It's moments like these...

With 8 years and 200,000 kilometres under my still oversize belt, certain aspects of travelling with Australia's largest street organ have become more or less automatic but occasionally hiccups occur, such as the time last year in Tasmania where, having manuevred into a particularly tight shopping mall, I opened the covers with a flourish to reveal the organ facing the wall directly behind me. Murphy knows full well that his law can strike anytime as this morning in Rockhampton showed only too well...

I've always known I've had a bit of old P. T. Barnum in me. I have developed an opening routine reminiscent of the Wurlitzer days of the cinema where the organ slowly rose from the depths of the theatre while the organist, with what seemed an unatural number of arms and legs, thundered out the opening bars of an impressive overture.

Australia Fair is constructed with a most imposing facade. However, the top portion is only that, with nothing behind it, which serves to add proportion to this most noble of instruments. When travelling this folds flat to enable us to safely negotiate any low level surprise that Australia's road system can spring upon the unwary traveller. Her cleverly engineered trailer has a roof which can be raised pneumatically to accomodate the increased height whilst performing. This I do in a dramatic fashion to the opening bars of the first book through the keyframe which leaves my audience gaping in admiration much as those cinema audiences of past years.

This morning, with a larger than usual audience thanks to some good television exposure last night, I chose for my opening "Phantom of the Opera" which, with its thundering base chords, is the most effective opening all. In my haste to open, I neglected to leave enough slack in the power chord to allow the roof to reach its full height. As it was, with only another inch to go, the power cord decided it could no longer ignore the basic laws of physics and parted. The music stopped dead, the lights went out and the roof started to sink slowly back to its rest position. The sudden and complete silence only accentuated the loud "***EXPLETIVE***!!!" that came from somewhere behind the organ - most unfortunate as a large portion of the audience composed tiny tots and their mums (Tweedly's horn would have squawked itself hoarse).

I like to think that I learn from experience and hopefully this one won't be repeated, but as Murphy also knows, his law comes to the fore when you least expect it.

'Bye for now,
Damon and Noni