Computer says No!

This afternoon I spent 2 hours trying to upgrade my Mobile and Landline. A simple thing in this digital age one might think? Just go online, browse through the numerous communication packages available, bundle them all together, press the submit button and have a cup of tea.

Reality: do all the checking and filling in of forms then press the submit button and "Computer says No!"

"This service is not available to your area" in fine blue print at the bottom of the last page. AAArgh! I don't get it - I'm already on this provider - mobile and home phone.

Another 20 minutes on the phone listening to the saccharine tones of a fembot until I can get on to the Calcutta call centre to find out that all those cute little raccoons and penguins don't apply to my phone - I'm in the enemy territory no less. I therefore have the privilige of paying an extra $30 a month in Line Rental and can't get any of those tempting discounts for subscribing online.
Bring on the competition I say so the Mega Communication Oligopolies will get their due.

Hone Tuwhare

To Kath

I like ya smokes, woman

They kind of ease the
knot in the belly?

Like, before I go on
and read out the boiling
in the gut. And

when the smoke swirls
like dreams, I come
easy. Oh sure...

Ah, Kath, the meeting
is okay. And now
you've only got two
left!

Time I moved on.

New Zealand's "most distinguished Maori poet writing in English" Hone Tuwhare.
He passed away on 16th January 2008.

From a Poetry Reading in 1977 when I was at Otago University and he asked me for a cigarette in exchange for a poem.
I got the better end of the deal.

Treasures in the Rain

We went exploring a treasure trove today.

The Victory Theatre in Blackheath is an Antique Centre just full of old and new goodies .

Outside it was bucketing down with rain but inside there was two floors of little alcoves to explore with teapots, jewellery, chairs, books, records, chaise lounges, magazines, and lots and lots of memoriabila, collectibles and knicknacks.

This Green satin embroidered ball gown caught my eye but the price was a bit prohibitive. I could see it being displayed on a wall to show off the embroidery flowing down the front. It must have made a striking impression in its heyday.












I got lost among the haberdashery section and 40 year old copies of Woman's Journal, pretty little pinifores and a stack of handbags. The only thing I actually bought was a few bags of vintage buttons and some commemorative spoons for the lad but the mass of shapes, textures and colour was inspiring.

Edward Scissorhands

"How did you get the Scissors through Customs?"
That was the level of questions at yesterday's Media Launch for Edward Scissorhands. I don't know why I was surprised. Maybe I was expecting in-depth discussions about the dance aspect of the production or more artistic based questions. The main thing is I lit the show, photos were taken, interviews done and I could go home.
I was a little impressed with how it looked in this morning's paper - I missed seeing the Channel 10 news clip but I'm presuming it all went well. There was enough smoke being pumped on stage to mimic a small bushfire so there was plenty of 'atmosphere'.

Now I'm in the middle of more mundane matters - three loads of washing, a young lad to get off to the first day of School and overdue DVD's to return. Ahh, domestic bliss.

To Date

Would you buy a used lighting rig from these women? Here is Roxie, Kate and Christine in the early hours of Sunday after a fun time taking down the curvy Murundak rig in the Concert Hall. Yes, we all look mucky and sweaty because we are.

I went home that night morning to pass Chris coming in for his 6am rig, in the same Hall, of the Korean Christmas Youth Spectacular. We did finally manage to catch up with each other on Sunday night around 9pm.

Tonight I'm looking forward to a relaxing bout of non-technical knitting. I have several projects on the go at the moment but I only have one with me in Sydney;

This is The Bag from No Sheep for You and I'm making it from Corn. Once I got my head around the slip stitch pattern it is a proving to be a fantastic knit. The Corn is a bit like a ribbon cotton yarn without the splittiness and the texture is fantastic. When it is lined it will make a lovely bag. It is destined for a Handbag swap that's been run on Ravelry and I have three patterns that I am trying to choose from. I may end up doing all three if I can finish this in time.

The problem is that de-rigs like the aforesaid keep using up all my energy but the Sydney Festival has finally finished, school holidays are over and I have three days off after the Edward Scissorhands media launch tomorrow, so I should be back on track anon.

Form over Function

Helen Mirren has a wonderful memoir called "In the Frame" in which she makes the observation "I love to see design that does not fight with the materials or performers but informs and frames the production in an outstanding and imaginative way."

These sentiments were echoed in a recent discussion in the Entertainment trade magazine CX, when John Weston, a technician of long standing, observed "Acts are no longer complemented by their light shows, they compete with them...The modern lighting designer has forgotten how to trick the human eye with subtlety and contrast."

Many of the shows I have seen in theatres over the past year have been guilty of this - the designers and programmers seem to be seduced by the special effects of computer-enhanced state-of-the-art control boards and moving light technology. Somewhere under all the flashing lights and strobing colour changes is a performer who is often in the dark, figuratively and literally.

John mentions a few lighting 'greats' that never let the technology supersede the art. Designers like "Mel Conder (the Czar of Darkness), (the late) Bill "Angel" Akers, (the late) Roger Barrett, Peter Rooney, and Sue Nattrass," could make a set, costume or performer seem so much more without resorting to excess or extravaganza and with a lighting design that would draw a fraction of the power of present day rigs.

I had the pleasure and the honour to work with most of these and other skillful lighting designer who didn't need pre-programmed macros to create magic on stage and understood that the name on the theatre billboard was not Wholehog 3 or Grand MA.

This post may seem ironic considering that many of these shows take place in the ultimate example of form over function - an Architect's Dream and a theatre technician's nightmare.

Meanwhile, back at The House...
The Grand Circus has moved on to be replaced by the relative quiet of the SSO and Joanna Newsom. Her amazing ethereal voice and harp have no need of flashy lights or strobing colours but it was expedient to leave Murundak's big Lighting rig in the air and use the Mac 2000's and Vari-Lites in a more restrained way than usual. I must say it is a very pretty rig using wavy lines of truss to recall the lines of the Rainbow Serpent. Once again I'll be taking it all down on Saturday night to make way for a much smaller side-bar arrangement for Sunday's Korean Christmas Spectacular and International Youth Festival; that's for the other half to sort out.

Dismantling the Wheel of Death.

I took the lad to see the acrobatic spectacular Le Grand Cirque and it was absolutely stunning.

Once I got over my annoying tendency to make disparaging comments about the unlit areas and the dark spots I really started to enjoy the whole theatricality of it. The acrobatics and daring feats of strength and agility were very impressive.

Tonight I had to help take it all down. The magic and colour all disappear once the House Lights are up and the Star Cloth has been struck. Smoke and mirrors - that's all it is - but it works.


These are some of the tools of my trade and lately they've been getting a lot of use.
The Festival Factory has all the venues in the House working hard - as it should be. I recall several years when there were no Sydney Festival events happening in the House - which seems strange considering its flagship status for the city and the state.

Now I have to constantly check my diary to find out what I'm doing and which theater I'm in; Playhouse one day with Construct; Concert hall bunp-out of Spanish Harlem Orchestra next; back to the Playhouse and put in Akmal; - prep for the Media Release of Edward Scissorhands in the Drama; What day is it? Where am I ?

I think it will all calm down in a few weeks when the SSO comes back to the Concert Hall and a good dose of Shakespeare is installed in the smaller venues. Then I can look forward to swapping my Shifting Spanner for a set of circulars.

Bags, Bags, Bags.

I've entered a Bag swap on Ravelry - just because.

This has caused me to review my Bag situation and it's a sad prospect. Not being a handbag for every occasion type of person this is the total of my current usable carriers. The big Backpack at the back is for commuting to work and staying overnight in the city. It usually holds enough to support anyone shipwrecked on an island or stranded in the bush for a few weeks; Books, Laptop, change of clothes, toiletries, snacks, tools (spanner, Leatherman) and at least 2 knitting projects and supporting paperwork. Needless to say it is not light.

When I'm just going to the local shops the magenta bag in the front used to suffice - until the strap broke off - for the 4th time - probably because I started to overload it. It is looking very battered because it has served me for many years since I found it in a Mt Victorian Treasure shop for $20. (Maybe I should go back up there and see if they have any more). The short term replacement is the lovely marmalade paper raffia bag in front - again from a treasure shop in Charing Cross for about $20. (I don't spend big on my bags). The problem is that paper raffia is not a durable product - especially when they are mistreated handled a lot. I give this bag a few months at the most.

The final bag is the "my husband went to New York and all he bought me was a Macy's Store Bag" which I really do appreciate and which I use for my Knitting Guild hold-all. I know if I put it into general circulation it will start to look as tattered as the others so I'm trying to keep it for 'good'

Getting back to the Bag swap I have been impressed/overawed by the number of free bag patterns in the Knitting 'verse and have reduced my choice to two - guided (I hope) by my partner's preferences. The final choice of pattern was partly decided because I wanted to try Cascade 220 - a knitting staples overseas and now finally available in Australia at Yarnsonline along with a few other goodies I am trying hard to resist.

What happened to the week?

One minute it's New Year's Eve and the year is brand new - then it's the middle of January.
What have I been up to?

I have been reading: - The Golden Compass Trilogy,
watching DVD's: Randall & Hopkirk (deceased)
Playing PS2 (badly): Lego Star Wars I & II
Knitting: Captain Underpants and Wicked.
Sitting: at the Pool
Online: Ravelry

I've also been working some mean shifts and doing Big Bump outs. It's Festival time so that means a constant stream of shows across four different venues all lasting about four or five days - a real production line of theatre.

My current show (being performed even as I speak/type) is construct, a beautifully choreographed, wonderfully lit, very clever dance piece that just reinforces that tragedy of the accidental death of its creator, Tanja Liedtke.
The production is moving to the Riverside at Parramatta next week, I recommend it highly.

A Fresh Start

As a positive start to 2008 I'm going to get rid of my Stash - not the Yarn stash, the Fabric Stash, harking back to the time, many years ago, when I thought I could sew.
I have about 12 sewing machines or more but they are more an indication of my fascination with vintage Singers than my ability to construct a garment. The pile shown here is about half of the total and I am going to donate most of it to the school to sell at their next Market Day - if they will take it. I have put aside a few choice pieces for people I know will be able to make better use of it than me.

The positive side of this divestment is that it will make me feel better about the Fibre Stash I have (much easier to use and manage) and maybe make some room for future (yarn) expansion.

They say it's your birthday...

...We're gonna have a good time.

It was a great time. A big thank you to Lara and Mark for hosting the Western Suburbs Affiliated Branch of Rubi & Lana's Knitting group.
Despite having to work in the morning I was able to make it in time for Cake cutting and a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday".

Mary-Helen and Sandra were there, as was Jenwren, Sally and her ever-so-patient David.
Young master Inigo was a bundle of dark-eyed cuteness matched only by the soft bunnies in their hutch.

Much knitting was done, books and yarn admired and cake consumed. Sally's assertion that she was not a lace knitter was completely contradicted by her wonderful lace scaves while Mark quietly knitted his Intarsia .

Ravelry meanwhile continues to impress. I received numerous birthday greetings through gmail and ravelry mail because a little birthday cake icon had popped up on my avatar - it is very nice to get good wishes from afar.

After the Storm.

It rained and it thundered and flashed, not once but twice in the day. The Hailstones were big but not devastating, the rain was fierce and loud on the corrugated iron roof and the poor old gutters couldn't cope. All the critical electricals were turned off and the blackouts only lasted a few minutes each time. I think the rainwater tank was about to burst its seams because the overflow sump was flooded.

I went out about 6 o'clock to admire the rainbows and in the process discovered that the bottom of the garden had turned into a bubbling stream.

Luckily a lot of the plants were on raised beds or were established enough to hold their own but by the spread of the mulch it was obvious that the stream had at one time been a raging torrent. This is our pet concrete Goanna sitting in the new water feature - I don't think the Pittosporums are enjoying it though.

After the storm the sun came out and gave a colourful display as it set just to reassure the world that all was well.

The water flow does not come as a surprise because it's all got to go somewhere and there was a lot of it. The forces of Nature do not respect man-made fences or manicured gardens. If the changing climate is going to make heavy rainfall of this kind a feature it may be time to adapt.

Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all

Good tidings we bring to you and your kin;
Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Christmas Colour

This stunning example of the West Australian Red Flowering Gum or Corymbia ficifolia is not in my garden. I tried growing it when we first moved in but it didn't survive. This marvelous specimen is in a suburb at the base of the Blue Mountains, much hotter and drier than my backyard and its saturated colour just takes your breath away.

My Christmas Bush has started to turn a subtle shade of red as the younger white blooms mix with the older red sepals. It is not as showy as this hybrid I saw in a garden several stations to the East but I think I prefer the demure blush to the brazen scarlet.

Ceratopetalum Gummiferum is native to this area so the bush is full of showy red trees and shrubs - especially on the wriggly, windy road of Mitchells Pass. Its funny to see the flowers of this abundant tree on sale at florists for $6.50 a bunch but this probably accounts for late night raids of front gardens and nature strips by secateur-wielding entrepreneurs.

While the focus is on the garden this is the result of the constant rain and misty cloud we have had for the last six months:

here is the feral Strawberry patch

and the feral Tomato patch:

and the feral herb patch with rosemary, lavender, chocolate mint, common mint, and lots of so-called annual flowers that have resurrected themselves. Not shown is the feral potato patch.

After the Cockatoos and snails and possums and parrots have all helped themselves there might be something left for us.

Qatlho'! ISE5 Partner

A fantastic package arrived in the mail today! It's from Jenn, my ISE5 partner, and may I say she has done herself proud.

She knitted this beautifully soft and squishy scarf from Knit Picks Gossamer and there is an extra skein included! As one of the Knit Pick untouchables (not deemed worthy of overseas postage) I am glad of the chance to see what their yarns are like. The pattern is of her own making so I am going to try and deconstruct it to knit a matching hat (or she could take pity on me and send me the stitch :-) )


Here are all the goodies laid out on my local coffee shop table - I couldn't wait until I got home so all the other patrons shared in my pleasure as I unwrapped each little package. Even the fact that Australian Customs had obviously been there before me didn't spoil the fun.


As well as delectable chocolate, tea and locally spun Alpaca yarn there was a beautifully hand-crafted notebook and matching star ornament, both in my shade of green. The two candy canes peeping out the top have been claimed as tax by the young lad (he says, 'thank you very much')

As to the Klingon reference in the title of this post - well that was inspired by this pattern in Elsebeth Lavold's Pattern book The Embraceable You Collection which was included among the goodies.

Everything in this book resonates with the historic, sci-fi, theatrical nerd in me. I mean - patterns inspired by the Terracotta Warriors, 4th century Scythian uniforms, Tristan and Isolde, and Star Trek! Oh, be still my beating heart.

So, Thank You Jenn, for this wonderful, thoughtful exchange,
reH nay'meylIjyIn Dujablu'jaj.**

(*Thank You!) (**may your dishes be always served alive)

Me being a Groupie

This is me and (gush) Tom Stoppard- one of the best playwright in the English language in my humble opinion. The man whose Rosencrantz & Guildenstern made Hamlet readable to all those English Lit students.


I was very privileged to be able to focus and plot some lights on him for the "Tom Stoppard in conversation with Andrew Upton, interrupted by Geoffrey Rush" talk in the Opera Theatre today.

It was a very casual, free flowing discussion among three very interesting theatrical types, nothing too dramatic (excuse the pun). During the set up Mrs Upton was there giving hubby Andrew a bit of moral support. I'm afraid to say her stage presence is a lot better than his but I suppose that's why he's a playwright and screenwriter and she is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe Award-winning Australian actress.

Windscreen Principles

From adversity comes The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmes Hiatt.


It started out as "One of Those Days" - I had to drive into the city to get the car windscreen replaced because of an exponentially growing 10 cm crack. The city had been deluged by hailstorms and high winds so I was very, very lucky to get a booking at the glass repair shop.

The fact I had to drive over 100km to get there was a minor inconvenience. I had planned to leave early and pick up the replacement wireless router that had died the previous week and do various little chores on the way down the highway.

Ravelry got in the way! At 10:15 I got a polite suggestion that maybe I should get off the computer and head off to Mascot to make it for noon.

With the help of the M4 and the Cross City Tunnel (I do like those tunnels - am I the only one?) I pulled in on time. I wasn't impressed when told the job was going to take over two hours - it was too far to travel to work so I was stuck in the small shopping precinct of Botany Rd, Mascot a place not renowned for its relaxing environment.

The Council Library came to the rescue - and with it the discovery of a book I have heard about but never read until now. I was very impressed with its wealth of information, the detailed, clear illustrations and the quirky bias that June Hemmes Hiatt has towards certain knitting techniques.


Even though she states "The most important thing to understand at the outset is that there is no one way to knit" she clearly has a bias towards "Right Handed Knitting" ie 'drop and throw' style and knitting straight instead of in the round.


As for "Pencil Knitting" aka 'English' she has this to say;

"While I can understand how it must have evolved, I have yet to discover any modern justification for the version I call Pencil Knitting, in which the right needle is held from underneath in the crook between thumb and forefinger. This is most certainly a system that requires it to be learned in trusting and uncritical childhood because with out the aid of a knitting belt or stick it is quite clumsy - I don't think many adults would put up with learning it.

If someone you know knits this way and offers to teach you how, decline as politely as possible, but do decline. If this is the way you knit and you like the results, by all means continue to do so: the world needs its eccentrics to make it a more interesting place."

And to that last phrase I say 'hear, hear"

We Sheep

It's that time of year again - it's amazing how time flies!
I did the Messiah rehearsal this morning and opened the windows wide so I could hear it. I love the trumpet solos, and the Counter Tenor, and the Bass - I just love the whole thing.

As was last year both KnitTatPug and Julie were performing in the choir - I was the annoying person shining lights in their eyes. (I have a theory that if you can't be seen you can't be heard - sound operators may disgree with me.)

The soloist in this quick snap is Stephen Bennet - a Bass singer who played a fantastic Achilla in Opera Australia's Julius Caesar - another wonderful composition by that talented George Frideric Handel fellow.

The Power of Rain

Thunderstorms - I love them. They really give you a sense of perspective about the huge potential of nature and how pitiful humans and their electronic devices are.



Over the past hour there's been a big one rolling around the hills and I think it's safe to finally go back online (I have been caught out before by this false sense of security though).







These are a few snapshots of one of a flock of Cockatoos that took refuge in our Gum trees at the height of the deluge. The force of the rain was so great it kept knocking the poor old Cockies out of their branches.


This one just gave up and stayed upside down for several minutes until the worst was over.

When the rain had passed they flew off loudly complaining in their raucous voice about the injustice of it all.

At least they have stopped ripping apart the Acacia tree at the front of the house - the car was covered in a blanket of leaves, branches and stripped seed pods plus a few strategically placed blobs of Bird Poo on the windscreen. I'm afraid I took a bit of delight in seeing these in-your-face- birds get their comeuppance from Nature.

Call me Marvin

"The first ten million years were the worst. And the second ten million years, they were the worst too. The third ten million years I didn't enjoy at all. After that I went into sort of a decline" - The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Here's a thing:
without looking in your wallet/purse list the entire contents; the credit cards, membership cards, discounts vouchers, lottery tickets, library cards etc, etc, and then imagine life without them.

This is what I have been doing for the past 24 hours because between using my wallet to purchase petrol at 2:30 pm on Monday and going to buy dinner with it at 6pm, it went missing.
I left my bag unattended on the Concert Hall stage while I focused the roof for The Bjelke Peterson School of Physical Culture (that's worthy of an entire post by itself but I don't want to relive any of it or inflict it on you.)

I don't like to think that there are people in my workplace that would help themselves to a wallet but it looks like I have been a bit naive and am now paying for it. I have been on the phone all morning stopping cards, arranging replacements, filling out forms and trying to remember where my Birth Certificate is so I can get my Driver's License replaced.

This has made me very, very depressed. I can totally empathise with Marvin and the grey rainy day outside is reinforcing the gloom.

"Life? Don't talk to me about Life."