Aaaaah,Time to Reclaim my Life back, Post Rally

Well it has been a very long time since I have had any time to even think about posting something in here......I became obsessively busy, with the stop Repco's, World Rally Championship, high speed car rally, racing thru residential areas and National Parks in our amazing Biodiverse Hotspot, the Green Cauldron, the Iconic Mt Warning Caldera.



We had a large successful and fun rally, in late May, marching thru the town of Muwillumbah on a Thursday afternoon, with about 350 people, not bad for sleepy quiet Mur-bah

We have been privileged to have been host, to the Four Endangered Animal Costumes since then, although the Koala did head off to Japan on a mission, to highlight the plight of Australia's Forests, being turned into WoodChips



We had a lot of fun making card board Rally Cars, and our march was a vibrantly colourful piece of Street Theatre



We tried to shame the Minister for the Environment, into honouring his 'Launch' of our 'Green Cauldron' a hotspot of more biodiversity than Kakadu!, but he failed to see the point. Rumour has it that he is teetering on the edge of revoking the State Government's 'Special Legislation', that they rushed thru parliament, wiping out 12 Environmental Acts, designed to protect our environment, at the behest of a foreign company !



We gathered at the Service Park on 29th August to begin our Rally Week Public Peaceful Protests, but RRA was running behind schedule, and weren't about to open for another 5 days ! It gave us a good dress rehearsal, of organising large groups of people quickly, into impressive photo shoots. Such a pity most of the regions anti rally folk became too scared, of the fear of encountering the Public Order and Riot Squad (PORS), and the never seen Dog Squad.



I have been painting banners and writing out lettering for other people to paint as well,



Our wonderful Mt Warning Spear Lilly, grew it's first flower in 17 years, and it finally opened the week before the rally after taking 1 year to grow to full length, looking like a boom gate, saying "No Road...No Rally Here", a perfect place to hang some of my banners for photographs.



Some of my painted boards, designed to be roadside, in places to remind people, that animals have died here on the roads, like the road accident memorials one sees along dangerous roads.



The 7th Generation is a group of concerned Kyogle Shire residents, who began the anti rally campaign back in February or before. Although mainly grey haired grandparents, they have been recently described in the media, as a " Radical Fringe Group ", lol.

We have had an incredible amount of false reportage, since the rally weekend approached, with stories of Frozen Koalas, being thrown onto rally race 'special stages', by anti rally protesters, in lieu of real roadkill from the rally.

The biggest false story, which has vilified the peaceful protesters, was that anti rally protesters had hurled/pelted the first 3 rally cars on special stage 6, before they decided to cancel it. Despite those 3 top drivers saying to media that they had not witnessed any such behavior, and that they normally do not race thru residential areas or National Parks !!
No evidence was ever provided, and 1 week later rally organiser Garry Conelly, finally stated, in the Sydney Morning Herald," there had not been any rock throwing" on the said Friday on stage 6 !!

Yet those rumour based stories, did ensure that we made the 'New York Times', Abu Dhabi's 'The National' weekend magazine, and the UK's Daily Mirror.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/09/04/sports/sports-uk-rallying-australia.html?_r=1
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090908/SPORT/709079864
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2009/09/05/134151_world-rally-championship.html
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/car-rally-rock-attack-story-false-20090909-fhna.html
http://www.tweedecho.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1532&Itemid=543
http://www.tweedecho.com.au/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=754

Some of the rally drivers have said publicly, that if locals don't want the rally in this beautiful green region, then rally organisers should re-locate it to a more suitable location.

There have been reports of quite a few animals, several snakes/lizards,



and several birds hit by rally cars. There are 3 wallaby joeys, currently being fed by wildlife carers. Also two reports of Koalas behaving strangely, since the rally.

Rally Australia's Koala Management Plan, to ascertain no Koalas ran across roads during the rally, was to scare the life out of them, with low flying throbbing Helicopters and cars with air horn sirens. Also to station Koala guardians beneath the Koalas daily chosen, tree. They sent two people along in a ute to 'spot' where the Koalas were, a very short time before the rally cars were due. Koalas are notoriously hard to spot, even for our Resident Koala Watcher Kathryn, who has started an incredible Koala Watch program, with some amazing photographs, of Koalas doing their morning yoga, and showing off their new babies !
They also sent 10 cars in after the rally cars, before allowing the wildlife 'sweep car' to check for and record any injuries.

Although we were told by rally organisers, that rally drivers, would respect and obey our road rules, whilst driving on the liaison stages between the special stages, that they race on, we soon found that they thought nothing of some very dangerous driving. Overtaking slower cars, across double white lines, on some of our most dangerous corners and bends.



This one started overtaking our diesel van on the way up a mountain range, and as he began, my 78 year old mother, driving, exclaimed, "There's a car coming down the around the bend", I snapped off another shot, and caught all three vehicles in the same frame. The rally driver thankfully, held his nerve and with a recent road repair, widening the edges and fixing the deep potholes, there was just enough room for us all, and a major mutli car accident was narrowly averted.



The car traveling down in the opposite direction, was actually a ute with a box trailer on it, and could have been in real trouble ! As could all the vehicles following.



It has been an amazing campaign, we have all learnt an amazing lot of new skills, particularly computer literacy, not something everyone was up on, at the beginning. Without our online groups, facilitating ideas and discussions between infrequent meetings, due to the distance that the rally route encompassed, we would never have achieved as much as we have.

They had to drive some 1,600 and something kms to race just 344kms !

I have 1 & 1/2 scrap books already filled with news clippings, with many more clipped ready and then many, many papers still to be gone thru. ( I leant the scrap books to two NRG members to allow them to compile all the 'lies' and 'spin', put out by Repco Rally Australia.

Tune into Media Watch this coming Monday 21 September, as I have been talking with one of their researchers last week and this week, to try and get our story set straight and the truth out to the people, seeing that our local media has been so biased, except for the Tweed Echo.

Iz's Over The Rainbow

One of my Favourite singers singing a Wonderful song so I thought I'd embed it so I can find it easily, as it Sets Your Day off in such a Positive Way !!! Enjoy
I played it several times yesterday before heading out to the 'Rainbow Bridge to Woodstock' fundraiser held at Durumbal Hall, near Mullumbimby, organised to help fund the journey of the 'Children of the Rainbow' Exhibition, being taken over to the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock, via the Nimbin-Woodstock Connection

Beaniefest Olympics

beanie festival olympics, originally uploaded by gusseting.

With a 9mm crochet hook and a ball of Cleckheatons 'Gusto', Who will be the Fastest Beanie Maker in the Land this year?
Just a snippet filmed by 'Gusseting' and posted on Flickr, have a small squizz at some of the 'Beanie Madness' that overtakes Alice Springs every winter at the end of June, in the Centre of Australia !!!!!

Hyperbolic Crochet and Anti Rally Protests

Wow where does Time Go ? I knew it was quite a while since my last blogpost, but April 16th ! Where did May go ?



I have been very busy lately, with many things, I have neglected this blog, and I have not been very active with my Etsy shop or our DUST (Down Under Street Team) Forums either.

I have been made a moderator and admin on our two Anti Rally groups (Yahoo and Ning), and seem to spend lots of time doing lots, of both online and offline 'stuff', for the 'No Rally Group', or NRG Warriors as we are also affectionately called.

I have also been busy crocheting and needle felting...
( and dreaming about trying to 'fix the cardboard rally cars by finding the photos of them on the PC and Needle-Felting them !! ) How Bizarre can your dreams get !

Getting two competition hats and 10 hats ready the Alice Springs Beaniefest and sent off



Finishing and devising my After the Firestorm Hat, for the 'Fibble Fabble Fibre' Exhibition at a local gallery, along with several other pieces and more on sale in the attached shop.


This 'After The Fire Storm' Hat was inspired by the images broadcast around the country and world during the horrific Mega Firestorm in Victoria in February 09, (Trees left standing ,unburnt amidst devastation, Blackened trees on a ground of Ash, Huge clouds of roiling smoke(need to take more photos over at the gallery soon to show the final fluffier smoke), in front of the massive wall of flames, and very Thirsty Koalas.)



We had members of the Tyalgum Women's Group painting these cardboard cars, what fun, it was like 'Play School'




We got over 300 people, mid afternoon on a weekday ! I made this hood/poncho to be worn with one of the plastic Roo masks, with paws and tail from a scrap of material I found at local Tip Shop.
See here for a short video of out Street Theatre
Now for a bit of light relief I have been having lots of crocheting fun making Hyperbolic Coral Reef piecesto send down to the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, to contribute to the Australian Branch of the now worldwide Hyperbolic Coral Reef Installations.
First started by the Australian born Werthiem sisters, Christine and Margaret, who live in NewYork, to high light the plight of the worlds Coral Reefs, The Institute for Figuring http://www.theiff.org has spread the artform of Hyperbolic Crocheting, far and wide.



Learnt yesterday a wonderful easy 'trick' to cut plastic bags into 'Plarn' I had used some last year by laboriously cutting up old plastic rain ponchos, but to receive an email from a fellow Etsy Trashionista with the YouTube link was so timely , as plarn is the most suitable yarn for Coral !! It has a wonderful sculptural rigidity, and the florescent translucence that you see when swimming above Coral. Reminding me of Ningaloo Reef Aaaah !
I

Kimberley Wilderness Threatened !!! Wilderness is Precious !!

People of Australia and the World, Please Stand Up and Speak Out Against this atrocity about to occur.

Watch these videos and write a letter to those who need to hear from US as we are SOMEONE.


I am sickened and appalled at the recent announcement of the Green Light being given to the LNG Gas Processing Precinct, and DeepWater Port , with it's 5 km Jetty !
The local Indigenous Community were forced into agreeing, by 'Blackmail' by a White/Puppet/Premier and Those Evil/Greedy/Wielders of Power, who control our Governments !

They were told we'll give you better Health Services, Better Housing, Better Education for your Children......ALL things that should be theirs anyway, and are the NORM for Australians in the non remote areas !

And if they didn't agree " We'll just Purchase it 'Compulsorily'" ,*(and you won't get as much then)*



The Kimberley has been Named as One of The Last Remaining Wilderness Areas in the WORLD !

An industrial deepwater port at James Price Point,will open the Kimberley to Large Scale Industry, the export of minerals including Uranium, and Strip Mining of Bauxite on the Mitchell Plateau !!!


Wilderness is Precious

16,000 individuals, the World's Largest Population of Humpback Whales return HOME every year, to mate and give birth in their sheltered warm water Maternity Wards, after making their 13,000 km journey to the Antarctica to feed.
The entire coast from Broome to Cassini Island is considered to be a whale calving area.
Camden Sound is the main maternity ward for the Humpbacks.
At 292km Montgomery Reef is Australia's Largest Inshore Reef, and subject to a Mining Exploration Tenement.

The Kimberley also has the highest diversity of coral species of any area in Western Australia.

We need real and urgent protection for our
wildlife and the Kimberley Coast
In the form of Marine Protected Areas, and a Whale Sanctuary

The Liberal Government of Western Australia, intends to push ahead with legislation to give the premier the sole power to approve industrial projects.

Industrial shipping noise affects the cow and calf's ability to communicate.
In the US, a third of all Right Whale deaths are caused by shipstrikes.


We already have an industry that is totally sustainable.......Tourism

Whale Watching worldwide is worth $1.54 billion per year and over $45 million in Western Australia alone

Wilderness is Precious

When I was younger.........

My very first stall at St Andrews market back in the early 80's


Thought it is about time to start relating some of the stories and events of my earlier life. Writing this blog is a good way to begin working on the art of writing again.

As a teenager I wrote a lot, but then life really started happening and I 'got too busy' doing interesting stuff.

I once shared a studio with an amazing sculptress artisan Lizmania, who constantly wrote snippets of her life story on 'scraps' of paper, then stored them into small suitcases.
I'd always imagine the job she, or a biographer, would have one day of un-ravelling,
re ordering, deciphering, these random pieces of her life.

Well apart from an A2 sized folio of photos and a very different sort of Curriculum Vitae in it, my life story is in my head.
This will help me begin to document some of the interesting parts in the hope one day that I will actually print a book with patterns of hats made without patterns, recipes of food made without recipes and inspirations for a creative life. This has been an idea in the back of my mind for some time.

Having spent 12 years living as a traveling nomad has provided me with some almost 'unbelievable' stories ! ..... but they are in the future.....LOL



Well......... as a 14 year old I was very fortunate to attend an Alternative School, called ERA (Education Reform Association), where I began, to be allowed to think for myself, to decide what I wanted to do with my life.

It was a valuable experience , and we loved going to school. I didn't want to do my Higher School Certificate, but elected to stay at school that final year, and study things I wanted to learn about whilst still in the security of the school.
It was a year of learning how to motivate myself to try new things, something that has helped me throughout my later life.
I was also fortunate to have the time to work with the drama teacher Lynne, as her assistant/apprentice drama teacher, with the attached primary school.

Had I been doing my HSC, like the two other students who began this with me in the first term, I would not have had 'time', for the valuable experience, of learning how to create lesson plans with Lynne all year.

The year before Lynne had taken a 'Term of Absence' to live in the bush, while she dealt with personal life.
We drama students, who had become very close and dedicated, from a Traveling Theatre Group earlier, decided to do our own Drama for the duration of her absence.

We wrote, directed, sang and danced an original Rock Opera, 'Genesis' , and helped the Junior High kids, with their own version of Rocky Horror Picture Show.
An incredible experience, to be involved in, as were our weekly drama sessions with Lynne.

We were actively working in some very avant garde forms of theatre, from 3-5 every Thursday after school, a form of Movement Drama, non verbal Experimental Theatre. We once explored' Sanity and Insanity' for several weeks or months, taking the final product to the school community as a performance.

A small group of us attended a Master Class held by the extraordinary Lindsay Kemp, at the suggestion of Lynne, who had been to the first one offered.
Before it started we felt very young and inexperienced, watching professional ballet and theatre folk 'warming up' !
But as soon as Lindsay 'bounded in wearing a bright red leotard suit, we were in our element, and some of the trained ballet folk were out of their depths, unable to 'let go', and "SHOW us that you ENJOY! a grand jete".

All of these experiences, paved the way for my desire to create more understandable Non Verbal Theatre, (parents in the audience would say "Wow that was great !, but what did it mean when you all did......this or that......") We were still working in a 'personal dream state' .
'Seeing' and 'walking/dancing', thru an unseen world of creativity, self expression, and therapy, but it needed to be 'enlarged, and made clearer for an audience.

This work really helped me overcome a very debilitating, and isolating case of Stuttering, and Stammering, an inability to speak, that had plagued me, since the age of eight.

So when we saw an article, about another Australian returning home, from studying at Marcle Marceau's International School of Mime, I sent an application to join !

I then went off on a hoilday to Tasmania, with a friend, ending up staying there for 8 months. I received a reply to my application saying ' Dear Mr Jack Megan, Sorry not accepted" .
This was followed two weeks later by a Telegram saying " Further Cancellation, Has been chosen for next fall. Kindly advise your decision by return and send registration fees "!

And so, off I headed to Paris for an extraordinary year with the famous mime, and a school of International students from 19 countries!



Went searching thru Facebook recently to see who I could find, and found another student of the Ecole, and he sent me this photo of us showcasing our work on the school stage.


If you'd like to view some of Claudes work now, a mixture of spoken and mime/comedy, check out his adds for his father's invention the Twist Mirror, which he now sells. He was one of the most talented and comic of the students, the youngest at 17, he'd have the whole room in hysterics. Once when he had nearly upstaged Marceau, Marceau told Claude, to try and use his facial expression a little less ! But Claude was just a natural Chaplinesque comic, even when he was being himself, and shyly bobbing and saying "Pardon, Pardon " excusing himself for just being in the room ?? http://www.twistmirror.com/epages/61625346.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/61625346/Categories/%22Clip%20Vid%C3%A9o%22


........to be continued..........

Aussie Autumn SALE

Well now it's April, and the start of the Etsy DUST Team's Aussie Autumn Sale. This theme, has given me the added incentive to actually finish a hat I started ages ago in the Heat and Humidity of February or March.

On Monday I finished it off, then made two more slightly quicker hats, as the rain poured down unceasingly. Perfect weather to crochet in.Today the rain is back again and we hear that the creeks are rising rapidly. If it keeps up overnight and tomorrow, we could see Floods in the lower Tweed valley like last year.


This one I have called Shades of Autumn


Three hats, very different to each other, that will hopefully appeal, to three very different people.


This one I have called Autumn Bee Hive, as it somehow reminds me of Bees


This one I like , for it's rich vibrant Amber Burnt Orange colour. It has ear flaps , that keep the ears and side of cheeks nice and snuggly warm, on even the coldest days.
For those of you who have not seen and held one of my hats in Real Life, they are very thick, tightly crocheted work often using double yarn to create a dense fabric that the wind does not penetrate thru.

Click to see the DUSTers Aussie Autumn Sale