Duckpond
House Concert No. 39
Yusupha Ngum & The Affia Band
16
June 2018
Jonni and I were married
20 years ago at the Cockatoo Cafe in Dunolly and we had the band Blackwood
play at our wedding. So, when we celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary here
at the Duckpond,
we decided to ask Blackwood to play for us again. It was on that occasion
one of the band members,
Jane Thompson, suggested that the acoustics were so good at the Duckpond we
should think about
organising some house concerts - which we have done 39 times now! After all,
how else could we celebrate
our 20th Wedding Anniversary than to put on a house concert.
With all three of my children
and their offspring staying for the weekend,
it was a truly united effort to prepare for the celebration.
My eldest granddaughter Joni appointed herself chief floor sweeper,
and did a splendid job.
Justine's skills in any
food preparation are amazing (and scary) to watch
and she took on the job of making a couple of plates of blinis.
Son in law Damian made sure cars were all parked safely inside
the property
so no-one needed to park on our narrow road. Son Tim and grandson Archie
just thought they'd check out the situation.
As
Blackwood are no longer together as a band, we had to find a suitable replacement
and Jonni, with his love of African music, sought out the services of Yusupha
Ngum & The Affia Band.
They made a huge contribution to the afternoon, with music that drove so many
of us to get up and dance.
Even the children couldn't resist the lively rhythms
We never realised when we built The Duckpond, that a large main room
would manage to fit in a six piece band plus forty family and friends
with room to dance!
The four amazing strong
women of our family:
niece Kate, daughters in law Justine and Georgie, and daughter Heidi.
So proud of you all and the friendship you share together.
Yusupha is from Gambia, West Africa, but is now based in Melbourne and The
Affia Band
is his newest creative undertaking. They play an African fusion style which
proved irresistable
to many of our guests.
As you can see, Jonni and I were happy with our anniversary celebration.
It just couldn't have been improved on in any way and even the weather
was kind to us and failed to deliver the rain, hail and cold that had been
forecast.
The five grandchildren
had an in depth conference
to discuss the party, before bedtime.
We are blessed with a family
who ALL get stuck into the work involved in
such a major gathering. Tim and Adam wasted no time in tackling the mountain
of dishes and perhaps discussed their odd mother who refuses to install a
dish washer!
To find out more about Yusupha and the band, go to
their Facebook Page.
If you'd like to see a few highlights
of the day, Jonni has put up a video
on YouTube.