Inside the Prince of Wales Opera House

This is the foyer of the Gulgong Prince of Wales Opera House.

You can see a portrait of Prince Charles in this theatre which welcomed Melba, Lola Montez, James Morrison and Roger Woodward. Henry Lawson immortalised the theatre in his writings which is quoted in the link below.

For more on the Opera House visit;
http://www.gulgong.net/OperaHouse.htm

One for Sirocha

Sirocha has been known to lament upon her students' use of the apostrophe 's', and so when I found this sign, I naturally thought of her...

A collector's item.

Here's a rarity.

You would have seen the tour poster in other blog entries, but here is the once off only poster for the Gulgong gig.

One for your collection...

Gulong late afternoon

Late afternoon in Gulong looks like a throw back to the past. They've somehow managed to combine modern living while maintaining a connection to the past.

Nice!

Prince of Wales Opera House

Here is the wonderful Prince of Wales Opera House in Gulgong, site of our joint gig with the Cudgeegong choir.

Melba performed here, as did Lola Montez and many, many others.

And now the world-famous Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club!

Henry Lawson country

Gulgong is Henry Lawson country as you can see from this publication.

Here we are in Gulgong.

We've arrived in Gulgong for a gig here with the Cudgeegong Choir.

On the road to Gulgong.

Here's some countryside on the road to Gulgong.

Very Oz.

A riddle...

Why would Julia be reading this magazine?

Putting your feet up.

Here's Shirley taking five after trying out some Gerwürz Traminer, which she suddenly bought.

That's what I call putting you feet up!

Stein's Fine Wine

A stop at Stein's winery en route to Mudgee was very welcome. The weather was glorious across a pretty special view...

The Butchery Cafe, Mudgee - Bless you!

We had a quick stop for lunch in Mudgee, and with not much time, I found this absolutely wonderful cafe which was converted from an old butchers.

I must have sounded rude, because I asked how long it would take to order lunch as I only had 30 mins. I then told them that I was with the Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club heading to Gulong and they asked, "that's the concert that Mary's involved with?"

Well, they served me a super lunch, super fast. I would have liked to sit around for a while - it was terrific...yummu friands and coffee ..great watering hole...

Get the picture!

St John the Baptist, Mudgee

Here's the magnificent Anglican church of St John the Baptist, Mudgee.

Breathtaking.

Another Mudgee building.

How beautiful is this building? It has great buildings on either side of it, making a wonderful vista.

Mudgee Library

Imagine borrowing books from this library! Obviously the people of Mudgee believe that books deserve a good home and this makes them nice people - in my book!

Mudgee architecure

This is one of the many wonderful Mudgee buildings. It's hard to convey how great the streets look, as there are many magnificent buildings like this next to each other.

Enjoy!

Mudgee balconies

There are quite a few of these balconies on buildings in Mudgee. It must be great looking out from the balcony onto these majestic street scenes.

Mudgee streets are wide

This pic gives you a characteristic view of the Mudgee streetscape.

Beautiful buildings along the side of a wide street.

Group photo time

So most of us were together in Mudgee, so we all stopped for a group photo (except for Sarah, who left our tour, and I already miss her...maybe we can photoshop her in).

Here's a photo of the photographers photographing the group. You know how someone is always missing from the group photo? Well, here's the missing link.

Not implying anything by that last comment..no subtext implied....

Mudgee is a pretty city.

We stopped in Mudgee for lunch on the way to a winery and the Gulgong gig.

The Mudgee streetscape has a welcoming, and yet, awe inspiring grandeur. The buildings are very grand, but combined with the wide streets, results in a very open and welcoming atmosphere.

This is a clock on a roundabout near the beautiful town centre.

Farewell to Katoomba

It was a sad farewell to Katrina.

Here's young Clare saying goodbye to us with her dad Kerry outside the Katoomba Youth Hostel. Clare became our favourite young person.

I stayed at her home with her parents Kerry and Naomi, and we played fiddle and piano together.

Clare also came to the Penrith workshop and played at out gig. Hopefully we'll see her with her fiddle at the Celtic Summer Music camp over the next few years.

Running for the bus..

Here's the Downing brothers running for the bus parked outside the YHA hostel in Katoomba.

Always late...

Chris and Catherine

Chris Duncan and Catherine played in the first half of the gig.

Here thet are!

Not the Ghost of the Gows...

This ghostly glow over Ath and Matt is taken from the back row during the Chris and Catherine set.

Another Opening, Another Pizza

The pizzas were brought in before the gig, which quickly disappeared. The hospitality at this school in Penrith with supper and drinks etc has been great.

Preparing for a gig.

Here's some pics to give you an idea of what we do when preparing for a gig. The pics were taken in St Paul's School Penrith in the late afternoon before the evening gig.

Putting us through the paces

Here's Judy and Chris rehearsing for the Penrith gig with the fiddle club.

Chris and Catherine arrive

Here's Chris and Catherine after having just arrived at St Paul's school for the Penrith gig.

Ronald and Julia

Here we are playing with our phones before the Penrith concert.

Too much time, obviously..

Jonesy and Suesy

Here's our rhythm section and their people.

My people should talk with your people, and schedule a diary window and do lunch!

Let's!

Raise high the Banner!

Here's our new tour banner - it's like the black and white Fiddle Club logo - but more red.

Penrith! Are we there yet?

After a couple of detours, we finally arrived at Penrith for our Wednesday gig.

Road Builders' Memorial

This memorial celebrates the lives of those, free and convict, who build the roads of Australia.

The depiction of the harsh brutality was really quite confronting. You got an idea of their pain, which makes you appreciate their contribution emotionally, and not just intellectually.

So I supposed the memorial did it's job. It's pretty amazing.

Blue Mountains

They really were blue!

You could see the Cockatoos in the treetops in the valley far below.

Magic!

Von Guerard

I thought you Eugene von Guerard fans would appreciate the framing of this Blue Mountains pic.

Enjoy! I did. It was a magnificent day, with a magnificent view.

Three Sisters - 2

Here's another view of the Three Sisters - the haze is amazing.

Three sisters Katoomba

This is how the Three Sisters looked today in Katoomba.

I know it's a famous view, but it should be - just awesome.

I met a German and Swiss travellers here and we spoke in German about the blue haze above the hills.

Charles Darwin memorial

There are all of these little monuments at Echo Point where you can see the Three Sisters in Katoomba.

This one has the words that Charles Darwin recorded when he visited.

There are also words of a local Aboriginal woman who describes Katoomba as meaning place of falling water.

Someone's driveway in Katoomba

This pic's nothing special, I suppose, but I really liked the Australian character of the view, and wanted to remember it - hence, it's here.

There are aliens at the bottom of the garden.

I found this at the bottom of a garden, but can't remembered what happened next. Maybe an alien abduction?