Eclectic Encore for Grace Knight!
(Valentine’s Day, Western Australia, 2006)
It was hot – bloody hot for Valentine’s Day. The kind of heat that oppresses, suggests multiple showers and hard-working deodorants. Not how one wishes to appear on the day most touted for romance, especially when treated to a restaurant dinner with a Grace Knight concert to follow.
One wants to be cool, elegant, calm of face and dry of appearance ~ didn’t happen. That would be sexy and romantic ~ the heat should come later… There was plenty of the other stuff ~ gorgeous food, wine, loads of women dressed for the occasion…
Sitting on the Joondalup Hotel restaurant terrace would normally have been the optimum place for our table. But not when there isn’t a breath of fresh air – just dampness descending. Gazing over the cutlery into pools of passion and longing, we’d occasionally steal a wanton glance at the circular, ice-cool pool frequented by ducks. But in the still, hot night, trips into the air-conditioning for buffet treats, delicious sweets and succulent seafood helped make room for the next scrumptious plateful.
Although sexiness in female apparel sometimes means tight, it also means more skin exposed to the non-existent breeze and men wearing long pants, even though they’d rather be in Stubbies with a cold midi in hand, not drinking champagne or wine instead.
Our guided trek across green valleys past ancient, many branched grass trees ~ a magnificent statement of origin, helped digestion before spreading our blankets, in a patrons area, close to the stage and next to the lake, to receive a traditional Noongar welcome.
The flocks of ducks rising from the still water disturbed by the ‘five thousand, nine hundred and ninety-six’ others (some parked as far away as the shopping center), circling and settling back down to become part of the enchanting landscape again.
We were seduced by a medley of Show Tunes; then Mantovani, Rogers and Hart and more, performed by stars of the Youth Jazz Orchestra, fresh from their recent New York sojourn.
The Police spotter plane circled in the freeway distance but Gracie held her hair out of her face, away from the strong fans cooling from both sides of her performance space, to electrify us ~ her real fans ~ with so many favorite songs of luuurve.
As a big cheesy moon rose among the trees we thanked the sponsors, the resort and our fabulous community up here on the Sunset Coast for an unforgettable Valentine venue, promising to make a date for next year too.
Frances Macaulay Forde © 2006
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