I spent last weekend in a sleepy little backwater in rural Victoria (Australia) called Eldorado, at the Bilyana festival.
A six hour drive for us ( my daughter Em and my friend Mandy) we arrived and set up camp by a beautiful fast running creek ( a natural spa), amazingly next to the son of a friend of the family who I hadn’t seen in about 15 years!

We drove all that way to see our favourite band, The Cat Empire. These guys play jazz/funk fusion and despite the long drive the weekend was an absolute BLAST. The Cat Empire guys cruised around talking to people all day, posing for photo’s, signing tee-shirts and being extremely generous with their time, before taking to the stage and “going off” as they always do………

There were about 2000 people at Bilyana, happy and freindly people who mixed together, sharing stories with other people from all over the state. We all sat around on old couches and chairs and watched the moon come up alongside Venus, in a clear dark sky………..and then settled down to watch the bands.

The concert was awesome………….we all danced, jumped and sang till the “wee small hours” of the morning…………in fact my voice still hasn’t recovered.

In the morning, the guys from The Cat Empire mingled again with those of us who had stayed overnight. They even stood in the queue with everyone else to buy their bacon and egg sandwiches……………..not quite the usual ‘rock and roll’ way!

Why am I telling you all this????

Because in our world where fear seems to dominate our lives……….fear of war, fear of failure, fear of terrorism and all of that………….there are still far more friendly, happy, honest people who care for each other that there are people who want to hurt us, and we need to remember this EVERY DAY.

So thanks to Stix and the volunteers at Bilyana, thanks to Bill and Hamish for providing their property, thanks to Sib, Buttered Loaf and the other bands who played, thanks to the “spacecowboy” for his amazing act and THANKS to The Cat Empire, who yet again made me feel an intense sense of joy and ‘connection’ while I jumped up and down to their music, next to my daughter and in the midst of a crowd who just wanted to ‘be in the moment’ and have fun!

So if your ever feeling a bit miserable, pull out a CD by The Cat Empire, stick it into your CD player and loose yourself in their wonderful, positive and inspiring music and I bet you’ll soon be jumping up and down like me and all of the worries will disappear as you remember what life REALLY is about!

PS: I havn’t been paid to ‘flog’ these guys………….I’m sharing this with you as I share all of the things that work for me, in the hope that it may be helpful to you too!

The photo above is of me and “Jumps” from The Cat Empire, enjoying the sun and a deep and meaningful conversation!

Ewan Spence, nominated for a BAFTA for his series of shows from The Edinburgh Fringe Festival

WOW Ewan, before long you’ll be having dinner with Billy Connolly and Pamela Stephenson and they’ll be begging to be interviewed by you and you alone…………………watch out ‘Parkie’, here comes Ewan!!!!!

Dead Serious #016 (MP3- 11.8 MB- 32min)

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE

MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE…………..MOTOR WHAT?
As this podcast is generously supported by MOTOROLA, it’s interesting to learn the a ‘motor” prefix does not always mean an ‘efficient driving apparatus”.

In the case of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) it means anything BUT this. This week I interview Rod Harris, Cheif Executive Officer of the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Rod is a funny, outspoken and very clever guy who shares wirh us the ’story’ of MND (or ALS as it is called in the U.S).

What is MND/ALS?
How do you know if you’ve got it?
What is the treatment?
What does it mean for your future?

Rod talks also about his relationship mentoring the newly formed MND Association in Mongolia and how organisations are working together world wide to promote awareness and support research into this debilitating, life limiting illness.

So each time you run, jump, dance or skip………….sing, talk or breathe………….spare a thought for people living with MND/ALS and don’t take your ability to do all these things for granted!

Music for this program ” Morning Groove” was provided by my friend and fellow host Ian Dixon. Interview recorded on Skylook and sponsored by MOTOROLA…………….DUDE!

Thought you might need some explaination of a few of the words that appear in the “School’s Out” episodes!

So here goes:

“Bluey” or “wifey” is the word we use for blue working man’s singlets………called “Blueys” because they are navy blue, or “wifeys” or “wife beaters” because those who wear them may ……….well use your imagination!

“Muck up Day” is the last day of high school when the kids let their hair down and ‘muck up’

“Stubbies” refer to particular shorts worn by tradesmen in the summer. “Stubbies” are also small bottles of beer, so you need to make sure that you don’t mix these two up and try to drink the shorts and wear the beer!

“Oompa Loompa’s” are the little orange people who work in the chocolate factory in “Willy Wonka” (the Gene Wilder version, not the Johnny Depp version)

ENTER score is the final single score (made up of all the kids marks for each subject and after standardisation) that each student is allocated as a combination of their results at the end of the year. It is the ENTER score that the Universities use as a basis for offering places at Uni.

I hope this makes the content of School’s Out easier for you to navigate!!!

Dead Serious #015 (MP3 – 23MB – 60min)

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE

The second part of the “School’s out” episode is epitomised by the following quote from Laura Cuttriss (Inverloch, Victoria, Australia).

“It’s nice to be accepted for WHO you are not how smart you are”

How do teachers, parents and kids feel about the end of school……………saying goodbye and moving on to life after school?????

Listen and learn…………….. a marathon episode but one that’s illuminating!!!!

Thanks to Laura, Nicky, Sophie and Matt for their insightful comments.

Music by Siobhan, recorded on Skylook and with compliments of Motorola.

Feedback most welcome!!!

I was interviewed on Scott Sherman’s program, The Gay Parenting Show last week and just wanted to let you know that, having just listened to the program, for those of you out there who have had to come to terms with the loss of a child, either due to death, seperation or by them being removed from you, you may find this show helpful.

Scott was most gracious in sharing the story of his failed adoption, which was obviously a very painful experience for him and his family and I really respect the courage he demonstrated by talking about it on his program.

So I encourage you to go to his blog and listen to episode 9.

Year 12 exams start today in Victoria and as I write my darling daughter, Em is sitting her first exam, English along with thousands of others.

So to all the kids who contributed to the “Schools out……Forever” episode, to all the kids from Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College, Leongatha Secondary School, Wonthaggi Secondary School and all the poor wretches from all over Victoria who are anxiously writing page after page hoping it will get them the marks they need…………GOOD LUCK.

REMEMBER KIDS

Your worth is NOT defined by your ENTER score…………….it is defined by the person you are!

Relax, be confident and if you get stuck……………..ask for guidance, there is always help, you just need to ask!

Well I’ve just spent last weekend doing an Angel Intuitive workshop in Queensland (my second one) and I must say, being in an auditorium with 650 other people all working with angel energy is an amazing feeling!
Doreen Virtue conducted the weekend and her husband Steven Farmer conducted a “Sacred Ceremony” on the Sunday night that was very cathartic for all and gave us all an opportunity to dance, jump, yell and scream around a bonfire……..very primal, but also wonderful.

So for those of you who are interested in knowing more about angels, tune in over the next few weeks as I talk to some friends and colleagues who like me are into working with angels.

This week is Part 2 of the “Schools Out” episode, so grab your lunchbox, pencils and books and have a listen.

Dead Serious #014 (MP3 – 11MB – 40min)

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE

“School’s Out”

It’s the last week of school in Australia for Year 12’s…..the ‘big kids’.

For international listeners, you must remember we are at the ‘arse end’ of the earth and so our school year finishes prior to Christmas. The little kids (primary) finish in December and the secondary school kids finish anywhere from October to December depending on their year level.

This week and next week’s shows look at the grief and loss, excitement and stress issues for kids finishing their school year and their school life AND their hopes for the future, as they head towards the ‘dreaded exams’ and then out into the ‘big wide world’.

Given that my very own ‘little girl’, my third and last child is finishing school this week (though she declined to be interviewed) there are mixed feelings for me in all of this too. My ‘baby’ is now 18 years old, she can get her driver’s licence (she already has her Boat operators licence), she can vote and she is an adult…………….what does that make me????? An old lady????? The next step is being a ‘grandma’ and given that I’m well below ‘middle age’, I think that’s a bit rich………….so I have my own grief issues, as does my ‘beloved’.

I’ve already said ‘goodbye’ to our two georgeous son’s, one inter-state, one to ‘the big smoke’ and that has been hard enough, but the very thought of ‘our little girl’ moving away from home in order to go to University next year, fills me with dread!

So how is it for the kids? How do they feel about saying ‘goodbye’ to friends they have lived with on a daily basis for six years? How do their teachers feel about letting their ‘ fledgelings’ fly off into the ‘great unknown’????

This week I talk to the kids at my daughter’s school and their school Co-ordinator. As they attend an independant, private school, (though not an ‘exclusive’ school by any means) the views they express may be very different to the views you will hear next week from the kids, the teacher and the parents of kids who attend school in the public system. Our public system is the state run school system (which I know is different for many of you in the U.K and U.S)

So sit back, listen, and remember what it was like YOUR last week of school. The excitement, the saddness, the pressure and feel really glad (as I do) that it’s all over and life goes on and actually turns out to be okay, despite you often ending up in a totally different place than you imagined at 18!

So thanks to Analise, Gerard, Brent, Brodie, Krystal and Peter for being so accommodating and sharing their thoughts and feelings. Music is provided by Kit Fennessy and the program was recorded (as always) on Skylook. Thanks also to Motorola………..DUDE!!!!!!

Many of you might remember your last week of school……………for some of us it is a dim, dark memory.

For some it was a joyous relief, for some a sad ‘letting go’ and for some a scary trip into the unknown.

My house is in the midst of stress over exams, excitement over end of year activities and sadness about leaving behind a lifetime of friendships and experiences.

For my beloved and myself, it is a reality check given that our (now 18 year old) school leaver is the last of our kids saying ‘goodbye’ to the routine and companionship of school and ‘hello’ to an uncertain future of exams, university entry (or not making the cut) and moving from our protected little rural hamlet to the ‘big smoke’………boy we are feeling old!!!!

The next two weeks of Dead Serious explore the experiences of school leavers, teachers and parents as they all embark on the roller coaster of stress, melancholy and excitement that is the END OF SCHOOL.

So if you are a school leaver, a teacher, a parent or a curious onlooker, tune in and listen to the leaders of the future talk about their school lives and their aspirations for the future.