Polish Spring Festival

Great gig!
Kathryn's last :-(
Shannan's first! :-D

Samba school motto

As of last night, our new motto is "Don't despair".

Other popular samba school quotes include "I'm so over waiting", and "Remko has no shame".

The Continuing Story of the Samba School and The Costume That Wouldn't Happen

Inspiration from the Notting Hill carnaval. Top picture formal, bottom one slightly more extravagant wear?

I think this one would be perfect for the shakers. I can see them weaving their way through the Bateria already...

Details for Sunday's gigs

Today I received the details for Sunday's gig:

• Where: Grounds of the Polish Ex-servicemen's Assoc, 44-54 Holland Cres. Capalaba
• Be there: 11.15am
• Showtime: both 11.45am and 1.15 pm (15 minutes per set)
• Dress code: polish costume, or creative pink&green if you don't have one

I look forward to it! Just to satisfy my creativity, I'll try to introduce (m)any new breaks this Thursday, rather than during the gig. I can't promise I won't do anything unexpected though...

If you haven't registered ... please do so asap. Thanks!

Australian Idol

Extra, Extra Electorial Fraud Detected!

As a member of the Electorial Reform Society it is my sad duty to inform you of an electorial fraud undertaken by a young scalliwag of a Dutch Person. In the best Myramar traditions the vote shown is the exact opposity of the votes actualy cast. Consequently all right thinking members of the public should immediately build a camp outside of said Dutch persons home and chant loudly all night long, in fact if they were to bring alcohol it would not be unlike the party so unjustly cancelled so the whole thing would sort itself out anyway!

" Official " Brisbane Samba School Uniform

Should we abandon the idea of "Official " Brisbane Samba School Uniform ?

" Creative Pink & Green " theme is working very well. Look at Erin ,Miki, Gail, Patty and Dale for example. A standard uniform would squashed people individuality .

What do you guys think ? Why fix what is working for us ?

Tamborim Workshop

Check this out. Tamborim workshop at this guys place! Coming soon...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSHiNBtNYxw&NR=1

All the photos look fantastic guys! Very colourful.....I guess that's cos WE were colourful. And loud...

:)

If you were interested in seeing how samba goes with James Brown in Paris
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zZ2o4DoWA4&NR=1
The bateria is doing some good choreography too.

Pride photos

The photos from Sunday look fantastic - wish I could have made it. To bombard you with even more pics, have a look at http://www.gayqueensland.net/pix/parties/10.html
there are photos from the 2007 Pride parade. See you tomorrow night!

Video now uploaded on to google

Guys
I have compressed the video to mpeg4 format which halved the size of the file and allowed me to bung it on to google web albums. You can therefore now download using the same link as before. Note it is still 29 meg so if you on a low speed link forget it! Good video I think but missing the crush of the roadies and the cheering crowd methinks. Never mind one day at Suncorp stadium!

Scary Photo

Too many fluffy and happy photos from Roma St. Parkland. Just throwing in a very, very scary Remko photo from the Vodka night in February.

. . . . Guess what Remko made Remko this angry ?

more pix from Roar day

More Photos from the Roar Community Day

Pikies from the park

Hi guys! lots of nice pictures to download. The good video is too big to up load at greater than 100 meg Google doesn't like it. But the other stuff is good. I'll burn some discs at the end of the year with all the data from this year on it anyway, that will have the large video files. Hope you like.

The link is http://picasaweb.google.com/BlizWizz

I will keep these public for a week or so before hiding them again so download quickly if you want!

I can't seem to find a way to easily link a private web album in Picassa Web with a post in the Blog, I don't think they have the functionality yet!

Some more good news

I received a phone call today from Multicultural Affairs regarding the Multicultural Festival on 14 October in Roma Street Parkland. Last year we led the carnaval parade at this festival, and this year I had again applied for us to perform. Because of budget constraints, because of the (very non Brazilian) theme this year, and because we were already in the program last year, they had decided not to include us this time, and they sent me a letter last week (which I received later today) to inform me of this.

However, after seeing our great performance and workshops yesterday, they told me I could ignore that letter as they'd love us to be involved again this year in some way or another!

This again is a reflection on all of you, your enthusiasm (although I had to wake Dale up during the workshops a couple of times ;-) and your contribution in general to the samba school. So again ... thank you very much for everything!

Register here for the 2007 Queensland Multicultural Festival!

Roma Street Parkland Roar

. . . . HOW MUCH ! ? ! ? !

And now for something completely different...

Nicki is playing with the Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra again next Sunday 26 August. I've been to a rehearsal and I think it's very much worth going to this one:

The Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra joins with father and daughter duo, Markus and Melinda Stocker, for the dynamic Double Concerto for violin and cello by Brahms. Other works on the programme include the famous Barber of Seville Overture by Rossini and the hauntingly beautiful Poeme for violin and orchestra by Chausson. The concert is at the magnificent Brisbane City Hall on Sunday 26 August. Tickets are on sale through 4MBS Ticketing on 3847 1717.

Here's the flyer.

A big thank you!

Thank you all very much for today's performance and workshops at the Queensland Roar Community day! I thought it was very funny how nobody dared to complain about the rain, after a few months without a drop. Thank you also for your help during the workshops, it is always a lot more fun when there are a few (or many) experienced sambistas, as this makes things happen a lot quicker and people will be able to understand the concept much more easy. In particular I'd like to thank Donna for her help in handing out instruments to participants. Thank you!

Special thanks to Cedric and Loic for playing today even though they are moving house today as well, and very very big special thanks to Stephanie for letting them go! Let me know if I can help with some personal marriage counseling...

Despite the rain, the organisers were very pleased and like to talk about further cooperation between Queensland Road and Unidos da Primavera! This might involve a half time performance for 11 home games and maybe also playing at the Suncorp Plaza prior to the games, like we did last month ... everyone up to it?

Cheers!

FINALLY, HERE IT IS - PARTY AT MARCEL'S

Well, I must say it has touched me deeply to see the enthousiasm and keenness of many people for me to organise a party. So, I will give in to popular demand (as I’ve doen so often in the past) and have the MOTHER OF ALL PARTIES at my place!.

When: Friday 31 August until 29 September

Where: My place (didn’t I say that already??)

Theme: Camp out at Marcel’s

What to bring: As much as you like (food/drink)

or as little as you want (dresscode pink)

Final request: Please, every now and then, water the plants and empty the mailbox

Details for Sunday's gigs

Just received the details for Sunday's exciting gigs:

10.15-11.00 Workshop 1
11.30-11.50 Stage performance 1
1.00-1.45 Workshop 2
2.00-2.20 Stage performance 2

For those of you performing on the day, please be there by 11am.

Note: I can run the workshops by myself, but of course it's always nice to have some members there as well. Up to you!

Location: Roma Street parklands (map), "Celebration Lawn", access via Parkland Boulevard for drop off only. Parking available at Platform 10 (whatever that is!).

If you haven't registered yet, please do so now.

Warning for Paul

Paul, we have been notified by the Blogger organisation that you have attempted to make the blog say things that are wholly inappropriate and should get you sent to the naughty corner straight away.

Thankfully, your attempts have been discovered in time and your actions neutralised.

Be aware that our organisation will be keeping an eye on you from now on...

Attention please!

Great, 5 million (great) pictures to distract you from the next gig which I blogged about 4 posts below. So, to make the point, please register for our new exiting gig this Sunday! And see post below for more details...

Special Invitation from Mr Denis (handshake)

All,

You are cordially invited to a birthday party in honour of Brisbane Samba School stalwart and jazz drumming legend Denis Fisher.

When: Saturday 25 August, 7pm til late
Where: 14 Eckersley St, Tarragindi (Denis's place)
What to bring: your own drinks
What to wear: anything but pink and green
What to smoke: anything legal.
RSVP: Not required, all are welcome!


BYOC

Cheers,
Paul on behalf of Denis

More picnic pics

Here's the other fanstastic pics from Patty and David.

Cheers,
Paul

Picnic pics

Hey there sambistas,

Here's some pix of Saturday's jam session, courtesy of the amazing David and his new camera. Thanks to David and Patty for providing these gems!

OK, looks like I can only add a few at a time. More to come in a minute.

Urgent: short term notice gig this Sunday

This Sunday we'll have a follow up gig from our fabulous performance at SunCorp stadium: we've been invited to perform (twice) during the Queensland Roar community day at Roma Street parklands. We've also been asked to do a couple of workshops for visitors. It will be a great day, one of those events where we can (should) bring our own esky with food and drinks and have a bit of a picknick, performance, and some fun along the way! The idea is that, with a couple of Brazilian players now in the team, they want to give it a bit of a Brazilian atmosphere. I might bring my cavaquinho, tantan and pandeiro and we'll have a pagode while we wait and relax!

I have yet to agree the precise details, but it will be between 10am and 3pm.

Please register here asap ... in the meantime please keep an eye on this for further details.

Good one!

Videos fresh from Brazil

Our friend Carlos from the Melbourne Samba School is having a great time in Brazil, and thanks to modern technology he's putting videos of his musical adventures on the web for all of us to enjoy! You might even recognise some of the songs!

Happy birthday Denis!!!

Today marks the birthday of one of the pillars of the samba school, the amazing Denis! Your buddy from Cuba (pictured to the left) sent the samba school a telegram to wish you a happy birthday too, but it was intercepted by US authorities so I can't post it here unfortunately.

Happy birthday Denis!

" Midnight "

Agent " Midnight" please identify yourself . Welcome to the brotherhood/sisterhood of samba.

Saturday Jam Session Thanks

Hi everyone!

Thanks so much for making today great, I think everyone involved enjoyed the day. I know that Jo and Jonathan were very grateful to jam with us. I think we now have a sister samba school in Perth.

Thanks again to Remko for bringing the instruments along.

Stay tuned to find out if the mystery guy under the tree posts his recording on the web.

cheers,
Paul

Hablar como Mariana

¡Clic aquí!

Saturday jam session

Hi sambistas,

The Saturday jam session/picnic/bbq starts at midday tomorrow. Please bring your own picnic food etc.

We will meet at the tiled area in front of the Kangaroo Point cliffs, where the rock climbers climb, i.e. looking across the river towards the Botanic Gardens (how nice). I believe that there's parking along River Terrace.

If you can't find us, please contact me on 0427 753 408. Alternatively, listen out for the musical stylings of Remko's flashy whistle.

Pink is optional, except for Marcel. There will be no blowing off of anyone as it is not that kind of party.

The jam session will last as long as our enthusiasm does. I'm bringing enough wine to last until sundown.

See you tomorrow,
Paul

New gig: Polish Festival (Capalaba)

We have been invited again to the Polish festival in Capalaba (not to be confused with the Beer & Vodka nights at the Polish Club). Last year we had some fun, so let's do it again this year! Register here.

Zorro Jnr

Indy 2006

Wait . . . there are more !

Pride 2007 : Lovely shot of Marina

Pride 2007 : Claire & Zorro

Nice Shots from the Past

Some nice shots randomly appear on my screen-saver that caught my eyes

Gail's house warming party: Denis was hungry & waiting to be fed

Vodka Night : Nice shot of Miki and Melanie

Dorian's birthday party: Dancing with no body contact and hold on to your navel orange. Tricky.

I AM NOT ORGANISING A PARTY THIS WEEKEND!!!

I'm posting this message since I was urgently called upon to clarify matters that were quickly getting out of hand. Based on the responses I received to my latest post, I'm drawing the conclusion that most of the samba school members are severely challenged when it comes to distinguishing between 'I' and 'we' or 'all of you'. so to make it very clear:

I AM NOT ORGANISING A PARTY OF ANY KIND THIS WEEKEND!!!!

Please, do not come to my place, do not ask what time the party is, do not wonder whether it will clash with Amanda's party since

not only is there no party, you are also not invited to the party that is not being organised in the first place!

Go to Amanda's party, have a night in, go catch a movie, hand a simcard to your second cousin, but please, don't wear pink & black.

Marcel

Instruments

Next week (6-9 August) I'll be in Cairns again, however my flight back lands at 6.35pm on Thursday 9 August. I'll then take a taxi straight to the Polish club for my weekly samba shot.

So, this Thursday 2 August, I need you to take home all the instruments between all of you, and of course bring them back at 7pm on Thursday the 9th. Hope this is OK!

Thank you!

Bring out your Pink Stuff!

Hi all,

I have a pink & black themed party coming up next weekend.
As the more perceptive of you may have noticed, pink is a colour suspiciously absent from my otherwise impressive wardrobe.

Being very perceptive myself, I’ve also noticed that some of you have a suspiciously large pink wardrobe section.

I am therefore kindly, with a tear in my eye, calling on you to help me accessorize my black outfit with pink accents.

I’m especially keen on Dale’s pink Riders of Destiny cowboy hat, but feathery boa’s or other pinky stuff that you think would look good on me are very welcome too. (Mind you, this is a pink & black party, not a completely off-the-wall show-'em-what-you've-got deep-dark-dungeons-of Amsterdam-party. I have what to wear to those, and I would be shocked if any one of you could help me with that (well, apart of course from Erin and her Lederhosen) (oh yeah, and Brian's made-to-measure Lederhosen)).

Compensation can be had in the form of after-samba drinks, although signed photographs (or photo’s of any kind, for that matter) are strictly out of the question.

Yours tickled (not pink)

Marcel

Rodrigo Y Gabriela

Check this group out on You Tubes . They're a fantastic duo acoustic guitarists from Mexico City. Go to their website :

www.rodgab.com

Look for the song " FOC " . It was airplayed in JJJ last thursday night in " Roots & All "

Primavera end of year stocktake sale!

Read in loud annoying voice: "I've got two tamborim bags available, including pouch for tamborim beater. These are available absolutely free, yes that's 100% free of charge, for the first two sambistas who want to take possession of these. One-time-only-offer!"

Gig - walk against want

Few details yet but I just received a call from Oxfam regarding the Walk against Want march on Sunday 7 October. Looks like we'll be leading it! Please register here.

Amanda's Birthday Party

Amanda is having a birthday and would like to celebrate with you!
When: Saturday 4 August Where: Iceworld 2304 Sandgate Road Boondall
Time: 7.30pm - 10.00pm
Wear: Warm clothes and thick socks
Cost: $14.50 includes skate hire
Drop in for pre-skate celebrations on Amanda's deck, from 2.00pm. Light finger food provided. BYO drinks. Musical instruments welcome. (Car pool from here or meet on the ice). Look forward to seeing you there, hope you can make it! Cheers! Amanda ................................................rsvp to Amanda Page
amandajp2@gmail.com

For Claire!

The new Harry Potter book!

Costumes!

Can I please:

• offer my public apologies to the costume design group for not taking this further after all your hard work last year?
• ask the same group if they are interested in giving me a second chance to get this done?

If the answer is 'yes' to both questions above, could you please review the latest design in light of the latest fashion (...) and can we then get together again to decide on next steps?

Thank you!

Get Things Done: Samba Logo

Remko,

Below are the final draft re. Samba logo . I'd like to hear from you whether it is a " YES" or " NO" before I move on to design the samba school flag.

P.S. The white line outside the " Brisbane Samba School" is just an artifact, can fix it by the commercial printer.

Thanks to all who came to my party

Dear all thanks for coming to my party. I have some fab pictures but as I don't want to post them on the public internet, it might scare the children! Please send me you email address and I will share a private space where you can view and download pictures if you like. My email is melanie.blizard@optusnet.com.au

Hugs

Melanie

But ... where was Marcel?

Thanks all for your participation in Angelo's workshop yesterday ... that was great, and also very necessary. Clearly we've got some work to do in sounding great and looking great at the same time, but this was a good start.

But... where was Marcel? Our loyal Dutchman was clearly missing in action - but why?
So let's have a few guesses! Post your guess as a comment to this post. And don't let reality get in the way of your imagination...

My guess - Marcel, as a true member of the Dutch community, clearly is a better percussionist than dancer, and was just avoiding himself (and us!) some embarrassment!

(BTW - Marcel is not allowed to guess why he wasn't there!)

Rehearsal this Thursday

Just a quick note: I'm very much looking forward to this Thursday's rehearsal. I look forward to hearing the stories about last week, and also I'm looking forward to Angelo's instructions in making us look better (well, to some extend...).

Can I ask all of you that have instruments to please come on time this Thursday so that we can start the class on time? And also don't forget the instruments please ... no I won't mention any names. I'll bring 'the bag from Guatemala'....

Choreography workshop this Thursday

Attention sambistas!
Don’t miss samba school this Thursday. Acclaimed Brazilian dance instructor Angelo Salgado will run a choreography workshop just for us!
Angelo will teach some simple moves to polish our presentation for performances.

Jam session and party at Kangaroo Point cliffs

Hi all,
I have a couple of sambista guests passing through on Saturday 11 August. Joanne and Jonathan are part of a Perth samba school, and part of the network with Melsamba and us. Remko has played with them a couple of times.
If you're up for a Saturday afternoon jam session at the Kangaroo Point cliffs, read on.

I'll be organising a barbecue in honour of Jo and Jonathan's visit, from midday to sundown at the KP cliffs bbq area, on the banks of the Brisbane River. It's a great venue for a spot of jamming - we should make a great sound against the cliffs! Remko has been generous once again and agreed to bring some instruments along. BYO bbq food and wine for a great day out. I've pencilled in 1pm for lunch and 2pm for samba.

I have also invited some dancing friends to come along so it should be a great day to meet new people and have a nice social day out. Bring your instruments, families and whatever other things you like to hit.

Please RSVP to me by 31 July if you're interested.

Cheers,
Paul

Guess What Marcel Trying to Say ? ( ..Be Creative ! )

Melanie's Citizenship Party

To my dear possum mate in the old Samba thingy, you bunch of poofters! I have recently gain citizenship and had the lobotomy and now feel much better. Overcome with feeling of wanting to slap a snag on a barbiem whilst clutching a tinny from the ESKI. I most certainly want to invite you to cultural leanings next weekend the 14th of July at 13:00. My dunny door blows in a westerly wind for you. I think thats right, anyway she'll be right. You must bring one item demonstrating you true Australian nature as we don't want any of the pomme bastards to sneak in. So kick the blue heeler in the bum, and fire up the navi, whilst holding a fag and running those bloody hoons off the road with the ute. Have a gander at these links mate.

yes I know its bloody incomprehensible mate, buts that the state of the origin. There'll be sport, a bit of grubbing round in the mud, firing off pistols at any living thing and spitting, its all good at my billobong mate, so see you there.

The address is 38 Rembrandt Street, Carina, 4152, qld

One more from Suncorp

URGENT - access to Polish Club tonight

I received a phone call from Kamilla who is off sick. If you guys want to rehearse tonight, someone will have to pick up the key to the Polish Club from Nicki today. Nicki will spend some of the day around Portside, so if anyone is close to there please send me an SMS (I'm in meetings all day) and I'll get you in contact with Nicki.

Picasa Web Albums - Melanie

Picasa Web Albums - Melanie

Video available for Suncorp

Guys I was trying to auto link my Pictures as a private Album in Google Web Albums but the bloody thing doesn't work, so sorry email mail me on melanie.blizard@optusnet.com.au and then I'll send you an invite to the Album I know that works.

Another Alternative Group Shot

Drat ! . . . Paul was too quick .

. . . . Anyway, I'll post my share of the photos.






. . . " will it hurt ! ? ! "

















Spice Girls Mk II













Yes . . . Shakers . . . . again !

Well done!

Just a quick message from Cairns to congratulate you all on a stunning performance yesterday! I was so impressed that we managed to get an ad hoc performance going at the end with about 30 seconds notice. Very good. Thanks heaps everyone, I had a great day!

Have fun on Thursday!

Thursday class back on!!

Hi all,
for those who didn't hear this after Sunday's stunning performance, Thursday's class is back on.
With Remko not there, the class will take on a slightly different character. That means it will be excellent for beginners or newcomers to learn the basics, and also for anybody else who would like to try another instrument for a change (without Remko there to stop you).

Please note, the Polish for Beginners class (a.k.a. Advanced Polish Beer Drinkers class) will go ahead as usual after Thursday's class. Please also note that the special workshop Walking Backwards with a Whistle in your Mouth has unfortunately been cancelled due to lack of subscribers.

Also, did anybody see anything of our marvellous performance on TV? All I've seen so far is some acrobatics - maybe something we can practice on Thursday??