After being challenged by a guest from California regarding the shitty weather, Basil Fawlty reacted by describing the local Torquay weather as “bracing”. It’s a term Lynda and I have used many times as we drive to Ballarat and watch the car temperature gauge plummet in direct proportion to the hour and 15 minutes it takes to get there.
Nonetheless Ballarat is one of my favourite places in Australia. It has a vibrant arts scene centred around it’s beautiful Art Gallery with festivals galore including the Day of the Dead which was a hoot.
https://isowilson.com/romancing-skull-day-dead/
Last year we came up for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in the Botanical Gardens but if the arts aren’t your cup of tea then there is Lake Wendouree with its 5.5km walking/jogging track named after the city’s favourite son Steve Moneghetti. The lake itself was the site for the rowing events at the 1956 Olympics but spent many years dry as a “dead dingo’s proverbial” due to drought. Fortunately the lake and surrounds are now at their resplendent best and a walk around it highlights some of the best colonial and modern architecture in the country.
Much of Ballarat’s economy is driven by education. The city is renown for its private schools and Ballarat University. Aunty Donna are 3 comedians based in Melbourne and graduates of Ballarat Uni. Their comedy can be described as absurdist with a millennial twist and has elements of Lano and Woodley’s “dagginess” and the anarchy of The Doug Anthony Allstars. We first saw them via a TV special on the ABC which was filmed at Sydney’s Elmore Theatre. The show goes for an hour and you can see it here if you are keen.
Last night was part of an Australian tour promoting their first album of songs. The Karova Lounge is a cool little venue carved out of a heritage building in the city’s central precinct and the show was sold out.http://karovalounge.com
The crowd was full of the aforementioned students, all up and about to worship their beloved ex-pats home in style. Given we were more than double the age of anyone else it is always a curiosity to some people. A lovely young bloke standing next to us described the actions we needed to demonstrate when the song “Chop Chop” comes on. It was a very quick karate chop action using both hands. I suggested to him that perhaps to maximise the effort, I could place my shoulders in front of him and therefore receive a massage. He laughed nervously.
There was also some interesting responses to the music “fillers” being played whilst we waited. The crowd strangely went wild when they played Simple Minds and Belinda Carlisle, singing word for word. Suddenly on came The Stooges’ “I wanna be your dog” and Lynda and I started singing and rocking our heads back and forth to bemused looks. The kids treat Simple Minds and Belinda Carlisle with the same historical significance we have for The Velvet Underground or the Stones!
The show itself was fun but we much preferred their theatrical performance. The music was a combination of punk and The Beastie Boys which is fine but the satire didn’t come through as strongly. That didn’t worry the punters who knew all the words to the songs and joyously chanted accordingly. The 3 piece band were very accomplished and they have an unofficial 4thmember, Michelle who is very funny and has a superb voice. All in all a great night and terrific crowd. To discover more about Aunty Donna and experience some of their short surrealist youtube videos you can go to http://www.auntydonna.com/videos/
Breakfast this morning at the glorious Turret Café http://www.turretcafe.com.au/index.html and hit the road. Depart Ballarat 10.30am @ 9 degrees. Arrive Melbourne 11.45am @ 19 degrees. Yes it’s a tad bracing but Ballarat is a beautiful regional city with great people that delivers much more than just Sovereign Hill. Check it out some time.
