filled the air with an aroma to die for. I parked my caravan close by still hitched to the ford and ramped up one side to level out. The rain was on and off for most of the day but where I set up under the cover of the packing shed I remained dry and warm. However after the show finished I check the caravan and found the corner of the bed just below the outside awning was damp with rain that had leaked in through the awning bolts. No matter I pulled my bedding back and faced the fan toward the wet spot and it dried a little in time for bed. It was a new experience for me to sleep in this new space. My head and feet touching the wall at each end of the caravan. Sleeping diagonal was the solution avoiding the wet spot. I slept a little rough not accustomed to the new digs. The bleeting lambs and sheep from the nearby paddock kept me awake also. I woke around 3am and couldn’t get back to sleep immediately so I lay there tossing and turning for what seemed like hours. I actually got to sleep again in the early morning light and woke to more rain on the roof not long later. I decided to get up and seize the day and see what was happening outside. Croc and friends were busy getting the pizza oven ready for day two of the festival. With a successful day yesterday today was shaping up to be just as busy with customers arriving on the shuttle bus at 8:00.
I had another tasty pizza for brunch and commenced playing my first set a little earlier than the day before the time of 12:30. The punters were thick and fast moving through the packing shed at a steady pace. When one table emptied, plenty of people were waiting in the wings, ready to pounce like seagulls on a bag of chips to claim it. The volume was moderate and I strummed away with sore elbow while sipping on Traditional cider. A lovely taste of apples wet my tastebuds as I sang the early arvo away. It was time to pack up as the shuttle bus took the last of people away. The last to leave Croc, Tony and Mario sat and chatted whilst they charged their glasses to a successful festival.
I headed for home around 6:30pm and enjoyed a nice hot shower had dinner and then slipped beneath the covers of my bed for a well earned sleep.
That concludes my blog for this week. I’ll be back next time