I first met Doc Neeson of The Angels in 1984. We were sharing a caravan back-stage at Narara, perhaps the largest outdoor music festival I'd ever been to... both then, and in recent years. I was just a couple of months out of Private Lives and writing for On The Street.

We were bequeathed the caravan by an RCA Records A & R person who had left the festival early. Prior to that I'd been sleeping under a tree! A third person, a girl whose name I can't remember, a friend of a friend, and quite beautiful in that true sense of beauty, kept both the Doc and I enthused to the point of exhaustion... we talked till sun up, well after she'd fallen asleep.

We talked about books... Gormenghast I think... Buddhism, song-writing, performing and audiences we'd encountered over the years... the rest is a blur. I was probably stoned, most likely holding back a cold from having slept outside and certainly pumped from having seen Talking Heads, Simple Minds... from standing behind David Byrne in the food cue, from seeing Chrissie Hynde and wondering why all these people, from her to Mr Byrne to Jim Kerr, whom Chrissie had met and fallen in love with there, were so short!

The Doc and I ran into each other once or twice since then, but that Narara was so amazing in itself, having had that one conversation lingered till this day... and it was a day such as this, only a week or so ago, that I caught up Peter Bain-Hogg and some how we got talking about Sydney and the early 80's, neither of us aware that we'd both lived, worked and played there, and of course, knew many of the same people and bands.

Peter's the EP and co-founder of Rockwiz and informed me that the Doc was to be at the next shoot and that I should come along and hook up! After all these years, I couldn't think of anything better to do. But alas, I didn't make it. Not only was I working at OPEN CHANNEL till all hours, I was suddenly alarmed by the prospect of being shown a bridge back to that world, a world I had so much to do with and do very much miss.

A few text messages later, the shoot was over and Peter told me the Doc had most certainly remembered me and that caravan, at that most astonishing of festivals.

Over the past couple of years, perhaps the most challenging thus far, I've become increasingly tired and some what forgetful... the small things get easily overlooked, however in recent weeks I've found myself, for example, reading dates entirely differently to what they are. I've had so much going on simultaneously, professionally and personally, that I've overlooked the one thing required to keep body and soul in-tact. ME!

Since that brief break over Christmas and time out on international flights, I've worked pretty much rock solid on OPEN CHANNEL. In the 6 weeks leading up to the launch not a single day went by without work being the  primary function. Three weeks prior to the launch it was 7 days a week, round the clock. Not that I'm complaining, I've got one of the best jobs in the country... at least for someone of my disposition, but I've not found the balance between it and other needs.

With that, and any time I have spare to fulfil my APC Board commitments, both as Executive Board member of the international APC and as Director of the local APC.au. With what's left I've managed to squeeze in rehearsals and a smidgen of time in the studio, getting to the markets and finding another place to live... Then there's still coming to terms with the end of the most important and longest relationship to date. Then there's the anxiety one feels as a result of the grim nature of international events: global warming and the ominous cloud of fear cast over Australia and much of the world... Hell, I'm burnt out!

I've just had an enforced four days off. But it has been hard to not think of OPEN CHANNEL, managing phone calls and the day to day responsibilities of a Director. However, these past few days afforded me time enough to allow some perspective on all this. Time to make some changes whilst I still can... Going to Currajuggle next weekend.

Melbourne’s Polyester Books, on Brunswick St, is a phenomenon, not least for its hardy resilience in the face of narrow-minded attacks from authorities and certain sectors of the community alike. Now it faces a new threat – the extinction of the artistic culture it grew up in. Andrew Garton spoke with the store’s founder, Paul Elliot.

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Son of Science appeared at the OPEN CHANNEL SHED 4 launch, 5 July, performing a rare 15 minute set in one of the largest remaining industrial spaces in Melbourne.

The new new line-up: Adrian Symes on reeds and Chip Wardale on bass. Mark Tallon (vocals), John Power (visuals) and myself on everything else. Adrian and Mark may be remembered for their strange and enigmatic days as No More Bandicoots!

Back in the studio soon to get these new parts down... when I'm not writing it's generally the best time to do this kind of studio work.

My "other" sister and her bloke, that's Annette and Ian, are both well into their cooking. And why wouldn't they be? The Garton's are traditionally kitchen fiends and with three Taurus's in the family, we are bound to demand significant culinary enthusiasm from our partners...

So, I helped them out once more with a new website... this time, getting them into the wide world of blogs, where they can share their fine and fiery creations, particularly Ian, who knows what to do with blachan and where this stuff comes from.

Got a hot food recipe to share, tell Whitepppa, or is that White Pappa?

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