The Bogle Blurb
By Eric Bogle
13 November 2003, South Australia* (*Posted on December 2nd with sincere apologies from the Webmaster. This is late due to three hard drive crashes, and a bout with the flu. Both the computer and the web-team are doing much better now.
--K. Rodgers, Webmaster)Hi, folks. How do I usually start these blurbs again? Oh yes...
It's been a while since my last Bogleblurb. Sorry about that, but I've been pretty busy what with one thing and another. As most of you know, John Munro and I spent 3 months touring the UK and Ireland, from July through to September. It was a great tour, probably my most successful yet of the UK and Ireland. Certainly, I was very happy with the audience attendances and CD sales. But successful tours are more than that. I was just as happy with most of the other aspects of the tour, the venues, the travel, the weather, the easy and professional way John and I meshed musically, and personally. As usual, and most importantly, were the people we met during the tour, the old friends and the new ones.
I arrived in Scotland on 14th July, and John joined me on the 16th, from Canada, where he had been touring with his group Colcannon. No visa hassles this time. John and I still have our British Passports (the Australian Government allows us to have both our British and Aussie passports, God bless them, (did I really say that?). After the nightmares of our last USA tour with visas, it was a civilised and effortless start to the tour.
Our first actual gig of the tour was on the 19th July, in Saddleworth, in Yorkshire. I'd like to say that John and I spent the days before the gig in frantic rehearsal. But to be honest, we spent it catching up with friends and seeing if the Scottish beer tasted as good as we remembered. It did, what a relief! Our minds at rest, we hit the road.
After Saddleworth, we spent about another two weeks touring England before heading off to Ireland, where we did 8 concerts, 3 in the North and 5 in the South. As usual, with Ireland, it was a most enjoyable sojourn. Although, Dublin is incredibly crowded with cars and people. In fact, the whole island at times threatened to disappear under the crush of tourists. I first visited Ireland when I was about 17, which is a long time ago, and, inevitably, it's changed a bit since then. For the better? Well, in some areas perhaps. There is no doubt that economically the people in Ireland are a lot better off than they were, and not before time. But economic progress always comes at a cost, I suppose. To me, Ireland is not as friendly as it used to be. People are just too busy, it seems. It's all relative though. Ireland is still one of the friendliest places on Earth, just not what it once was. It's very much a European country these days. No more Punts and a slow even pace of life. It's all Euros, mobile phones and lots of bustle. The country has definitely lost a bit of, "Irishness," in the process. And I don't mean blarney-stone and shamrock Irishness, but something more basic and infinitely more worth keeping. But the Guinness still tastes pretty good, and the music remains some of the best music in the world�After Ireland, it was back to Scotland, and an anxious trip to the local, to see if the beer still tasted OK. It did! What a relief... Reassured, we continued on with the tour. We had 3 concerts at the Edinburgh Festival, which to my mind was 2 too many. But to my surprise, (and relief), we got full houses every night. In fact, almost all the concerts in Scotland were full houses. It was very gratifying to do so well in my homeland. Looks like absence does make the heart grow fonder. One of the best concerts was in my hometown of Peebles, a full house of 500 people, and a great night all round. My old mate, Ted Egan from Australia, was a surprise guest for the evening and opened for me. He did an opening spot, which had the audience totally involved. I guarantee that they had never seen anyone quite like Ted before. By the way, Ted has been appointed by the Queen, (via the Australian Government), as Administrator of The Northern Territory. A pretty heavy duty appointment for a three year term. He will live in Government House in Darwin and carry out many formal duties, and no doubt, a fair share of informal ones as well. I couldn't think of a better man for the job. He is a true man of the people. My congratulations to him.
The weather during the Scottish part of the tour was lovely and sunny. In fact, the weather throughout the whole tour was sunny and at times pretty hot. The countryside was as dry as I've ever seen it, although by Australian standards still pretty green. Australia is not called, "the wide brown land," for nothing! On one particularly sunny day, John and I drove up the west coast of Scotland to the Summer Isles. And the beauty we experienced that day remains one of the most vivid memories of the tour. It was a day to ask myself, "Why did I ever leave this beautiful country?" Mind you, I've been on the west coast when an icy gale was blowing in off the Atlantic, and can't remember asking myself that question then! But a country is more than weather of course. Although, in Scotland, the weather can be somewhat of an obsession with the general populace. When I toured Scotland, quite a few people asked me what changes I had observed in the country since I left. The most obvious change was the alarming prevalence of drugs everywhere, and the usual associated increase in violence. Truly, it's the Black Plague of our age, and Scotland is certainly not alone in suffering from it. It was very noticeable in Ireland as well. I'm sure it's the same story in England, but the drug of choice I mainly saw there was an excess of alcohol. A lot of very young drunks staggering about. But maybe they just seemed young as I had my 59th birthday in England during the tour. And when I was a young fool, I drank a lot as well. So, maybe I shouldn't be pointing any fingers... ...
Quite a few of you sent me cards, gifts etc., for my birthday. I thank you all for that. As you can imagine, it was not a day I particularly wanted to celebrate, but the kindness of strangers, (a la Blanche Dubois!), and of friends, helped make the day less stressful than it could have been!
We had 59 concerts during the tour. And now, about 5 weeks after the finish of the tour, it is all beginning to fade into history. As usual, John Munro can remember every gig in startling detail. He is a bit disappointed in me when I can't contribute to the, "Remember that great gig in...?" types of conversation that he so enjoys. I'm a sad disappointment to a lot of my friends, I'm afraid. It's not that I don't like reminiscing, it's just that I can't remember all that much. My memory is not what it was, and it was never all that flash. But the general feelings of satisfaction and sheer happiness and musical fulfilment that the tour engendered, still remain with me, a warm, (if fuzzy!), memory.
And tomorrow, I hit the road again. John and I are off to Victoria for a festival at a place called Campaspe Downs. A small and friendly festival, very enjoyable. Then we're off to New Zealand, immediately after the Festival for a three week tour. Our wives, Carmel and Alana, are coming with us. It's a sort of combined tour/holiday. New Zealand is a beautiful country, spectacularly beautiful in some places. And we are very much looking forward to touring there again. I have toured there 4 or 5 times before. But haven't been there for about 4 years, so am keen to see some of my favourite places again, and to meet up with old friends. I will be home during Christmas and New Year as usual. I rarely work over that period. Then in January, Carmel and I are off to the Caribbean via Paris and Edinburgh! A report on that and the New Zealand tour in the next Bogleblurb, (whenever that will be - don't hold your breath).
All the best,
Eric
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