Leslie Uggams

Way back in the sixties when television was in black and white (cue the violins), only had four channels, and you got up to change the channel (cue the orchestra), there was a variety show on television called Sing Along With Mitch that we watched religiously every weekend. It was one of Dad's favourites. Well, actually, as I got older I started to realise that maybe it was one of the singers that Dad really wanted to watch. There were a couple of regular soloists that fronted the choir - remember the days when variety meant a different choir member sang the lead that night on prime time television - and one of the more memorable soloists was Leslie Uggams. Leslie would have been in her early twenties, very talented, and pretty easy on the eye. It also didn't hurt that, in the days of black and white television, she stood out as she was black and the choir was white.

When Leslie put out an album (you remember vinyl LPs don't you), it was a given that we would get it. I rather suspect that Dad actually had it imported. Can you imagine walking into a Melbourne record shop when the Beatles held the top 6 spots on the top 40 and asking to buy an album of Leslie Uggams. Anyway, it eventually arrived, and it was good. In no time I'd learned Begin The Begine, and Dad had gazed at the face on the cover. We were allowed to dance around the lounge room while other records were playing, at the risk of putting a 'bump' in them from the heavy needle, but woe betide us if we so much as moved while Leslie was on.

I've thought about her occasionally when I reflect on the music of my childhood, as she doesn't seem to be found in the Apple shop, but I figured that by now, being in her late 70s, she would have gone to that great gospel choir in the sky.

Imagine my surprise when we boarded our ageing Qantas 747 two hours late in Brisbane, took off for LA, fired up the in-flight entertainment, watched a blank screen for a while, had the 'sorry for the inconvenience' announcement, rebooted the in-flight entertainment, and chose the pretty awful Deadpool movie (just how many people can you mutilate while cracking jokes), that when the merciful credits finally rolled, that there was Leslie Uggams name high up the list. She played the part of the elderly, blind, foul mouthed room mate of the hero. Guess at the age of 73 she was up for the elderly part, a pair of dark glasses sorted the blind bit, but foul mouthed wasn't quite what I remembered. And she didn't even sing! Anyway, it made my day after an inauspicious start.

We had been woken just after midnight in the caravan by a text saying that our flight was delayed two hours. Seems that JFK airport in New York had lost power so our plane was boarded manually, and turned up in Brisbane very late. It was an old plane with no charging points, and lumpy seats. Then the entertainment system malfunctioned. They radioed the technicians in Australia, they told us, from somewhere over Fiji trying to find a solution. I could give them the solution. Get a modern plane! The 747 we were on had flown from New York last night, and back to LA today. It's probably done that 7 days a week for the last 15 years, and was creaking from the strain. It's easy to be critical, the opposition Virgin has new planes and you use your Retina screened iPads to watch the entertainment, but I guess that's just churlish. It's still downright amazing that this monster of a tin can can get almost 300 people to the other side of the world in half a day in comfort and safety.

The Tom Bradley International airport at LAX has had a make over since we were here last, and introduced semi automatic immigration and customs booths that certainly speed you through the process in a fraction of the time it took when we last came through. That is, until you get to the two real humans who are manning the 'exit gate' right at the end and trying to deal with the hundreds of expedited passengers bearing down on them, and you have to stand in the queue.

Took a shuttle to the airport hotel, which we are just using for a day room to shower and grab a bit of sleep before catching our next onward flight tonight. Of course the room wasn't ready for our early arrival which turned out to be late if you get my drift, but that just gave me the opportunity to wander across the road to the supermarket to buy a soft, gorgeous, fluffy jelly (jam) donut, and answer the stream of people trying to identify my accent. Put a big smile on my face. And yes, there is both a McDonalds and a Starbucks on the corner outside. Welcome to the US.