Busy, busy, busy...

Summer is hotting up, and so is my social life!
Had a very hectic weekend - I was up in Newcastle, Nelson Bay and the Hunter Valley last week.
I had a Great Aunt over from Scotland, so I popped up to Newcastle to see her before she flew back. We went out to Nelson Bay - the first time I had even been - for a wander around the shops and a bite to eat.
I stayed up in Newcastle overnight with my cousins, before heading to Cessnock to meet David, Sonia and Rich, for the pre-Christmas wine run.
A great weekend, but man I was exhausted when I finally made it back to Sydney.
I had a lovely relaxing breakfast at Bitton Gourmet cafe in Erskinville, which rounded of a fantastic weekend perfectly. Great company, too.
Upcoming trips include Red Rock in mid-Dec, Melbs in Jan and the Gold Coast for Easter. See what happens when you get a more sociable job....
I ended up driving some monster truck to the valley as I was going to drop it off in Sydney for my cousin, so I was bombing around the Hunter Valley, driving with my arms and legs very far apart!!!

You're havin' a laugh, Aunty Claire!

Aunty Claire gives Charlotte her first bottle

A weekend in Melbourne... on Uncle Rupert

Just back from a quick trip to Melbourne for the News Ltd News Awards.
I was fortunate enough to have ben invited down with the News Interative team this year - we weren't nominated this year.

The awards were great - especially since I had resigned at the start of the week and the news had spread - but more importantly, because we were put up in the Crown Towers Casino.
I've not stayed in a room as luxurious in ages - it was touch and go as to whether I would even make it to the awards, the appeal of the room and the hotel complex was so great. $90 for breakfast for two in the room, though! Thanks Mr Murdoch!

The weather was pretty warm down in Melbourne, and despite having been here for five Christmases, it never ceases to make me laugh when I see Christmas decorations all over the place with a blue-sky backdrop and searing temperatures! The above picture is the blanket of stars hanging above all the tram lines in Melbourne city centre. I doubt my picture does it justice, but they way the sun reflected off them was just amazing.

On the work front I am being positively overloaded with projects before my departure - much more than I could possibly get done in a month. So the countdown - for me - is really on. I can't wait to get onto the next new challenge.

New year, new start...

A great piece of news for me - I have a new job!
I've just resigned my post as Editor of The Daily Telegraph Online to take up a similar position at nineMSN.

This will be a much-needed change for me: a role with direction, structure, pay and conditions and prospects in an online culture. And they're paying me a packet, too!

nineMSN's logo is a butterfly - which some of you will know is something I have been particularly keen on since my Mum's death in August. So I'd like to think a little divine intervention may have been going on :-)

I start my new role on Dec 18th.

Return of the Showgirl...

IT's official - she's back.

After an 18 month absence, Kylie Minogue made a welcome return to the stage last night, and was overwhelmed by the response.

Speaking at the Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Minogue - looking fitter and stronger than ever - was visibly moved by the standing ovation she received as she took to the stage.

Apologising to fans for the delay in the show - rescheduled following her breast cancer battle - Minogue said:
"I'm a ten minutes late kind of person. Not two hours - just ten minutes.
"But a year an a half... well that's fashionably late. Just as well I'm fashionable"

Kicking off her first concert in the Kylie Showgirl - Homecoming tour with Better the Devil you Know, Minogue delved into her 18 year back-catalogue of hits to deliver old favourites, and new twists on classics, in particular a Big Band style Locomotion, and an audience-participation karioke version of Especially for You as well as montages of earlier hits.

The show itself was split into two halves - each with four seperate segments. From space travel, to mystic chanting and the showers of a gym, Kylie wowed the crowd with her energy and her sheer happiness at being back on stage.

"I've imagined this moment for so long," she told the crowd, "and now it's here I don't know what to say".

Borrowing heavily from Madonna's stage extravaganzas of years gone by, Minogue paid homage to the star by covering the the middle-rap from Vogue.

With eight constume changes - including a Catwoman-inspired lepord print number, complete with cat ears, dozens of dancers, some in the most revealing of budgie smugglers, the Showgirl- Homecoming tour is a spectacle on a mammoth scale.

The Kylie faithful, who've waited 18 months to welcome their pop princess home, clearly adore her as much as ever.
And she couldn't be happier to be home.

You're (not so) terrible Muriel

Actress Toni Collette has just released her debut album (I kid you not) and I witnessed her seceond-ever live show at the @Newtown RSL across the road from my house.
Chock full of lesbians and gay boys, people were desperate to see a dead set legend and Aussiewood celeb. They were not disappointed.
Although the songs were a little slow and samey, and with the already well documented rather simple lyrics (listen below...)

... Toni Collette has an amazing voice. A few Shirley Bassey arm moves, but a fantastic voice, and the friendliest stage presense.
Of course, there were the obligatory shouts of 'You're terrible Muriel..." from the crown but that was more in jest, rather than at her singing abilities.

A really interesting evening - check out her MySpace site here.

Another YouTube gem...

When I was in the UK in June, Nelly Furtado was everywhere with her Maneater song. A massive Summer hit, it was quite a departure from the Candian singer's Portugese roots.

I've had a crush on her forever, and really rate her as an artist.

Summer is almost upon us in Australia, and Maneater is all over the radio and music tv stations.

I found this gem on YouTube - a homage to arguably one of the biggest hits of the northern and southern hemispherical summers respectively.
Enjoy!

Remember, remember the 5th of November...

Wow, I can't believe it is November already. I don't know where 2006 has gone.
I was explaining to a colleague at work today how this was my favourite time of year when I was a kid.
Slap-bang inbetween the end of the Summer break and Christmas holidays, this week traditionally meant you had just started half-term or were just back at school. And what an exciting week - Halloween and Bonfire Night within five days of eachother. Such a treat.

Bonfire Night is not celebrated in Australia (though NZ has claimed it, curiously enough...) and infact you can only buy fireworks from the ACT unless you have a licence. Bizarre. Man, I could do with some Bonfire tofee...

I had my book launch last night.... and man, was it dull. The usual rah rah from the publishing house, a couple of excerpts read outload, free bar for the first 90mins and plates of warm Bavarian smoked cheese and cabanossi. Yummo - NOT.

I've also been back at work a month and had a three-hour discussion with my boss this afternoon. I say discusssion - I was certainly driving the conversation, letting him know how thoroughly miserable I am in my job. The upshot is that I'm no longer on permanent nightshift - rather, I'm doing two weeks out of every six. Hurrah - time to reclaim my life :-)

Am missing my little niece like mad, as the photo of me mooning at my computer monitor shows. She's sooooooooooooooo cute.