It’s Thursday morning, I’ve just had breakfast and I’m sitting here wearing shorts and a singlet. It’s bloody hot.
METROPOLITAN FORECAST
BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY
NEW SOUTH WALES REGIONAL OFFICE
Issued at 4:30am on Thursday the 30th of January 2003
For Thursday
Total Fire Ban. Fire Weather warning for Extreme Fire Danger. Dry. Mostly sunny. Very hot with moderate to fresh north to northwest winds. Local fresh to strong afternoon northeast seabreezes near the coast. A strong squally southerly change overnight.
Sydney: Dry. 39
Liverpool: Dry. 43
Richmond: Dry. 43
Hooley-dooley it’s hot.
Yesterday morning, when it was much milder, I went to the Imax Cinema to see the Media Preview of a new movie, “SOS Planet”. The film highlights a state of the art theme park attraction created by WWF to raise public awareness about the need to care for our environment. Narrated by Walter Kronkite and produced in partnership with WWF, SOS Planet 3D provides teachers and students with a new perspective on the themes of global warming, ocean destruction/ depletion and deforestation. It also encourages us to think critically about how the mass media shape opinions about the state of our planet. Although I thought the message was, for my own liking, oversimplistic and over-emotional, I thought it was a good film and by the end I wanted to go out and join Greenpeace. The animals – all fluffy, furry and cuddly – have Disney-like human/animal features which makes it appealing to children, although some of them around me were scared by the 3-D effects. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable way to spend the morning.
I went in to work briefly and then returned home to undertake a few household chores.
I needed to preserve my energy for last night – Yvette’s return. To celebrate, I had re-written the lyrics to “I Still Call Australia Home”, which we sang to her on her return.
She’s been to cities that never close down
Like Oslo and Malmo and old Stockholm Town
But no matter how far, or how wide she roams
She still calls Australia home.
She’s always travellin’
She loves being free
She also likes drinking (between you and me).
Til her voice cries loudly over the phone,
I call Karaoke Bars home.
Both the Farrell daughters
Spinning ’round the world
Away from their family and friends
But Stockholm got colder, and colder
And that’s where her journey ends.
One day they’ll all be together once more
When all of the ships don’t sink no more.
When all on the Tampa are safely home.
She calls Karaoke Bars home.
But no matter how far, or how wide she roams.
She calls Karaoke Bars. She calls Karaoke Bars
She calls Karaoke Bars home.
Cute eh?
As she arrived back, she commented on several occasions how warm it was in Sydney (I thought it was actually a bit nippy last night). In comparison, however, with Kiruna where she had been earlier this week (where it was minus 30), I guess it was warm. She told us a few stories. We had a drink. And then it was time for bed.
Today should be a reasonably busy day with a movie (The Pianist), a launch (Studio at Opera House), and a concert (Topp Twins), to attend. After all this, I’ll need a holiday.
Am off to Melbourne next week, but will probably post before then.