Pages 24-32 - Nimbin Good Times

all in one canoeNo-one is a stranger, everyonebelongs,Sailing all together, singing thesame sweet song,Sharing our destination, nomatter where we’re from,Aloha, Aloha, will carry usalong.Grey clouds may seem to gather,turning daytime into night,Fear, pain and sorrow,darkening the light,Love, joy and friendship maydisappear from sight,Aloha, Aloha, will make thefuture bright.Peace is our journey, spirit isthe crew,Home is our direction, love iswhat we do,Helping one another, sail acourse that’s true,Aloha, Aloha, All in one canoe,Aloha, Aloha, All in one canoe.Hands across the ocean, heartsacross the sea,Time to come together, one bigfamily,From the mountains to theocean, it calls to me and you,Aloha, Aloha, All in one canoe.The old ones and the youngones, the rich and homeless too,People from everywhere, justlike me and you,We share the same intention,one single point of view,Aloha, Aloha, We’re all in onecanoe,Aloha, Aloha, All in one canoe.www.reverbnation.com/mookxhanley/songsIn theWoodenbong hillsby Marilyn ScottStaying positive, focused andevolved is a good thing as theenergies continue to rock and roll.It’s been a big year and it’s not over yet.So much is happening, and not just onthe outside. It’s happening inside us.There’s a call to be awake, to be true,to be real, a call for conscious awareness,to be a human being.We’ve all been gifted with Life forwhat is really a very short time. We areborn, we live and at some time we allneed to go. It’s the way of things here.We have these precious bodies thathouse our hearts and souls. We carrythe spark of the Divine, each of us hereto manifest our highest good.Mookxamitosisby Brendan (Mookx) HanleyOne night in ByronBay about 5 yearsago, I was privilegedto play music, sing for, andlisten to tales-of-old from aHawaiian Grandmother. Theawesome story of those firstPolynesian adventurers whorowed their dugout canoesright across the wild PacificOcean, guided only by thestars and a song. Arrivingon a lava outcrop milesfrom anywhere, with onlyfour species of plant life andlittle else in evidence, theyjourneyed back and forth totheir old home, returningtime and time again withkids, mums and dads, chooks,pigs, root vegies, plants ...whatever it took to turn theHawaiian Islands into thelush Tropic wonderland thatwe see today. Boat people.In Fremantle in 1988,when our band was hiredto welcome the First FleetRe-enactment tall ships, wesat and listened to the eventDirector Jonathan Kingtalk about things that helearnt at sea on the journeyfrom Old Blighty to Oz.His main impression washow life on board one ofthose ships in massive seasmeant total dependence onone another, responsibilityfor your own shit (literally)and the resultant realisationthat Mother Earth wasnothing more than a big shipsailing through space. Theimplication here is of coursethat what applies to the littleships applies to the big shipas well.The Hawaiian Grannyreferred to it as “All in oneCanoe”. We ARE ALL inone big canoe ... the planetis home for all species. Mostof us who live in Oz haveancestors who were boatpeople. What if the Originalswho have lived here forMillennia were in a positionto tell us to piss off and goback home when we staggeredup on shore in chains, or halfdead, fleeing persecution,imprisonment, torture, warand famine?Then came all the “wogs”and “poms” and “reffos” whowere seduced out here forten quid to fill the factoriesin the 50s ... and the cheaplabour that Multinationalsbring here to this very day toundercut our own workers ...they’re boat people too ... butthey’re okay because big bizsays so.There’s a picture goingaround Facebook of apatronising billboardTo help, to heal, to nurture, to love andprotect – human beings have been givena lot to share. What do I do with my bit?We live in times of unprecedentedchange: the ending of an Age, the birthof a new way. Things can be delicate atthese times.It needs all of us to be on board. Whatkind of world do we want to create? Aworld of love, of caring, of sharing, aworld of wellness, happiness and peace.A world where each and every oneof us experiences dignity, peace andprosperity.A world where kindness fills the air,where there’s respect for all living life.You may call me a dreamer but my feetare planted firmly on the Earth (I’m adouble Earth sign!).erected by the AustralianGovernment in sometormented country, tellingpeople not to come to Ozseeking asylum, but tostay in their safe, familiarenvironment with theirfriends, families etc. In thephoto foreground, the streetis splattered with blood andlittered with headless torsoesand severed body parts. Goodone Oz!I met a lovely family whospent years behind razor wirein SA, kids and all (one bornin there). They had escapedbeing stoned to death at homebecause of so-called “religious”choices they had made. Camehere to start a new life. Dowe really think people puttheir whole lives, familiesand futures on the line todribble out here in stinking,dangerous, overcrowded,exploitatively expensive boatsjust to “queue-jump” and leadthe good life? I don’t thinkso. Furthermore it seems thatthe real “queue-jumpers” comehere by plane with forgedpapers, passports, connectionsand all. Money talks.It’s time we boat peoplegot some compassion andopened our hearts and doorsto succour and shelter thosemuch less fortunate than ushere in the “Lucky Country!”There’s no room for namecalling,mud-slinging,slogan-shouting bigotry inthis day and age. There’sroom for people though ... andplenty of it.We’re all in one canoe.I am no fool, and neither are you. Weknow what to do. We just need to stayfocused, conscious and aware of Life,the magick ingredient, without whichnothing exists!It’s as if we’re at a crossroad: shall weturn left or right? Stay in the same old,same old groove or be brave and ventureout onto a brand new road?Nothing will remain the same,regardless of what we choose. There’sno stopping time, and the evolutionaryprocess is now at a peak. The Earth willsoon make a stand; then we’ll see who’sreally in charge.In reality our needs are simple. Butwe’ve also been lulled into a way ofliving in our western world, a consumersociety, a profit-before-people worldthat’s not sustainable and will notcontinue.So we need to do things differently.Pay attention to everything that’shappening. It’s not a time to do thingsunconsciously just ‘because that’s alwaysthe way we’ve done it. The times are fartoo dangerous for that.We need to be awake, alert andpresent. We need to be human beingswith heart and soul, part of one largehuman family.Dr. Feelgoodhito D”, that’s what“Swe called ChateauDouglas, an apology fora winery, located a fewkilometres north of Sconein the upper Hunter Valley.I’d accepted a contract aswinemaker for the 1983vintage at this abysmal place,which was in receivershipand neglect. Despite thestate of decay of muchof the grape processingequipment, the place stillhad the rudiments to processFruit of the Vineby Terry Beltranethe additional fruit my “boss” needed but didn’t have thecapacity or equipment to manage the extra volumes inhis small winery. I arrived to find that the cellar handsemployed to help me were all second year studentsbeginning their compulsory assignments in practicalcellar operations to complete their degree in Bachelorof Oenology. They were a great bunch of blokes, totallycommitted, enthusiastic and completely inexperienced inwinery practices and safety. I spoke to the “boss” and said“I can’t make your wine and supervise these blokes at thesame time and I need a good cellar master; I’ve got theperfect bloke at the end of a phone. Book him a fare and flyhim up tomorrow”.Phil Dohnt (we called him Phil Does ‘cause he doeseverything) arrives a day later and begins to direct andinstruct the students in his casual, convivial mannerand everything is as smooth as it could be under thecircumstances. About four weeks into vintage the ‘boss’ tellsme that there won’t be any fruit delivered for a couple ofdays – ripper. I tell the cellar hands they can take a couple ofdays of R&R and they all go off to party and visit family andfriends, wherever they were, except Phil who decides to staylocal and check out some action in nearby Muswellbrook.So, I’m on my own that night doing the rounds of all thetanks checking out the fermentations for temperature, sugarlevels and any aromas indicating potential problems frommicro organic spoilage or sulphide development.(Note: Grapes grown in the Hunter Valley are prone tofungal infections because of the warm and generally humidclimatic conditions, especially during ripening and theJanuary to March harvest period (hello Nimbin). Whenthese humid conditions prevail, vineyards are often sprayedwith copper sulphate based solutions to inhibit the spreadof these fungal problems on both the leaves and fruit onthe vine. The residual sulphide on the grapes can result inthe formation of Hydrogen sulphide, commonly known as“rotten egg gas”, which, if ignored, can totally ruin whateverwine you are making. There’s some interesting and complexchemistry involved here involving yeast autolysis, andmaybe I’ll get into that another time).Back to Phil; who arrives back at Shito D in the earlymorning hours. Within two hours of him crashing out fora day’s rest, a truck arrives at the crusher with 25 tonnes oftop quality Chardonnay from Cowra – and I’m on my own.Frantically thumping on the door of his cabin, I manage toget him out of bed and have to beg for his help. Petulantly,in his state of discombobulation, he says, “But you said wehad a couple of days off ”. “Sorry mate, but that’s how itgoes. Here, have one of these” and I give him a 60mg tabof ephedrine which I’d scored from a close friend, beinga GP, who was sympathetic and understanding of thelong hours involved during vintage. Within five minutes,Phil was ‘Spiderman’ for the next ten hours. “How manymore of those suckers do you have”? “No Phil, they’re foremergencies only.” “But Dr. Feelgood, this whole fuckin’winery is an emergency.”For wine info, email: terryb88@tpg.com.auDriveway & Landscaping Supplies• Sand & Gravels • Garden Soils & Mulches• Decorative Pebbles • Truck Hire• Delivery to all areasMon-Fri 7:00am to 5:00pm • Sat 7:00am to 1:00pm187 Casino Street, South LismorePhone 6622 8890Page 28 The Nimbin GoodTimesAugust 2013– FLOOR SANDING –New & old floors, verandahs, decks• Free quotes & advice• Prompt service• Quality workassured• All areas servicedRob Clark ph 6632-3342 or 0410-016-694ABN 93 105 831 192nimbin.goodtimes@gmail.com