What a year! As always I ended up trying to cram more into the available calendar time than a workaholic at a major corporation - and trust me they try to squeeze in more meetings than any reasonable person should attend! - and spend much of my time racing from symphonies to Mardi Gras events to Eurovision nights out and even Christmas in July..... if it involves, fun, fashion and food, then I will be theer, with my friends, and taking photos!
SYDNEY FESTIVAL
January
We started off the Summer of endless events at the Festival's opening night which consisted of lots of concerts and events scattered around the City, much of which was made car-free for the event. I especially loved the French accordian funk pop band that tore up the night with an infectious energy, and some oh-so-sexy French musings, and a bizarre orchestral group that used giant pipes built into the sahpe of a ship and lots of fire to make some very odd music. Still the crowds flocked there, and it was tough to move around....well until they tried to teach everyone the official Sydney Festival Dance (much like the Chicken Dance but nowhere near as graceful.....yep it was that bad!)...
Next up was the perennial favourites Symphony in the Domain and Jazz in the Domain..... The Symphony was lovely as always and we were joined by very good friends, Warren, Ian and Peter, along with many other people who dropped in here and there through the night to our Kingdom of Rugs.... Jazz was weirder with the music really more like Macedonian Folk Polka Punk Accordian Dance Jigs... most people spent the majority of the night trying to work out what on earth was going on, and still bemused, decided to get up and dance anyway! The only drawback was the extreme heat on one of the days which saw us arrive at 4pm to a near deserted Domain (one plus point of a searing hot day!) and spend the two hours till the sun went down cowering under umbrellas trying not to burn to a crisp.....
OPEN AIR CINEMA
January & February
I love this event! Two months of movies every night - no, I don't go every night; it just looks like I do!! LOL - on the edge of the Harbour at Mrs Macquarie's Chair (still blue, plastic and damn uncomfortable after a long movie) with panoramic views of the City, Harbour Bridge and Opera House... bliss.....there were no wild storms this year, just one very bad movie (The Day The Earth Stood Still) and some excellent ones ( ), lots of fish and chips and white wine at the tables before the movie, and one movie I missed altogether thanks to bronchitis (my gorgeous guy and his friend Mark went in my place... worst part was it was a French movie I missed and I love them! But I love my guy more and he enjoyed it so that was the important thing! Naturally I am booked in to see 4 movies in January 2010, eat lots of more fish and chips, and spend time when I should be watching the movie gazing in thankful amazement that I live in such a beautifyl City and I get to do things like this right in the heart of it.
FAIR DAY/MARDI GRAS
February/March
One of the things my beautiful guy does exceptionally well, and there are many things, is conceive a clever, creative out of the box idea for an event and then bring it to life, in all glorious colour and detail. So only weeks into the relationship, but already aware I had someone very special in my life, I found myself spending countless hours, and many late nights, helping him realise his camp vision for Fair Day (which is the launch day for the Mardi Gras festival and is held at a major City park, with all manner of stalls, entertainment and fun) by glueing, holding, painting (lots of painting!), patiently waiting while he worked his magic, and simply just being supportive and helping him get it all done. It was wonderful to see him bring it all together, learn more about him, and spend that special relationship-growing time with him.
The result? An amazing day with the theme of "Alice in Wonderland". The tent looked fantabulous with light as air purple and white material extending from each corner, silver and purple home made chandeliers gracing each tent centre, a tilted cake stand festooned with bright colours and tarts and cakes, a lime gingham tablecloth, an old museum display book on which I overlaid a story I had written explaining all the characters we were dressed up as..... and so many admirers of the trouble we had gone to that we were getting photographed very 2-3 minutes by countless people including a whole heap of gay media outlets (None of which, sadly, printed anything other a photograph of one of the guys as a rabbit.) I had an absolute ball, and one of the funniest parts was that many of my friends got to meet my beautiful guy that day for the first time when he in "costume" (not drag, thank you! LOL) as a rather slutty looking Alice! So much fun and we're already gearing up for next year.
Then a week later, it was time for the ever glamorous spectacle of the Mardi Gras parade. We grabbed our usual spot on Flinders Street opposite the church (oh delicious irony!) there, and had a great time with friends, bonded with the parade marshals assigned to us (go Trisha!), and watching a fabulously camp colourful display of floats go past....some just there for the fun of marching; others with a serious political message. As always it was exhausting but more fun than a Mini full of extrovertive clowns!
EUROVISION (and the 25th Anniversary of Kerry and Andrew's friendship)
May
It was lovely to spend those 4 days with Kerry (which included a visit to the Blue Mountains, and afternoon tea at a teapot museum in Leura....yes a teapot museum!), indulge our mutual love of the kitschness of Eurovision, and share it with a number of close friends on the Sunday night at a party that was more fun than a barel of monkeys hopped up on ed cordial and Skittles! Yes it was THAT much fun!
MY BIRTHDAY WEEK
21 November - 29 November 2009
Anyone who has known for longer than 5 seconds will know that I love birthdays generally but especially my own with almost religious fervour. (I may even start a religion based on my birthday if I ever get the time!) So it seems only right that all that fervour shouldn't be channelled into one tiny 24 hour day when it's really screaming out to be spread out over an entire week of celebrations. I am only too happy to oblige and so I spent the birthday week doing the following wonderful things:
Sunday 22nd - still up at The Ancestral Estate with brunch in Byron Bayand more time spent chilling with the loveliest family of them all.
Monday 23rd - a romantic birthday dinner with my gorgeous guy at Stir Crazy Thai in Erskineville
Tuesday 24th - I had some more delicious food and drinks- ribs and cocktails - at a funky ribs and steak place, Hurricanes, in darling Harbour with my bestie gal pal Sammi from work.
Wednesday25th (The Big Day!) - spent this at work but I was inundated with facebook and text wishes, and phonecalls, as well lots of pieces of cake and chocolate! YUM! Then that night my beautiful guy Stephen took to ultra-swish, cafe Sydney with views of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House for a delicious romantic candlelit dinner with all the trimmings. It was a wonderful night!
Thursday 26th - a quiet event-free night at home.... much as I love my time out, this was lovely too!
Friday 27th - This was my birthday day off filled with lots of chilling out and a lovely meal that night with my special guy. I usually don't work my birthday but the 25th was mega busy so Friday was it.
Sunday 29th - The Birthday Week concluded with a twilight picnic - no vampires or werewolves present thank you! - in Sydney park eating fish and chips, and drinking wine with Stephen... and sparklers standing in as fireworks. Blissfully romantic.
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