There's a first time for everything...

On my journey home from work each day I usually stand at the stern of the Manly ferry and watch the city skyline shrink away and the expanse of Sydney Harbour grow bigger. If I'm on the ferry before sunset I usually watch for penguins. Maybe once or twice a week I'll see a couple of them.

Yesterday as I scanned the tips of the waves for the little penguin heads I noticed a dark fin pop up above the waterline. Then another and another. A pod of dolphins had entered the harbour. This is the first time I have ever encountered dolphins in the harbour and I had always assumed that it was just a myth that they crossed the heads. It was great to see and I hope to see them again sometime.

I wondered what she would do with this...

and this is very well produced. Very clever effects.

Alice update...

Johnny Depp as the wild Mad Hatter & Helena Bonham Carter as the tyrant Red Queen

I'm loving this right now...

We dug these holes we crawled into
Now they're my home
Now here I cannot feel the wind
Can't feel the rain, oh no
And I believe in gentle harmony
How I loathe all this obscenity
is this the way my life has got to be
by a single opportunity

Look at me, oh look at me
Is this the way I've always been
Oh no, oh no
Now I'm dreaming somebody would simply come and kidnap me
Oh no, oh no
Everyday I lie awake and pray to God today's the day
Oh no, oh no
Here I am, and here I am, when will someone understand
Oh no, oh no

And all at once I feel this
Oh how it clings to me (clings to me)
It reels and calls me towards it
Confounding destiny (destiny)
And I can feel the magnets pinch my hands
The more I run the more I am convinced
A girl who loves is like a precious glimpse
Just like we settle in the foggy mist

Look at me, oh look at me
Is this the way I've always been
Oh no, oh no
Now I'm dreaming somebody would simply come and kidnap me
Oh no, oh no
Everyday I lie awake and pray to God today's the day
Oh no, oh no
Here I am, here I am, when will someone understand
Oh no, oh no

Look at me, oh look at me
Is this the way I've always been
Oh no, oh no
Now I'm dreaming somebody would simply come and kidnap me
Oh no, oh no
Everyday I lie awake and pray to God today's the day
Oh no, oh no
Here I am, here I am, when will someone understand
Oh no, oh no

Damn beer...

Judo and I caught up for dinner tonight.
at The Old Manly Boatshed for dinner...
This place is Manly's most dodgy venue. Forgive the mobile pics.

I had the $5 special steak. Judo had the $7 schnitz. Really classy like. I enjoyed the company. I enjoyed my beer. Mmmmm the beer... There were 6 of us in the joint, including staff, so after dinner Judo and I went and played pool. I DON'T PLAY POOL. E.V.E.R. Judo has his arm in plaster so I thought I actually stood a chance. And guess what?! .. I won...
Ok, so he sunk the black, but - I still WON!

I had a few more beers and had well and truly broken the seal... So anyway, I came back from one of my many trips to the loo and Judo had kindly lined up a game of pool for me against this Kiwi dude, covered in home made tattoos. I'm guessing Judo thought this was rather funny. (Huh?! Didn't you!)

So with a fresh beer I came back and started strong. Well, at least I thought I did. The Kiwi, "Fred" as we call him, was on form and naturally I lost. So I had to do a nudie run around the bar which I did.... Nah, only kidding. There was no nudie runs - it's winter damn it!

So, after I lost a very handsome man walked in and "Fred", the kiwi pool shark and his scrubber woman, took this good look and his chick on in another game of pool. I was very happy to sit by on the sideline and just watch this match. A couple more beers and it was time to call it a night. A fun Thursday night in Manly.

It's a super venue...

but not quite what I had expected. This is Cloudland, Brisbane's newest superclub. The picture above really does not do the venue's facade any justice. It is stunning. I know many people wouldn't realise this, but when it comes to clubbing, Brisbane out-does any other Australian city. And not by volume, but by class. Walking into this venue you simply can not help but look up. The roof is glass. The heavens are there to be viewed. But more on the interior later. Let's talk food...

I've wanted to have a meal here since well before its opening. I was lucky enough to have good company and to be taken here to dine on my last trip to Brisneyland. The building is totally intriguing so I was expecting the same from the menu. What I wasn't expecting was the price. It was more than reasonable. In fact, I would say it was down right excellent value for money. Menu prices fall easily into the pub/beer garden price range. Ok, so it's not your RSL price range, but it's better value than most bars I've dined at in Manly.

I opted for the Ocean King Qld Prawns for an entrée. Pan fried and served with a leek, crispy prosciutto, and parmesan risoni. It was delicious. Our waiter was attentive. He knew we were in no hurry and actually asked us if we were ready for the main or if we wanted to chat for a little longer. We opted to chat.

My main: Grass Fed Eye Fillet. Marinated in shaoxing and oyster sauce then slow cooked and served on polenta with baby carrots and pickled mushroom ketchup, with a side of fresh green beans with toasted almonds. Are you getting the idea that this is not your standard pub grub?! The beef just melted in my mouth. Once again, delicious. I was totally enjoying this lunch. A nice bottle of Pinot Griz to go with the meals was just perfect. With no desert wines on offer we went for a Frangelico on ice as our desert. Drool.

The venue is not yet complete. There are some obvious finishing touches missing (like no light fittings on many incandescent globes), but the interior is.. well, bizzare. I took the above pic from inside the amazing open DJ booth overlooking the floor downstairs. There are so many nooks and crannies all themed differently from Japanese to Turkish to low rent wire patio furniture of the 70's. The main bar downstairs is a stunning piece of sculptured marble.
The bar up stairs is one of the most unusual bars I have ever seen. Thousands of clear glass spheres wrapped around the bar and run in wire waves and columns over the bar. This venue is large and I think fairly unique. There are so many rooms and different levels that numerous visits would be required to explore this place totally.
There are walls, a few stories high, covered in plants and tear shaped pods dripping from the ceiling containing yet even more plants. Everywhere you turn there is something to catch you eye from tiny paper butterflies fluttering in the breeze from the air con to glass covered portals in the floor that give you a glimpse into what is going on upstairs. Ladies, beware if you wear a skirt here and stand at the upstairs bar. Eventually this club is going to be joined to two other nearby super-venues by a skywalk. totally cool, totally Brisneyland.
I had expected this place to be a little more "glamorous" and not so mixed up, but this place is weird yet beautiful. As we sat finishing off a few late afternoon beers, we would watch people walk in off the street, make it past the front doors and just stand there looking up, then around, then probably wondering "where the hell am I?" - I did exactly the same thing when I walked through those doors too.

A tribute...

Recently my Grandmother passed away. She was our family's matriarch. In the lead up to the funeral service I had time to think about her and what I could say about her if asked.

There are many childhood memories that popped into my mind. Growing up my sisters and I spent a lot of time at her house. I remember the sleep-overs. Evening were spent in front of the TV and we played marbles or made pictures with buttons (yeah, I know, it was before game consoles!). She always had a block of Cadbury Snack chocolate in the fridge and a packet of Smith's Salt and Vinegar chips ready for us to devour. When we woke in the mornings she would already be in the kitchen baking something, usually scones.

My memories of her in more recent times was of a lady who suffered from crippling arthritis and poor eye sight. She could no longer even bake like she used to. She was frail in these most recent years. She now sat for hours on end on her front verandah listening to her tiny radio watching the willie wagtails skip across her front yard. But the more I think about her the main memory that persists through all these years, and is a constant, was of her laughter. Her uncontrollable laughter. She would laugh at the strangest things, we would laugh at her laughter which in turn made her laugh even more. So many time she would not be able to speak through her tears of joy. Her sense of humor was warped and I can guarantee that everyone in my family loved this about her. This will be missed.

Love you Gran, you will be sadly missed.

Some things I love...

Ribs and wings from the "Rio Grande Texas BBQ" takeaway in Balgowlah. It's only takeaway and it's delicious. I've learned that the only real way to eat ribs is to just get stuck into them and get sauce all over your fingers and hands. Ok, so it's kind of annoying if the phone rings but hey, let it ring while you enjoy your dinner I say. This is the "Combo For One": A rack of ribs, 5 BBQ chicken wings 1 potato (perfectly cooked, NOT spoilt by being drenched in stupid sour cream) and corn. I opted for the Chilli Pineapple sauce. O.M.G! Yes, it's my new fave. Yes, I know it's not good to eat regularly. But yes Yes YES gimme more!
Seagulls. I love watching the seagulls at night fly alongside the ferry. I have no idea what they actually dive down and catch. I'm assuming it's small shrimp in the bow wash. But they are always there every evening and through the night. They follow the ferry from Manly and then swap ferry's mid point when the one from Circular Quay passes it and they turnaround and fly back with it to Manly.
The view from work. Especially now that the City's Vivid festival is on. The Opera House is bathed in beautiful projections each night from 6pm. Simply put, "It's stunning."
Wow. 4 Pines. I'm still discovering places here in Manly I never knew existed. Did you know we had a brewery here? I didn't until last week. It's great to know that we have places like this in Sydney. It's small, crowded with local, has a good buzz to the place and it's someplace that's just a little different. AND good crisp fresh beer. Now, if I could only get them to serve a big platter of ribs while I watched the seagulls fly off from Manly Wharf then how good would that be!?!