It's all in the xes! Separated at Birth

I felt (slightly) bad when I returned from the shop with a ream of xerox copy paper under my arm and Eli asked me excitedly if I had bought him and his sister an xbox....

You can kind of see how he made the mistake though...

Noddy and Greer

The Old Grey Whistle Test (selfie)

In the UK there used to be a late night music programme called the 'Old Grey Whistle Test' it was a seminal music show, in many ways ahead of its time, in many ways actually fairly tedious. Usually (unless you knew someone good was going to be on) it signalled that it was time to go to bed.

We went to Questacon today (Canberra's science centre) and there was a cool machine there (called Recollections IV) where I tried to re-create the famous opening credits. It was tricky doing it as a selfie!

#Human Brochure - Museum of Australian Democracy

John and Janette Howard looked down at me from their portrait hung in the oak paneled lobby of Old Parliament House. John with his fluffy eyebrows, uncomfortably clutching his wife, with the beauty of Kirribilli house gardens behind them. John was never much of a fan of Canberra which is why he was happy to spend so much time of his Prime Ministership in Sydney. It was strange for me then to see him here.



“When a man as outstandingly colourless as John Howard turns his nose up at a place, you know it must be worth a look,” American Author Bill Bryson once wrote on Canberra.

And so it was I found myself in Old Parliament House now metamorphosed from the daily hang out of politicians to the Museum of Australian Democracy - a museum which describes their antics. I wonder what Honest John would make of it all.

The building held the Australian Parliament from 1927-1988, designed by John Smith Murdoch as the 'temporary' home for the Australian Government it was designed to be stripped back and basic so as to reduce costs.  

In this endevour the architect failed significantly - the building is a nationally-listed heritage building containing precious furniture and beautiful artwork (the 'beauty' perhaps excluding the subject matter of John Howard). Yes, the building is simple - a long way perhaps from Rome's famous "wedding cake" building of Altare della Patria, but certainly still making quite a nice 101st birthday cake for Canberra.

Separated at birth?

I was a guest virtue of being one of the "101 Humans" chosen to learn more about what Canberra has to offer tourists through a series of VIP events of which this was the first. I felt privileged to be one of the chosen few.

It was great to mingle with the others - an eclectic but friendly bunch - all of us with a couple of things in common - the pride of being chosen and our unified love of Canberra!

We were treated to incredible hors d'ouvres - beetroot and goats cheese marshmallows - delicious cocktails topped all topped off with prawn dogs. All of it accompanied by cool mood music from a live band. It was well and truly red-carpet treatment.

I was lucky enough to attend a session with Geoff Pryor former cartoonist at the Canberra Times and now practicing his art at the Saturday Paper. Others went to mix cocktails and see the incredible kitchens in the building.

Geoff Pryor's story was fascinating - his stories of life in the press gallery watching journos painfully spending days frantically tapping away on typewriters, while he sat back contemplating his one big idea which would take pride of place in the following day's paper.

Geoff explained that his working day was typically divided in two parts - "BI" and "AI" - 'before idea' and 'after idea'. He said the pressure existed as if he didn't produce the goods then there would be a blank space in tomorrow's paper, the "BI" something that the journos he sat with, didn't need to contend with. Cartoonists seem to be a special breed; able to blend astute analysis of the days news with a graphic sensibility. 

A picture really does speak a thousand words - although that said, I could have listened to Geoff speak all evening.

Afterwards there was more time to meet our fellow Humans. We dined on eclairs and other goodies while two other talented cartoonists drew portraits of us.

It was a wonderful night out and fantastically showcased all that the Museum of Democracy had to offer. Thanks so much MoAD - I love you even more today than yesterday!

photo by Mark Nolan

That's me on the right

yummy!

a great memento from the evening

Separated at Birth

I haven't done one of these for a while, but saw this on Private Eye and thought it was pretty clever.

Separated at Birth?

We went to Audrey's new school Barbecue last Friday evening. Unfortunately it bucketed down with rain just as we arrived meaning that a lot of the outside areas were flooded. The rain seemed to have an instant transformative effect on the children there who ran around madly jumping into the many puddles that had formed.

I lost sight of Eli for a while and so I walked down to the adjoining playing field and saw a melee of big boys stomping in a huge puddle. They scattered as I approached leaving a small boy in the middle - Eli - who continued to show me how he could splash the water with his feet.

Both him and Audrey were very wet (but happy) on our short drive home.

Separated at Birth? (Don't tell Audrey)

(once again with thanks to Private Eye)

Considering the striking similarity between Boy George and the Duchess of Cambridge, could it be that Boy George has been has been misunderstood for many years?

Separated at Birth?

I'm a great fan of Rolf Harris, but there seems to be a growing similarity between one of Australia's cultural icons and one of America's....

Separated at Birth?

I was surprised to find that the Australian $10 note features Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy on it. I really think there's a case for putting Robert Redford/the Sundance Kid on the $20.

Separated at Birth?

Eli, or is it Rimmer from Red Dwarf?

Separated at Birth?

....The question is can we fix it?

Separated at Birth?

I can't claim credit for this - but it did make me laugh...Princess Fiona of Shrek 1,2 and 3 fame and bit-part actor Princess Beatrice. Uncanny!

Separated at Birth?

Australia elected a new Prime Minister yesterday and handed outgoing leader John Howard a humiliating defeat. Being connoisseurs of rubbish TV though, we couldn't help but notice that new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd bears more than a passing resemblance to day-time chat show host (and sometime drag-queen Lilly Savage) Paul O'Grady. Are the two in any way related? perhaps we should be told...