Colin and I have been anticipating seeing “Shane Warne – The Musical” for quite some time. We’re both big fans of Eddie Perfect, for a start, and all of the reviews have been largely very positive.
Likened in many of the reviews to Keating – The Musical, I thought it fell short in one important way. In “Keating” you really get a sense of Keating the individual, you get a sense of the person, you actually “care” about him, but in “Shane Warne”, I don’t think I ever once got a sense of him as a person, and thus I didn’t care about him.
For example, when Simone Warne sings the heart-felt song about his infidelity, I thought Shane’s reaction was less than human. Although I understand there may have been a sense of purpose to show him as the self-obsessed narcissist that I’m sure exists, I wasn’t “convinced” by his response.
The second half was much better than the first. It was far more biting. It was much more clever than the first half which was a “Celebration of Shane”, but I still thought it fell short of what it could have been.
And I think it’s because the show was a little unsure of the audience. Contrast that with “Keating” where the character acknowledges the audience attending is full of “inner city elites”, and thus it plays exactly to that audience.
“Shane Warne” seemed always about attracting a broader audience. We knew the people behind us, for example, who came up from Wagga. And as we waited for tickets, the people next to us had come from Campbelltown. But I didn’t get a sense of real enthusiasm in the audience. I didn’t get a sense of genuine excitement about the work.
Seated next to us, for example, was a bloke and his girlfriend. I got the impression this was their “compromise night” where they thought this was a night at the theatre they could both enjoy. They appeared totally unmoved.
It’s a real shame, though, because everyone worked really hard and delivered a fantastic performance (aside from the dud note here and there). Eddie Perfect, in particular, remains a star, even if I thought he spent a little too long in his lower register.
We got a laugh here and there, especially as Colin knows one of the key characters in the plotline quite well. I won’t name names, but remember that we’re both from Wagga Wagga.
I don’t think the early closure of the show in both Perth and Sydney has anything to do with “the recession” or the size of the theatre, as noted in today’s Sydney Morning Herald. I just get the feeling it’s a story no one really cares about.
“There’s a little bit of Warnie in us all” (or something like that), came the refrain throughout the show. I’m not sure if I agree, as I didn’t get any real sense of Shane Warne and his personal motivations from tonight’s show, aside from the self-obsession, the narcisim etc. clearly evident.
And I don’t accept the argument, “but that’s the point about Warnie”, as I think a musical or play or whatever that needs to explain itself, or have someone apologise on its behalf, obviously hasn’t worked.
I hope Eddie recovers from this and goes on to further greatness, as I’m sure he will.
You know how Agnetha and Frida are being slowly written out of ABBA history? You know how it’s all suddenly about the well-crafted songs and not the performances?
It really shits me that Bjorn has begun to say things like “I don’t think of them as ABBA songs any more. I think of them as ‘Mamma Mia’ songs”.
Of course we all know that without Agnetha and Frida, Bjorn and Benny would still be writing songs for Melodifestivalen…
That’s why I’m pleased that in the last week or so in Sweden, this has been redressed as Agnetha and Anni-Frid were given a a “LIfetime Achievement” award.
It’s a lovely moment to see them together, happy and funny, after all these years. Here’s the video with English subtitles…
Some people use microwaves to store bread, heat up wheat bags, or sterilize bottles. Others use them for reheating leftovers, defrosting food, or making scrambled eggs. Some people think that air fryers have replaced microwaves, while others still use them regularly.
These are some of my reflections after recently sharing on social media my observations about saying goodbye to my microwave oven.
Our first microwave was back in the early 80s. Back then, it was a HUGE BEAST, and I vividly remember cakes would come out lopsided, as you needed to manually turn them around. They were also freakishly yellow, as the oven lacked a browning facility.
I don’t remember when I bought my most recent microwave, maybe 20 years ago, but I remember it served me well. Until I stopped using it regularly, which was probably ten years ago. That’s when it became something I stored the bread in, and would occasionally reheat a meal. And so when my microwave recently stopped working, I decided I no longer needed it, and would therefore not replace it.
This is not my microwave. This one is in my back laneway, awaiting a council pickup.
I mentioned this on social media, and here are some of the responses I received about the modern-day relevance of the microwave.
Person 1 used their microwave to store bread and reheat dinners before they had children. Now that they have children, they use it to sterilize bottles.
Person 2’s family also uses their microwave to store bread.
Person 3 uses their microwave every day to reheat leftovers for lunch.
Person 4 uses their microwave to heat up wheat bags for muscle pain or cold nights.
Person 5 and their spouse are moving to a new place that doesn’t have a microwave. They plan to buy a new one for $50-100 because they use it for minor tasks like reheating, defrosting, and making scrambled eggs.
Person 6 thinks that air fryers have replaced microwaves.
Person 7 bought a new microwave 4 years ago but has only used it once.
Person 8 uses their microwave multiple times a day to sterilize bottles, heat up solid portions of food, and reheat meals that they have made ahead.
Person 9 uses their microwave to defrost and reheat food.
Person 10 hasn’t had a microwave since they got married 23 years ago.
Person 11 uses their microwave two or three times a day to heat up oat milk for their coffee.
I suspect the microwave will soon be going to the way of many other previous appliances.
It’s Tuesday night. I’ve just watched “The Bill” and “Rove” is about to commence. Have just had a lovely piece of steak for dinner. Now sipping on a glass of wine. It’s my regular Tuesday night and I love it.
A few things have happened in the last week.
Basking in the glory of my “big scoop” with John’s story about ATM fraud, I was thanked at work for breaking the story. I told my boss I wouldn’t have known about the story if I hadn’t gone out for a drink on the Sunday night. He was not, however, conducive to the idea of a “drinking allowance” that may have enabled me to gather more stories. I think he is being very short-sighted :)
Last Tuesday night, Sue arrived for a whirlwind visit from Melbourne. She’s studying a postgraduate degree through the University of Technology, Sydney. She seems to be doing quite well with it, in fact she’s managed to top her class in the accountancy subject which she says should be a cause for concern for the other students. She arrived on Tuesday night and we went for dinner at the local Vietnamese restaurant around the corner. That was great.
I can’t remember what happened on Wednesday and Thursday night. They were obviously uneventful. On Friday night, after work, I went out with some people from work. We had a few drinks, a few laughs. What more could you ask for.
On Saturday and Sunday I went to the cricket on both days. One of the great things about walking from home to the Sydney Cricket Ground is seeing the games of amateur cricket along the way. Although they’re obviously not as exciting, games like this one, have a great view of the city. Players also seem to spend a lot of time practicing their golf skills in the outfield. Saturday was quite exciting with NSW playing SA in a 4-day match. Steve Waugh scored 120-something and was warmly welcomed by the crowd. In stark contrast, on Sunday, he got out for 7, and his brother, Mark got out for 0 on a duck. He said “fuck” a few times, and challenged the umpire and was duly reprimanded. Steve was really a class act to watch as he sent the ball through the gaps in the field with almost monotonous regularity. A couple sat down in front of me, a family, husband and wife, and two infants. The wife made me laugh when she said, “Oh Steve Waugh… is he related to Mark Waugh”. The husbland replied sheepishly, hoping no one would hear, “Yes”. “What? His brother?” she said at the top of her voice. “His twin brother, actually”, he whispered. “Has he played cricket before his”. “Yes, he’s the Australian cricket captain. Keep your voice down”.
The weather in Sydney continues to confound us all – beautiful one day, hideous the next. As 99% of NSW is now affected by drought the plants are doing odd things. Nonetheless, as it’s getting warmer most of the summer plants are now in flower. I don’t exactly know what this particular tree is, but it’s beautiful and it caught my attention on the way to the cricket on Sunday.
Yes, there’s only 1% of NSW that’s drought free – the area around Bombala. I spoke last week with a local farmer, Sophie Longden, who said “in the mid to late 90s, we had to do a lot of hand-feeding. Many people lost stock and core breeding herds”.
Sophie and her husband, Keith Campbell, live at at “Myla”, 20km south of Bombala. This photograph illustrates how lush things are at the moment. So far this year they’ve received 556 ml of rain, although there has been none so far in November. In the last couple of weeks “grass has started to turn off and the winds have become hot and strong” compared with last month. Conditions are better now. “Mind you”, she says, “We’re not sitting in a swimming pool with a martini in our hand”.
Last night, Damien and I went to see “Crackerjack”, the new movie featuring Mick Molloy. I didn’t know until last week that he and Sophie Lee had separated. She’s now married to someone else and is, by media reports, pregnant at the moment. The movie has a “Castle”-like quality about it, dealing with a small bowling club in a suburb of Melbourne about to be taken over by a larger bowling club.
According to the publicity associated with the movie, Jack Simpson (Molloy),is
a calculating prankster who works in an inner-city office block, is up in arms when he’s suddenly forced to play lawn bowls. You see, he joined the Cityside Bowling Club years before – but only because they offered great car parks near his work – and now, unfortunately, the system has caught up with him and the local team is one player short. Seems Cityside is in financial dire straits, and with the addition of the anomalous Jack to their team they’re able to enter a tournament for a cash prize. Naturally, Jack discovers the sport ain’t half bad, and neither are the old coots he plays with and, pretty soon, he forms a relationship with both, ultimately becoming enmeshed in the fortunes of the club, who need to win this tournament to survive monetarily.
It’s pretty funny, though not hillarious. It’s more gentle than I thought it may have been. Overall, Damien and I had a good night. A nice chat, a couple of beers and a good movie. Isn’t that what life is all about?
On Thursday night, I’m off the Media Christmas Drinks at Parliament House. This is the first year I’ve been invited. I’m told it will be a hoot.
And then on Saturday night, I’m accompanying a friend to the “RSVP Cocktail Party”. RSVP is an online dating service for heterosexuals. They also organise regular events. I received my confirmation of attendance today.
Thank you for confirming to attend the Special Edition – Poolside Party – 23rd Nov. 7:30 PM Darling Harbour. The pool deck at Darling Harbour’s Novotel Hotel has hosted RSVP’s rare and most romantically favourite cocktail parties that only few people have experienced. Style and grace will be combined with the fun and excitement of meeting other like-minded people. This will be the last chance this year to attend a designer style party with a twist. NO SWIMMING! That’s the rule, but hey, lots of dancing right next to the pool and, of course, if you choose to dress the part and want to wear something like resort, beach or Hawaiian wear, go for it, otherwise dress to impress. Goldilocks’ famous Mission Possible ice breaker game will be one of the highlights of the evening with prizes to be won by playing. Designer Parties are “the perfect party to network”. TIME: 7:30pm ’til midnight COST: $15 (pay on arrival). Drinks consumed on cash basis. Cocktail nibbles provided. WHERE: “POOLDECK” reception level, Novotel Hotel, 100 Murray Street, Darling Harbour. (Next to Grand Mercure Hotel.) DRESS: Dress for the outdoors, venue is outside, unless it rains. Dress to impress or wear resort, beach or Hawaiian! TRANSPORT: Trains to city. Buses and taxis nearby. Monorail to Darling Harbour. Water taxi and ferry services handy. PARKING: Public car park at Novotel (behind Harbourside). Discounted parking after 7pm. NOTE: In case of rain, we will use Liquid Bar, only a few metres away – the party will go on!
After watching Q&A tonight, my attention turned to democracy in Sweden, as I watched a “leader’s debate” – or Duell, as they called it – ahead of next weekend’s general election there. If you’re interested, you can actually watch the debate with English commentary on the SVT website. In fact, it seems it was translated into several of the major languages spoken in Sweden these days.
As I watched, I noted some interesting parallels with the recent Australian election: with education, health, climate change and immigration dominating the debate, though I noticed a fair degree of bipartisanship on some of the issues, such as refugees.
There’s also the potential for the election of the country’s first female Prime Minister, and there’s the likelihood of minority government for either the Centre-Right Coalition or the Red-Green Coalition. Both leaders, however, said they wouldn’t do a deal with the Sweden Democrats (a right-wing largely race-based party) if push came to shove.
Unlike Australia, there was also a lot of discussion about the “Swedish Model” which is characteristically a debate about the extent of state involvement in people’s lives.
I’m not an expert on Swedish politics, so I’ll leave the analysis there and concentrate on what I found really interesting: how the debate worked as a “television event”.
The main differences between this debate and the one we “endured” in Australia several weeks ago included:
1. The use of just one moderator. There was no panel of journalists asking questions. The moderator was there to keep them on track and to ask the right questions at the right time. There was no sense of the moderator as celebrity, and she was often in the background as the two leaders spoke to each other.
2. They had an audience, and both candidates seemed to get the same amount of applause, so you would assume it was a carefully selected audience.
3. The candidates faced each other. And as one spoke, you got to see closely the facial expression of the other. This level of intimacy hopefully lead to more honesty.
4. They used a lot of footage from outside to illustrate points leading to questions. Although the footage occasionally included the leaders, it was mostly people talking about the issues that were important to them. High production values.
5. There was a slight “reality tv” feel to the production with a set that wouldn’t be out of place on something like “The Weakest Link”. There was also a slight “reality tv” moment when the moderator said that, as the two leaders spoke, the translators were writing down their every word, and that this would be shown on the screen and on the website as a “word cloud”. You could almost sense a deep intake of breath as both wondered what they exactly they had said. No need to worry, as they both used similar words.
6. The debate seemed to my eyes and ears to be one of substance and I don’t think I heard either leader repeat their party slogan endlessly.
Mona Sahlin, leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party and Fredrik Reinfeldt, leader of the Moderate Party
The set resembled one of those head-to-head quiz shows in some ways
Over the shoulder camera, so you can see the facial response as the other spoke
Closeups were in abundance
A young woman talks about education and unemployment in Sweden
Two young women from the same town as Swedish football player, Zlatan Ibrahimovic talk about the inspiration he has provided to other immigrants in Sweden
Fredrik Reinfeldt has his word cloud unveiled
Mona Sahlin has her word-cloud unveiled
The moderator introduces the debate
As a piece of television I found it quite compelling. If the “debates commission” – or whatever it’s called – comes to fruition in Australia, they could do worse than look at the Swedish television election model. It was quite a classy, substantive piece of television.
There’s another final debate on Friday night, the election is held on Sunday, and then on Sunday night both leaders will appear on television. It’s all very civilised, isn’t it?
This morning, I had the opportunity to chat with Hamish Macdonald on ABC Radio Sydney about a significant milestone – the first anniversary of my amputation. A year ago on this coming Sunday, I was rushed to the hospital, underwent a lower right leg amputation, and began a whole new chapter in my life. During the interview, I kept one key thought in mind: what valuable insights could I share with others facing a similar challenge? Hopefully, my story resonated and offered some helpful advice. On Sunday, I’ll share the written story, but right now, here’s the audio, and a fairly accurate transcript.
Hamish : And joining me in the studio this morning on 702 Mornings is our colleague James O’Brien. He’s a voice that you might have heard before. These days, he’s on the planning and strategy side at the ABC, but if you’ve been listening to ABC Radio for some years, you’ll know his dulcet tones, especially if you’re from the regions or you’ve got relatives in regional New South Wales.
James was on mic for more than a dozen years, delivering a daily radio program to those of you across the New South Wales regions. Over that time, he would have done lots of stories himself on diabetes, on disability, as well as things like overseas holidays. But just over a year ago, these three things really came together in a pretty extraordinary set of circumstances and turned his life upside down.
James has survived, though, to tell the story, and in fact today, well this week I think, he’s celebrating what he’s calling his stumpversary, which I feel like I’m not entitled to use. But anyway, James is here to explain. Good morning, James, how are you?
James : Hi there, Hamish. Yeah, stumpversary, I can say that. Other amputees can say ampuversary. Yeah, I’ve got to worry about it. Yeah, look, we can say it. I can say it.
Hamish: So explain stumpversary. What does it actually mean?
James : Okay, so on the 30th of June last year, I call it my end of financial year discount, I was taken to the hospital in an emergency situation and the lower third of my right leg was removed. It was the combination of a bunch of things, including an infection in my foot that just went a little bit crazy, sepsis, things like that, also diabetes. And even though it’s my individual story, it’s a really common one. The estimate is that something like 8,000 Australians each year will have an amputation. 160,000 in Australia, it’s growing at 2.2% each year. Three-quarters of men, because we don’t look after ourselves. And so it’s a huge issue. And in fact, in terms of diabetes-related amputations, we have the highest rate in the OECD. So I’m hoping by talking about this this morning, that I’m going to create a bit of awareness, particularly for men of my age, but also lots of other reasons that people have amputations too.
Hamish: You’ve written a beautiful account of your experience and your journey over the last 12 months, which will be published on the ABC website. And we’ll put that out as well if you’re listening to this and want to read more. But it struck me in your description of things that, I mean, I can’t even imagine receiving that news that you were going to have to have an amputation.
James : Well, I didn’t actually receive that news.
Hamish : Yeah, because you didn’t sort of explain that.
James: So what exactly happened is I’d been overseas with friends, and I got a bit of a cut on my foot. You know, I had a bit of an infection. And then the sepsis came through and basically started moving up my leg. Meanwhile, diabetes was kicking in, and I went into a bit of a delirium for several days leading up to the situation.
And then on the Friday, I was supposed to deliver some deadlines, which are very important for journalists to do. No one could find me. One of my colleagues, Joanne, raised concerns and tried to call and all those sorts of things. She and two other friends, Andrea and Ross, and my next-door neighbor, Alexis, then knocked on my door. No answer.
The police arrived along with two ambulances and found me unconscious on the floor. I don’t really remember. The only thing I remember of the night itself is Ross standing over me and saying, “It’s okay, James, we’re getting you to the hospital.” That’s all I know.
Then four days later, I woke up from a coma. By which time my niece had arrived down from Lismore. And thank goodness, she’s a nurse. So she understood all this stuff and was able to communicate. She said, “I had to summon up all the courage I had to tell you that there’d been an amputation.” And I didn’t give consent because I wasn’t in a position to do that.
Honestly, I was more off with the pain relief than upset. But I was also quite realistic: much worse things could have happened. Immediately. Yeah, I could have died. So there was a very strong risk of death and/or brain damage.
So when they, at St Vincent’s Hospital, removed the bottom half of my leg, there was the chance they might have wanted to remove more. But it’s remained as a lower leg amputation. They talked to my niece about going further, but thankfully that wasn’t required.
Hamish: You talk in your article about your experience of the sort of adjustment process in, you know, back into the world and returning to work and taking public transport. What’s it been like?
James : Look, at first I could hardly get anywhere. So I was still going around in a wheelchair until about October, November last year. I was in hospital and rehab for three or four months. At first I had a lot of support because I was in a wheelchair. So people see you coming up and they go, oh yeah, well, does this guy need a bit of support? And I did in those early days. The only thing that drove me insane in those early days, being in a wheelchair, were those hire bikes.
Hamish: As in the Lime bikes that get left out on the street.
James: Anyway, so people were parking them in the middle of the footpath. And so I had to go around them and those sorts of things. And, you know, I had friends to push me around. I also had some support from the NDIS in terms of getting out in the community and those sorts of things. But then as I’ve become more and more able, people just don’t notice me anymore.
Hamish: It was an interesting observation you made about being on public transport and because people are standing, you say people are looking on their phones and they don’t actually see.
James: No, they don’t. So I’m still wearing mostly shorts, because I can’t get my pants over my prosthetic leg. But this morning, I got on the light rail this morning to come in here and there were six people sitting in those wheelchair places on the light rail. I saw a couple of people look up and then look back to their phones and then finally one person said, oh, would you like to sit here? And then the others did as well. So, you know, I just think people kind of think, oh yeah, he’s got a prosthetic leg. He’s fine. He’ll get around. But there was a long period of adjustment.
Hamish: Do you ever say to people, hey, do you mind getting up?
James: Sometimes I do. But mostly it’s when someone else needs it as well. Like if I get on at the same time as an older person with a walking stick or walking frame or something like that, I’ll say, hey, get up, get up and let them sit down. So yeah, sometimes I do.
Hamish: So it’s a good reminder if you’re on public transport or using it. Look up or look down. But also if you’re going to sit in one of those seats that are reserved, make sure you get up when the time comes.
James: Absolutely. So that’s been an interesting thing. I’ve had a couple of people – some just don’t notice. And I had one person push me out of the way to find a seat in the theatre, which was a bit of a nuisance. And I had one person also with a pram who thought her SUV-sized pram was more important in terms of mobility.
But, you know, mostly people are really fantastic. They’re really great. They sort of look and say, you know, can I help you with something? And that’s a much better thing to say to someone in this circumstance. Can I help you with something as opposed to, would you like me to do this for you?
You know, because when you say, would you like me to do this for you? It sort of takes away your power. And I had a bit of an incident earlier in the piece with friends who wanted to do things and they said, we’ll go to your house and do this for you. And I really got quite shitty with them. And I said, look, no, I don’t want that done. It’s much better to say, do you need some help? Would you like, not would you, can I do this for you? It’s what would you like, you know? Yeah, right. So less specific, just be open, you know, to what’s needed.
Hamish: You’re hearing the voice of James O’Brien, a familiar voice here on the ABC, marking his, what he calls, stumpversary this week. What about the emotional side of it? Because you also mentioned friends and family, some maybe not quite believing how okay you have said you are.
James: I’d been to Cambodia and I’d met people who had lost limbs through landmines…
Hamish: This was the holiday immediately before?
James: Yeah, the holiday kind of made me a bit aware of these sort of issues already. And I thought to myself, wow, I’ve lost a limb in a first-world medical facility. It’s fine. I’ve got lots of support around me. It’s fine. And look, two years earlier, my family had survived the Lismore floods. So I just thought, this is absolutely okay. But lot of people thought I was in denial. And, you know, at the hospital, I had a psychiatrist come and talk to me and she was concerned that I was in denial. And look, you know, maybe at some point there’ll be moments when I’ll go, you know, what has happened to my life? But, you know, I’ve been okay with it. But some people get really upset. When I was in hospital, there was one young guy who’d also had an amputation and he was in tears all the time. So, you know, people respond in different ways and there’s no right way. There’s just the way you respond.
Hamish : What about sport and activity and stuff like that?
James: I was never very sporty, but I have been to wheelchair basketball a couple of times. And there are some young women there who are just amazing. There’s one who found that a prosthetic leg wasn’t for her. So she actually just gets around with crutches, which just does my head in. Personally, I just know I couldn’t do that.
There are other people in much worse situations. I’ve been part of some international Facebook groups, which I’ve had to stop going to because they were just too upsetting. Particularly the American ones were really upsetting because of their health system there. They don’t have the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme). And I was just reading these people saying, oh, look, I’d really like to get a prosthetic leg, but my insurance won’t cover it. So I’ll be praying to God to get a leg, to which I would say, well, you know, in Australia, we just pray to Bill Shorten and the NDIS can help out. So that’s been a really interesting thing to deal with. I’ve also seen and talked to people on these Facebook groups about, you know, much, much worse situations than me. So I feel fine about it all, you know.
The only thing I sort of worry about is ongoing relevance. And I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you a slightly naughty story. It is a slight naughty story. You know, obviously, you know, I’m 58 years old and, you know, I have wondered about my attractiveness as a man having lost a leg. And I was in an Uber recently and the Uber driver propositioned me,
Hamish : What rating did you give? Five stars?
James: Oh yeah, absolutely.
Hamish: Great to see you. Thank you for sharing the story. And as you say, so many of us don’t think about some of the critical things.
James: Can I say there’s one organization I’ve been involved with, which is called Limbs for Life, which is a national support agency for people. It’s a peer support agency. And maybe two or three weeks into my hospital stay, I got a phone call out of the blue from someone who lives in Newcastle called Clay. Very, very similar circumstance to mine.
Hamish: And it was just great to talk to other people in this circumstance. A text from Zoe says, James is the best. Back when I worked at the ABC, he was always so kind to me. Knowledgeable, funny, interesting. Sending him all the best. I don’t know if you know who. I know exactly who it is. James O’Brien, thanks very much.
The truth be told I was a little nervous on approaching the Courthouse Hotel for tonight’s GLBTI Bloggers Meetup. First, I’d realised we’d forgotten the Q, and was half-expecting a protest on behalf of Queer Bloggers, incensed they had been left off the invite. Second, it had been raining for much of the day. Thankfully, The Other Andrew, had booked an undercover table in the beer garden, so all was fine there. And third, because I’m instinctively a shy person (despite my job and my bravado), I was worried I would have to be the outgoing one who would need to identify and welcome people. Thankfully, TOA who is much better than me in those regards arrived right on time. In fact, everyone seemed to arrive quite early which I thought was pretty amazing.
After Andrew, the first to arrive was Michael who delighted everyone with tales of travelling overseas with his dog for the last few years. He must have been asked the question about how he got his dog through quarantine a thousand times. In fact, he said, the only problems he had was coming back into Australia. He also offered some handy advice about the advantages of travelling overseas with your car, except in the UK. He also turned out to be a knitter, which delighted both TOA and The Witty Knitter who I had not realised was a NZer by birth. Having read her blog for about a year now, it was really great to meet her, and to hear her observations about life, the universe and everything. As well as knitting, she also blogs about blogging, as she is doing her PHd about people doing PHds, and part of that is to encourage people doing PHds to blog about their PHd. It is actually not that confusing when she explains it all.
Marcellous was also an early arrival, entertaining us with tales from the courtroom, and tales from the films he had seen at the Mardi Gras Film Festival, in common with A Girl Called Dusty.
I had to smile when Panther arrived around 6pm, as he and I had been on the same history walk two days earlier. I later recounted to Therin Of Andor the historical inaccuracies surrounding Number 96 which had been featured on the tour.
My near neighbour, Ninglun was also there, explaining NInglun was actually his name in Mandarin, and telling us that Kevin Rudd also has a name that converts to Mandarin, though I can no longer recall exatly what it was. It was great too, to see Dancing about Architecture (Riayn) who I had met at a non-GLBTI Bloggers Meetup a few weeks ago. She is such a lovely person and along with TOA she was one of the stayers after most people left at about 7.30pm to go home to have dinner etc.
So thanks to all those who attended. It was lots of fun and it was great to meet such a nice bunch of people.
