I’ve been thinking lately about the songs that I’ve LOVED dancing to in my life. Some of them have been obvious dance tracks, while others have been not. Here’s a sample of the songs from my life which have got me on the dance floor…
Skatt Bros – Life At The Outpost
Dead or Alive – You Spin Me Round
Paul Lekakis – Boom Boom (Lets Go Back To My Room
Technotronic – Pump Up The Jam
Darude – Sandstorm
Alcazar – Crying At The Discoteque
S Club 7 – Don’t Stop Movin (Music Video)
DON’T CHA – PUSSY CAT DOLLS
2007 – Kate Ryan – Ella Elle L’a (official music video)
Put simply, if you’re at a club or a party and these songs come on, you’ll find me on the dance floor pretty quickly.
I’m sure there will be other songs which spring to mind, but for me, at the moment, these are the most memorable dance sounds right now…
Last night I went to the Opening Night of “Twelfth Night”, performed in Russian (with surtitles) by an all-male cast at the Sydney Festival. Although you may have needed to re-read that sentence, it’s all true. At the Sydney Festival Opening Night Party, I overheard a conversation in which one person – a journalist I think – described it as “challenging”.
And I’ll be the first to admit that I was also prepared for some challenging theatre, as it was a play I didn’t know in a language that I didn’t speak. If it had been Macbeth or Hamlet or one of the many other plays by Shakespeare, I would have at least had a working knowledge of the play. And although I didn’t have that working knowledge, aside from the brief precis which Colin outlined to me just before the play commenced, it probably didn’t matter because there were surtitles.
Ah yes, but there was a problem with the surtitle machine. The machine either flashed things too quickly (or too slowly) or was just plain innacurat. The machine reminded me of having speed reading lessons in primary school, as a projector flashed words on a screen at varying paces. At times during Twelfth Night, literally 15 or 20 words would flash on and off in under one second. At other times I had the feeling the play had been translated into Russian and then translated back into English with all of the quality issues you might associate with that.
After a while I stopped watching the surtitles, only occasionally glancing over. In hindsight the surtitle problem probably didn’t really matter at all, as the excellent direction – by Declan Donellan – and fine acting allowed the play to flow along without language being in any way a barrier to its enjoyment in a manner not disimilar to the enjoyment of opera lovers over hundreds of years before the introduction of surtitles.
In fact the play was an absolute joy to behold on so many levels. The direction was excellent. There was never an occasion where I thought the actors over or underplayed their roles and they always seemed at ease with the work. The comedic timing was excellent with the final words of the play garnering a huge belly-laugh from the audience. One of the other particular highlights was the incorporation of music played live on stage by the actors, often drawing upon 1930s-style tango-style arrangements. I found it to be genuinely exciting theatre to watch.
Although I noticed a fair number of people left at intermission, those who remained were given a terrific second half, giving the cast an enthusiastic round of applause at the end. I think the audience really appreciated the efforts the actors had clearly undertaken to make sure their work was understood by an audience which, largely speaking, didn’t speak Russian. My friend Colin also observed “they look like a nice group of blokes” and I think most of the audience agreed.
“Oh James, you’re back in Sydney” has been the fairly constant refrain as I’ve joined various work-related video conferences over the last week. People have noticed the background to these video calls have changed from the pale blue painted timber walls of the front bedroom at Pat’s place. They’ve also noticed a significant improvement in my internet connection, as video calls from Lismore were sometimes plagued with slow speeds and difficult interactions.
The thing I’ve noticed is how much quieter things are here. In Lismore, we live on the main road, while in Sydney I live on a quiet street opposite a children’s park. Oddly enough, life is quieter in the city than it was in the country, and that’s made recording my radio program a little bit easier actually.
But I’m also working that little bit harder. It’s only halfway through the week and I’m feeling quite exhausted. I think it’s because I’m back home in Sydney, and I don’t have some of the “distractions” of being home in Lismore. I don’t have the daily routines of a walk to the coffee shop in the morning, and a walk along the river in the afternoon. I also don’t have the “distractions” of my family. Though I no longer have the daily contact, we’ve been on the phone/video a few times since arriving back last weekend.
Back in Sydney, I’m back into a routine of getting up reasonably early, starting work soon afterwards, and not really taking a break, even for lunch. Of course, it’s a luxury in many ways to be working from home, but in other ways, working from home means the line between the two becomes blurred. Though tempted, I haven’t quite made it back into a routine of getting up early or going for a late afternoon walk. (A resolution to commence tomorrow?)
On top of that, there’s a couple of projects I’m working on right now which are stretching me a bit. I’m pretty good with regular linear audio projects, but I’m learning a little more about podcasts and video content creation right now, taking me out of my regular comfort zone. It’s not hard, but it is using different parts of my brain. I’ll blog more about one of them in a few days time.
Today we had one of those work catch-ups over drinks, starting at 4.00 pm. Looking around the room, I think I was one of only two with an actual drink, which I put down to the fact I work with lots of men and women with young children. Oh, and a few of them were in Queensland where it was only 3.00 pm
Today, we were asked to come along with something from our lives that meant something special to us. In the midst of things from people’s grandfathers, or their first child, and other deeply personal things, I brought my collection of ABBA Magazines.
ABBA Magazines
“In these days of following celebrities on Instagram, back then we bought fan magazines”, I told my colleagues, many of whom work in the social media space.
Most of my colleagues are a fair bit younger than me, so many of them laughed when I showed them my magazine collection.
“I used to buy these every month from Pines Newsagency in Lismore, and because we were in the country, we had to wait a week longer than ABBA fans in the city”, I told them. It gave everyone a smile, so I hope they enjoyed my presentation.
I also showed them my “ABC Medal”, presented to me to celebrate twenty-five years of continuous service at the ABC.
“It’s sitting here on my desk, though I hadn’t really noticed it was there until we started this meeting”, I told my colleagues. Though very few of my colleagues have come anywhere near twenty-five years of continuous service, they seem to appreciate my passion for the place that’s kept me busy for almost all of my adult life. I don’t think such lengthy service will be as common for the current and future generations, but it’s neither good nor bad. Actually, no it is good because I have lots of sick leave and lots of superannuation!
Though it could be earlier, I’m anticipating retirement in about four or five years, returning to Lismore. Thus, it’s been a terrific year for me to think about the different phases in my life.
I went out for dinner tonight with old school mate, Anthony and his friend, JT, at the newly opened, “Benzin” restaurant in Surry Hills. Although we hadn’t planned to go there, a two hour wait at Billy Kwong’s, meant we had little choice. However, I’m glad we did, because Benzin is great.
Located in what was “Fuel” in “The Clock Hotel Complex”, the waitress told us, and I’ve since confirmed, it’s a “sibling” to Sailor’s Thai.
There was only one entree on the menu last night: deepfried prawns wrapped in noodles with a sour plum sauce, but it was terrific, so it didn’t matter there was no choice.
We chose three mains out of the menu of about a dozen choices, all priced around $18-25 and were more than happy with what we were served. There was a terrific beef green curry with roti, a sublime squid salad with cherry tomatoes and, best of all, a tremendous duck dish.
We were also really happy with the deserts which consisted of a variety of ice-creams, along with delicious mung bean tart. The secret ingredient in the mung bean dish was caramelised schallots, though the waitress only told that after we’d guessed, as she says they generally don’t tell people for how adversely most might react to an onion-based desert.
The wine list was also good, and even though we had two bottles, the meal, including a shared entree, three mains, and three deserts was just $55 per head. What a bargain.
I went to see Company by Stephen Sondheim last night, the latest production by Kookaburra, the national musical theatre company, and was totally blown away. There were times when my jaw literally dropped in wonderment about how good it was.
Originally entitled Threes, its plot revolves around Bobby (a single man unable to commit fully to a steady relationship, let alone marriage), the five married couples who are his best friends, and his three girlfriends. Unlike most book musicals, which follow a clearly delineated plot, Company is a concept musical comprised of short vignettes, presented in no particular chronological order, linked by a celebration for Bobby’s 35th birthday.
I had been invited to opening night, but couldn’t go due to a work commitment, and so when my friend Colin suggested we go, I said yes instantly. Although I wasn’t particularly aware of the musical and its concerns, I was aware certainly of some of the great songs including “Another Hundred People” and “Ladies Who Lunch”.
I’d first heard “Another Hundred People” on the debut CD by Jodie Gillies, and I loved both the music, and the lyrics concerned with the anonymity of modern city life.
I can’t recall when I first heard “Ladies Who Lunch”, though, a drunken tirade (or maybe tribute) by a woman of a “certain age” about her peers who seem to do little with their lives. The sheer raw emotion of the performance last night was tremendous, one of the highlights of the show.
Another individual highlight was “(Not) Getting Married today”, which demonstrated great vocal ability, great humour, and great theatricality.
And David Campbell was spectacular too. He’s really come into his own, performing with strength, emotion and maturity. It was close to a flawless performance from him, the best I’ve ever seen him.
But although there were some great individual moments in this production, the key to its success was the strength of the ensemble, which makes sense, I guess, since the production is called “Company”.
The direction’s great, the singing’s great, the choreography’s great, the set design is simple (yet effective). This was honestly one of the best moments of theatre I’ve ever seen.
The only odd thing about last night was their decision to drop two numbers, including Barcelona which is a terrific song. Why, I don’t know. Maybe they should have told us? Or maybe they will tell us.
Out of the blue this week, I received some comments on a blog post I made back into 2010 about Wimbo Park. Wimbo Park is lovely little park at the end of Devonshire Street, Surry Hills opposite the semi-famous Bourke Street Bakery, and not far from where I live. It’s a lovely space to sit in the late afternoon, and it’s probably the space where a bunch of people who’ve bought food from the bakery will often go to sit, relax, and eat their tasty delights. Though they probably don’t know it’s called Wimbo Park…
Wimbo Park Mural
As I wrote at the time
According to a plaque on Bourke Street Wimbo Park was officially opened on 14th April 1982 by the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Alderman Douglas W Sutherland AM. There’s also a mural which tells you about the different uses the ground had prior to becoming “Wimbo Park”. Curious to know more about the history of “Wimbo Paddock” and “Wimbo Park”, when I arrived home tonight, I went online but found very little. Surry Hills blogger, Neil, of course, has previously blogged about it. But beyond that, there’s very little. There’s a brief reference to a need for improved lighting in City of Sydney council minutes from 1997. There’s a few references to a rather obscure EP, only released in NZ, by a band called Dappled Cities. And there’s also a Wimbo Park in Cannock in England, apparently.
Wimbo Park was the site of the Sydney City Council’s stoneyard from 1955 to 1981 Here masons dressed stone in a variety of forms and shapes for many city projects.
According to the correspondence I’ve received in the last few days, Wimbo Park is under threat due to the planned light rail extension through Surry Hills.
Yes the proposed route will remove Wimbo Park and Olivia Gardens apartments, along with homes on South Dowling Street. We hope for an update at our community meeting this Sunday at 11am.
It’s a real dilemma. I really like the idea of light rail coming through. I also really like the park. Hopefully you could have both, and so I hope the community meeting and (presumably) consultation will find a win-win solution, though I’m not confident. It shouldn’t be too hard to preserve the history though, you would hope. I’ll probably pop along on Sunday morning to see what’s going on.
With some time to kill at Hong Kong airport, I’ve decided to make a list of all the things I’ve learned which may help other potential independent travellers. The knowledge I’ve gained is from the perspective of being a forty-two year old single man who wanted to travel around Europe simply and cheaply. I went with the idea of wanting to combine notions of being a “tourist” and being a “traveller”. I also went with the idea in mind that I was willing to make some “compromises” in terms of my personal privacy (staying at hostels), but would also happily hop into a hotel or B&B when I needed a bit of space.
GETTING AROUND: Although it’s tempting to get a rail pass, for my trip I found it better and cheaper to catch cheapie airlines. I did the sums for a couple of trips and it was faster and considerably cheaper (one third of the price) to catch a cheapie flight than a regular train. With cheapies, you should go online, check that you’re travelling to and from the main airport and not something in the middle of nowhere, and make sure there are no baggage restrictions. That said, I enjoyed the train trips I did and they deliver you right into the middle of town which is good.
THE COST: Prague is still pretty cheap, especially if you like beer. Stockholm, Tallin and Berlin are on a par with Sydney, which surprised me since I’d always heard that Stockholm was really expensive. The expensive stuff seems to anything that involves a human doing something for you. Paris and surprisingly Riga, are both slightly more expensive than Sydney. London and Amsterdam are just outrageous.
CLOTHING: Even with my small bag, I still think I took too much clothing. I basically wore only two pairs of shorts and two pairs of jeans and about four shirts the whole time. A couple of items of clothing I’d packed remain unworn. I took a leather jacket which was good for both the cold and the rain. I only needed an umbrella or a raincoat on a couple of occasions. I took one pair of Blundstone-style boots which I wore every day, because they were comfortable, hard-wearing, and could look good equally well in a casual or dressy situation. I lost some underwear and socks (the process of packing and unpacking) along the way, so I bought some along the way from H&M. H&M by the way is great for cheap, but good looking clothing. I wish we had one in Sydney. My luggage weighed on average about 14kg, but I reckon I could have gotten it down to 10 or 11kg by taking less with me at the beginning and buying a couple of items along the way. Reducing your luggage size is especially important as you have to lug the stuff up and down often old and narrow staircases in many buildings.
St Christopher's Inn Hostel, Rosa Luxemburg Strasse
ACCOMMODATION: Youth hostels are actually generally fairly ok, especially in Sweden, Germany and the Czech Republic. In those countries, they are generally clean, usually give you breakfast, and often have free wifi. Never stay in an old building converted into a youth hostel. Even though the idea sounds great of staying in an authentic 200 year old building that was formerly something historic, they usually try to squeeze too many people into a small space, and they usually don’t have enough bathrooms. Go for the purpose-built hostel, I say, or even better, the former Communist Party office building. Don’t stay too close to town, as the hostels closer too town are usually more expensive, in dirtier more run-down conditions, and are full of “party animals”. If there’s two or three of you, book a hotel and you’ll pay considerably less for a room that’s more private and in much better condition. You’re much better off finding a hostel on a train line a little further away from town. In a dormitory setting, go for the big rooms when you want some privacy, as smaller dormitories lead to a greater level of intimacy than you might otherwise desire. Always look for hostels with separate gender bathrooms and toilets and dormitories instead of the more popular combined gender facilities. Men always have much less stuff which they pack neatly away, whereas women always have too much luggage which they put all around the room. And let’s just say I never found long black hairs in the shower recess of single-gender facilities whereas I did with the combined genders. Ewww. Men’s luggage can be smelly, as they don’t wash their clothes enough, so if you’re staying in a room with men, make sure there’s good ventilation. If you’re in a hostel with bunk beds, go for the bottom bunk, as it’s a pain in the arse trying to climb up there in the middle of the night, and there’s often not enough room between you and the ceiling. And always leave your bed unmade so people don’t jump into it, assuming it’s there’s. This happened to me twice before I learned the lesson.
Light beer and meatballs at Skansen.
FOOD: You should never eat “ethnic food”, especially Asian food anywhere in Europe, with the possible exception of Paris. They always fuck it up with some local addition or variation, such as serving “Swedish salad” (comprising iceberg lettuce, tomato, cucumber and CORN) on the same plate as your Pad Thai tofu. My advice is stick to the local cuisine they’ve perfected over hundreds of years. And grazing all day on cheap bread-based and fruit-based meals is cheaper than going to restaurants. Go for the “all you can eat” breakfast or lunch and you often don’t have to worry about dinner. Have a glass of wine instead of an evening meal is my advice!
DAY TO DAY: Get rid of your day pack. Honestly, why do you need to carry around half your posessions with you every day? Backpacks also identify you instantly as a tourist which, in Hong Kong is a terrible thing because it makes it easier for the people who want to sell you suits and watches. Don’t carry a backpack in Paris, where everyone seems to be a potential pick-pocket, esp around major tourist attractions. A bag on wheels is much better than a backpack. They can be a bit of a pain on cobble-stone streets and in the Paris metro where there doesn’t seem to be much consideration of people in wheelchairs, but they’re easier to pack and unpack, and you don’t have to worry about falling over under the considerable weight of all the crap you’ve accummulated. By the way, don’t accumulate too much paperwork, as you can always find the brochure on later. Every day go through your paperwork and throw out the crap you don’t really need anymore.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: The metro systems in Stockholm, Paris, Prague, Singapore and Hong Kong are excellent, as they’re easily navigable and cheap. I didn’t use much public transport in Berlin, as everything was fairly close. London’s system is too big (and expensive) for words, so only travel there with a friend. Public transport in Riga is virtually non-existant. The train system in Amsterdam is very confusing, and I ended up half way across the country on more than one occasion due to the complex nature of it all. Avoid cities with cycle-ways at all costs. Give em an inch and they’ll take a mile. Generally cars will slow down and stop for pedestrians, but cyclists won’t. In fact they will nastily ring their bell at you if you’re on a cycle-way, but show no similar feelings of guilt when they’re on a footpath.
ATTRACTIONS: Museums are a totally pointless boring way to spend your holiday. One or two every so often is okay, but only on a wet day, and only for something you’re really interested in. But worst of all, they’re full of tourists who do this terrible slow-stepped shuffle from painting to painting, from installation to installation. Walking tours are usually quite good, as they give you a good introduction to a city, helping you to identify places for further investigation. Bus tours, especially those ones with headsets are just too awful for words. Ten seconds at a building, take a photo and then you’re off again. The pre-recorded commentary can also be very basic… “On your left, the Louvre”.
GETTING TO MEET PEOPLE: To get to really know something about the country you’re visiting, it’s best to find yourself a good local bar, start chatting to the barman, and say yes to every invitation you receive. If you see another solo tourist, say g’day to them, as they’ll appreciate the warm smile. And if you see a fellow Aussie looking a bit forlorn, there’s nothing quite like the sound of a familiar voice and a smile to make their day.
BLOGGING THE TRIP: Keeping this blog has been a good way of making sure I live my life to the fullest by keeping myself accountable for my daily actions. It’s also a simple way of keeping everyone back home up to date with what you’re doing without having to write lots of cut and paste emails. For this trip, I bought an ASUS EEE PC at $329 Australian (cheap), spent an hour or so each night before bed writing down my thoughts and picking out some photographs, and then when I found a hostel with wifi simply uploaded the posts to my blog. It was simple and provided a great record of what I did for the future. Not as “romantic” as the idea of having a log book, but faster (as I type more quickly), interactive with friends, and you don’t risk losing it or leaving it behind. Free wifi is all over the place, esp at train stations and airports.
Get over it, I'm a tourist!
TAKING YOUR OWN PHOTOGRAPHS: If you’re gonna take a photo of the Eiffel Tower, make sure you’re in it. There’s also a good chance someone else has already taken a better, more artsy photo than you anyway. Most tourists will happily take your photo (I was never refused) and you just need to show a camera to people from some countries and they’ll jump at the chance of taking your shot. Ask people to take a photograph of you, though and not the monument, or you’ll end up being just a tiny spec against a big building. And when you take a pic of yourself, use the timer on your camera, because you’ll look much happier, and you’ll hold it much more steadily if you don’t have to worry about pressing the button at the same time.
THEY’LL NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN: Dress like a local is always good rule of thumb, within reason. Try not to dress like a tourist… the backpack, three quarter pants, and comfy shoes make you stand out like dog’s balls. And ask about cultural appropriateness. If you’re unsure about the cultural appropriateness of something, just ask someone because people will honestly tell you the answer. Eg: When in Prague, I went to the Jewish Cemetery and asked on entry if there was something I should be aware. The guide said I should wear the little hat thing if I wanted to and I did and all was fine. Just ask, don’t assume. And remember, how many tourists do you notice in your day to day lives and do you judge them? Do you remember them? Of course not. It’s your holiday. Have a god time and remember… “they’ll never see you again”.
AND IN CONCLUSION The rule of more money and less luggage is completely true. Walk five minutes further than you planned, as you’re bound to find something interesting, and if you see an odd little street walk down it, as you might discover something even more interesting.
