For those shivering on a cold Christmas Day, I thought you may like to see a little of how we celebrate in Australia.
The first video is Aussie Jingle Bells from Bucko and Champs. It’s a little closer to the truth as far as an Australian Christmas Day goes.
More great Christmas music. This time from Rolf Harris … and a little help from Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt.
Are you interested in travelling the Road to Bethlehem?
We’ve been to visit the Road to Bethlehem production each December for several years but things are now a little bit different. Our daughter Emily, son James and I will be taking part once again as members of the acting cast. We play …. well …. a family. We’ll be one of the teams of guides taking people from scene to scene.
The Road to Bethlehem is a remarkable portrayal of the Christmas story in the form of a free, interactive, dramatised experience featuring dozens of actors and singers.
The idea is that you’re taken back in time to witness the events of the first Christmas as they unfold, providing a unique entertainment experience that the whole family enjoys.
Travel back in time and take a journey through the streets of Jesus’ birthplace – Bethlehem. See a wiseman discovering prophecies of Jesus’ birth, enjoy the atmosphere of the marketplace, discover the extravagance of Herod’s Palace and the excitement of the shepherds as they are told of Jesus’ birth.
But watch out, don’t get in the way of the Caesar’s soldiers or you may just end up spending the night in prison, and beware of the snake-oil salesmen in the marketplace – they don’t take no for an answer.
Allow time to enjoy the food and free family entertainment in the Welcome Area. Plenty to do and see including camel rides, Mary’s Kitchen, bouncy castle, Joseph’s Workshop, vegetarian cooking demonstrations and much, much more!
Instead of sitting down and watching a show, you walk from scene to scene as you travel to your destination, the stable. Live animals, great humour and some wonderful angelic choirs add to the experience.
Before and after you’ve trod the Road to Bethlehem you can spend time in the welcome area where you’ll be entertained, take part in craft activities or even buy a meal.
Road to Bethlehem is hosted each year by the Livingston SDA Community Church in Canning Vale. It runs for three nights each year. It’s on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, the 12th, 13th and 14th of December. It starts at 7 o’clock each night and there’s free parking at Canning Vale College in Dumbarton Road with courtesy shuttle buses to take you to and from the church grounds.
I’d love to see you there.
Arthur C. Clokey, the creator of Gumby, brought a lot of happiness to a lot of children. His legacy lives on with many Gumby products still available for sale today. Sadly his childhood wasn’t as happy as many of those he entertained. Art died peacefully in his sleep the morning of the 8th of January 2010 at the age of 88.
The blog post I wrote at the time of his death still attracts visitors every day and with Google celebrating what would have been Clokey’s 90th birthday yesterday, I’ve seen a big increase in hits on this blog.
After the Gumby series, Art Clokey went on to create the Christian animation series, Davey and Goliath. The Lutheran Church and Art Clokey teamed up to make the first Davey and Goliath episode in 1960 called “Lost In A Cave”. In 2004 Art Clokey’s son, Joe, produced a new episode, “Davey and Goliath’s Snowboard Christmas.”
I loved my Gumby toy when I was a child and I still have a Gumby on my desk at work. Gumby is a reminder of a happy childhood. I didn’t know the truth behind the childhood of his creator until after he passed away.
When Clokey was 9 years old, his parents divorced and he stayed with his father. After his father died in a car accident, he went to live with his mother in California, but was placed in a half-way house orphanage after one year because his stepfather did not want him around. At age 12, he was adopted by Joseph W. Clokey, a classical music composer and organist who taught music at Pomona College in Claremont, California, and who encouraged young Arthur’s artistic inclinations. The aesthetic environment later became the home of Art Clokey’s most famous character, Gumby, whose name derives from Art Clokey’s childhood experiences during summer visits to his grandfather’s farm, when he enjoyed playing with the clayey mud called “gumbo.” – Wiki
What a sad start to life for Clokey but what an amazing turn around.
Life is a ‘little’ more normal this week. I spent last week broadcasting from the Perth Royal Show.
The video above gives you a very small taste of my week. If I included everything I saw and did you’d be watching videos all week so I’ve distilled a few moments from the show into less than 90 seconds.
It’s on again.
The Perth Royal Show begins at the Claremont Showgrounds this Saturday and runs until the following Saturday the 8th of October.
The Perth Royal Show is Perth’s biggest community event attracting 400 000 visitors from the city and the country every year. It has a history spanning over 170 years and serves to showcase WA agriculture, small business and entertainment.
An interesting element of this year’s show is that it’ll be smoke free for the third year. Smokers will have one area within the showgrounds where they can light up while the rest of the event will be free of second hand cigarette smoke. It’s a great move forward.
Thanks to the State Government’s support of CHOGM 2011, all children aged 12 years and under will receive free entry to this year’s Perth Royal Show when accompanied by an adult.
98.5 Sonshine FM is broadcasting live from the show for the first seven days.
I’m really looking forward to presenting my Morning Café radio programme, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Monday to Friday next week as well as hosting this Sunday from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.
I’ll have a range of interesting guests and will probably get involved in some weird situations.
If you’re thinking of heading to the show this year, make sure you drop in to our broadcast centre and say hello. We’re be overlooking the main arena right next to the Members’ Grandstand.
Broadcasting from the show instead of our Como studios will almost double the distance I’ll have to cycle which will be great training for our cancer ride coming up in a few weeks.
