It has been a normal sort of summer by Australian standards. Some places have been suffering sweltering temperatures of over 40 degrees for a month or more. Other parts have been enduring bush fires which have devastated communities, livelihoods, homes and wildlife.
And now in Queensland and northern NSW come - the floods. My mother texted me to say they were OK although no electricity and no phone lines including mobiles. So I left it a bit before I called her. Meanwhile whilst checking news reports and watching the news I started to get a little worried. By the time I called my mother she was in bed. No electricity and no daylight savings in Queensland meant that by 7pm it was dark, and there was nothing else for it but to go to bed with a torch and a book.
She assured me everything was fine in their area, aside from the fact that their pool had flooded and due to having no electricity, they could not open their remote control doors (to get out the Mercedes Benz the poor things!). I told mother that I was hoping for more drama, in order that I could get a decent blog written (selfish I know but I am getting the scraps where I can).
She replied that it was a big drama for her - "I haven't had a cup of tea all day!"
So yes she is suffering. Although as I watched my own tea bag floating in my cup, I pondered that some people would be watching their houses float down the river. And perhaps even their car or dog too.
There must be a gag line in here somewhere to do with cups that overfloweth - but I am too damn tired to even think on it.
Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Monday, 28 January 2013
Australia Day
About ten years ago David and I came back to Australia for what we liked to call a "sabbatical". In reality David was desperate to come back for a while and I begrudgingly tagged along. We were living in Sydney for six months and both working (eventually). On the Australia Day long weekend David went climbing with a friend in the Blue Mountains, whilst I was lucky enough to be invited on a boat on the harbour, with two old university friends Samantha and Juliet and Juliet's new partner.
It was a glorious day filled with swimming in harbourside lagoons, great food and cold champagne - all taken from the boat. It was such an adventure and so much fun. As the sun was setting we were toasting our glasses in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House - two very Australian cultural icons - and Juliet was jubiliant in her enthusiasm in celebrating the lovely day we had enjoyed. She said "To great friends and a great day, and this bloody beautiful country of ours!". The funny thing was, there was no tongue in cheek or jest as she spoke these words, and they were perfectly true and fitted perfectly with the day we had experienced together.
So as I was watching the tennis the other night, my first experience of Australia Day 2013 was a TV commercial featuring rock music, esky's (cool boxes), men running around playing cricket, men laughing and joking in the sun and all of them drinking VB (beer). The tagline at the end was "Celebrate this Australia Day with Liqourland!"
On another note it has not been funny to see the media bitching about Victoria Azarenka. Anyone who is not an absolute idiot could see from the courtside interview that she did not understand the question and launched into a completely different topic. The media then seized on this and have since been reporting very unsporting comments. This eventually led to the crowd booing Azarenka when she entered the court for the Women's Final. Thank god she quieted them by thrashing her opponent.
Ever since Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic went down the Australian press have been less interested in the Open, all information going from front page to back page overnight. However, it was very exciting to see Murray and Djokovic going at it last night, even when the poor old Scot went down like a lead balloon in the 4th set (but with a sore toe). I will need a whole other blog post to even try and explain the outfits worn by the umpire and lines people. Orange fleece jackets by none other than Lacoste. Looks like someone may have visited Liqourland before designing them.
It was a glorious day filled with swimming in harbourside lagoons, great food and cold champagne - all taken from the boat. It was such an adventure and so much fun. As the sun was setting we were toasting our glasses in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House - two very Australian cultural icons - and Juliet was jubiliant in her enthusiasm in celebrating the lovely day we had enjoyed. She said "To great friends and a great day, and this bloody beautiful country of ours!". The funny thing was, there was no tongue in cheek or jest as she spoke these words, and they were perfectly true and fitted perfectly with the day we had experienced together.
So as I was watching the tennis the other night, my first experience of Australia Day 2013 was a TV commercial featuring rock music, esky's (cool boxes), men running around playing cricket, men laughing and joking in the sun and all of them drinking VB (beer). The tagline at the end was "Celebrate this Australia Day with Liqourland!"
On another note it has not been funny to see the media bitching about Victoria Azarenka. Anyone who is not an absolute idiot could see from the courtside interview that she did not understand the question and launched into a completely different topic. The media then seized on this and have since been reporting very unsporting comments. This eventually led to the crowd booing Azarenka when she entered the court for the Women's Final. Thank god she quieted them by thrashing her opponent.
Ever since Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic went down the Australian press have been less interested in the Open, all information going from front page to back page overnight. However, it was very exciting to see Murray and Djokovic going at it last night, even when the poor old Scot went down like a lead balloon in the 4th set (but with a sore toe). I will need a whole other blog post to even try and explain the outfits worn by the umpire and lines people. Orange fleece jackets by none other than Lacoste. Looks like someone may have visited Liqourland before designing them.
Thursday, 17 January 2013
George
Here is George on holiday with us at Tathra, on the NSW south coast. The owners of the holiday resort/park warned us about George and Frank. I came back from a walk one morning to find Rufus very excited about "the biggest lizard I have ever seen". Of course all small reptiles seem big to a small five year old boy so I went along with him to see this tiny thing of excitement with a smile on my face.
Bloody hell! George was of crocodile proportions and had claws of death and could scale a gum tree in seconds. I could only imagine what he would do to an unsuspecting Jonty with a bit of toast in his hand.
Frank was a smaller and prettier water dragon who liked to hang out at the pool and lake. Although like George, he would creep up on you just as you were arranging your book and towel.
One night The Accountant and I went to dinner in Merimbula with friends. The locals warned us about driving back on the road - "watch the wildlife" they said knowingly. It was like some sort of animal obstacle course on the way back. Kangaroos everywhere, at the side of the road, on the road, crossing the road, about to cross the road - STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. Possums and their entire family crossing the road at a leisurely pace. I had to drive at 20 miles an hour just to keep the bloody wildlife safely in my headlights. It was a full moon, so there was a fair amount of craziness.
The holiday was spent at the beach, at the resort playing mini-golf, canoeing on the lake, swimming and walking. And keeping one eye out for George.
Photo caption: Henry, Rufus and cousin Evie casting a wary eye over new friend George.
Bloody hell! George was of crocodile proportions and had claws of death and could scale a gum tree in seconds. I could only imagine what he would do to an unsuspecting Jonty with a bit of toast in his hand.
Frank was a smaller and prettier water dragon who liked to hang out at the pool and lake. Although like George, he would creep up on you just as you were arranging your book and towel.
One night The Accountant and I went to dinner in Merimbula with friends. The locals warned us about driving back on the road - "watch the wildlife" they said knowingly. It was like some sort of animal obstacle course on the way back. Kangaroos everywhere, at the side of the road, on the road, crossing the road, about to cross the road - STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. Possums and their entire family crossing the road at a leisurely pace. I had to drive at 20 miles an hour just to keep the bloody wildlife safely in my headlights. It was a full moon, so there was a fair amount of craziness.
The holiday was spent at the beach, at the resort playing mini-golf, canoeing on the lake, swimming and walking. And keeping one eye out for George.
Photo caption: Henry, Rufus and cousin Evie casting a wary eye over new friend George.
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
Birthday Blog
Is it so bad being 44? I was so young and happy yesterday, and today I definitely have to tick the mid-forties box. No blogs for ages due the weariness of the festive season setting in on about December 1st. The weariness and despair of Christmas was with me throughout December and now nearly half of January.
Whilst my European and UK friends have been toasting the new year in front of cosy sitting room fires, we have been literally sweltering in 40 degree heat with real fires blasting away across Southern Australia. The road we took from our coastal holiday to Canberra is now closed due to bush fires, and yesterday people in some areas were told not too bother evacuating, but just to find some shelter. The only shelter available to most people would be to jump in a river or lake. If there is one.
Thankfully Canberra has cooled down overnight, and where it was still 33 degrees at 10pm, it is now blissfully fresh.
My birthday celebrations are kicking off without The Accountant, who is adding and subtracting numbers in Melbourne and bringing home the bacon. And although he was not looking forward to going back to the office, he was feeling terribly chuffed about having the house to himself for the week. Beer. Sofa. Take-away dinners. Peace and quiet. And leaving his undies and wet towel where he damn pleases thank you very much.
I awoke early this morning to find a lovely birthday breakfast being prepared on the verhandah, and this afternoon lunching at the gallery with my sister and mother. All this to distract me from the fact that I am officially OLD(ER).
Thursday, 22 November 2012
Chookas
I cannot remember the last time I was in a dressing room preparing to go on stage and did not know the people around me. Usually everyone in the Biserk dressing room had seen everyone else's bottom a hundred times before and we just got on with it. So last night I had to share a dressing room with complete strangers, male and female, whilst we all stripped in and out of sweaty costumes and underwear, leaning over to fix mascara, looking in the mirror at bar straps, knicker lines and hairstyles. And the girls were pretty fussy too.
Lots of male torsos and bits and bobs. Well readers I didn't know where to look! I did really but of course I'm a lady foremost.
Now "Chookas" is an Australian term meaning good luck. Where in England we would say Break A Leg. I have no idea where the word came from as it reminds me of chooks running around on a farm, which is the last thing I am thinking about in the wings before I go on stage. But whatever floats your boat.
Had a fantastic opening night last night. Which was a relief as we had a completely crap dress rehearsal (which always bodes well somehow) where we tripped on our props and we were dancing a bit like Mick Jagger - but in a bad way. Then it all magically came together for the real thing.
Hayley wanted to know why I was not nervous. I was just so relaxed and happy to be out of the house doing my thing, I had no time to be nervous. Imagine swapping dinner/bath/bedtime ritual (absolute bloody chaos) with dancing for an audience. Also the older you get.....
Lots of male torsos and bits and bobs. Well readers I didn't know where to look! I did really but of course I'm a lady foremost.
Now "Chookas" is an Australian term meaning good luck. Where in England we would say Break A Leg. I have no idea where the word came from as it reminds me of chooks running around on a farm, which is the last thing I am thinking about in the wings before I go on stage. But whatever floats your boat.
Had a fantastic opening night last night. Which was a relief as we had a completely crap dress rehearsal (which always bodes well somehow) where we tripped on our props and we were dancing a bit like Mick Jagger - but in a bad way. Then it all magically came together for the real thing.
Hayley wanted to know why I was not nervous. I was just so relaxed and happy to be out of the house doing my thing, I had no time to be nervous. Imagine swapping dinner/bath/bedtime ritual (absolute bloody chaos) with dancing for an audience. Also the older you get.....
Sunday, 18 November 2012
Shop Names Part II
I drive past this shop all the time and it always makes me smirk. "House of Recliners" on the corner of Toorak and Camberwell Roads. Hilarious! I swear they make these shop names up just for my own amusement.
Imagine the type of person who must visit such a shop. I hate to be judgemental but we know the target customer is going to be male and probably lists watching television amongst his favourite activities. I think Nachos would be on the list as well. A cross between Homer Simpson and Joey from Friends.
The tagline on the shop window reads "Your one-stop motion furniture superstore". Talk about a niche market.
Imagine the type of person who must visit such a shop. I hate to be judgemental but we know the target customer is going to be male and probably lists watching television amongst his favourite activities. I think Nachos would be on the list as well. A cross between Homer Simpson and Joey from Friends.
The tagline on the shop window reads "Your one-stop motion furniture superstore". Talk about a niche market.
Monday, 12 November 2012
Lighting Design
Bear with me whilst I explain. The other day I had a laugh out loud moment where I was making dinner in the kitchen and recounting the events of the day in fast forward (I often do this just to remonstrate with myself how little I've achieved in terms of career and creativity - fun isn't it?). I came home from teaching my morning adults beginner's class - WITH ONE PERSON, and was bemoaning the fact of lack of dance and career to The Accountant.
He was happy as he was working from home (i.e.laptop on the terrace, coffee on the side, gazing out at the sun and the trees). We sat there we two, laptops side by side - he earning money whilst tapping now and then, me earning none but desperately searching between loads of washing, feeding Jonty, putting Jonty down for sleep, re-putting Jonty down for sleep and fitting in job-searching for week into 12 minutes. And I wonder why I can't find anything to fit in with my routine.
I happened to mention that there was vacancy at Ausdance - the CEO/Director for Victoria. Well up leapt The Accountant, eyes shining and encouraging me to apply straight away. Seriously? Seriously I am a dance artist/housewife who has spent the last year settling a family into a new life and who - at a stretch - teaches no more than 4 hours a week. Lately I have been in the studio more, choreographing and now performing a duet, but before that - not a lot.
So in the space of ten minutes I am contemplating coming home at 10pm and staying up until 3am to get the fifteen points on the selection criteria addressed. For a job where I am not even certain I would get an interview due to the fact I know NO ONE in dance in Victoria. However I should not have been that put off as when I checked the last two people to get these posts recently in the ACT and NSW were former parliamentarians. Nothing to do with dance at all.
In a complete turn-around, I was nearly the oldest person at a production meeting for choreographers this weekend for Short + Sweet. It was not a short or sweet meeting. For two and a half hours I had to have a workshop in lighting in a small scale theatre and complete an intolerable risk assessment (I may or may not trip over in the dark on the way to the stage). I can understand why they do this. They do not want some undergraduate dancer/choreographer coming in with 30 lighting cues for a ten minute piece - complete with set, props, water, fire, mirror ball and haze machine. The rest of us just want to get on with it.
So instead we all had to fill out our own lighting designs to give to the technicians ahead of our technical rehearsal. I think it was the only time in my life where I finished a piece of written work way ahead of everyone else. And I even knew what I was doing. Now if I could only get my blue pants from riding up my bottom during the piece all will be well....
He was happy as he was working from home (i.e.laptop on the terrace, coffee on the side, gazing out at the sun and the trees). We sat there we two, laptops side by side - he earning money whilst tapping now and then, me earning none but desperately searching between loads of washing, feeding Jonty, putting Jonty down for sleep, re-putting Jonty down for sleep and fitting in job-searching for week into 12 minutes. And I wonder why I can't find anything to fit in with my routine.
I happened to mention that there was vacancy at Ausdance - the CEO/Director for Victoria. Well up leapt The Accountant, eyes shining and encouraging me to apply straight away. Seriously? Seriously I am a dance artist/housewife who has spent the last year settling a family into a new life and who - at a stretch - teaches no more than 4 hours a week. Lately I have been in the studio more, choreographing and now performing a duet, but before that - not a lot.
So in the space of ten minutes I am contemplating coming home at 10pm and staying up until 3am to get the fifteen points on the selection criteria addressed. For a job where I am not even certain I would get an interview due to the fact I know NO ONE in dance in Victoria. However I should not have been that put off as when I checked the last two people to get these posts recently in the ACT and NSW were former parliamentarians. Nothing to do with dance at all.
In a complete turn-around, I was nearly the oldest person at a production meeting for choreographers this weekend for Short + Sweet. It was not a short or sweet meeting. For two and a half hours I had to have a workshop in lighting in a small scale theatre and complete an intolerable risk assessment (I may or may not trip over in the dark on the way to the stage). I can understand why they do this. They do not want some undergraduate dancer/choreographer coming in with 30 lighting cues for a ten minute piece - complete with set, props, water, fire, mirror ball and haze machine. The rest of us just want to get on with it.
So instead we all had to fill out our own lighting designs to give to the technicians ahead of our technical rehearsal. I think it was the only time in my life where I finished a piece of written work way ahead of everyone else. And I even knew what I was doing. Now if I could only get my blue pants from riding up my bottom during the piece all will be well....
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