It’s Saturday afternoon and I’m at work for a couple of hours doing some training. In between time I thought I’d take a moment or two to update my blog. Aside from work and dinner last night, I’ve been a home body since I last wrote.

First and foremost, I have a new nephew, Sammuel Bobbin. Although he’s only a few weeks old, he seems like quite the early developer as he looks quite big and has a a head full of hair.

I guess the emphasis on family is reflective of my stay at home status at the moment. The exception to the stay at home rule was last night when Damien and I went to dinner at RQ, a restaurant on Crown Street. According to Matthew Evans in the Sydney Morning Herald, RQ is part of the “modern Asian food movement”, epitomised by restaurants such as Wockpool, Longrain and Billy Kwong, which is now evident in Sydney. Evans says…. “The food is usually true to its roots. It’s not trying to do East murders West. Instead, it’s often food that has been cooked by the owner’s families for generations. In many ways, it is more authentic food but served with a Western aesthetic. Most of the new breed don’t drown everything in coconut cream. They’re lighter of hand, serving the kind of food you can eat every day. Vietnamese food is certainly making its mark. It’s yummy, fresh and fragrant.”

But aside from that I’ve been at home, spending most of my time watching Foxtel. I decided to get Foxtel shortly before arriving back from Perth. Although I’d wanted to have pay-tv for a number of years, it wasn’t possible due to the lack of cabling in my street. The decision by the Body Corporate, however, to install a dish and cable the block itself meant that it became an option late last year. And then, one night, watching television in Perth, I saw the advertisement for “free installation” and rang up straight away and ordered it.

In the months since it’s become all I watch and listen to. In addition to all of the Foxtel channels, it also has ABC, SBS, Nine and all of the ABC’s radio services, so I haven’t needed to wander back to free to air, even if I do miss out on Channels 7 and 10. I decided not to subscribe to the movie channels because, frankly, I probably don’t have the time, nor attention span to dedicate to watching what are usually third rate films. Sometimes, however, I’ve toyed with the idea of subscribing to World Movies…

My current favourite programs are “Graham Norton” and “Eurotrash” on the Comedy Channel and “Teachers” and “This Life” on UK-TV. I also regularly watch “The Simpsons”.

I really love “Graham Norton” and “Eurotrash” for their camp humour. I think Norton is a terrifically talented and extremely versatile performer and have only on one or two occasions been bored by his “let’s look up dirty websites” style of program. Those occasions have been when the guests haven’t play along or haven’t gotten the joke. I think my favourite was an episode when Sybill Shepherd appeared… she was very funny. “Eurotrash” is usually pretty funny too, especially when they dub silly English accents over the humour. They’re both programs which try hard, but not too hard, if you know what I mean. I also watch “The Man Show” and “Beyond The Belt” for similar reasons… just heaps of fun and no pretention.

I also watch “Teachers” and “This Life” because they’re both programs I genuinely love. It’s perhaps co-incidental that Andrew Lincoln appears in both… playing a similar character in both. When they first screened I loved both programs as they touched me with their humour and honesty. I guess that’s why I still enjoy them now… a nostalgia for times past… perhaps?

The next week, however, looks busier with a number of social events planned. On Tuesday, Mel and I are going to see “Il Divo” an “opera boy band” put together by Simon from American Idol. There’s also a farewell dinner for Christian from work. Tim Draxl on Friday night. And then on Saturday, two gallery openings and a CD launch of Kate’s son’s band, Combat Wombat. I’m looking forward to a holiday!

Oh… hang on… an SMS from Yvette has just arrived… drinks at her place tonight from 6pm… with the karaoke machine currently being warmed up! Oh dear!!!