Justine Clarke is Great!

One of my earliest childhood memories is being taken to my parents to meet the Goodies at a local bookstore in Wolverhampton. The Goodies were huge at the time - probably bigger than Elvis, though given it was the mid 70's Elvis would have definitely had the edge of them in terms of calorie intake. I remember being speechless when I met them. Bill, Graeme and Tim all there in the flesh - astounding!-I was lost for words...

Fast forward 30 odd years and I'm in the Canberra Theatre with Amy, Eli and Audrey. We're watching Justine Clarke and I'm similarly in awe as I had been with the fab-3 all those years before.

Justine is a big-deal in Australia - especially in the under 7's market. She's done it all, from actor to jazz singer to long-term Play-School presenter (yes - Play School's still going strong down under whilst the UK Big Ted, Humpty et al are all drawing their pensions). She's here promoting her second (tricky?) album and heavily pregnant with her 3rd child.

And what a show she puts on - despite her maternal size, she leaps around the colourful stage. I'm clapping, Audrey is clapping, two hundred other tots are clapping - then I'm shouting and people are just looking at me.

We know all the songs, we should do as been listening to them in the car for weeks. 'I like to Sing', 'Making the Garden Grow', 'Gumtree Family' they're all there. The crowd loves Justine, and she's a great performer. Despite this I seem to be the only one at the end chanting 'More, more, more!'

At the end there's a chance to meet Justine in the reception where she's signing t-shirts and posters for kids and parents alike. I'm prepared to say a few clever witty words to her, but like the 6 year old facing the Goodies all those years before I'm lost for words. Justine Clarke is great!



The video is a bit dark, so you might need to adjust the settings on your monitor