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The White Hat Melbourne Newsletter
Archived
Newsletter No.308 - 16th April 2009
Contents
Billy Elliot – The Musical finishes in about a month so if you are thinking of booking tickets you need to do so soon. Call Girl – The Musical continues at Chapel Off Chapel. It seems that the only sort of musical that can make it to the commercial stage nowadays is one that is based on an already successful movie, show or public character. Hence Billy Elliot – The Musical, The Producers – The Musical, Keating – The Musical, Shane Warne – The Musical, and, yes, we know you’ve been waiting for it, and here it is . . . [curtain up] “Oh what a beautiful market,
Oh what a beautiful day,
You’ve got a wonderful feeling
Suckers are coming this way.”
This weekend there is a car boot market in Wantirna and ‘Treasures at Trinity’ in Surrey Hills. Details at Fairs & Fetes in Melbourne. There is also La Plaza de Mercado (an Hispanic Festival) at the Vic Market. “There’s a fresh looking girl buying vegies,
No maths – so you know where your edge is.
The prices are high, but she still wants to buy,
And you’ll soon have that Beemer and beach house at Rye.
Oh what a beautiful . . ”
[fades into distance]
This weekend there is a model railway show in Glen Iris. Great stuff for families. The good people of Glen Iris get very excited around this time of year because this is about the most exciting thing that happens in their suburb all year. Details at Steam Trains in Melbourne.
“Hi WH
Thank You for your lettuce delight recipe. I love the coconut jelly you get after Yum Cha. Do you have a recipe or do any of the white hat extended families have one for me? One person tried to explain to me which packet recipe she used at a Chinese grocery yet I did not find it at ones I have looked in. cheers
Janine” “Had she not been so obsessive-compulsive about capital letters, Sarah would have noticed that "Bolognaise" rendered the dish unpalatable. (Surely she can only stomach Spaghetti Bolognese). Britt” “Hi Whitehat,
We drove up to Kinglake on Good Friday to deliver a basket of Easter eggs and goodies for the children which we had won in a raffle. It would have taken us 12 years to eat all that chocolate, and they deserved it more than we did,. The trip up was heart breaking to see all the devastation, but we were so welcomed by the residents and fire dept, it made you feel special. We talked to some of the residents and heard some very distressing stories. During our talks we found out the the people would appreciate home things given to them in about 3 months ,when some would have a home to put them in, so I have started going through my kitchen and collectables, and in about that 3 months time will take them up to the fire brigade to hand out , as you must be aware there were 14 members of the fire group who lost their homes while helping the rest of the community. Maybe some of your whitehat group may like to do the same thing. Keep up your always welcome chitchats. Ellen.”
The Comedy Festival continues. Details at Comedy in Melbourne.
On Tuesday night you can cheer yourself up by going along to a discussion of the current global financial crisis at Fed Square. On Wednesday Dr Peter Ellyard gives a talk related to his books at the Athenaeum. Dr Ellyard calls himself a futurist so you might want to ask him about the winner of this year’s Melbourne Cup. Details of both at Forums & Talks in Melbourne.
This weekend the MSO presents the Emperor Concerto and there is an all-Beethoven concert at Rippon Lea. Next Thursday you can hear Copland’s Emily Dickinson Songs at Monash Uni. And the following weekend the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra performs Bach, Mozart & Suk. Details at Classical Music in Melbourne.
“I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When art was cheap And you could buy it
When you could buy a good cheap print,
And hang it in your flat at Highett.”
This weekend is the affordable art show in the Exhibition Building which has been rebranded Art Melbourne 2009. There are also art shows and sales in Hampton and forest Hill. Details at Art Festivals in Melbourne. “I dreamed of art from long ago
Born from great craft or from intuit,
But now you do not need such skills
Just mash-up stuff from those who do it.”
Now, as you know, this newsletter is written by, and aimed at, people who are young and funky. Recent scientific studies by the CSIRO have been able to pinpoint the exact age at which humans stop being funky and start being frumpy. They have ascertained this age to be 23 years 3 months and 12 days. Because advertisers focus on the funkies rather than the frumpies (who think twice before parting with their cash), we are considering purging our mailing list of all frumpies – except for those who can hold their own in a musical. Take, for instance, Susan Boyle singing “I Dreamed a Dream”
“I have often walked Down Smith Street before
But the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before,
All at once am I Several stories high
Breathing smoke on the street where you live.”
Here is one of our favourite hidden gems in Smith Street.
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This reasonably priced circus performance in Rowville continues through until the end of the weekend. Details at Children's Activities in Melbourne.
The first reply to our communications quiz came from Dawn. Here area her answers: - In what year was the internet created? In what year was the world wide web created? - Much earlier, both of them, than we would expect. I think the 1960s or 70s for the internet (in case of atomic war, the military could still communicate) and the world wide web was perhaps 1980s, used mainly by universities and libraries.
- How would the ships in the First Fleet have communicated with each other? - Semaphore – or special flags hoisted - I guess in daylight, lights I suppose at night. But also they’d pass notes to other ships to be taken “:home” etc – eg mailbags.. I think morse code was not available till later, radio times.
- A young man working in the family music store in Ballarat invented an important precursor to television. What was the name of the music store? - No idea. Nor what the invention was. Some sort of tuner rather than a cat’s whisker as per crystal set? But it was an Aussie who invented videotape and I think a Melburnian whose parents went to the church my grandparents and parents attended - ??? Spicer – who worked out how to use satellites for TV broadcasts. He put a plane up in a small area over Bordertown and bounced the signal from Adelaide to the plane and down into Melbourne for a telecast of an Adelaide cricket test – probably about 1963 period. I know I watched it proudly with Mum!
- Some lighthouses don’t have a continuous beacon but a series of flashes. What is the purpose of this flash sequence? - So you can identify which lighthouse it is and therefore where you are and what action y0ou have to take to follow eg the channel in through the heads into Port Phillip or seer clear of the rips and rocks along the “shipwreck coast”.
- No matter what Melbourne suburb you are in it is always easy to find the direction of Mount Dandenong. How? - You can see it from most! Also there ate TV transmitters up there – they used to send out all of Melbourne TV, and radio – not sure that is still true though. I guess the radio signal would come in best when pointed to it.
- What has the Burke & Wills expedition got to do with telecommunications? - I agree it has, but for the life of me can’t remember what. Did they take something to set it up as a sort of beacon? No setting up a cable station I think or following a cable for a certain way/distance
- When an AFL footballer holds the ball above his head, what does that communicate? - Never noticed. Surrender?? I am kicking for goal, or to another player who would know it was for him??
- Signing using your hands is used by hearing impaired people to communicate. Can signing have an Australian accent? - Yes. Auslan. It uses different signs etc than other forms of sign language. In fact most countries have different signs and there is a move to get all English speaking ones to use the same signs. Don’t think it is working through, In fact a cow is a cow no matter what language you use - - so eg a sign for cow (I suggest a milking motion) should not matter if it is in a Turkish Russian or English speaking country.
- Why are foghorns of a low pitch? - It will travel further, miles out to sea.
- Some families or friends use signs as a secret form of communication. Do you have a favourite? - Family? Or sign? Sorry, no. but we did use the middle name for our children when they misbehaved as did many others. Peter becoming Peter James was a bad sign that my mother picked up on without being told even though I never remember her calling me Dawn Suzanne! But then, perhaps I was perfect.
And by the way, we went to Kinglake and down to St Andrews. We bought unwanted coffee and cake at Kinglake, felt we had to, took a few photos but tried to hide the camera. Some trees were already getting green cloaks but it was a scene of horror. I shall not easily forget it. Silence, too, no birds. Burnt smell. And in one place, the stench of a dead and rotting kangaroo. It was only about two or three weeks back too, long after the fires, and only a week before Marysville was reopened. I imagine it was similar in appearance to after an atomic blast. I was with a person who has only lived in Australia perhaps 21 months now – she was amazed and horrified at it all and especially amazed how (some of) the trees were sprouting green from every pore. It came too close to me – I live at Croydon and it is not far from there to Yarra Glen as the fire burns. My car was packed for a couple of weeks…
Dawn”
This weekend the PAVE Festival continues in Emerald. The Sunwrae ensemble continue their national tour through Warburton, Sale and Montsalvat. The following weekend there is the Echuca Country Music Festival and the Prom Coast Seachange Festival. Details at Country Victoria
“When work’s through and you don' know,
Where to go to, why don't you go,
Where fashion sits?
Struttin’ down the Fitz. (doo-wah)
Different types, who wear a straight
Black suit with stripes, or cut away
Skirt but with slits?
Struttin’ down the Fitz. (roy-street)
[Gentlemen executives, being careful to stay in time, should now break the glass that allows access to the secret cabinet storing the white top hats and canes.] "Dressed up like a true Macquarie Banker,
No-one now will dare call you a xxxxx. (doo-wah)"
[Gentlemen, work the stairs, ladies up on the desk.] "Come, let's mix where Eddie Maguire,
Finds his chicks, or lesser mortals,
Get a fix,
Struttin’ down the Fitz. (doo-wah)
Spangled gowns and lashes dark and shady,
Look at that one there – is that a lady? (may be)" [Alright ladies, kick higher now. Look at Rena from accounts payable – that’s the way!] "Dressed up like a true Macquarie Banker,
No-one now will dare call you a xxxxx. (doo-wah) Come with me and
Turn around this recession
Spending our last two bits
Struttin’ down the Fitz."
[wild applause Curtain down]
Australian musicals and opera. - What Australian musical was named after an academic textbook?
- What Australian musical was based on a set of Melbourne poems?
- Name the exotic dancer who scandalised Melbourne with her ‘authentic’ folk dance depicting a maiden shaking a spider out of her clothing (and, as you would, removing part of her clothing in the process).
- Panto dames are a great tradition. Name two grand old dames (one Australian) who danced the ugly sisters in Cinderella.
- The panto ‘boy’ was often a female. Name a particularly attractive Melbourne ‘boy’ who crowds flocked to see in her shorts in the early part of the 20th century.
- A Queensland canecutter and a Victoria Street butcher were world class singers who occasionally found themselves on the same stage. Who were they?
No prizes – just glory and a warm inner glow.
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