My old mate (from way back when I was at Northampton Grammar School) Bob Lymn is president of Wellingborough Rotary Club this year. Check out his photos here or just Google Bob Lymn. He’s so famous, he comes up at the top of the list! Here’s a picture of him in action (he’s the handsome one).
Well done, Bob – and Julie of course, who is also a big part of Rotary’s Inner Wheel. They do a lot of good work.
It’s about 45 years since we were in the Air Cadets together.
We binged out on Sydney Festival tickets this year so we’ve been having a big dose of culture. First was Briefs at the Spiegeltent in Parramatta. Bizarre boys-only burlesque with a very sexy tranny as MC. Whoever thought plate-spinning could be so funny?
Then English folktronic singer Beth Orton at the City Recital Hall – not so great as she mumbled and we couldn’t hear the words.
Fatoumata Diawara was wonderful. 
Amazingly beautiful singer from Mali with a great little band. “Fatoumata Diawara blends jazz and blues with the traditional Wassoulou music of her Malian parents to create her own contemporary folk sound.” She had the whole of the Spiegeltent rocking. Bruce Elder, a friend and colleague from the Sydney Morning Herald was there reviewing. We had a good chat with him before the event and he gave Fatoumata a great review in the paper.
Then it was ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore at the Sydney Theatre. Top-class production, riveting and enjoyable. The festival website says: “Cheek By Jowl, one of the world’s great theatre companies, returns to Jacobean tragedy with a new production of John Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore. In this violent and bloody drama, we watch a brother and sister’s passionate descent into hell. It is the vision of Britain’s renowned artistic team, director Declan Donnellan and designer Nick Ormerod.”
Off to the main Spiegeltent in Hyde Park to see Amiina. “Amiina deliver an aural treat, creating a dreamy, enigmatic and precisely organised chaos. A must for fans of the beauty and subtlety of contemporary Icelandic music.” I didn’t know a lot about Icelandic music, but this was amazing – whalesong meets tubular bells. They played the saw for a haunting wailing sound and added plucked strings from what looked like tiny autoharps.
It has been raining for weeks here, but we managed to stay dry and even eat and drink outside around the venues. Great atmosphere. More culture to come.
I’m recovering after a hectic New Year’s Eve Party on the Opera House forecourt. I scored another invitation to the Lord Mayor’s shindig by volunteering to help run part of the event. They needed a qualified pilot to man the radio at Event HQ while there was an air display over the Harbour and they asked me to do it a while back when I was still working for the City of Sydney. 
I volunteered and suggested that maybe they could give me a couple of invitations to the party, which they did – brilliant.
Event HQ was a top secret location – floor 25 of the AMP building overlooking the Harbour. Security was very tight indeed. The room with the view was set up with long tables carrying computers, screens and lots of radio gear and phone systems. I had a window seat and a handheld aviation radio, which was sufficient for the job. The display pilot was Red Bull Racing pilot Matt Hall who I know well from his days in aerobatic competition. I just had to contact him briefly when he arrived (exactly on time, of course) to tell him it was ok to fly over the Harbour. He did a display at 6pm and another at 8pm. The second one was a bit tamer than it should have been because he had to wait for some boats to get clear of the Harbour centre because he could not do aerobatics over them – but it was still good. After that, I walked over to the Opera House for the party on the forecourt. 
I met lots of people from the Herald as well as former colleagues from the City of Sydney. I drank lots of beer and had some good finger food and we danced the night away. Fireworks were fantastic, as usual. Took the train home about 3.30.
Today we are feeling a little weary. My ears are ringing from the loud music and Jan says she’s gone deaf and might sue! We had a big brunch and now I might have a little lie down. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
We went down the Parramatta River on the Rivercat Ferry to Circular Quay, then to the Museum of Contemporary Art for an exhibition of some interactive modern art. Lovely sunny day for a change. The museum was partly closed for refurbishment – they’re adding an extension – so the exhibition was the only bit open – but well worth a visit.
Had a wander around The Rocks after, a beer in a pub, then back up the river. Lovely. Here’s a video to prove it, filmed on the iPhone, edited and voiced on the iPad. It’s on private YouTube cos that was the easiest way to get it on this blog!
Seasons greetings to all my readers – both of you! We’ve been having a very relaxed Christmas break, just the two of us at home. My pressies included a new tool – a reciprocating saw, very useful indeed. Jan got a new bike from me – a lightweight alloy one to replace her old, slightly rusty, steel one – so we’ve been for a couple of bike rides.
The bike rides help to ameliorate the effects of Christmas overindulgence. Otherwise we’ve been in front of the TV watching the Test match and pottering around.
There’s video of Jan’s bike, taken on the iPhone, but I think it might not play on PC browsers, just on the iPhone and iPad. I’ll work on that.
Weather is still a bit cool and rainy – about 24 degrees tops. The beaches are closed because of huge dangerous surf. Sigh. We might as well be in England!
