Thursday, March 27, 2025 – My birthday.
I had a little sleep-in, got out of bed, and opened my present from Mum. It had arrived four days earlier, and I had put it aside, ready to open today. I opened it to find a handwritten card, a nice dark blue bathrobe, and two pairs of bamboo socks that fitted perfectly. What a great present! Thanks Mum. Next thing, I opened the door to find a parcel and envelope sitting on the front porch. My sister and the Theil clan had organized a hamper delivery to my front door. Four boutique beers, another pair of socks, a bag of chocolate-coated almonds, a bag of pretzels, and another lovely handwritten card. Thanks guys. Alongside it was another card from my dear friend Mark. It had a handwritten message, and a card that was a Star Wars cardboard cutout you had to push out along the dotted line to make a Yoda, complete with a cardboard lightsaber. It was fun to make, and I sent Mark a screenshot of the finished model. A warm fuzzy feeling and a smile on my face as I placed it above the fridge cupboard.
I felt on top of the world as I opened the gifts. I put the wrappers in the bin and placed the cards lined up on the bench. I’d haphazardly booked a CT scan at the Armadale Hospital today as I was keen to get to the bottom of my sore stomach, so off I went in the Ford van for a 2:15 pm appointment. I had fasted since 10 pm the night before, so I was getting hungry by this stage. I arrived with plenty of time and virtually went straight in. The nurse tried to place a needle in my arm ready for the administration of the dye for the CT scan. She had two attempts but failed both times. She had to call another nurse to give it a go. No problem the vein was tapped, so I went into the room with the space-age-looking CT machine in front of me. “Lie down on the bed, please, Hayden,” and “we’ll take care of the rest.” With that, the warm liquid dye was administered, and I could feel it coursing through my veins. It was a weird feeling, but I’d been warned about it, and it was no surprise. In a matter of minutes, the job was done, and I was back in the Ford van, off down the road.
I called Lindsay, my brother, up and asked if he felt like having a beer at the Serpentine Tavern after all it was my birthday. I’d never been there since it had been reopened. He said, “Yeah, for sure. Come on over.” He himself had arrived back from the mines the day before. We arrived at the Serpy and walked into the newly refurbished tavern and enjoyed a game of pool and a pint of locally made beer. It was hoppy yet refreshing. Next thing, it was time to pick Lillianna up from school. We arrived and waited for the convoy of cars to filter through the gate. She hopped in and was all smiles. We soon found ourselves back at the house to watch a bit of music videos on the TV and one more beer before I hit the road to head back and shower and get ready for an evening at the Jarrahdale. It was Open Mic Night at the Tavern, so I was looking forward to being entertained whilst enjoying a few pints of Guinness. I arrived, and the locals, including Eddie, who shares my birthday, shook my hand with enthusiasm. It was good to see smiling faces, and the taste of Guinness was very welcoming to my lips. I went out to the beer garden and saw Dave setting up his drum kit and Jarvis setting up for the Open Mic Night. Gavin was there from Armadale with his Bose S1 speaker and guitar. It looked like it was going to be a fun night. Next thing, the weirdest thing started to occur. Close friends I knew started rocking up. First, it was Edie and George. Next, Lindsay, Sherree, Linda, and Liliana rocked up, then Shirley on crutches and her friend who drove her. Then Seany and Danya, Jarrard and Java, Colin and Sha, and a whole heap of locals also rocked up to enjoy the Open Mic Night and celebrate my birthday. We had a long table set up, and it was cheers, beers, birthday cards, and cake.
Gavin plucked away on the guitar for most of the evening, giving us his best renditions of Nirvana and Lynyrd Skynyrd covers. It was amazing. The mood was set with the music, the perfect volume for conversation. Soon, it was time to go home and go to bed and rest for an early morning PA setup at the Jarrahdale.
Friday morning, March 28, 2025
I woke up feeling tired however, a job to do by 9:30 am for a memorial wake at the Jarrahdale. I opened the shed to load a large speaker, microphone, mixer, and stands. I bent down to pick up the speaker, this was no problem. However, when I got to the van, as I put it down, I felt my back go “twang,” and I realized I had put my back out. I thought to myself, “Nooo, not now, please, not now.” So, I continued to load the equipment wincing with each step then head to the pub to unload and set up. The pain was starting to set in, but I soldiered on regardless. I went home and put an ice pack on my back. I swallowed two Nurofen and tried to will it away. A few hours later, I decided to reluctantly cancel my gig at the Pink Duck in Rockingham that evening. I was in too much pain to work, so this was the only option. I didn’t move out of bed virtually all day and through the night. I woke up the next day feeling stiff and sore still, however, I had to work to bring in some income. I had missed out on a gig payment and had to soldier on.
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Serpentine Jarrahdale Mundijong Morning Markets. I’ve never played here before, and I didn’t want to let anyone down, so I got out of bed feeling very sore still and packed the van with the equipment I needed. I arrived at 6:50 am to set up and play at 7:30 am. I chose to bring along my drum throne cushioned stool. This provided a soft, comfortable position that I could play the guitar. Sara from the Mundijong markets did a bit of massage on my back. I think it helped. It turned out to be quite a beautiful morning and a fun event to perform at.
11:30 am, the markets concluded, and I packed up, feeling sore still and ready to go home and rest for a few hours before my second gig of the day at the Exchange Hotel Pinjarra. The gig wasn’t until 5:30 pm that evening, so I had a few hours up my sleeve. Around 3:30 pm, I set off to make the 45-minute journey to Pinjarra. I arrived at around 4:15 pm and trolleyed my equipment from the car park out front. The artist Wayne Glasson was still playing in the beer garden out the back when I arrived. He had about 20 minutes left of his set. I sat and listened and drank water and waited for him to finish. Once he finished, I decided to go and fetch my equipment from the van whilst Wayne packed his equipment. Like clockwork, the transition was smooth, with Wayne departing and me commencing my sets. The three hours went by quickly and before I knew it, I was on my way home to get straight back into bed and rest my back.
Sunday, March 30, 2025
My first event for the day wasn’t until 12 pm at the Premier Hotel in Pinjarra. I arrived at 10:45 am to load in. The day was warming up to a top of 30°C in Pinjarra. As I loaded my Bose L1 to the alfresco beer garden, sweat started to trickle down my aching back. I winced as I lifted the 15-inch subwoofer from the van to the trolley. I filled the trolley and wheeled it in around the corner. Unloading was a mission, however, this had to be done to earn my living as a full-time muso. Pretty soon, it was time to commence the first set. Reading the crowd, I strummed the first song by Charlie Pride, “Kiss an Angel Good Morning.” I could see the retirees singing the words between mouthfuls of their Sunday roast. With nice applause after each song, I plunked away the first hour with ease, perched on my comfortable stool, resting my back as much as possible. My Sunday roast arrived bang on 1 pm like I’d asked, so I devoured it in time for my next two sets. With that the show was done. I created an invoice, sent it, got paid, packed up in record time, and headed to Mandurah for the second gig of the day at the Mandurah Food Truck Frenzy located at Egret Point near Halls Head. It’s my first time playing here. I arrived with plenty of time to set up. I ordered a coffee and chatted with my mate Brian and was ready to commence playing at 5 pm. I used the same set as I had played at the Premier Hotel, and it went down very well. The air was cool and there was enough cool breeze to keep the Mandurah mosquitos away. Three and a half hours later, it was time to pack up and hit the road back to Jarrahdale. I was relieved to arrive home and rest my back. It has improved now with a bit of self massage and pain management. I am confident it will improve over the week back to normality.
This concludes my blog entry, Sunday, March 30, 2025. Have a great day, and I’ll be back next time!