Mark and I are going into official planning mode now, well there is lots to do and very little time. This weekend we have taken advantage of rain, well not here it seems, but everywhere else and well supposedly its meant to rain here. Opps no sun just popped out - damn it...
Anyway, the packing up and sorting of much paperwork has been done, between sorting through lots of holiday mementos, booklets, tickets, maps I had to go through an abundance of well maintained receipts...oh my goodness the receipts... company documents, cards, job contracts and official papers. I chucked a mountains worth,or rather several endangered rain forests worth and the rest is now filed nicely and neatly with labels too! All ready for its big trip across the ocean...
Yes its now only 8 months to go, we will land in Australia in very early March 2010 and no we have not purchased, those scarey (both price and in meaning) ONE-WAY tickets to Australia. But it will happen soon, right after I have booked and paid for the Egypt holiday that must, simply MUST happen in February.
Other planning is Cornwall, Ireland and France, as Dad will be here for both Cornwall and France. Mark and I are planning a trip to Northern France (not Paris) in September to enjoy a bit of a foodie and drinky holiday in the country that you could say invented dining, eating for pleasure and made the world realise we had tastebuds for a reason!! So onwards...more planning...
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Adam Hills under London...not rainy for a change...skies
There are not many comedians out there who I would make a big effort to see, but Adam Hills is one of them. I hadn’t heard he was in London and only discovered he was when I was looking for tickets to see Much Ado about nothing at the famous Regents Park Open Air theatre.
It turns out that they have random comedy nights, random by both the comedians themselves and the timings, throughout the season but not so random as to all being completely sold out. Not surprising really, as at £14 for an evening out it’s very reasonable.
Adam Hills was on the bill for one of those nights and well I wanted to go, the last time I had seen him was even before his famous “Go you Big Red Fire Engine” shows at the Exeter in Rundle street.
The Man Himself...
After a bit of research, some stalking of Adam’s own website, and a little help from Mother Nature on the day, I was able to go. Turns out they sell the grassy bits on the sides of the seats only on the day, and only if the weather is going to be reasonable, as the shows all go on rain or shine. Lady luck was still on my side that day, and my mad (and turns out unnecessary) dash down to Regents Park on the Sunday afternoon, yielded me with 2 seated tickets, as some kind person had done a return. We had in the end great seats right in the front centre section. He was very funny, lots of fun with the crowd and he is so very down to earth.
The Stage (see note)
One of the funniest bits was when he talked about hosting the Beijing Paralympics, because of his prosthetic leg. He said normally he goes through metal detectors and doesn’t say anything, beeps, goes back tells security about his leg and they all apologetically embarrassed, as if he is retarded, wave him through. This time he went through in Beijing and for a change when the beeper went off said, oh yes I have a prosthetic leg, the security guard smiled and responded with a big smile, “yes ok, you go through”, he was puzzled by this and thought the guy has misheard him, but again he got the same response “yes ok, you go through”. Then it clicked for him, doh, he is at the Paralympics, almost every person in the queue would have had a prosthetic limb of some description, so he thought to himself, great everyone in the queue is now thinking “come on princess, moving right along, your not so special here you know!!”.
The crowd above ...
He was also quiet sobering and there were some down to earth moments, where at one point he was performing as if he had his own son with him (he has no children) and telling him about the world, giving him a bit of Dad advice, a “Dad moment”.
In this part he talked about one of his super bubbly friends who had died and how he remembered the good times of being out dancing with her with bunny ears on. Later at a party to celebrate her life after she had died, he felt a bit down after having left the party, but people kept passing him in the street, despite his long sad face, to smiling and laugh, as if to cheer him up. He didn’t understand why it was, until he realised that at the party he had been, and was still wearing a pair of bunny ears in her memory.
It cheered him immensely and the moral of his story was, in my words not his, “you’re a wonderful person – an inflator (he said) - if you inflate people while you are alive, but you’re even more a wonderful person if you can do this even when your not there anymore”. He said this of his friend because even though she was no longer around just the thought of her (and the ears) cheered him up.
View before the show..
It was a nice ending, and he himself is an inflator, and not because he gave out lovely round purple balloons at the end of the show, but because he wasn’t afraid to share such a personal story with all of us. I found that so memorable an experience, even a month after seeing him I can easily recall his show. I cannot wait to see him again.
Note - The theatre its self, well as they declare in the “about us” section of their website – “The theatre is the only permanent professional outdoor theatre in Britain . Its steeply raked auditorium is one of the largest in London with 1240 seats, yet those who attend say it is one of the most intimate”. Having now been there myself, I can says its pretty much true, it feels very small and like you are a part of the performance.
It turns out that they have random comedy nights, random by both the comedians themselves and the timings, throughout the season but not so random as to all being completely sold out. Not surprising really, as at £14 for an evening out it’s very reasonable.
Adam Hills was on the bill for one of those nights and well I wanted to go, the last time I had seen him was even before his famous “Go you Big Red Fire Engine” shows at the Exeter in Rundle street.
The Man Himself...After a bit of research, some stalking of Adam’s own website, and a little help from Mother Nature on the day, I was able to go. Turns out they sell the grassy bits on the sides of the seats only on the day, and only if the weather is going to be reasonable, as the shows all go on rain or shine. Lady luck was still on my side that day, and my mad (and turns out unnecessary) dash down to Regents Park on the Sunday afternoon, yielded me with 2 seated tickets, as some kind person had done a return. We had in the end great seats right in the front centre section. He was very funny, lots of fun with the crowd and he is so very down to earth.
The Stage (see note)One of the funniest bits was when he talked about hosting the Beijing Paralympics, because of his prosthetic leg. He said normally he goes through metal detectors and doesn’t say anything, beeps, goes back tells security about his leg and they all apologetically embarrassed, as if he is retarded, wave him through. This time he went through in Beijing and for a change when the beeper went off said, oh yes I have a prosthetic leg, the security guard smiled and responded with a big smile, “yes ok, you go through”, he was puzzled by this and thought the guy has misheard him, but again he got the same response “yes ok, you go through”. Then it clicked for him, doh, he is at the Paralympics, almost every person in the queue would have had a prosthetic limb of some description, so he thought to himself, great everyone in the queue is now thinking “come on princess, moving right along, your not so special here you know!!”.
The crowd above ...He was also quiet sobering and there were some down to earth moments, where at one point he was performing as if he had his own son with him (he has no children) and telling him about the world, giving him a bit of Dad advice, a “Dad moment”.
In this part he talked about one of his super bubbly friends who had died and how he remembered the good times of being out dancing with her with bunny ears on. Later at a party to celebrate her life after she had died, he felt a bit down after having left the party, but people kept passing him in the street, despite his long sad face, to smiling and laugh, as if to cheer him up. He didn’t understand why it was, until he realised that at the party he had been, and was still wearing a pair of bunny ears in her memory.
It cheered him immensely and the moral of his story was, in my words not his, “you’re a wonderful person – an inflator (he said) - if you inflate people while you are alive, but you’re even more a wonderful person if you can do this even when your not there anymore”. He said this of his friend because even though she was no longer around just the thought of her (and the ears) cheered him up.
View before the show..It was a nice ending, and he himself is an inflator, and not because he gave out lovely round purple balloons at the end of the show, but because he wasn’t afraid to share such a personal story with all of us. I found that so memorable an experience, even a month after seeing him I can easily recall his show. I cannot wait to see him again.
Note - The theatre its self, well as they declare in the “about us” section of their website – “The theatre is the only permanent professional outdoor theatre in Britain . Its steeply raked auditorium is one of the largest in London with 1240 seats, yet those who attend say it is one of the most intimate”. Having now been there myself, I can says its pretty much true, it feels very small and like you are a part of the performance.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Europe in the clouds
I managed to capture this amazing picture, well I think so, at Rock Werchter in Belgium. It was a stinking hot day, 34 degrees which to us Australians is not so bad, but add 45% humidity and clammy body heat from 90,000 people and you can see why my sky scanning for clouds and any momentary reprieve from direct sunlight they might provide became a priority.
What you can see is a large dark grey low cloud that looks quite oddly like the continent with a shimmery rainbow, almost halo like glow radiating out from behind it; this is actually the direct sunlight reflecting off those lower clouds and back off ones up at a higher level. Amazing.
Its nothing like I have ever seen before and so I took a moment to capture it forever.
What you can see is a large dark grey low cloud that looks quite oddly like the continent with a shimmery rainbow, almost halo like glow radiating out from behind it; this is actually the direct sunlight reflecting off those lower clouds and back off ones up at a higher level. Amazing.
Its nothing like I have ever seen before and so I took a moment to capture it forever.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Mother nature has PMS over London
Well we sure do get odd summer weather in London, this is the second time I have been sitting watching a torrential down pour of the heaviest sleet you can imagine, think of sheets of water like when you tip up a full bucket of water.
The clouds have come over slowly all day really with the sun peeking out through grey clouds with sunlit pockets of blue, slowly it went grey, dark grey, then just dark and the London eye, which I can normally see as clear as you like, just vanished.
This time I am sitting at work biding my time till it stops and I can safely leave the building without becoming a wet rag the moment I walk out the doors. It’s complete with ear drum cracking thunder and lightning; both all at the exact same time, so you know your in the thick of it. It has also been hailing pistachio sized chunks of ice. A massive lightning strike just the flag post on the building opposite too.
As it write it’s now over. The blue is back, the eye is visible, it went for about 10 minutes and while new slate grey clouds are approaching from the east and I can see smatterings of lightning heading west, I shall too rumble off like the thunder and head home for the day.
The clouds have come over slowly all day really with the sun peeking out through grey clouds with sunlit pockets of blue, slowly it went grey, dark grey, then just dark and the London eye, which I can normally see as clear as you like, just vanished.
This time I am sitting at work biding my time till it stops and I can safely leave the building without becoming a wet rag the moment I walk out the doors. It’s complete with ear drum cracking thunder and lightning; both all at the exact same time, so you know your in the thick of it. It has also been hailing pistachio sized chunks of ice. A massive lightning strike just the flag post on the building opposite too.
As it write it’s now over. The blue is back, the eye is visible, it went for about 10 minutes and while new slate grey clouds are approaching from the east and I can see smatterings of lightning heading west, I shall too rumble off like the thunder and head home for the day.
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