Similar Posts

Schmickie

Sand dunes on The Coorong
Australians heading off for a public holiday. Sand dunes on The Coorong

It was Monday.

The only noteworthy thing was introducing the word klämdag into the workplace.

As Lord Wiki – as Dina loves to call it – notes…

In Sweden, a public holiday is typically referred to as “red day” (röd dag), as it is printed in red in calendars. It is quite common for businesses to close at noon the day before certain holidays, and also if a holiday falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday, Swedes will commonly take off the “squeeze day” (klämdag) that falls between the red day and the weekend.

And that’s what we had today in Australia, as it was the day before the public holiday, and a day when an estimated 25% of the workforce were thought to have called in sick to make the most of the holiday period.

Knowing about the philosophy of the klämdag, that people would be attracted to the idea of a day off leading in to the public holiday, I mentioned to my staff a few weeks ago that if they wanted to have the day off, they should apply for leave. And guess what? Quite a few did, and thus, their long weekend was all above board and known about before-hand. They didn’t have to fib, to call in with a croaky voice, pretending they were sick. They were happy. I was happy. Win-win.

James Valentine did some talkback on radio this afternoon wondering if we could find an Australian word to describe the day.

The best result was the “schmickie”. Love it!

Joan Rivers – A Piece Of Work

1 Comment

Although not exactly packed to the rafters, the smaller upstairs screening room at the Chauvel Cinema was reasonably full at today’s screening of the film, “Joan Rivers – A Piece Of Work”. As with the likes of Cher, Liza Minelli and so on, the gays and the greys were out in force on a wet autumn day in Sydney.

I’ve been a fan of Joan Rivers ever since I bought that wonderful album (yes it was vinyl back then), “What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most?” back in the early 1980s. She was foul mouthed, outrageous, and hilariously funny. Twenty-five years later, when Colin and I saw her at The Enmore Theatre, she was still funny then. Still shocking.

And she is in this film too. In fact, there are a couple of moments when the whole audience screamed with laughter, as scenes from stage performances feature throughout the film. In essence, though, it’s a documentary about a year in her life, a year in which she does everything from appear in a play at The Edinburgh Festival, win Celebrity Apprentice, and ditch her manager,

Although it’s a bit of a cliche, it really is a “warts and all” kind of film. There are moments in the film where she doesn’t come off well. Moments where you think she needs to take a pill and relax. Moments where you think she needs to be more mindful of those around her. And yet, she also comes across as wonderfully giving – caring for her staff and their families – and as someone you quite admire, because she continues to be motivated to work hard, and to be ahead of the game. For a celebrity biography it’s refreshingly honest, as she admits to her frailties, concedes she’s seen as a bit of a showbiz plastic surgery freak, and worries openly about her career and the blank pages in her diary.

We both LOVED the film. I think it’s the kind of film I’d like to buy on DVD and watch again and again.

West End Girls

At Saturday’s BBQ, I’m sure I bored a couple of people here and here with tales of Swedish pop band, West End Girls, who do covers of songs by Pet Shop Boys.

Not content with boring two people, I thought I’d bore you as well…

Here’s a few of their songs…

Suburbia

Domino Dancing (mina favourit)

West End Girls

The list goes on… they’re worth a look, I think.

Loud Headphones

2 Comments
Magnus Carlsson Christmas Album
Magnus Carlsson Christmas Album

“Oh God, what have I been listening to?” was my response when I realised on the bus tonight the headphone plug on my phone was loose, and that I had been giving everyone else a taste of my musical collection.

It was then I realised I’d been on a Magnus Carlsson “fest”.

Magnus is a Swedish pop star who was previously in the bands Barbados and Alcazar and who now performs solo. At the moment, he’s my “most played artist” according to Last FM. I think he’s great!

Along with Peter Joback and Andreas Lunstedt, he’s also fast becoming one of Sweden’s most famous poofs, having married his partner. As part of Swedish homework this week, we’ve all been given a gossip magazine to translate, and I’m translating an article about him.

So of course, I’d been listening to “I’m Happy, I’m Carefree And I’m Gay”, “Walking In My Shoes”, and his wonderful duet Swedish version of Donna Summer’s “On The Radio”.

All very camp, you must admit, though it was possibly “Wrap Myself In Paper” from Magnus’ Christmas album that sent me over the edge.

Or here’s the full song…

You know it’s christmas in a week and a day and I just can’t figure out what to give away So I just wrap myself in paper for you baby

Don’t you just love him?

No one on the bus seemed to object to the noise, though, which is a good thing.

Alf Garnett

I remember watching, “Til Death Do Us Part” as a child. Although I was politically aware from a young age, I don’t think it was the politics that I watched it for. I think it was the domestic situation. But in this production, “the Silly Old Moo” is dead. She died many years ago it seems. And there’s no reference to his daughter and son in law. So this time around Alf is living by himself; living with memories. A sad, lonely character and one that you are inclined to pity rather than revile for his reaction, often racist opinions.

When I mentioned to a few people at work that I was going to see the show there were three reactions. One was “why would you see that stupid old blooke”, another was “who?” and finally, amongst the older staff, a reaction of “oh how terrific, but is he still alive”. I, on the other hand, was pretty excited, having seen him perform at The Ensemble Theatre a couple of years ago in a play with Max Gillies I’ve forgotten now, but which included a second-half question and answer session in which Mitchell talked about his life and career. Gosh it was funny… and biting.

And that’s what I was looking forward to most about this… the biting humour inherent in the contraditions of Alf Garnett himself. In The Australian, John McCallum observed that Alf Garnett was created in the 1960s by writer Johnny Speight for one of the best English sitcoms, Till Death Us Do Part. He always operated in the danger zone between comedy and offensiveness. And he always had a sad quality, of a man complicit in his own oppression – a working-class reactionary angrily defensive of the British class system that keeps him in poverty.

Thirty years on, I thought the sadness of Alf Garnett was greater, but the affection I felt for the character was greater. I guess it has to do with my own maturity. Alf Garnett is like that uncle that everyone seems to have who makes racist and sexist comments and who you challenged when you were young but now, in midlife yourself, you no longer bother. It’s not because your opinions have changed, it’s because you understand more about why they are like they are. Life’s great lessons may, as I’ve discussed recently with a friend, be acceptance and patience. Or perhaps I’m becoming complacent?

The second half of the night was a series of anecdotes and jokes about his work and life. Regrettably, and unlike last time, the audience had little to say. Even my friend, Colin, who is never short on these occasions, failed to respond to the invitation to talk with Warren Mitchell, when I thought he might. Colin told me straight afterwards he degretted the lost opportunity.

It was during the second half that I realised that Mitchell was now an old man. Unlike when I saw him two or three years earlier, he sometimes struggled to move around the show, which he explained was due to a stroke in the second half of last year.

Despite the physical impact of the stroke, his mental reactions are still very sharp. I’m really glad I went to this performance… it was great fun… and it was terrific to see such an amazingly talented performer.

Back in Sydney

It’s Sunday night. I’m half-watching the Jazz series on ABC-TV which is excellent. I’ve got sniffle – not sure why. I’ve spent the day at the Sydney Cricket Ground watching Australia play Zimbabwe. Quite a bit has happened since the last time I wrote. I’m back in Sydney for one!

Before I left Lismore, however, I went out for lunch with Fiona and Jane. We went to a fabulous new cafe at North Lismore where we ate, drank and were merry.

On the Tuesday, I drove to the Gold Coast – Pat, Nancy and Jack continued to Brisbane – where I spent Tuesday night. On arrival, I decided I wanted a night of luxury, so I called a number of motels for accommodation, settling on the ANA which had a terrific view of the ocean, was air conditioned, was comfortable, but was also reasonably expensive (about $238 for the night).

On the Tuesday afternoon, I caught up with Lucinda and Martin, spending the afternoon eating and drinking at the delightful Kurrawa Surf Club at Broadbeach.

Later in the afternoon, Briony arrived. We then moved on to the Oasis Cocktail Bar and consumed a few cocktails. I met Briony’s future husband who was a really lovely guy: and very cute!

One of my favourite memories of the Coolangatta Airport the next day was that the drinks container contained every variety of Coke imaginable, except the original coke.

But of course, the main thing on my mind remains Perth. The countdown has begun. By the end of next month I will be living in Perth. I can scarcely believe it. I’ve been to Perth only once before a couple of years ago and enjoyed my time there. I even managed to catch up with Gavin and Tiffany, with whom I worked in Wagga Wagga. At this stage, it’s a bit of a leap into the great unknown, although I have been watching the weather everynight and keeping an ear out for news stories from Western Australia. I haven’t really done much in the way of preparation for leaving yet. That will come over the next few weeks.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.