ANOTHER BIRTHDAY AND WE SPEND THE DAY AT REDCLIFFE....

 Another Year, another birthday and one of the things that Steve wanted to do for his birthday was go and check out the Comfort Caravans.  Having been to a caravan show a couple of years ago, he was very impressed with the Comfort Caravans, and down the track, this would be his dream van...

At the moment we are looking at building a new carport of our Sunny Coast home, and one of the things we need to do is put our current van under cover.  He though is keen to build it big enough to also hold a new van if we decide to upgrade so he wanted to go and get the measurements of his dream van so that we if his dream becomes a reality, that van would fit as well...

The children weren't that keen to go and look at caravans, but in the end they were good about it because they realized that it was what Poppy wanted to do and as it was his birthday, you get to choose what you would like to do on your birthday...

Comfort Caravans have their showrooms in Redcliffe so it was back to Redcliffe we headed.  We decided to make a day of it and also checkout the Bee Gee Way in Redcliffe whilst we were there.  It has been on my bucket list to explore for some time now...

Comfort Caravans is a family owned and run business, located in Clontarf, Queensland.  Their business started out solely as a caravan hire business but soon evolved into selling Caravans.  Their vans are beautifully finished and  are Australian made using really high quality materials.  They offer a wide range of layouts and are pretty flexible around customising a caravan to suite your own personal style.  I think this is what impressed us the most and they are well priced for the amount of extras that are put into their vans....  The van we are interested in is the 18 and a half foot van..

 

Our dream van...

 

 The kids were pretty patient as we were there for a good hour or more, so once we had finished there, we decided to treat them and take them to MacDonalds for lunch.  This is their favourite junk food destination.  They were keen to have a play in the playground until it was over run with teenagers and they obviously didn't feel so comfortable with so many big people in the playground.

They did enjoy their lunch though..

Lunch together at MacDonalds..

Me and my beautiful girl...

Poppy and Max enjoying their drink...

Once their little tummies were full, we headed into Redcliffe and then down onto the Esplanade.  We love the lagoon area here but this year decided to go and check out the Bee Gee Way instead as none of us had bought out togs with us to go for a swim...

Bee Gee Way is a commemorative 70m walkway that honours Redcliffe's most famous young residents who went on to become one of the top selling bands of all time...

The walkway, which was opened in 2 stages in 2013 and 2015 by Barry Gibb, was largely curated by him and is like a multi-media mini outdoor museum.

A gallery of more than 60 photos, 13 album covers and snippets of info about their lives, set out in chronological order, covers one wall, along with an enshrined copy of the first album contract they signed with managers Bill Goode and Bill Gates in 1959.

A 5.3m video screen shows interviews with Barry Gibb, never before seen home videos and footage of the Bee Gees performances, while along the opposite wall is a 70m mural of Barry, Robin, Maurice and their younger brother Andy Gibb.

 As well as life size (bare foot) statue of the Gibb brothers as children in Redcliffe, there's also statues of the adult Bee Gees from the 'One Night Only' album era.

Seating features the lyrics of Bee Gees songs and by night, the whole laneway comes to life with light shows* set to The Bee Gees greatest hits from 7pm until 9:30pm.

It is now on our bucket list to go back to Redcliffe and witness the light show...

 

The Bee Gees Story is quite a story.  From a carefree childhood in Redcliffe, topping the charts for the first time, migrating back to the UK, the golden disco years in California, and up until their last performances together, the Bee Gees story is told from start to finish. And the piece de resistance is the bronze statue immortalizing them forever as the young Redcliffe boys aged 9 and 12, who captivated their first audience at the Redcliffe Speedway.

Upon migrating to Australia with their family in 1958, Barry, Maurice and Robin settled on the peninsula, where they attended Humpybong State School and in their spare time wrote and played music, fished for tiger sharks and played arcade games on the Redcliffe Jetty. It was a carefree, bare-footed childhood that none of them ever forgot and which, decades later Barry wrote a poignant piece of prose summing up.

"I have changed, the child inside me has not.  I'm still here on Redcliffe Beach.  I'm still fishing for the tiger shark on a pier long swept away by time and tide.  I can still see the pie cart, the Saturday night dance, and the speedway, and first love. I remember visibly my childhood days here and I will dwell on my Redcliffe for as long as I live." (Excerpt from a recollection by Barry Gibb, which can be viewed in the Redcliffe Museum).

Their first break came at the Redcliffe Speedway when, as refreshment-selling boys, they would sing at interval to entertain the crowds, encouraged by owner Bill Goode. One night, Brisbane radio DJ Bill Gates from 4BH was in the audience, heard them and gave them their first gig on radio. Indeed it was the initials of these two men that the boys were indebted to that spawned the name The Bee Gees, and it was on a kitchen table in Redcliffe that their first recording contract was signed. Appearances at other venues followed, including a regular gig at the Filmer's Palace Hotel, a hulking great white art deco pub which used to stand on the hill above the Gayundah wreck at Woody Point before it burnt down in 2014. 

During their time at Redcliffe, the boys moved houses several times and two cottages known to have been rented by their family also still stand: 12 Fifth Avenue, Scarborough and one which was damaged by a fire in 2013 at 4 Tramore Street, Margate. A resident of the street recalled that a number of years back when the twins were alive, one day a limousine pulled up on the street and the 3 brothers jumped out and took photos of their former house.

A stint living at Cribb Island also occurred during those years before they moved south and, ironically on the day in 1966 that their first chart-topping single Spicks and Specks hit number 1, they landed in England to further their career and never returned, thus closing the Australian chapter of their lives.

Bee Gees Way hosts more than 60 captioned photographs, 13 album covers, personal stories and reflections and a 70-metre mural featuring the artwork of the Gibb brothers. It also has a giant 5.3 square metre video screen playing exclusive interviews with Barry Gibb and never before seen home movie footage, along with Bee Gees songs.

A 5.3m video screen shows interviews with Barry Gibb, never before seen home videos and footage of the Bee Gees performances, while along the opposite wall is a 70m mural of Barry, Robin, Maurice and their younger brother Andy Gibb.

Seating features the lyrics of Bee Gees songs and by night, the whole laneway comes to life with light shows* set to The Bee Gees greatest hits from 7pm until 9:30pm.

5.3sq mtr video screen

It also has a giant 5.3 square metre video screen playing exclusive interviews with Barry Gibb and never before seen home movie footage, along with Bee Gees songs.

Life size (bare foot) statue of the Gibb brothers as children in Redcliffe..

After checking out Bee Gee Way, we headed across the road to go for a walk out along the Redcliffe Jetty.  Max was pretty keen to explore it...

Redcliffe Jetty is one of the Moreton Bay Region's most identifiable landmarks, becoming an iconic part of Redcliffe peninsula's landscape since its construction in 1885! Over the years it has been used as the backdrop for many a 'Redcliffe' selfie, by both tourists and locals alike..

Redcliffe Jetty...

Redcliffe Esplanade

There are historical panels installed along Redcliffe Jetty so visitors can learn more about it and Redcliffe's fascinating history, stretching right back to Penal Settlement and John Oxley's exploration of the Queensland coast.

Enjoying a stroll along the jetty...

From the Jetty we headed back across the road in search of an ice-cream shop.  Both the kids were keen to get an ice cream.  Before we found the ice cream store though we came across a Lolly store and there is no way you can walk past a shop like this with kids without going in and exploring it and indulging in some of the many delights they had in there...  Both children got to pick a treat and it took them quite a while to decide which one as there were just so many options to choose from.  

Meanwhile whilst we were in the shop choosing a treat, Steve had located an ice cream shop a couple of stores further up the road and was checking out which flavours we might all like...  In the end he chose Rum and Raisin for both of us, and choc mint for Willow with Max choosing a Mango ice cream.  Thankfully he had the foresight to order our ice cream in cups rather than a cone, because with the wind, it was melting pretty quickly.  We sat out the front to eat it...

Whilst we were sitting there eating our ice cream, I noticed a lovely homewares store which advertised that they stocked Maxwell & Williams Table ware.  I had previously bought one of their botanical mugs from the Yandina Ginger Factory back in September last year, and when we went back at Christmas time, I had planned to buy three more to make a set of them.  You can imagine my disappointment when I went back and they no longer had any.  They also informed me that they were a discontinued line so I was pretty sad about that...

See that this store stocked Maxwell Williams, I thought I would check out and see if they had any of these mugs that I wanted.  I was in luck they had the full range (6 different mugs in the range) and even better still they had 20% off so I ended up getting these to add to the one I already had..

By now it was going on for 4pm and Chloe had informed us that she had finished work, and was keen for us to join her at her place so that the children and I could help her decorate her lounge and dining area for Steve's birthday.  I also had to pick up a birthday cake for him from the Cheesecake shop on the way home...

With Covid so bad at the moment and one of the family not vaccinated, we decided to have dinner at home this year rather than eating out.  Also as we had been out all day, and it wasn't fair to expect Dan and Chloe to cook for us all, we decided to order in Steve's favourite Pizzas.  Fortunately they have a Pizza Capers close by, so we ordered in Pizza and it was amazing...

We ordered in Pizza for dinner..

Family birthday dinner...

His wonderful birthday cake...

It's been a wonderful birthday celebrated with all those he loves.  The only way it could have been better were if Pete, Maria, Theodore and Elliot could have joined in with us.  We did though get to share some of it with them, when we all facetimed together... It is just not quite the same though as having them join us in person...