Rosco

I followed an invitation from Peter and Toni to Rosco, the nudist resort near Toronto/Newcastle where I had been staying a couple of weeks ago.

After several days of clouds and rain, the sun came out again and we got some nice weather. We played a lot of songs on guitar, had a barbie (BBQ), a campfire and did some bushwalking around the property of the club, watching birds.

Toni and Peter are enthusiastic birdwatchers and so I can tell you that this bird here is an Eastern Spinebill, a species of honeyeater, who feeds on nectar and small insects. There are many different types of birds here, and also kangaroos and wallabies, possums and lizards. There's even a wombat, but we only saw the hole of his burrow.

After the walk we had to pick leeches (Blutegel) from our feet! They thrive now after the rain. But they are easy to do in ("to do someone in" = ihnen den Garaus machen) with just a bit of salt.

Apart from the birds, Rosco is very quiet during the week. Although there are 96 campers (Wohnwagen) parked permanently on the club's 400m by 400m property, we are nearly the only people here at present. But we did our best to make some noise with Peter's guitars, bass guitar and amp. :)

I'm learning an instrumental piece, Tangerine Puppet by Donovan. Peter and I are working on some new songs, such as True Blue by John Williamson and Whenever It Snows by Tex Perkins/Don Walker. Both of these are very "Aussie" songs and I'm happy to take them home in my mind and heart -- as well as the meaning of the Australian words True Blue.

The other Peter (from Penrith, you remember) permitted me to sleep in his and Ange's camper while I'm here. And Toni gave me a present, a beautiful blue shoulder bag which she had sewn herself and embroidered with the picture of a Crimson Rosella, which is a red parrot that lives here.

While we're speaking of music, here is a (of course very incomplete) list of Australian bands and singers that should be well known even in Germany:

• The Bee Gees ("Staying Alive", "Words", "To Love Somebody")
• AC/DC ("T.N.T", "Highway to Hell", "Thunderstruck")
• INXS ("Mystify", "Devil Inside")
• Men at Work ("Land Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?")
• Kylie Minogue ("Locomotion", "I Should Be So Lucky")
• Midnight Oil ("Beds are Burning")
• Crowded House ("Don't Dream It's Over", "Weather With You")
• John Farnham ("You're the Voice")
• John Paul Young ("Love Is in the Air")
• Natalie Imbruglia ("Torn")

Yes, they are all from Oz. I find it impressive how much great music comes from a country of a mere 20 million people.