Barb Jungr - A Letter From Australia

On a day off from my 11 date Australian tour, I'm in the rain forest doing yoga. Its great being a singer, and then I think "I must remember this feeling, next time I'm in Milton Keynes".  I'm here because in 2006 I appeared at The Adelaide Cabaret Festival and met the wonderful Gaynor Crawford, who swore to bring me back. So here I am in down-under springtime, dreaming songlines and singing with the Australian pianist Matthew Carey and tour manager Tyson.  

Jetlagged, I arrived to a seemingly endless stream of phone-ins and interviews with journalists and radio stations, plus an appearance on a morning show hosted by the Australian equivalent of Oprah, Kerri Anne. My Godmother who lives in Melbourne, and for whom the word tact has no meaning and who age has given carte blanche to say anything, said "you looked fat on TV the cameramen must be terrible" and "are you wearing those clothes on stage because I don't think they suit you" So I knew it had gone well.  

My first show was in Sydney at the Basement, modelled on Ronnie Scott's, and was fab. It followed an afternoon of whale watching far out at sea. We only just made it back since the captain can't start the engines if the whales are too close and there was a pair of beautiful humpbacks having fun playing around and under the boat.  

Next stop was the Blue Mountains for a show around the corner from the sacred sandstone monument The Three Sisters. I ran down to check them before the show as the sun was going down - a transcendental experience. The show that night was in the little music hall at The Clarendon Hotel, Katoomba, which I was told is haunted. Since I sleep in the trademark Gloria Swanson bedtime mask and earplugs, a host of ghosts could have tap-danced down the stairs and I wouldn't have known.  

We followed that with a return to Adelaide where I was found by Australia's bright new film-maker Alex Frayne whose ‘Modern Love' is terrific, and invited to breakfast with the founder of the Adelaide Cabaret festival Frank Ford and his partner Sam in their beautiful home.   Then to Melbourne to play Manchester Lane, a near perfect supper club of the kind London no longer has since the demise of Pizza On The Park. The audience were delightful and my Godmother said "you really are terrific on stage, where did it come from? Not your parents".  

From there to the wonderfully weird Gold Coast Sound Lounge upstairs of a haven of ex servicemen and their bejewelled wives of (very) advanced ages playing fruit machines, then to Brisbane and the stunning Judith Wright Theatre, a lovely space with great staff in a stunning boom town city of skyscrapers and sun.  

Today I saw a green snake , lizards, couple of heron, a crane and  a sea the colour of emeralds. I feel a huge fondness for this wild country. I know about the water shortages, the gold rushes and the way that the moon hangs differently in the sky at night. I must remember all of this next time I'm in a jam on the M1!   Barb Jungr  24th September ‘07