And so this is Christmas (John and Yoko)

Yes I know - it's bin and dun but I'm a little backed up with posts and photos. Please forgive me.

This year we were at home for the first time in a while (last year it was China's winter wonderland remember) and so were Adam and Ashleigh (from Japan) and Jade (Palmerston North).

Time for a Nu Zild Purdy Christmas - that means trifle and more trifle!

Spot the Dookie

4/6

Shock horror - Adam goes for the trifle

Love and Peace - Wozza

A constant vogue of triumphs (Yes)

Wahey - another couple of whanau members have appeared centre stage in various forms.

A huge well done to Bambino (a.k.a. Adam Lennon Purdy) for getting recognition for his music via a profile in Tearaway magazine. I was very pleased to see The Dead Sparrows getting a long overdue mention in the profile as well.

Adam was destined to have a career in music. I played loads of Beach Boys music to him while he was getting ready to launch himself upon the world. If you listen really carefully you can hear hints of Brian Wilson in his more lyrical moments.

If you are unfamiliar with Bambino go to http://tearaway.co.nz/2012/05/from-boy-to-bambino/ and that has links to Adam's music sites. The article is on that site too.

Fanfa (a.k.a. Samantha Mary Purdy) literally had her own centre stage moment this week at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington. She was not only the birthday girl on the 16th May but she was capped with her BA degree in the graduation ceremony on the 17th. Jade and Jesse joined me and SWMBO for the special occasion and the poses.

'A constant vogue of triumphs' indeed (scary how the music I listen to while I write these posts throws up the perfect line - Jon Anderson's lyric is from Close To The Edge by Yes).

Love and peace - Wozza

Here comes my baby, here she comes now (The Tremeloes)

Did you feel that slight shift in the planet's rotation on Friday? That was the world returning to its normal axis.

Yes SWMBO returned to the sandpit last week. It didn't take long before the Al Ain Malls experienced the return of Marm Jacky (who ever had 'shoes' as the first purchase in the sweepstake can collect their winnings!).

So, so good to have TLOML back at Yellow Jimi. The solo routine is definitely NOT for me!!!

It was also fantastic to get Adam's news - that as Bambino Beats he has signed a record deal with a U.K. label - Cult Classic Records - to further expand his digital audience.

We (the whanau) can all bask in his reflected glory. Great effort Adam - looking forward to your next release (and a mention on your wikipedia entry in the near future).



http://www.youtube.com/user/bambinobeats/feed

Love and peace - Wozza

Time wounds all heels (Groucho Marx)

This post is dedicated to Dulcie Mary Purdy (23 April 1930 - 4 November 1983) because without Dulcie's world there would be no Wozza's world!

Bambino's new collection

Part one: Take me to my city by the bay (Train)

A mini whanau update first:

Regular readers will know that I sometimes use the expression, "you've got to take the crunchy with the smooth". On a similar theme is, "sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you". The Arabic version of  all of that is, "Yawm 'asal wa yawm basal - one day honey, one day onions".

Our heart went out to Adam and his girlfriend when we learnt that they came home yesterday to find their house had been burgled.

All his computer gear which he uses to compose his music was gone, as were clothes and other items. Definitely eaten by the bear with crunchy onions thrown in.

On an (literally) upbeat note, Adam had only just released his third Bambino collection called 20 Days, 20 Acapellas.

He has written some stunning music to go with some classic rappers. You can download your very own copy at http://bambino1.bandcamp.com/album/20-days-20-acapellas-2011
and then write a comment on this blog to tell him what a stunner he is!

One of his sisters - Fanfa, on the other hand, was oblivious to this as she landed in San Francisco to begin her latest American adventure with Jesse and his extended family.

Over to her:

So now i am here, sitting in the sunshine writing you this email. The weather is beautiful, the ocean sounds amazing and i have no studies to worry about= heaven. I'm currently at Mike and Karin's house- looking for a place to live online. There are a lot of cool places, but a lot of competition. House prices are high so everybody is looking to rent. Jesse it doing great, he is at work at the moment (hanging Christmas lights for big companies and rich people- he loves it).

Definitely eating the bear with a smooth honey marinade.

Part two: Funny, but it seems that I always wind up-a here with you; Nice to know somebody loves me (The Carpenters).

I have used the blog since day 1 to address important events. When the calendar rolls around to November 4 I get a little more introspective than usual.

My mother (Dulcie Mary Purdy) passed away on November 4, 1983. She had battled with breast cancer for five years before that and was finally released from her suffering.

At the time I was living in New Plymouth, flatting with two girls - Anne and Moira. I'd been in New Plymouth since the start of the year because I'd started work at New Plymouth Boys' High School. My first English teaching job.

On February 26, 1983 I met a girl called Jacqueline Smith. I met Jacky (a.k.a. SWMBO, a.k.a. Umm Keegan) at a fancy dress party amid celestial choirs, cupid's darts of love, blinding light, and other cosmic revelations.

We started spending time together and started getting to know each other's families along the way. F'rinstance, I flew down to Invercargill to meet her mum, Pat, and the Southland branch of Jacky's family.

I had also taken Jacky to meet mum and dad in Auckland.

By November of that year it was clear that mum's cancer was taking a big toll.

Mum, me, Deedoo, Ross, Grandma

I got the call from her doctor the week before she died.

The school was very good about giving me leave and Jacky and I travelled north.

Mum had been hospitalised at the Mater Hospital and I will never ever forget the stairwell and the walk to her room each time we went to see her.

I will never forget the last time I saw her and said goodbye and went spinning from her room into an unknown world that didn't include her.

She was my buddy and had been around for my first 26 years.

The serene and beautiful Jacky has been around for the last 28 years. I would say I have doubly blessed.

It was very fitting that I've just watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy where the Cristina Yang character says this to her patient's child:

If your mum dies you feel a lot of things. First you'll feel like you could have done more to help her but it's not true. You did everything you could. Won't feel that way but...let me tell you this - you did everything you could. And it'll hurt every time you think of her. But over time it will hurt less and less and eventually you'll remember her and it'll only hurt a little.

They certainly got that right - there will never be a time that it doesn't hurt!

Love and peace mum - Warren

Dancing softly for gold (Bambino/ Keegan)

It is said, that the beelzebub is in the detail.

I thought it may be fun to document the detail for once (and I promised pictures of the baking don't forget).

Some you'll get, some you won't. It just doesn't matter, it just doesn't matter, it just doesn't matter.

See - it really is like dancing softly for gold (which in itself is a detail from Keegan's extraordinary poem that Bambino set to music in a song called My Brother - see last posting for the link to it).

Love and peace - Wozza

I saw a shadow touch a shadow's hand (Simon and Garfunkel)

There are some individual celebrations to note this week - the first hurrah is for the arrival of a baby girl, Ella, in the shire, thanks to Janice, and the second wahoo is for the release of Adam's new collection of music under his Bambino moniker. It's called Cold Wood Burn and you can download it here:

http://bambino1.bandcamp.com/album/cold-wood-burn-2011

I urge you to take the trouble to download and listen. Here are some review comments from an unbiased source (i.e not me)

This new release pretty much refines the trademark ‘Bambino sound’ that was established on Monitors, covering some familiar ground while exploring some new directions as well.   

There is a good amount of variety in the tracks which makes for an interesting listen from start to finish. The range of vocal stylings (singing, rapping, speaking, sampled voice) give additional flavour to each track and deliver a sense of diversity that blurs the very definition of instrumental music where voice becomes simply another proponent of mood and/or melody. At first I thought this might make the changes between tracks seem a bit jarring but it’s all integrated quite seamlessly and bound together by the uniform production values. Overall there’s a lot of atmosphere, I like the deep reverbs and textures in parts. 

The speaking on ‘My Brother’ is really cool, normally I cringe a bit at spoken word in a New Zealand accent but this was perfect, intense but not over worked. I love the lyrics, made especially powerful by the dissonance of the (amplified/overdriven?) keys. Great track.Probably my favourite aspect of the album has been just putting it on and letting it run, there is a style and atmosphere to it which is not only enjoyable to listen to but above all, unique. 

There you have it - go take a listen!


Love and peace - Wozza