THE GOLD COAST

FRIDAY 14th JANUARY

  Up again about 8.00am and then managed to get broadband connection so checked out e-mails and replied to a couple, before setting out with Roddy for the Gold Coast to visit his mate and record collector extraordinaire Kenny Perkins. I guess it was getting on for a couple of hours drive, but I hardly noticed the time as we chatted all the way.  Kenny was sitting on the porch when we arrived and had got a couple of chairs for us on the porch as there was nowhere to sit inside the house other than on the toilet or on the bed.  Otherwise all walls and most of the floor space was completely taken up by records.  He has 78's, 45', EP's and LP's taking in rock'n'roll, rockabilly, blues, R&B and jazz.  I had a look at some and he showed me others, but it was almost too much to

                                                       (Kenny & Roddy)
to take in.  I found an Eddie Cochran LP with a photo in it that almost positively confirmed that the person on a photo from Australia Roddy had was Eddie, even though it does not much look like him.  Kenny totally spotaneously gave me a Johnny Scat Brown single on Leedon. 

I was horrified later to learn from Roddy that it was worth about $200.  It was an act of extreme generosity from a really nice guy.  Kenny also pulled out a copy of the current Australian Big Beat magazine which had a picture of New Kommotion in it and also gave me, along with Derek Glenister, Breatheless Dan Coffey, Ray Topping, Tony Martin and various others a mention.  Published in Melbourne, I'll have to see if I can get hold of a copy.

  As there is nowhere to cook and eat in the house, we adjourned to Kenny's regular haunt down the road for lunch, and afterwards After dropping Kenny off back home, headed back to Lennox Head.  I looked at a collection of Time-Life DVD's Roddy had and tomorrow will view some of them.  Just learnt from Robert who phoned that England won the first 20/20 and another game is on tonight.  Went to watch and oh dear England lost, failing to get a six of the last ball to win!