The Dance

I love this country song sung by Garth Brooks. It epitomises how I feel about my relationship with Ally.

The Dance

Lookin' back on the memory of

The dance we shared beneath the stars above

For a moment all the world wasn't right

How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye?

And now, I'm glad I didn't know

The way it all would end, the way it all would go

Our lives are better left to chance

I could've missed the pain

But I'd had to miss the dance

And holding you, I held everything

For a moment, wasn't I the king?

If I'd only known how the king would fall

Hey, who's to say, you know I might have changed it all

And now, I'm glad I didn't know

The way it all would end, the way it all would go

Our lives are better left to chance

I could've missed the pain

But I'd had to miss the dance

It's my life, it's better left to chance

I could've missed the pain

But I'd had to miss the dance

Memorable moments: Love, sweet love, and a little squirt of soap

I live right next to Brennan Park in Waverton, which is a beautiful stretch of green, but its true crowning glory isn’t the trees or the harbor views—it’s the toilet.

When friends from overseas visit, I don’t just take them to the Opera House; I take them on a formal tour of the public amenities. It is a masterclass in automated hospitality. You walk in, and the door glides shut with a soft, futuristic click. Then, a warm, friendly voice fills the small space: "Welcome and enjoy your experience here!"

Before you can even process the invitation to "enjoy" a public restroom, the soundtrack begins. It doesn't just play elevator music; it plays the classics, including the theme of "What the World Needs Now Is Love, Sweet Love." There you are, in a public park in Sydney, experiencing a moment of profound, melodic encouragement in the most unlikely of settings.

When the "experience" is complete, the voice returns with a gentle reminder: "Thank you for using me. Please wash your hands." It then punctuates the request by dispensing a perfect, polite little squirt of soap.

I love Brennan Park, but I love that toilet even more. It is a rare and wonderful thing to find a piece of technology that seems genuinely invested in your well-being. In a world that can often feel cold and mechanical, this little booth stands as a beacon of programmed sincerity—offering music, hygiene, and a small, automated reminder that what the world really needs is a little more care and a clean set of hands.

Music

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. Red Auerbach

 

Music, to me, is one of the great gifts of being alive. Nothing makes me feel like music and often it facilitates a sacred release. My preferred way of listening to music is to play it through my headphones and focus mindfully on the music alone, as a form of meditation. At times, I also like to listen to instrumental music while I work. 

Songs

• Songs I created (with help from AI)

Favourite music

• Nostalgic music
• Favourite songs
• Favourite music (spiritual)
• The soundtrack of my childhood & teens
• Albums I listened to over and over in my twenties
• Spotify playlists
• Nostalgic music from my childhood  (Spotify playlist)
• Nostalgic music from my twenties  (Spotify playlist)
• Nostalgic music from my thirties  (Spotify playlist)
• Nostalgic music from my fourties  (Spotify playlist)
• Nostalgic music from my fifties  (Spotify playlist)
• Favourite music from musicals  (Spotify playlist)
• Favourite spiritual music  (Spotify playlist)

Music from movies and TV

• My favourite instrumental music from movies  (Spotify playlist)
• My favourite songs from movies  (Spotify playlist)
• Nostalgic music: TV themes  (Spotify playlist)

Concerts & Musicals

• Music concerts I've been to
• Musicals
• Stage musicals I've been to

Technology

• Posts labelled as "music + technology"

Music listening ongoing

• All posts tagged "music"
• All posts tagged "live music"

⬇︎ Keep scrolling for all posts tagged as “Music”

Memorable moments: The grocer’s growl

In my neighborhood, there is a local grocer I visit almost every day. It’s run by a delightful Greek family—Vula, Steve, and their two sons, Dennis and Peter. They are the salt of the earth. Dennis, in particular, has always struck me as a gentle, quiet soul. He has a peaceful vibe and, notably, even less hair than I do.

When my friend Yogi and I heard that Dennis was the lead vocalist for a band, we were charmed. We imagined a night of smooth crooning or perhaps some laid-back, chilled-out acoustic numbers in accordance with his mellow personality. We decided to head down to the local pub to support him and the family.

We walked into the back room where the performance was starting. Vula, Steve, and Peter were already there, beaming with pride. Dennis stepped up to the microphone, took a deep breath, and suddenly:

"RAAAAAGH!!!!!"

He let out a guttural, earth-shaking bellow like a demented beast from the underworld. The band crashed in with a deafening, distorted roar that felt like a physical blow to the chest. It turns out Dennis isn't a crooner; he’s the frontman for a high-octane Death Metal band.

The room transformed instantly into a sea of pumping vitality. The audience began thrashing and headbanging in a synchronized frenzy, and within sixty seconds, my ears were ringing with the force of a jet engine.

I beat a hasty retreat to the toilets, grabbed two massive wads of tissue paper, and performed a quick "field dressing" on my ears and Yogi’s to filter the noise down to a survivable level.

Once the initial shock wore off and the volume was somewhat muffled by the toilet paper, I actually started to get into it. There was an incredible, raw energy to the performance.

Now, whenever I go into the shop, I see Dennis in a completely different light. As he gently weighs my tomatoes and asks about my day, I can’t help but smile, knowing that beneath that calm, bald exterior lies a man who spends his weekends screaming into the abyss—and that the abyss, quite clearly, screams back. It’s a beautiful reminder that you should never judge a man by his apron; he might just be a grocery clerk by day and a demonic deity by night.

Memorable moments: The logistical symphony

One evening, Ivor and I went to watch his little daughter perform at a school music evening. It was one of those classic parental milestones, but the physics of the event were spectacularly skewed.

When it was her turn, she appeared on stage looking tiny and delicate—followed by an adult lugging a cello that was quite clearly three times her size. It looked less like a musical instrument and more like a large wooden wardrobe she was expected to wrestle into submission.

What followed was a masterclass in slow-motion preparation. It took a solid twenty minutes of intense focus just to get the logistics right: the chair was adjusted, the music stand was maneuvered, the endpin was stabbed into the floor, and she spent an eternity shifting into the "exactly right" anatomical position to accommodate the giant mahogany beast.

Finally, after the Herculean setup was complete, she took a breath, gave what seemed like exactly three deliberate strokes of the bow, and... it was over. The performance lasted about thirty seconds. The ratio of "preparation" to "actual music" was mathematically absurd.

But she was absolutely adorable, and despite the comical brevity of the piece, Ivor was beaming. He was the picture of the proud father, unmoved by the fact that the setup had taken forty times longer than the symphony.

Watching Ivor that night, I realized that pride has nothing to do with the length of the performance. It’s about the twenty minutes of watching someone you love negotiate a truce with a giant wooden beast for the sake of three perfect notes.

Memorable moments: The profane pharaoh

At school, it was boys only—so naturally, boys had to play the female roles. For reasons no one ever fully explained, I became the go-to woman.

I played everything from anxious mothers to dramatic widows, but the peak was an elderly spinster on a plane who foils a hijacking attempt. I studied my gran for days—her posture, her voice, the way she pursed her lips at mild disapproval. It worked. I won the annual acting award.

But by my final year, I’d had enough.

“Bugger this,” I thought. “I want a masculine role.”

We were doing Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat, and I went straight for Pharaoh—the Elvis-style showstopper. Pelvic thrusts. Swagger. Power. Redemption.

Opening night: I cycled onto stage in padded cycling shorts (for reasons that made sense at the time), grabbed the microphone, and launched into full Elvis mode. The thrusts were… enhanced. The crowd loved it. Slight complication: my gran was in the second row, witnessing the entire evolution of her observational study in reverse.

But it was a triumph. Overnight, I went from deeply uncool to oddly legendary among the younger boys.

Then came the final night.

I cycled on. Big entrance. Huge energy. Grabbed the wired microphone… and nothing.

Silence.

Without thinking, I whispered loudly, “Switch on the effing microphone!”

At which exact moment… it switched on.

My voice boomed through the entire hall.

There was a stunned pause.

Then the biggest laugh of the entire show.

I set out to prove I was a man's man; I ended up proving that if you’re going to swear in front of your grandmother, you might as well do it in padded bike shorts with a backing band.

Favourite songs 2025: Save Your Tears

I discovered the joys of both Ariana Grande and The Weekend this year.

Favourite songs 2025: Popular

From the musical "Wicked"

Spotify Top Songs by Year

Spotify gives you a playlist of your most listened to songs by year. Unfortunately 2022 and 2020 won't embed here.

2024

   

 2023

   

 2021

 

A song for Helen, Chris's sister

Helen is unwell and Chris wanted to create a song for her expressing love. We had so much fun creating it.  Song creating is such a wonderful new creative outlet.

“Helen, You Still Bloom”

(from Chris to Helen)

Verse 1

You came along six summers after me,

Little bike wheels humming up and down that path so free.

I’d stand there teasing, blocking up your way,

You’d shout at me, then laugh again — that was our everyday.

I’d lift you on the bar of my old bike,

We’d ride and sing those silly tunes you always seemed to like.

“Riding along on a push bike, baby…” in the breeze,

A big dumb brother and his sister, happy as you please.

Chorus

Oh Helen, sweet Helen, you’re a gentle, shining soul,

With a heart that finds the smallest joys and makes the broken whole.

Like a lost cat in the shadows, you still purr and you still bloom,

You bring your light and laughter into every quiet room.

Oh Helen, my Helen, if you only truly knew,

How loved you are, how cherished — I’m so proud of you.

Verse 2

You watched the creatures roaming through the yard:

Duke the dog, and Twinkle in the garden standing guard.

Blossom with one bright eye, Tyler roaming free —

Each whiskered friend you gathered felt like family.

You’re the Jane Goodall of every cat,

Reading all their secret moods and knowing where they’re at.

Closer to the animals than the people sometimes too,

But that just showed the softness and the kindness deep in you.

Chorus

Oh Helen, sweet Helen, you’re a gentle, shining soul,

With a heart that finds the smallest joys and makes the broken whole.

Like a lost cat in the shadows, you still purr and you still bloom,

You bring your light and laughter into every quiet room.

Oh Helen, my Helen, if you only truly knew,

How loved you are, how cherished — I’m so proud of you.

Verse 3

Do you remember Susan with her mud-cake trick?

Hundreds and thousands sprinkled on — it got you pretty quick.

You took a bite and scrunched your face, I hurled one as she ran,

It splattered down her dress and back — oh, what a day we had!

And later on in Auckland, when you stayed a little while,

You found a job with films and walked with that proud smile.

Your own flat and a boyfriend, Sunday catch-ups too —

Those simple golden moments will always shine in view.

Verse 4

You loved the zoo, the music, all the 80s songs,

Singing in the kitchen, tapping rhythms all day long.

And every time you phoned me with a laugh or just a “Hey…”

I felt that little sister love in such a tender way.

You’ve always cared for others with a quiet, steady grace —

For Mum, for friends like Mavis, for each soul in every place.

You spread your warmth so easily, the way a candle does,

And every heart you touched still glows because of who you are — because…

Verse 5

And Marian’s been your anchor through the years,

Calling, visiting, steadying your fears.

A sister’s love that never fades away,

Your daily rock, your sunlight in the day.

And John once opened up his home to you,

Shared the shopping, shared the ordinary too.

Even through the storms his mind would send,

He offered you a place — a brother and a friend.

Final Chorus

Oh Helen, sweet Helen, you’re a gentle, shining soul,

With a heart that finds the smallest joys and makes the broken whole.

Like a lost cat in the shadows, you still purr and you still bloom,

You bring your light and laughter into every quiet room.

Oh Helen, my Helen, if you only truly knew,

How loved you are, how cherished — I’m so proud of you.

My first spiritual song

 

I created my first spiritual song with Suno, inspired by a poem I wrote in 2021.

Right now

Right now I Am…

   soaring high on outstretched wings

   opening my petals to the morning sun

   scurrying through a termite cathedral

  spinning an intricate web of silk

   trumpeting through an upturned trunk

   laying eggs in a little pond

   picking nits from my lover’s fur

   probing the damp soil with my spindly roots

   singing a duet through a twittering beak

   galloping along on mud-spattered hooves

   surfing waves with gleeful squeaks

   gazing out meditatively with large, luminous eyes

   stretching my branches up and out into the vast, open sky

   smelling for truffles with my sensitive, pink snout

   probing a hole in the rocks with a nimble tentacle

   paddling along a stream with powerful kicks

   hungrily sucking warm milk from my mother’s teat

   searching the ocean bed in search of a larger shell to call home

   charging headlong into the horns of another with a mighty clash

   licking my paws with a raspy tongue

   wriggling this way and that to shed my scaly skin

   breathing in air through my damp, permeable membrane

   bobbing up and down in an intricate dance with my life-long mate

   cutting the water with my dorsal fin

   rising up on thrusting haunches in orgasmic release

   stalking stealthily in pursuit of unsuspecting prey

   enclosing my young one in a protective embrace of flippers and feet

   staring patiently at the water with my rapier like bill ready to strike

   wagging my tail in unrestrained welcome

   sharing a belly-laugh with a beloved friend

   staring in wonder at a crimson sunset

   shedding grief-stricken tears at an untimely loss

   typing this poem with clumsy fingers and an open heart

All these things I, the Cosmic Mind,  experience in the timeless Now

and a quintillion quintillion more things

across countless different worlds and dimensions.

All experiences past, present, and future

exploding forth as pure perception from the Singularity I Am,

the Infinite Awareness I Am,

in a great, exultant cosmic bang,

creating the ultimate immersive, experiential work of art,

wondrous and beautiful,

epic and profound,

beyond all imagination.

Another spiritual song (entirely different!)

Based on a poem I wrote in 2021.

I Am

I am unremitting joy. I am utter despair.

I am languid peace. I am chaotic turmoil.

I am abundant generosity. I am insatiable greed.

I am adoring love. I am heartless indifference.

I am pure innocence. I am vulgar sleaze.

I am cocksure swagger. I am fearful doubt.

I am a shy smile.  I am a vicious snarl.

I am a soaring symphony. I am a fearful din.

I am a scurrying ant.  I am a motionless sloth.

I am a soaring eagle.  I am a crawling worm.

I am a gargantuan tree.  I am a tiny flower.

I am an omnipotent king.  I am a cowering subject.

I am an athletic champion.  I am a lazy slob.

I am a holy saint.  I am an atrocious tyrant.

I am an impenetrable jungle.  I am a withered land.

I am a  mountain peak.  I am a gaping abyss.

I am a blazing sun.  I am a planet of ice.

I am an endless galaxy.  I am a grain of sand.

I am a radiant light.  I am the darkest night.

I am this.  I am that.

I am here.  I am there.

I am him.  I am her.

I am you.  I am me.

I am the collective experience of all these things

and many, many more;

a kaleidoscope of a quintillion different perceptions

and I am that which makes experiencing possible.

I am the Eternal Subject

yet I also take the form of every object.

I Am All That Is.

I Am all Knowing.

I Am all Being.

I Am.

I Am.

I Am.

Written: 2021

A song I created for Jo

I had so much fun creating this for Jo.

 

My Sister, My Heart

Verse 1

We laughed till we cried, milk through your nose,

Secret looks when the chaos rose.

Marco Polo in the pool all day,

Chocolate stolen, we’d sneak away.

Dad combing hair while the drivers queued,

We rolled our eyes — our secret feud.

Two little rebels with hearts so free,

You were the world to me.

Chorus

My sister, my heart, my lifelong friend,

Through every beginning, through every end.

You lift my world with all you do,

There’s a sacred light that shines in you.

No distance dims, no time apart —

You’ll always be my sister, my heart.

Verse 2

Head girl smile, that fearless grace,

Gramps’s pride all over his face.

Eighteen years and you sailed away,

Canada called — you found your way.

Letters home made strangers cry,

Your words could always reach the sky.

And I just watched, so proud of you,

And loved you deeper too.

Chorus

My sister, my heart, my lifelong friend,

Through every beginning, through every end.

You lift my world with all you do,

There’s a sacred light that shines in you.

No distance dims, no time apart —

You’ll always be my sister, my heart.

Verse 3

Wedding bells and laughter strong,

A life of love where hearts belong.

Sam and Matt with eyes so bright,

You guide them softly through the night.

Photos, calendars, cards each year,

Your love made visible, ever near.

Home that glows with grace and art,

A mirror of your heart.

Verse 4

Orange River, sick and weak,

You rowed for two, you found my streak.

You called me boet with that gentle grin,

And pulled me back from the dark within.

Christmas cake and peppermint pie,

Thai curry under a Cape Town sky.

You made me laugh, reminded me,

Who I could be.

Chorus

My sister, my heart, my lifelong friend,

Through every beginning, through every end.

You lift my world with all you do,

There’s a sacred light that shines in you.

No distance dims, no time apart —

You’ll always be my sister, my heart.

Bridge

Through loss and tears, through joy and grace,

You’ve held the soul of our family place.

You spoke for Gran when I could not,

Your words — pure love, no second thought.

You’ve been my mirror, my laughter, my calm,

My shelter, my courage, my open palm.

Though years may fly and oceans part,

You’re still the home inside my heart.

Final Chorus (soft, reflective)

My sister, my heart, my lifelong friend,

You’ve been my home time and again.

From childhood days to skies brand new,

My deepest love will follow you.

Forever close, though miles apart —

You’ll always be my sister, my heart.

Forever my sister, my heart.

My first song: A song I created for mum with help from Suno

I've always wanted to be able to create special songs for people I love. Now it's possible. I'm so excited about it.

     

Thank You, Mum

Verse 1

Thank you for the gift of life,

For saying I was the cutest child alive.

For midnight cries and sleepless nights,

And for flying through my endless whines.

You gave me Jo, the best of friends,

A sister whose love will never end.

For crayon walls and sticky hands,

You still believed I’d do great things someday.

Chorus

Thank you, Mum — for everything and more,

For love that built the man I’ve become.

For the laughter, the care, the open door,

You’re my heart, my home — my mum.

Oh, thank you, Mum — for all you’ve done,

For the light you are, my only one.

Verse 2

For the ice creams, camping nights, and sea,

For every photo, memory, and melody.

For every toy, from Lego dreams

To roller skates and old machines.

For Sunday mornings under the sheets,

Your warmth was home, your smile complete.

For gentle words when I lost my way,

You helped me find my brighter day.

Bridge

For poems, pets, and birthdays bright,

For feeding hearts and appetites.

For roast beef, trifle, chocolate cold,

For teaching joy that never grows old.

For typing essays late at night,

And saying, “You’ll be fine, all right.”

For courage when Dad had gone away,

You held the sky and faced each day.

Verse 3

For Christmas smells and Easter treats,

For gentle talks and steady beats.

For all your love through highs and lows,

For giving space so I could grow.

For photos, calls, and midnight chats,

And every laugh we’ve shared like that.

For being you — so true, so kind,

The best mum any soul could find.

Final Chorus

Thank you, Mum — for everything and more,

For love that built the man I’ve become.

For the laughter, the care, the open door,

You’re my heart, my home — my mum.

Oh, thank you, Mum — for all you’ve done,

For the light you are, my only one.

Tag

Thank you for being exactly you,

I love you — always, and a day too.

Suno

There’s something quietly magical about using Suno—like being handed a doorway into a lifelong dream. I’ve always wanted to create songs, but never had the musical training or tools to do it. Now, with just a few words, melodies begin to form, voices emerge, and fully realised songs take shape out of thin air.

Favourite songs 2025: Laufey

I'm totally in love with the voice and music of Laufey, an Icelandic singer I have discovered. Not only does she compose her own songs, she is a very accomplished cellist (an instrument I love too) and often plays it in her songs.  Her music is both timeless and retro. It makes me feel deeply nostalgic.

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Dennis, Rock God of Waverton

Well it's official, the guy who runs our local Waverton grocery store with his family is nothing short of a Rock God!  How awesome is this version of "To the Moon and Back". Dennis is the singer.

Stage musicals I've been to

Childhood

• South Pacific

University years

• District 6
• Madam Butterfly

Old Mutual years

• River Dance
• The Buddy Holly Story

London (1997)

• Phantom of The Opera
• Jesus Christ Superstar
• Miss Saigon

London (2000 - 2005)

• Chicago
• Les Miserables
• Starlight Express
• The Mikado
• Mama Mia
• Joseph
• The Lion King (with Niki)

Australia

• Pricilla Queen of the Desert (with Ally & Kerri)
• Jersey Boys (with Lizzy)
• Chorus Line  (with Dani)
• Anything Goes (with Sue)
• Evita (with Christina)

Cape Town visits

• Annie

Favourite songs 2024: Good Luck Babe!

Chappell Roan at her best.

Jilly loved to sing

 Priceless!

Most listened to songs of 2024

Each year Spotify sends you stats of your most played music. Amazingly, I listened to nearly 25,000 minutes of music this year. That's over 400 hours and in the top 15% of Spotify music listeners worldwide, mostly due to the fact that I listen to soft classical piano music while I work and also often listen to music on my daily 1 hour walk and during my public transport commutes. So, all in all, music has been a big part of my life in 2024.

Of the popular artists, Billie Eilish was my most listened to singer. I love her music so much. I also got into the groove of Sabrina Carpenter, Chappel Roan and Taylor Swift. So, as Spotify says, I really connected with my inner Pink Pilates Princess this year!