Tuesday, May 08, 2007

May Day 2007

Yesterday afternoon we intended to go to the May Day march with friends but somehow managed to miss it totally.
After an extended afternoon nap we woke at about 6:00 pm 1 and a half hours after the march! We leaped out of bed, threw on some rags and jumped into the car. Well it was a bit slower than this but far quicker than our usual efforts. It was about 6:30 when we reached the Esplanade and there were plenty of car parks left for lazy latecomers who couldn't be bothered walking to far.
It was a great evening. The air was light and breezy as the sun set over a fairly relaxed crowd of unionists and revelers. People were loosely gathered around the main stage and food stalls. There were heaps of kids around and plenty of orange slogan clad balloons and T-shirts. When we arrived we found our place among the other families sprawled comfortably on picnic blankets listening to Lea Flanagan and band pumping out some great songs.

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu of the Salt Water Band played guitar accompanied by double bass and sang beautifully in a mixture of English and his own language. One of his songs Bapak reminded me that the people who live on the northern coast of Australia have had a long history of connection to people from the Indonesian Islands.
An article about Salt Water Band
Check out the promo HERE.

An excellent way to spend the evening! So many kids were dancing and playing amongst the crowd. They were also the focus of speeches made by the union organizers who implored us to dethrone the leaders who has sold out the rights of future generations.

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