Charlie - John Warner was MC and it was such a full evening he didn't sing Dead Dog Cider but I'll remind him Tues at the Shannon session. Lots of good songs & a fantastic singing audience (as always)

Alison - sounds like you had a busy day - you're excused for not coming to the Dog!! Not that I can ever get to your far distant club. Glad to know you're back to the normal slog of life after all that STAGnant partying.

re our National Anthem - well, I think I know the first verse, but we can't have Waltzing Matilda in it's place cos somebody in USA has copywrite on the tune!! Being very new at this game I don't know how to create a URL to the Waltzing Matilda website (I can do them easily at work, but here ...) It's either a link on the Bush Music club site (folk.mountaintracks.com.au/bushmusic) or the NSW Folk Federation site (www.newsouthfolk.com/ffnsw) Anyway it makes interesting reading.

Now for Hrothgar's suggestion to explain the name of our club.

"The Loaded Dog" is an Australian classic short story of life in the miner's camp & the consequences of a very friendly young pup carrying a lighted charge of dynamite (which his owner was going to use to catch fish!!) & wondering why all his friends won't play with him. They do things like jump down mines, climb trees & run in all directions. Eventually he drops it (the nasty stray dogs in the camp decide they want what he has). Some of these muts aren't ever seen again (some come slinking back) & great fun is had by folks (when they recover from their hysterical laughter) asking the miner if he's planning to fish & making explosive noises behind dogs. But Henry Lawson tells it better than I can. I used to have a beautifully illustrated version (lent out & never returned, I must get it back) Sandra