Even though I’m no longer part of the culture of “Friday Afternoon Work Drinks”, I do remember this stage of my life very well. You would go to the pub, talk about work, and then, as the drinks kicked in, you would turn to other topics, and before you knew it, you were in a dodgy karaoke bar singing “Dancing Queen”. Through your “beer ears” you thought you sounded okay, when it fact you sounded pretty awful. And what happened to remind you of this was the appearance on stage of your workmate (who had ditched his tie and jacket) and who suddenly revealed to everyone he had a really great singing voice.
That guy was a contestant in the third heat of Melodifestivalen, the Swedish competition which selects a contestant for the Eurovision Song Contest, and his name was Andreas Weise. When he appeared on stage, I thought he would be another boring old male blonde Swede who would sing something of little consequence, only to be forgotten about minutes later. In fact, his performance was one of the best in this heat.
Along the way there were other tracks such as “Insomnia” by Ellen Benediktson (good, though probably a little too similar to Loreen’s “Euphoria”); “För din skull” (For your sake) by Kalle Johansson (boring); “Living To Die” by Andreas Johnson (the songs title says it all, it’s time for Andreas Johnson to move on); “Don’t Stop” by Isa Tengblad (boring in my view, but popular with the tweens); and “I See You” by Kristin Amparo (gorgeous voice, though I can’t remember the song only half an hour after having watched it).
But my favourite of the heat was “Jag är fri (Manne Liem Frije)” (I am free) by Jon Henrik Fjällgren. He won Sweden’s got talent last year with a song about a friend who died. Though originally from Colombia, he’s part of the Sami community and works by day, seriously, herding reindeer. The song he sang was “rousing” and “catchy” and sung in “Joik” which is a traditional Sami form of song. A big call to make at this stage, since there’s still a further heat to go, and then “Andra Chansen” before the final, but I think he has a really good chance of representing Sweden at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
Unfortunately the video of his performance isn’t available online yet, but here’s the video from when he won Sweden’s Got Talent.
Update – The video clip for his song has now been uploaded
It’s Sunday morning, it’s very warm in Sydney and I’m just reflecting on my latest brush with fame and another week of “Christmas Drinks”.
I had a really nice surprise on Monday night. Actually, it wasn’t a surprise, I just had forgotten about it. A guy who I helped with some advice about a job asked me out to dinner, having now gotten the job he was after. We laughed, joked and chatted about a range of issues, ate some terrific food and drank some lovely wine.
I feel much more festive this year than last, for obvious reasons. Despite the shop decorations in the David Jones window, however, it still doesn’t feel like Christmas. Those childhood feelings of anxiety and excitement are long gone. I don’t really exchange many gifts anymore either. Still, I guess that’s what getting older is all about.
I do, however, like going to Christmas Drinks. On Wednesday night, I was invited to the Premier’s Media Christmas Drinks at Governor Macquarie Tower. There was the usual assortment of media literati and state parliamentarians with the added touch of Geoffrey Robertson, QC. Mr Carr made an amusing speech about the negativity of the media. I also met Helen Carr who seems very nice.
On Friday night, Damien and I went to Christmas Dinner at Pazzo. The food was, as usual very good, and Damien brought along a NZ Pinot he bought when he visited there a couple of years ago. After dinner, we went out for a few drinks at the Dolphin Hotel. In playing pool, we met a group of hilarious guys. They were both funny haha AND funny mad. They showed us pictures of their children, provided an elaborate critique of Radio National and 702, and one of the guys went on with an elaborate routine that he was a black gay man. I guess you had to be there.
Last night, Damo and I went to the opening of an exhibition at the Museum of Sydney about the desire and promise of the unknown inspired by the extraordinary voyages of J S C Dumont d’Urville. Like his hero Captain James Cook, Dumont d’Urville journeyed three times to the Southern Seas. His two voyages in command, 1826-1829 and 1837-1842 were the zenith of French maritime exploration, colonial ambition and scientific endeavour.
We were just there for the French champagne. Unfortunately, although the exhibition was about a French explorer and it was opened by the French ambassador, there was not a drop of French champagne in sight. Hmmm. On arrival we were presented with a lei, in keeping with the South Pacific theme of the night.
Archibald Prize – Margaret Whitlam
And I became best friends with Margaret Whitlam!
During the opening speeches, I was leaning against the wall, watching the proceedings when all of a sudden a face and voice appeared asking, “Do you mind if I borrow your wall”? It was Margaret Whitlam, the iconic wife of the former Australian Prime Minister. “If I don’t lean against a wall these days I fall over”, she said. When I replied, “Yes, I have the same problem”, she laughed.
After a little while, someone asked Mrs Whitlam if she would like a chair and if she would like to sit with Mr Whitlam. She said something like, “Oh, I’ll have the chair, but I’ll be fine here thank you”.
So we stood there with Margaret Whitlam on the chair in front of me. She became my new best friend with her witty remarks and wry observations about the ceremony underway. When a group of dancers came out with elaborate headgear, she commented, “Oh I wish they’d given us all those when we came in. Of course, you’d have difficulty keeping it on your head without sticking plaster”.
During the kava-drinking ceremony, Mrs Whitlam observed that it “tastes like dirty dishwater” and thought it was hilarious when Mr Whitlam was given some to drink. “Dishwater”, she said.
She was also amused to discover she had spent 30 years mispronouncing the name of a Tongan King and commented the dancers and singers, “Look more West Samoan than Tongan”.
After a while she and Mr Whitlam went to the book store, leaving her glass behind with a comment, “Can you look after that and make sure they fill it up by the time I get back”? I didn’t actually expect her to return, so I didn’t watch the glass, but when she did return she didn’t appear upset that I had neglected her wish. I asked her if she’d like some more and she replied, “Oh no, thank you… I’m fine”.
At the end of the evening she walked over to Mr Whitlam with the comment, “I’m just off to see what His Highness wants”. Shortly afterwards they left.
We then went for dinner at a French restaurant, Sel et Poivre, the place Colin had taken me for my birthday. The meal I ordered – Braised beef cheeks with Burgundy Sauce – was excellent. Highly recommended.
After dinner, Damo and I went out for a few drinks, which included cocktails at the Arthouse Hotel and beers at the Slip Inn, ending the night with – Damien’s suggestion, not mine – a cheeseburger at McDonalds.
Not much planned for the day, except writing my “year in review” which will appear here on December 31.
As well as the CD, the digital radio, it’s also got an iPod Dock and you can connect USB players/devices via the port on the front of the unit to play MP3 and WMA tracks, although it’s unlikely Colin will use the other components.
The CD and the radio, however, are excellent.
Were it not for the fact that I’m heading overseas soon and am trying NOT to spend money, I would have bought one myself.
So in an effort NOT to spend money, I spent the remainder of the day at home listening to music, reading, and for a while chatted with Damien over Skype.
He’s currently in South East Asia on an extended trip.
I also did a little of my own travel planning, securing a couple of train tickets between Stockholm and Malmo.
Although I tried several times to purchase the tickets online, I was unable to. Sometimes the apostrophe in my name causes confusion for websites. I think in this case, there must be an issue with trying to purchase the tickets with an Australian credit card, as it was processed easily via a telephone call to SJ, the Swedish train system.
“We apologise for the delay, but we’re still not sure when we can leave, after an earlier incident”, the tram driver told us twice.
While many others got off the tram, I decided to wait.
And what a lovely experience it was. There was a couple sitting opposite with a child of maybe eighteen months old. That age when children start to develop their own personality, are usually always smiling.
They were a French couple and she was was talking to the child in some very basic French, which was good, as it was at about the level of my understanding of French.
And then she burst into song.
Alouette, gentille alouette Alouette, je te plumeraiJe te plumerai la tête Je te plumerai la tête Et la tête, et la tête Alouette, Alouette Oh, oh, oh, ohAlouette, gentille alouette Alouette, je te plumerai
What a joy it was to remember that song from my own childhood. I sang along in my head.
Anyway. after about twenty minutes, I’d lost interest in the family, and on my plans to travel into the city, so I got off the tram.
Seconds after leaving the tram, I noticed there was another tram waiting.And then a third one.And then a fourth.
By this stage, I decided there wasn’t much point waiting around for the next tram heading into the city, so I popped down to my local pub instead.
“Where shall we meet for dinner”, I asked my friend Kate on the phone this afternoon. It’s not as if I really needed to, as I was pretty confident the answer would be “Red Chilli”, a Sichuan restaurant in Sydney’s Chinatown.
Over the last few years, Red Chilli has become a real favourite for us, and we tend to make the same menu choices every time. We usually start off with a lovely garlic cucumber dish. We then usually have this wonderful chicken dish, where the chicken is cooked in chilli, and with your chopsticks, you have to pick out the small individual pieces of chicken, and hope you don’t pick up some of the chilli pieces which are very, very hot. We also usually have a wonderful greasy pork dish, cooked in onions and leaks which is fairly decadent.
Tea Smoked Duck
Tonight, however, we expanded our repertoire. We ordered a dish Kate told me she had eaten in China and which she enjoyed very much. It’s duck smoked in tea. As you bring it close to your mouth and nose, you can identify the smell of the tea instantly. I didn’t pick it up in the flavour, but it’s definitely there in the aroma. And it’s tasty. Oh yeah, it’s tasty. And while I would normally gulp down some duck in an instant, it was the kind of meal that was good to eat slowly and really savour.
It’s Saturday afternoon and I’ve just woken up from a brief nap. It’s been an incredibly busy week and so I thought a brief nap was in keeping with my efforts until the phone rang and then, my mobile rang at the same time which I interpreted as a sign that I probably shouldn’t waste too much of my Saturday, even though I have been tired today. That said, I’ve woken up and I’m feeling fine… in fact, feeling quite good about life at the moment, as most things in my life seem to be going well.
The highlight of the week was undoubtedly Wednesday night when I travelled to Newcastle to see Cher in concert at the Entertainment Centre. I caught the 4.12pm train leaving Central which got me into Newcastle at about 6.40pm which was ideal, as it gave me a few hours of daylight travel in which to enjoy the gorgeous scenery the train trip affords.
I’d been anticipating the show ever since ABC-TV had screened one of the concerts half way through last year. The tv show had a great showbiz quality about it, combining video footage, live performance and lots of humour and costume changes. Cher was also responsible for some of my lifetime favourite songs ranging from a childhood favourite, Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves to a more recent disco favourite, Strong Enough. I’ve never, however, been a fan of the “slingshot period”, that period in the 80s where she sang rock ballads in her famous “slipshot costume”. But even those songs had a nostalgic value for the G&G audience which was attending.
G&G? The audience consisted of gays and greys! It’s an interesting new demographic not previously discussed which is attracted to the likes of Cher, Bette Midler, Village People etc. Actually, the Village People were the opening group for the night. Although at first they seemed a little sad – let’s just say the cute, thin Indian has put on a kilogram or thirty – they really knew how to work the crowd and by the end of their performance literally had people dancing in the aisles. I wondered though half way through the show why these guys still do it. Do they need the money? Do they love it?
And Cher? Her performance was excellent, although I did notice a couple of things. I noticed for the first time the limitations of her strong, but limited vocal range. I also noticed that although she’s surrounded by people who dance and do acrobatics, she doesn’t do all that much herself… just the occasional shimmy. And why not? She’s 60 years old which she, herself joked about, commenting that this would definitely be her final tour and that she wasn’ going to re-emerge in a few years time in one of those people movers popular with older people. I also nearly choked when she introduced a song as “This is my first number one from July 1965”, as it was actually before I was born. She was clearly a performer with no regrets about her career. It was a terrific night and I also have no regrets about the night except for one: I didn’t check the train timetable.
And why should I check the train timetable, since I’ve been travelling up and down the coast for many years. Having had a year in Perth, though, I was unaware the timetable had changed and, although I caught the Sydney train from Newcastle at 11.30, it wasn’t actually going all the way to Sydney, it was stopping at about 1.00am at Gosford. When I realised the next train wasn’t until 3.00am, I was reasonably philosophical about it all, thinking that I could pop into a bar, have a few drinks and then, by the time it was ready to leave, I’d be toasted enough to comfortably sleep all the way back to Sydney… except everything was closed. So I sat on the station, talked to myself, and made a short video called Stuck In Gosford, which I’m sure will, one day, be an Academy Award winner.
Even though I’d spent the night sleeping on a train I was reasonably alert on Thursday which is just as well since we had a live broadcast for work that night at Newtown RSL which was a huge success. Amongst the comedians featured in our show were Dhanny Boy and Bob Downe. I went to see Dhanny Bhoy last night and I’m going to see Bob Downe tonight. I’ll write about them both in my next diary entry.
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I really enjoyed Andreas Weise too. I was surprised he didn’t qualify directly. I’m shocked by all the buzz behind Jon Henrik Fjallgren. I thought the performance was utterly bizarre and not in a good way. What was with all the angels/banshees and the couple decked out in fleecewear dancing together? Very odd. I’m hoping Sweden will opt for Eric Saade again!
I really enjoyed Andreas Weise too. I was surprised he didn’t qualify directly. I’m shocked by all the buzz behind Jon Henrik Fjallgren. I thought the performance was utterly bizarre and not in a good way. What was with all the angels/banshees and the couple decked out in fleecewear dancing together? Very odd. I’m hoping Sweden will opt for Eric Saade again!
Love Eric, but this year’s song and performance are not a patch on Popular and Manboy.
But stiiiiiing. It’s gonna sting so bad. Oh yeah eh. I’ve got tickets to semi final 2 so I really want him to win so I can see him live. Lol.