Fireworks to Food

I wonder how many of you out there agree with me when I say I cannot quite see the value of spending thousands of dollars on fireworks when we could spend it on something more useful like food. We have Australia Day here on Jan 26th ( see old blog from last year below). All the capital cities have very large firework displays which lasts about twenty minutes. Of course it may be seen by some to be quite spectacular and I suppose lots of the kids enjoy it but I think we could use this money more wisely on other things. Perhaps each city in turn could have a different show and donate the money to a better cause. Maybe I am just being naive on this point but most of these shows look very similar to me and once I had experienced one show, I was more than happy not to repeat the event.

Many of my friends do not give generously to charities any longer as they believe ( rightly or wrongly) that their donations do not go to the right people.

But surely a government could sort this one out. Has our society changed that much or were we always like this?

Sport in Australia

Now that the Australia Tennis Open is running in Melbourne, I thought it appropriate to state how lucky we are in Australia when we consider sport. Last year I was able to play tennis three times a week at a beautiful club near the sea. http://www.northbeachtennisclub.com.au/

I was also lucky enough to play golf at another great club. http://www.wgc.net.au/security/login.msp

A few years ago I played both soccer and basketball. The facilities were top notch at both the venues.

Of course Australia is a very large island which gives us a great variety of beaches.

The temperature today (Jan 21st ) is a pleasant 30 degrees C which occasionally becomes a little uncomfortable when it reaches 40 C. So as Australia Day approaches (Jan 26th) it is time to reflect on just how fortunate we all are in this splendid island with its superb facilities.

Tune of Song:"Closer to Home"

The video below is a shortened form ( verse 2 only) of a song I wrote after the Bali bombing in 2002. I blogged this before (see older blogs 4 pages below 21st Nov 2007) but Lettie asked me for the tune and this was the easiest way to go.

If you are interested in more details you might like to look at the following site:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/gall/0,,811178,00.html

Barack O'Bama

I hope 2009 sees you all well. I did my first gig of the year and of course had to try new things. I wrote an Irish story interlaced with lots of different songs. I ended up with a tribute to Barack O'Bama who (luckily) they had all heard of. When you are 80+ you are more inclined to remember Winnie etc. or even Stalin! The song claims that Barack's granddaddy's daddy came from Moneygall, a small village in Co. Offaly. The chorus goes thus:

O'Leary O'Reilly O'Hare and O'Hara There's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama
From the old Blarney stone to the green hill of Tara there's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama

Lots of fun verses but I added a few for Australians including:

Every Country you know and that includes Australia are singing their song their Hava Naglia

From Prime Minister Brown & the old Dali Lama even Kevin Rudd is cheering for Barack O' Bama.

Well putting it simply, there is a lot of pressure on this one man to change the world into a better place for most or at least some of us.

It seems that the U.S. will not be the power it has been but it would take a brave person to predict what the future will hold for this little planet in the next 200 years.

To listen to the song click here for Utube. http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xkw8ip43Vk