Joanna
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Wookie sees his first surfer
My band Roaring Lion had a practice on the beach at Surfer’s Paradise. Really, I know nothing about beach life, gazebos, barbecues… they teach me so much. Wookie saw his first surfer. Look at that sand. Coming from England, I cannot believe how even the most insignificant beach in Queensland is more beautiful than anything… Continue reading
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Living the Dream
I cannot imagine how Alejandro Larrandaburu felt to be up there on stage, fronting our Roaring Lion band, three weeks into making a life in Australia — from Uruguay — second time around. He spoke to the crowd at the Koala Tavern in Redlands, and said: I would like to thank each and everyone of… Continue reading
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By the lake
Good morning world. It’s a great morning to roll in what the ducks left for me. Have a woofsome day! Wookie 🐾 Continue reading
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The new face of Roaring Lion
Roaring Lion has been evolving in the first half of 2023, and we actually have four new faces to present to you. Over the past few months, several good people shared the stage with us, and we’ve finally decided how best to go forward as we strive to deliver Bob Marley’s beautiful message to you… Continue reading
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Introducing Wookie
Wookie has recently become part of our family and is the best thing that could ever have happened to us. He’s super helpful. Here he is helping me write this post. He likes gardening… …editing audio… …and teaching piano. Actually he probably doesn’t like it at all and thinks: OMG is she finished yet? I’ve… Continue reading
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The Poet’s Wife
I moved this David Austin rose at totally the wrong time of year — in the middle of summer. It was in a pot in a quiet spot and almost dead, so I put it in the ground where I can see it every day. It has a lovely almost tangy rose scent. So proud… Continue reading
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Morning walk
It’s that time of year, we’ll have misty mornings for a while now. Once the sun’s up, it clears up pretty quickly. This is just after 6am, rolling mist and cool air. Continue reading
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Roaring Lion makes a special lady happy at Beenleigh Tavern
Before our gig at the Beenleigh Tavern on November 5 2022, our lead singer Glen posted a message in our group chat. “Hey family, we have a request from a local woman Cathy who would like to make it to our BT show.” Cathy’s message was: “Hi, my mum is a big Bob Marley fan,… Continue reading
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Sunday arvo in Caloundra! Roaring Lion at Kings Beach Tavern, Sunshine Coast
Credits for photos and videos in this post go to Derrin Hill, Gwyn Naera and Aleisha Rangi. ROARING LION played to a packed house of Bob Marley fans at Kings Beach Tavern (KBT) in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast, yesterday. My head is still in the clouds… KBT had a nice poster up! Our boys… Continue reading
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My mother’s childhood home
This is my mother’s childhood home. It’s about a hundred years old now and may be rebuilt, so I am grateful to have seen it like this. The homestead is in Beaufort, Sabah, a town about an hour and forty minutes drive south of Kota Kinabalu. It sits slightly below the town centre, near the… Continue reading
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Signing a Book for CK Wong, Photographer
CK Wong is a photographer in Kota Kinabalu. His work appeared in my blog SabahSongs, as we were all covering performing musicians in the heyday of ten years ago. I was writing about them and photographers were covering events. The other day I was chatting to CK although I didn’t recognise him because we were… Continue reading
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Meanwhile, lettuce in Kooralbyn
They’re doing alright without me. Well done Mike (although he says he’s done nothing) 🤣 Continue reading
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Our Short Film JACKS Screens at KKIFF!
JOEL STEPHEN FLEMING’S crime comedy short film ‘JACKS’ screened at the Kota Kinabalu International film Festival, and I was “repping” — as Joel says — for our film! Yikes! I didn’t want to let him down! So how did it go? It was a blaaast! Here’s Ronald Ng, very funny emcee and well-known Sabah Tourism… Continue reading
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Prof. Dr Danny Wong — Sabahan Historian
Sabah is very proud of its eminent historian, Professor Datuk Dr Danny Wong Tze Ken. I have included a summary of his distinguished career at the bottom of this post. So when my friend Yap said, “Eh, I’m bringing you to this,” I thought: Far out! Professor Danny (I want to refer to him in… Continue reading
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KKIFF: Watching ‘The Sight of Borneo Kirin’
I was so excited to see the film ‘The Sight of Borneo Kirin’, by Pentium Tee! It was Day 2 of the Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF) and Yap had a ticket for me. He warned me, “I’m in this film, okay?” No kidding! This film is a documentary about the Hakka Chinese Unicorn… Continue reading
About Joanna
Joanna is British Australian. Her early career was in financial news in London. That ended in 2008. Joanna moved to Sabah, her parents’ birthplace, where she wrote a blog about musicians, which became a book. Joanna came to Australia in 2012 and started this blog — her second. These days, she writes mostly about music, her garden, and trips to Sabah. Oh, and Wookie the Havanese.
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