The last few days have been “action-packed”. As well as work during the day, I’ve had quite a few social activities this week. Trivia night on Wednesday. Thursday night going to see a play, part of Late Night Library at Surry Hills Library. And then yesterday afternoon/last night, we popped in to 4A Gallery, and went to the annual fundraiser at the Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative.
Twelve months ago in Sydney we were recovering from the dust storm. Twelve months later it remains a topic for conversation in Sydney. And it’s an event which has influenced two of the photographs in this year’s Sydney Life art exhibition in Hyde Park.
One is a reasonably straightforward representation of the storm taken on the north side just near the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The other is more interesting, and my favourite in this year’s exhibition.
Twelve months ago this weekend, Kate and I were on an art crawl, visiting a number of galleries, including the rather fantastic White Rabbit. Today I went on an art crawl of my own, taking part in a guided tour of Art and About.
Art and About has expanded quite significantly this year. This year in Hyde Park there’s a fair bit more than Sydney Life, with art and craft workshops and a rather spectacular idea which has involved dressing up various statues around the city in a variety of interesting and sometimes outrageous clothing and adornment.
The Dalley statue was interesting because a) I’d never noticed the statue before and b) I loved the way they gave him sunglasses and a “green” theme. And I loved the wild boar statue simply because a) it’s a great statue anyway and b) the idea of putting wings on a pig is simple and effective.
As I wandered back through the city I jumped on a bus which I assumed would take me further back up George Street to Railway Square. Wrong. Before I knew it, I was half way over the Anzac Bridge. With a deep breath, I figured there was little to lose and it gave me an opportunity to wander – without plans – around Balmain. The one opportunistic discovery I thought I might made was visit/trespass on the White Bay re-development site which Carol mentioned. Although I was tempted and tried to trespass today, I couldn’t find a suitable entrance, and got scared at all the signs about not trespassing.
Catching the ferry back to Darling Harbour, I attempted to purchase an ice-cream, but with lengthy queues – as bad as those at Sydney Ariport today – I ended up with a slurpee.
As I wandered back through the city I came across an unexpected parade which had closed off much of George Street.
When I thought the day was just about over a mate invited me out for a drink and to listen to some old style disco tunes at The Midnight Shift.
Quite a diverse Sunday you might say. And a day with absolutely beautiful weather here.
Though I’m not exactly sure what they are, the back laneway is full of these at the moment. Are they gumnuts? There’s lots of them, and I think they’re absolutely gorgeous. Should I pick one up and taste it? They look like they might make the basis for a tasty jam.
Either way, they’re a sign that autumn has arrived in Sydney. A couple of times in the last week, there has been a definite chill in the air. The chill that tells you that Easter is on the way, and before you know it, winter has arrived.
For me, it’s been a reasonably busy week, and a quieter weekend.
On Tuesday night, there was Swedish class.
On Wednesday night, “dinner” consisted of two servings of canapes. There was a work-related function with some interstate visitors, followed by a friend’s “surprise fiftieth birthday”. One of the great quotes from the night from my friend was “Just because you believe in social justice doesn’t have to mean you look shabby!!”.
Then on Thursday night, there was another work-related function at the Museum of Contemporary Art. It was such an awesome venue (with great views of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House) for further drinks and canapese.
After such a busy week, I couldn’t wait to spend the weekend doing nothing much at all. My friend Sue and I had planned to catch up sometime this weekend. She also has a busy job which also involves a bit of after-hours activity, and so when we texted each other on Saturday, we both concluded Sunday was best, and Saturday was a time for sleeping in, and afternoon naps.
Finally, this afternoon, Sue and I caught up for a chat, and to see the latest exhibition of Sydney’s White Rabbit Gallery. There are some terrific works in the current exhibition, and these were my personal favourites.
I’m involved in my own art project at the moment. Waking up in the middle of the night to take photographs of the construction of the light rail. As much as people see what’s happening in the daytime, I think the night-time construction work is also very interesting.
Another local project I’ve been involved in, the story telling project about Surry Hills http://surryhillsandvalleys.com has become a regular feature in the Urban Village magazine, and this month they’ve featured my profile. Hopefully I don’t sound like too much of a dick.
Anyhoo, I must go. The washing machine has just finished its’ cycle, and there’s further laundry to do for the week ahead.
The last few days have been good fun. I spent Sunday with Sue – Yum Cha at Bodhi, a walk around Darling Harbour – which was great, although I did manage to get chapped lips, as the wind was quite strong. My lips are still sore now (Tuesday), which I’ve been treating with Cold Sore Cream. I spent Monday night with Kate and Penny, having dinner at Barbecue King, and enjoying my favourite Peking Duck.
But the highlight, without doubt is something that’s happened to Yvette.
Having seen a report on ABBAMAIL, Björn and Benny were autographing copies of “Chess på svenska” at the Åhléns department store in Stockholm, I asked Yvette if she would see if she could get me an autographed CD. Once I had confirmed which particular, Åhléns department store it was, she said “No worries”, that she would be happy to line up, but would have to take her friend, Mikaela (who is moving to Australia) with her for moral support.
Anyway… sometime during last night (when I was sound asleep) Yvette called and left a message on my answer machine to say she had gone to the wrong store, had missed out etc, or something like that and that she was really sorry.
Of course, she hadn’t. She’s managed to get me a signed CD, and have some photographs taken with Bjorn and Benny. She’s been texting friends all day saying “I’ve met Bjorn and Benny” etc.
She said about 120 people were in the queue for autographs and that by and large people were moved through in an orderly fashion.
Except for her. She said, “It was my one big chance, there’s no way I was going to be shuffled through”. She also said she had her mobile phone ready for either one of them to have a chat with me. What a great friend. D’oh! I was asleep! She said Benny, in particular, was very nice and chatted with her about being from Australia. And no, his hands didn’t shake (in ABBAFAN circles, it’s widely believed Benny has a drinking problem).
But what about the CD itself?
Swedish newspaper, Aftonbladet, has given it the “thumbs up”. According to Reviewer, Jens Peterson, The director Lars Rudolfsson has adapted the English language version.
He has deleted and rearranged, Björn and Benny have written new songs. I liked the first album very much when it was released in the fall of 1984 and later I saw the concert versions and the musical which had it’s world premiere in 1986. I like “Chess” in Swedish just as much. There’s a difference between now and then. Then “Chess” was recorded as an album at first, then performed on stage. Then Björn & Benny still had ABBA in their blood when they produced, now Benny Andersson’s sound is a bit closer to “Kristina från Duvemåla”.
What did Yvette think of the experience? She writes:
So I strode up to Benny and said Hi I’m from Australia and it’s a great pleasure to meet you and we shook hands. Now, I don’t know if it’s just because he’s nice or he’d had a few beers but we had a big chat about what I was doing in Sweden, where I was working, how I liked it, that I’d better watch out for the cold winter, that he’s heard great reports about my infamous Dancing Queen karaoke performances (well not really the last bit) etc etc. It was tops! He seems really lovely.
Anyway, the next few days will be great fun, I’m sure, as Penny is staying with me.
Despite the distance between my home in Sydney and Patsy’s in Lismore, over the last few years, I’d become consciously aware of my older and last remaining sister’s daily routine.
I knew when the cleaner came, when the home-assist nurse arrived for her showering, what she watched on television, and what time she’d have lunch.
She would often have a nap after lunch before settling in for her afternoon television viewing, or playing Solitaire on her tablet.
The best time to call was either mid-morning, or between five and six at night. From four to five, she would watch Neighbours and the Bold and the Beautiful. She’d then catch Deal or No Deal. We had to vary the return recently when its time slot shifted to 7:00 PM.
Although we had been close our entire lives, she took on a mothering role from a very early age. Our connection deepened more recently into a routine of daily phone calls after I got sick a couple of years ago. She was genuinely concerned about my welfare, especially living alone —she worried I might fall or that my diabetes would flare up leading to more health problems.
Living in Sydney without close family, with me being a two-hour plane ride away, was a constant worry for her. Our calls varied; sometimes long, sometimes just a quick 30 seconds: “How are you going? You’re good. All right, talk to you tomorrow.”
Then, a couple of Sundays ago, the routine broke. I rang, and she didn’t answer. Usually, if she was busy, she’d call back straight away, but she didn’t. Her husband rang me back from the home phone: “Pat’s a bit sick today.” Within a few hours, the decision was made to take her to hospital, and she died the next morning.
Those daily phone calls have ended, and I’ve felt it most, being back in Sydney over the last few days.
The last time I saw her was when I was in Lismore at the beginning of September, after attending a family funeral in Brisbane. It was the funeral of my nephew and his son, who were tragically killed. Their deaths were literally a front-page newspaper story; they were hit by a drink-driver while going to get an ice cream. My nephew was 33 and his son was four. It was a terribly sad funeral, but also a poignant celebration of two young lives, richly documented with photographs and videos.
Then, just a couple of weeks ago, one of my dearest friends lost her son in a road accident in North Queensland. He was a single dad to two young children, aged 11 and four, who are now in the care of my friend, who is in her late sixties. She will be a great carer for them. This was also a big news story in the papers in Townsville & Cairns.
In a strange and sad twist of fate, Patsy had also made the front page of the paper, due to the Lismore flood in 2022. The slideshow at her funeral I put together featured photographs from throughout her life, but perhaps the most dramatic was the photo of her being rescued from the rising waters, which made the front page of The Australian and was featured prominently inside The Daily Telegraph
In some ways she never quite recovered from the flood. Aged 74 at the time, she was rescued, literally through the kitchen window, along with her husband and grandson. I remember the phone calls of that night as I passed on all of the latest flood information, and tried to contact emergency services on her behalf. I genuinely thought she might drown that night.
While preparing the eulogy, I looked for quotes and inspiration, which led me to her rarely used Facebook account. The feed is mostly full of people wishing her a happy birthday. Yet, her one and only post spoke volumes. I think it might have been what she wanted to say to us all on the day. The post was simple: “life is short, don’t be sad for too long.”
I had a great afternoon wandering around the city with The Other Andrew, who has also blogged the afternoon. Knowing of his interest in photography, I’d booked us in for a free tour with the curator of the Sydney Life exhibition currently in Hyde Park.
I’d had a brief look at the exhibition last weekend with Sam, but today I had a chance to really look at the works, and to learn more about them. And in a really terrific and unexpected move, a number of the photographers were also on the tour which added something really special to the experience.
Although there were some photographs which I still don’t find all that appealing, I’ve gained a lot more of an insight into the works, and some of them I felt half-half about, I now quite like. My favourite remains a photograph of a snake on pebbles in a suburban background (it’s almost like a dot painting), but there are others which I didn’t previously like (such as the birth shot) which I now really like.
The curator also noted how the works appear differently throughout the day depending on time and how much light is around. She also noted how they’re usually looking for works that will look good in a large format in the park, noting they need to be part of the environment of the park also.
From there, we wandered through the city, had a bite to eat, looking at books and record stores, before finally making our way up Oxford Street.
“Do you think we’re looking at it through rose-tinted glasses?”, I asked Andrew as we walked along Oxford Street and remembered that mid to late 90s vibe the place had. I wondered if the apparent drab nature of the street was a product of our cherished memories of youth. “I don’t think so”, he noted, pointing out the large number of closed shops.
In a positive move we noted, however, the Sacred Heart Church has re-opened. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but it’s obviously been sometime in the last few months. Peeking through the doorway, and not wishing to disturb those inside, we noted they had a done a beautiful job in refurbishing the place. “I don’t remember it looking this good”, I commented to Andrew at one point.
Late in the afternoon, we had a couple of beers at the Gaslight Hotel. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I have a joke among friends now that it’s “Sydney’s Leading Bisexual Bar”. The joke all started when a friend and I were walking along Oxford Street and we spotted someone we know. In asking him if he wanted to join us for a drink at the Gaslight, he responded calling it by that phrase, and it’s kinda stuck ever since.
Having previously been big fans of the now closed Bentley Bar, we were keen to have a look at their new venture Monopole, located on Macleay Street.
Trying to remember the last time we had a really good meal at Bentley Bar, I checked my blog, and discovered it was almost exactly five years. Damien had shouted me a birthday dinner.
Our conclusion at the time was the meal was interesting, excellent and fulfilling.
Five years later, Damien suggested he, Kristen and I should try out Monopole, and co-incidentally, it was also a birthday dinner.
We settled on the degustation which, at $65, we all thought was good value, especially as there were six or seven courses.
We all thought the meal was good, though not great. There were a couple of courses which were stellar. Others were, to be honest, a little underwhelming. Our favourites were featured in the photographs.
Cured & Smoked Duck Breast
Rangers Valley Beef Brisket
Cured & Spiced Berkshire Pork Neck
Cured Trevally, Japanese Eggplant, Watermelon Radish
Salt Cod, Green Peas, Pistachio & Mint
Snapper, Pumpkin, Zucchini & Black Olive
Veal Rump, Smoked Onion & Pickled Red Cabbage
Roasted Parsnips, Parsley Puree & Buttermilk Sauce
Nectarine, Almond Milk & Blueberry
As we headed back through The Cross, I showed them both Fratelli Fresh, one of my favourite places to eat the moment, and they seemed impressed.
The evening ended with a quiet drink and a chat at what I know as “Bar Me”, though I don’t what it’s called these days. In contrast to much of The Cross, it was a quiet, laid back, and a comfortable way to end a lovely evening.
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