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The sign is still there, much missed.
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Weekend
It’s an absolutely beautiful summer day in Sydney, though I wasted half of it by sleeping in until lunchtime! Last night, a friend and I went to the Sydney Festvial First Night and had an absolute whale of a time. And then we had a few drinks afterwards, as you do. I seem to recall getting home about 4.00am, or something like that. Despite the rain, it was a terrific night, and I was particularly impressed with the band, Pink Martini which played in Hyde Park. Unfortunately I missed the three weddings on Macquarie Street, as we had dinner – excellent roast lamb and peas – at about that time at Bills in Surry Hills. Fortunately, I was lucky to be invited to attend the Festival Party at Hyde Park Barracks, which was an absolute hoot. Much dancing, chatting and drinks were had.
All Day Eating
After rising late, we headed off to Fyshwick for lunch. Yes, Fyschwick, the suburb name you most commonly associate with furniture warehouses, firecrackers, brothels and porn, now has a restaurant as well.
As you might expect from an industrial estate, the location for Zierholz Brewery isn’t all that great. But once you walk through the door it’s pleasantly surprising. It’s simple, basic, obviously done on a budget, though with a good eye for style. Just don’t look out the window at the nearby view.
For Sunday lunch the place was pretty quiet. For a good while we were the only ones there. And thus we had great service.
As the restaurant also has its own micro-brewery, we started off with some beer tastings. Half a dozen different type of German-style beers. Although we all had different tastes, we agreed the Amber Ale was worth the one most worthy of a half-pint followup. Mind you, that might have been because it was the second last one we tasted.
Lunch was also German-insired. Lamb back-strap. Pork. That kind of thing. And at $18 for a main was reasonably good value.
What was going to be a reasonably short late afternoon experience before heading off to the Australia Day concert became a much extended affair. And not in a bad way. In fact, in a really good way.
With the combination of Chinese New Year, Australia Day and Indian independence Day, the menu consisted of everything from sausage rolls to sang choy boy and tandoori chicken. Over several hours much food and wine was consumed. And lots of funny stories were told.
The highlight? Pavolva by Shanthini.
Stuck Indoors
You know you’ve had a good night out when you wake up in the morning with an “entry stamp” on your wrist. I mean, you’ve gone out with some mates, you’ve had some beers, you’ve even had a dance with some girl you don’t know to a song you don’t remember. And just when your attention is focussed on the day ahead, the wrist stamp brings back memories of the night before.
And then of course you wander to the shop to pick up the papers, which you’ll eventually get around to reading, and as you hand over the cash, the woman behind the counter looks at your risk with that knowing smile. And maybe a sense of judgement too in her eyes as deep down she thinks… “you’re a little old to be going out clubbing aren’t you?”
It was only a brief trip to the shop though, as I’ve had another distraction today which has made me a virtual prisoner in my own home. As all of the doors in my apartment block are being painted I’ve had to spend most of the day at home with the door slightly ajar while I wait for the paint to dry. As we’re all in the same boat my apartment block has taken on a certain Long Bay Gaol quality.
But it hasn’t been too bad, since it’s given me time to recover from last night on the town which was loads of fun, without too much expense. There were drinks with workmates (and a friend), and then it was drinks with Graeme and The Other Andrew at The Newtown Hotel which, inevitably led to the The Imperial Hotel.
As it’s the first time in yonks that I’ve been to see a “proper drag show”, it was loads of fun. We drank, we laughed, we acted like 20 year olds. And we got stamps on our wrists!
Let Melbourne be Melbourne
Although Melbourne may be the “home” of many small bars, they’re bloody hard to find. Late this afternoon I was in desperate need of a drink. And, unfamiliar with the landscape of Melbourne I went in search of a bar, any bar, in which to have one. That big pub on the corner, you know the one, the famous one with the painting upstairs, looked pretty full, so I didn’t go in there. Instead, I went on a search to find an ordinary corner pub. You know, like the ones we have in Sydney. They might be old and traditional with a bunch of old blokes in the corner. Or they might have been yuppified with an indoor/outdoor smoking area. But whatever form they take, you know they serve alcohol.
They’re few and far between in Melbourne, I’ve discovered this afternoon. I walked up and down the streets to almost no avail until I finally found one. In that regard, Melbourne is in stark contrast to Sydney where we have pubs in the CBD on almost every corner.
Part of the problem for me is that I visit Melbourne so infrequently that I’ve never really got a grip on the geography. Unlike Sydney, built on gullies and ridges where you can always look up or look down to find your point of direction, and where you can always use Centrepoint as a guide, Melbourne is more difficult to navigate due to its flatness.
The city is changing too. There’s lots more people living in the city. And everywhere you look there’s a new apartment block. Or there’s an architectural “statement” of some kind or another. In some ways it’s more of a “city” than Sydney due to the concentration of activity around the CBD. Sydney is more spread out. More like a group of cities than a city itself.
As I think I wrote the last time I visited Melbourne, the city has a great charm that I hope it doesn’t lose as it grows. It would be a shame if it lost some of its “Melbourne-ness”, as it grows larger and larger. Let Melbourne be Melbourne!
China – Shanghai
There was a moment today when the guy sitting behind me, Paul, said “You know I think I wouldn’t mind living in Shanghai for a year of two”. Without hesitation, I told him I’d thought the same thing earlier in the day. It’s odd, of course, because we’d only been in the city for less than twenty-four hours. Thinking logically about it, it’s probably because of the familiarity of the place. it’s the most “Western” city we’ve visited so far. It also reminded me a lot of Sydney. Maybe it’s also the fact that it’s a city based around water that gives the place such good energy. Obviously, we were both jumping to premature conclusions, but one thing I am sure of: I’d like to come back and visit the city again. Maybe for the next International Art Fair?
The organised parts of today’s tour included a trip to the airport and back on the high-speed train (reaching 430km/h), a visit to a clothing and electronics market (where I bought a really nice winter jacket at a really good price), a visit to Shanghai Bund, a walk around the city, and a night-time cruise.
“So that’s where all of our coal goes?”, I joked to Sue, as we reflected on the bright city lights of Shanghai. City lights in Sydney (and most other cities) are normally a dull affair of corporate logos and simple colours. In contrast, the city lights of Shanghai are bright, colourful and imaginative. There was a real sense of theatre and occasion, I thought to myself, as we travelled around the harbour.
For the additional cost of 50 Yuan (about $9-10), we paid for “VIP Seating” which meant we got to sit outdoors in a less crowded part of the boat, and orange juice was even thrown in. Sadly, there was no white wine, so I settled for a beer. Indeed, there’s been an almost complete absence of white wine on the entire trip. In fact, I had an experience the other day which reminded me very much of an episode of The Simpsons. It’s the one where The Simpsons travel to Australia, and was when Marj went into a bar and tried to order a coffee. The barman replied “beer”. The exchange continued between them where Marj kept saying “coffee” (even spelling it out) and the barman replied “beer”. The other day I tried to order a glass of wine in a hotel bar, and a similar exchange ensued.
As we ended the day there was a little bit of sadness in the group, as eight of us (including Sue and I) are ending the trip tomorrow and returning home, while the others are continuing on a four-day river trip. “I know I’ll see you in the morning, but I’d still like to give you a hug tonight”, a woman from Adelaide called Carrie said to me, as we entered the hotel lift. There have been some really nice people on the bus with whom we’ve shared some wonderful moments of insight and humour.
The Chaser’s Giant Dwarf
“In the last twelve months two of the institutions I’ve given so much of my life and passion to have disappointed me deeply”, was the most memorable line from Kristina Keneally last night. The former NSW Premier was one of three guests for the “live chat show”, “The Empty Vessell” put by on by The Chaser at their new theatre venue, The Giant Dwarf on Cleveland Street.
Although there were a few moments when she went into “former politician mode”, I thought she was, for the most part, candidly honest. For example, when asked to comment on the current corruption hearing in NSW, she said she never had time for Eddie Obeid, but that she thought she KNEW Joe Tripodi and Tony Kelly, and seemed disappointed in what’s currently occurring.
“For every Eddie Obeid, you have to remember there was a Carmel Tebbutt, a Verity Firth, a John Watkins”, she went on to say, arguing there were still lots of good people in the Labor Party.
“You forgive the Catholic Church for some things, but not the child abuse”, she went on to say about the other institution she said had disappointed in the last twelve months.
Maybe it was the glass or two of red wine she enjoyed as she sat on the stage that resulted in the candidness? Or maybe she’s reached the point where she doesn’t feel the need to justify everything the former NSW Labor Government did and didn’t do? She was unequivocal about NEVER returning to a political life.
The other two guests were Norrie May-Welby and John Watson.
Norrie was the person who recently won a case in the High Court to be formally recognised as “non-specific gender”. Whenever I’ve seen Norrie speak in the past there’s always been a bit of showbiz about the presentation style, as it’s usually been at a rally or something like that. Speaking/shouting in public isn’t usually conducive to honest reflection, which is what I saw last night. I always thought Norrie was slightly crazy, but have now developed a new found respect.
John Watson was the founder of boutique record label Eleven Music, whose artists include Gotya, Cold Chisel, Missy Higgins, silverchair, Daniel Johns, Birds of Tokyo. Of the three guests, he was the least interesting for me. Although I was really interested in the subject matter, I felt he was a little “rehearsed”. There seemed to be a lot of answers or anecdotes he had given previously which disappointed me a little.
Half was through the night there was also a really fantastic comic performance by an actor, writer and director I’d never heard of before called Nick Coyle @nickcoyles. Magic stuff.
Over the course of about two hours, it was really good to sit in a large theatre along with a couple of hundred people to enjoy some really good conversations, with intelligence and humour combining throughout. I’ll definitely be heading back some time in the future.