Toadstools

I found these little beauties at the Bunyas today.

Fun and Food at The Bunyas

All Shook Up is Over: June 5, 6 and 7

The musical came and went in a blur - all day and into the night rehearsals, nerves, tiredness, expectation, angst, sore throats, thieves oil, excitement, trepidation, adrenalin, litres and litres of pineapple juice and 300 trips to and from town.

I had minimal involvement due to several things - the big party, my job and probably the biggest reason - I didn't want to be a stage mother or put too much pressure on Drew. He had all day rehearsals the weekend of the party so he was hardly around; I was in and out of town like a yo-yo all weekend and especially in the week of the show. Rehearsals went until 8pm and I managed to catch the last half of the second act on the Tuesday night. I came away feeling quite nervous about how it was going to go! I caught nearly the whole show on the Wednesday at the matinee and thought it was a bit better. Then on opening night, I needn't have worried - the entire cast lifted and really pulled off a fantastic performance. I held my breath through a couple of difficult songs but his charisma and character and confidence really shone through. His co-stars really shone too, especially Zoe - she was a sensation with a strong, sweet voice. Aaron was funny and loveable as the sidekick and Lydia was an absolute scream in a part just perfect for her - in fact, they were all cast perfectly for the characters they were playing. After opening night, the plaudits came thick and fast. The teacher director said to me, "Did he HAVE to leave it to opening night to show us what he could do" - (which I thought contradicted the feedback I'd been getting all through the months of rehearsal). So many people in the audience commented to us on how good Drew was, how he was perfect for the part and how much they enjoyed his performance.

One of his teachers rang the next day and left a message to say how much she had enjoyed his performance and that she was looking forward to seeing it again. He was very touched by that because it came from a lady that he really admires.

One of his friends sent this text message:

Hey man its XXXX. i cant believe that im about to say this about a musical

but....it was pretty good lol and your (sic) a sweet actor.

i didnt think it would be that good. So yeah i just thought i

would let you know that it was a good act. Omg I sound like a girl ha.

Ok Im gonna shut up! night.

And this is the critique from another lady whose opinion we strongly respect:

I'm sure you've had lots of positive feedback from the musical.
I also thought it was great. I really enjoyed the evening.
Drew, forget about "All Shook Up"..What about "All Grown Up"!!!
You really have the confidence and charisma. You moved very well and with confidence.
You understood what you were saying and so the subtext of your lines was clear and often very funny.
Yes you were a little flat some times, but you didn't let that affect you , so as an audience we had full confidence in you too! I was very impressed!
Its all about the SELL!

The Friday night show was a little flat but Saturday night was an absolute sensation. The entire cast lifted again and gave a really entertaining, enjoyable and polished performance. People came back a second time to see it. Overall, it was a very successful production and I'm so impressed by all the kids that got up on the stage.

Nanna and Viv came out on the Thursday night; Megan, Ken and Des, Mandy, Nathan and Renee came on the Saturday night and of course, Mum came all three nights. She wasn't going to miss a minute of it.

Certainly, being the mother of a lead is a nerve-wracking experience. I'm not sure how Mrs. Jackman copes! There were moments where I held my breath (mostly singing moments) until the song was over and I thought "Phew, that one's over" and moments of sheer joy at watching him up on stage. I can't really put the feeling into words; I just stared at him and smiled and smiled! I couldn't take my eyes off him. From where I was sitting (second row) he looked so big in the tight t-shirt with the slicked back hair. It sounds strange but it was incredible to believe that the young man up on stage, playing the part so well, was my son, my Drew. He has come so far and grown into his body and become a person in his own right - he's not the little boy he used to be - he's embracing life and taking opportunities and enjoying himself along the way.

I don't have many photos - Drew took a lot back stage, mostly of other people and in the few he took of himself he's either kissing or hugging somebody. I have some prints coming from the local paper and another journalist. Also, the school made a DVD of the show so that will be wonderful to have.

Drew was quite sad when it was all over. It had taken up so much of his time, enery and mental space. On the Saturday morning he said he was feeling sad because "it's like we're all one big family and now it's nearly all over. I'm going to miss it". There was an after party at the house of one of the cast members. Drew went for a while; Megs and I waited in town for him. When we got home there was a poker game in progress. We finally went to bed about 3am. Next morning, Drew woke up with a heavy head cold - lucky it wasn't 24 hours earlier!!!

AND I LET THESE PEOPLE TEACH MY CHILD!!??!!??........................

Relishing a Quiet Day

I'm having a really quiet day today; catching up on my blogging at long last, reading the paper and sitting on the couch in front of the heater with the cat, watching mindless tv. I need a day like today; no rushing or planning or having to be somewhere.

Megan drove home this morning, arriving about 7am. She had planned on coming last night but it had been raining all day and was pouring last night when I took Drew to the movies so I insisted that she leave the travel until this morning. Now she and Chris have gone to the movies to see Transformers II and have taken Drew with them. He stayed in town last night.

Gibbo is still away down south. Today he's attending the national wyandotte show - and just sent me a text message that implies he's made several expensive purchases. He sent me a photo this morning of some beautiful white silkies that he bought yesterday for me, from a line we've been trying to establish here for a while through artificial insemination - a charming exercise in reproduction in poultry - there's a fair amount of "hands on" involved. I sent him some photos of the silver laced and creele wyandottes that hatched on Wednesday.

I took my time doing the jobs this morning; the air was crisp and water dripped from the trees. It was quite magical. Now I'm heading for a cup of tea and back to the couch.

Showing Poultry on Your Birthday

It was Gibbo's birthday on the 21st; he turned double that. The local Club Poultry Show was on and we took in 23 birds for 11 firsts, 6 seconds and 2 thirds. My black silkie won her class;

Gibbo's wyandottes and leghorns won their respective classes; his silver laced wyandotte pullet won best rare breed

and one of his pigeons won best racing pigeon AND reserve champion pigeon of show.

The club presidents' wife made him a cake and brought it out at the start of the presentations and everyone had a piece. On top of all that, we also won the raffle (a fruit basket).

This partidge silkie hen didn't win anything but I think it's a cool photo.

I cooked all day on the Saturday - ham and pea soup for us; 4 lots of mince meals and 36 patty cakes to sell at the chook show; and liver for the dog.

Megan and Chris came home - Chris is going to stay and work in the office here for 5 weeks to earn some money for his trip to Canada.

On the Sunday night, after the chook show and after delivering another load of wood, we had 30 people over for an imprompu birthday dinner. It was great fun. We had mince rolls and hot dogs, patty cakes and a birthday cake that Megan made.

Garden Party

This is how the garden looked for Megan's party; it really looked a picture so was worth all the effort.