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Sergeant
Bernie Parker and Flight Lieutenant Kylie Douglas perform
during their deployment with the Dili-based command element.
Photo by CPL Wade Laube
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THE
Dengue Bar at Kobe Camp in Dili is a place where many of the Australians
deployed to East Timor’s capital go to unwind – and
two of them like to unwind with a microphone in hand.
Flight Lieutenant Kylie Douglas, of Aeromedical Evacuation (AME),
and Sergeant Bernie Parker, of Headquarters Peacekeeping Force
(HQPKF) have formed a musical duo that has already performed at
numerous functions around the city.
SGT Parker said he had always loved to play piano and had bought
a keyboard to East Timor so he didn’t get out of practice.
“Without it I’d go crazy, I just love it so much …
within a few days of being here I performed at a party and it’s
just taken off ever since,” he said. “It’s great
playing to a multinational crowd – they give us a great reception
and we just love it.”
FLTLT Douglas heard SGT Parker play at the party and approached
him to ask if he needed a singer.
“I needed an outlet away from AME and asked Bernie if he
wanted a female voice to sing with and it started from there,”
she said.
“We’ve done close to a dozen events. Our biggest formal
event was singing in front of the First Lady for a Portuguese
charity night at Hotel Timor.”
The crowd at the Dengue Bar was enthusiastic in their support
of the two musicians when they performed recently on the same
bill as a professional singing group from Korea.
