Subject: Re: Wandering Didj
Date: Thursday, May 07, 1998 5:36 PM

At 10:09 AM 5/8/98 +1000, Guan wrote:

>Just wondering whether Wandering Didj is on schedule. The last I heard, Chris Riley is supposed to >pass the didj on to Peter Lister, who would be the last link before the Wanderer goes overseas. Is >everything going to plan?

It's due to arrive at my place TODAY...so all is good in the world.

Peter (pursing and flexing his lips in anticipation)

G'day fellow blowers,

My partner just called from home (she's sitting there waiting for our child to decide to emerge into the world...any moment now...) and the WD has just arrived. I'll be popping home for lunch today....

and I'll let you all know what I've discovered within it.....

Peter R Lister
doin' a bit 'o didjin' Down Unda

Well as you all now know, the Wandering Didj is in my hands. You also know I've been a little occupied with other events in my life, but I have managed to find time to play it a little.

I have spent some time contemplating telling you all about it, then I thought, maybe you don't need to know the details, or maybe you'd like to be surprised like I was when I unwrapped it. I also thought that if I said too much, you'd each modify your playing style to suit, hence defeating in part the concept behind the WD.

So if you all want to know the detail, ask me. Otherwise I'll only share with you the basic outlines....

The instrument is different to what I expected. In Ruth's(my partner) words it looks quite elegant. Gently curved over its' entire length, so if a rigid, straight case is to be used, it will have to be a absolute minimum
of 90 mm internal diameter. As either Dave or Chris already mentioned, it's a beautiful dark red ochre applied with a PVA base as a fixative. Beautifully worked with a rich sound. I must say though, that the wanderer is truly a challenge to play. For those of you that love this kind of a challenge, you won't be able to walk past it without picking it up...it begs to be played, and the harder you play it, the more it responds.

That's probably as much as I should say at the moment. I'd be happy to provide a more detailed description of what it's like if people wish it.

Oh, I should mention that it arrived with 5 cracks in it - none of them leak and I've discussed at length, the options for 'repair' with Guan. I'll probably oil the interior with raw linseed.

Well gotta go, work beckons.

The WD is now with me and I just ducked home for lunch and played around doing a bit of recording on it. It's loud, so I need to fiddle with things a bit before I do my recording to ensure there is no distortion in my final recording.

It's really growing on me..so I've decided to abscond with it...I'm gonna go and hide somewhere and never let it leave my hands. Only kidding.

I'm passing it on to my personal courier (my mate James) who'll carry it to the US. He leaves Oz on the 25th May and it'll probably be unloaded in New York.

I no longer have the emails relating to this..are you near NY Peter Hadley? or has my memory failed me again???

Peter R Lister
doin' a bit 'o didjin' Down Unda

Just a very quick note;

I spoke with Guan about repairs prior to doing anything. Obviously it was preferrable to retain the original ochre coating with as few blemishes as possible - this would be extremely difficult with any kind of glues or, in my experiences, with beeswax or propolis. The cracks are very fine and would be difficult to get anything inside, especially something as solid as wax. Smearing the surface to force it into the crack would blemish the exterior. We both had experience with oiling, and thought this was the best option, and Guan we felt that an organic oil such as linseed was preferrable to a mineral oil. I coated the interior with raw linseed, using a small piece of foam on a bit of fencing wire. It may need oiling again during its' journey, and I would recommend treating it the same as I have thus far (I think Guan would be happy with that).

On a different note, James called me from the airport at NYC this morning at 3 am. , WD in hand...unfortunately the phone line crackled and was cut immediately, so I don't know the current state of play.....