Alice Cooper at the Palais

Friday 28 August was spent in St Kilda. Drinks at the Espy to meet GB before heading off to see the showman Mr Alice Cooper. It was a fantastically fun show. They killed him on stage over and over.....was it 7 times?.......and yet HE LIVED! He lived to throw bunches of necklaces and money out into the crowd. He lived to kill his daughter (evil nurse). He lived to don a silver top hat and tails. He lived to sing Schools Out for the encore. Fun fun fun.

Hungry Head 2009

The family gathers once a year in a place called Hungry Head. A set of cabins delightfully situated in the bush 50 meters from the beach on the north coast of NSW.

We spend alot of the time around the campfire listening to music and drinking, and as the years go by and the younger ones drive the activities more we are spending a little more time at the local pub in town.
It is the kind of place I would like to bring visitors to our Country. Where they can wake up in the morning and be welcomed to the new day by kangaroos and kookaburras. As the years go by, the Kangaroos are becoming more and more tame. This year even a mother Kanga with a jooey in her pouch let me pet her.

This year GB and I spent a little time on our own...doing some touristy stuff. We headed up to Dorrigo to check out the waterfalls, skywalk and rainforest.

We took the walk along the Urunga Boardwalk and were surprised that there was an extension built in 2006. It had been 3 years since we had taken the time to enjoy this part of what Urunga has to offer us.

A relaxing week with a dash of family tension.

The week we got our groove back

It has been a big week, several anniversarys were celebrated:

GB's 27th Birthday
1st year in our house
6th year of my Job

GB's birthday was a quiet affair. We had a poker night at ours on the Saturday night with some friends. Cards were played, whiskey was consumed and we stayed up long enough for it to become GB's birthday so presents could be given. The theme of gifts were completely in line with GB's two main loves - meat and alcohol. I believe he was very happy.

The day of birth was then celebrated by a family lunch gathering for the youngest member of the Oliver/Kahler family. In attendance: Grandmother, Great Aunt, Mother and family friends Sigrid and Geoffrey. Small but with enough emotional intensity to ensure it certainly wasn't boring. Mrs K cooked a wonderful beef roast, lemon tart and lunch was finished with cheese.

There are 3 things you are always guaranteed with such a gathering. 1) There will be an abundance of alcohol. 2) Great food will be served. 3) There will be moments I am giggling to myself at the tension and inanity.


"It is a Monday night, I have my holey boots on, a hankering for popcorn and the Astor is only a couple hundred metres away, HIT IT!


I met GB at Mothers Milk bar on Chapel St for a pre-show drink. It was a cute / comfortable bar and didn't have the try-hard feel of some places in the same area. Not to mention they had $3 pots of Asahi. What more could you want?
We headed over to The Astor with enough time to look around the old little theatre as both GB and I were Astor virgins. It is exactly what you would expect from a cinema of that vintage. Great atmosphere, quaint decor and interesting historical displays. GB and I both become instant fans of the experience. It is cheap, you can buy cake from the candy bar and they run great old classics and cult movies. We vow to be regulars.

Another school night outing! My my.

A quick trip to PJ O'Brien's for a drink and dinner prior to the concert and then on to Hamer Hall to experience Tim Rogers, Josh Pyke, Chris Cheney and Phil Jamieson bring to life The White Album. And it was just amazing. I very much like Hamer Hall as a venue for events such as these - it lends that added sense that what you are experiencing is special.

To my shame I hadn't actually listened to The White Album all the way through prior to last night. Mostly it made me want to go home and load my itunes with all that is The Beatles except one song which made me want to go home and listen to Radiohead's Ok Computer all the way through.

I think Chris Cheney and Tim Rogers were the stand outs for me - apart from the very excellent music. Everyone on stage looked like they were enjoying it more than the audience. And to my delight for the last two songs everyone stood and got their groove on.