Welcome Home Rob McDougall
A big thank you to international acclaimed Baritone Singer, Tamworth's own Rob McDougall for bringing ON WITH THE SHOW to the Tamworth Town Hall last Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.
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I first met Rob when he performed and supported my Billabong Jazz Concerts.
They ran for 15 years between 1997 and 2011 raising $260,000 for the Billabong Clubhouse Mental Health Unit in Darling Street Tamworth.
We have remained good friends ever since and it was great catching up last Saturday afternoon.
He was joined by close mate Tenor Daniel Belle whose vocal range on high and low notes was fantastic and the audience showed their enthusiasm with lots of clapping and loud cheering.
Both Rob and Daniels' voices blend perfectly and they toured with the international cast of Les Miserables.
Another outstanding performance came from backing Pianist Steven Kreamer whom I rate as the best supporting pianist I have ever watched during my many, many concerts that I watched in Tamworth and Sydney.
Steven has worked with many well known artists including Kate Ceberano AM.
I was joined at the show with my son Saxophonist Peter Muller and my 84-year-old farmer mate from Quirindi, Bruce Fleeting, who both rated the concert as so professional and such a high standard.
Its easy to see why Rob and Daniel have thrilled audiences throughout the world.
There were loud clapping and cheers for "more, more!" at the end of the concert.
John Muller OAM, Tamworth
Cutting costs with solar
With an electricity bill of $165,000 at the equine centre, it is not surprising that Tamworth Regional Council is investigating alternative energy sources. ("Solar panels ruled out at equine event centre as ugly and expensive", 20/11).
Perhaps the council could get in touch with the Hepburn cooperative in Victoria, who with a population one-third that of Tamworth, has just received a $500,000 grant to install a solar array.
The German PEG system has a small footprint, is low to the ground and the lightweight construction requires no concrete foundation.
The NSW Regional Community Energy Fund could be a similar source of funds reducing the payback time.
Ray Peck, Hawthorn
National Anthem
Did you notice the national anthem of both countries was sung by all team members at the last rugby game unlike the NRL players when representing their states and country some NRL players need to wake up to themselves.
Ken Brooks, Tamworth
Dying or Dyeing?
Most people have accepted that Joe Biden is the President Elect, from the majority of citizens, political representatives, courts, TV commentators and finally a source of true authority, Twitter.
On Jan 20, 2021, President Elect Joe Biden loses the "Elect" word. He gets the keys to the Whitehouse, which are unnecessary as someone opens every door for him, he gets the red phone except that it doesn't really exist, he gets the nuclear button except that it's actually really just a set of codes but he does get the highly regarded @POTUS Twitter account. Twitter had declared that they will save all the Trump messages and then reset the count to zero.
Will there be much difference when the new President uses the account, apart from the frequency, the misspellings, the incorrect grammar, the fake news, the complaints about fake news and the overuse of the word "Great"? We hope and assume so.
What will future historians make of the Trump Twitter messages? Hopefully, they can just use the delete button by then.
Dennis Fitzgerald, Box Hill
Don't tax EV owners for reducing emissions
As regards the short-sighted proposal to charge electric vehicle (EV) drivers higher road taxes; EV drivers already pay more tax than internal combustion engine drivers through other government charges such as the luxury vehicle tax.
Vehicle emissions account for about 18 per cent of Australia's carbon emissions.
The average EV saves nearly four tonnes of emissions being spewed into the atmosphere, annually.
Why should EV owners bear the brunt of our politicians' short-sighted policies, when they are the ones who should be taking steps to help our country reduce carbon emissions?
The effects of carbon pollution are already costing us much more than the cost of incentivising EV uptake. An example is the Black Summer bushfires, amounting to billions of dollars economically.
A carbon price on the production of fossil fuels would be far more appropriate, than taxing EV owners.
Anne O'Hara, Wanniassa