Among the Australian desert plains – a poem by Lucy

Grass tinted yellow as the sun,
trees slowly weeping, one, by one.

Perfect carved hills, painted blue,
red rocks and earth, colours the Kangaroos.

Parched dusty rivers, with no water at all,
dry from the top, to the river bed floor.

Lonely skies stretch from east to west,
leaving rich sunset whilst it goes to rest.

Sun burns the dirt red,
drying the rivers, leaving the shrubs unfed.

But it is different when rain comes to the land,
and the dry rivers fill washing away the dirt and sand.

As plain as it is, there’s more than seen through eyes,
there is beauty written through the earth to the skies.

But with water, or none,
the land will have the same spirit for thousands years to come.

Hi everyone! It’s been so long and so many places since I last wrote! I think I had just arrived in Winton when I last put up a blog!

Winton was fantastic. We sayed and layed at the matilda country caravan park for 5 days. They have a great little rustic shed set up for entertainment and dinner. As Winton is the place that Banjo Patterson first recited Waltzing Matilda, the caravan park has bush poetry everyday in the afternoon. We performed before the poets each night.

The 2 poets we met were Mel And Susie…if you haven’t seen them then try to check them out they are great and funny! We had a ball with those fellas!

It’s also dinosaur country out there, so we got to see lots of fossils from 95 million year old dinosaurs. Amazing! You can really imagine dinosaurs out there…it is so vast that it’s easy to imagine them filling up the space.

After Winton, we started heading over towards the coast. The kids weren’t going to be satisfied until we got to see crocs..so we thought we would travel as far north as Port Douglas to play and…see crocs!

we stopped and played at rollingstone caravan park just north of Townsville and played for them. That caravan park is very special and the staff were lovely too. As soon as we got there, the kids went looking for coconuts and spent hours try to crack and eat them! And the pineapples….awesome!!

it was so incredible to experience the change of the landscape from outback QLD to far nort QLD. The trees just kept getting bigger and bigger until we reached the daintree forest that is even older than the dinosaurs – 150 million years old!! Wow! The amazon is only 10 million years old! We swam in the river amongst the biggest and oldest trees in the world.

It was really weird being so tropical so quickly. We were singing “If you like pinocoladas” in the car over and over…and of course we drank them when we arrived in Port Douglas!

We stayed and played at the big 4 caravan park at Glen Gary just outside of port douglas for 3 nights. It was just great. In fact, everywhere we have been has been unreal!

As for croc spotting, we weren’t going to leave the tropical north until we saw crocoldiles in the wild. Only 5 mins down the road from the park at Glen Gary, there was a fishing spot on an old jetty that my son Jacko got hooked on…and there were 2 crocodiles that were just ‘chilling’ on the side of the bank. So the kids and us not only got to see crocodiles in the wild, we got to fish and hang out with them too!

It was then time to move down south to Bowen for our dinner and show at the yacht club. It was sad leaving the crocs and the big old forest, but we knew there was still going to be plenty of fish and plenty of crocs in Bowen. And there was!

Our show at the Bowen Yacht club was unreal! We sold lots of tickets and got to do a really nice dinner and show. The folks wanted us to play for longer that night, so after we finished our show, we played on and shared our favourite party cover songs. it was really fun. of course we were asked back again and we were shouted breaky at the local cafe/pie shop the next morning. When we went for breaky that next morning, we noticed that the movie “Australia” had been filmed in Bowen, and Hugh Jackman and crew were regular customers at the pie shop. There were photos of the shoot all over Bowen.

The next night we played at the Bowen River hotel, which was in the middle of nowhere! Sort of felt like we were outback again. Of course as soon as we got there, Jackson got his fishing rod out and headed down to the river, which we were later told had a resident 23 foot Croc!!!!Lets just say we were lucky to come out of that place alive!..

After Bowen, we stoped again at the Rollingstone caravan park and played before heading down to Hervey Bay and Maryborough. We played at the Maryborough sports club last night to a very enthusiastic crowd. Tonight we are playing at the Australiana caravan park in Hervey Bay.

tomorrow we go to THE GYMPIE MUSTER where we finish our 3 month tour!!!

I’ll let you know how it all goes.

Before i sign off for the tour, I would like to thank everyone who came to our shows and supported us. All the park owners and venue managers who made us feel so compfortable. I love this country and can’t wait to see every part of it and take my music too
Lou x

Hi again, Lou here.

It’s only been a week and I already have too many stories to update with!

I left off the last blog from Ilfracombe…where i met the drover in the Laundry. Well…The drover ( Billy Little), did come along to our show that night at The Wellshot Hotel and what a great night it was too! We had a full house from folks the night before plus extra locals. The Drover and his 1600 head of cattle, 26 dogs, 11 horses and 5 crew were camped about 20km’s down the road, so he came along that night with 2 cowgirls. the 2 girls were in charge of the cattle…they had a very official titile, like ‘cattle coordinators or something?? The 3 of them had quite a special vibe about them and everyone that was there that night, knew who they all were. About half way through our first set, I started playing my song “Cowboy”. well you should have seen The Drover and his girls! He stuck his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans and started shuffling and skipping about the place yelling out yee ha! It was soo cool that i could hardly sing! The whole night was fun…and The drover and the girls wanted to nap me for the night and take me partying to Longreach! They tried to assure Phil that i was in safe hands and that i would be returned early the next morning!!! Nice try!

After that we set off for Muttaburra for the camp draft. That was like being on another planet for me! Shoulda seen all the little kids on horses bossing around the cows in the show ring! There were cowboys from all over the country! ( yep i was in heaven!) There is one thing about playing in the outback and that is they never want you to stop! And that night was no different. they kept passing the hat around ( a mighty fine hat too ) and we kept playing.

The next day, we decided to have a couple of days off, as we had played every night for 3 and a half weeks. So we went fishing at the river just out of town. We stopped at the Muttaburra pub for ice and got to talking to the locals there. Fiona the shearers cook was the first lady I met. There are only 80 people in muttaburra and she tells me there are 4 Fiona’s! Fiona the shearer’s cook, Fiona the publican, Miss Fiona the school teacher and Fiona the slut! Funny!

After the visit to the pub, we headed out and set up camp by the river…and just when we were st up, a ute pulls up and 2 locals hopped out and asked if we could come and play at the pub that night! So we did and the whole town came and it was a hoot!!!

After the show i got to talking to a lady that had come from Aramac. A little town about 90km’s from Muttaburra. I remeber the little town well, because we had passed through a few day earlier and saw the best op-shop in the world there that was shut!! So I was telling this to the lady I met, and she said “I’ll give betty a call tomorrow and aske her to open up for yous. How about tuesdi mornin?” “I’ll send my son out to the river where you are camped and he’ll tell you what time”. And sure enough, the next afternoon at the river, we had visit from her son who said “The opp-shop will be open for ya tomorrow at 9″. !! I felt like paris Hilton!!! It was well worth puting the fishing rod down and driving 90km’s!! And when we got there…old Betty who runs the place says ” You were the mob playing at Barci a week or so a go!” cool!

The fishing was great at the river. Jacko was so determined. He caught 2 cat fish, a silver perch and pulled a huge yellow belly up on the bank…before it flipped off the line and back in the water! Little Lucy even tried to dive on it! Wish we had a photo…so Lucy drew the scene instead. i’ll post it up soon as I can get hold of a scanner. it was legendary! The one that got away! News hit town before we did….because when we went in to get bread and milk, Fiona the publican already knew! Unreal!

After a sad good bye to Muttaburra and a flat tyre 50km’s out that nearlly didn’t let us leave, we have hit Winton. We are here for a week.

I’ll give you all an update soon.
Thanks for reading
Lou x

Hi everyone, this is Lou here. I thought i would give the kids a rest from blogging, as it is probably my turn by now.

We are staying at Ilfracombe caravan park, 27kms east of Longreach on what they call The Matilda Highway. We are on our way to the muttuburra camp draft, before heading to winton.

Although Longreach is special in it’s own right, a five day stay for us was long enough. The caravan park was really big. 300 vans, so performing each night there was successful.

We actually just decided to go somewhere a little more quaint before we headed to the camp draft at Muttuburra, so Ilfracombe seemed like it might be that place. It feels like a home cooked meal here. And it is. The caravan park here is very cute. they have an old rustic shed where they have their ‘famous’ ( it says so on the sign out the front) Happy hour every night at 5:30pm. Happy hour is where the people in the van park all come and sit at the rows of tables and chairs in the charming cool shed and have a drink, and be entertained by whoever there is to entertain them. I believe that the owners of the park, Cathy and Jesse are poets and tell a few jokes most evenings. we entertained them all last night. it was a hoot! You should have been there!

Tonight we are playing just next door at “The Wellshot Hotel”. A very cute pub with an amazing collection of old cowboy hats! mmm! I love cowboys! ( don’t tell Phil!)

In Ilfracombe, they have an Artesean spar which is at the public pool. water streams in non stop from 12 hundred metres below through the original big old spout. The water is naturally very warm. Like a hot bath. It is sooo nice! we went there last night after the show and I’m sure we will go again tomight. Next to the spar is a big pool with nice cool water, it is also very nice. We have just come back from a bbq picnic there. Hey and do you know what? it is free to go in the spar and pool. You just have to pick up a key at the council across the road. Wow!

The town of Ilfracombe is just one strip on the Matilda highway. On one side there are a couple of shops, a post offce/library ( where the kids are now reading books – that’s really true!) and a pub. On the other side of the road is a row of little museums full of crafts, weapons, machines etc…so cool! I love this place.

There are so many great things about this tour. For one,… we are playing everyday. Our show is sounding better and better everyday. We have had such a great response from everyone we have played to! Really! it’s been incredible that way. The kids are having a ball and learning so much and playing and singing so beautifully. jackson has written a lovely deep song about a lonely man who approached him after one of our shows. he sang it last night to the people here in the shed at happy hour. They loved it,..and so did I. He reckons it needs improving! Sounding like a good budding song writer to me!

But there is one other thing that I like very much about it out here at what they call The Mitchel grass lands. And that is the natural beauty. The landscape has a shade of a pale golden green and yellow washed over it that gives it such a calming feel. The trees, the birds, the rivers and the wind are all very special. I find that i don’t really know a place until I know what the local trees are, birds and rivers …and where the winds come from.

Today I collected leaves from the coolabah tree, the gidyea tree, sandalwood, red bud mally, and others too. They are drying out for me to press them. The birds that I have met are all very vocal….and lots of them run! They don’t hop – they run. it is very funny.The winds here make you feel like you are on top of a mountain. Though they seem to come from nowhere. Must be from the rivers. I haven’t learned that yet. There seems to be many nice rivers. As i mentioned before, we are on our way to the Muttuburra camp draft tomorrow and we are going to camp by the river there. I have been to this camp spot before when i toured to the NT a few years ago…and i can’t wait to go back. there is a great big Coolabah tree right next to the river to camp under ( I remember the tree from last time but i didn’t know what sort it was – now i do). And hopefully yellow belly in the river to catch and eat.

One more thing before I go…

there is a drove of 1600 cattle that is passing through Ilfracombe at the moment. Something to do with the liberal national party and the closing of the stock routes??? I am not really sure yet, but i will let you know when i am. Anyway, I was doing my washing here at the laundry, and met a couple and their little baby that are droving the cattle. There 26 dogs, 11 horses, 1600 cattle and 5 humans! They started in Cloncurry (about 1000km’s away) and finish at Roma ( about 1000kms the other way). Apparently it takes them six months. wow! The fella that I met here in the laundry was even wearing real life metal spurs on his boots! We shared our stories whilst our clothes washed and he reckons he’s gonna come to the pub tonight to see us play and he says that if we are good enough, then he’ll put in a word for us to play at the Barcaldine camp draft! Cheeky bugga!

well i reckon that’ll do it for now. More soon.

Lots of love
Lou x

Hello Everyone! Im Lou’s son Jackson and im writing to you from Barcaldine in central western queensland. Like very many of the towns in queensland,it takes you at least 3 days to get the pronounciation of Barcaldine correct. We (The Travelling Family Show) have finished a long 8 nights in Charllevile and were ready to push on to the next town. We are staying at the Homestead caravan park which is where we played our first show in Barcaldine. The next night we played at the other caravan park up the road, when we got there everyone was sitting and waiting with their fold out chairs and cans of beer, bottled beer did not occur to any of these people…?

During this leg of the tour Lucy and I have developed a habbit for playing soccer, so whenever the chance presents itself we take advantage of it, everyone else thinks this funny. Earlier today we popped over to St Vinnies (as ussual) and scored a few things to our liking (clothes and books), then we visited the local history museum, wow! We find that queensland museums are far more interesting then our museums. The men are now setting up for our second gig at the Homestead caravan park which I’m avoiding and they are now asking me to help…I must go now, Thank you for reading.
By Jackson Chaffer.

THIS IS LUCY AGAIN GIVING YOU MY POINT OF VIEW OF THE TOUR SO FAR STARTING OFF WHERE I LEFT OFF LAST TIME.

LAST TIME I SAID THAT OUR NEXT BIG SHOW WAS BOGONG VICTORIA. SO I’LL START FROM THERE.

IT WAS A FAIR DRIVE TO BOGONG. IT WAS SO EXCITING ONCE WE GOT TO THE BOTTOM OF THE MOUNTAIN,NEAR MOUNT BEAUTY, IT WAS HARD TO DRIVE UP THE MOUNTAIN WITH THE CARAVANS BUT WE WENT WELL; UNTIL, WE SKIDDED OUT ON A ICY PUDDLE, CAUSING OUR CARAVANS TO WHIP INTO THE SAFTY GUARD ON THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF, AND THEN, AND THEN, WE FELL DOWN, AND DOWN! AND DOWN! AND THEN WE DIED. AHAHAH FUNNY! KIDDING, OBVIOUSLY. TO LET YOU KNOW, WE SURVIVED AND WE MADE IT UP THE MOUNTAIN.

THE MAIN LOCAL TOWN IS CALLED TOWONGA, IT IS RIGHT AT THE FOOT OF THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN VICTORIA, MOUNT BOGONG! AND ALSO MOUNT BEAUTY, MOUNT BULLA, AND FALLS CREEK. THE PLACE WE STAYED AND PLAYED WAS IN TAWONGA. YOU SHOULD OF SEEN THE VALLEY THERE, IT WAS SO SO SO BEAUTIFULLY INCREDIBLE! NOT TO BRAG OR ANYTHING, WE ONLY JUST STAYED THERE AND SAW SNOW AND ALL, IT’S NO BIGGY.

MOVING ON,
THE PEOPLE THAT OWNED THE BOGONG HOTEL WERE THE NICEST PEOPLE, THEY GAVE US FREE MEALS, DRINKS, THEY ALSO GAVE US MONEY FOR POOL, AND ACCOMMODATION! WE THOUGHT THAT WAS THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD! WE LOVED THAT PLACE SO MUCH THAT WE ENDED UP STAYING THERE FOR A WEEK!

TO MAKE UP FOR ALL OF THAT, WE PLAYED ANOTHER SHOW FOR THEM. IT WAS FREEZING COLD! IT WAS SO COLD, I HONESTLY THOUGHT THAT IT WAS GOING TO SNOW! WHEN I WOKE UP, I LOOKED OUTSIDE THINKING THAT ALL THE PADICS AND THE ROAD WOULD BE PACKED WITH SNOW, BUT THERE WAS JUST CRUNCHY FROST. ANY WAY; ME AND MY BROTHER WENT OUTSIDE TO CHECK THE ICE ON THE CAR, IT WAS RATHER THICK ACTUALLY, SO I GOT A CUP AND SCRAPED IT OFF AND PRETENDED THAT IT WAS SNOW.

THAT CUP OF SNOW BECAME MY BEST FRIEND, I TOOK IT EVERYWHERE. EVEN WHEN WE WENT FOR AN EARLY MORNING COFFE RUN WITH JACKSON AND DAD.

WHEN WE GOT INTO TOWN, DAD WALKED INTO THE SHOPS, AND ME AND JACKSON SAT IN THE FRONT; POOR JACKSON HAD TO LISTEN TO ME RAVING ON ABOUT BORING STUFF. WE WERE USING THE CARTWHEELS CAR BECAUSE DAD LEFT THE KEYS SOMEWHERE ELSE, BECAUSE THEIR CAR IS MORE FANCEY AND MODERN, DAD DIDN’T KNOW THAT YOU HAD TO DO SOME WEIRD THING TO PROPERLY STOP THE CAR, AND WE WERE ON A SLOPE. WHEN DAD JUST WENT INTO THE SHOPS WE STARTED ROLLING. JACKSON LOOKED OUTSIDE THE WINDOW, AND PAUSED, THEN HE SCREAMED, “WERE ROLLING!” SPILLING HIS BLUE POWERADE ALL OVER THEIR NEAT CAR, AND ME BEING THE HERO, I JUMPED INTO THE DRIVERS SEAT AND SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES.THIS IS TRUE! LUCKILY WE SURVIVED. HAHAAH.

NOW TO SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE INTERESTING,
EVERY DAY WE WERE STAYING THERE AT BOGONG, WE CHECKED THE SNOW CAMS ON THE INTERNET HOPING FOR SNOW, AND ONE DAY IT SAID IT WAS SNOWING, SO WE WENT UP TO FALLS CREEK TRYING TO SEE AT LEAST A BIT OF SNOW; BUT WE DIDN’T, SO WE HEADED TO WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS TOWARDS MOUNT BULLA. WE WERE DRIVING AND DRIVING FOR A BOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF, WHEN WE REALIZED THAT WE WERE GOING THE WRONG WAY. SO WE TURNED THE OTHER WAY. WE HAD SPENT SO MUCH TIME GETTING UP THERE AND DRIVING THE WRONG WAY, THAT IT WAS NEARLY THE END OF THE DAY. THAT WAS SO DISAPPOINTING, BUT ON OUR WAY DOWN, WE LUCKILY SAW A PATCH OF SNOW, WE WERE SO EXCITED! WE HADN’T SEEN SNOW BEFORE. WE TOOK SOME PHOTOS AND PLAYED AROUND FOR A WHILE. BUT WE HAD TO GO DOWN BEFORE IT STARTED TO GET DARK. THAT WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE DAY.

A FEW DAYS AFTER WE WENT UP TO FALLS CREEK, TO TRY AT LEAST SEE A BIT MORE SNOW THEN LAST TIME. LUCKILY FOR US, IT WAS COMPLETELY COVERED! WE’VE NEVER SEEN SO MUCH SNOW BEFORE! WE SPENT AS MUCH TIME THERE AS POSSIBLE.

WE ENDED UP HAVING TO PLAY A SHOW THE NEXT MORNING, SO WE HAD TO SAY OUR GOODBYES TO BOGONG. IT WAS SO SAD!

OUR NEXT DESTINATION WAS YASS. THE ROADS WERE REALLY ICY IN THE MOUNTAINS AND WE DIDN’T THINK THAT WE WOULD MAKE IT, SO WE WENT THROUGH THE VALLEY INSTEAD.

THE YASS R.S.L WAS WHERE WE PLAYED NEXT. IT WAS REALLY COOL. IT WAS A NICE BIG STAGE WITH THOSE BIG RED FELT CURTAINS. IT WAS REALLY FUN. THE PEOPLE THAT CAME WERE REALLY NICE. IT WAS A LONG NIGHT, I WAS SO TIRED! I CRASHED REALLY HARD THAT NIGHT, BUT WE HAD TO WAKE UP REALLY EARLY IN THE MORNING! I WAS HAVING THE BEST SLEEP TOO! WE ALSO HAD TO DRIVE A WHOPPING EIGHT HOURS! COOL! AND TO TOP THE DAY OFF, WE BROKE DOWN, FROM OVER HEATING!LUCKILY DADS A MECHANIC!

OUR NEXT STOP WAS CALLED COOLAH IN WESTERN NSW.
IT WAS REALLY CUTE. WE PLAYED AT A DANCE STUDIO. THE SHOW THERE WAS ORGANIZED BY ONE OF THE PEOPLE AT A SHOW WE PLAYED AT BELINGAN. THEY SET UP THE SHOW WITH HAY BAILS AND PUT ALL THE CHAIRS ALL AROUND, THEY EVEN MADE SOUP FOR EVERYONE. THEY ASLO LET US STAY AT THEIR CARAVAN PARK FOR A FEW DAYS. IT WAS FREEZING! BUT WE ALL SAT AROUND THE FIRE AND PLAYED A FEW SONGS, THAT WARMED US UP A BIT MORE.

NEXT WE STAYED AT THE ST. IVES SHOW GROUND IN SYDNEY IN THE NORTHERN BEACHES. MUM AND DAD DID THEIR NEXT SHOW AT PENRITH. WENDY WAS SICK SO SHE COULDN’T GO, AND DAVE HAD TO TAKE CARE OF HER, AND ME, JACKSON, AND CHARLEY STAYED IN THE CARAVAN WATCHING NEIGHBOURS! I LOVE NEIGHBOURS!

THE NORTHERN BEACHES IS WHERE OUR WHOLE FAMILY GREW UP, MUM AND DAD LIVED IN A PLACE CALLED AVALON, MY TWO BROTHERS GREW UP THERE FOR ABOUT EIGHT YEARS, AND I ONLY LIVED THERE UNTIL I WAS TWO YEARS OLD BUT MUM AND DAD LIVED THERE WHEN THEY WERE BORN, UNTIL WE MOVED TO BYRON BAY. IT WAS GOOD GOING BACK THERE AGAIN TO VISIT, WE HAD FUN.

MUM AND DAD HAD THERE NEXT SHOW AT LIZOTTES ON THE CENTRAL COAST WHEN ME AND JACKSON STAYED IN THE CARAVAN AGAIN, WE WERE A BIT NAUGHTY.

THE NEXT DAY WAS JACKSON’S BIRTHDAY! WE WENT TO THE CITY AND SPENT THE DAY THERE. BIG OLD JACKSON, FIFTEEN!

OUR NEXT STOP IS BOMADERRY ON THE SOUTH COAST OF NSW. WE HAVENT GONE THERE BEFORE. WE COULDN’T BE BOTHERED TO DRIVE ALL THAT WAY SO WE STOPPED OFF AT PENROSE AGAIN. LAST TIME I TOLD YOU ABOUT PENROSE, MY GREAT GRANDFATHER BUILT, IT’S A FAMILY TRADITION TO GO THERE AND SPEND SOME TIME THERE.

AND THAT BRINGS US TO NOW.
I WILL GIVE YOU ALL AN UPDATE AGAIN. THANKS FOR ANYONE WHO COULD BE BOTHERED TO READ THROUGH THE WHOLE THING.

WRITIN BY LUCY. LOU BRADLEY’S DAUGHTER.

\"Cowboy\" clip

Hey everyone,
I thought you might want an update on the Travelling family show tour from the last few weeks.

Today is the 3rd of June day 15.

At the moment we are in the Cartwheels home town Glenyon, in Daylsford/Hepburn Springs, Victoria.

To start off our tour we went to Belingan Hall. It wasn’t the biggest crowd in the world, but they were very enthusiastic.

Our next stop was the Kempsy R.S.L. It wasn’t a bad turn out, but they got a bit tired of continuously clapping, but it was fun. We also got a free stay in the nearest Hotel, it was a bit to cold to sleep in the caravan.

After Kempsy, we took a trip to Copacabana on the Central Coast. We played at a wine bar called Fubah. It was nice and packed but it ended up getting a bit noisy and rowdy. Then it ended up pouring down with rain!
The annoying thing is that one of our caravan leeks! So we ended up staying at our friend Beccy Cole’s house so we could have a dry sleep.

In the morning the roads were still wet, and when we tried to tow our caravan up the hill, we started to slip and skid out. So me Jackson, and Charley jumped out of the car and let dad skid out by himself. We ended up letting the Cartwheels tow our caravan up the hill.

Before I move on any further, I must have to warn you that if you are ready for a good 15 minute read then I would get more comfortable and maybe move over to a bed or something.

Okay now we are ready, our next stop was in Sydney at the Excelsior in Glebe. Important People from E.M.I came, like Tom Inglis and Leon Concanon. I have know idea really why they are important and what they do but any way.
The annoying thing was that me, Jackson and Charley had to get out once we finished our songs because of the poker machines.

Our next stop was at my mums family cottage. It has been our family tradition since mum was born to go there and stay for a few nights. My great grandfather built it. It is called Penrose and is in the southern Highlands.

After a few days of staying at Penrose, our next stop was Yackandandah Victoria. We didn’t really feel up to driving all that way so we decided to brake up our hours of driving, and headed off to Tumut at the bottom of the kosiosko Mountains. But the Cartwheels went home so they could spend time with their dog Russell and catch up on things.

It was beautiful there at Tumut! And FREEZING COLD! Because we are from Northern N.S.W and it is MUCH warmer there.

We camped beside a beautiful big dam at the foot of the mountains behind Tumut. It’s amazing, there are so many kangaroos and rabbits there and my dog scruffy went bezerk.

The next morning we all had a sudden urge to go up the mountain and check for snow, because being from up north, we thought it was the most cold night in the word!

We drove for a while, but there was no snow. But on our way up and we saw a sign saying Yarangabilly Caves. The name got our attention, so we drove down to see what the deal was. We got a advertising magazine and took a look. On the magazine they were advertising limestone caves, a picnic area and a heated pool. Our first look was at the limestone caves. We took ourselves on a self guided tour. It was AMAZING! There were stallecmights and stallectights everywhere there are made from dripping lime stone.
Also there were thousands of crystals in the stone. It was BEAUTIFUL!

After our 45 minute walk we headed over to the heated thermal pool. The pool wasn’t hot like having a bath, it was only 27 degrees, but it was warmer then you’d think.

We were pretty relaxed after that and we all had a nap
on the way down the mountain. When we got down to town we got some sausages and marshmallows to roast on the fire.

When we woke up we had to head off to Yakandandah. So we had to say goodbye to all the kangaroos and rabbits.

Next stop Yakandandah.

Yak is a cute town, we stayed at the local caravan park. After we had settled down a bit we plugged in so we could catch up on our weekly tv shows, like Neighbours and The Simpsons. Sadly I’m the only one who likes Neighbours in the family. But we all know that Neighbours is the best!

When I was having the first good sleep in the caravan,
I heard an irritating ringing sound. It was mums alarm clock, AT 5:30 IN THE MORNING!
It turned out that we had a radio interview. But the Cartwheels couldn’t make it.

On the way we stopped off at McDonalds and had McBreakfast.

When we reached the ABC station at Wodonga, we stopped and had a family talk to make us a bit more relaxed.

The lady that interviewed us was really nice, she even talked about our show at the hall in Yakandandah a few times which was great. She also got us to sing and took a photo of us.

Over night it rained quite heavily so when we went outside it was like a swamp!

The next day the Cartwheels arrived, so it was time to set up the hall.

The hall was so cute! The floors were polished and it was all clean and dun up, and also it was full of heaters!

That night was fun. I think that it was the best show so far. It was very fun and the crowd was very responsive and they laughed at my very lame jokes, so i enjoyed it heaps.

After a late night we left and went to the Cartwheels home town Glenlyon in Daylesford/Hepburn Springs in Victoria. Our next show is in the Glenlyon hall.

That show we provided soup, sausages, tea and coffee.
It was a good gig but people got really excited and noisy.

We ended up staying at the Cartwheels house for a few days. And that brings us to now.

Our next show is in Melbourne, and then we are playing at the highest mountain in Victoria, Mount Bogong.
I am heaps excited because apparently it has been snowing there for the last 2 weeks! HURRAY!

Thank you if anyone actually read to the end. And don’t think oh my god, that was too long!
Well I warned you!

Writtin by Lucy – Lou Bradley’s daughter.



hey folks. 10 days in and we are at Yackandandah VIC…we are getting ready for our show here on Sat night at Osborns flat hall. Can’t wait!
We have worked our way down the coast and are now on the hunt for some snow. being from the north…the snow is a BIG DEAL!
Am gathering lots of photos to post up on the myspace and face book pages. Be sure to keep checking in, as I am adding gigs weekly.
Bye for now Lou xx

Hello again. Well I thought I should let you know that the travelling family show tour has started. We are travelling with another family band – The Cartwheels. together we are in caravans touring and getting out there the old fashioned way! Our first leg of 6 weeks takes us to Victoria and back up to Mullumbimby. Then we have a week off and for our second leg we head to outback queensland and then up to the far north coast of qld and back to the Gympie Muster at the end of August. Check out www.myspace.com/travellingfamilyshow for regular updates – as new gigs will be posted weekly. Bye for now….stay tuned next time for the release of my new clip for “cowboy” xx

Well…it has been a while yet again! Since last post, I have done 2 film clips been to Melbourne and back, had a mystery house concert in the hills of Mullumbimby, bought a caravan and have been working on a brand new tour that I am calling the “Travelling Family Show”.

Now about this tour. As you might already know, I have a very talented family. My husband Phil plays banjo and guitar in my band already and my son Jackson and daughter Lucy are also very talented musicians and have kindly offered to hit the road with us and embark on a “Travelling Family Show” throughout the country!! ( yes as you can imagine, it was a big effort for them to offer to not go to school for the next 6 months!!) There is so much to tell about the tour. we are travelling and performing with another family band from Victoria – “The Cartwheels”. Wendy Phypers and dave patterson ( formally from “the sparnets) with their son Charlie on drums, and our family, dog and cat and caravans visiting country halls, outback towns, good Aussie pubs and festivals along the way. Sounds awful doesn’t it! The show will offer something for everyone – all ages.

I have started to list some show dates on my website, and have also started a myspace page for the tour. www.myspace.com/travellingfamilyshow so make sure you check it out and keep up to speed with our photos and blogs along the way. The kids are in charge of keeping the sight up and running…so..hmm…should be cool!!
more real soon.
Love Lou x

Hey. Finally back from a long stretch of down south touring! Has it already been 2 months!!?? Whoa!

Am home now for a while ( about a minute ) and then off again to Melbourne. Please check out my updated gigs page for Feb, March and April shows.

Don’t forget to add a your name to my fan page so you can keep up to Lou Bradley speed! ( Yes I know…I am a little slow up here in these hills…stop laughing! )

So see ya’ll next time
Lou x

Hey everyone…it’s great to be back online.

There is sooo much news!  I have just released my new album “La la la not listening”. Yep…that’s the title…and the front cover is up above..hope you like it!  I drew the self portrait. I am really proud of it…not just the picture, the music also!!  All songs by me except a co-write with Bill Chambers ( which is a cracka!) and a co-write with my daughter ( which is a real gem ).

Please check out all my stuff there on the right.  There is a bio which tells you all the serious career stuff about me and also a picture or so so you can remember what I look like!  There will be more stuff added as time goes by.

I had a little celebration for the release of the new album down in Sydney at the Excelsior Hotel in Surry Hills.  You can check out some pics on the facebook or myspace link on the right, and if you aren’t a member of facebook or myspace then it’s real easy and costs nothing and also lets you be in touch with what’s going on out there…that’s if ya wanna know!

You can also listen to some new tracks on this sight and if ya like what you hear, then you can BUY THE ALBUM!!! yey…!!! there are lots of ways you can buy it here on the website and if not, it is in all good record shops.  I prefer to buy online, because i am not a fan of shopping malls! They are too scary with too many bright lights that make my clothes look like I’m a hillbilly…..oh yeah, I am a hillbilly! That’s all right then. Ha!

Well before you leave, make sure you put your name on my mailing list there on the left so you can keep updated with the Lou Bradley thing!

feels great to be back
Love Lou x