Emily Cat 176

  Arts Centre Frankston Arts Centre Get Hypnotised - Gerard V - Dinner and Show 01/03 6.30pm Australian Welsh Male Choir 50th Anniversary Concert 01/03 7pm Robertson Brothers 1960's Variety TV Show 02/03 7.30pm RESPECT: The Aretha Franklin Story 03/03 3pm The Sunshine Club 05/03 7.30pm 1927 & Boom Crash Opera 08/03 7.30pm artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au Kingston Arts Centre And Then There Were None -Shirley Burke  Theatre 29/02 - 09/03 Maharashtrachi Hasya Jatra 03/03 4pm www.kingstonarts.com.au Blues Clubs Hume Blues Club Thursday nights at the Thornbury Bowls Club, free entry humebluesclub.com Birds Basement Mucho Mambo 01/03 7.30pm Tom Waits for no man 02/03 6pm The Virgil Donati Sunday Band 05/03 - 09/03 birdsbasement.com Way Out West Music Club wowrootsmusic.com Meat Market meatmarket.org.au Jazz Clubs Paris Cat ** Multiple Acts with tickets selling fast. Please look at the website. pariscat.com.au Uptown Jazz The Stephen Magnusson Trio 01/03 8pm Julien Wilson's "

Monday's video from me. Have a great week.

I love The Dead South. I shared this video before, but , deleted it by mistake. Not only is this song good, it's being sung live. The Dead South is a 4 piece band from Canada. They tour extensively but don't know if they've ever been to Australia. If you're interested, look at the other video l have shared today. That is all about the records l was sent from Canada. Hope you enjoy the video.

It's book review time. I haven't read any of the Vera or Shetland series, but, did read this stand alone novel. Ann Cleeves is a good writer and her talent shines in this early novel. Happy reading.

I love ballet but will only be seeing one or two this year. Georgian Ballet is like no other. I'm not that keen on the music but, oh my, the dancing. It is colour, it is movement, it is energy. The National company is called Sukhishvili and l have my fingers and toes crossed that one day they will tour in Australia.

I saw another film last week. That makes 2 in the space of a month or 6 weeks. This is very unusual for me as l normally go for months without seeing anything. Franchise films don't really appeal to me. I know a lot of people love them, maybe you as well. I'm not knocking these films just saying that l don't really like them. Force of Nature is based on the Jane Harper book of the same name. This was the second book in the series and it wasn't my favourite. The Dry is set in the country in the middle of a crippling drought. This story is set in the bush. Eric Bana returns as Aaron Falk with Jacqueline McKenzie as his offsider. Both of the Australian Federal Police Officers are investigating a company who take a group of employees off for a team building exercise in the Australian bush. Their contact at the company goes missing after placing a call to Falk and this is how the film starts. The performances are good and it's so good to see Deborra- Lee Furness back on

  Arts Centre Frankston Arts Centre Damian Mullin - Elvis Forever 16/02 6.30pm The Beach Boys Experience 16/02 7.30pm The Piano Men: The Songs of Elton John & Billy Joel & Invictus Quartet 7.30pm The Black Sorrows in Concert 18/02 4pm artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au Kingston Arts Centre Morning Melodies 20/02 10.30am www.kingstonarts.com.au Blues Clubs Hume Blues Club Thursday nights at the Thornbury Bowls Club, free entry humebluesclub.com Birds Basement Australian Foreigner Show the "Cold as Ice"Tour 16/02 7.30pm Paco Lara Flamenco Quartet 17/02 7.30pm The Harmonix Experience 21/02 7.30pm Taylor Henderson 22/02 6pm birdsbasement.com Way Out West Music Club Bondi Cigars with Support Miss Lou's Blues 18/02 2pm wowrootsmusic.com Meat Market Guiding Wyrm Core Signals 18/02 10pm meatmarket.org.au Jazz Clubs Paris Cat Peter Gaudion's Blues Express 16/02 6.30pm All l ask: Elly Poletti sings Adele 16/02 /17/02 9pm & 6pm Soul Chic presents The Eva Cassidy Experie

Have you ever read books by an author and loved them so much that you read every single one?  When l first discovered Elizabeth George l did read all her early books. Here was an American writing about crimes in England with English characters. Can l just say now how much l enjoyed her writing and didn't guess at first that she was American. Then l stopped reading her books. I don't really know what happened. Other authors came along and l got interested in other books. Now this book is number 21, l think, and l stopped reading the series at about book 5/6. I think l may have dipped into some others but can't be sure. So that's quite a few books in between. Like all crime series the actual crimes change but there is also a continuing story regarding the characters.  I don't know if l will be able to pick up that story, but, l saw this book and thought it worth a read. I actually went crazy on Sunday and bought 3 books. Not bad for someone who doesn't like owning

 On Saturday l went to a talk by Fiona Basile. Fiona is a photographer, journalist, writer and open water swimmer.  Immerse is a coffee table book that she has written about the Pole Dancers which is a group of open water swimmers who swim off Seaford beach. Most were there to hear about the swimming, l was there to hear about the photography. This project was born in COVID and the strict lockdowns we had in Melbourne. Although we couldn't go further than 5 kms we were allowed to go out for 2 hours and exercise keeping a clear distance from anyone else. I went out and walked for the whole 2 hours; Fiona discovered open water swimming. The book contains interviews as well as photos and, oh my, what beautiful photos. Seaford is a southern beach side suburb in Melbourne and these photos were taken in Port Philip Bay, Melbourne's bay, my bay. There is no photoshopping or tweaking, no need for all that. Each photo shows the beauty and might of the sea. Most were taken when Fiona was

  I call myself a patron of the arts but would love to be artistic too. Well, it starts today.... Wish me luck.

Do you keep reading a book even if it's not interesting. Do you think once started it needs to be finished? There are 2 books in Books on Wednesday this week. Do l normally read more than one book a week, no, but l did start 2 this past week. Do you keep books and re-read your favourites? I don't. Once a book is read it is passed onto someone else to enjoy. I know some people love their books and have groaning bookcases full to the brim. Good luck to those people but l am not one of them. Books can take over and personally l would rather pass it on and love the thought of a book going from hand to hand. Garry Disher is this weeks author. He is a well known Australian author and his books are based in Melbourne, my home town. He is also a recipient of the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction. His main character is Wyatt and this character features in both books. Watch the video and see what l thought of them.

Do you like Swing music? I love Swing music and l saw a great show on Friday.  There was a smaller band; piano, drums, upright bass, 2 saxophones, a trumpet and a trombone and a good singer Tom Burlinson.  This music doesn't go out of fashion, nor does the dancing. Look at all the Swing dancing on YouTube and listen to that wonderful music. The show covered songs from the 40s and 50s yet they still sounded fresh. Both shows were sell outs and l saw the 2nd show at 1.30.  What a treat. Definitely a great start to the 2024 Morning Melodies.

 Apologies there is no arts on Friday. Busy week and no internet into the house this week. Will be back on Monday bigger and better.