THE RECORD

August 27, 1997

BACK TO THE EGG

Suzanne Trevis

Okay, from the minute Jerry checked his email and said, "Hey, guess who's going to be here on the 4th," This topic was a given.

I hate to say it but I haven't heard much of Rolf Harris in years. But his was one of those names I thought everybody recognized.

The immediate thoughts that came to mind were of one summer in the very early seventies. My parents used to take us camping in the interior every year. This particular year "Vancouver Town" was all over the radio and my Mom had a live recording on cassette that we must have just about wore out.

Listening to some of them now I figure half the jokes we probably didn't even get, but they were incredibly funny anyway. And it was "grown up" humour. Stuff we would have giggled about and kept a low profile in case Mom or Dad decided it was a little to risqué for the kids.

I think my Gran might have been here that summer. She only came out from England every few years or so. And we collected a lot of rocks from rivers, slides and campsites. My Dad had got a rock polisher for Christmas. He made me a beautiful necklace with a teardrop amethyst and all of those things came pouring back with the mention of that one name.

After I heard that he was coming I borrowed the tape from my Mom and sat down and listened to it with my kids. They knew the standards, Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport and Six White Boomers. They thought The Burglar was hilarious and Jake-the-Peg could only have been more entertaining if we'd had a video. Only my eldest (10) got most of Vancouver Town, a song that to this day provides me with more local political history than anything I every retained from school! And after all these years I was amazed that I remembered every single word. Even to songs I would have swore I didn't know only a week before.

I had a great visit with Rolf and his brother, Bruce. It's about time this job paid off with some real perks!

My only regret is that after listening to him sing to Margarita on the beach, I didn't get much of a chance to say thank you and good-bye.

Rolf, thank you, it was a pleasure I will never forget. You made this old married lady feel like she was twenty-one and I hope you never change. We love you much too much.