Harry Potter & the exceedingly dull movie...

Went to see the latest Harry Potter movie on Saturday evening & somehow (magically perhaps?) it made two hours seem like five! A slow plodding movie for the majority of the time, perhaps seeking to look at the relationships between the characters rather than concentrating on the wizadry, left me feeling bored. The only things of interest in the entire movie was amusement at the fact that each of the characters now look about 5 years too old for the parts they are playing (they'd better get a move on with the last 2 movies), and as each scene passed Harry looked more and more like Bibbs!

There was also a striking resemblance between Dudley Dursley & one of my former Uni housemates...

I've also just finished reading the book - the final installment in the series - Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows. Much, much better than the movie with a good blend of character development & plenty of action to keep the characters busy. Although, the epilogue is so sickly sweet that it makes you want to hurl. I won't give away any of the plot (it wouldn't be fair) but would definitely recommend it if you've read the previous books, and the ending might come as a surprise to some.

Weng Weng & YouTube

I was driving around Sydney a little while back, listening to the radio and they were talking about an addiction to YouTube. In particular, they'd found several videos of a Filipino actor called Weng Weng. So I checked them out, and I have to admit they are VERY funny. Turns out Weng Weng holds the record as the shortest actor in a leading role (2ft 9in!). He plays a sort of James Bond role in 'For Your Height Only' & 'The Impossible Kid'.... watch as he beats up 10 'normal' sized men & then jumps into bed with a hot woman! Unfortunately, the little fella is dead now so no hope of him reprising the role after his internet success.

Also on subject of YouTube... if you use iTunes then I would thoroughly recommend subscribing to the 'Best of YouTube' video podcast. There's some excellent stuff on there with particular favourites a little girl threatening to "kick a monster's ass before it kicks hers", a telephone conversation with a call centre trying to explain why 0.002 cents is not the same as 0.002 dollars & a treadmill music video (one of many amusing videos by Chicago band OK Go).

Finally,came across a show on ABC radio, which was very much like the 'Legends' program on Century Radio in the UK. However, instead of Bernie Slaven, Eric Gates & Malcolm MacDonald, they had 3 NRL players (can't remember their names). Brought back memories of home.....

Road Trip

Having arrived back in Sydney to be confronted by yet more rain & wind (only 4 days without rain in 2 months), Lucy & I decided to go in search of some sunshine (or at least less rain!). Initially, we thought of a trip to Fiji or the Cook Islands – however it turns out that the deals advertised by STA Travel etc are not anywhere as near as cheap as they make out (one trip to the Cook Islands was shown as from A$ 690, but when we priced it up came to over A$ 2,200!). Next thought was that we are in a great country, so why not find somewhere here with sunshine…. Cairns & the Great Barrier Reef was our original intention…. Then we looked at the map and realized that would be a 6,500km round trip – that might take more than a week! So Fraser Island became our target – with a few stops on the way.

Setting off from Sydney on a Sunday morning with a car full of camping equipment & red wine our first stop was Coff’s Harbour. On the way we passed our first piece of ‘Australiana’ – a replica of Ayre’s Rock (or Uluru as they call it now). Arriving in Coff’s around 5pm, we pitched the tent (yes we were staying in a tent for part of the trip) - Not for the first time on the trip we were asked how we were going to sleep in a ‘little tent’ - seems that every Australian either owns a very large tent, caravan or camper van. Some of them have gone to ridiculous lengths – converting buses and even articulated lorries into camper vans! We went for a little wander into town – passing the pet porpoise centre on the way – and grabbed some dinner at a very decent Thai restaurant. Just as we were to find on the rest of the trip, there wasn’t much open after 7pm and so we had an early night.

Next day our first port of call was the Big Banana – the large concrete Banana which started off the craze for all the ‘big things’ in Australia. There’s now a big pineapple, big rocking horse, big wine bottle & even a big spliff (that one is in Ninbin if you want to pay it a visit). After fighting our way past the American tourists who were buying bananas like they were going out of fashion, we treated ourselves to banana & honey smoothies before heading up through the banana plants for a lovely view over the coast.

Getting back into our ‘little car’ (it’s a Golf) we proceeded to Byron Bay – stopping off to take a picture of the Giant Prawn on the way. At Byron we stayed in a funky, hippy style of place called the Arts Factory – this place was there at the birth of the whole Byron ‘thing’ in the 60s. Have to admit that it brought back memories of Glastonbury as we headed to the little campsite at the back of the place (a few less people though). If you are heading to Byron would recommend checking this place out (you don’t have to stay in a tent!) as it’s complete with a library / book exchange, decent bar, cool cinema & has lots of activities going on. For instance, the night we were there a talent contest was held – don’t know where they plucked the people from but they were all very good – including the poets. You can even stay in a tepee or a converted double decker bus if you feel like it! And if you are running short of cash you can even work for your board. Had a good night there shared some of our wine with a German girl called Yana. and then headed to the cinema to see Zodiac (which I’d seen before, but seemed more thrilling the second time around).

Without even seeing the main town or beach of Byron, we continued our journey the next day, taking us to Hervey Bay – the northern most point on our trip. To put the size of this country into context, we were approximately 1,200km north of Sydney and we were still 1,700km from Cairns (as the road sign kindly told us). On arriving at Hervey Bay we had a struggle putting the tent up as the tent pegs just would not stay in the ground – so we spent our time hoping that the wind would not pick up! And the place was not exactly the most lively of the trip, although our tent was pitched about 10yards from a beach with white sand & crystal clear water….a few pelicans checking the place out too. We found a place called ‘Blackdog’ to eat on the first night (good place – interesting take on asian food), and I made use of the bbq facilities to do a stir fry, teppanyaki style on the Wednesday night (actually the great thing about all of the camp sites we visited was that they had seating areas and bbqs so that you didn’t have to spend all of your time in your tent / trailer).

Now, we were confronted with the only real disappointment of the trip…. The reason we were in Hervey Bay was it’s proximity to Fraser Island – we couldn’t take the car to explore as the whole place is made of sand, no tarmac roads, and so only 4wd are allowed – even then they are frequently stuck. Unfortunately, we had neglected to book one of the excursions to the Island – thinking that it would not be too difficult to get on one in the winter – we hadn’t taken into account the whale watching season. As it turned out, we had a lovely day on the Island anyway, heading over on the passenger ferry to Kingfisher Bay & doing a couple of the walks, including one to an old Commando training post. The whole place was picture postcard perfect – white sands, clear water & not a cloud in the sky – we had found the sun we were searching for!

Saying our goodbyes to Hervey Bay & Fraser Island, we turned south & headed for Noosa, stopping at Rainbow Beach on the way. Now, I have to say that the beach was nice, but does not deserve the ‘rainbow’ tag – three slightly different shades of sand were present, but that probably had more to do with the tide than anything else. However, the Carlos Sandblow was very impressive – views of the ocean on one side, the valley on another & a large sand-dune that was gradually blowing inland. Arrived in Noosa Heads & checked into the grand old Hulse Lodge YHA – providing us with our first bed of the trip. The rooms were nothing flashy, but the grub served was good and the other facilities were much appreciated. After a quick walk around town – perhaps the most ‘touristy’ of the places we visited on the trip – we had a few beers in the hostel bar and chatted away to a German primary school teacher (don’t think we found out her name) & a girl from Preston called Donna…. Had a bit of a sore head the next morning. Friday, we headed out to the nearby national park for a spot of walking – which was lovely – and then headed to the cinema to watch Transformers! A lot of tongue in cheek humour, a stunning ‘love interest’ and some great special effects, made it an enjoyable movie – but I wouldn’t go out of your way to catch it – if you do though you might want to buy a Chevy Camaro. Product placements (all the cars / trucks were made by GM (and not Porsche & Lamborghini as in the cartoon), Mountain Dew robots, etc) abounded but the only really bad part was that they never once uttered the phrase “Robots in Disguise”…. Very disappointing.

On Saturday, despite getting up at 6am, and walking 10km through the national park, we failed in our quest to spot a koala – think we’ll just head for the zoo next time! – and after getting over our devastation (we did however see a whole bunch of turkeys walking around) we headed to Brisbane to meet up with Ian & Sarah (who had stayed with us in Sydney for a while back in Feb). Stayed in another cool hostel, complete with cool / interesting bar called Birdee Yum Yum (like the bar I mentioned in Hong Kong it had bird cages, but there were full of dolls in various compromising positions), swimming pool & hot tub. Turns out it was in the ‘Valley’ which is the hot-bed of Brisbane night-life – and after past experiences with trying to get a taxi in Brisbane that wasn’t a bad thing. Had Yum-Cha for lunch & then walked along Brunswick Street (must be the local weirdo hang-out) for a beer & a game of bowls (which we didn’t have time for by the time we got there). A nice trip along on the river on the ‘jetcat’ before heading out for the night. Started off at the hostel bar with pitchers of cider for $8… by far the cheapest booze I’ve encountered in Oz. Then headed to a Lonely Planet recommended restaurant called The Vietnamese Restaurant…. No surprise that it served Vietnamese food. Headed to the bottle shop on the way & got a bit of a laugh from the guy behind the counter when we bought a 4 litre box of white wine for $10 (didn’t taste quite as bad as you would guess – certainly not after the 3rd glass) & again when we entered the restaurant with box in hand. We ordered the set menu for 4 & I think we ended up with enough food on the table for 24 people…. Lovely food, but made all of us feel a bit guilty when we had to leave so much. Where is Bric when you need him?

After filling our faces we headed out, but much to our disappointment we were faced with queues to get in just about everywhere – and cover charges to get into a pub, what is the world coming to? After not been classed as cool enough to get into the upstairs bit of GPO (a converted post office which I visited last July following the Bledisloe Cup game) we headed to the downstairs bar for some pretty average margaritas (too much salt, not enough tequila) and some ‘breaks’ music. One of the Djs was accompanied by a trumpeter which was quite cool. Quickly becoming bored of this place, we headed back along the streets, trying to avoid the crowds (thinking about it, Oxford St & Kings Cross in Sydney has a similar thing – why do they like queuing for a beer?) to find somewhere else to hang. One place (The Beat) seemed pretty interesting, but when asking the doorman what type of place it was, his brilliant description (“Downstairs techno, straight, Upstairs chart music, gay) made us move on & so we ended up back at the hostel bar. 2 things about this place that I would remember if you ever decide to own a bar…. 1) Never put the only ATM in a position which effectively blocks the only entrance to the place, 2) If you only have one toilet in the place, do not position it so that you have to walk across the packed dancefloor to get to it, especially not if you’re selling pitchers of beer at $8 a shot! Anyway, we had a good time. It was great to catch up with Ian & Sarah (although I did miss Sarah’s “Shut Up”) & sort of nice to be back in a City with all of the amenities that go with that (i.e. places are open after 7.30pm).

Woke up with an awful hangover on Sunday – felt relieved that we hadn’t got into the dodgy rum shots again - not good at the best of times but especially so when we had 30 mins to get out of the room and start our 10 hour journey to Port Stephens. Quite why I had decided to plan such a long journey for that day I’m not sure, but to be honest it wasn’t that bad. The roads in Australia can be a little monotonous, but listening to podcasts of the Chris Evans show (good old BBC) made the time practically fly, and we made it to Port Stephens – or more accurately Shoal Bay – around 8pm. For the first time in a week we watched a bit of TV – I fell asleep during X-Men. This morning we were feeling refreshed (although having a dicky stomach from the cheese sandwich of the night before – if you ever see a cheese called ‘tasty flavour’ then avoid it – not sure why we didn’t think that in the 1st place!). Can’t really say we did an awful lot in Port Stephens, but it was another lovely day, another pretty beach and another stretch of crystal clear water. Would also recommend the accommodation we had as good for a group of friends or family to go and chill… easily room for 6 if not 8 and only $79 for a night. Stopped off at Nelson’s Bay lighthouse (small, informative museum & great views) & had a fantastic Venison in red wine & prune sauce pie from ‘Red Neds’ – yet another great Lonely Planet recommendation (fast becoming our bible here) before deciding against a small (96km) detour to Tea Gardens (to look for Koalas – probably wouldn’t have seen any anyway) & headed back to Sydney. Got home about 3.30pm & now washing to do & things to clean before Lucy’s Mum arrives later in the week.

So, end of road trip summary – 6 towns, 8 days & 2,795 km - had an awesome time - meeting up with friends, seeing some wonderful scenery, particularly the beaches, & most importantly it didn’t rain for the whole 8 days!!! More than can be said for the UK by the looks of the news tonight!

Almost a shame to be back in some ways, and certainly looking forward to our next trip around Oz (there’s plenty of it to see) and then NZ & SE Asia. Bring it on!

The Look of Love

Having had the December performance cancelled at the last minute, on the 14th July, we finally got to the Opera House to see the legend that is Burt Bacharach. First off, we had dinner at Guileeme at Beneelong (the restaurant in the Opera House & winner of 3 hats in this year’s good food guide), complete with a great view to the Circular Quay on one side & Lady Macquarie's Point on the other. Did have a bit of a goldfish effect though, with passers by gawking in! Fantastic food (I had tuna infused with basil followed by beef tenderloin, whilst Lucy had smoked salmon roulade followed by kingfish) & wine meant the place lived up to it’s reputation (the service was patchy – but the sommelier was great) and really set the store for a great night.

Entering the concert hall for the first time my first impression was “Wow, that’s a lot of pine”!! And my second thought was “What are those weird things hanging from the ceiling?”. However, it worked & the whole place is designed very well, not a bad view in the house & the acoustics are superb. To be fair, age has definitely dimmed Burt’s voice, but the singers he brought with him were very good and his musical talent shone as he played with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Burt also followed in the foot-steps of Pink, criticising George Bush on stage (he certainly deserves it) and as all good entertainers should he left the audience wanting more! Most surprising aspect of the night was that fact that Lucy & I were not the only young people there…. In fact there was quite a few!

Burt (I feel that I’m on first name terms with him now) went through all of the old classics, with “Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head” seeming a particular crowd favourite…. And the rousing rendition of “What the World Needs Now” brought in the whole orchestra and provided a suitable finale. All worth waiting for!

Will someone please turn off the rain...

Well as most of you know reading this will know, 2 minutes after been told I'd be living Citigroup, I set off on vacation. 3 weeks later & I'm back in Oz to write all about it. I had a great time seeing friends, family & Spot!, watching the Test match at Durham, 5 days in a Glastonbury field (which was awesome and has an entry all of it's own) and my first (& last) trip to Blackpool. Managed to pack a lot in, but at times it was draining trying to fit everyone in....and to be honest both Lucy & I actually missed Sydney a fair bit.

So much happened in the 3 week period that the only way I can really think of to get it all down is to write it in a diary style...with the events of each day set out. Here goes:

Wednesday 13th June: Trying to suppress a smile as I am told I'll be leaving Citi for good I head over to the Olympic Stadium to watch the 2nd game in the State of Origin Series. Axe, Raefer & Gish drowning their sorrows as a very defensive game saw Queensland take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. Not a happy time for NSW, but at least the SeaEagles (my adopted team) full back played well. Head home to tell Lucy the good news... not sure she believes me!

Thursday 14th June: Despite Lucy worrying about my inability to pack for the trip with a hangover I'm ready in time for the car to pick us up at mid-day. All goes to plan as we raid the food in the airline lounge & set-off on time. Get on the plane to be disappointed Blades of Glory is not showing on the entertainment station. Watch a few episodes of Peep Show & Simpsons, then the 'kids' movie Night at the Museum (not great) & the Justin Timberlake movie about a kidnapping Alpha Dog (which was excellent) before falling asleep 5 minutes into Babel. Lucy watches The Lives of Others (superb movie) & as usual gets about 12 hours of sleep. Food definitely not as good as on past occasions.

Friday 15th June: Arrive in London - no rain...hurrah! As usual Heathrow does not offer the most friendly of invitations to visitors. I find it hard to believe that this is the first sight that so many visitors have of the UK....definitely in need of a revamp. Check-in to the Sanderson Hotel (Citi discount meant we got a VERY good rate) & chill out in the spa area as our room isn't ready. The Spa has lots of white drapes & soothing music, perfect to relax in - although we did end up watching a little bit of UK Big Brother (awful) whilst lazing on a day bed. Got into the room around noon, and whilst cool in design it was pretty small - prefer the St. Martin's Lane (part of the same group).

Headed over to the City to catch up with Jonesy. Fail to take into account how far the walk is & so it takes a while. Jonesy has skillfully decided to meet in a place with no mobile reception so that when I get lost (it has been a while!) I can't contact him! Also dark and dingy on our first day of sunshine in weeks! Get to La Tasca 10 mins late, and it's great to see my old mucka. People like Jonesy always brighten up your day... Had a beer or two & a bit of tapas as a few others (Snixon & Max amongst them) join us. Have to say our goodbyes as we are heading out for dinner with Adam & Helen Paul.

Great to see the two of them - especially Paul Adam - and we start off the evening in one of the hotel bars (The Long Bar) which as usual is filled with suits & hookers. Head for dinner to Lindsay House in Soho, and whilst not as good as the last time, it's still pretty damn good. Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel for drinks in the other bar (much better, but I forget it's name) and then got a call from Jonesy & Lushworthy that they were on the way. Think Jonesy had carried on all afternoon - and he was in a fantastic state. The 'group' wasn't allowed into the hotel bar, so we headed to a place in Soho - just down the road - leaving Jonesy to remonstrate with the door staff. He spent the rest of the night answering every question in song! Think everyone had a great, if very drunken night, and made me think of some of the things I miss about London. After closing we headed back to the hotel, where the doorman tried to stop Lucy from getting in (he thought she was attacking him with Jonesy earlier!).

Saturday 16th June: Wake up to find Captain Spank has visited me during the night & left me with a very sore head...have the train journey home to face & to make it all the better the rain is back. Journey goes without a hitch and Lucy's Mum (Celia) & Dad (Bill) are there to meet us at the station. Again, it's good to see familiar faces...and we're soon back in Thornley with a cup of tea in hand! I head over to my Mum's and it's good to be home - although nothing much has changed & it's only a few weeks since I saw my Mum in Sydney! Of course it's particularly nice to see Spot & he proceeds to follow me around everywhere I go (he's definitely one thing I miss about the UK). We then have a family meal at The Old Farmhouse in Middleton St. George. Lucy's family are there too, and it's lovely to see everyone... in fact only the third time I've met her brother (who I'm sure would love it here in Oz - especially with all the utes & caravans on show!). Good pub food (although mine did have to be sent back after I queued at the bad for an age) and just to nice to catch up with everyone.

Sunday 17th June: Lucy heads to the duck park with her niece & nephew whilst I spend some time with my family. Fortunately, the rain holds off as Dan (my brother) & I head to Durham for the Test against the West Indies. We sit in the stand next to the Barmy Army & around us we have Superman, Batman & Krusty the Clown. Behind us we have a bunch of people with very broad Geordie accents. One of the girls (a wife of one of the blokes) keeps trying to get her ample assets out on show, whilst the others have a conversation about a recent trip to Australia. Q: "What did you like most about Australia?" A: "Getting on the plane home, but at least the food was good.... they had some excellent kebabs". A long way to come for a kebab! Despite a day with constant cloud there are plenty of red-faces by the end of it - although probably as much to do with the drink as the sun-burn. England look in good shape to win against a poor WI side.

Monday 18th June: I head to the cricket again, this time with Lucy (yes, I'm very lucky to have a wife who likes sport!). Better seats today (although not so much craic around) as we are sat beneath the player's balcony (just about anyway) & our wedding venue - Lumley Castle - is in the background. Again England are in great nick & good to see Andrew Strauss come through his recent period of bad form. Again the overcast sky leaves a lot of people with sunburn (including Lucy's nose!). And again, the food at a sporting event is AWFUL! The baked potato man tells me the baked beans are a little cool as he hands it over... they taste as though they have just been tipped out of a tin... the radioactive cheese is not much better.

Tuesday 19th June: After spending a day at the cricket with Dan, I want to spend a day with Kirsty (sister) & have much deliberation we decide on Blackpool (as neither of us had been there before). A lovely drive over the Penines (despite a spot of rain) and soon we are in Blackpool. Now, I've heard differing reports about the place, but having been there for a day I would sum the place up in one phrase - "It's a hole". We walked along the sea-front, decided against going up the ridiculously priced Tower & ended up having awful fish & chips in Harry Ramsdens. The only good things were the Pleasure Beach (although half the rides were shut) which had some cool rides (the other half of the rides felt as though they were falling apart) and the novelty joke shop next to the car park..... of course it was also nice to spend some time with Kirsty. I did for a moment think that at least the nightlife at Blackpool would be good fun.... but I'm not so sure & I didn't stick around to find out.

Wednesday 20th June - Monday 25th June: Glastonbury - Awesome (more below)

Tuesday 26th & Wednesday 27th June: Spent recovering from the Glastonbury experience. Slept a lot, dried out from all the rain & hoped that I wouldn't get a cold. Nice to not really have much to do & so I could just chill out. Went to see my Nana - who doesn't seem to be getting better with age - had a good curry at home & slept at my Mum's with Spot at the end of the bed (he followed me around again & even sat in his travel box for the first time in an age - maybe he wanted to come with me?).

Thursday 28th June: Said my goodbyes & headed to London (Lucy stayed behind for an extra day) to catch up with friends again. The floods in Yorkshire & a broken-down freight train near Berwick meant that my train was delayed by near 3 hours and that put paid to any plans I had of having lunch in the City. Still, it was good to catch up with Millsy, Bric, KB, George & Bus... all people I hope to see in Oz one day. Ended up getting back to the hotel (Hilton Docklands - very average) late & lost, ordered a club sandwich & hit the sack.

Friday 29th June: Moved my things to the Hoxton Urban Lodge - great place in a very good location for anyone looking to party in London. Rooms were small, but well designed & only £220 for 3 nights so cheap as chips for London. Then made my second (or third) error with distances in London & decided to walk to Butler's Wharf for lunch. Fortunately, left plenty of time & so got to catch up with Bobbie P, Coyney, Ringer & Bus for a bite to eat at the Chop House (top food). Again, great to catch up with such good friends (shame DC couldn't make it), have a laugh & talk about past experiences as well as the future (a few of us are in a similar situation at the moment). I did my best to convince them to come and visit Australia, but not sure I had any takers! Had a drink in a 'proper boozer' in Borough Market (love that place) and then headed back to the City.

Went to meet Lucy at Kings Cross & then reconvened at Le Coq D'argent. Good to see Scouse for a quick beer (he must go back to Glasto) & then Popey & Lushworthy turned up (suitably inebriated). Had several more beers, enjoying the view over the City, and then headed to Gaucho in Bishopsgate for some grub. Popey skillfully got hammered - at one point he was doing glasses of wine using his biceps - & left before the bill came (does he always do that?)... was also amusing to see Popey & Bus compete for a girl (who already had a boyfriend)... have to admit that Bus was the more composed of the two. Food was good (as always) & the wine was top notch (although not sure we needed so much!).

Saturday 30th June: Woke up with a sore head (again!) and as we had had to cancel our trip down to Bric's place (bit of a mix-up with Lucy's train the previous day - and a shame as it would have been good to meet up & see Jo & the kids) we had an afternoon of pottering around London. We headed over to Twickenham for the Rod Stewart concert arriving around 7.30pm, missing the support band who we assumed would be unknowns (turns out it was The Pretenders!). Just about the worst rain of the week brought back memories of Glastonbury, and we felt relieved to be under cover. Rod appeared on stage with an umbrella & belted out all of the old classics - leaving Maggie May to the encore - but a very average sound system and a lack of atmosphere left me thinking that stadium gigs really are over-rated (U2 were the last I saw in a stadium and they weren't the best).

'Made a pact' with Lucy to not attend any more stadium gigs. With Twickenham proving such a pain with regards traveling back to London, we practically sprinted out of the door as Maggie May finished (missing the fireworks) & headed for the train station. More rain, but at least we got on the first train & were back in London by 11pm. Headed to Fabric (thoroughly recommended if into dance music) were unusually we spent most of our time in room 3 (the upstairs one) listening to a set from Terry Francis (one of the long-time residents). Finished off our supplies & had a great time before tiredness got to us. We felt guilty leaving at 3.30am as people were still queueing to get inside!

Sunday 1st July: Unsurprisingly, we had a bit of a sleep in! Headed to John & Vicky's for lunch in Blackheath. Survived John's driving over speed bumps & made it to their lovely house safely! Good to see that the refurbishment of the place is going along nicely... and we were treated to a really good roast dinner, whilst tucking into some real ale & wine (not mixed together!). John & I joined Citi together some time back, and their wedding was the first 'proper' occasion that I attended with Lucy! Will be nice to see the two of them in Oz in what is now a matter of weeks.

Afterwards, we headed to Shakespeare's Globe (really good place to visit if you ever get the chance - that and the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre are London treasures) to watch a performance of Love's Labour's Lost. We had groundling tickets (i.e. we had to stand) which in my opinion are the best to have, but on a steamy afternoon it was very tiring attempting to stand for the whole performance. The over-bearing stewards who told you off if you leaned against the back rail, or put a foot on a step, didn't help the situation... but we managed to get through it (better after the interval) & enjoyed a really good performance. It's good to be so close to the actors & the stage, and also nice that they don't have to rely on expensive sets & props. Had dinner at the Hoxton Grill (within the hotel) - simple food done well.

Monday 2nd July: Checked out of the hotel, our journey almost at an end, and headed over to the Wharf for lunch. We had hoped to see KB (but he had to attend a funeral - which hopefully went ok, or at least as good as could be hoped), but at least we were able to catch up with George & have a really good chat over some pasta & a bottle of wine (Carluccios as good as ever). Then headed over to Fulham for a last gasp catch-up with Coyney (shame we didn't get the chance to catch up with Stef) and a spin around London in his new car (which now has a front-end again).

Back to the hotel safely in time for our car to the airport. I do like the check-in procedure when traveling Virgin Upper Class - it's almost a drive through affair where they drop you off, take your bags and escort you to the security gate. Headed to the Virgin Clubhouse - which is a bit of a Jetson's affair - and had a bite to heat before settling down to watch Dan Snow's new show 20th Century Battlefields (it was the Vietnam episode - as always enlightening - but also amusing to watch such a massive person fitting into the Vietcong tunnels).

Plane was delayed a little (possibly due to the rain that was falling.... again) but we were in the air by 11.30 & soon watching movies. This time Blades of Glory WAS showing (very amusing) and I also watched Smoking Aces (a very good movie in the vain of Lucky Number Slevin) & Ghostrider (a pretty average Nic Cage movie) before again falling asleep whilst watching Babel (will make it through one day). Brief sleep and then hit Hong Kong!

Wow - bit of a mouth full there, hope you didn't fall asleep whilst reading it... Apologies for the format, but as you can see I really did have a lot to get through, and it took me an age to write - so hope you enjoy! I had an absolutely fantastic time at home, great seeing everyone (& I mean that) and just reminded me of what a great place London is... however, it is good to be back in Oz!

Hong Kong Phooey

On the way back from the UK, we took advantage of not having to rush back for work and decided to stop off in Hong Kong for a short break. We took advantage of the Virgin Limo service to get into town (it’s a nice touch, but really not sure it’s worth the extra cash for an upgrade) and were dropped at our hotel on Hong Kong Island – the Marriott. The room had fantastic views over the harbour & I was relieved, very relieved, that not all hotel rooms in Hong Kong stank of cigarette smoke (I had a bad experience on a previous trip).

By the time we got to the hotel it was late afternoon and so we decided to chill for a bit and then hit the town for food & a few drinks. Braving the intense humidity for the first time, we headed to Lan Kwai Fong – a warren of streets full of bars, restaurants & shops – complete with travelator to take pedestrians up the slopes & save your shirt from at least a little bit of perspiration. We stopped off at ‘Yung Kee’ for food, the roast goose was particularly impressive, and then explored some of the bars. Quickly realizing that the addresses given in the Lonely Planet actually related to a main street & not the tiny side street that the entrance was actually on, the search for bars really did become an adventure! Of the many bars that we ventured into, two spring to mind; Dragon-I - which was a bit chav like, but had a huge aviary in the middle & then several other birdcages complete with canaries. And venturing down a small, dark alley we discovered the little treasure that is the Gecko Lounge - dark, cavern like, with room for about 20 people & decorated with various Moroccan style rugs & cushions

Afterwards, we headed to Wan Chai – but just about the only bar that was open at 2am was Bar 109 (even that was closing up just after we arrived) and even with a super friendly bar man, and some very cheesy music videos on the big screen we didn’t stay for long. One thing that there was plenty of though was strip clubs & hookers on the street… but the pull of bed was too great.

On the second day we had breakfast on the 33rd floor of the hotel, overlooking the harbour and been very confused by reflections. Again braving the humidity, we headed for the Star Ferry & took a trip over the magnificent harbour to the Kowloon side. Dodging a wide variety of people who were trying to sell suits, watches & perfume we eventually made it to the Hong Kong Museum of History. An interesting set-up, the museum took us on a chronological journey of Hong Kong from pre-historic to modern times. Most fascinating was the modern history section, and the rapid development of one of the world’s great ‘trading cities’.

On the evening, we again headed to Lan Kwai Fong, and a fantastic Sichuanese (basically a LOT of chili) called Shui Hu Ju. Heading up the street, we walked past the restaurant at first – it was just two large wooden antique doors with a couple of red lanterns outside – but then back tracked and swung open the doors to find a dark space, furnished with antiques & lit superbly. The food was as good as anything I’ve tasted in a long time, the service was wonderful & drinking beer out of clay pots was a great touch (if you go to Hong Kong, then make sure you go to this place). Afterwards we headed to Club Feather Boa – which looked like a squat from the outside, but we opened the door & pulled back the drapes to discover a fabulous bar with a ‘burlesque’ look & serving awesome daiquiris – then onto Gecko Lounge until 4am.

On our last day we were up ‘early’ at 9am for our trip to ‘The Peak’. The Peak is Hong Kong’s biggest tourist attraction, and at 550m above sea level it’s highest point. Getting to the tram station to discover a huge queue, we decided to take a break from the heat & head to the top in a taxi (it was cheaper too). I thought Lucy’s hands were going to make an imprint in the seats as she was holding on so tight as we went around some of the bends, but apart from nearly going into the back of two buses it was a good trip. When reaching the top of the Peak, we were treated to some amazing views of the City & the harbour, and managed to escape some of the humidity for a while – you can see why it’s the number 1 tourist attraction. Unfortunately, it’s also about the only piece of green space in the City, even the park is predominately concrete, and I’m sure that would drive me crazy if I lived there.

After taking the tram back down the hill, we headed to the Man Mo Temple – which had the lovely aroma of incense floating around inside – and provided an interesting look into another original. We then went in search of a coffee whilst waiting for our lunch table & you would not believe how few coffee shops there are in Hong Kong – lots & lots of shops, particularly designer clothes, but no coffee shops – just as we were about to give up (after 50 mins) we came across a Starbucks – where I had a disgustingly sweet watermelon drink. On to the Luk Yu Tea House for dim sum – which reminded me of Wong Kee in London’s Chinatown with service so bad it was good – which was superb. Indeed, the Lonely Planet description is amazingly accurate in this case - “Most of the staff have been here since the early Ming dynasty and are as grumpy as an emperor deposed. Still it’s the place for tasty dim sum.”

Attempting to dodge yet another rain storm (it actually rained heavily each afternoon that we were there) we made it back to the hotel for a shower and then headed to the airport. The worst rain was to come though, and as we were driving in the limo the rain was so ferocious that you couldn’t see out of the windscreen, never mind the car in front. Really not sure how we made it to the airport in one piece….sheer madness really, but then I’m not sure what else the driver could have done.

How would I sum up Hong Kong? Well, it’s an interesting & amazingly vibrant city with a great mix of east & west and definitely a great place to visit for a long weekend. However, the humidity, the afternoon rain-storms & the lack of green space mean that I wouldn’t want to live there. A magnificent end to our vacation & lovely to be able to share the experience with Lucy.

P.S. How good was Hong Kong Phooey? - Number One Super Guy, Faster than the Human Eye. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see him wondering the streets!

Glastonbury 2007

It seems that an age has passed since I was at Glastonbury & I’m not entirely sure that I can do the experience justice from this distance (if I ever could), but I’m going to give it a try.

Let me start at the beginning – I’d wanted to go to Glastonbury for a long time, at least since I was in VIth form college (12 yrs +), but the opportunity to go had just never arisen. I had watched the 2005 festival (a bit of a mud-bath too) on TV and for the first time I was determined that I’d make it there. As it turns out, Lucy was actually at that festival (I wonder if I spotted her on TV?) and she was keen to go back, so we arranged our trip home this year to coincide with the Festival.

Flying 14,000km to the UK was not the hard part though, that came in actually getting hold of tickets. The multi-faceted ticket application process made it feel like we were trying to enter Fort Knox & not a music festival! Submitting photos in February & then attempting to get hold of actual tickets closer to the date. Unfortunately, Lucy & I were in Tasmania when the ticket sale happened, so we were very thankful to Helen Auton for sorting out our tickets (and those of 24 others!!)….. she deserved to be named in the Queen’s birthday honours for that one!

Anyway, so we had the tickets, we had the tent (an excellent pop-up number which I would thoroughly recommend) and an airbed & we had our drugs of choice – we were all set to go (although no camera as Lucy had dropped it the night before – sorry I had to mention it!). The only thing we needed was to actually get there. Now, I have to admit that I was not exactly enthralled at the prospect of spending 10 hours (as I thought the journey was) on a bus with people I didn’t know that well (many of them smokers at that). I got a few things wrong - The journey was a superb start to the trip, everyone made me feel welcome (why did I think they wouldn’t?) and there was enough ventilation to clear the smoke (or was that enough alcohol to numb the senses!?!). However, I wasn’t too far off on the estimated journey time…..only 5 hours or so on the motorway, but then it took ages to wind our way through the Somerset countryside for the last few miles to the Festival site.

Getting off the bus we hurried to find a suitable pitch for our tents. I think Ikea must have had a good summer selling ‘granny trollies’ as 90% of the people there seemed to have one to cart around their beer! What a cracking idea. I think the original plan was to pitch up the hill from the Pyramid Stage (the main stage) and arriving on Wednesday (the main festival doesn’t start until the Friday) we thought we’d have a chance. But no, the place was already jam-packed and so we were lucky to find a sufficient space to pitch next to each other – and luckily had a couple of cool Irish ‘neighbours’ who had been in the area since Monday. The ‘pop-up’ technology was a masterstroke & so our tent was up in seconds, although this only meant that we helped others to put up their tent – Gemma seemed to be enjoying her first tent ownership, but struggling to make sense of its construction, with Keith’s help it was up in no-time.

You might think that arriving on a Wednesday for a Friday start is a bit crazy – but despite some areas (Lost Vagueness for instance) still been under construction there was still plenty going on – and of course we also got to pitch our tents up a hill (a great bonus as you will soon see). We wandered around the site for a while (and a massive site it is) taking in the surroundings.

The rest of Wednesday seems to fuse together but I do remember stumbling across the wishing tree (didn’t look anywhere near as good in daylight), a ‘real’ man & lying in a hammock within an outdoor café (thinking it had a roof). As well as walking along planks that I thought were protecting me from falling into a deep ravine & then rolling around in a lush carpet (it was the grass). Definitely an ‘alternative’ time. Thanks to Kim, Hayley & Kirsty for making it such a top evening. The rain also arrived overnight – not good.

On Thursday Lucy & I went exploring (something I like to do in most places, but this place was extraordinary – a City the size of Sunderland appearing & disappearing again in a matter of days) and checked out Trash City & The Park (both new) and then came across the Chai Wallah tent. Initially attracted by the awesome beatbox artist – MC Xander – we found ourselves drawn to this tent on several occasions for the excellent Chai Tea & great soup as well as the wide selection of acts (bands & spoken word as well as a top drum & base dj late on). We also managed to attend the wedding of Kirsty & Hayley in the fields of Avalon – definitely one of the funniest things that I have ever seen (and it drew quite a crowd, although I’m not sure either of them remember it!). And then ended up in the cinema tent (they had a cinema tent & also an outdoor cinema) at 3am to catch a screening of Pulp Fiction. What a great movie & the audience participation (shouting out along with the key lines & getting up to dance with the Jack Rabbit Slims contest) made it all the better. More rain overnight.

On Friday we were up early, eager to see our first bands on the big stages. We met a number of friends at the Pyramid Stage to catch The View (a good, upbeat start) and then went for a bit of a wander around the rest of the site – hoping to take in as much as we could. Getting to the Leftfield Tent we caught some talent called up from the crowd (quite why you would wonder around all day with a guitar in hand I’m not sure) but already the mud was having an effect and it took so long getting around that we soon decided to head back to the Pyramid Stage. Bought a couple of ‘fold-up’ chairs on the way – they were priceless in all that mud. Now more than a few people might say that £150 for a festival ticket is expensive, but where else can you see Amy Winehouse (ok), Magic Numbers (great, ‘happy’ performance), Bloc Party (we missed them by going back to the tent for our chairs), The Fratellis (rocking), Kasabian (awesome – far better than the Monkeys) & the Arctic Monkeys (good but shouldn’t have headlines – Diamonds are Forever their best track!) one after the other?!? Excellent, superb, whatever else you can say it’s fantastic value foe money. Also had a fantastic Glastonbury ‘moment’ as the Monkeys were on stage - The bright crescent moon reaching perfect alignment with the top of the Pyramid Stage – wonderful. Afterwards we had a bit of a party in the Chai Wallah Tent before heading home via the Cinema Tent – there was some strange Irish movie on (can’t remember the name) – but we couldn’t really make out what was supposed to be happening (something about a woman meeting a busker & then recording music?) so we headed to bed (actually I think it was called Once). Yet more rain overnight.

Saturday we got up & were in desperate need of a shower. During a bit of hanky panky the temperature in the tent got up to 40C (for some reason the tent came with a thermometer) and we were almost flooded with sweat! We had planned to not have a shower for the entire time, but we didn’t have much choice – mud doesn’t smell, but sweat does. Heading to the Kidz Field for a shower we arrived to be told they were shut, then headed to the Greenpeace tent for a ‘solar heated’ shower. After queuing for two hours we got to the front of the queue, and the sensation of having a shower and washing off all that mud was electric. Our timing was fortunate, as just after leaving the shower the water ran out – leaving many stood in their towels – imagine queuing 2 hours for a shower to be told they’d run out of water! The cleanliness didn’t last long as 30 seconds after leaving the shower tent we were splashed by mud from passers-by.

We headed to the John Peel stage to find Calvin Harris playing (good from what I remember) and then to the Dance Stage East to catch the end of The Infadels (who we had seen in Sydney just before leaving & are very good), Sugardaddy (ok) and the person we had come to see – DJ Yoda (who was excellent, and would definitely check him out if you get the chance – the visuals just as good as the eclectic music mix). Following on from that we found friends at the Pyramid Stage on watched an electric performance from The Kooks and then my favourite performance of the whole weekend – The Killers (they really set the place alight & that will live long in the memory).

Following the end of the performances on the main stage (about midnight) there was still plenty to do (Dance Village, The Park, Trash City, etc all still going strong) and we decided to head to the end of the disused railway track & Lost Vagueness. Now, in 2005, I saw Lost Vagueness on TV and it looked really cool – a place that I definitely wanted to check out. Lucy was actually there at the time & loved it. However, then one of the reasons for ‘coolness’ was the fact that many people didn’t know it was there – this time around the word was out & the place was packed! Still, there was lots going on – we’d just missed a surprise performance from Madness & Fat Boy Slim was playing an impromptu set (although not exactly gutted I missed that wreck-head). However, we set-up camp for a few hours and all had a superb time taking in the surroundings. Yet more rain arrived but did little to dampen the spirits.

As it was the summer solstice we decided to head to the Stone Circle (a mini Stonehenge) for dawn. We started a bit of a campfire & pretty soon were joined by others hoping to get some heat. It was actually nice finding out what other people were getting up to – some hadn’t been anywhere near the main stages. Had cracking memory of the Druids doing their ritual – with Robin organizing it & Paul close to doing so!, had a bit of an out of body experience myself, saved a couple of people from burning in the fire, helped Gemma (a Japanese cartoon character in her spare time) complete a transaction and then provided entertainment for the whole hill as I got ‘bambi-legs’ and treated the gentle slope as if it was perpendicular! Later saw video footage of Robin egging on Dave the Trumpet player (I wonder if he still needs a manager?!). Plodded back to the tent about 9am and got some much needed kip. Bumped into the National Youth Orchestra on the way (they were first on the Pyramid Stage) and they looked very fresh faced in comparison to us. More rain.

Sunday was the first day on which it rained during the day – previously it had been at night so didn’t have much effect on us (apart from the mud of course). Getting up late – about 2pm – Lucy & I spent much of the day dodging the rain. Having a pot of cider we watched The Bees (v. good) on the Jazz Stage, then headed past Mika (he seems to get everywhere) on the Other Stage to the relative comfort of the John Peel Tent. Whilst sheltering from the rain we took in Mark Ronson (good but nothing to write home about), Just Jack (same) & Jamie T (very good). Then, after convincing myself that The Who were past it (also thought Lucy wouldn’t fancy seeing the Kaiser Chiefs on beforehand) & that we’d be better served listening to the Chemical Brothers we headed to the Other Stage. I’m not sure whether it was the actual performance, or the constant rain that was getting to me (probably a bit of both), but I really didn’t enjoy it. Afterwards, the plan was to meet everyone in Trash City – which we spent over an hour trudging through rain & mud to get to & then decided that we just wanted to go back to the tent. I just couldn’t face standing around in wet clothes any longer. Fortunately, Robin & Gemma had a bit of a fire going by the tents and so we were able to warm up a bit before heading to bed. Definitely had the feeling that the Saturday was the pinnacle & Sunday was just a bit of a come-down from that. More rain.

Monday we woke up to yet more rain – it was really starting to get us down. However, the bus was to come and pick us up at 9am, so not much time to get wet. The plan was to get ready in the tent then about 8.50am get outside of the tent, empty it & pack it (took seconds) before running to the bus where we’d be nice & dry. The first part went perfectly, but the bus was late…. Two hours late. With no shelter, and with plenty of rain we were truly miserable by the time the bus did arrive & to compound matters it was cold on board – didn’t start to feel better until we reached a service station and I spent 30 mins in front of a dryer! The journey home seemed to take a LOT longer than the journey there, and it was such a relief to see the exotic delights of Easington.

Time to dispel a few myths about Glastonbury. First off, and this is one that most people worry about, the toilets are not that bad. Admittedly they smell (no surprise) and if you look down then you will see a vat full of poo…..but providing you take your own loo roll you will never been in any trouble. I did discover a toilet with a poo on the seat at one time, but then again you sometimes find that in a pub in Middlesbrough. Secondly, the food is not limited to burgers & chips – of course you could get that if you wanted, but there was a great selection of various food (including vegetarian) and al reasonably priced. I think Michael Eavis etc had done a good job in preventing profiteers from turning up. Thirdly, you have to queue ages to get a beer – I don’t think I queued longer than 2 minutes to get one. However, it did take an age to walk across the fields to a beer tent & there was a lot of queues for food & the toilets (a particular bug-bear for Lucy). Lastly, TV makes it look as though the whole festival is a drug fueled event and that is just not true….. well actually that might be a bit of a fib, but I’m trying to convince my Mum that is the case so bear with me. However, I would hazard a guess and say that the drug culture that is present makes for much less violence and chaos than if it was an alcohol fueled event.

Watching the event on TV does not do it justice. In particular, the sound system sounded awful on the recordings my Mum made (maybe it was her VCR) but the sound at the Festival was superb – particularly at the Pyramid Stage (we did stand fairly near a speaker)….that is even truer when you compare it to the system we encountered at Twickenham Stadium a week or so afterwards.

A few closing comments: As you might have guessed, I had an absolutely superb time – despite the rain. For £149 not only do you get to see all of the bands, but there is dance music going pretty much all day, then there is poetry & spoken word, 2 cinemas, the variety of food & drink and a whole lot more. Plus, some of the experiences you have there, and the friends you make are just priceless. Also, for me it was an excellent opportunity to meet some of Lucy’s friends properly for the first time. And I think Lucy has a superb group of friends there – hopefully some / all of them will be able to make it over to visit at some point. If any of them happen to read this – a big, massive thank you for making it such a great event!

Would I go again? Yes, in an instant – but it would be nice to stay in a tepee & also to not have rain….but I hope to go back again soon in the not too distant future (maybe take in some other, smaller festivals first?).

You have GOT to try the hot & spicy cider from the cider bus

Oh, almost forgot to tell you about the “Pedro ‘tasche” that I obtained (courtesy of Hayley) on the bus down to Glastonbury. Made me look like a fairground ‘strongman’, all I needed was fake dumbbells with 100kg written on them & a hooped Victorian swimsuit. As we were gaining entry to the site, the steward suggested that I didn’t have a ‘tasche in the photo (on my ticket) and so couldn’t gain entry…. Seemed funny at the time!

Bands I didn’t have time to see that I would have liked to: The Coral, Arcade Fire, Bjork, Klaxons, Maximo Park, The Editors, The Enemy, The Rakes, Kaiser Chiefs, The Bootleg Beatles, The Gossip, Madness & probably countless others – but there just wasn’t time!

Highlights: Killers, Kasabian, Kooks & Ketamine – basically anything starting in K! But also Lucy’s friends, the Stone Circle & MC Xander.

Lowlights: The rain & the mud.

Regrets: I would say none, but I think I would have liked to see Kaiser Chiefs & The Who on the Sunday – or alternatively found somewhere dry & stayed there!

I’ve probably still missed loads out, but I guess you’re bored of reading now – but thanks for the patience!