Go Edinburgh!
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1663202007
Despite it being decided by a television show, the locals are still proud to have Edinburgh named as the number 1 city to live and work in in the UK in 2007.
Now if only we can stop people from crapping in the streets we could turn this place into Utopia!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Ever wondered what my blog title is about?
As you can see, I've run out of steam on my fringe postings. I'll get round to it sooner or later.
Thought I'd take a departure from my normal "what have I been up to" blog to a wee wandering from my mind. I've had a moment of inspiration from my mindless temp job. I'm barely able to string a sentence together now so this should be a treat!
3rd October, 1998. This was the year I got my first passport and hopped on a plane to go to New Zealand on a student exchange. I can't believe I haven't been back yet and it's almost 10 years. My God. Anyway, I was in Year 10, mostly mucking around with friends I still have to this day in a green and fawn school uniform. I loved anything to do with music, had just started my obsession with Something for Kate and Triple J and live (underage!) gigs.
TV wise, it was all about the weekend. Friday nights were dedicated "Good News Week" watching, on the ABC, the national broadcaster. No secret I had a big crush on Paul McDermott, the host and I thought I was smart laughing along to the witty banter. Many nights out were spent trying to ring my brother/mother/father/dog if I didn't set the VCR to tape it. I would be devastated if I missed an episode (coincidentally, it was only before I left to go overseas this year that I finally chucked out all my tapes of Good News Week. Obsessed? Non.).
Late Friday and Saturday nights, nothing would satisfy me more than coming home and settling into the couch to watch Rage, the ABC's late night video music clip show until dawn. I'd have to be so quiet, having the tv up just barely audible to fool my parents into thinking I'd gone to bed. Friday nights I saw all the new music videos and Saturday nights guest programmers hosted Rage.
On this particular October Saturday evening, I settled in to watch Paul McDermott and Mikey Robins guest programme Rage. Some good songs, any I didn't like I pressed pause on the remote so I wouldn't have to watch them back on the VCR. About half way through the show, Billy Bragg's 1986 ode 'Greetings to the New Brunette' came on. I'd never heard it before but the cheery guitar at the beginning of the song drew me in. The images he used for his clip were taken from decades gone by, of people falling in love. I immediately put on my rose coloured glasses and got sucked into the song. How could you resist when a song sings:
I'm celebrating my love for you
With a pint of beer and a new tattoo
I think this is hiliarious. Bragg's plays on words and phrases are gorgeous and so is the guitar in the song (courtesy with a little help from the great Johnny Marr). Another reason I'm so fond of it is because he is singing to a 'Shirley', who reminds me of course of my lovely Nanna - and it is also my Mum's middle name - what a nice personal touch to add for me, Billy.
Aside from the song, I've always liked the title. It's always stood out to me and when I came to naming my blog I instantly remembered this song.
You Tube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gozdCwvHK6M
Enjoy!
Thought I'd take a departure from my normal "what have I been up to" blog to a wee wandering from my mind. I've had a moment of inspiration from my mindless temp job. I'm barely able to string a sentence together now so this should be a treat!
3rd October, 1998. This was the year I got my first passport and hopped on a plane to go to New Zealand on a student exchange. I can't believe I haven't been back yet and it's almost 10 years. My God. Anyway, I was in Year 10, mostly mucking around with friends I still have to this day in a green and fawn school uniform. I loved anything to do with music, had just started my obsession with Something for Kate and Triple J and live (underage!) gigs.
TV wise, it was all about the weekend. Friday nights were dedicated "Good News Week" watching, on the ABC, the national broadcaster. No secret I had a big crush on Paul McDermott, the host and I thought I was smart laughing along to the witty banter. Many nights out were spent trying to ring my brother/mother/father/dog if I didn't set the VCR to tape it. I would be devastated if I missed an episode (coincidentally, it was only before I left to go overseas this year that I finally chucked out all my tapes of Good News Week. Obsessed? Non.).
Late Friday and Saturday nights, nothing would satisfy me more than coming home and settling into the couch to watch Rage, the ABC's late night video music clip show until dawn. I'd have to be so quiet, having the tv up just barely audible to fool my parents into thinking I'd gone to bed. Friday nights I saw all the new music videos and Saturday nights guest programmers hosted Rage.
On this particular October Saturday evening, I settled in to watch Paul McDermott and Mikey Robins guest programme Rage. Some good songs, any I didn't like I pressed pause on the remote so I wouldn't have to watch them back on the VCR. About half way through the show, Billy Bragg's 1986 ode 'Greetings to the New Brunette' came on. I'd never heard it before but the cheery guitar at the beginning of the song drew me in. The images he used for his clip were taken from decades gone by, of people falling in love. I immediately put on my rose coloured glasses and got sucked into the song. How could you resist when a song sings:
I'm celebrating my love for you
With a pint of beer and a new tattoo
I think this is hiliarious. Bragg's plays on words and phrases are gorgeous and so is the guitar in the song (courtesy with a little help from the great Johnny Marr). Another reason I'm so fond of it is because he is singing to a 'Shirley', who reminds me of course of my lovely Nanna - and it is also my Mum's middle name - what a nice personal touch to add for me, Billy.
Aside from the song, I've always liked the title. It's always stood out to me and when I came to naming my blog I instantly remembered this song.
You Tube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gozdCwvHK6M
Enjoy!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
18 August
5.15pm 'Truckstop', The Zoo Southside, £5.
Rain. All. Day. Miserable. It's supposed to be high summer! My arse. Spend the whole day relaxing with Noni, we are all bundled up in jackets, scarves, hats and hoods. Coffee and tea breaks are long and plentiful, think we had morning tea and afternoon tea! We buy tickets to see a piece of theatre called Truckstop which was originally written in Dutch and has been translated, yet the characters are Dutch but speak English and the music is Dutch. Crazy, amateur theatre. The acter's performances are okay, a little stock standard raise my voice here, double take there, cough, fake cry. The play deals with disability, loneliness, relationships, trust and death. By the end of the play, all 3 characters are dead. Not exactly uplifting, life affirming theatre. The funniest thing was seeing the muck out afterward, I think they were running a bit late which meant they had less time to pack up and they needed to vacate the space so the next lot of performers could set up. They couldn't even wait for the audience to finish clapping before starting to pack up the set with a worried look on their faces, made funnier by one costumed in a fluffy dressing gown and flannelette pyjamas.
23.15 Stephen K. Amos - Weekend Chat Show, Gilded Balloon £5
Go home to dry off and relax before heading back out into the wet night. We have to lineup for this in the rain and the show is running late. This is Amos' blatent attempt at trying to pitch himself as an ace television variety show host and, as much as I love him, he fails. It was plain as day to see he had absolutely no interest in the guests that were on which got painful at the end. He should stick with stand up, that's for sure. Tripod were the house band, solid as always. Guests that I can remember were Faith Brown, kind of like an english Joan Rivers, but with a Dolly Partonesque figure. Her Fringe show is 'Boys in the Buff' and they performed a song from it which did indeed have boys in the buff. It was hilarious seeing Amos trying not to look interested in the bums on stage right in front of him. Next was a reviewer from one of the loal rags. She swore too much and was very brash but did have some good stories. She absolutely panned Christina Davies' stand up show (remember Christina Ballerina from Big Brother 1?) which made briony and I absolutely crack up.
23.15 Stephen K. Amos - Weekend Chat Show, Gilded Balloon £5
Go home to dry off and relax before heading back out into the wet night. We have to lineup for this in the rain and the show is running late. This is Amos' blatent attempt at trying to pitch himself as an ace television variety show host and, as much as I love him, he fails. It was plain as day to see he had absolutely no interest in the guests that were on which got painful at the end. He should stick with stand up, that's for sure. Tripod were the house band, solid as always. Guests that I can remember were Faith Brown, kind of like an english Joan Rivers, but with a Dolly Partonesque figure. Her Fringe show is 'Boys in the Buff' and they performed a song from it which did indeed have boys in the buff. It was hilarious seeing Amos trying not to look interested in the bums on stage right in front of him. Next was a reviewer from one of the loal rags. She swore too much and was very brash but did have some good stories. She absolutely panned Christina Davies' stand up show (remember Christina Ballerina from Big Brother 1?) which made briony and I absolutely crack up.
17 August
11.15pm, Mitch Benn Music Club, Udderbelly Pasture, £10.
http://www.mitchbenn.com/
The poster for this looks fantastic and sraws me right in fromt Day1 of the festival. The special guests they get on the show are really good as I see the lineup on the boards at Bristo Square daily. I must admit I have high hopes. When I finally make time for this show, it's a really nerdy radio dj who has his own band and does musical parodies, click on the link to hear the kind of stuff I'm talking about. His voice is good, it's just all a bit too polished and sometimes seem forced. He knows when the funny lines come up and just expects the audience to double over. I end up leaving before the performance ends, it goes on far too long. My first walkout!
http://www.mitchbenn.com/
The poster for this looks fantastic and sraws me right in fromt Day1 of the festival. The special guests they get on the show are really good as I see the lineup on the boards at Bristo Square daily. I must admit I have high hopes. When I finally make time for this show, it's a really nerdy radio dj who has his own band and does musical parodies, click on the link to hear the kind of stuff I'm talking about. His voice is good, it's just all a bit too polished and sometimes seem forced. He knows when the funny lines come up and just expects the audience to double over. I end up leaving before the performance ends, it goes on far too long. My first walkout!
16 August
No shows today, but hanging out at Speigelgardens all night.
Thursday was my colleague Steinunn's last day working at the RCN. The following day her and her parnter Nick were driving to London to live and work their for just under a year before moving back to Steinunn's homeland, Iceland. We had a lovely afternoon tea for her in the office with lots of yummy scones and brownies from Lynda who does RCN's catering. After work, a good group of us walked up the Meadows and got a plum spot in the Speigelgarden. I nipped back home to get a warmer jacket before starting to indulge in ridiculously overpriced beer. We also saw Jilly for the first time in a few weeks since her wedding. She'd been on her honeymoon in the Dominican Republic and came back so tanned I just stared in awe for an hour or two! Steinunn will be much missed in the office, I think all of us would one day love to go and visit her in Iceland! In a strange twist, her leaving means I get to stay at the RCN for longer, as I was temping here while she took some leave. We ended up kicking on until after midnight, not bad considering almost all of us had work the next day!
Thursday was my colleague Steinunn's last day working at the RCN. The following day her and her parnter Nick were driving to London to live and work their for just under a year before moving back to Steinunn's homeland, Iceland. We had a lovely afternoon tea for her in the office with lots of yummy scones and brownies from Lynda who does RCN's catering. After work, a good group of us walked up the Meadows and got a plum spot in the Speigelgarden. I nipped back home to get a warmer jacket before starting to indulge in ridiculously overpriced beer. We also saw Jilly for the first time in a few weeks since her wedding. She'd been on her honeymoon in the Dominican Republic and came back so tanned I just stared in awe for an hour or two! Steinunn will be much missed in the office, I think all of us would one day love to go and visit her in Iceland! In a strange twist, her leaving means I get to stay at the RCN for longer, as I was temping here while she took some leave. We ended up kicking on until after midnight, not bad considering almost all of us had work the next day!
15 August
10.00pm Ali McGregor's Midnite Lullabies, The Famous Spiegeltent, £8.
http://www.alimcgregor.com/images/Press_Release_Midnight_Lullabies_ED07.pdf
Back at work today, it's been a great little holiday. Finally, this is my first time in the Spiegeltent here in Edinburgh. It's not the same one that comes to Adelaide, it's much smaller. I think there are 11 or so of these little flat-packed beauties travelling the world.
This show was based around the notion of 'midnight lullabies'. Ali McGregor has a great knack for storytelling and introduces each song and why she likens it to a midnight lullaby. She sang opera, rock, folk, and Radiohead, all in her classically trained beautiful voice, often with her harpischord in hand. Ben Hendry accompanied on percussion and the pair worked really well on stage. For those of you who think she sounds familiar, she performed as part of 'La Clique' in 2006 Adelaide Fringe and also did her own show in Adelaide this year. Think she also guests on ABC's 'Spicks and Specks' every now and again. Adam Hills was the special guest at this performance and he came on and read the poem 'Clancy of the Overflow' and it all got rather patriotic and nostalgic in the Spiegel for awhile. Until Ali sang a version of Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River". Funk!
http://www.alimcgregor.com/images/Press_Release_Midnight_Lullabies_ED07.pdf
Back at work today, it's been a great little holiday. Finally, this is my first time in the Spiegeltent here in Edinburgh. It's not the same one that comes to Adelaide, it's much smaller. I think there are 11 or so of these little flat-packed beauties travelling the world.
This show was based around the notion of 'midnight lullabies'. Ali McGregor has a great knack for storytelling and introduces each song and why she likens it to a midnight lullaby. She sang opera, rock, folk, and Radiohead, all in her classically trained beautiful voice, often with her harpischord in hand. Ben Hendry accompanied on percussion and the pair worked really well on stage. For those of you who think she sounds familiar, she performed as part of 'La Clique' in 2006 Adelaide Fringe and also did her own show in Adelaide this year. Think she also guests on ABC's 'Spicks and Specks' every now and again. Adam Hills was the special guest at this performance and he came on and read the poem 'Clancy of the Overflow' and it all got rather patriotic and nostalgic in the Spiegel for awhile. Until Ali sang a version of Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River". Funk!
Monday, September 24, 2007
14 August
1.30pm Eleanor Tiernan - "Help!", Gilded Balloon, Complimentary ticket.
http://www.chortle.co.uk/shows/edinburgh_fringe_festival_2007/e/15861/eleanor_tiernan:_help/review/
I still had an unused ticket for this performance from last week so decided to try my luck being cheeky and using for today - it worked! They never look at the ticket stub anyway...I really enjoyed this play, starring two sisters and dealing with inner demons and self doubt when performing. Honest and earnest acting. I think the play was written by these two sisters as well as their brother Tommy who is a standup comedian. Gorgeous Irish accents, too!
4.00pm Tom Tom Club, £10, Udderbelly.
http://www.abc.net.au/centralvic/stories/s1886599.htm
This site has some good photos from the show when it toured in Victoria
I bought Cheryl a ticket for this as a thankyou for doing my hair the day before. I met up with her and some of her flatmate's friends at the Udderbelly Bar beforehand. The lineup for this show had started 45 minutes before so about 30 minutes to go we left our primo bar seats to join the line. Despite not being at the front of the line we managed to score 3 seats front row and centre. Cheryl is very much into hip hop and high energy stuff so I knew Tom Tom Club would be a great show for us to see. The act is made up of a whole heap of Australian guys, all graduated from the Fruit Fly Circus. Each had his own special niche or trick. There was a drummer, DJ/MC, beatboxer, breakdancer and four guys who did acrobatics. They had the right mix of theatricals and loads of natural talent. I felt like a kid at a circus - the tricks these acrobats were doing were amazing and it was also bery nice that they were shirtless (way to trivialise the situation, eh?). Tom Tom Club is very much into getting the audience into the performance, not up on stage but through keeping the energy up, clapping, making lots of noise and being vocal during tricks and acts. Everyone walked out of that show with a huge smile on their face, including me. Great fun.
http://www.chortle.co.uk/shows/edinburgh_fringe_festival_2007/e/15861/eleanor_tiernan:_help/review/
I still had an unused ticket for this performance from last week so decided to try my luck being cheeky and using for today - it worked! They never look at the ticket stub anyway...I really enjoyed this play, starring two sisters and dealing with inner demons and self doubt when performing. Honest and earnest acting. I think the play was written by these two sisters as well as their brother Tommy who is a standup comedian. Gorgeous Irish accents, too!
4.00pm Tom Tom Club, £10, Udderbelly.
http://www.abc.net.au/centralvic/stories/s1886599.htm
This site has some good photos from the show when it toured in Victoria
I bought Cheryl a ticket for this as a thankyou for doing my hair the day before. I met up with her and some of her flatmate's friends at the Udderbelly Bar beforehand. The lineup for this show had started 45 minutes before so about 30 minutes to go we left our primo bar seats to join the line. Despite not being at the front of the line we managed to score 3 seats front row and centre. Cheryl is very much into hip hop and high energy stuff so I knew Tom Tom Club would be a great show for us to see. The act is made up of a whole heap of Australian guys, all graduated from the Fruit Fly Circus. Each had his own special niche or trick. There was a drummer, DJ/MC, beatboxer, breakdancer and four guys who did acrobatics. They had the right mix of theatricals and loads of natural talent. I felt like a kid at a circus - the tricks these acrobats were doing were amazing and it was also bery nice that they were shirtless (way to trivialise the situation, eh?). Tom Tom Club is very much into getting the audience into the performance, not up on stage but through keeping the energy up, clapping, making lots of noise and being vocal during tricks and acts. Everyone walked out of that show with a huge smile on their face, including me. Great fun.
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