Saturday 19th December – Woodford & Fireworks

Woodford

Bronwen and I drove up to Woodford and set up camp. I believe our spot was the last available shady spot in “The Prairies”—at least until they open up overflow camping, if they do. It was incredibly hot setting up the tent. After we’d finished setting it up we went back to Happy Campers to mark out on the map where our tent was, and were somewhat-angrily told that our department—Festival Watch—already had an allocated area, even though we’d bothered to ask when we arrived and been told they didn’t. Annoyingly, the Happy Campers lady then wrote “Festival Watch” on our tent site, which is bound to confuse someone.

After setting up our tent we went for a wander around the festival site. The Woodford Weirdness™ has begun already—we were given six boxes of glow-in-the-dark condoms by someone who was clearing out old stock from the General Store, then a nice guy at whatever “The Duck” is called this year managed to find us some lunch even though it was too late for lunchtime provided we reported back on whether or not “The World’s Best Ginger Beer” was any good or not (it is fantastic—probably the best in the world).

We had a laze down by Stoney Creek before driving home again.

Our location on the already-very-busy Prairies mapBronwen setting up the tentBronwen having finished setting up the tentBronwen & our tentOur first Woodford lunchThe best ginger beer in the worldOur six boxes of glow in the dark condoms we were given from the General StoreWoodford likes bambooThe crazy something-or-other being builtBronwen finds BintopiaCommon Ground—by far the most impressive tent at WoodfordThey seem to have gone for a lot of permanent looking alcoholic venues this yearThis is looking a bit permanent as wellAnother large bamboo erectionBronwen inside the erectionA castle being builtBronwen relaxes at Stoney Creek

Southbank

We went for a wander through Southbank—which was incredibly busy—and I took some photos of the fireworks from the top of Kangaroo Point Cliffs.

Southbank was very busyVery, very busyReally, incredibly, busyDid I mention it was busy?Bronwen powering ChristmasFireworks from a CitycatSouthbank FireworksSouthbank FireworksSouthbank FireworksSouthbank FireworksSouthbank FireworksSouthbank FireworksSouthbank FireworksSouthbank FireworksSouthbank Fireworks

Sunday 20th December – Christmas Parade & Fireworks

5:30am

I drove out to the airport and picked up Maz, who had flown back from Japan.

Day

Bronwen and I had a look at the Myer Christmas Parade, Southbank Fireworks, and the City Hall Light Spectacular.

Myer Christmas Parade

Camels!Drummers!Girls & inflatable things!Singers!Singing!I’m really not sure!I’m not sure here either but they seem dangerous!Now this one makes perfect sense!Not sure again…Rings! Definitely rings!6 geese a laying & 7 swans a swimming!Look at them lay!Maids a milking!I’m not sure again but they have nice feathers!Lords a leaping!Drummer girls!Singers!Joseph, Mary & a donkey!Camels again!A train! Wow, a train!Santa!Oh, did I mention it was busy?Mary, Joseph & their favourite donkey, Sam

Southbank Fireworks

Fireworks from a CitycatSouthbank fireworksSouthbank fireworksSouthbank fireworksSouthbank fireworksSouthbank fireworksFireworks from a CitycatFireworks from a CitycatChristmas colours

City Hall Light Spectacular

City Hall Light SpectacularThe bells did not look very happy

Monday 21st December – New Mouse & Star Wars

Day

I worked from home.

Microsoft Mobile Memory Mouse 8000

I drove to GoComp (which is somehow Auscomp) and picked up a new Microsoft Mobile Memory Mouse 8000 (which is a really old mouse now… but I haven’t been able to find a better one) for $64, and then dropped past Maz’s place for lunch.

My old mouse has a new friend

Star Wars

I drove into Southbank to go see “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens”, using some of the gift card my sister got me for my birthday, however parking was incredibly bad so I ended up driving around in circles. Fortunately, despite there being no parking anywhere else, I found enough people had been too scared to park in a school days only loading zone—which as it’s holidays I assume doesn’t apply—so I managed to get to the cinema before the movie started. Bronwen had collected our tickets and held a seat for us and came out and met me, and all was good—except that my 3D glasses fogged up and I had to keep wiping them clean. I haven’t had that happen before. The movie was exactly the same as all the other Star Wars movies—fun to watch, but certainly nothing to write home about. Interestingly, the 3D wasn’t very good. I don’t know if that was something to do with the cinema (though I’ve not had a problem with any other 3D movie there—ok, there was one movie where it was entirely broken and the movie was a really bright kind of red colour, but usually it’s fine…) or the movie, but it looked like bright points of light in the movie (of which there were a lot) were perhaps out of sync by a frame between eyes or something like that, which sometimes looked like a strange sort of overlay on top of the rest of the normal-3D movie.