It’s a “friend of a friend story” of how I came to discover the Greek Theatre at Marrickville today. The friend of a friend was the lead (only) female actor in the play “Havana, Harlem” (part of the Sydney Fringe Festival).
The premise for the play is a behind-the-scenes fictionalised account of Fidel Castro’s 1960 address to the United Nations. Set in a hotel room, the events come from the perspective of Celia Sanchez who was in a relationship with Castro. Che Guevara was also in the room. And so to was Jose Molina, the waiter, who just happened to be a former partner of Sanchez. Although it sounds complex, it wasn’t really, and with some historical knowledge, the play was reasonably easy to follow. And I quite enjoyed it, though I’m assuming there was a fair bit of historical licence involved.
Greek Theatre at Marrickville
The theatre itself is a lovely little space (despite the occasional aircraft noise), located in the Addison Road community/arts precinct. It’s an area I haven’t explored before – with markets, and all sorts of things – but having had a brief taste, will be headed back there some time.
After the play we headed off to more friends of friends for an afternoon/evening watching old DVDs of the Eurovision Song Contest. A small group of people with different obsessions. One was a fan of Swedish band, The Ark (Eurovision 2007). Another loved the Latvian band, Brainstorm (2001), and was travelling to Europe in November to see them play. Another guy had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Eurovision, which he attributed to listening to the entire Eurovision back-catalogue while playing “World Of Warcraft” during his VCE year. My special subject, of course, was the Swedish contribution to Eurovision in the last ten years. It was really great to meet some people who are just as freaky as me :)
“Did you see Grace Jones” was the most popular conversation opener at last night’s “Sydney Festival Opening Night Party” at Hyde Park Barracks.
Damo and I arrived there just after eleven. Quite early really, as the main crowd didn’t really arrive until about 11.30. Once inside, we had a bite to eat, a drink, and a wander around to see who we knew. Whenever we met someone there was the obligatory review of Grace Jones’ performance, with all of them overwhelmingly positive.
The design for the party this year – with a backyard theme, complete with hills hoists – was great fun. The hills hoists, though, were quickly denuded of their tea-towels and festival t-shirts (“How very Sydney”, a friend commented). And related to that theme, there were BBQ sausages, which were very, very tasty.
The music this year didn’t do all that much for me, nor quite a few of my friends. “It’s FESTIVAL music”, one said with a derisiory tone. “ADELAIDE festival music”, he added. Another said, “Just because it’s in French doesn’t make it interesting…” Harsh! Still, the DJ’s were pretty good, with a heavily 60s/70s funk/soul influence in the music they played, though almost all of it was very contemporary. And although I didn’t make it to the dance floor (unlike last year), we had a good time soaking up the atmosphere.
And we left at about 2.00am remarkably sober. Middle-age must be catching up with me.
After waking up reasonably late at about 10.30, it’s been a fairly quiet day. I went out and bought a new fridge yesterday which Damo helped me get out of the box, install, and remove the old one. After a brief visit to the supermarket, and a quick bite to eat I’ve spent the day watching some television. I started to watch “Milk” featuring Sean Penn, but fell asleep on the couch after about half-an-hour. What I saw was quite good, I guess I was just a little tired this afternoon from the night before.
I started the evening catching up at The Art House Hotel with Edward who I met last year in Stockholm.
It was a funny meeting in lots of ways.
We met sharing a room at a hostel in Stockholm.
At first, I thought he could have been from anywhere, as he has a physical Asian appearance.
We soon established, however, that, although by Korean by birth, he had lived in Australia for most of his life, since arriving at about the age of fourteen.
We quickly bonded and enjoyed a few days together, enjoying Stockholm.
We also bonded on the basis that we had both found ourselves a little exhausted from our jobs, and had decided to take extended leave to re-establish a greater degree of work-life balance. He’s late 30s, by the way.
Since arriving back from our holidays, we’ve had a beer together, and we caught up again to chat about life the universe and everything. He’s a nice bloke, I like him very much, and I hope we’ll stay in touch.
From there, I called in for a quick catch-up with Graeme who had texted me earlier asking if I was keen to have a drink.
And then I went to Louisa’s Eurovision Semi-Final Party which was fun.
And then I returned to catch up with Graeme who was still out and about having a drink with some mates.
So, by this stage, you might imagine it’s getting late. And it certainly was.
Apparently I look “completely hot” in a suit according to some English bloke I got chatting to.
Nothing else to say or report except “Happy Birthday Sue”.
When I lived in Porpoise Spit, I used to sit in my room for hours and listen to ABBA songs. But since I’ve met you and moved to Sydney, I haven’t listened to one Abba song. That’s because my life is as good as an Abba song. It’s as good as Dancing Queen.
Having grown up on the North Coast when it was a far less fashionable place than it is now – when it was in many ways “the end of the line” – that was definitely a quote which captured my heart when “Muriel’s Wedding” was released in the 1990s. In fact, for a while this website was even named “Goodbye Porpoise Spit”.
Back in Lismore thirty years later and I’m not listening to ABBA songs on my cassette player. No, it’s Youtube these days, though I am still drawing musical inspiration from Sweden. Over the last couple of hours I’ve been discovering some new Swedish tunes which I thought I’d share.
The first two are by a singer called Juvelen (literally Jewel), born Jonas Pettersson, July 15, 1976, is an electro-pop singer from Stockholm, Sweden.
A Scandinavian Justin Timberlake, a male version of Robyn, or – as he describes himself – a one-man boy band: it’s easy enough to slap a label on Swedish pop upstart Juvelen, but that shouldn’t suggest that his soulful electronic dance-pop is simply derivative. Indeed, it’s surprising how few truly like-minded peers he has in the late 2000s – an period rife with exceptional female Scandinavian synth-poppers – given the era’s fascination with the electronic ’80s and, in particular, the output of Prince in his heyday, which is an undeniable reference point for Juvelen’s work.
I really like the pop sensibility in his music, his singing, and of course, he’s a bit of a spunk, isn’t he?
I’ve also been watching some clips by Familjen, a “group” centred around Swedish techno/electropop artist Johan T Karlsson. The song is great, though you get the impression the clip was made “on the cheap”.
And finally, not entirely Swedish… a band called Studio Killers which features members from Denmark, Finland and the UK. This is a great song/clip about not being able to get into a nightclub due to an over-zealous bouncer.
Guo Jian Untitled #5 (2008) 213.0 x 152.0 cm oil on canvas
Even though I’ve spent most of my career reading, writing and speaking, I realised today how hard it can be to get the words “just right”.
I spent a few hours today with @JanneRyan working on an invitation for an exhibition opening we’re both involved in at the Newcastle Region Art Gallery.
Since 2002, we’ve both been involved in a group called “Hawkesbury One“. We’re a group of friends and family members who each contribute $2000 per annum to buy art works collectively. These are works we could never afford individually, and they’re works we might not otherwise be aware of. But for close to ten years, we’ve been buying these works, have been learning more about contemporary Australian art, and have been sharing th works around our homes on a six-month rotation.
The group was set up, legally speaking, as a joint-venture for ten years only. And now we’re fast approaching the “business end” of things which means we need to make decisions about the collection’s future and what we do with the works we’ve purchased as a group.
Best of all though? Much of the collection will soon go on show at the Newcastle Region Art Gallery.
Half the group is from Sydney, half the group is from Newcastle/Dungog, and even then many of those from Sydney were born and raised in the Newcastle/Dungog area, so the Newcastle Region Art Gallery is an obvious place for the work to go on display.
So today, we spent a few hours going through the graphical look for the invitation and carefully choosing the words. We want to convey some messages about how we’re bunch a people who aren’t experts in contemporary art (by any means) and that anyone can do what we’ve done, as well as a message about what a great idea it can be for art more generally. The issue became how do you combine those messages in a simple invitation. Directing people to our website became the obvious way to do it. Nonetheless, it took a few hours to get there.
If you’re in Newcastle from June 11 to September 4, it would be great if you were able to come for a look. In the meantime, check out the “Hawkesbury One” website.
“Excuse me, I have to take some more photographs”, I said to my friend Mattias, as we enjoyed conversation and a beer at Blå Dörren (a bar at Slussen). Though the sunset last night was not as spectacular as earlier in the week, the night colours (once the sun had set) were beautiful. Before and after we entered the bar, I took some photographs, looking towards Gamla Stan. Thanks to the auto-create effect in Google Photos, they were transformed into two stunning panoramas.
Earlier…
…and a little later
It was a really great way to attend what is, today, a public holiday in Sweden (Ascension Day). Although Sandra had gone into work, I received a text from her later in the morning, asking what I was up to and whether or not I’d like to go with her to Fjäderholmarna, some of the inner archipelago islands. About twenty five minutes by ferry, the island features some glorious handcraft workshops (silver smith, glass blowing) as well as terrific places to eat chocolate, ice-ream, and drink Rose. What more could you want?
It left me with just a few minutes to get back to my apartment and freshen up before catching up with Mattias. He’s a lovely bloke I’ve been chatting online with for a few years about photography, travel, politics and more. We actually met last time I was here also. We had a great chat over dinner at Nya Carnegiebryggeriet (New Carnegie Brewery), before ending the night at Blå Dörren, which is near where I took those lovely night-time photographs.
It’s Sunday night, I’m in Wagga Wagga and I’m killing time, ahead of catching the XPT back to Sydney. Though I’ve gone first class on travel, I’ve booked economy for accommodation for my brief visit back to Wagga.
I’ve been staying at Romano’s. Co-incidentally, it’s the place where I stayed for my first week in Wagga Wagga, when I moved here at the end of 1991. For a moment, I thought I might have been staying in exactly the same room as I was almost thirty years ago. I have a strong memory of a “romantic liaison” in the hotel room here. The room has changed little. The beds are the same, the furniture is the same, and the shared shower facilities are most definitely the same. They’ve done a terrific renovation on lower floors of the hotel, which clearly hasn’t made it to Level 2 (especially the bathroom). But that’s all okay, as this was always a brief, nostalgic visit.
I lived here from the end of 1991 to the beginning of 1995. I’ve been back a few times, though the most recent was in 2002, for the funeral of a good friend, Chris Jones. I can’t believe it’s so long!
This visit also has a “death” theme to it all. My friend Kate, who I met here many many years ago, is back here to support her son, as he winds up his father’s estate. When Kate mentioned she was coming, I asked if she would like company for the trip down. So yesterday morning, we began a road trip, taking in sites like The Big Merino, The Dog On The Tuckerbox, and serial stops along the way to look at the mixed-emotion beauty of paddocks filled with Paterson’s Curse and Canola, and to see the Murrumbidgee River.
Visiting the Dog On The TuckerboxCanola, near Wagga WaggaWollundry Lagoon, Wagga Wagga
I’ve been trying to remember how I felt when I left Wagga Wagga at the beginning of 1995. As I recall now, I was still pretty happy about living here. I’d made an excellent circle of friends, in part due to my involvement in co-establishing the Riverina Gay and Lesbian Social and Support Group. I had a very “social” house, located on the shores of Wagga’s Wollundry Lagoon. Here, I’d fulfilled a few of my career dreams, and thought it was probably time to move on, which is why I’d moved to Sydney.
Holding court at my apartment in Wagga Wagga. Date unknown, but maybe 1994. Thanks to Glenn.My former apartment at Unit 2/ 185 Forsyth Street in Wagga. When I left Wagga, the bay tree on the right was only centimetres high.Bay Leaves from the tree I planted in 1993.Wiradjuri ReserveWagga Wagga BeachLooking towards Lake Albert from Willan”s Hill.I was pleased to see the awesome Indian restaurant is still operating, and Rabina is still greeting customers. They’ve been operating for 28 years, and we chatted about how Leo Schofield once described the restaurant in the SMH, as some of the best Indian food he’d ever eaten. They’re no longer in the arcade, having moved to what was Al Fresco. The food is still great. “Show your friends that I’m still alive”, Rabina joked.
There was a further trip down memory lane, as I revisited the studios of ABC (Radio) Riverina, Wagga Wagga. This was my second ABC Radio station, having previously worked at ABC Radio in Renmark, South Australia. A lot can happen between 1992 (aged 26) and 2019 (approaching 54). Many thanks to Mollie from the bureau (station) who let me in and took the pic.
ABC Radio Riverina in Wagga Wagga in 1992Only the technology has changed!!
As I wandered around the city, I was reminded of some of the wonderful people I met here. A few of them are no longer with us, including Colin Anderson and Chris Jones.
Others, I am still friends with, including Glenn and Greig, and Kate. It was a really wonderful period of my life, and I look back on it with much fondness. It’s been great to enjoy a trip down memory lane.
Suitably, my weekend ended with some theatre. My friend, Kate alerted me to some “Shakespeare In The Pub”, she’d seen mentioned in the paper. Without much thought, I booked some tickets to https://bardwork.com/. The show was a modern, abridged, and very colloquial version of “Twelfth Night” which I enjoyed very much.
And suitably, the production was in the downstairs restaurant.
With about an hour to go until the train back to Sydney, I feel like I’ve come “full circle”.
