Week 18/2025: Rainbows, walnuts and a cat

Week of 28 April

I had a lot going on this week. Tiring but good.

Rainbows, walnuts and a cat

The Boy Beyond the Rainbow

Friday night’s adventure was to the Studio Theatre to see Rod Anderson’s one-man show The Boy Beyond the Rainbow. Rod is, apparently, a bit of a theatre legend, but this is the first time I’ve come across his work. I was enticed by the phrases “growing up in the 50s and 60s” and “musicals” in the same sentence.

This is the show’s description

Much-loved Tasmanian artist Rod Anderson returns to the stage with his new one-man cabaret, Finding the Boy Beyond the Rainbow.

In this personal memoir, Anderson reflects on growing up in the 50s and 60s, navigating a challenging society with the escapism and inspiration of musicals.

Filled with era-defining songs, the show is part nostalgia, part camp and a heartfelt exploration of self and identity. With a candid take on sexuality and the Baby Boomer experience, it’s both a poignant tribute and a celebration of a theatre performer’s journey.

Rod is an amazing performer and a captivating storyteller. He’s 79 years old, and put his heart and soul into this 80-minute singing, storytelling and dancing performance.

The show began with Rod’s early life in suburban Melbourne, where his doctor suggested dance classes as a form of physical activity to help relieve his asthma. Rod’s love of performing was a disappointment to his father, who wanted him to be a ‘real man’ and play sport. He talked about his close relationship with his mother and how she had always hated being a 1950s housewife. (I’ve seen Back in Time for Dinner, 1950. It does not look like a fun time for women.)

Yeah, about the 1950s . . .

I get the feeling the yearning some people have for 1950s and 60s, and their longing to put us back there overlooks how shitful and hard it was for many people. Yes, the houses and the decor are super cool and kids could play on the streets and people didn’t spend all day chained to their computer screens. But the rose tint hides the hardships.

How awful it must have been to be gay at a time when homosexuality was illegal and people could be put in jail for being who they were. I know this was a long hard road, here in Tasmania too, and hearing the personal stories of people like Rod who lived though this time having to hide themselves, is heartbreaking. Even though we’ve made so much progress, we still aren’t a society that fully accepts people of all identities.

Judy!

While he was still living in Melbourne, Rod went to Judy Garland’s disastrous concert at Festival Hall in 1964. He talked about the terrible way the crowd treated Judy at that show. Seeing how small and fragile she was, he wondered if people could do that to Judy, a huge star, what they might do to him. This was one of the most emotional moments of the show for me.

This show made me laugh and it made me cry, and I was constantly amazed at Rod’s stamina throughout the performance. If I could do that aged 79, I’d be happy.

I went home feeling inspired and listening to Judy at Carnegie Hall, where she was just fabulous.

Shadow

Lil Sis and Mr Tall recently got a cat and I’ve agreed to cat-sit in a couple of weeks when they go away. So I went to meet Shadow on Saturday and make sure she doesn’t hate me.

Also to get my cat-sitting instructions because it’s been many years since I had a cat.

She didn’t hate me.

And now I’m a cat aunty.

Walnuts

This weekend was the annual open weekend at Coaldale Walnuts. Lil Sis and I usually go with a friend but they were away this weekend so we went by ourselves.

It was the same deal as in previous years, where they open the orchards for people to find any walnuts that got missed in the harvest. A lot of them are on the ground, and there are also nuts in the trees you can get off by shaking the branches or poking them with a long stick (BYO stick).

The open weekend was over three days so they open up different areas of the orchard each day to make sure there are still nuts left on Sunday for the final groups. When we arrived on Saturday it took us a while to find areas that hadn’t already been pretty much emptied so we wandered round for a lot of the time wondering if we’d find more than three or four.

Fortunately, we stumbled on an area that still had some and I spent a fair bit of time crawling round picking them off the ground and trying not to get my hair caught in the branches.

Good times! I ended up with about 800 grams, less than last year, but more than the 300 grams I got the first year.

The weather was lovely too, and it was a great way to spend an afternoon outside.

Summary of the week

Habit tracker

• Go outside & exercise first thing (7 days): 7/7
• 15 minutes morning exercise sequence (7 days): 6/7
• Hip exercises (5 days): 2/5
• 2 walks or bike rides or a combination (6 days): 2/6
• Long walk (1 day): 0/1
• Walk 8,000 steps (7 days): 7/7
• 9.00 shutdown & dim lights (6 days): 0/6
• Evening routine (6 days): 1/6

New habits

• Fill water bottle in the morning (5 days): 5/5
• Carry a notebook with me when I walk (7 days): 5/7
• Mid-day journalling (7 days): 4/7
• Read aloud (7 days): 2/7

What did I learn this week?

If you vote above the line and below the line on the Senate ballot paper, the below the line voting will take precedence (provided that it’s completed correctly). Thanks to the AEC official who answered my question on voting day.

What did I notice this week?

The gap between the side of TAFE and the new housing complex in Campbell Street.

What was the best thing this week?

I went to Pier Gallery on Sunday night and hung out with some photographers to share our work and ideas.

This was the second time I’ve been to one of these sessions and I really enjoyed the opportunity to have other artists look at my work and see their work, which is all very different from mine.

What am I reading this week?

I went to the launch of Kate Jenkins’ book Out of the Ordinary, a novel about the early life of FM Alexander. FM is the founder of the Alexander Technique. He was born in Wynyard, and the book is a fictitious account of his early life.

I haven’t started reading it yet but am really interested to learn more about his life.

I find this type of fiction appealing because you don’t have to come up with all the ideas yourself—these stories are based on real people and real events, but you can also make a lot of stuff up to feed the story, as long as it doesn’t conflict with the facts that are known.

What am I watching this week?

• Masterchef Australia
• Rod Anderson: Finding the Boy Beyond the Rainbow

What am I listening to this week?

• Judy at Carnegie Hall
• Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical