Sydney Adventure – Part 2 – Astro New Year Dinner & Sunday Afternoon

Archibald Fountain (detail of Apollo) – Hyde Park Sydney

So, I suppose you are keenly awaiting my impressions of the Astro New Year Dinner…

The trip back to Sydney Central from Rosehill took much longer than I expected, so I was late getting to the Astro Dinner venue in Alexandria. Fortunately it was not far from the city centre and a short train trip followed by a brisk walk got me there at 7.00pm, only half an hour late. 

Everyone was in the process of eating the entree as I joined the Fire table. Yes, the guests were seated according to the elemental attributes of their signs, which in Astrology assigns three signs each in fire, earth, air and water.   Being a Leo I was pleased to be at the fire table which as you can imagine was buzzing and vibrant.  My fellow fire signs were all very friendly and, you guessed it, the main topic of conversation was astrology.  The other elemental tables appeared to be just as lively, and indeed there was a lot of mingling between them.

It was a great pleasure to meet the amazing Mystic Medusa in person for the first time. She was reassuringly ordinary and a thoroughly pleasant and friendly person. I suppose I was expecting someone more exotic, as others admitted as well.

Mystic (left) chats with a guest at the fire table.

The restaurant was very noisy, and my hearing is not as it was in my youth (too many rock concerts) so I completely missed the Mystic rant on the fire table, sitting as I was on the opposite end of the table.

The food was very tasty, though if you got me to describe what we ate, I couldn’t tell you. Neither could anyone else. I assumed it was some kind of vegan fare, but I could be wrong. The restaurant specialises in French/Australian gourmet food. However the wine flowed freely so everyone was very much in party mode and I met lots of lovely ladies whose names I have unfortunately forgotten, though not their faces or personalities.

Most of the Astro Dinner guests were female, with only a few men present. but that was understandable as most of the comments on Mystic’s blog are written by women, and blokes don’t seem to have the the same interest in subject. Even so, most of the great astrologers of the past were men – Nostradamus, Charles C E O Carter, Alan Leo, to name a few.

It was an exhilarating evening that I enjoyed enormously. Crazy in a totally amusing and unusual way, it was worth the trip to Sydney.  Quite a few of the other guests had flown from interstate as well, so I was not the only one to succumb to a whim and the chance to meet the awesome Mystic Medusa.

It was around 11.30pm that the last of the diners left, me included. I made my way back to the city by train still buzzing from the energy of the dinner party.

On Sunday I took it easy, or at least attempted to, but I found myself pounding the pavement once more searching in vain for the NSW National Gallery. I took a train to St James Station which appeared on the map to be the closest station to the Gallery, but I got distracted when I emerged by the Hyde Park Barracks.

Hyde Park Barracks exterior

This building was designed by the convict architect Francis Greenaway and constructed between 1818 and 1819, designed to house convict men and boys. It is now a museum devoted to displaying relics of the era, and depicting the lives of those who dwelt there.

As it was only $5.00 to enter, I decided to view the exhibits housed over the three floors of the building. It was quite interesting, bringing back memories of my study of Australian History at University.  I breezed through rather cursorily, I must admit, as I found it hard to concentrate on any one thing for long, my afternoon’s goal being to make it to the Art Gallery.

 
Hyde Park Barracks interior – top floor

Hyde Park Barracks interior – top floor with cardboard silhouette

Irish Famine Memorial in the grounds of the Hyde Park Barracks

By rights, after leaving the Hyde Park Barracks, I should have headed in a northerly direction, but I was distracted by the Hyde Park Gardens, thinking they would eventually lead to the Botanical Gardens. 

The Archibald Fountain is very fine and the cool shade of the park drew me further in.

St Mary’s Cathedral and Archibald Fountain

To cut it short I wandered around for ages and finally ended up back in the city centre, whereupon, giving up on ever finding the Gallery and foot weary, I caught a train to Circular Quay, planning to at least get photos of Sydney’s iconic structures and some water views.

Circular Quay is a spectacular station, situated as it is by the ferry terminal, and as you leave the station there is a great view of the harbour, with the Sydney Harbour Bridge on one side and the Opera House on the other.

It is a lively spot Circular Quay, a hive of activity with plenty of people taking the air on a fine and sunny afternoon. I found a bar and, sipping a refreshing ale, sat and watched the parade, then got talking to some people who shared my table, who were a guy with an amazing Mohawk hairdo and his girlfriend.  I was really surprised that Mohawk was able to quote the following rhyme about ravens or magpies, which is somewhat esoteric knowledge: One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret that’s never been told. It’s not a rhyme you hear quoted every day.

Eventually I made it back to my hotel, and had an early night as I was dead tired.

The weather in Sydney over the weekend was fine and sunny, though humid, but Monday afternoon it turned nasty. My plane was due to leave at 1.00pm, but was delayed for an hour by a thunder storm, where the plane, with passengers aboard, sat on the tarmac until it was clear to take off. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled, but finally the plane took off and I arrived back in Melbourne about 4.00pm and home an hour later.

It was a good break from my usual routine and I’m glad I went to the Astro Dinner and the Rosehill races. I should do it again sometime.

Art Deco Exhibition

This afternoon B and I made our way into the city to visit the Art Deco Exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria.

We caught the train and on arrival in the city crossed over Princes Bridge to the other side of the Yarra River.

View of South Bank from Princes Bridge

As we approached the gallery I snapped a photo of the exterior.

National Gallery Exterior View

The entrance, in tune with the theme of such a major exhibition, was a glorious Art Deco archway.

Gallery Entrance

And so on to the exhibition...

When we first walked into the exhibition space there was this wonderful painting by Tamara De Lempika (pictured on the program). It was a real thrill to see one of her paintings in the original. I have long admired her stylish deco art. The Telephone, as this one is called, it very typical of her art. But this was just the start of the exhibition. We moved on to other rooms and gasped in awe at the beautiful things on display. I didn't dare take pictures, so have scanned the below images from the program.

The exhibition covered all areas of the Art Deco movement. From furniture, cutlery, china, glassware, textiles, fashion, posters, bakelite radios (as pictured), photography, all of it was exquisite. There were photo slide shows of famous deco interiors and also the Foyer from the Strand Palace Hotel 1930–31 was set up as a physical object in all its glory.

This picture is of Josephine Baker, and the exhibition had a film of her dancing the Charleston. It was hilarious, though probably in her day it was terribly risque. I saw couple of children trying to dance like her.

By the time we reached the end of the exhibition we were somewhat footsore and dazed from seeing so many fine works of art.

However, on leaving I did take a photo of this gorgeous Mercedes Benz.

It is a 1936 Mercedes Benz 540K Cabriolet C, the only model of its kind in Australia and one of only 419 540Ks ever made.

Finally, one of the features of the National Gallery of Victoria is the Water Wall.

When the gallery first opened 40 years ago, everyone thought of it as a giant fish and chip shop window. It is however rather beautiful. This photo is taken from inside looking out into the entrance courtyard.

The Antennas

Well it was quite a night at the Antenna Awards – politicians, break-dancers, glitzy presenters, dwarfs in wheelchairs, dragon dancers, you name it.

As I don’t drive a car, I travelled to the city by train. The station and train at that time of night was hoonish – young louts with their girlfriends. I saw a couple of young hoons on the train harassing a guy with security guard written on his chest. He kept his cool and refused to be incited by the stupid approaches of the louts. Good for him. I kept my head down pretending to be engrossed by my book. I survived the trip.

The antennas were held at The Edge, a venue located in Federation Square, a newly developed architectural marvel close to the Yarra River. I’d never set foot in the place before, only seeing it from afar and trying to decide whether the architectural design was to my taste. It’s a strange structure of crazily paved glass, stone and steel. I must admit it looks far more impressive inside than out, and the closer to it you are the better it looks. In fact I decided that it is quite spectacular and unusual and that I like it. Walking into the place felt like virtually inhabiting a computer game environment. The site previously housed the hideous towers of the Gas & Fuel Corporation, an extremely dreary, ugly building so Fed Square is a definite improvement.

On to the show…

Nu Country didn’t win an award – better luck next time.

C31 programming is diverse to say the least. There are music, gardening, comedy, sports, multicultural, current affairs, self-help & children’s programs to name a few.

There was a jolly warming up by some exuberant woman, giving away ancient LPs and freddo frogs to unwitting victims who attracted her attention. Then the show began and the numerous awards were announced over the next two hours, interspersed with speeches by politicians and various forms of performance entertainment. By the end, we were hanging out for the drinks and canapés.

I thought the evening quite bizarre, the oddness being enhanced by the architecture of the venue. Unfortunately I was too far away from the stage to get any good photos of the acts, so you’ll have to make do with a photo of the venue from elsewhere on the net.

The View from the 25th Floor

Well, I’ve been in the new workplace for 4 days now and have pretty well settled in.

Above is a view from the window nearest to my workspace. It takes in the view North of the CBD. In the middle are the Exhibition Gardens with the ugly Melbourne Museum (those thrusting structures) behind the graceful old Exhibition Building. The Exhibition Building is no longer used for exhibitions. A new exhibition centre was built during the Kennett years and was instantly nicknamed “Jeff’s Shed”. It’s another one of those thrusting structures, which appeared to be the architectural style of Kennett’s time. The current government favours curves. A prime example is the new Southern Cross railway station. I watched it develop in my years at the other end of town. It is an amazing feat of engineering and has turned out to be quite a spectacular building. It’s Melbourne’s answer to Sydney’s Opera House.

As I have never worked in a newly built office before, it’s cool being in a new building. In March this year the building was blessed in a traditional Aboriginal smoking ceremony. This apparently pays respect to the spirits of the land and cleanses an area for a new beginning. Perhaps it worked, for the building has a pleasant ambience. It actually feels good to inhabit.

I cannot claim to have the view above, as my workspace is in the middle of the labyrinth. I stare at my computer or the wall of the partition. You had to have clout, or have a boss with vertigo, to get a window seat.

The security resembles Fort Knox , though. You can’t go anywhere without taking your security card. Doors swing open with a Star Wars whoosh at the wave of the card. It 's fun to pretend that one has super powers and wave one’s arms majestically as the doors part.

To have express lifts that don’t freak you out is a pleasure. The building we just vacated had the most appalling lifts. They were always breaking down, rattled and vibrated, made strange groaning noises and could certainly give you a nasty turn if they suddenly ground to a halt and dropped a foot or two in between floors.

About the only negative thing about inhabiting the 25th Floor is the idea of walking down 25 flights of stairs in emergency evacuation drills. I was on the 13th Floor in the old building and that was bad enough.