Category: Diary

I had a birthday a few months ago. Thank you, yes, it was a lovely day. My Mother In Law To Be gave me a Tatts 2 ticket as part of my present, with the numbers 4 6 and 70 (go on, guess my birth date) over the week.

The ticket stayed stuck to the fridge until a couple of weeks ago when Rae heard about a multi-million dollar lottery prize in Queensland that had gone unclaimed. This got her thinking and she decided to check my ticket. I hadn’t checked it ’cause I never win anything.

Up until now.

We didn’t know it but we had $740 stuck to the fridge for four months and if Rae hadn’t checked, it would still be there now. Most of it’s going in to our house deposit fund but Rae has insisted I keep and spend a bit of it. After umming and ahhing I’ve decided I will listen to her and this weekend I may finally buy the one ‘toy’ I’ve wanted all my life but never had.

The police helicopter was hovering over our backyard for about five minutes this afternoon. I asked the guy crouching under a bush in our backyard about it but he said he said he had no idea either.

This weekend we’re having some friends over. They haven’t been here before so I wanted the house to look good – a big problem given the lawn hasn’t been mown in almost a month. Not to worry, I thought, I’ll mow it over the weekend before they get here on Sunday afternoon.

Then I heard the weather forecast on the radio as I drove home. Rain was on the way and it wasn’t going to let up all weekend.

Bugger.

I got home and checked the radar to see this :

See that little circle of clear around Melbourne? Well, that was my window of opportunity. I raced to the shed, grabbed that mower and mowed like a mad man would mow. A mad man in a hurry. It may possibly the quickest lawn mowing ever recorded. I finished the back lawn and shoved the mower back inside the shed just as the first big drops began to fall.

Now the radar looks like this :

But I don’t care ’cause my lawns are done.

This is how every Sunday should be. Coffee and cooked breakfast, a read of the paper, a walk around an old area of town taking photos, washing the car in the sunshine while listening on the radio to the Canucks win, lunch outside, a nurse of the boy as he falls asleep, a short nap for myself, afternoon tea outside and now to get a little work done before family comes over for a roast lamb dinner.

Now if only it was a long weekend and I didn’t have to get up to go to work tomorrow morning it would be truly perfect.

If you live in Australia Veronica Mars is quite possibly the best show you will never get to see. We’ve just watched the premier episode of the second season and have no idea why this hasn’t been picked up here yet. I guess the 25 words or less “school girl detective solves crime in her spare time” description would send most people running but the last time a show with such rich characters, witty writing, complex (and daring) story lines and with a strong young female lead was screened it was largely ignored too. Which is a shame, ’cause Veronica Mars could end up being better than Buffy and I can pay a television show no higher compliment.

If you’re in Aus move heaven and earth to get a copy of season 1, there is no way you will be disappointed.

For the past 16 months Jane Gazzo has hosted the night shift on 6 Music and I’ve listened every morning at work. Tonight was her final show so, as a semi-regular emailer, I had to send one last mail to say bye. I got a lovely email back from her but the biggest surprise was as she was saying goodbye to people. Just before she couldn’t go on any further there was “Tony, from Melbourne”.

Bye Jane, I’m really gonna miss you and your show. Mornings just won’t be the same.

I mentioned a while ago I want to go and take photographs of Shepparton before all my childhood memories are torn down and replaced by concrete slabbed office blocks. An article in The Age on Melbourne’s inner west industrial architecture reminded me I have a lot snaps to take around here too. This summer may be a summer of recording, and I should start with the great signs on the side of the Rising Sun in Footscray this weekend. There are also some fantastic factories around Scienceworks which is just up the road and on a weekend the streets are deserted. I think I’ll be getting my money’s worth out of Flickr over the next year.

Vale Don Adams.

He’ll be missed (by that much…)

The following email was sent to the Astor‘s mailing list by its proprietor.

To All Our Loyal Patrons,

You may have read or heard in the media recently of plans to change ownership of The Astor Theatre. This has been somewhat misrepresented as us “closing down”.

This is far from the case.

We are looking to find an entity to take over the running of The Astor as well as purchase the freehold. This would give the freedom to invest further capital into the venture, to re-generate what is a unique and original theatre, and to re-launch it with a fresh, new outlook.

My involvement has seen the culmination and fruition of a life-long dream – and a labour of love. It has been very gratifying that well over one and a half million patrons have passed through our doors in the years since we opened in our current format. That so many identified with this “real-cinema experience” is deeply appreciated – it re-inforced my firm belief that the Astor needed to be saved and preserved as a living museum to cinema-going at its grandest.

May I take this opportunity to thank all our patrons, staff, suppliers and friends for their support, and remind you that without your support The Astor would not exist.

We will keep you updated with developments as they happen.

Yours Sincerely,

George Florence
Proprietor

I guess that’s good news and we can still look forward to seeing you in our fair city then Star?