Thanks to all who attended the performance of “Elise’s Journey” on Sunday the 21st of October 2012. It was the culmination of almost two years of planning and organizing, not to mention recruiting volunteers to act and turn up for rehearsals almost every weekend! The audience enjoyed the story, great music and songs immensely; and the actors were fantastic even though it was the first time some of them had appeared on stage. The whole show went through smoothly without a hitch, and many people wanted to know if we were going to hold a few more performances in the future, and the answer to that is, wait and see. All proceeds from the sale of tickets were donated to the Society of St Vincent de Paul Mornington. Thank you once again to the actors and everyone who were involved in this performance as they worked hard to make it a resounding success.

This one-off charity performance will be held in aid of St Vincent de Paul Society at 2pm on Sunday the 21st of October 2012 at the Community Centre Mt Eliza Vic. 3930. An original musical by Elvira Spaziani and stage play by Nalini de Sielvie is based on real life. “Elise’s Journey” a light musical in three acts is set in 1950, and tells the story of Elise, a twelve year old girl who is sent alone to live with relatives in Australia in order to escape poverty in the Island of Selina, off the coast of Sicily. Every original song resonates with emotion, capturing the fear, sadness and bewilderment she faces on her lonely voyage across the sea. Elise later becomes a famous singer-songwriter and in spite of heartache and sorrow, eventually finds love and happiness in the lucky country.

The festive atmosphere at Rosebud library was a welcome sight with bright yellow balloons festooned right throughout. It was a hive of activity last Saturday on the 25th of August as crowds poured in to participate in the fun-filled “Big Read” events. Children lined up to meet their favorite authors and get their books signed, while adults stopped to browse and engaged in interesting conversations with the local authors. We had excellent results that day with several people purchasing signed copies. I was very pleased to meet other authors from the Peninsula and we enjoyed each others company immensely as we shared our literary experiences. The library staff were friendly and supportive and did a marvelous job promoting the event as the crowds did not ease till nearly closing time at 2pm. I will certainly be part of this event in 2013 too, as it’s a great way to promote my books and meet  other writers out there. A great big thank you to the friendly staff at the library. Well done!