Wwoofing around Victoria

TODAY I WAS ATTACKED BY A CHICKEN! I was just checking the coop by the stables to see if they had any pellets left and suddenly I felt this feathery thing throwing itself at my back. I screamed turned around and went to scare it with my leg (I had no other weaponry available at the time) and he went to attack my leg. Cheeky basterd. I then grabbed a stick and the battle was on! He attacked the stick! I just about batted him away with enough time to get food into the feeder, but lo and behold, once I was out of sight, the sheep all came and ate it up. In your face my feathery nemesis! I fed you again and I may be obliged to feed you, but this war isn't over..

Thing is, I had been warned about grumpy chook. The owners actually leave his pen open in case a fox fancies coming along and eating him, which initially made me feel sorry for him, but my sympathy has now gone.

Mad Basterd Chickens

Why am I surrounded by livestock? In order to get my 2^nd Year Visa in Australia, I have to complete 88 day of specific work in a designated rural area. So, I ‘wwoof’.

‘Wwoof’, you ask? Well, I’m glad you asked!

I am a Willing Worker On an Organic Farm. Or, to abbreviate, a ‘wwoofer’.

It is an organisation that was started in England that is all about exchange – “WWOOF is a series of host properties you can visit and exchange your culture while volunteering to work for your food and accommodation”.

I work 7-8 hours a day, I stay with genuine Aussie farmers, learn about agriculture and the work qualifies towards my 2^nd Year Visa. Everyone’s a winner! It’s a really great way to get out of the city and really see the country.

Wirreanda Farm

The amount of time you spend on each farm varies, but so far I am doing about 2 weeks per farm. The plan is to ‘farm hop’ my way around Victoria so that I can see more of the state and meet more people.

I am currently about 1hr North East of Melbourne. The first farm I worked on was near Woodend, owned by Alice and Bruce.

Wirreanda Farm House - used to be the local primary school

Bruce is a fantastic photographer and Alice is a life coach who specialises in empathy and helping people to understand their passions and paths in life.

Bruce was an interesting character. Bear in mind, their farm was my first wwoofing experience. I arrived to the unknown (Woodend) and as he picked me up from the station, he told me we were off to the local supermarket to buy a chicken so we could have a candle lit dinner.

I nervously laughed it off. He brought it up again. It was that awkward moment of ‘Is he being serious or do I just not get his sense of humour? Is this an Aussie thing? Is this a wwoofer thing and I just missed out that paragraph of the book?!’

But no, it’s just Bruces flirty sense of humour. Apart from a few awkward comments over the dinner table, (‘So, how many boyfriends have you had?’) it was fine and it was just traveller paranoia. That said, the time when we went Kangaroo spotting started a bit awkward when I walked to the ute and he was peeing in the front garden, ‘Sorry Lela! Mind you, it’s not like you haven’t seen a man’s c*ck before!’. *CRINGE*

Farmr Bruce in the ute, Kangaroo spotting

But I digress, they were such a lovely couple and we laughed lots. Their farm is very organic, the majority of what is eaten is from the veggie patch and it’s all very organic, with limited amounts of sugar and wheat. The farm was like ‘Little House on The Prairie’ meets Granny Donlon (minus the crankiness..!), meets my Aunt Phil and Uncle Derek in New Zealand, with a splash of ‘Anne of Green Gables’ for good measure. It was stunning, really peaceful.

Kitchen, Wirreanda

Making a salad from the veggie patch

..There were moments however, at night where my active imagination would start up. It was so dark once the sun went down, with no one around for at least half a kilometre. Walking to get firewood, I’d start wondering if I was in the beginning of a horror film. I’d been given a false sense of security and any moment I was going to be dragged to a barn where some farm yard crazies would all be wearing white sheets and sacrificing a chicken.

Anyway.. needless to say, that didn’t happen. Things I achieved include: Driving a ute, wielding a chainsaw, restoring the overgrown blackberry and raspberry greenhouse, building a bonfire, learning about the benefits of pine needles in plant growth, planting strawberries, mowing, mulching, weeding, harvesting.. it’s an endless list. And the crazy thing is (and I say this with earnest) is that I’m quite good at it.

Repairing the blackberry house.. half done..

Finished!

After two weeks, I moved onto Prospect farm, where I currently reside. It is a beautiful old estate farm, the 2^nd oldest building in the Kyneton Township. They breed pure East Fresian Sheep.

Prospects Farm House

My accommodation

To say the least, the farm life and work is very differently to Bruce and Alice. Nereda and Peter have 2 daughters, Izzy and Genvieve as well as loads of animals: Sheep, horses, chickens (‘chooks!’), cattle, 3 dogs and 2 cats. I wanted to learn more about working with animals and it’s been a great experience.

Before I came here, I wasn’t entirely sure was a ‘prolapsed uwe’ was. Sadly, I understand the definition. Where before I was hesitant going near dogs, I can now confidently hoist a dog (or lamb!) away if it’s being a pest.

The majority of my work is with the sheep - I feed lambs in the morning and help moving sheep to paddocks etc.

Lambs!

Chicks!

Nereda, John the horse masseuse and Mandy the pony

I can honestly say the lambs are insanely cute. A little bit stupid, but that makes them even cuter. We had 3 born this week and I had to hand feed two of them their milk today. While one had their bottle, the other was looking for an udder to drink from under my knee. As a ticklish person, it was hilarious.

New lambs!

I muck out the horses stables in the morning. The farm has three ponies and two horses, who all get a visit from the horse masseuse once a week (who knew?!). I can confirm, nothing has changed, horses still produce a large amount of shite.

I also work with the chickens and help with the veggie patch. The chickens, as you may gather, can be a bit problematic. Well… there was a slight issue when I collected the eggs the other day. One of the coops really needed to be cleaned and chicken poop is great for growing veggies, so I was gathering as much as I could when I found some eggs I’d failed to collect earlier. The chickens were going mental but I thought they were just arsey because I’d moved them to their outdoor area.

Unfortunately, the eggs I collected weren’t eggs for eating and I nearly killed 6 chicks who were due to hatch. I felt AWFUL.

But Nereda found the eggs on time and a day later four new chicks successfully hatched, so not all is lost! I keep apologizing to the hens, but I don't think they’ll ever look at me quite the same.. Maybe it’s from watching too many Disney films as a child but I feel like they all swear about me whenever I approach the coops. I like to think they have Liverpodlian and Brummy accents.

As you might be able to gather, there is a LOT of time for thinking when you work in the countryside and only have the opportunity to get out about once a week. I’m grateful to anyone who calls with news of the outside world..

At first, all this space to think was driving me mad but I think I am getting used to it now *fingers crossed*. The last nine months have been a bit mental so the sudden slower pace was a shock to the system. Makes me appreciate the fact you should always keep in touch with people when they first encounter a new chapter away from the known as it can be a bit daunting.

So far I haven’t been on a farm with an extra wwoofers apart from myself, which makes me miss my friends even more, but they aren’t too far and I am allowed the odd day off. I returned for the Grand Final of the AFL (Aussie rules – LOVE IT!). I was in my local Aussie pub with my friend Sally. There was a sausage sizzle and some actor from Home & Away sat behind us. All I needed was a hat with corks, a fosters and a kangaroo and I could have been in a tourist brochure.

The family I am staying with are fantastic too. Nereda is straight to the point and we laugh lots, and myself and the daughters were singing ‘Glee’ the other night so I know we’re going to be friends (..even after I accidentally killed their chicks..).

There is other news from the months before farming, but I might write about that in smaller chunks in the next few weeks (I have enough bloody time!). I am going to try and blog more as there are very silly things that take place on a farm which the world needs to hear about!

Miss you all, send me your news!

Melbourne Living

Well, now I have a job and house and am all settled and that, I've mainly been working and then enjoying my weekends. So kind of how I was when I was living in Manchester, only I'm still in a new city so exploring is still exciting. So while I haven’t got a lot of news, there have been a few things to report about.

Melbourne skyline

Natural (non) Disasters

WE HAD AN EARTHQUAKE! At 8.54pm on 19^th June 2012. I was watching ‘Steel Magnolias’ and practising my southern drawl (“God Damn!”).

 The house vaguely shook. I thought it was either a train or my housemate Alex building more furniture for his room. But then I got a text telling me, "EARTHQUAKE!".

I can confirm, 30mins later, it had made absolutely no difference to my life what so ever. As it was so minor and the news (being trashy news) were exaggerating the reality, there were some very amusing comments on twitter, such as:

-       “My thoughts go out to the Melbourne Jenga Society”

-       “My prayers go out to the shampoo bottles in the chemists”

-       “We need to organise a benefit concert – AC/DC can play, ‘Shook Me All Night Long’ #muppetfest”

New Home

My house is great. I am in a good area of Melbs called Clifton Hill. However, there is an anonymous animal who likes to jump around on the roof in morning, making lot of noise. When I asked my housemates about it, she described it as ‘pigeons dancing’. It is more like the sound of a gorilla getting on its knee and doing a running slide across the roof, much like boys at a wedding.

The Scarlet Pimp

I have my own transport! I bought a red town bike with a basket on the front and 3 gears, affectionately known as the Scarlet Pimp. She’s had a service and I have started a weekly tradition of cycling to The Victoria Markets on a Sunday, buying food. I LOVE HER! When it gets a bit warmer, I’ll cycle to work.

The Scarlet Pimp

Trendy Fitzroy

Hosier Lane

Central CBD

Continuous Exploring

Lentils as Anything: This place is hippy dippy do – fantastic social set up. It is a volunteering cooperative where you donate how much you think your meal is worth.

Myself and another Brit living over here, Paul, decided to check it out on a Monday night. I felt like I would have red paint thrown on me for wearing a leather jacket and Paul felt a bit out of place wearing his corporate looking suit from work, but no one threw lentils at us and the food was great. It was in the old Abbotsford convent where I went to the outdoor cinema.

Mountain Goat Brewery: As described in the name, a local brewery that open up their warehouse as a bar on Wednesday and Friday. They put in old couches, serve pizza and play great music. Awesome spot. Awesome beer.

Der Raum: Unique award winning cocktail bar. It’s very Melbourne- there isn't a sign on the outside, the name of the bar is written in small lettering in the corner of a chalk board. You need to ring on the door to get in. The cocktails are pricey but well worth it. I had ‘The Cocktail Formerly Known as a Pina Colada’ with a lavender and vanilla base and a hot white chocolate mousse top. Clodagh ordered one with peppers known as ‘The Pharmacist’- it arrived on a tray with a glass medicine jar, a plastic syringe and a small white soluble tablet. You had to put the contents of the syringe into the jar and crush the tablet into it, then shake it altogether.

We downgraded for the next bar and went to the Great Britain, where they serve a beer call ‘Piss’ (..so you can drink a pint of piss) and there was a band playing music dressed entirely in silver. Myself and Brian wanted them to sing ‘Rocket Man’. Sadly they did not do requests.

Another cool gig venue is The Workers Club in Fitzroy. My colleague, the very talented Kathryn Rollins was paying her first Melbourne gig there a few weekends ago so myself and Helena from work went to support her. She has a very soulful voice. WOW!

We then continued onto Little Creatures Microbrewery dining hall. I’d recommend the pork belly. And the bright ale.

Starter cocktail 

The 'Pharmacy' cocktail that tasted like red pepper 

Happiness Now, if you were in Manchester and you wandered past a bar with the door slightly open and a red light upstairs, unless you were looking for a lady of the night for services rendered, you generally wouldn’t pop in. However, in Melbourne this means there is a bar (without the suggested lady of the night). It had won a number of awards for its design. Red, with lots of weird shaped things dangling from the ceiling, soviet shapes cut into the red wooden dividers and plush red cushions. Our friendly barman later informed us it was inspired by a womb. Yes, a womb.

Pellegrinis It’s knows as a ‘Melbourne Institution’ - The first espresso bar to open in the city in the 1950s. You walk in and it’s like you’ve stepped into the 1950s. The pictures on the wall, the rotund Italian staff, the décor – I felt like we were in somewhere Tony Soprano or Al Capone were meeting up with his boys to talk ‘business’. There are no menus or faff about customer service, you choose what you want from the board and it get’s shoved under your nose in less than 10 mins. I of course lapsed into ridiculous gangster accents within 5 mins.

The Corner Hotel - Band of Skulls were in Melbourne a few weeks ago and I booked the tickets to see them ages ago. I actually thought they were someone else when I initially booked, but I love them now. The venue is another ‘Melbourne Institution’, quite small with great acoustics (latter phrase shows that 5 years of hanging out with sound engineers pays off).

NGV Iain Potter Centre – It took me long enough but I finally got around to doing one of my favourite things: checking out the art gallery. The National Gallery of Victoria has beautiful Aboriginal contemporary art. Each piece has a description about the origins of the painting from the Aboriginal culture and it is fascinating.

Aboriginal Art, NGV 

Aboriginal Art, NGV

Ozzy Rules Matches (“AFL! AFL!”)

I have been to 2 Ozzy Rules (AFL) matches!

The first was just the final 2 quarters of Essenden vs. Richmond Tigers at the MCG stadium, which is one of the main stadiums in Melbourne where the game is played.

We managed to blag our way in! Although I didn’t really understand what was going on, the atmosphere was electric and I really enjoyed it.

MCG, Essendon vs Richmond Tigers

St Kilda vs Collingwood

Last night I went to St Kilda vs. Collingwood with my friends George and Mark, who are both newbies to Melbourne. We had great seats in the Collingwood members area and I made sure to check the rules of the game this time. It was cracking and hearing the fans shout insults had us in stiches. Far too graphic for me to put in my blog, but suffice to say some of them were not very ladylike or child friendly.

According to Sally, James and a few others I am supposed to be a Carlton fan, which I am well up for, but have yet to see them in action live.

The St Kilda Short Film Festival is an annual festival of both local and international short films. It was set in this gorgeous old fashioned art deco theatre called ‘The Astor’. I went to the comedy section on a Friday night  and laughed my arse off. There was a film about a possessive teddy bear, a corrupt phallic shaped priest, aliens and that guy from ‘The Castle’.

Sunday Roast

The hunt for a Sunday Roast in Melbourne is on. The first place I attempted was with Paul and two of his friends- we went to The Commoner in Fitzroy. It was gorgeous food, but just wasn’t the meaty too-much-food-on-your-plate Sunday dinner that we were seeking. There is pub grub at The Quiet Man in Flemington (where they serve stew in a bread bowl – boom!). While it was tasty, it isn’t a Sunday roast. The hunt goes on.. Apparently they do Yorkshire puddings on a Sunday at the Meat Market on the river, but I have yet to try it out..

The hunt for a Sunday roast with Cat

Vietnamese in Richmond

Other culinary delights that Melbourne has to offer include Vietnamese food on Victoria Road. Every shop for the first kilometre or so sells Vietnamese food, clothing and various bits and bobs. It’s great to snoop on a Saturday afternoon. There are these amazing French Vietnamese inspired bakeries, Pho (very tasty soup) and Vietnamese coffee, which is very strong, but tastes a bit like tiramisu in a shot. I felt high as kite afterwards and wanted to do handstands and cartwheels down the street. I can’t do handstands or cartwheels (yeah, I was that weird kid in the playground with very little gymnastic coordination) so that would have been tricky.

Vietnamese Coffee in Richond

Cat Dillon comes to stay

The lovely Cat (who I know from being on stage with in Manchester - *Jazz Hands!*) was over from Sydney for the bank holiday weekend. I was officially broken after she left.

What a weekend! She arrived and after a confusing car journey, fish and chips we found ourselves in 303 Bar in Northcote watching a Balkan brass band. This then turned into a night of live music at The Rainbow bar and then dancing to The Smiths at The Rochester (a bit like South in Mancunia).

Cat on AC/DC Lane

Cat makes me laugh non stop. We talk utter gibberish with each other and it’s exactly what you need. She has this great energy! We explored the city on the Circle Line tram, an old wooden tram that does – yes, a CIRCLE of the city. There were drinks in the bar that is set in the middle of the Yarra river, gin in Cookies, dinner at Dumplings Bitch and a lot of quotes from ‘Gavin and Stacey’.

Cat and me, with a picture of Bex, who would usually explore cities with us but is back in Manc with a baby!

Me and Cat by the Yarra River

 We were supposed to finish off the weekend with a trip to buy cheese at the market, a Sunday dinner and a film. Well, that plan changed drastically when we went off for dinner in ‘The Quiet Man’. A group of us were having a few drinks, which then turned to a few more drinks when we met up with James and his mates. As we are on the other side of the world, the matches were on a 1.00am and 4.00am. We went bar jumping around some of Melbournes saddest casinos and Irish pubs (Note: there is NOTHING golden about 'The Golden Nugget Casino') – laughing all the way.

Name Game at The Quiet Man

Name Game with Clodagh and Cat

Myself and Cat finally arrived home at 8am the next morning and drunkenly ate all the cheese we had bought at the market. ALL of it. I awoke to a pile of crumbs in the middle of the floor in my room. It was a very amusing night..

Christmas in July

So, at home in the Northern Hemisphere, once our 3 week summer is over and the nights start getting darker and colder, you get the sparkle in the air of festivities. That autumn to winter period means Bonfire night, Halloween, Christmas and New Year.

 In the Southern Hemisphere, not so much. It gets cold, and on some occasions you can sit outside by an outdoor heater, but there’s no Christmas lights, mince pies or German Markets. You don’t have umpteen work parties with mistletoe and 50 year old Barry from the finance department dancing to ‘My Humps’ with gusto.

So, to try and add a bit of  northern hemisphere normality to the cold nights, a tradition of ‘Christmas In July’ has emerged in Australia.

Paul, me and Clodagh

Feast!

Home made Christmas Crackers

Sharon & Ritchie

James and his cauliflower puree

I organised one last weekend. 15 people came by with a dish and we enjoyed the delights of Christmas music, Christmas jumpers, Kris Cringle (for under $5 – there were some gems!) crackers, pigs in blankets, gorgeous turkey, roast potatoes, roast beef, sprouts, Yorkshire pudding, cauliflower puree, brownies…

Plating up

Kris Kringle

Tashtastic

Tashtastic

Balloon animals. It started innocently..

 

Great shot!

My angel of a house mate who helped me clear up!

There was a plate and fork shortage but it’s amazing how people will make do when there’s food on the line. And after hearing my crazy neighbour scream down the phone the next morning for 30mins, I'm glad I didn’t go next door and ask to borrow any!

Highlights include (apart from the food..) fake tashes, rude balloon animals, charades, random phrases yelled from 50 Shades of Grey and festive jokes. For me it was perfect because the friends I adore I Melbourne, some of whom have never met all mixed so well and just totally made the night.

Work

My job as a program coordinator is getting busier and more exciting. The competition I am working on, Business Icon, had the first part of the program known as The 48-hour Challenge launched 3 weeks ago. University Students were given just 48 hours to raise as much money as possible for a micro finance charity called Opportunity International. Opportunity International want to assist people from developing communities worldwide by helping them break out of the poverty cycle through micro finance loans. They are an amazing charity and you should check out their hard work - http://www.opportunity.org.au/

Anyway, the students were given 48 hours, a fundraising page and nothing else but their networks, imagination and innovation. We had some amazing ideas from the students, and I could go on about them here, but the one that has stuck in my mind is a team called T Minus 48. They thought about the idea of poverty being trapped in a box. So, they locked themselves in a room like a box, put up a webcam and appealed to people online to donate money. The more money they received, the more things they were entitled to, for example, food! It was so creative- they started to entertain each other by acting out films, talking directly to the camera, doing the Macarena (!) and all sorts. Members of the team have gone through to the final in September that kicks of Tuesday 6^th.

Next Step

September is not far off. I have a lot to do in work in the next 6 weeks in preparation for the competition and in preparation for what I am going to do next.

I want to stay in Australia for another year. I love it here and despite a few  teething problems and missing my friends and family like crazy, I feel like there’s more I can get out of this experience before going back to England.

To be entitled to a 2^nd year visa in Australia, I have to complete 88 days of designated work in an agricultural area. This may mean leaving Melbourne, which I don’t really want to do, but needs must and it’s something I wouldn’t have thought of dong anyway, so I am going to embrace the challenge! Who knows, this time in 4 months I could be a total expert in the art of asparagus farming?! I am looking at going to north Victoria, rural Western Australia or Tasmania. Or anywhere that will take me and let me complete 3 months work so I can stay!

There are a few things before I become a farm hand though – I am off down the Great Ocean Road with Clodagh (“Girls on tour! Girls on tour!”). The current plan is to drive down the coast over 2 – 3 days, spend a night in Adelaide and fly back to Melbourne the next day. We are still debating getting a camper van or car. Can’t bloody wait!

Then the weekend after I am off to Sydney to catch up with all the great people I know there and welcome a good friend to Australia. Tor, who is a fellow Walk The Plank alumni, I moving out to Oz. While we worked together she would always be in the office to my left, and I would just turn my head and ‘vocalise’ to her about life. We’d sing cheesey 90’s tunes and generally have a ball. Not havng her to my left 5 days has had some serious withdrawal symptoms, but in 2 weeks we shall be reunited by the Opera House. Again, I can’t bloody wait!

So that’s my news from this side of the world for the moment. Maybe it’s being away from home, maybe it’s the fact that 30 is just around the corner, but sometimes it feels like this Australia is this place I have gone to experience every emotion – great and not so great. There are things I am missing at home: Ross and Bex have had a gorgeous baby boy, Dennis and Elke had a wee baby girl, my good friend Natalie’s wedding in September; she will be a beautiful bride and I am gutted to miss the wedding, but I am still loving it here and I can’t wait to see how the next few months pan out. 

Hells Bells, I've Moved to Melbs

Sorry for the lack of blog activity- after coming back from New Zealand (which feels like years ago now..!) I was on the job hunt. And it made me grumpy. As they say, finding a job is a full time job. Every morning I would get up early, make a cup of tea and sit on Lauren and Joshes couch emailing and calling constantly. 

 It has confirmed a few things:

1) I have issues with recruitment agencies. They lie. To your face, on the phone, on the internet. 

2) Having a working holiday visa is like a force field almost preventing you from getting a really good job. 

3) Due to the global economic crisis having an effect on everywhere in the world, but not as much in Australia, everyone has moved to Australia to get a job, therefore they are hard to come by because everyone else is looking for them. 

4) I have issues with recruitment agencies.

My first interview was a dud – I rocked up, all dressed to the nines and prepared to tell them why I would be amazing at a generic admin job only to discover it was an interview for a casting agency. The phone line was a bit crackly when they had called and I clearly missed the ‘casting agency’ description.

For $200 of my (scarce!) Australian dollars, they will put my photo on their website and I might get some work as an extra. For a day. Sometime in the next 6 months. 

If you didn’t laugh you’d cry. And at first I actually did when I left the building. Stood in a side street of Central Sydney with some builders sheepishly looking away.

[A similar occurrence happened a few years ago when I was looking for part time work - I got an interview for what I thought was stewarding at a museum in Manchester called Urbis. It was only halfway through the interview when they started asking me about restraining drunk and high people that I realised the position was for head of security. In my defence, nowhere in the job description was the word 'security' mentioned. Call a spade a spade guys, geez!

Still got a job as a steward anyway.. good times..] 

Anyway, so there I was, back on the couch, drinking gallons of tea (Earl Grey tastes like unemployment to me these days) and typing furiously, with the occasional trip to the local supermarket to reward myself with a mango. 

[If I haven't mentioned it yet, you need to know - mangos in this country are divine. I have eaten loads since I got here].

But of course, I took the occasional break from job hunting..

Mardi Gras

 For one thing, the weekend I returned from New Zealand was Mardi Gras weekend. Now my gay fiancé from Manchester was supposed to fly over for this occasion and we were going to dance the weekend away to Kylie, but unfortunately he is ridiculously talented and spent the weekend making a film in the UK instead. So I spent it with the lovely Katie and co.

 Now, Mardi Gras is pretty big in Sydney. One of the largest parades in the world.

And due to a month of torrential rain and very strong vodka punch, we missed the whole thing. Instead ended up chatting to the stragglers at the end and having a great night. I met sailors, queens and the usual Irish hanging around Sydney. Messy, but fun.

Mardi Gras Vodka Party..!

Parramatta Eels vs New Zealand Warriors

Monday Night Football (really rugby league Ozzys..): Parramatta Eels vs New Zealand Warriors. It was great to watch live sport, and the stadium is just down the road so we had a BBQ and wandered up. It was mullets galore as we approached the stadium..

Now, I lived in Parramatta, but I was just back from an amazing trip in New Zealand. So I had to play neutral. Much to the bafflement of the Eels fans, I cheered at everything. Sadly for the Eels, the Warriors won (GO NEW ZEALAND!).

Monday Night Football with Sim, Loz and me!

Crab Racing

Later that week I ventured out again (well, savings were there to be spent..!). Myself and fellow traveller, James wanted to check out Sydney on a Wednesday night. The options were: late night museum with foreign films and experimental music, or an album launch, hip hop night, pub quiz, open mic night… and we went for.. Crab Racing.

Yes, it exists. But not as you would think...

 We thought it would be an old man pub, some traditional old game that had been played for years. So when we rocked up and David Guetta was blasting out of the stereo with disco lights, we were a little surprised.

The compere wore a big foam crab claw and the warming up games included eating chocolate salty doughnuts (while they played ‘Chocolate Salty Balls’ in the background).

 The actual racing consists of placing a bet on a crab and being given a number. The crabs have their shells painted and numbered stickers stuck to them. They are released onto a round table and the first 4 to reach the edge go into the finals. The people who have bet on those 4 crabs have to complete a task, such as eating dry crackers and competing to be the first person to whistle.

We won a trip on a ‘party boat’ (reads: meat market booze cruise) around Darling Harbour. Suffice to say, we have not claimed our prize. Was a great laugh though..

Crab Racing in Glebe

 St Paddys Day

St Paddys Day was a few weekends later- my first one in the sun! I went to the races in Randwick in Sydney with the girls - we got dressed up to the nines!

Now, I loved spendin time with the girls, but there was something about the races that I didn’t really click with. Amidst the Irish punters (it was like the whole country was there) were there old dishevelled looking men, wearing shirts with Simpson prints on them and holding onto their gambling tickets for dear life – it felt like a theatre of lost dreams. And it was too cold to go outside to watch the horses run past.

 I got the opportunity to go into the members bar and while I enjoyed seeing my mate, it was full of pissed parents and confused looking children.

That said it was a fun, but I am not a gambler (I always bet on the horse/dog/crab who seems to be half dead) so won nothing.  

As the day wore on, we found ourselves back at a house party – Tor and Nip, you’d be proud, I had a huge group singing, ‘Always’ by Bon Jovi, along with other power ballads..!

Later in the night I ended up with half the county of Longford, singing ‘Dirty Old Town’ in Maloneys in Sydney with my friends Sean and Daphne. Great craic!

The Irish Parade and festival was the next day. There were some funny floats, but not enough representations of the Tayto crisp, and the Longford float consisted of 3 people, one of whom was in a wheelchair. We are looking into making our own float next year..

Myself and Katie at The Randwick Races

Hyde Park, St Paddys Festival

Daphne, St Paddys Festival - so cute!

Blue Mountains

Over the Easter weekend myself, (while I was going out of my mind waiting to hear if I’d got a job or not) Cat and Priya kindly invited me on a hike in The Blue Mountains. Priya, our tour guide had planned a 5 hour hike through the canyon and we went through the canyons, back up the hills, had a dip in a stream. Thanks to her perseverance we didn’t get lost in the forest in the dark. The weather was gorgeous, and we laughed like idiots all day. And sang.. (we even got a thank you from a fellow hiker for the entertainment value). Later in the evening, while waiting for our food, we discovered that hangman is great drinking game!

The Blue Mountains

Priya and Cat by the stream

 Other awesome nights: Tuesday night netball with Loz, Vietnamese Pho in Surrey Hills with Becs, a visit from Sara Mellor, nights out with the lovely Trudy in Sydney, tacos at El Loco, Pizza from Hotbox..

Myself and Smellor in Sydney!

Melbourne

In the midst of this activity and job hunting, as I was perusing Facebook, I got a message from Glen, who was one of my first house mates in Manchester (along with the wonderful Anita). He was coming to Melbourne on Sunday- was I about?  

Well, not sure if any of you ever look at a map of Australia, but Melbourne is 876km from Sydney. So I weighed up my options and availability (what with all that employment it was tricky to fit it in..) and booked myself a flight to Melbourne. At this point, I did work have work booked in so could afford it. Sadly that was cancelled while I was in Melbs..

However, I really enjoyed Melbourne. In the space of my 5 day break I explored so much and just really got a feel for the place. So I added it to my job search.

Two weeks later I finally got a job interview for a company called Business Icon. So I flew back for the interview. And then 2 weeks later, I flew back again to start the job…

Yarra River, Melbourne

Some would say Melbourne is Manchester by the Sea. Apparently it has a different culture scene to Sydney. It also has the very beautiful Great Ocean Road just south of the city. 

I could write another 50 pages explaining in detail my weekend in Melbourne, but instead I shall summarise it in the following point:

The Great Ocean Road with Glen and Sharon (another friend from Manchester):

Beautiful coastline, with jagged cliff edges, that lighthouse from 'Around The Twist', koala spotting in Koala Cove (where I was attacked by a colourful parrot), tasty burgers and Iced Coffee, laughing at the real meaning of 'Chunky Needham' (Glens nickname), big surf, graphic discussions and a really great day of catching up with my friend from home. 

Great Ocean Road

Lighthouse from 'Around The Twist'

Sharon and the friendly parrots..

Myself and Glen by a waterfall with an iced coffee..

Glen at Koala Cove

Koala!

Fantastic venues & Events:

Bar Berlin where you have to knock on the door and wait on the stairs - you are seated in the East or West. The West is all glamorous, the East has bunk beds to sit on, bathtubs for tables, and a rough wall with Charlie Chaplin playing Hitler projected onto it.

Section 8: A bar in a container where you sit on crates and is more or less outside. It was originally created temporarily in an old car park, but people liked it so it stayed. Great beers!

Cookies: A restaurant bar with small booths and a rooftop garden in the centre of the city, so at night it has beautiful views of all the city lights while you listen to Radiohead in the background and sip your beer.. They also do outdoor cinema when it's warm.

Madame Brussels: This bar is up a set of stairs that look like something from a council high rise building in Salford. However, you arrive and they have patches of grass in the bar and all the staff are dressed in tennis gear. Another great rooftop garden. Brilliant!

Laundrette – awesome live hip hop bar. Was proper down the front with my hands in the air watching AJ Mayhew, a lyricist from Swindon (yes, he rapped about all kinds of things, up to and including Carol Vorderman).

The Old Bar: Live music on the weekend

Cabinet: Wine bar in the CBD, great for a Saturday afternoon natter while watching the world go by.

Outdoor cinema in Abbortsford based in an old convent where I watched ‘Awake In Fright’, an old Australian psychological thriller. Didn’t find it all that thrilling to be honest, but it was pretty amazing sitting under the stars.. J

Dumplings Bitch:  There is a very busy little dumplings place down an alley in Chinatown which serve amazing food with woeful service. There is yelling, there is running, they try and grab your beer when you’ve not finished it yet.. they are never too sure of who has ordered what which led to us eating someone else’s dinner.. but it is brilliant, and although it’s not actually called ‘Dumplings Bitch’ (someone called it that on Facebook and it’s stuck) it is the only name I will ever call it.

Melbourne International Comedy Festival: My first week in Melbourne started with a medley of standup in St Kilda on Monday night, Glenn Woole on Friday night, David O’ Doherty on Saturday and finished with Simon Amstell on Sunday. Having never been to a comedy gig that wasn’t random stand up at the Frog & Bucket, it was a proper jump in the deep end. Loved it. Wanted to take David ‘O Doherty home and make him a cup of tea.

The Victoria State Library: My office while I was researching and preparing for my new job and then when I was looking for somewhere to live. The La Trobe Readng room has high ceilings, leather bound desks with green lamps and it’s just stunning. Definitely one of my top 5 places in Melbs so far!

Victoria State Library

The Quiet Man Pub: They make a Guinness and beef stew, which is served to you in a loaf of bread on a bed of mash. This isn’t folklore, it exists!

Beef and Guinness stew brew bowl on a bed of mash. Oh yes!

Bar Delux: Friendly bar with a whole world of beer in Federation Square. Like a non-chavtastic Printworks.

Markets in Melbourne: Victoria markets, South Melbourne Markets, craft, vintage, garage sale.. you name it, they’ve got it!

Funky street art - there is a lot of that in Melbourne

Other great things:

-        My new job – I am program coordinator. The job is great, my colleagues are great and I am excited about working with them!

-       The generosity of friends giving me a place to stay while I sorted myself out with somewhere to live. From St Kilda, to North Fitzroy and Northcote - If I can ever return the favour I will – Thank you! And ofcourse, I wouldn't still be in Oz if it weren't for Loz and Josh putting me up in their home - THANK YOU!

The Garage Sale Trail, Vietnamese Rice Paper roles, Greek food, coffee in Melbourne, new friends, Anzac Day with Sally (and my new local pub!), comedy nights with Clodagh and Kash, laughing with a flamboyant Irish man called David over white wine, pizza with Sharon.. so much in a short space of time!

Not so great: Staying at ‘Hotel Oslo’ in St Kilda when I had the job interview – stale smoke, bad service and bed bugs *shudder*.

Having to go to Ikea with an epic hangover (while screaming children ran past me) because my new room had no bed and I went to a house party the night before. Or ore to the point, trying to move heavy items of flat pack furniture on my own with headache from here to Tokyo.

Taking the tram in the wrong direction because you don’t know where you are going (…still working on that one).

The Ozzys don't mince their words..

But here I am and here I am staying. Well, actually I returned to Sydney last weekend for Cats 30^th. She had a champagne breakfast, a treasure hunt in the afternoon and a huge Brazilian meal in the evening – as per usual, we laughed all day and became very Northern when communicating with each other. I think at one point, we even said , ‘By ek!’, something no one in the North of England has said in about 20 years.  

30th Birthday Treasure hunt task - stranger with a hat in a phone booth

But Melbourne is cool. I've done loads already but there is so much more to do and I can't wait. I already have a number of gigs lined up to go to and have met some great people.

There have been a few ups and downs (thank you to those who have listened to me rant over the phone) – but you’ve just got to plough on. Everything happens for a reason and for whatever reason, I am in Melbourne!

Cool record store