Love/Marriage
When You Are in Love the Music Never Ends
Music, Theatre, Champagne, and Friends Were Our Language of Love
My best friend was seeking closure after the death of her first husband, who unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack while he was not at home. I understand her profound sense of loss and the need to feel close to him at the time of his passing.
I was lucky when Robbie’s time came. I sat on his bed, held his hand, and we shared our prayer of thanks for the love of each other, for the joy of our marriage, and for all the blessings in our lives.
Once again, he did his “Dewar” thing to me, and the two of us were absolutely alone in our own world, although the room was full of people and life support machines.
I saw his brother Aubrey do it once with his girlfriend Caroline while they were visiting. I watched and thought, “So, that’s what it looks like to other people on the outside when Robbie takes me into his world.”
Robbie’s world also meant wonderful nights in the smoky dives of the Latin Quarter, Lindy’s, and The Net. Musicians like Jeff St. John and The Troupadores playing till the early hours, and Bobby McGowan’s legendary trumpet worked with Nigel’s guitar to turn night into day and long, cool notes into food for the soul.
John and Steve Rando were musicians working their way through university to become legendary lawyers, and later John would become Marlon B. Rando, the rock star.
One of Robbie’s close friends was Fred Mason. Tall, dark-haired, debonair, and from Sydney. He brought an element of excitement and sophistication to the Perth nightclub scene.
Fred was a jazz musician of some repute, and he and his partner Dave owned a series of nightclubs in Perth: Che Cherie, Lindy’s, and the Foxhole (a “late-night coffee lounge” at the corner of Hay and George Streets).
These were the heady days when Led Zeppelin performs an impromptu set at the Latin Quarter on William Street, conversing with patrons before starting their on-stage jam session.
About a year before we marry, we go back to Lindy’s. At the end of the evening, we are on the dance floor, and we suddenly realise the music has stopped. We look up to find we are the only two people left in the nightclub, except for the owner and the band!
He says that they just didn’t have the heart to stop us because we are still so in love. It’s Fred. We all laugh, but there are no late-night coffees this night.
Life without Robbie is still rich with family and friends. Our Good Friday soiree at Shane and Denise’s house has been a tradition for years, but I do not try to emulate Robbie’s skill in the kitchen with Indian delicacies. My job is to source an excellent bottle of champagne each year, and one year we have a Bollinger. Lisa brings Jack Mann, and Denise has her excellent choice as well.
Living in Stoneville then, our life with my Dad and sons also includes being a “contract audience” at the Marloo Theatre, and Jesus Christ Superstar is a confronting and very satisfying piece of theatre, especially on Easter Saturday night.
Douglas Sutherland-Bruce is behind the bar with his son. It is lovely to dress for the theatre, and mingle with champagne in hand (Douglas says Lisa has already ordered for me and tonight she is not treading the boards herself).
I strike up a casual conversation with a tall, elegant man and his daughter. He tells me he is a musician from Sydney, and he is scornful of my rock & roll because, he says, jazz is the only music worth playing.
By chance, we sat next to each other in Row E, and we resumed our chat. He has a slight lisp, is softly spoken, and his intensely white short-sleeved shirt reminds me very much of Robbie. He will be 72 in a week or so, he tells me.
I asked him, since he is a jazz musician, does he know anything about Bobby McGowan? He regales me with stories of Bobby and his trumpet; then, we stop and introduce ourselves. When he suggests I should have recognised him, I laughingly say, “You didn’t have white hair the last time I saw you, Fred!”
Two souls so in love Hear not the music cease. In truth, it did not end.
Death threatens silence. But love always blends the sounds. Of life’s sweet refrains.
That’s how it is — the music hasn’t stopped — it is just playing more softly in the background, and it is totally in tune with how I am building my new life.
Without a doubt, this was our favourite song — played at our wedding and Robbie’s funeral. I love it still.
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