Fiona's Blog

I was there and am I allowed to say that ACL has to be up there as one of my life’s highlights? Well it truly was – 3 days of the most exciting, electric, fun filled music orgy that went way beyond any expectations I had. Amazing musicians, spine tingling music, enormous crowds, blisteringly hot, superb organization and yummy food all set in the beautiful Zilker Park….it couldn’t have been better and even the locals ranted and raved that it was the best ACL ever and they should know….I’m so glad I was there! My journey to ACL began several years ago when a bloke I know raved about it and if he raves about anything then you have to sit up and listen as you know it has to be good! So, come April and armed with my special login number (its akin to a military operation getting tickets) I crawl out of bed at 3am, log on and wait – up pops, ‘you are number 156 in the queue’ – 15 mins later I have 2 tickets.. with silly school girl excitement I tear downstairs (remember it’s 3.30am) to a bewildered hubby who says matter of factly…who are you going with? Haven’t a clue…wanna come?
That’s history and months down the track I head off to Austin. This city is very very cool, full of energy with Austinites being among the friendliest people I have ever encountered and the music scene is to die for!
Thursday we head to Zilker Park to get the heralded 3 day wrist band…the weather is looking perfect and Friday morning I’m at the ACL gates with my very comfy but essential deck chair along with thousands of others right on time….yeehaa!! I cheekily have my NZ cap and Lucinda Williams T Shirt with the Aussie and NZ concert dates plastered front and back on….more on that later…
I’m armed with the personal schedule I had spent weeks planning and head straight to the BMI Stage for Two Tons of Steel.…oh god, this is going to be amazing as I pinch myself again!! We are talking 130 live bands here over 3 days, artists I know and one’s I don’t but that’s the joy of music… being gob-smacked by the known and unknown.
Day one was such a blast….highlights being, JJ Grey & Mofro, Carolyn Wonderland – their very own Austin darling (locals insist I give up seeing The Mountain Goats ‘cos she is so good and they were right of course) Pat Green, Amos Lee (awe so good), Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses (brilliant)) Robert Randolph & the Family Band (wow) – 12 hours later, I drag my feet back to our Hotel, dead tired but in music heaven…
Day 2 and we have got the hang of this festival and rise at a reasonable hour and arrive via the wonderful shuttle system bang on 11am – today is not so rushed as I don’t have double ups that I’m dashing between. My faves are The Dough Rollers, Mayer Hawthorne & The County, Broken Bells, Monsters of Folk and Pete Yorn was pretty damn good as well! My girlfriend just loved Grace Potter and the Nocturnals – she’s not a bad singer, looks ravishing and knows how to ramp the crowd up a notch or to…:-) Which takes me back to my clothes insignia…the crowds here were enormous…often cheek to jowl – a healthy mix right through the age decades, lots of bumping, nudging, shoulder tapping and not once did I encounter any aggro whatsoever! In fact the festival goers politeness was outstanding. We could learn a thing or to here Kiwis! But folk were in awe of two Kiwi girls who had headed all the way to their festival, I was constantly tapped on the shoulder and asked, “are you really from NZ?” “yes.” “wow, you came all this way, that’s amazing, how do you know about it?” From these shoulder tapping encounters we found ourselves invited into homes, lunch dates and gathered a few more Facebook friends.
Day 3 the last….a twinge of sadness – my schedule had me tearing around again…huge day! First, we parked our chairs at the Budweiser Stage for the final headline act – The Eagles. My picks for today were Ashley Cleveland & Kenny Greenberg (Ashley was an absolute favourite) Robert Earl Keen, Midlake, Martin Sexton, Band of Horses and yes,yes,yes, Richard Thompson. The Eagles were a crowd pleaser and fun but not why I was there…saw them many moons ago and like me getting a bit long in the tooth! So, did I enjoy it? You bet. Will I go back? You bet! Anyone like to join me? And that $20.00 Long Horn chair I was going to ditch and is such an essential part of the festival is this very moment on it’s way back to NZ as the perfect reminder of the best 3 days ever. Thanks ACL…you will see me again – one day!

There’s an old saying that goes something like this – “families that play together stay together” but I reckon it applies to working together as well – funny how things evolve and develop with one thing leading to another. In another life before I was married, had lots of kids and much much later designing and selling my cushions I was knee-deep in the crazy fashion industry and loving every minute of it as well! A young mans game I always used to say but surprise, surprise I’m back at it – patterns, grading, cutting, sample machinists, it all seems a bit weird really, but here we are, Rose and I have started our very own small line of sassy, classy, affordable tops and dresses and it has a name – NV Clothing. We’re having a blast and to me it is the perfect pairing…Rose is the whiz with the designs (am more than happy to leave the stressful part to the young gun) her shop Password Please in Greytown is the perfect vehicle to sell them in and Mum has  the skills to turn it into the real thing and get it into Password Please! Just like the good old days…..arriving any day now  so you will have another excuse to get on down to Password Please and check them out for yourselves as soon as we give you the nod.….they are pretty damn cool and that’s coming from an ole gal, but, I like to think a styley one!

As kids growing up in the wop wops we had to entertain ourselves and we were forever begging Mum to come outside and take a look at our latest dare-devil antics. She would have a look of pained anguish on her face as we showed off our latest heroic endeavours which often ended in tears and wounded prides, but, it didn’t stop us for one minute! Oh no, never!  We had some ancient old bikes that we would hurtle ourselves down the gravel country roads on defying anyone gay enough to use handle bars yelling “look Mum no hands” or galloping along at a hair-raising pace on the beloved pony holding on for dear life with nothing more than squeezed in legs…we thought it was all such good fun all this no hands business but it wasn’t such fun last week when I REALLY didn’t have any hands to use….albeit for only 3 days. Put this independent, busy, easily bored gal into this situation and it’s fun and games! Total dependence on others is humbling, frustrating, hilarious and darn right difficult. I didn’t give it much thought really – A quick snip to relieve the Carpal Tunnels and bob’s your uncle….done and dusted! But then a couple of lovely friends mentioned things like, “Fiona, you won’t be able to pull your knickers up, you’ll have to get the hippie kaftan’s out” (thanks Sue) and, “it’s very painful, my husband took 2 weeks off work to look after me when I had a Bilateral” Blimey, I haven’t organized anything and I’m looking after Rosie’s shop Password Please in 6 days while she shoots off to purchase some stock!! Balderdash, they are  scaremongering, I’ll be just fine I convincingly tell myself….Day one and I arrive home in good spirits but soon learn I’m in for a bad bad night…..“drugs, I need some drugs” I wail to anyone who will listen, can’t get the jolly things out of their sealed up little cubby-holes – I’m starting to think this could have been a bit foolhardy and a bad idea to get both done at once….”I’m cold, please cover me up, please move the pillow, please help me to the bathroom….” please, please, please…oh shit, this is not good, I’m not liking it at all! Morning dawns to a grumpy, tired hubby who makes me a cup of tea, feeds me some toast and scuttles off to work as fast as he can without it looking too indecent! Rosie takes over, dresses me, lights and stokes the fire hoping it lasts until the next shift arrives, (quickly realize I actually can’t do a bloody thing so some troops have been called in to the rescue) places glasses of various drinks with straws in front of me and turns the TV on. “I’ve put it on E Mum, I’m addicted to it, you will love it!” “Oh, no I’m not” I soon realize with her long gone – “it’s garbage”…I can’t change the channel, turn the volume down or even turn the bloody thing off – I can’t even put a pillow over my head to drown out the noise…no doubt about it day one is not a walk in the park, but as day two dawns and while I can’t twist, pull and lift, I discover I can gently press a remote or keypad….woo-hoo, things are not so bad after all! I think I will post a sympathy pic on FB and see if anyone buys into it…..:-) From then on things start to improve and it’s wonderful to realize I no longer have the terrible Carpal Tunnel pain…and I’m thinking all those woose’s who have one done at a time are just that – woose’s…but you know what….give me two working hands any day – they are magic!

It’s time to throw a party….just what we need in the midst of a cold, wet and bleak winter….BUT, the party girl doesn’t want a bar of it. Oh no, howls of protest for weeks now, ‘Please, if you must, just a very few family”. “Sure thing Mum, just one or two”. Huh, not likely, she’s in for a surprise as all her children, all their partners, all their kids, all their current loves as well and all her old friends who are still alive and kicking are coming to celebrate her 80th….we’re looking at a few here, oh yes, it’s party time and she doesn’t know it yet – we are a noisy bunch at the best of times so she’s either going to be chuffed or tick me off! Quick call to her this morning, “do you need a lift up here on Sunday Mum?”  “Why?”  “Because remember we are having a little shindig for your 80^th” “Oh, I’d forgotten”. Blimey, a party with no birthday girl, now that could be a problem! But, this 80th birthday party is tinged with sadness as in all honesty my Mother just doesn’t want to be here on this planet anymore – you see, life for her has been a struggle since my Dad died in 2000. Their 50 years together was a true-love story – a partnership made in heaven – oh, if only it was that easy for the rest of us but it isn’t! (Well, I ain’t seen it much) – but this was a love story in every sense, utterly devoted to each other. Sigh! She is a walker, miles each day (probably why she has reached 80 as she still drinks and smokes far more than is good for her) and drops by Dads grave daily and often tells me “you know what Fiona, I ask Dad how he is everyday day but he never answers me”…..its enough to make you cry!  “I’ve had a great innings and there is simply no reason for me to be here anymore”. Thanks Mum! I have a feeling though that if Dad was still with us she would still be as happy as Larry chugging along on top of the ground rather than under it!  And despite the howls of protest I have a feeling she is going to enjoy her party – she usually does! – she will whip outside for a smoke every 30 minutes, have a few too many wines, say embarrassing things and then be delivered home the worse for wear but having had a ball.  Happy 80^th Birthday Mum! x

How many times have we asked ourselves that very question? Me, plenty! Shit, I know only too well that life was never going to be a bed of roses but sometimes it just seems too damn hard to see that light at the end of the tunnel.…Friday was the day that I hoped I was going to be given the answer to a problem that has on many occasions had me despairing and that I hoped I would be told maybe there actually was going to be some light at the end of the tunnel – to someone else I know though, Friday meant for them there was no hope at the end of the tunnel…..they turned the lights off. So, last Friday was one of those days – firstly, excitement as I was finally given the news that yes, Mrs B you have Bilateral Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Sounds simple! Yep, it is and easy to fix too but I have had a myriad of tests over 18 months – all the while struggling with the damn pain and probably being a damn pain as well and unable to do well most of the things I’m passionate about as my hands had literally given up the ghost ….6 months ago I was told there was nothing more they could do for me other than manage the pain and my best bet was an appointment with the Pain Management Clinic. I felt like I was in my Dads sheep drafting race and I was going into the no-good pen (culls we call them) and we all know where they end up! My god, I’m young, (well, sort of) there’s so many things I want to do …. I’m starting to have some real fun here… cushions, motorbikes, travel…this can’t be true!! I hate drugs….I’m going to be prescribed pain killers….I went into that appointment with a heavy heart…BUT again luck was on my side! A wonderful, delightful, newly arrived motorbike lover from London who had been on NZ soil for just 6 weeks was sitting there listening to me wail that I won’t be able to ride my motorbike anymore….for some reason that seemed the biggest loss to me at the time. We got talking bikes….his was still on the boat coming over and he was missing it like hell! His wife had already made 2 trips over the hill to the ‘rapa on hers – he quietly took hold of my hands putting pressure on them while we continued to chatter about bikes and the fab NZ roads. They went numb. That was the turning point…..”I think they may have been looking for your problems in the wrong area”…and continued “I think you have Carpal Tunnel”. OK, but can that be fixed? Easy, was the reply! I could have jumped up and kissed the guy….There really was going to be light at the end of the tunnel after all. It was a huge relief as this problem is a giant pain in the ass!! So, another 3 months down the track I had had the electrical tests to see if indeed the bike loving Dr J was correct – he was! Just like that….I’m not going into that no-good pen just yet! Whew!! So, what I’m saying is you ‘always gotta hope there is light at the end of the tunnel’…..even when you are told otherwise and if you are feeling that there isn’t then tell a friend as they will more than likely have been down the same road you are going down at this minute and you will see that there truly is light at the end of the tunnel…..it may only be a flicker of light that will bring a flicker of hope that will become brighter as we move through that tunnel to the other end of light, hope and life…..

My mother has always said ‘no matter how hard you work, it always helps to have a bit of luck in life’ and right now I’m thinking just that! I know exactly where she is coming from as my Mum has been very lucky indeed. Maybe we would say today ‘she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth’ but alas, there has been no silver spoon for this kid – oh no, but as luck would have it I’m feeling very lucky right now. This blog had it’s beginnings 6 months ago while revisiting Vietnam with two of my daughters – Rosie and Phoebe – we had set off (Rosie from Melbourne) to buy Silk Scarves to sell back here in NZ and to source Silk for the Vietnam Silk Cushion Collection and after a hard days bargaining we were collapsed on our beds chatting as girls do and a throw away comment I made has developed into a much bigger event than that. It went something like this “there are no Menswear Shops in Greytown and the guys are complaining Rosie – for someone with a bit of nous there’s an opening up for grabs” Full stop – end of conversation! Well, so I thought!! Three days later Rosie quietly announces out of the blue “I think I will come home Mum and open a Menswear Shop in Greytown“. She took me by complete surprise and I only managed to mutter ‘REALLY?’ I really thought this child of ours was rooted firmly to Melbourne for the time being anyway – heck, I loved my trips over there to visit her…damn! Three weeks later she was home and parked up with her sister in the only spare bedroom we have… I mean, we had done the down sizing thing and built a smaller home for goodness sake! But, it’s all good and there began her dream to open a Mens/Womenswear shop in Greytown.  With quiet determination she has doggedly worked towards her dream for the last 6 months – even when adversity reared it’s head she picked herself up and carried on…you have to remember she is only 23 years old, week after week it went on – in secret of course – the business plan, ‘this is so boring Mum’ – finding premises in Greytown – having worked in retail for several years she knew THE shop had to be positioned in the right place, have the right window space etc etc….not easy in this little town where premises are like hens teeth and tend to be in-house and an outsider usually doesn’t even get a look in. Luck was on her side…Then there was the bank….a nightmare for a young girl with no assets to speak of – she was the last person they wanted to speak to – ‘it’s a recession they groaned’ – oh dear, here we go again – Mum and Dad have to step in – (isn’t that what you do?) then there’s branding, labels and on and on it goes……But she has done it - Password Please… opens at 75 Main St (next to Emporos) Greytown on 4^th June 2010.  I take my hat off to this enterprising daughter of ours….she has pulled it all together brilliantly with fabulous brands embracing her vision and happily coming on board  and this shop is going to be a fantastic addition to the trendy Greytown shopping scene. Things are definitely looking rosy for Rosie! And why am I feeling lucky? My cushions are there as well! From a casual throw away comment – luck has played me a winning card….oh,yes yes yes!

PS: Lets get Rosie going and become a Facebook Fan for Password Please…

Yesterday started off no differently from any other really until I tootled off into town as I usually do to pick up the mail and have a coffee with my mates at Cahoots. For some reason I chose the car over the motorbike as my means of transport but I seriously considered taking the bike for a spin as the weather was supposed to pack in. All pretty normal stuff! Yep, that’s until 1km down the road the rural delivery man (he’s a well known nutcase on the road) turned onto the highway from a rural lane right into my path. I’m moseying along at 100kms an hour – I slammed the anchors on as hard as I could, locked everything up and managed to come to a stop meters from his car – bags, cushions, CD’s and water bottles flew from all directions to the front ….….with my heart pounding as it was that close a shave, I waved my fists wildly at him while yelling obscenities….well, he deserved it didn’t he?  He looked at me, laughed and waved back! What an idiot!!

Now, this is where things get interesting…..having arrived home still wiping away the tears and still reeling at my near miss as I knew all too well that had I chosen to ride the bike I would almost certainly have met my maker! I marched inside and got on the phone to report him yet again – (he’s been sacked) – good job! And, as I looked down at my wrist I thought ‘oh my god!’ Five days before, I had been getting ready to go out and was looking through my Jewellery Box and again, for some reason I picked up a bracelet that I hadn’t worn for 15 years and no kidding, without a word of a lie, a voice was saying “put this on – it will bring you good luck.” I never gave it a second thought as who am I to question that, so I asked my daughter to help put it on as it was a bit tight (good reason for that) and there it stayed for five days – over those days I looked at it many times as it was a little annoying but I never considered taking it off – a simple little bracelet that has no value in monetary terms but huge value in sentimentality….my Father gave it to me when I was 8 years old for Christmas….I have always treasured the little bracelet with it’s green 3 leafed clovers linked along it that he lovingly chose for me -  but in all honesty, I have never worn it much. Heck, why was I so drawn to it that night, where did those voices come from and why did I  doggedly keep it on until last night when I calmly took it off and popped it back where it’s been  for 15 years. Simple, to me it had done it’s job a thousand fold. I was still here!  Was that really Dad looking out for me from somewhere beyond? I absolutely think so! And maybe, just maybe, there was a bit of luck tossed in as well!!

Oh yes, I have a few theories regarding that but right now I’m a tad ropeable and unusually for me I’ve got the bit between my teeth as I’m so damn tired of  the  knockers out there!! If you are a misery-guts then by all means be a misery-guts but please don’t make other folks lives miserable by knocking them down for whatever reason you see fit! I grew up surrounded by people who often repeated little gems of sayings and they have always stuck with me. My Mothers Father would often repeat to her that “if you marry for money then you earn it.” Mums little saying was “a fool and his money is soon parted.” Dad would often say to us kids that “the greatest gift you can give a child is an education” and one of my favorites that I gathered along the way is “don’t let the clouds of life block your view of the sun” but probably my all time favorite was from one of the people I loved and respected the most during my formative years– my Grandfather – and he was absolutely true to this saying – “if you have got nothing good to say then say nothing” and that’s my gripe, why oh why are there so many knockers out there? Does it really make them feel good? I doubt it very much! I find it jolly hard to fathom out. You hear people spouting “oh, you are so lucky” – bollocks to that too! What nonsense! We have more than likely been working our guts out for the last 30 years, raising decent kids,  knee-deep in mortgages,  going without most luxuries,  taking the odd risk and along the way dealing with some pretty severe knocks ourselves and we are lucky? Huh! I don’t think so! We just knuckled down and got on with it. So, you knockers out there, that’s precisely what I’m on about. We have got this far – probably bruised and battered but finally the kids have flown the coop and we can now start to indulge in a few of the nicer things in life. Maybe a car that actually gets a warrant first pop – a nice meal out with friends – a little travel – a toy or two – a few more holidays – maybe a beach house if you are so lucky – that’s really not too much to ask for is it?

It’s not called Cliffhanger Hill Climb for fun, if you come unstuck on the notorious Cliffhanger Corner you’re in trouble – big trouble! We’ve seen it before (ouch!) but as the day drew nearer for the annual Hill Climb at Gladstone in the sunny Wairarapa we had turned our attention to the weather forecast – riders (me included) are not fussed with wet roads – a pain in the proverbial to say the least – but the gods were kind and graced us with two beautiful days. This year the Hill Climb was tinged with sadness as we were missing the  Cliffhanger stalwart himself – Garry Albrett – but his wonderful wife Dina was there stepping courageously up to the mark to make this very popular event happen and we had a record number of entries signed up to prove again that this is the best hill climb in the North Island – As they lined up to be sent on their way at 1 minute intervals I realized again why I love this event so much – big bikes with big noises, little bikes with big noises, old bikes with big noises, leather clad riders – ohhh it’s such a buzz! You get to read their eyes very well as the dearly beloved sends them off on their way with me right there recording numbers and soaking up the atmosphere and there are a lot of nerves underneath all that gear! They have to negotiate 27 corners, 6.2 kms at breakneck speeds of up to 300kms in around 2 to 3 minutes all the while climbing 1000 feet – it’s blood curdling stuff…..! And they don’t just do all this once – no, we send them up there as many times as we can fit in over a 2 day period. Saturday is practice day with the serious business of claiming champion status on Sunday. Oh no, this is not for the faint-hearted!  Cliffhanger corner lived up to it’s reputation and again claimed a couple of victims – but hey, that is the nature of the game. It’s a dangerous adrenalin pumping  sport and the guys know that. Probably what attracts them in the first place! There was a special award this year – the Garry Albrett Memorial Trophy for the person who best embodies the spirit of Cliffhanger…..jeez, it went to the dearly beloved. Well done Pete!!

Well now, I’m going to unashamedly pass the buck and ask you guys to help me out here – there’s been some wonderful light-hearted banter going back and forth on my Fiona Bassant Cushion Facebook Fan Page recently and some how names crept in there so I know you are well and truly up to the challenge! So, the deal is this – these two newbie cushions need a Collection name and then their very own individual name – there’s definitely a bit of a country feel going on here with the horsy thing so with no further ado I’m going to bow out and leave it up to you – the bonus is the winner gets to choose their very own Fiona Bassant Cushion from the Vietnam Collection. Now, that’s not such a bad deal is it? Follow the link to get onto the Fan Page - become a Fan if you aren’t already and away you go…:-)