Most years when my friend Sue and I visit Vivid, it’s either cold, or wet, or overly crowded (or usually all three at the same time). But tonight was different: the weather was fine (in fact, warm enough to take our jackets off), and things weren’t overly crowded.
Cahill Expressway View of Sydney’s Vivid FestivalPhotographic Crowd at VividA festival of light for Hare Krishna devoteesVivid Festival in Sydney
Oh, and we did the “VIP Tour”. Well, not actually: we caught the lift up to the Cahill Expressway and walked around through The Rocks to the Overseas Passenger Terminal, surrounded only by keen photographers, which was really, really pleasant.
In the minutes before the beginning of tonight’s show at Sydney’s Conservatorium of Music, I grabbed my mobile phone and took a photograph of the stage. The quality of the image from the seventh row, zoomed and cropped, isn’t all that good. But if you look closely you’ll notice on the piano there’s an iPad next to the sheet music. As the show progressed, the pianist went seamlessly between the two, preferring the paper scores for some songs, the electronic version for others. It was the first time I’ve seen it happening, though some of my Twitter buddies assure me it’s becoming more common.
We were there for the annual “World AIDS Day Concert” a fundraiser for the AIDS Council of NSW. The first year there was a tribute to Peter Allen. Last year we attended the tribute to Elton John. And this year’s tribute was to musical theatre legend, Stephen Sondheim who is celebrating his 80th birthday this year. There have been tribute concerts around the world. And in fact, I attended one in Sweden earlier this year. Majorly different was the lack of any Swedish language version of Sondheim songs in this particular tribute.
For me, there were several highlights including: Marika Aubrey doing a version of “Miller’s Son” from “A Little Night Music” (sublime), Lucy Durack doing a version of “No One Is Alone” from “Into The Woods” (gorgeous) and Mitchell Butel doing a terrific version of “Being Alive” from “Company” (powerful). Other performers included Sean Rennie, Laura Mulcahy, Geraldine Turner, David Harris and others. But the biggest highlight of all for me was seeing Jodie Gillies on stage again.
In the 80s, Jodie Gillies was definitely a “star” of Australian musical theatre. She rose to fame in the original production of “Chess” and then went on to play a range of other roles, she toured to many locations – including Wagga, where I was amongst a small group of people who saw her at the Civic Theatre, and then enjoyed a drink with her later at the local wine bar, Number 96 – and she released just one CD, as I understand. And then she kind of disappeared from the stage, concentrating instead on raising a family.
Her one and only CD remains a much played CD in my collection, and in particular she does a wonderful version of Sondheim’s “Another Hundred People”. Tonight she appeared on stage and performed that song. I love that song, and I love her singing it. It was great to see her back.
“Do you mind if I sit down for a moment?”, I asked the woman sitting by herself at a table. “My grand-daughter’s just gone off to get some food, as I can’t get around much. But you can stay until she comes back.”, she said.
We started chatting about our lives, as you do. And when I told her what I did for a living, she asked if I knew such and such. “Yes, very well”, I told her. She then went on to tell me her husband had taught him when he and his family were living in Tennant Creek.
In the media, it’s common to try to pinpoint people you may have worked with. And, generally when you meet someone from a country town, and tell them where you’re from, the conversation of “do you know such and such” inevitably springs up. “People in cities ask you what you do for a living, people in country towns ask you where you’re from”, I’ve often noted.
I don’t know how many times I’ve been to Mindill Beach Markets in Darwin, but it’s quite a few. They’re most memorable for their food, and their sunsets. They also sell a lot of stuff which I generally describe as “stuff you can buy, but stuff you don’t need”. Well, aside from food, and today I enjoyed some pickled octopus and some home made sorbet.
I sent my friend Sue a photograph of the pickled octopus, as she and I are great fans of it. She’s coming to visit for a few days, is then headed on a tour to Kakadu, returning next week for some Darwin Festival and Art Fair activities with me.
One of the great things about Mindill Beach Markets is how people leave the markets momentarily to watch the sun set into the ocean. Taking photographs is something everyone at the markets seems to do.Though today’s sunset was good, for me it was nowhere as spectacular as the last time I saw it, last year, at low tide. How great is this photograph?
But of course, I’m here for work, and yesterday I managed to combine a bit of work and outdoors activity. A good mate from Sydney (a work colleague) is also here, heading off to the major Indigenous gathering, Garma.
The Drum in Darwin
The team from ABC TV’s “The Drum” is also going to Garma, and yesterday, they broadcast their program from the Darwin Waterfront.
Watching ABC TV’s “The Drum” go to air live from Darwin.Though it was a great show, we were slightly distracted by this going on in the background. Looks like such fun. They did it for most of the hour. Awfully tempting to join them.
Sue wants to know if we can do the same thing while she’s here. :):)
My friend Cathy was born and raised here in Darwin. We shared a house together in Brisbane in the 80s, but she has only recently returned to the Territory.
She has some incredible history with the city; she missed Cyclone Tracy by just a few days as she was down south visiting her grandparents at the time. However, she was back here only a few months later because her father was an important figure in the rebuilding effort.
Being a local, she is not much of a tourist, and although she knew how to get there, she hadn’t actually been to the Humpty Doo Hotel since she was a child. We headed out there today.
Visiting Humpty Doo maybe ten years ago.
It is a quintessentialy Outback pub, famous for for its rough-and-ready charm, featuring iron-clad walls and a wide verandah that has seen decades of history. While it has a bit of a tourist spark these days with plenty of merchandise like t-shirts and stubby holders for sale, it still captures that rugged spirit of the Top End.
After lunch, we wanted to visit a wetland viewing area, but many spots are still flooded or closed at the tail end of the wet season. We ended up at Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve, which is an incredible place for birdwatching where the monsoon forest meets the open wetlands.
We observed a huge amount of birdlife gathered where the water was crossing over the road. It was a beautiful experience seeing the natural cycle of the fish being brought over the spillway with a whole range of birds, including herons and jabirus, waiting on the other side for an easy feed. The sight of the vast, lily-covered floodplains stretching out toward the horizon really puts the scale of the Northern Territory into perspective.
Later in the afternoon, I met up with a fellow amputee from a Facebook group and his wife. I really love catching up with others who have lived experience with limb loss; we have so much in common despite our different stories. We spent a few hours chatting and sharing our experiences, which was a really great way to spend the day.
Back at Humpty Doo, albeit with a slightly different right leg.
Afterwards, I wandered back to Charlie’s of Darwin, a great gin bar and distillery tucked away in the city. I spent the rest of the afternoon on their balcony, which has these massive fans that make the Darwin heat much more manageable—definitely something I’ll factor in when my niece Michelle comes to visit next week.
Cathy has kindly offered to take us out next Saturday to the Parap Village Markets. We’re looking forward to browsing the local arts and crafts and perhaps grabbing some of their famous laksa. Afterwards, we plan to head to Crocodylus Park just outside of town to see the wildlife and get a bit closer to the local reptiles
It’s been a day of hard physical labour for me as I spent a few hours helping Damo move some furniture into storage.
For me, that meant getting up earlier than I normally would on a Sunday, driving with him to The Shire (which is where he’s moving to after China, as it’s closer to his relocated workplace), and helping him pack a storage unit with a combination of his own and his late mother’s furniture.
For him, it was far more difficult, as he’d had to come all the way from the Central Coast, and return there in a truck that had some issues.
Visiting a storage centre in The Shire.
And although it was a bit of hard work – my muscles feel fantastic – it was also actually kinda fun. And a nice reminder of the work my sister and brother-in-law have done for most of their adult life, running their own removalist business in Brisbane. I was surprised at how many tips about moving and packing furniture I must have picked up when I lived with them briefly.
Or maybe it’s just that I spent several years “on the road” pursuing my career and I’ve learned some of the removalist shortcuts through the “university of life”.
My first big moves were those annual pack-ups to and from university, as I packed up my on-site accommodation for the annual summer holidays.
And then it was from Brisbane to Bourke. And from then from Bourke to Renmark. And then from Renmark to Wagga Wagga. And then from Wagga Wagga to Sydney which is where I’ve been ever since. Sure, there have been a couple of side-trips such as the year in Perth, but I only ever took a suitcase full of material with me.
Along the way, I’ve managed to accumulate a lot of “stuff”. In the grand scheme of things, I know most of it’s useless stuff that should just go to the dump in the event of my passing, or if I chose to go to live overseas for a while :)
In fact, there’s a lot of stuff that’s in the garage downstairs that I haven’t looked at for years. There are a couple of tea chests that remain unopened from that first trip from Brisbane to Bourke. I really should do something about it, shouldn’t I?
Getting off the bus at Taylor Square last night I stopped for a moment to watch a photo shoot. It was obviously some beer commercial as the girl in the red wig would, from time to time, pick up one of the nearby bottles, shake it up, and then take off the cap, with beer spraying all over the place. Although we consider ourselves “Australia’s Only Global City”, Sydney is still small enough that a photo shoot at night is still interesting enough to cause a number of passers-by to stop for just a moment to watch.
I’d been to see the Wharf Review at Sydney Theatre. It was, honestly, one of the funniest, most biting pieces of Australian satire I’ve seen in years. A highlight for me was Jonathan Biggens as Paul Keating. If you had walked in half way through and had looked to the stage to see the look, the movement, the intonation in his voice, all of the words he said, you would have genuinely thought it was Keating on stage. Another highlight was the portrayal of Kevin Rudd and Julian Gillard as well-meaning scouts, and John and Jeanette Howard as Hitler and Eva Braun in the final days in the bunker. Oh, and there was a great sketch about China. In a post-election context, it was really great to see their “take” on Australian political and cultural life. Loved it.
As for today… I caught up with Mark, at an exhibition launch at concert at Damien MInton Gallery this afternoon. And tonight I’m heading off to the Mardi Gras Film Festival to see a remake of The Picture of Dorian Gray set in the modern New York art scene. Tomorrow’s there’s lunch with friends and Fair Day. Is it any wonder my next door neighbour says I’m never home!
I woke in the middle of the night to the 1980s hit song “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This), and for a moment, I wondered if Annie Lennox was appearing on stage at nearby Moore Park for the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras.
I live close enough to the area to be able to listen in to some of the major events. A couple of weeks ago I heard most of the concert by Pink, and before that it was Paul McCartney. Years ago I remember a concert by Michael Jackson where it was loud and clear enough to feel like he was performing on my balcony.
I don’t THINK she appeared on stage last night, but you never know.
My early morning wake up followed a few hours of intense sleep after marching in the Mardi Gras parade.
Less than a year since my lower right limb amputation, this has been something I’ve been planning for and working up to for months. As I’ve written here previously, my phsyiotherapist thought it was within my capacity, and has been helping with advice since the start of the year.
We’ve also done two actual training sessions on the parade route. The training sessions were great, but they didn’t prepare me fully for the intensity of marching last night. The physical exhaustion was one thing, but so too was the stimulation of marching in front of several hundred thousand people.
Throughout the evening I also received supportive messages from friends, saying how proud they were of me being able to participate. This made me cry a little bit, as I thought about where I was, and where I am now.
Along the parade route, colleagues were always checking in with me to make sure I was okay, that I wasn’t about to collapse from exhaustion. This meant so much to me.
Thankfully, I didnt collapse from exhaustion. But fatigue was an issue, and by the end I was pretty exhausted.
I started near the front of our marching group, but ended the parade at the back, alongside someone participating in a wheelchair. What brought me to the back was a stop at the half-way point when I saw a friend in the crowd and went over to hug her.
Along the way lots of people in the crowd wanted to high-five me, but I had to politely say no. It wasn’t a fear of COVID or anything like that, it was more the fear of an uneven roadway, and a high-five possibly resulting in me falling over.
The other unexpected thing was having to keep an eye on the people marching/dancing in front of me. Due to the stop-start nature of the parade, there were times when they started marching/dancing backwards. There were a couple of close-calls.
But I made it, and we then headed off to the pub for a beer.
Having touch of day glo makeup applied.
On the way to the pub, I did a brief cross to ABC Radio’s coverage of Mardi Gras. Here’s the audio/transcript.
Suzanne : You’re listening to Nightlife with Suzanne Hill on ABC radio and on the ABC Listen app. Heading back to the Mardi Gras parade. Now the ABC’s James O’Brien, one of my colleagues has been on the ABC float and joins me now. Hey, James.
James : Is is and I’m not sure if you didn’t hear much noise in the background, but I’m right at the end of the parade route.
Suzanne: Okay, is this right? You’ve actually headed off for a beer?
James: Maybe, maybe, maybe. Look at the last few hours I think a beer is actually going to be something that’s going to be welcomed by a lot of us.
Suzanne: Well tell us why the ABC flight had to offer this year.
James: So we had, we did a piece to the song by Daft Punk, “All Around The World. And it’s very much about the ABC broadcasting around the world and all those sorts of things. We had about 60 people marching. We had lots of laser lights, and we had lots of dayglo makeup and all of those sorts of thing. Probably the best known person on our float was Nate Byrne from the Breakfast Show and he was fantastic. He gave us a good forecast about whether or not we could expect rain yesterday when a briefing so that was almost one, but mostly it was just ordinary staff from all over New South Wales. There was quite a contingent from ABC Radio Newcastle, in fact. And then obviously, some people will Sydney and other parts and Brisbane and other parts of the countryside.
Suzanne: James it’s been a big year for you and walking in the parade has turned out to be quite a feat that you wouldn’t have been expecting this time a year ago. Tell us what happened?
James: So halfway through last year, I lost the lower half of my right leg. So I’m now walking with a prosthetic limb. I was in a wheelchair for a few months. I was in hospital for a few months. And so maybe late last year, I said to my physiotherapist, I said, do you think it’s reasonable that I could match in Mardi Gras? And she said, How long is it? And I told her to 1.7 kilometres? And she said yeah, that’s probably reasonable. Um, so over the last couple of months, we’ve been seeing, building up strength and so on. So that in fact, I could walk out tonight in the Mardi Gras with a prosthetic limb.
Suzanne: And how tiring has there been James now? I mean, you said you were and you definitely needed to head off for a beer. Was it was a challenging?
James: Look, it was it was we sort of started up the front and eventually ended up at the back. It was sometimes a little bit hard to keep up with everyone else. So one of the issues too, is that people kind of were walking backwards and just checking on me. Are you okay? Yeah, just keep walking. Keep walking in. I’m fine. So yeah, that was the one of the challenging things. Look, the other thing too, is the challenge of actually trying to walk and dance and do hand movements. So the choreography, but I think that might have been a challenge even before.
Suzanne: Yeah, okay, but did you master a few dance moves?
James: Yeah, not too bad. Yeah. And we had lots of fun dancing and participating beforehand. Along with myself with the prosthetic limb, we also had another staff member who has mobility needs, so she walked through his crutches. And we also had someone who is in a wheelchair, so it was really great thing to say that, you know, just because you have a physical disability doesn’t mean you can’t participate in Mardi Gras. And that’s what I was really mad about doing tonight. I got a couple of text messages from friends and it might make me cry, but they were so proud of you know, yeah. And well, somewhere I am. So that was really, really interesting.
Suzanne: James just finally, did you actually deck the leg out? Did you give it in some special costume?
James: Oh, it’s got a few little rainbow flags.
Suzanne: James, good to talk to you. You go off and enjoy that beer.
All in all, I probably would have enjoyed it more without having the fear of falling over, but it was a great thing to do. It was heaps of fun, and I felt so incredibly supported by friends, colleagues and family.
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James, thanks for the great pics… I live on the north coast so have been enjoying vivid via web cam at night… the best view is with the Youth Hostel Web cam which is showing all the views of the opera house…. grand viewing for those who cannot get down to the big smoke to see
James, thanks for the great pics… I live on the north coast so have been enjoying vivid via web cam at night… the best view is with the Youth Hostel Web cam which is showing all the views of the opera house…. grand viewing for those who cannot get down to the big smoke to see
Nice tip, Janet, thankyou.