Byron Bay Blog

We are a left wing think tank originally formed to see the end of John Howard. Mission accomplished. Obviously there were many punters out there who were thinking along the same lines. Congratulaions to Australia! We may now resume normal transmission.

Many people have contributed to these pages. They include Lynda and Mat for web-page advice and articles from Bruce Hammond, Gopaleen (Pseudonym of course), Alok O`brien, Giovanni Ebono, Sandra Heilpern, Neil McKenzie, Dawn Cohen, Ron Priestley, Mungo MacCallum and our yet to be named contributor of Notes from Sydney. Many others have made pithy suggestions, some of which we have accepted.

Any articles you wish to present to us will be considered. Please send them to us at

contribution@byronbayinstitute.net

The Institute was inspired by Gerard Henderson`s Sydney Institute, but any resemblance other than the name is completely erroneous. Gerard is in fact one of the journos we watch in Stoogewatch. Others include Piers Akerman, Miranda devine, Dennis Shanahan, Andrew Bolt, Janet Albrechtsen, Glen Milne. We check out their columns and often print some of their bloggers` comments in Favourite Blogs.

In speeches, we reproduce some of the more relevant speeches of our time, including Marion Scrymgour`s Charles Perkin`s Memorial Oration and Justice Michael Kirby`s 10th Annual Hawke Lecture. Jeff McMullen`s speech, Children of the Sunrise, sets the scene and asks pertinent questions about Howard`s government intervention. Also valedictory speeches by Kim Beazley and Carmen Lawrence.

In articles we produce different quirky thoughts of where our country is at. State of play keeps you up to date with current events and in Tidbits we often have amusing anecdotes. Also in articles you can read Notes from Sydney, from a well placed political insider and The Byron Voter where you may gain insight into the psyche of Byron. Quotes is a section where we show what some of the more credible journos are saying, and we often look at quarterly and monthly essays. Mungo`s section stands alone. His political insight and his(sometimes acerbic) wit make enjoyable reading. His article is also published in Byron Shire Echo and Crikey.

We look forward to hearing from you with any ideas or articles.

www.byronbayinstitute.net

rick :: Nov.30.2007 :: Australia, Byron Bay, Community :: No Comments »

Ragga Muffin Show Added For Red Devil Park, Byron Bay

Sunday February 17 – RED DEVIL PARK, BYRON BAY, Corner Bangalow and Broken Head Roads (*subject to council approval)

Doors Open 4pm, music from 5pm. General Admission tickets $112.50

Put UB40, The Wailers, Maxi Priest and Arrested Development together and what do you get? Well, first up, six hours of fantastic music! And that’s exactly the musical feast on offer at Raggamuffin, an innovative new event showcasing the best in reggae music, with a healthy dose of funk, dub, hip hop and soul!

Feedback to the Australian and New Zealand tour dates for Raggamuffin has been fantastic, and now, by popular demand, an extra show has been added at Red Devil Park, Byron Bay on Sunday February 17 (*subject to council approval).

Known as the long-time home to the Blues and Roots Festival, the venue is the ideal home for Raggamuffin and this first class line-up of bands!

Promoter Andrew McManus said: “I’ve toured UB40 three times through Australia and New Zealand and they never cease to amaze me with just how good they are and how much their fans love them. That’s where the idea of Raggamuffin came from. Reggae lovers rarely get a chance to see the music they love and that’s really the driving force behind putting this event together. We hope we can do it annually.”

Headlining the very first Raggamuffin will be UB40, arguably the world’s most popular reggae band. Their combined single and album sales are in excess of 70 million, which puts them in that elite category populated by the likes of The Police & Robbie Williams. They’ve had a staggering 51 hit singles, which is more than ANY other British outfit apart from Status Quo (and, yes, that includes The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, U2 and everyone else); and they’ve had Number 1 smash hits in virtually every chart on the planet.

There’s no doubt the eight boyhood friends of English, Scottish, Irish, Yemeni and Jamaican parentage from the inner-city areas of Birmingham, have done as much to popularise reggae globally as Bob Marley himself.

UB40’s best-known songs – ‘One In Ten’, ‘Many Rivers To Cross’, ‘Cherry Oh Baby’, ‘I Got You Babe’, ‘Don’t Break My Heart’, ‘Rat In Mi Kitchen’, ‘Kingston Town’, ‘Red Red Wine’ – always have audiences in fine voice.

Their last album, the acclaimed ‘Who You Fighting For’ was nominated for a Grammy as 2006’s Best Reggae Album. The band are currently in the studio in the UK recording their new album, which will be out in time for the Australian tour.

UB40 are pleased to have the extraordinary THE WAILERS join them on the bill for Raggamuffin.

Famed for co-starring with Bob Marley on all of his hit records and stage shows, THE WAILERS are the most celebrated reggae outfit of all time. Their live show consists of classic hits like ‘Buffalo Soldier’, ‘I Shot the Sheriff’, ‘Is This Love’, ‘No Woman No Cry’, ‘Exodus’, ‘Jamming’, ‘One Love’, ‘Get Up Stand Up’ and the list goes on and on….

Raggamuffin is pleased to welcome veteran recording artist MAXI PRIEST to the line-up.

Born in Jamaica, and raised in the UK, Maxi first gained worldwide recognition with the release of ‘Maxi’ (1988). Recorded in Jamaica with legendary musicians Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, and Willie Lindo, it contained the hit singles ‘Some Guys Have All the Luck’ and a cover of the Cat Steven’s classic ‘Wild World’.

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT lit up audiences when they were last in Australia supporting INXS and Simple Minds in March this year. The two-time Grammy winners are back in action with a great new album ‘Since The Last Time’. The eight-piece band’s music shook the bootys, hearts and minds of listeners across the planet with hits like ‘Mr Wendal’, ‘Miracles’, ‘Everyday People’ and ‘Tennessee’ along the way to selling five million albums - it’s good to have them back!

So there you have it …. four great bands providing a veritable musical reggae feast, welcome to Raggamuffin! Check out the website www.raggamuffin.com.au for all the details.

rick :: Nov.30.2007 :: Activity, Australia, Byron Bay, Byron Bay News, Entertainment :: No Comments »

Four days in May 2007 transformed Byron Bay into a hub for marine enthusiasts of all kinds. Events included an underwater photographic shootout competition with $20,000 worth of prizes. Check out winning images and other snaps at the underwater festival website, and make sure you don’t miss the Byron Underwater Festival 2008 which will be held from the 30th of April to the 4th of May 2008.

Planula :: Nov.21.2007 :: Byron Bay News :: No Comments »

After a traumatic start to the year with a family accident the owner of Byron Bay KidzKlub put the business in cruise mode for a short while leaving her wonderful staff to work the business while she dealt with the incident. Just in time for summer all is well in the Kidzklub camp and the full team are back on board.

Leading up to Christmas Kidzklub is bombarded with corporate and private Christmas parties to host. While parents are winding down for the year with a few drinks and nibbles the kidzklub crew entertain the children with facepainting, active games and art and craft activities. The giant Parachute and Tug o war competitions often entices the adults to participate so these events become a total family affair.

As usual the Kids Adventure Tours will be running all school holidays and a team of babysitters and Nannies are poised ready for all the holiday makers with little ones. Art and Craft and Active sports workshops hosted by KidzKlub will be run in the surrounding areas of Brunswick heads and Ballina. Keep an eye out for the purple t shirts, you are bound to see the crew out and about having fun.

Kidzklub are back and racing!
Thank goodness the horse flu drama is nearing an end. Byron Bay Kidz Klub are the main providers of children’s entertainment at all the Northern Rivers Family promoted racedays and have certainly missed these regular events. KidzKlub are back in the saddle on the in Grafton on the 2nd of December for their Annual Christmas Raceday. KidzKlub will be hosting all the children’s activities like giant volley ball, parachute games, soccer, continuous cricket, 3 legged races, a tug o war competition and poison ball to mention only a few. KidzKlub also provide a creative area at the races for all those budding artists. There are 6 tables of varying art and craft activities and there are mats with toys for the little ones. It is a day for all the family so bring along a rug and join the fun. Exciting for kids, relaxing for Parents.

For more information on KidzKlub services please contact Trudi on 0429770147 or email kidzklub@kidzklub.com.au or visit www.kidzklub.com.au

rick :: Nov.12.2007 :: Activity, Byron Bay, Byron Bay News, Entertainment :: No Comments »