JANUARY ROUND UP

The year started beautifully, waking up at my friend J's place and a fab New Years Breakfast at Darby Street, Zinc. We'd had a great night out with L at the pop-up Hendricks bar at The Landing. So I am hopeful the year will continue as well as it started.

The Library was also closed an extended period over Christmas and New Year which meant a lovely break.

L & I hit The Regal on a hot Friday night to see The Big Lebowski, complete with bowling alley, Creedance, Hotdogs and beer, this was an excellent night out. The Dude Abides.

C & I had a day of art in Newcastle, which began with a delicious brunch at Cazador, the movie Mr Turner (with Timothy Spall as the great but tortured artist, beautifully directed by Mike Leigh with each frame a painting within the movie and outstanding acting). After a splurge at Coco Mondo for afternoon tea we spent time at Newcastle Art Gallery fascinated by the wonderful Patricia Piccinini exhibition.

The family got together for a New Years BBQ prior to me heading back to work fresh and relaxed. Which was a good thing as that first day (and indeed that week) was absolutely insane.

A, L & I caught up with S at Five Sawyers. Was a lovely evening of food, beer, and chatter. A relaxed atmosphere at the bar but no air conditioning on a hot night made for a very hot and icky feeling throughout the evening.

I took myself to see The Imitation Game on a Friday afternoon off work. You can read about it here in one of my many Oscar Watch blogs.

I also saw St Vincent with Bill Murray in the title role. I headed in one Sunday when I was feeling a bit low, Bill will cheer me up I thought to myself. It was a rainy day, but I couldn't find a park anywhere near the cinema, ran in the rain all the way there, and due to the time wasted finding a park, only had a short period of time to shove back something quickly at Soul Food Cafe. Always a delight there, pity I had to rush the meal. The film itself was brilliant and well worth seeing, however it was more a drama than a comedy and a very intense one at that. The cast was sensational, the story amazing, but boy, don't go and see it if you need cheering up, I bawled the whole way through.

J & I saw the mighty Steve Smyth at The Stag and Hunter. This was our second viewing and he was even better than the first time. I was also impressed with The Stag, turning itself into a great little live music venue!! Hurrah!!!

We held our first Movie Night at work mid Jan on a hot Friday night, well attended, it was lovely to hear everyone enjoying The Castle.

I had a volunteer gig at The Regal during the month and even learned some of the tricks behind their famous choc tops! After the session I watched the intense Whiplash.

C & I had an amazing art adventure in Sydney, seeing the brilliant Chuck Close exhibit at the MCA and the Pop to Popism at the NSW Art Gallery. We had brunch at Circular Quay, lunch at the most lovely cafe in Myers of all places and dinner at The Sydney Festival. Add in a bit of shopping, and a visit to Kinokuniya Books, a very excellent day was had. You can read about the art here.

Another family BBQ the following day, and then C & I headed in to see Birdman, followed by an early dinner at The Hood. Yummy hamburgers, chips and shakes enjoyed with a cool jukebox blasting in the background. We cooled off with a swim at The Ocean Baths.

The following weekend J & I went to my local for Chinese, Peacock Palace - always a great meal, and then saw Wild.

The busy and amazing month ended seeing my hero, Neil Gaiman at City Recital Hall in Sydney, and you can read about the experience here.

What an amazing month, January is always full on fun things to do and you feel - despite working very hard - a bit like you are still on holidays.

I feel this was a great start to my year, so hopefully more of the same as the months go on.

Here is a link to my book, music, television, and film reviews for the month.

As always here are some random photos.

NEIL GAIMAN AT CITY RECITAL HALL, ANGEL PLACE

Last Saturday I had the extreme pleasure of being in the audience to see Neil Gaiman live!

 

Right there!!

 

On the stage!

 

In front of me!!!

 

To say I was beside myself with excitement leading up to the performance was an understatement. Those that know me, know he is one of a small handful of 'celebs' that I do swoon over. He is indeed the whole package as they say, I have prepared something earlier to explain why.

 

And so the day finally arrived and my fabulous gals, A, C, J & L joined me in Sydney for the evening. The performance was to be at the City Recital Hall in Angel Place. Somewhere I had never been. What an amazing place Angel Place is, truly worthy of it's gorgeous name. A little lane just before Martin Place, and very easy to miss. I must have walked past it many a time but never entered. What I had been missing!!!

The architecture is a heady mix of old and new, looking up I could do nothing but smile. There are fabulous cafes and restaurants surrounding the Hall, including the famous Ivy Hotel, with it's Ivy swanking the outside in this little world within Sydney. Just outside the Hall are birdcages hanging, shining in the sun and the moon, and if you listen closely you can hear recordings of birds singing, birds that once frequented the area but no longer do. This just adds the mystical and magical quality of this lovely area.

We had drinks at the lovely old Angel Pub and then headed for an early dinner at Felix, a lovely French bistro inspired restaurant. We indulged in French Martinis...to die for...and the best Steak Frites I have ever had (and I had a lot of them in France!).

But we were really there for Neil, and so we headed to the hall and took our seats.

 

Adding to the excitement, I noticed Jennifer Byrne and Andrew Denton seat themselves four rows in front, my geek-o-meter going off the Richter Scale as you can imagine!

 

Finally Four Play String Quartet came out as Neil's opening act.

 

They, of course, began with the Doctor Who theme and were perfect. They played some more tunes from their new album. If you have never heard FPSQ you must, I saw them live some years back and they blew my mind. A punk/rock/jazz fusion of strings, what they can do with their instruments is no-one's business!

 

And then Neil came out and sang Makin' Whoopee with them, a song he often sings with Amanda. It was marvelous.

 

And bless the Internet...here it is!!!!

 

Then Neil read some pieces from his new book, Trigger Warning, and some old pieces including a wonderful piece I had read some time back.

 

But hearing him read, in his beautiful, lilting voice is something else. Hearing any author read their work, if they are so inclined, is always a treat. You hear it read as they heard it in their head, with the right pauses, the right tone, a little laugh, or growl, all depending on what it is. It is truly something else.

 

This particular piece was written as a present for Ray Bradbury on his 90th birthday, it is superb.

 

This whole section was 90mins but felt like 90 seconds, it went so fast and was such a joy.

 

We broke for an intermission, and then back for another 90mins, which is freaking amazing, for technically one person.

 

The second half began with Neil answering questions written for him during Intermission, which is a much classier way to do a Q and A! He was rather witty and very smart in his answering of these questions. Some were serious, and some silly, he answered them appropriately, and humbled us with his honesty and cleverness.

 

Then more readings, singing, Four Play and on it went, bit by bit, piece by piece, laughter and astonishment abounds. I cannot even recall half of it. Some I had heard before, some I knew of, a lot of it new. Absurd, fantasy, drama, the whole thing, he can do it all.

He also sang his 'torch song' which I adore, I Google you, this version was from 2011.

 

He did a stunning reading of his Australia Day piece, backed by Four Play doing a haunting didgeridoo musical piece. Awe inspiring stuff, you could hear a pin drop.

 

I wish I could remember actual phrases used and words strung together, his turn of phrase is so sublime, it brings me to my knees, and to hear him utter those phrases is rather swoon worthy.

 

He didn't do signings, which is understandable, can you imagine? But most of the books on sale were pre-signed, so I couldn't help myself and pick up some lovely copies on the way out.

 

Lucky I am to have born witness to such a special evening, with my favourite gals too...the rest of the year has a hell of a lot to look up to!!!