Saturday, March 31st .....

We brought the van back to Deloraine yesterday but the weather is pretty miserable. Still, it’s a break from the house and a chance to touch base with what’s happening here. We were invited to a book launch last night. It’s called The Edge and it’s a natural history of the Great Wester Tiers, the low mountain range which runs for about 100 Km across the top of Tasmania.

It was funded by money raised at a Forest Festival in Jackey’s Marsh, which is not far from Deloraine. Jackey’s Marsh is a real hippie community and there are people there who still live in tepees and humpies without power or running water. Of course, a lot of the alternatives who came here in the 1970s and 80s have prospered and there are spectacular houses in the area as well. I think the Forest Festival tries to hold on to some of the ideals of the early days and there is a mystical quality about it.

One of the organising groups is the Friends of the Great Western Tiers and they do a pretty good job of promoting it and looking after the natural resources of the area. The book is an attempt to record what the Tiers is about before it’s all lost. The book is beautiful and the author, Sarah Lloyd, talked about it and showed spectacular photographs. The picture above is a Spotted Pardalote which is endemic to Tasmania. Sarah is particularly keen on organisms called slime moulds. Apparently they are quite beautiful but get a bad press because of their name; one is even called Dog's Vomit Slime Mould (Fuligo septica.) All the local arty group, and the alternatives were there enjoying the free drinks and food, seeking out the vegetarian or vegan options. They had vegan sausage rolls – a triumph of misnaming food.

While we were there, we noticed a poster for a stage show called Blitz, being held that night in Deloraine. Never willing to miss an opportunity, we gobbled a few more mini-quiches in lieu of dinner and hurried off to see whether we could pay at the door. Sadly, there were only about 20 people there but what a show. The sole performer was an English woman who calls herself SiSi and the show was based on her grandmother who delivered groceries in Liverpool during the war and went on to become a well-known entertainer during the Blitz. SiSi has a fantastic voice and some of the songs were outstanding: she sang Another Suitcase in Another Hall better than anyone (except maybe Barbara Dickson) and a medley of Someone to Watch Over Me and Somebody to Love was unbelievable.

Long story short, she is coming back for the Craft Fair weekend and will perform Blitz on one night and a new show she is writing called Tats Dawson, Gangster Moll on two. We’ll promote her through the program and she has promised to sing a song at the Cocktail Party on the Friday night.

I didn’t mention that Marilyn has offered to look after the entertainment at the Fair so she took SiSi aside and sorted out the details. SiSi now lives at Cygnet in the Huon Valley.