Falling with Happiness into the New Year

Without a doubt, Falls Festival is my favourite Australian music festival hands down. There are so many unique and wonderful things about it, that make it a music experience like no other. The vibe for one is incredible, this is perhaps due to the fact that unlike many festivals, this one falls over New Years, so considering how many events people have to choose from at this particular time of year, everyone at Falls chose it over everything else. This brings everyone together into one big harmonious group of live music fans.

Secondly, it's the layout and the set up of the festival. The main stage at the bottom of a natural ampitheatre is incredible, and it allows everyone to experience their music in whatever shape and form they wish, being able to see everything no matter where they are. Whether you want to sit and chill out in the sunshine swaying to the beats at the top of the hill, or go nuts down close to the front of the stage, you can always get the best visual and audio experience depending on what you're in the mood for, even if you change your mind half way through. The amount of times we sat as a group feeling a little low on energy (which happens at times at a five day festival!) further up the hill but as soon as whatever band started we got over excited and went running down the hill to join the hundreds of dancing fans was more times than I can count. The music was just too good to sit still!

Thirdly, what I also love about Falls is discovering new bands and different types of music. Falls has such an ecclectic mix sounds and particularly this time where they brilliantly moved 'The Village' to behind the main stage instead of somewhere out in the forest, we got to experience artists and bands that I perhaps never would have gone to see. Oscar and Martin is the perfect example of this. I'd heard of them but had never really heard their music. Their set was dreamlike but funky and got everyone up dancing. Definitely an album that I want! 'The Village' was also fantastic because it was interactive. So many of my friends came back to our camping spot with weird and wonderful items they'd made like drink bottle carriers and hats. One of the boys, Bobby, burnt his friend's hat so it had massive holes in it (lovely!) but the artists in the village helped him patch it up with colourful material so it looked much more fun and unique than it did originally. Win!

I had a truly amazing music experience this year, with so many bands and artists that I want to acknowledge. Aloe Black however, was probably the most exciting and fun set that I've ever been a part of. Apart from his ever so cool voice and music, the Falls crowd really delivered an amazing performance. I don't know who started it but a group of people, to each song Aloe Black sang, started a dance consisting of a few moves, which then travelled down towards everyone at the stage to a point where the whole crowd was just dancing in sync. It looked absolutely unreal, whether watching it on the screen or looking back up the hill. I actually couldn't stop smiling. Aloe Black then cleared circles in the mosh pit for everyone to take turns dancing in like crazy people and also created a soul train down the middle of the crowd. The whole thing was just amazing to be a part of, and one of those beautiful moments in life where you appreciate being alive and being surrounded with what you love - music, friends and freedom.



Other performances that really stand out for me looking back are The Wonderful World of DJ Yoda - what a set! The start with Star Wars set the pace for the rest of the set, every song that came on got a huge cheer from the crowd, I just couldn't stop laughing at the songs he kept playing, it was so much fun and the best way to end the second night. Too good.
Dub FX were unreal, so much talent, we were blown away by their creativity and of course the crazy beats!
During Missy Higgins I ran into to some old friends I hadn't seen in years so had a memorable sing along with them.
Kimbra and The Jezabels were unbelievable as usual, a mate of mine who saw Kimbra at ANU in Canberra earlier in the year said that Kimbra seemed a lot more polished than she was six months ago. I didn't know her music that well but I thought she delivered a really fun and energetic performance. I got so into it, definitely another album to buy!
Of course The Kooks and Arctic Monkeys, despite the tension between them both got to everyone with their music. I've seen The Kooks a few times now and whilst you can't particularly understand what Luke Pritchard is saying most of the time, he delivers the songs with perfection. Arctic Monkeys were an unreal choice to play over New Years, we had so much fun.
One band that I'd been really hanging out to see was The Naked and Famous. I don't think I danced harder in any set the whole week. They have this mysterious, cool aura about them and their songs just sounded magical in the natural amphitheater. A definitely highlight for me.

I could go on but in all honestly its hard to differentiate how awesome one band or artist was to the next, just thinking about it now...How I wish I could go back!

Obviously the weather added to the grand experience, hot but enough clouds so you didn't roast all day. Not saying that we didn't all get sun burnt at one point (would it be a festival if you didn't?). And of course the key ingredient to the best Falls experience is a good crew. Too much fun. My friends and I had decided at the 2009/10 Falls Festival we would all reunite at the 2011/12 one after we'd all returned from travelling, studying etc all over the world. Our reunion did not disappoint, in fact, I think it was the best Falls Festival yet! So now all I can say is... next year anyone?

"Hope you're wearing your steel cap boots today..." - English Football at it's Best.

 Many of us will be familiar with the somewhat disturbing but priceless photo of the little English football fan who is expressing his immense dislike for what seems like perhaps a bad call on the refs part against England, or a general hatred for the opposing team. After going to watch an English football match south of London, this picture popped up in my mind which I feel more or less sums up the experience of watching football hooligans in their natural habitat. And I say habitat because yes, it was more or less like being at a zoo. Looking at this picture I like to think that this little fan is the ultimate poster boy for English football. Classy, polite and gentle natured, this little kid represents his fellow football fans by showing us what a true adoring fan acts like when displaying his patriotism and love for his country.


 On Saturday, 26th November I went and saw a Champion's League football match between Crystal Palace and Millwall at Selhurst Park in South Norwood. The game itself wasn't too eventful with a 0-0 draw, but the lack of goals was made up for with a display of an upstanding display of English football behaviour...just as I'd (secretly?) hoped.
I witnessed Millwall fans throw bottles and other forms of rubbish at a Crystal Palace player when he was tackled near their stand,  a Millwall fan hide among the Palace fans until Palace missed a penalty at which point he made himself known, started a massive brawl and when getting escorted out by police got spat on numerous times by Palace fans. Yep, just a typical English football game in all its glory. Most of the songs and chants the fans sung I couldn't really make out (I just joined in on the clapping), except a personal favourite, which the Palace fans yelled and screamed at the Millwall fans so aggressively I thought their heads red with rage and spitting all over the people in front of them might explode and their arms might fall off due to the verocity in which they were pointing at their much hated rivals yelling: "You're the scum of South London." Simply lovely. And seriously, when did little kids start swearing like that?!


Due to the nil all draw the mood at the end was pretty mellow, but this didn't stop the ridiculous amount of police out in force directing the Millwall fans in a completely different direction to the Palace fans. At one point walking to the car we looked up a street to see six police fans with sirens flashing, and in their shadows heading as far up the hill as you could see were dark hooded figures marching down the road chanting, "Millwall, Millwall" over and over again. It was actually pretty fricken frightening! The way the police watched us all as we left made me feel like I should have pulled my hood down, put my hands in my pockets and walked 'subtly passed' as many people were doing around us. Let me just say, as much as people criticize 'Green Street Hooligans' (2005) directed by Lexi Alexander to be a Hollywood version of what actually goes on at an English football match, I personally think the movie is pretty spot on in terms of what actually happens and how the football fans, or should we say hooligans? act. My cousin who is usually a gentle, friendly, upstanding British citizen spent the whole day with a menacing look on his face and constantly referred to Millwall as 'imbred (insert swearwords)' and 'dirty scum' to give just a couple examples. I think he was joking, but he asked Lucy's boyfriend Mat whether his boots had metal caps in them. Really....?

There were, I admit, points at which I did feel quite nervous, but at the same time I thought it was fantastic, the whole thing. And I only got to experience it once, these people live and breath football. It's a life choice, a calling, a religion I am told. There are many stereotypical and iconic aspects that one thinks of when they think England; Big Ben, the Queen, the rain and Jason Statham to name a few. Football however, well  This is England!

Time Starts to Slip Away... Goodbye to Portsmouth & Central London and Adventures at Hampton Court

I somehow found myself in my final weeks in Portsmouth, the last three months have flown by at a ridiculous pace. Not too much happened apart from trying to see everyone as much as possible, numerous nights out, lunches etc. I finished work on the 19th November at 11pm with a couple other people so we decided to stay for drinks and naturally ended up staying until close. Sunday was my last proper day as Monday was for packing so Jimmy held a BBQ at his house and invited everyone over, including the Yates's boys and we drank, ate and enjoyed each other's company before hitting Guild Hall to drink at the Lyberry one final time. Monday I just packed and did washing, Tuesday I made my goodbyes as quick as possible as I didn't want to get too sad about leaving, which I was, and Vinnie walked me to the train station around ten so I could go and meet Kirsty in Guildford for ten thirty. I am really sad to be leaving Portsmouth, I had such a fun time there and will miss everyone a lot, especially the ones I, in reality, probably won't see again. However Vinnie and Kerri are planning to visit in the next year and Sarg is moving to New Zealand so hopefully it's just see you later and not good bye to a few of them.

I met Kirsty at Guildford around eleven and we then drove to Hampton Court, the royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, which was built in the 16th Century. I've always liked English Royal history and in particular the history of Henry VIII and his wives so going to Hampton Court, King Henry's home during his reign was really exciting for me. After meeting up with Elspeth and having a quick lunch we set off to explore the different sections of the Palace, half Tudor from Henry VIII's time and part Baroque from King William III's changes a century later. Firstly we looked around King Henry VIII's apartments and then his kitchens, then we moved to the Baroque sections of the palace and learnt about the rooms in which King William III resided during his reign, and then explored the gardens. We used the audio guides to learn about each room and I definitely learnt a lot, I especially enjoyed learning about the lives and infamous fates of all Henry's wives, especially Catherine Howard who's ghost is said to be seeing running through the grand hall screaming and begging for forgiveness...creepy or what! It was hard imagining these people, including such a monstrous tyrant such as Henry walking through the rooms we found ourselves in but it was clever how they designed the audio guides to talk you through exactly what would be happening in each room as if you were there when the palaces were inhabited by the different Kings and the King's people.

We then headed back to Elspeth's place for dinner and had a relaxing evening before saying goodbye to Kirsty. Wednesday was also really chilled out, we went shopping and had dinner at a curry house in town which was really nice. Thursday I said goodbye to Elspeth and set off for Old Street to meet up with Joe, a friend we'd met originally in Miami but had caught up with over the year. Old Street was a really trendy area, a little jealous of his location! We had tickets to go see Friendly Fires play in Brixton but first we decided to go and take a look at the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. Let's just say there's nothing like a chilly winter evening in Hyde Park lit up like day with lights, atmosphere and bars on carousels to celebrate and get into the spirit of Christmas. I love having New Years during summer but I always miss a white Christmas. While it wasn't exactly a snowy night, it was still nice to celebrate part of this years Festive Season in London. It was kind of a mixture between a cold Oktoberfest..with definite German influence with the stalls of food and drink, a town fair with the rides and then of course the ice rink in the middle which, honestly, became a big source of entertainment due to the number of people who perhaps were skating, or should i say bum sliding and falling over, everywhere around the rink. The carousel turned into a bar was a definite highlight for us! Got a bit dizzy though :)

After exploring the colourfully lit Christmas labrynth we then caught the underground to Brixton. Arriving at the arena we were immediately stopped and interviewed by camera about why we were there, what music we liked etc. Joe did really well, I unfortunately being pretty uneducated when it comes to Friendly Fires looked like a bit of a, [insert rude word here] but managed my way through without embarrassing myself too much then we headed into the arena. The concert itself was outrageously fun, I realised I did know a few of their songs and the ones I didn't know I liked. The lead singer Ed Macfarlane was an amazing performer, I have to admit I fell a little bit in love.

Leaving on a high we decided it would be best to get back to Old Street before the underground stopped at eleven thirty and hit some bars there. Old Street was a pretty trendy area and we didn't have any trouble finding somewhere fun to drink. We tried a cocktail bar/pub first and got into some creative shots, some swing dancing, hilarious people watching and some good old conversational banter. Next we went to this club, Mother Bar, that had no windows and from the outside looked like a creepy giant black box but inside was like a trendy, grungy lounge bar. I think we got home around four, so good effort by us, was definitely a great night to end my London experiences for 2011 with!


On Friday I battled a little bit to get to Jackie's due to deciding it was a really good idea to try and tackle the London Underground at peak hour, a hangover and a massive suitcase. People are very good at showing how unimpressed they were, on the last leg of the journey - the train from Victoria to Shortlands, I ended up having to make an apology announcement because it seemed I'd pissed off most of my surrounding fellow travellers. My last days abroad were to be spent in Shortlands with Jackie and Lucy. Although Friday night was very quiet, Saturday was action packed as we attended a Crystal Palace verses Millwall football match. The experience was so memorable I've decided to dedicate a separate blog just for the event. So stay tuned!

The Last Tuesday Society's 'Danse Macabre' Halloween Ball

One word, incredible. This was possibly one of the best nights I have had this whole year and definitely the best Halloween by a mile! The Last Tuesday Society are a London based company that hold a huge Halloween Ball every year among a number of other events such as masquerades and supernatural and gothic themed lectures, plays, parties etc. This year the Halloween Ball was called 'Danse Macabre' and the theme was 'the beautiful and the damned.' Jimmy had been the year before so we got tickets again and drove up to London from Portsmouth after work and went to Jimmy's friends Joel and Russell's house to have pre-drinks and get ready.



It was a rather long process to get ready. Jimmy, Russell and Joel went with the scary clown theme, Dave went as a vampire, Dillan just wore a nighty that was supposed to be the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood but he didn't wear the mask he just wore the creepy hands and a purple wig, and I went with a classic - the zombie bride. Jimmy bought one of those professional movie quality clown masks that you glue to your face and then paint and had a ring leader outfit and massive clown shoes. He looked amazing, it was weird cause it was Jimmy but when he talked the mask moved like it was his face so it wasn't Jimmy at the same time, just a really scary clown that will give me nightmares. My make-up took quite a while. I had to cover myself in white powder so I looked really pale, then I used purple eyeshadow to put dark patches under my eyes and also used it as blush to make my cheeks look sunken in. Then I did really dark eyes and fake eye lashes, black lipstick and of course fake blood which a put under my eye and all over my neck. Note to self: Next time you apply fake blood, use gloves, that stuff does not come off easily! I then put on my dress, veil, socks and heels, put a bit more fake blood over my arms, grabbed my black rose and was ready to go!

Around ten thirty we got taxi's to the venue in Elephant and Castle. While we were lining up all these French tourists wanted photos with us so we took a few but were pretty eager to get inside and see what it was like. I was absolutely blown away by how extravagant this place was. There was a symphony playing on the stage and everyone was waltzing around the dance floor in eighteenth century gowns, wigs and masquerade masks. It looked like a scene out of a grand Dracula movie. There were naked people covered in blood wandering around feeding people grapes and dancing in cages. I had something thrown at my head on the dance floor, so I picked it up and realised it was a real dead chicken. Still warm. Jimmy then proceeded to carry it around for a while, and then we saw that there were also dead chickens hanging from the walls in all the hallways. Creepy. Dave found himself in a sort of bondage themed room and got tied up by his arms, then people took his wallet and phone etc and left there to fend for himself. There were circus performers doing aerial acrobatics from material hanging from the ceiling to the floor, all wearing Harlequin masks, performing to this eerie symphony music that had everyone in a trance. The whole dance floor went still and silent, all just watching the dancers falling from the ceiling. As well as this a number of different gothic/halloween themed bands played throughout the night including a definite favourite - The Urban Voodoo Machine.

It was the most amazing night, it just had the most fantastic atmosphere and you actually felt as if you were in a real Halloween Ball at Dracula's Manor back in the sixteen hundreds it was so extravagant, with a real romantic, gothic, dream-like feel to it. Definitely fit the theme of the 'beautiful and the damned'. Only wish it had gone on for longer. It was around four thirty when we left the party and headed home. What a night, Halloween is my new favourite holiday, I wish I could stay longer and go to their masquerade balls too! Maybe I should start something like this in Sydney...although I hope there is something similar at home because I really want to go again!

Happy Halloween :)

The Unofficial Rules and Regulations of Portsmouth

Having lived in Portsmouth for about a month and a half now and following a pretty straight forward and repetitive routine, I've come to learn about certain themes, trends, patterns, whatever you want to call them, that seem to run strong throughout Portsmouth.While a commendable police department attempt to keep the law and order in this city to their best ability, it is the people of Portsmouth who play a large role in the up keeping of the, what i like to call, unofficial rules and regulations of Portsmouth living. I've put together a list of the particular important ones that need to be strictly followed on a day to day basis.

1. One must always wear ridiculously huge fake eye lashes - this particular physical trend gets its own mention because it's a must do. Some, I might say, look quite nice...if done properly and not accompanied by an entire stick of eyeliner and tube of mascara. With some of them I can't tell whether they are squinting or actually don't have eyeballs at all. Seriously, you could sweep the floor with some of those sets!

2. On a night out clubbing, one should always have big hair, a fake tan and a tight dress, oh and MASSIVE platform shoes...ones that you can't actually walk in but look good when standing and subtly holding on to something. But seriously, am I getting older or are the dresses getting shorter?

3. You must have an inability to not complain and just enjoy the sunshine should, God forbid, food take longer than fifteen minutes even though we're more or less at capacity in our bar/restaurant area. Never relax on a Saturday you must always be in a hurry to get somewhere else. Anywhere else than where you are. Run Run Run Portsmouth seniors! Oh and don't forget to leave your pouches of medication behind when you leave in a huff and never return for them. I seriously think we could start a pharmaceutical company as a side business with the amount of times it happens.

4. You must consume unlimited amounts of Red Bull every Wednesday and Friday (students only). The aim is to never sleep again...I swear some of them don't considering the state they turn up to Highlight in each week. The smell of it now makes me shudder, which is unfortunate considering I generally work on the VIP bar on Wednesday and Friday night and sell ONLY double vodka red bulls and jager bombs. Lucky me.

5. It's totally out of the question to line up or pay to get in anywhere in Portsmouth if you work at a surrounding bar/club/promotions company. Quote: "Ummmm, Did you line up and pay just then to get in to the Lyberry? Gutted! What a loooooser!" Thanks a lot!

6. You cannot be aged 24, unless you are a foreigner like me. The age 24 doesn't exist here. I haven't met one other person my age. I am not joking. Either they all stop at 22...which seems to be the case...or they jump to 27 and older. Are they all being kept in a cage somewhere? Or have I missed the memo on what you do when your 24, cause you obviously aren't at uni, working in a bar or in the navy, which are the areas where young people generally seem to be down here.

7. If a member of the opposite sex refuses to give over their phone number upon request, never fail to go to Plan B - "Well can I at least add you on Facebook?" Like one rejection wasn't enough, let's stick the knife in further and go for two!

8. If something goes wrong for someone, preferably your friend or housemate - i.e. they're called into work on their day off, lose something valuable, get sick etc...NEVER give them sympathy, rather make them feel so much better by simply saying: "GUTTED." Revelling in other's misery...that's what friendship is all about. Not to say it's not satisfying when you get your revenge and can say it right back to them five minutes later when they are the one who suddenly suffers from a bout of rough news or bad luck. We're all just as bad as each other. It's just the way it goes.

9. Always drop money in the toilets at bars and clubs...no more than 20p though...if it's over 20p you're going to have to fish it out...yes, I have seen this happen. Not cool. Stick to the popular copper coins of 1p and 2p...sometimes splash out with a 10p and then if you're feeling really generous...the 20p. Either they must all have money in their back pockets or they just want something pretty to look at when they enter the cubicle, but seriously every time I do toilet checks at work there's always money shining from the bottom of the toilets. It's weird.

10. Now I know I have commented already on the female population and their attire, so it only seems fair to have a look at the male dress sense as well. So jeans are a pretty mainstream thing among guys when they go out, but what I have noticed is that a lot of them obviously find it a bit difficult to deal with normal jeans that have a zipper and button due to the state in which they find themselves most nights of the week, so therefore have resorted to wearing jeans with elastic at the top. These kind of remind me of the huggies pull up nappy advertisments


              Now let me just make it clear that in no way am I suggesting any of these trends are right or wrong, they are simply observations. In the end they do make Portsmouth a very colourful and eventful place to live. I do enjoy each and every one of them, except maybe the complaining about food taking too long...that annoys me...all of us...a lot.

Tonight is going to be a particularly exceptional night working in Portsmouth, as we are hosting the annual 'Ladies Night', in which 150 drunk women scream and grab and male strippers going the full monty. The eyelashes, hair and outfits will be out of control, stay posted for a run down on the evening, no doubt there'll be plenty of stories!