Mary Gauthier- Relinquished Child

Last night I went to see a gig at the East Brunswick Club with Mary Gauthier - an American folksinger/ alt-country singer from New Orleans. To be honest I had never heard of her before but her performance was amazing, inspiring, comical, reflective and passionate!! It was certainly a journey......

Her newest album "The Foundling" from which she played the majority of her set, reflects the journey of a relinquished child. As I lack the ability to sum this experience up myself, I will take the liberty of using words from her website:

"Those familiar with the bones of Mary Gauthier’s life may find it difficult to choke back the emotion of the album, from the Gypsy-flavored opening of the Gypsy-flavored opening of “The Foundling” (“a baby unwanted, unloved, and unblessed/ Left on a doorstep, an unbidden guest”), to the upbeat bluegrass groove on the bittersweet “Good Bye” (“I hit the wall then I hit the highway/ I’ve got the curse of a gypsy on my soul”); from the crushing phone conversation with the mother who refuses to meet her, “March 11, 1962” (“You say that I’m a secret, nobody knows/ And you can’t talk about it now, and you really gotta go,” co-written with Liz Rose), to the final epilogue of “Another Day Borrowed” (“I shook my fist at my father’s rage, I cursed my mother’s sadness/ But every home I tried to call my own, washed into a river of madness,” co-written with Darrell Scott)." (www.marygauthier.com)

I think you get the feel! What was interesting about the night too was that my friends mum came all the way from Frankston specifically to see Mary Gauthier. The reason being, she is a relinquished mother, giving up her son in the late 60's/early 70's (bit unsure of details). She was catholic, unwed and when she gave birth was convinced by the nuns and partially drugged up to sign him away for adoption. She has since made contact, but I believe her son has a lot of identity/relationship issues perhaps due to his so called "abandonment". I think Mary's songs would have resonated deeply......

That being said, we all had a wonderful time.... It was a night of good people, wonderful music, a story of a life journey and the infinate human capacity to believe in love!! :)

Love and light

Briony

Urban Hunter Gatherer

Sorry for being away so long... I think I lost some inspiration and the world took over and I kinda got lost in just living.... Summer was a wonderful time full of beaches, pools, warmth, light, gin and tonics and lovely people but obviously now the wheel of seasons has turned and it is Autumn. So here goes.... back on the wheel and ready to spin for the rest of the year!!!

Urban hunter gatherer.... not sure about the hunting bit, but gathering is certainly quite possible in the urban nooks and crannies of Melbourne and surrounds. Hard rubbish collections are one way to collect all those treasures that others may consider junk. I know in the past few months, I have gathered a table, a block of sandstone to rest a potplant, a great garden ornament made out of an old skateboard painted in designs, a green lush velvet chair and quite a significant toy for my son....its just a matter of keeping your eyes open!

But what got me so excited today was a site called Feral Fruit Trees, http://feralfruitmelbourne.wordpress.com. What a wonderful initiative, now in your local area you can source fruit that is ripe for the picking. I quickly discovered, that I have plums and grapes ready to eat right near my local railway station.... yummo!! Obviously this site will only work broadly if people continue to put up locations where fruit is to be found, but as an idea it rocks!!

On that note, if you are around and like the idea of eating fruit.... there is a great festival on this Sunday called Petty's Orchard Antique Apple Festival. It runs from 10am-4pm at Petty's Orchard- Cnr Monckton & Homestead Rds - Templestowe. Obviously lots of apples to taste, apple cider to buy, local produce stalls etc.... But it is also a family friendly event with music from Zucchini and Peter Combe. Another highlight for me would be a presenation by David Holmgren! Adults $10, Children $2 and Family $20.

Apples, apples, apples .......

Written by Briony