from Margaret Walters on Ausfolk :

" Everyone I know in Sydney has been deeply saddened by Alistair's death and it has been soothing to read the many tributes people have made.


Chris Maltby gathered these websites together:


http://www.counterpunch.org/rovics01292010.html - David Rovics

http://links.org.au/node/1484 - Links International - Journal of Socialist Renewal

http://www.sa.org.au/topics/256-miscellaneous/2551-alistair-hulett - Diane Fieldes

http://www.folkicons.co.uk/alisbio.htm - Ally's bio page with earlier life info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alistair_Hulett - Wikipedia

http://hintadupfing.blogspot.com/2010/01/vale-alistair-hulett.html - Hintadupfing blog

http://www.folkradio.co.uk/2010/01/alastair-hulett-rip/ - Folk Radio UK








Robb Johnson in England wrote a poem the other day posted by Dave Rovics:



LYRIC FOR ALISTAIR



There are patterns in the woodwork
there are patterns on my thumb
there are patterns from the brickwork
to the rhythms of the drums
but don't talk to me of patterns
cos all that i can see
is a big hole in the universe
where you used to be

this is the sound of a broken heart
still beating

now we gather up the fragments
& we'll keep the pieces close
& you'll follow like my shadow
the best of friendly ghosts
cos we've got unfinished business
we'll move the wheel along
move it with your muscle
move it with your song

this is the sound of a broken heart
still beating

there are patterns in this chaos
there are patterns in these stars
like the patterns of the poetry
that you made with your guitar
there are patterns in the mystery
that i'll never understand
& there are patterns in the history
that we make here with our hands

this is the sound of a broken heart
still beating





and I'd like to share a song by John Warner in 1996 - written when Alistair and Fatima were leaving Sydney to go to Glasgow.



For Fatima and Alistair

tune: Among Proddy Dogs and Papes

It's a long, cold road from the Holy Isle way out in Lamlash Bay
To seagulls haggling hamburger scraps by a Newtown take-away.
Where you've watched the cops patrol like sharks, in a shop reflection screen
And told your truth in words that burn in our minds like Acetylene

But the bleeding hands are healed today, they're strong and close in yours,
So travel lightly, travel well the roads of Albion's shores.

You've led us down Destitution Road over Scotland's freezing moors,
Shed fiery light on "Divide and Rule" and a thousand years of wars.
We've felt our pride and our anger rise when the workers made their stands,
And wept with pain for a girl of ten and a pair of bleeding hands

The little girl of a Melbourne dawn in clothes she's ashamed to wear
Is the woman who loves the songs you love, and fights in the fight you share
Who speaks for the people of Bougainville, of the evil deeds of power;
For the hands that bled are militant red and today they've seized the hour

It's long we'll sing of a glint of light - down by a wintered weir,
And two old rogues with a new tickled trout making shift for another year;
And while we've voice and a set of strings, and a crowd can fill a room,
We'll tell of a bloodstained pillowcase, and the shame of Wittenoom.

So thanks for the gift of your hard-forged songs, for words with a tiger's bite,
Sydney's pubs will resound them long on many a Friday night,
And where we gather to stake our claims and resist the system's wrongs,
You will be there in the cause we share as the masses sing your songs.


John Warner 24 July 1996
with two-bob's worth from Margaret Walters "



and an addendum from Sandra Nixon :

" Video performances of Alistair posted by sparky 2086 - he's a friend of
Alistair & will be posting more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnn84PLTDSc

Obit: Alistair Hulett (28 Jan 2010)
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=126794&messages=70&page=1 "