Altogether now....'Neighbours, everybody needs good Neighbours....'

Admit it, everyone's watched at least one episode of the Australian soap 'Neighbours', and most will have come home from school and be glued to the telly for 25 minutes at around 5.30pm!  Well, after doing the 'Neighbours Tour' back in February, I was dying to go to the 'World Famous Neighbours trivia Night' at the 'Elephant and Wheelbarrow' in St Kilda, advertised as the "Best night you'll have in Australia".

Darren was having none of it, so I went along with Diane, Damo, Josie and Paul - and it was one of the best group nights out that I've had yet!  Yes it was cheesy and tacky and all the rest of it, but I think that's what made it such a fun night!!!

Josie and Paul

 

Damo, Diane and me!

At 8.00pm the hosts “George Josevski” (aka The Backpacker King) and "Peter O'Reilly (aka Safari Pete) introduced themselves, along with the Neighbours actors and welcomed everyone to the night.  The actors then responded to a questions from the audience.

The Neighbours actors then walk around the pub and mingle with the audience while there's a general knowledge trivia quiz going on in the background.  In between rounds there were additional competitions taking place - testing your vocal cords and singing your favourite song for a prize to Sydney...making some shapes on the dance floor for a trip to the Whitsundays...doing strange things to complete stranger for trips to the Great Ocean Road, Philip Island, Wilson's Prom, New Zealand etc!  But to be honest I was too excited about meeting the actors for all that malarky!

Bouncer!!!

Donna Freedman (I'm the one on the right!!!)

Stingray (yes I did steal his cap for the photo!)

The legend that is Dr Karl Kennedy!

Yes I got Dr K's autograph!

Even Dr K couldn't fix Damo's arm!

After the quiz, Dr Karl and his band “Waiting Room” performed live, and believe it or not they were really quite good!  It was a bit like watching your dad fulfil a llifelong dream of being in a rock band, but the crowd loved it!

And oh the excitement when they announced that Paul  Robinson would be appearing as a speacial guest!

Paul Robinson reading the paper before going on stage (I'm such a stalker!!!)

What a fab night - Darren would have hated it, but I'm so glad I got to go!!!!!  :o)

Keep Calm and Carry On

Stereophonics have long been one of our favourite bands and, sad though it may seem, not being able to see them again was one of the things that I didn't like about leaving the UK.  We've seen them once in Birmingham and three times in Cardiff and we try and go to a gig with every tour they do.

As luck would have it. their 2010 World Tour "Keep Calm and Carry On" was coming to Melbourne and the tickets were released on my birthday!  There was much excitement in the build up to the night - and it didn't disappoint.  The Palace was an amazing theatre venue with several levels you could view the stage from and I had the best view I've ever had of them.  Normally we would be near the front where I can't see a thing, but this time we went up a few levels and could actually watch them.

The photos here don't do it justice because they were just taken with my iphone - but I've added them all the same!

And here's the set list: 
Live 'N' Love 
1000 Trees 
More Life In A Tramps Vest 
Chaplin 
I Got Your Number 
Superman 
Pick a Part That's New 
Uppercut 
Stuck In A Rut 
I Wouldn't Believe Your Radio 
You Stole My Money Honey 
Maybe Tomorrow 
Trouble 
Have A Nice Day 
Billy Davey's Daughter 
Bright Red Star 
Vegas Two Times 
Could You Be The One 
Innocent 
Caravan Holiday 
Just Looking  
Local Boy In The Photograph

Encore: 
She's Alright  
The Bartender and the Thief  
Dakota

Parents knows best!

Our turn to have mum and dad stay with us and it's been a wonderful week.  They pretty much fitted into our lives from the minute they got here, and it's a compliment to them that we were relaxed enough with them here not to have to make an effort all the time!

Unfortunately Darren and I had to spend the week days in work, but we went for a nice lunch on Sunday in St Kilda and in the evenings it's been nice just to catch up in front of the telly. 

It's become a regular thing to get in from work and find mum and dad sat out on our courtyard with a box of red wine and inviting us to join them.  Well I'm not one to argue with them (ahem!) so I had no choice but to do as I was told!

And it was a real treat to get in from work on Wednesday and have mum cook us sausages, mash and onion gravy....mmmmm.

There was a funny 'lost and found' moment on Tuesday with dad - and he won't thank me for putting it on here, but it did make us laugh and I think it deserves a mention.  Dad had been on the MCG tour for the afternoon with Mark, and it was only when it got dark and we hadn't heard from them that we began to wonder if dad was ok getting back on his own.  We sent Mark a text with no reply and we tried ringing Mark but there was no answer, so I began to make the tea thinking he'd be home when he got hungry.  Mum casually said 'You don't think he's sat outside on the doorstep do you?'.  Sure enough, Darren went out and found Jimmy sat on the step - he couldn't work the buzzer and it was too dark to read the instructions!  We did have a giggle and were glad that he was safely home - perhaps a label like Paddington might help in the future!!!

Today we put them on the bus to the airport for 10 days at the Great Barrier Reef.  The place seems quite empty now without them, but we hope they have a lovely time and we'll see them again soon!!!!

Sm-ASH-ing to see you!

Another colleague from Messier Services - Jason - and his family come to Melbourne!  They'd been to Melbourne, done some touring, and were back to Melbourne again so it was time for a meet-up!

It was on Jase's tick list to go to an Aussie Rules Footy match, so Friday night we arrange to meet him at the Etihad Stadium for a big match between St Kilda (St KFC - Yay!) and Collingwood (the Magpies - Boo!).  They are both local teams and there's great rivalry between them and it's lucky we got tickets in advance because it was a sell out!  Darren and I got the train from Brighton to Flinders St where we need to change trains to get to the stadium.  By chance I happened to spot Jase get on at Windsor in the carriage behind us so when we got off at Flinders we waited for Jase to get off so that we could get the next train together.  Through the crowds of people I was sure that I saw Jase get off and then get back on again!!!  Convinced it was him I ran back to his carriage and just before the train went back the way it came from I spotted Jase and yelled to him to jump off quick!  Good job we saw him because otherwise I'm sure we would never have met up (his phone was out of juice so we couldn't have rung him!).

Anyway, we got the train to Southern Cross and made our way into the stadium - with me grabbing a free 'clap banner' on the way!  Amazing folded fan type thing that makes a loud noise when you clap with it!

Hand on heart I didn't have a clue what was going on most of the time!  But it was a great game, the atmosphere was amazing, I had a good gossip with Jase, and St Kilda won!!!  AFL game - tick!

The Sunday was Jase's birthday and we hoped to meet up with them in Brighton, but wierd things were going on with texts and Facebook messages and it didn't quite come together, so we arranged to meet after work one night on the SouthBank for a drink.  It was lovely to see Kath, Matt and Josh (and it goes without saying Jase again!) and a glass of wine by the river with the sun going down was a nice treat after work!  Jase and Kath had got a lovely bottle of wine from the Yarra Valley for Darren and I and we swapped it for a St Kilda AFL ball as a belated birthday present for Jase!

I only had the camera on my phone with me which doesn't have a flash, so the photos when it was dark aren't the best I'm afraid!  I'm hoping Jase's come out better!

All too soon it was time to say our goodbyes!    But it was so nice to catch up with them and they've promised to come back soon!!!  We'll keep them to that!  They were due to fly back the next night - however, all flights to the UK have been cancelled due to volcanic ash from Iceland and I've just had a message from Jase to say that they are still here!  I know you would have liked to extend your stay here Jase, but surely even you couldn't have masterplanned this one!!!!  This is the latest on the situation in the UK:

Restrictions on UK airspace have been extended until 0100 BST on Sunday, as the danger to planes from volcanic ash from Iceland persists.

The UK's National Air Traffic Service (Nats) said the ash cloud was "moving around and changing shape".

Officials warn that European airspace could be disrupted for several days.
Prof Brian Golding, head of forecasting research at the Met Office said: "The latest information we have suggests the ash will remain over the UK for several days.
"We need a change of wind direction that stays changed for several days and there is no sign of that in the immediate future," he added.

Hundreds of thousands of passengers have been stranded in the UK and abroad by flight cancellations.
"Current forecasts show that the situation is worsening throughout Saturday," said Nats, adding that it was "most unlikely" that many flights would operate later.

Egg-cellent Easter Sunday!

Easter Sunday and it's a beautiful sunny day and about 25 degrees.  Darren and I get the train to the Docklands and meet up with mum, dad, Mark, Em, Mabel and Kieran who are happily playing with the circus skills stuff on the New Quay.

We head to the Lounge Room for lunch, stopping briefly for Mabel to have a flower painted on her cheek - it's a serious business!

The Lounge Room is a lovely restaurant on the New Quay with city and waterfront views and here we meet up with Cara (Emma's cousin), Kris (Cara's husband) and Blair (Cara and Kris's new baby).  There's a moment where Kieran comes and stands by Darren and won't speak, and we realise that it's because he wants to sit next to Darren, so Kieran and mum swap seats and everyone's happy!

The food was delicious and somehow we all managed to find room to share a pudding with our respective other halves, and Kieran was let loose with the chocolate sauce!  When asked if he'd had any chocolate the answer was an adamant no!

Full on sugar we decided to go for a walk along the South Bank to soak up the Autumn sunshine.  Em headed back home to take advantage of some 'me time' while there were plenty of us to entertain the children!  On leaving the restaurant cheeky little  Kieran slapped the waitress's bottom - not sure whether he learnt that particuar trick from daddy or uncle Darren!!!

With a stop for a play in a park and a drink on the South Bank we made it to Flinders Street Station where we boarded the train to play muscial laps until Darren and I got off at North Brighton and the others carried on to Sandringham.

It really was a lovely Easter afternoon and it so nice to be able to spend it with mum and dad, and my brother's family too - that didn't happen that many times back home!!!

(And thank you to the Devaneys for the lovely Haigh's Easter Egg!!!!!)

Gentlemen start your engines please.......

28th March - the day of the Grand Prix at Albert Park and we're all looking forward to a busy, noisy day!  Darren and I meet up with mum, dad and Mark in a cafe in St Kilda for a coffee before heading towards the circuit.  The roads around the circuit are closed so it's a bit of a walk to get there, but you could hear the cars getting louder with each step!

On getting our tickets and getting in, we walk towards the track and are greeted by a crash that stops the race!  I wasn't really sure what had happened - just saw a yellow bit of car fly up in front of me!

As with the MOTOGP I'm probably not the best person to be writing about this, but we saw races throughout the day starting with little minis, through the V8s and finally the Formula 1 cars, which what can I say.....are loud!  Luckily we'd all bought a Grand Prix Survival Kit, which had ear plugs in it - and oh yes did we need them!

Incase you're interested:

The circuit uses everyday sections of road that circle Albert Park Lake, a small man-made lake just south of the Central Business District of Melbourne. The road sections that are used were rebuilt prior to the inaugural event in 1996 to ensure consistency and smoothness. As a result, compared to other circuits that are held on public roads, the Albert Park track has quite a smooth surface. Before 2007 there existed only a few other places on the Formula 1 calendar with a body of water close to the track.

The course is considered to be quite fast and relatively easy to drive, with drivers having commented that the consistent placement of corners allows them to easily learn the circuit and achieve competitive times. However, the flat terrain around the lake, coupled with a track design that features few true straights, means that the track is not conducive to overtaking or easy spectating unless in possession of a grandstand seat.

And the result:

As in Bahrain, Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull were the fastest combination in Melbourne. But as in Bahrain, mechanical failure meant the win escaped them. Instead it was Jenson Button and McLaren who did the best job of capitalising on their rivals’ misfortune in some very difficult conditions. A stunning drive from Robert Kubica brought Renault an unexpected podium, and Felipe Massa struck back in his battle with Ferrari team mate Fernando Alonso, beating the Spaniard to third place.

Jenson Button, P1
Lewis Hamilton, P6

When Button entered the pit lane on lap six and found it soaking wet he believed he had made a catastrophic error of judgment in coming in so soon to switch from intermediate to soft Bridgestone tyres, and an off on his out lap did little to change that feeling. But by lap eight the track conditions came to him and when Vettel retired on the 20th lap the way was clear for the world champion to storm home to his first victory for McLaren, at only the second attempt. Hamilton drove like a hero after getting delayed in Button’s brief clash with Alonso, but was furious when the decision was taken to make a second tyre stop which cost him any chance of victory. Subsequent attack by Webber ended his hopes of a really good points score. McLaren, however, move to second place overall with 54 points.

Yes I did copy that from the Formula 1 web site!  All I know is that it was an amazing day with a great atmosphere and to top it all a Brit won!  And then there were the obligatory photos on the track........

 
 
Oh, and it was a bit mucky.....