Saturday, September 2, 2023

COLOURFUL NORTH QUEENSLAND LINK WITH AMERICAN SINGER , SONGWRITER , THE LATE JIMMY BUFFETT

 Rerun of  exclusive  post in  Little  Darwin 

JIMMY BUFFETT'S PARROT HEAD GOES " NUTS" DOWN UNDER  





Jenn  Payne , Queen of the  Coconuts , a painted  one nearby , rendering her  catchy  song  about  the  wonders of  North  Queensland  in  the cockpit of  the  43ft  catamaran , Nyeki , at Magnetic Island . Examples of  her artwork are  evident  throughout  the  yacht, above  her head  a necklace  made  from pumice , cuttlefish and  driftwood  threaded  onto  wire  about which is wound raffia , a thong with  a tropical scene . 



During  a   performance  in   Brisbane,  American  superstar  singer and  songwriter  ,  Jimmy  Buffett,  described as a  beach bum  who became a billionaire  ,   extolling a  relaxed , tropical  life style, with drinks at  sundown  ,  declared  Mission  Beach  resident  Jenn  Payne  Australia's  Number   One   Parrot  Head , a  great honour .

 She  had   attended  the show in   an eye catching  Parrot  Head   hat with  flashing lights , and presented him  with  a painted   coconut  .  Apart   from   bestowing  the parrot  head  title on  her , he  presented   Jenn  with  an  autographed  flip  flop .

At another of his  shows, in Sydney ,  she presented  him   with   Confessions of a Beachcomber , by Edward James Banfield , a sub editor on the Townsville Bulletin in l882, buried on   Dunk Island  , North Queensland ,  where  Jenn   once   worked  .

In the  Buffett  style, Jenn , known as the Cruising Yacht Artist  of Coconut Cottage , has  composed  a  rollicking  song, I Only Go Where The Coconuts Grow ,  which   she  sang , with great gusto, strumming away on her ukulele ,   to an  invited   lucky audience  of  hepcats   aboard  the catamaran  in the Magnetic Island marina . Present  in   the  almost  blown away group  was   the  island's   Queen of  the  Jungle , so it could be  regarded as a royal command performance.
 
Swaying   and  whistling   during the  event  was Larry the  jiving and  cussing Lorikeet , rescued  by  Jenn and  her husband, John , after  Cyclone Larry in 2011 . Apart  from Larry, there was an old bird  from Little Darwin in  attendance .
 
Jenn's  great  song  extolls  the  many  attractions of  North Queensland , the  Great Barrier  Reef  and  should  be  used  to  promote the North. Throw  in  Larry  accompanying  Jenn on the ukulele   and  it  would  undoubtedly  go  viral     

 Larry added  to the  entertainment by  performing  a  series  of  calisthenics   which involved  rotating  his head  almost  to  breaking point  to  perform  hearty  scratching  ; toes of    guests were nibbled ; he  swigged  some  wine , had a few drops of  beer  ,  sipped some honey water ,  refused  an  offer  of  a  drop of rum from the  Captain Larry bottle , the label of which  features him  , with  an uncouth  message  about  being  as  pissed  as  a  parrot .


Larry was not allowed on deck because  a  large bird of prey had been  circling   the  boat  for  days . The  killer kite  probably  tried  to  attack the  painting  of   Larry  drinking  a  Buffett  Margarita  on   the  deck .
   

 Larry is busy packing  his  kitbag  to   set sail  in  Nyeki for the special bash organised by the Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club  , an outfit in which every member  is  a" vice commodore" ,  so  nobody  can  get uppity like  the  exclusive  New  York  Yacht  Club .There could be up to 200  yachts at the  gathering  and  Larry, a  celebrity , will  take  part  in  daily  radio  squawk  sessions .