Election Day

Today is Election Day in the USA. And after the strange and chaotic procedures of 2000 and 2004, The Wombat decided to see for himself if everything will be going nice and fair. So, posting outside The White House in Washington, our attentive friend will keep an eye on who will be its next inhabitant!

A Folk-y Day in Belgium

Summertime is Music Festival Time! And last friday The Wombat hopped in the car to visit the Dranouter Folk Festival in Belgium.

After a long drive (and a few dashboard naps) our furry music lover arrived at the smal village of Dranouter, right on the French-Belgian border.

And what a beautiful place for a folk festval! Rolling hills, green fields, blue skies: it was going to be a pefect day!

First things first: Getting an entrance bracelet and a program. And the planning; who plays where and when?

The Wombat decided on seeing singer/song writers Eva De Roovere and Isabella A and the fun loving De Dolfijntjes first. And between the acts there was a lot more to see and do.

In the evening the folky marsupial watched the wonderful ladies of Varttina and their traditional Finnish folk on the main stage. The highlight of the day, however, was a one-off performance by Tori Amos. Her first solo concert in some years, and her first as an independent artist, it was something special! Just like the rest of the crowd, The Wombat loved every minute of it!

Afterwards, The Wombat was lucky enough to meet Tori and to thank her in person for her gorgeous show. Tanks, Tori!

And before you know it, it's the middle of the night. The music over, the dark sky full of stars. A perfect day it was!

Thank God I'm a Country Wombat!

Being a bit of a Country Wombat, our line dancing marsupial was overjoyed when the legendary Dolly Parton played the Ahoy' Arena in Rotterdam last month. And of course, The Wombat just HAD to be there!

And what an experience it was! With a great band, great performance and great hair (among other great things...) the show was absolutely fabulous! Jolene, Little Sparrow, Coat of Many Colours, Baby I'm Burning and of course I Will Always Love You: all Dolly's hits were there, just like Shinola, The Wombat's current favourite from her latest album Backwoods Barbie. And the crowd of fags, drags and good old country folk loved every minute of the show!!

Afterwards, The Wombat had its wish come true when bumbing into Dolly herself!!! Perhaps Miss Parton was just as impressed by The Wombat as the other way around. Sadly, due to her busy schedule, they couldn't talk for long: after an inpromtu, but heart-felt duet of Islands In the Stream, she had to leave.
I will always love you, Dolly Parton!

Wombat As Police Woman

Last week Joan As Police Woman released her gorgeous second album To Survive. Being a great fan of her first album, The Wombat was very excited she was playing The Melkweg in Amsterdam to promote the new release. The concert exceeded TheWombat's expectations!

After the show, The Wombat got to meet Joan to complement her with her performance. Although our Furry Music Lover was a bit shy at first, they got along great, chatting away about their common fear of Magpies and joining the Police Force. "Thank you, Joan, for a great show!"

Wombat Kong

Being in New York for the first time last month, The Wombat couldn't resist: he HAD to climb the Empire State Building!!

I Know You're Married, But...

Last night, The Wombat was at a Martha Wainwright concert at Paradiso in Amsterdam. It was the first time our Furry Friend saw Martha live, and it was great!!! What a wonderful performance. Some of the many highlights were You Cheated Me, In the Middle of the Night and her gorgeous cover of Stormy Weather. Lucky Wombat will be seeing her again tomorrow, but not before Martha and The Wombat took a picture cheek to cheek.

"Geeze," The Wombat admitted, "I know you're married, but I've got feelings too!"
See you tomorrow, Martha!

Postcards From the Edge

Back on board of the Grigory Mikeev, The Wombat helped preparing what has to be 'The Most Soutern BBQ'(TM)!

While others were preparing food or trying to get the BBQ heated up, our furry globetrotter took care of the punch, adding one or two secret ingredients for this special evening.


And it WAS a special evening! The food was great and, not in the least thanks to the Wombat-Punch, everybody was having a great time! Diver Greg did his best to get The Wombat to reveal the secret ingredients (but with very little succes).

The next day, the Grigory Mikeev set course: further south...

... and on the way passing Port Lockroy. Discovered in 1903, it has been used for whaling and it served as a militairy base. At present, though, it houses a small museum and the world's most Soutern Post Office! (Though a postcard still hasn't arrived!)

After all these festivities and cultural interludes, The Wombat went on another expedition into the Antarctic Wild.

First our marsupial adventurer came upon a small troup of Chinstrap Penguins. They seemed, however, more interested in shaking off their loose feathers, than in inter-animal discussions. What a shame. Obviously, these Chinstrap Penguins were not as curious and open minded as the wonderful Gentoos!

A bit further down the rough coast, the little brave one encountered another South Pole inhabitant: a lone Fur Seal. After trying several times to make contact, The Wombat was not able to get more than a few words out of the Seal. Apparantly he had other things on his mind.

A little disappointed, The Wombat returned to the ship. Discussing its findings with diver Debbie cheered The Wombat up a bit. Although not every encounter was as expected, our furry friend had learned a lot about Antarctic life!

Yeah! It was a great expedition!!

But not over yet!

After returning to Argentinian main land, The Wombat took a couple of days to relax in the beautiful city of Buenos Aires. On a big map on the Plaza de la Republica The Wombat could overlook the distance travelled from Tierra del Fuego to the capital.

After the obligatory snapshot before the giant Obelisk on the Plaza de la Republica, The Wombat did some sight seeing. But after this wonderful, exciting and exhausting expedition, the best thing was...

... enjoying the peace and quiet in the shadows of the trees in the Japanese Garden of Buenos Aires, dreaming of all things still to come.