Beating the Heat

For me, 43 degrees celsius is:

Sipping chilled Cinzano & lemonade in a Moroccan-style glass with striped straw & tinkling ice cubes in festive shapes...

Finding a shady spot to make a start on my summer reading list; vintage-inspired cat's eye sunglasses optional...

Donning the flimsiest, floatiest cotton maxi kaftan I could find - this little vintage number from the 1970s comes all the way from a dear friend in Hawaii & is intricately embroidered with tiny flowers on the front & lower back. The see-through nature of the garment means that a thin camisole is required, in this case a white elastane one with shoestring straps from TS. Scroll down for a close-up of the workmanship around the neckline:

Carrying a gorgeous vintage woven straw "beach basket" from the late 1960s covered with 3D raffia fruits & leaves - a thoughtful gift from yet another friend who picked it up at a Sydney antique shop & brought it back to Brisbane as carry-on luggage to give to me on his return - that makes me feel like an extra from those Brady Bunch episodes where they visited Hawaii & Greg had that surfing accident after finding the cursed idol statue...

Marveling at this testament to mid-20th-century beach-side kitsch.

Fanning myself with a vintage Hawaiian straw fan covered in embroidered 3D yellow flowers & green leaves made of raffia...

Dancing in the late-afternoon breeze under the backyard mango tree, waving my arms in the air so my stack of Kashmiri hand-painted bangles clack together...

Winding down in the air-conditioning, grooving to some mellow records & quenching my thirst with a strawberry milkshake in an anodised cup, striped straw at the ready...

Franny's Mellow Mix for Beating the Heat

#1 Could You Be Love by Bob Marley

www.aetherforce.com

The road of life is rocky and you may stumble too

So while you point your fingers, someone else is judging you

Love your brother, man!

Could you be - could you be - could you be love?

Could you be - could you be love?

Could you be - could you be - could you be love?

Could you be - could you be love?

*

#2 Summer Breeze by Seals & Crofts

www.seventiesbands.co.uk

See the curtains hanging in the window

In the evenin' on a Friday night

Little light shining through the window

Let's me know everything's all right

Summer breeze, makes me feel fine

Blowing through the jasmine in my mind

Summer breeze, makes me feel fine

Blowing through the jasmine in my mind

*

#3 Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley (from Blue Hawaii)

www.elvisinfonet.com

Wise men say only fools rush in

But I can't help falling in love with you

Shall I stay? Would it be a sin?

If I can't help falling in love with you

Like a river flows surely to the sea

Darling so it goes, some things are meant to be

Take my hand, take me whole life too

For I can't help falling in love with you

*

#4 What is Life? by George Harrison

www.guardian.co,uk

What I feel, I can't say

But my love is there for you any time of day

But if it's not love that you need

Then I'll try my best to make everything succeed

Tell me, what is my life without your love?

Tell me, who am I without you by my side?

*

#5 White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane

One pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small

And the ones that mother gives you don't do anything at all

Go ask Alice, when she's ten feet tall

And if you go chasing rabbits and you know you're going to fall

Tell 'em a hookah-smoking caterpillar has given you the call

To call Alice, when she was just small

*

#6 If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body by Bellamy Brothers

www.ultimateclassiccountry.com

Now, rain can fall so soft against the window

The sun can shine so bright up in the sky

But Daddy always told me, "Don't make small talk"

He said, "Come on out and say what's on your mind"

If I said you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me?

If I swore you were an angel, would you treat me like the devil tonight?

If I were dying of thirst, would your flowing love come quench me?

If I said you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me?

*

#7 Barabajagal by Donovan

www.agentcoop.wordpress.com 

He very wise in the herbal lore; he's got your cure now

She came, she came to free the pain with his wildflower

Fine fine, fine fine and Celandine he'd prepared for her

Tea tea, tea tea to make her free while incense burned

*

#8 Heart of Gold by Neil Young

www.americansongwriter.com

I want to live, I want to give

I've been a miner for a heart of gold

It's these expressions I never give

That keep me searching for a heart of gold

And I'm getting' old

*

#9 Nights in White Satin by The Moody Blues

www.duduki.net

Nights in white satin, never reaching the end

Letters I've written, never meaning to send

Beauty I've always missed, with these eyes before

Just what the truth is, I can't say anymore

Cause I love you, yes I love you

Oh, how I love you

*

#10 Tea for the Tillerman by Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens)

www.songwriter.com.au

Bring tea for the tillerman, steak for the sun

Wine for the woman who made the rain come

Seagulls sing your heart away

Cause while sinners sin, the children play

Oh Lord, how they play and play

For that happy day, for that happy day

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