Sydney Festival First Night 2008

Yesterday afternoon I went up to Katoomba to meet with the ladies of one of my book groups (Read Astray we call ourselves) for our Christmas lunch. We went to the Avalon, the restaurant we went to when Karen and Dan got married. It's our third year there and the only disappointment is that the menu has not changed a jot in that time - I guess they are working on the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' principle and that's fine, especially where their exquisite dessert menu is concerned. We had a lovely afternoon eating yummy stuff and talking books and travel and stuff.
It was very wet and misty in Katoomba. The Avalon has a huge picture window, usually with nice views, but we could barely see 30m at times. It was still wet when I got back down to Springwood and thought it might put off our plans for the evening but when I arrived home it was to be told we were still going out. I had time for a quick change of clothing then headed down to Sydney with Sharon, Janet and Steven. (Ian and the boys didn't want to join us and Ishbel had her mate Zanny over to play).
It was the first night of the Sydney Festival http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/events/firstNight.htm and Sharon had enticed me with the promise of a ceilidgh on Macquarie Street.
We walked through Hyde Park where a swing band was going to be playing. A dance floor had been laid all around the fountain at the northern end but it was too early for them to have begun and we continued down to Macquarie Street. There a latin American band was playing - all the tunes sounded the same to me - and three couples were due to get married before the Scottish band, Shooglenifty, were due to play.
We then headed down to Martin Place where the young folks were enjoying a rave. We noticed how it was all young people going in to the crowd down there and only old people coming out!! Just as "Romeo" came on, singing Talking Heads style, and I started to enjoy myself, the others, not wanting to take any chances, decided we should check out the Domain so we headed back east again.
Paul Kelly was playing at the Domain and that was good. He was followed by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. Steven, Sharon and Janet all enjoyed that but I've never got the Beach Boys thing so it wasn't the highlight of my evening. We left there and got back to Macquarie Street just in time for the last (very good) two songs from Shooglenifty. They were great and had an Aboriginal digeridoo player playing with them too. An interesting mix of music.
After something to eat at a Japanese restaurant (my first time in one) we headed back to the car park and home. We got back after 1am and then I was up and out with Robbie to be at RFS training by 8am.

Ishbel cooking

Karen, Dan and Ben gave Ishbel an Ikea baking set as part of her Christmas (also undies set and beautiful fairy book). We weren't sure if it would survive OK in the oven. Yesterday we tested it and baked a banana loaf. It worked great!

Took the banana loaf on a use-all-the-stuff-left-over-from-Hogmanay picnic with Sharon & Holly, Janet, Steven, Kate and Georgia at Buttenshaw Park.

Ishbel ate the banana loaf ALL to herself!

Hogmanay 2007

Hogmanay was at our place this year. Karen, Dan and Ben came, as well as the usual suspects, our other family: Sharon and Holly and Janet, Steven and Georgia Addison. Kate was at a party at a friend's house. We were also joined by a mate of Jamie and Robbie's, Nick.
Robbie had wanted to spend Hogmanay at his friend, Lee's house. He had been invited to also stay the night before but when I dropped Rob off and spoke to Marie, Lee's mum, to ensure she did want him for two nights, Marie asked was I aware that she wasn't going to be home on Hogmanay. Rob had failed to bring that to my attention so later, after talking it over with Ian, we decided not to let him stay over on Hogmanay; we would pick him up at 9pm.
At 6:10pm the phone went and someone was asking for Robbie. I told them he was at a friend's place until later, could I get him to ring back then? It was someone from Eagle Boys where Robbie works - he was supposed to have started work at 6pm!!! I rang Robbie and quickly grabbed his uniform. Ian arrived home from an errand just as I got to the driveway so I sent him to get Rob from Lee's and take him to work. We'd been nagging him to check his roster - he'd been getting two or so shifts a week before school broke up but suddenly appeared to have a few weeks with no work which seemed strange. (Funny thing was that on New Year's morning Sharon answered the phone and had an almost identical phone call from McDonalds. Holly was supposed to be working that morning and hadn't turned up. Quick fly down to Blaxland for them!)
During the day Ishbel and I went to see the film Enchanted. It's about a cartoon character who gets sent to real life by a wicked stepmother and the adventures she and her prince charming have in New York and the power of true love. We absolutely loved it; laughed ourselves silly. Can't wait to get it on DVD.
Our evening with our family and friends was very pleasant. As is traditional at these events we all brought enough to feed the forty thousand and there was WAY too much to eat. We played games, saw in the New Year, watched the Sydney fireworks on TV, saw the visitors off the premises and went to bed.

Skeleton Coast by Clive Cussler

This is number 4 in the Oregon Chronicles series.

I'm not finished reading this so I may just change my mind about it after I've got to the end. I am having to read this for one of my book groups and if it weren't for that I would have abandoned it after Chapter 1. As far as I am concerned it's full of nonsense, toys for the boys, macho claptrap.

One of the more ridiculous bit was where one of the main characters, Juan, who has an artificial leg, has parachuted in to the desert. When things go wrong during the jump he ends up separated from the rest of his party and tries to join a convoy of Zimbawean (?sp) rebels. He uses some plastic explosives which he had stuffed in the artificial leg, to weld said leg to a round something and used the parachute to parasnowboard along the sand to catch up with the convoy. Oh please!

Ian's Christmas 2007

Ian got some books from Santa, Tools of War: the weapons that changed the world by Jeremy Black and Richard Hammond's Car Confidential.
He also wants to do a motorbike cornering course (??) so is investigating that.

Oh yes, but we can't show it because there might be children watching, he also got a banana guard!!!

Heidi's Christmas 2007

I put in my order for a Bushranger Firefighter helmet. Although we get issued with a free helmet, I wanted this one because it has a pull down visor which means I might not need to wear goggles with it - I can't get the regulation goggles to stay on my face no matter how tight I pull them. I think I might have to do my firefighting in swimming goggles otherwise!

Ian also managed to get a sticker with my name to go on the back. I just have to make sure I put it on straight now.

I also bought for myself a copy of a new picture book, Puff the Magic Dragon. It's a beautifully illustrated picutre book and comes with a CD of the song and a few others by Peter Yarrow.

I remember fairly well having Puff played on BFBS radio for my 5th birthday so it's very special to me.

Jamie's Christmas 2007

Jamie also got the same backpack and will get Japanese Yen for his trip to Japan on 8th January. He also got a copy of Matthew Reilly's latest novel - signed by the author. Jamie has been on the library reserve list for this title for ages so I thought I'd get it for him for Christmas. When I went to the bookshop in Penrith last Thursday there was a huge queue wending its way through the shop. Turned out Matthew Reilly was coming to do a book signing. I stood in line for about 3/4 hr and got it signed. Jamie was rapt.

Rob's Christmas 2007

Robbie requested and got a new backpack and a tent. The tent is a one man one, only about 50cm tall at its highest point, 2m or so long and very claustrophobic looking. He put it up in the living room - the cat thought it was marvellous.

Ishbel's Christmas 2007

Ishbel got books (cute Jack Russell Dog Detective - we also have a few on talking book in the library so I'll get her some of those too) and a pink unicorn (from the social club at Council). Named Sparkle, the unicorn is her favourite toy of the moment.

Christmas Day 2007

We had a really nice Christmas day yesterday.

Had a chat on Christmas Eve with Mum and Dad and Fiona via Skype. Spent a lot of the time we were online trying to fiddle with getting the webcam to work (without success) and then with the NORAD Santa tracker on Google Earth. Sorry I wasn't very chatty. It's not easy skyping when the kids are trying to watch something on TV as they were at the time.

I had been worried we hadn't very much for the children. I had been unable to bring myself to buy anything for Ishbel when out shopping the other night; she has so much junk in her bedroom, none of which gets kept tidily and I couldn't bring myself to add to that junk. As always, however, as I wrapped up the bits and pieces I realized we had plenty.
Christmas morning came (not too early thank goodness) and everyone happy with their presents.

I will do posts for each of the family with their favourite Christmas thing separately, youngest to oldest.

We headed down towards Roey and Pete's place just after 11am. There we had the full traditional Christmas dinner, not usually bearable in December but this year the weather was cool and we were in jumpers most of the day. There were oysters, prawns and various dips and cheeses to start followed by roast turkey, ham, tatties, salad etc. and later, quite a while later an icecream Christmas pudding and a 'normal' Christmas pudding. We tried hard to get the brandy to flame but just succeeded in blackening the spoon and wasting lots of matches and gave up in disgust.

During the late afternoon we went for a walk round the bay. Pete's mum Pat was with us. She's in her 80s and not used to walking much because its not flat round where she lives, but she managed the walk really well. We walked round to some rock carvings done by some of the early white sailors to Sydney - the ships would be dragged up in one of the bays near where Roey and Pete live to be shaved of barnacles etc and while there the sailors carved messages on the rocks.

We discovered it was almost 8pm by the time we got back to the house! Had no idea it was that late, the day passed very quickly. A last beer for Ian and we were on the road home by 8:30 and home by 9:30pm.