A GOOD START TO THE YEAR !!

Tuesday, 1st January dawned bright and sunny on the east coast of Australia.

 

A perfect day to spend at the beach

basking in the sun

and cooling off in the sparkling blue water.

 

That's what 40 000+ people were doing today at Bondi beach, Sydney.

 

 

That is until the shark alarms went off at 4:15pm and all those people fled from the water.

 

 

It's an eerie sight to see no-one swimming  - in fact hardly anyone has even a toe in the water !!!

 

A surf patrol boat was doing a routine surveillance run up the coast when the lifesavers on board thought they saw a large shark off Bondi Beach.

 

The all clear was finally given at 4:40pm when swimmers we once again allowed into the water.

 

Bet they all stayed close to the shore !!

 

Cheers.

 

You can read about it here

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 All over the world preparations are being made to welcome in the New Year.

 

2013

 

In Brisbane - "the River City" as the publicity goes - crowds will gather along the river for the fireworks display like the ones below from a previous year.

 

 

We won't be there though we have been in the past.

 

 We'll be watching them from our front porch.

They'll be tiny from there but enough for us and hopefully without the sound which frightens Dash.

 

 

In Sydney, where the fireworks display is epic people have been camping out already to secure a spot with a good view of the harbour bridge

 

 

and places like Shark Island below have been sold out for ages to tours and individuals ready to make it a memorable night.

 

The weather looks good so we're in for a wonderful show.

New South Wales is on Daylight Saving Time so they will celebrate the beginning of the New Year an hour before it really happens ! Duh!

 

In Queensland (no Daylight Saving Time) 2013 will begin on time and not a minute before !

 

Happy New Year Everyone!

 

Les Miserables - A MOVIE REVUE

It must be about 22 or 23 years ago that Les Miserables first came to my attention.

 

(I may have studied the book by Victor Hugo in Senior French but as I was appauling at French I don't remember the story - probably never understood it as we had to translate it as we went ! )

 

The musical was being staged for the first time in Brisbane's new Performing Arts Complex on the banks of the Brisbane River in the city.

 

Times were difficult for us then and money was short - private school fees for two etc. etc - and so I decided to send Sally along as a young teenager with a group of her friends and as usual Mum missed out.

 

However I didn't miss out on hearing the wonderful music and eventually managed to see it performed some years later.

Since then whenever there has been an opportunity I have gone to see it.

It is my all time absolute favourite musical.

 

Better than Phantom of the Opera, Cats ( hated that !!), Gilbert & Sullivan...........

 

 

So today, with my best friend who is always my theatre companion, I set of at 10:00am to see the latest production, the film version  of Les Miserables.

 

 

To say I loved it is almost an understatement.

 

I....loved ....it !

 

The casting is brilliant.

 

Our Hugh and Russell have done us proud.

( No surprises about Hugh but Russel didn't let the part down either. )

 

Anne Hathaway - stick thin, her beauty submerged under grime - entirely memorable.

And who knew that she could sing like that?? 

 

The rest of the cast - some faces that I recognised and some that I didn't - fantastic every one of them.

 

 

 

 

I know this will not be the only time I see this film.

 

I'll go back a couple of times I'm sure

 and when it comes out on DVD it's a must for our collection.

 

Go and see it if you can.

 

Cheers.

 

Christmas. 2012

 

The table was pretty.

 



The gifts well received.

 

 

The home made bonbons cotained strange hats and odd novelty gifts !!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The food was fabulous

and plentiful

 

 

 

and it wasn't long before we were all looking for somewhere like this ! 

 

 

That's it for another year.

 

Cheers.

 

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS....

 

‎'Twas the Night Before Christmas in Australia....

'Twas the night before Christmas; there wasn't a sound.

Not a possum was stirring; no-one was around.

 We'd left on the table some tucker and beer,

Hoping that Santa Claus soon would be here;

We children were snuggled up safe in our beds,

While dreams of pavlova danced 'round in our heads;

And Mum in her nightie, and Dad in his shorts,

Had just settled down to watch TV sports.

When outside the house a mad ruckus arose;

Loud squeaking and banging woke us from our doze.

We ran to the screen door, peeked cautiously out,

Snuck onto the deck, then let out a shout.

Guess what had woken us up from our snooze,

But a rusty old Ute pulled by eight mighty 'roos.

The cheerful man driving was giggling with glee,

And we both knew at once who this plump bloke must be.

Now, I'm telling the truth, it's all dinki-di,

Those eight kangaroos fairly soared through the sky.

Santa leaned out the window to pull at the reins,

And encouraged the 'roos, by calling their names.

'Now, Kylie! Now, Kirsty! Now, Shazza and Shane!

On Kipper! On, Skipper! On, Bazza and Wayne!

Park up on that water tank. Grab a quick drink,

I'll scoot down the gum tree. Be back in a wink!'

So up to the tank those eight kangaroos flew,

With the Ute full of toys, and Santa Claus too.

He slid down the gum tree and jumped to the ground,

Then in through the window he sprang with a bound.

 

He had bright sunburned cheeks and a milky white beard.

A jolly old joker was how he appeared.

He wore red stubby shorts and old thongs on his feet,

And a hat of deep crimson as shade from the heat.

His eyes - bright as opals - Oh! How they twinkled!

And, like a goanna, his skin was quite wrinkled!

His shirt was stretched over a round bulging belly

Which shook when he moved, like a plate full of jelly.

A fat stack of prezzies he flung from his back,

And he looked like a swaggie unfastening his pack.

He spoke not a word, but bent down on one knee,

To position our goodies beneath the yule tree.

 

Surfboard and footy-ball shapes for us two.

And for Dad, tongs to use on the new barbeque.

A mysterious package he left for our Mum,

Then he turned and he winked and he held up his thumb;

He strolled out on deck and his 'roos came on cue;

Flung his sack in the back and prepared to shoot through.

He bellowed out loud as they swooped past the gates-

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all,

and goodonya, MATES!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

We're off to Hervey Bay today for an early Christmas with my family up there

then back home for the actual day here in Brisbane with Tony's family and Sally.

 

The forecast for the day is 30+ degrees and as our aircon is on the blink it may be an uncomfortable day with high humidity.

 

I hope all my pals out there in Blogland have a lovely Christmas surrounded by the ones that matter most to you.

 

Keep safe.

Drive carefully.

 

Merry Christmas

from

Helen & Tony

 

Cheers.

BRISBANE SPARKLES

Friday!
Even though I no longer have my nose to the grindstone Friday nights still feel special so we headed into town to see the Christmas lights and visit the Christmas Craft Markets -  both which were being held in the city's King George Square.
We arrived before nightfall and made our way through the lovely old Brisbane Arcade towards the square.



It looked lovely

with decorations hanging from the high balcony and pretty lights twinkling everywhere.

It was "late night shopping " in the city and the shops were busy with the Christmas rush.

We made our way to the city hall and King George Square where the market was in full swing
 

and happy families were strolling around looking for something a little different.

Friends were gathered at little bars celebrating the end of the working week for many of them.

and the giant Christmas tree towered above it all.... waiting for darkness to fall so it could show off its thousands of solar powered lights.

We headed off to have some dinner and came upon this:

Unwittingly we had chosen the perfect time for our city lights excursion!

Crowds cleared a path through the Queen Street Mall and bands

and choirs, singing as they marched, led the parade towards the square.



 

Mary Joseph and Baby Jesus were there

as well as the shepherds - plus their sheep _

and the Three Wise Men mounted on their camels.



Next came Santa pulled along by a couple of "riendeer"

 

 

 Christmas Dinner arrived along with all the cooks!

and" The Night Before Christmas" was the bedtime story.

 

There were ballet dancers,

 

and Santa's elves.

 

By now night had fallen.

 

 

 

 It comes so quickly here in Brisbane.

One minute it's daylight and the next it's dark!

 

The parade finally passed us by and after a bite of dinner and a cool glass of wine by the river we made our way back to the Square and the tree.

 

 

The reindeer were sparkling ....

 

as they pulled the sleigh around the tree...

 

as it stood towering above us with with thousands of twinkling lights.

 

and there in the background was the church where we were married almost 41 years ago.

 

 

The weather was delightful too.

Warm but not hot, a cool, gentle breeze blowing as we caught the CityCat back to the car.

 

The countdown to Christmas is off to a great start.

 

Cheers.