#or other big Aussie cities like Wellington :(

[pegasusdrawnchariots]

tasmania is in that poll lol, hobart is the capital of Tasmania

Nice try, anon! But u won't fool me, I know Tasmania is the capital city of Australia ^_^ & Governor Hobart is a guy lol, not a city

[ausmove]

Top 5 Destinations to Move to in Australia

Thinking of moving to Australia? With beautiful beaches, great weather, vibrant cities, fantastic job opportunities, and friendly locals all at your doorstep it’s no wonder over 600,000 kiwis now call Australia home.

Ranked as one of the most liveable countries in the world there is something for everyone. Whether you’re wanting to further your studies or career, start a family, or retire Australia is waiting for you.

If you’re planning a move across the ditch, here are our top 5 places to live in Australia!

1) Gold Coast

The Gold Coast, aka Australia’s playground is one of the best places to live in Aussie. With world-famous beaches, breath-taking ranges, international shopping centres, fantastic restaurants, and a booming nightlife all at your fingertips – you will never be bored!

Better yet, the Gold Coast has over 300 days of sunshine per year with temperatures barely dropping below 21 degrees.

The Gold Coast also has plenty of job opportunities. There is huge demand for workers in hospitality and tourism due to the large number of tourists who visit the Gold Coast every year as well as jobs in education, business, construction, and other trades too.

With good job opportunities and affordable living costs it’s no wonder the Gold Coast is a popular choice.

2) Brisbane

Only an hour’s drive from the Gold Coast is Brisbane another popular destination for Kiwi expats.

The capital city of Queensland is home to 2.28 million people making it Australia’s third-largest city behind Sydney and Melbourne. With a vibrant economy, beautiful beaches, and great coffee living in Brisbane you get the big city experience without the fuss.

What’s more, Brisbane provides plenty of study and career opportunities. With the University of Queensland and Griffith University campuses situated in the heart of Brisbane you are spoilt for choice.

Popular suburbs with families include Kelvin Grove and Victoria Point while South Brisbane and West End are common choices for university students and young professionals.

3) Melbourne

Melbourne - the cultural capital of Australia often referred to as Wellington’s cooler sister is a city full of life. It’s home to a vibrant art scene, fantastic shopping, and award-winning cafes and restaurants.  

With a population of 5.1 million, Melbourne is an incredibly diverse place with over 140 cultures, making Melbourne an inclusive and welcoming city with extremely friendly locals.

Due to its diverse culture and vibrant art scene, there are plenty of job opportunities for creative types like musicians, artist, and writers. What’s more, there are also an abundance of job opportunities in technology, education, agriculture, hospitality, and trades.

Part of the beauty of Melbourne is that it’s suitable for everyone, regardless of age and circumstance. Young people are attracted to inner northern and southern suburbs, families thrive in leafy, green suburbs like Greensborough and Dandenong, and retirees are attracted to the laid-back atmosphere and scenic beauty of the Mornington Peninsula.

4) Perth

Want the best of both worlds? Then look no further than Perth with perfect weather, beautiful beaches, plenty of job opportunities, a strong community feel, and a laidback lifestyle you get the best of city and seaside living in Perth.

Perth is one of the most geographically isolated cities in the world, but it doesn’t feel like it when you’re there. Home to over 2 million people it is one of Australia’s fastest-growing cities and is connected to the rest of the world through its international airport.

If you’re thinking of hanging your hat in Perth, Dalkeith and Mullaloo and Melville are great choices for families, while Northbridge is popular with millennials and Murdoch with retirees.

5) Sydney

If you love a fast-paced city with lots to see and do, then Sydney is the place to be. As Australia’s largest city home to over 5 million people there is never a dull moment.  

What’s more, it's home to the famous Sydney Opera House, Royal Botanical Gardens, and Bondi and Manly beach, providing picture-perfect backdrops wherever you turn.

Sydney has a range of neighbourhoods to suit all lifestyles. Whether you want to be in the hustle and bustle of the city or prefer to wake up to views of the northern beaches there is a suburb for everyone.

If you’re ready to move to Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, or any other city in Australia get in touch with Ausmove for a free no-obligation quote and start your Australian adventure today.  

[sowecanrememberourtrips]

Tasmania 2019

One Week in Tasmania. March 17-24.

Tasmania is 100x the area size of Singapore, yet its population is only 500,000. If you want nature, National Parks, lakes and farms, coastal drives and forest walks, this is the place.

It is also home to animals such as Tasmania devils, quolls, wallabies, pademelons and kangaroos.

We squeezed a 7-day itinerary into 6 days. Kinda round the island in 2,000km. Do-able but a little tight on Day 1.

Took the red-eyed flight, and arrived in Melbourne to transit to Hobart. Our Quantas arrived in Hobart at 2pm. Jetstar may get you 4 more hours - precious as most shops and eateries in the woods close at 5pm!

Either flight, I would recommend staying one afternoon and night at Hobart, to rest up before driving west.

We rented a car from Apex car rental. Small local Aussie company, friendly and flexible service which allowed us to return the GPS when we learned that iPhone Google Maps can be plugged into the car system. Their office and carpark is 1 min away from airport departure hall. We called for their van transport upon collecting bags, and by the time we reached pick up point, the van arrived. We picked a Hyundai sedan, $41 a day. Functional, but if you have budget, go for a heavier car as traveling speed can go up to 120km/h.

Download map.me app. And then download map of Tasmania. This wonder offline map will save you when data GPS fails you in the forest.

Day 1 (Hobart to Strahan, total 5 hrs drive)

Upon collecting car at 2pm, we made our way from East to West. No time for proper lunch!

Buy the Multi-Parks Pass for $60. Useful and good as it covers two adults, one car, and all National Parks! We bought ours from ticketing counter at Russel Falls.

1 hr 15 min to reach Russel Falls, within Mt Field National Park. Do the walk up to Russel Falls, Horseshoe Falls and Tall Trees (Eucalyptus) trek. Takes about 3 hours return.

(If you start off in the morning, you may want to drive on 1.5 hours more to a recommended next stop for lunch. The Wall in the Wilderness Cafe)

From Mt Field National Park, it’s 3hr 45 min to Strahan. Tiring drive as night was falling. Wild animals come out more at night, and there are no street lamps, so drive with extra care.

Make stops for coffee or dinner - which we did not! Or rather, we tried to. We stopped at Queenstown, a supposed big town an hour before Strahan, but all shops were closed by 6. We met a nice lady named Joy at the Paragon Theatre who cooked up some carbonara for us and allowed us to dine in this old-school theatre screening hall - deeply appreciated at 10pm!

Salt Box Hideaways is more Airbnb than hotel. Self-picked the keys from a locked box. Apartment was hipster lovely! Morning surprise view of a lake as we raised the curtains!

Day 2 (Strahan to Cradle Mt, total 2.5 hrs drive)

Strahan is a sleepy, scenic town by Gordon River. A great place for breakfast is The Coffee Shack & Morsels, opposite Gordon River Cruise. Great avocado toast. Cruise is damn expensive, don’t bother. 42 Degrees is a restaurant on a higher ground - but not opened for lunch. Check online.

A 20 min drive brings us to Henry Dunes. A peculiar area of fine white sand on top of a hill - gentle climb up sandy slopes.

1 hour more brought us to Montezuma Falls’ start-off point. To see the Falls - highest in Tasmania - is a 3 hours return trek thru rainforest. We just trekked a bit in and out of the rainforest. Looking back, this is not a recommended spot.

Another 1 hr 30 min to Discovery Parks Cabin and Camping site. Buy food (raw or cooked) along the way and top up petrol. Discovery Parks is an accommodation facility WITHIN Cradle Mountain, which is important and cool. We got the Family Cabin (good for 4 pax) as the hip cabins were sold out. Camp site has no food. Bring your own to cook in communal kitchen. Toilets are communal too but they provide towels. But super near Cradle Mt National Park Visitor Centre, which is useful for the next day.

5 min drive away is Devils@Cradle. They organize Tasmanian Devils feeding at 5:30pm and /or 8:30pm. Check online.

Day 3 (Cradle Mt - Launceston, total 2.5 hrs drive)

One of the highlights is the World Heritage listed Cradle Mountain National Park. Very organized shuttle buses that bring you in, very Jurassic Park feels. Park your car at Visitor Centre for free, grab a coffee (opens 8:30am) and then take the shuttle (every 20 min from 8am). Remember the Multi-Parks Pass? Gets you free shuttle bus tickets. Show at counter to redeem. Bus service is a loop service with 5 stops.

We took the 9:30am bus to Dove Lake. A lake formed by glaciation some 10,000 years ago. Absolutely stunning scenery and tranquillity. Walk around the lake takes about 3 hours, many photo points. Including a boat shed.

We then took the shuttle bus back to our car and drove to Peppers Lodge/ Cradle Mountain Lodge Tavern for lunch. Good portions!

To come back for:

Some other 20 min to 1 hour walks, there is one apparently beautiful walk just next to Peppers Lodge. Or, the famous Overland Walk, that takes 6 days. Can fly into Launceston and drive 2.5 hrs here.

We went to Devils@Cradle, a sanctuary for breeding the endangered Devils, in time for a 1pm Keepers Tour. Very informative and you get to see Devils and Quolls.

From here, it’s a 2.5 hours drive to Launceston. Can stop by Sheffield (town of murals) or Christmas Hills Raspberry Farms for tea break.

Launceston is the second largest city of Tasmania. We stayed at Mercure, which is along Brisbane Street, their city centre where you could walk to cafes, eateries and shops. Ate at Pachinko, an Asian fusion place.

Day 4 (Launceston to the East, total 4 hrs drive)

A very short drive (5 min) from city centre of Launceston will bring you to Cataract Gorge. A pretty and easy park to walk around after breakfast (pancakes and French toast!) at Basin Cafe located right at the park. Spend about 2 hours here, including breakfast.

On the way to the East (2.5 hours to Bay of Fires), we stopped by Ledgerwood. To see the 9 unique war memorial carvings on cedar trees.

We also stopped here for lunch and ice cream at a simple Ledgerwood Kitchen.

If you like cheese, the next pee or coffee stop could be Pyengana Dairy Company. We stopped instead at a roadside kiosk for coffee with a mountain view, and a little stretch-leg shopping at The Shop in The Bush.

Bay of Fires is a secluded pristine white beach with rocks with orange marks, formed by lichens. After some photos, we drove down and visited a few other fine beaches, towards St Helens. Took us 1.5 hours to arrive at Bicheno. Bicheno town centre has a few eateries, we had fish and chips dinner at Beachfront Bistro.

We stayed in Diamond Island Resort and Penguin Parade in Bicheno. Owned by Koreans, the resort is on a good piece of property. It is linked to an island via a thin stretch of sandy beach, fairly unique as you can see waves crashing in from both sides. When tide is low, you can walk to the island. And on summer nights, you get to see peri-penguins coming onto resort property. We were lucky to spot one as soon as we stepped onto the viewing deck! Room is villa style with two floors - kitchen and sofa on the ground floor, and beds for 4 on the second floor. Maintenance could be better lah.

Day 5 (Great Eastern Drive, total 4 hrs drive)

East Coast Natureworld at Bicheno, a wildlife sanctuary 5 min from our resort is a must! Greatest animal experience feeding kangeroos, and meeting wombats, white peacocks, black swans and more Devils. There is a cafe that opens at 9am with waffles and coffee.

1 hour drive brings us to Freycinet National Park (Multi-Park Pass, again), and we had lunch at Robertson’s at Freycinet Lodge. High-end accommodation for my 70th birthday? Haha.

5 min drive upwards from Freycinet Lodge is the car park to start walking trek up Wineglass Bay Lookout. 1.5 hours return hike. Moderate to tough. Read and heard many said lookout point is enough. Don’t need to go to the beach, which is another 1.5 hours return. Super popular attraction, ie crowded with tourists wanting that postcard shot.

Freycinet to Hobart is a 3 hours drive. You may break it up with coffee breaks at Swansea (1 hour), Orford (45 min) and Hobart (1+ hour). We stopped by Kate’s Berry Farm for good pancakes, and awesome boysenberry (cross between rasp and black) ice cream!

Arrive at Hobart before 6pm to see the HarbourFront. We ate an assortment of seafood at Fish Frenzy, right by the water.

Day 6 (Hobart)

Our Airbnb was on the right street - Elizabeth St - that brings you down to the HarbourFront. But it was a 30 min walk one day!

We went to Battery Point to have breakfast at Jackman and McRoss, many friends recommended. And then a short walk to Salamanca Weekend Market (ONLY on Saturdays 8am to 3pm, so plan your itinerary well). Hop on the hippest ferry MR1 or MR2, the Mona Roma, to MONA - Museum of Old and New Art. $22 for two ways ferry, each ride 20’min. Book your return timing as soon as you reach museum. We took the 1:15pm ferry to, and 5pm ferry back.

Museum entry was $28. Worth it as it’s one of a kind. Eccentric!

We skipped Port Arthur, Richmond Village and Mt Wellington cos not very interested. If you have one more day in Hobart, you could try those. Or Huon Valley for a walk above treetops on the Tahune Airwalk.

Accounts:

Air Tickets - about $900 during March holidays.

Car - about $250

Accommodation

Salt Box Hideaway S$210

Discovery parks S$120

Mercure S$144

Beach Villa S$210

Hobart AirBnb S$156 x 2 = S$312

Daily expenses - about $800 for a week.

[themousai]

Q+A: Lime Cordiale

Lime Cordiale have only just wound up their ‘Dirt Cheap’ tour around New Zealand, and they’re already coming back! Thanks for visiting us again so fast, and congratulations on everything achieved in between! It’s looking like it’s going to be a busy year.

It’s a busy few months for you guys! This month alone you have your own Australasian ‘Money’ tour, and right in the middle you’re off supporting Tash Sultana in Wollongong! Do you have any top tips for keeping sanity when you’re this busy? We’re all happier when we’re this busy. We tend to go mad if nothing is happening. Our trombone player, Nick, is very conscious of keeping morale high. It seems it’s his goal to make sure we don’t go insane. That’s the key – to make sure everyone else is alright. After 5 big nights in a row on tour, you’re not naturally a nice guy so you’ve gotta watch what you say or you’ll get your head bitten off.

The irony of the names of the ‘Dirt Cheap’ and ‘Money’ tours next to each other is amazing, for those of us that may have missed out the first time, what can we expect from you guys live? The last tour was our first proper headline tour of NZ. We didn’t know what to expect but we ended up with an audience that was crazier than any Aussie crowd. It was just a huge party. But we did it small and dirt cheap. We’ve done 30 shows since we were last over that way so it’s all pretty different now. Bigger with new songs but we still want that house party atmosphere.

Which NZ city are you most excited to see again? We didn’t hit Wellington on the last tour so we’re all very keen to play there again. The first show we ever played was in Welly back in 2017. It was our first night in New Zealand and we can just couldn’t stop laughing. Funniest humans alive are from NZ and it really makes the nights fun. We definitely won’t be keeping to ourselves at the shows over there.

How do you guys write your songs? Is it a collaborative effort, or do you find certain members tend to take certain elements? We don’t have a formula. Sometimes we start a song together from scratch but more often than not, we’ll find an idea individually and then work it up from there together. It’s rare that we’re happy with a song after a few days. We normally rip apart our songs and keep reworking them til we’re 95% happy. Then we’re done.

What inspires you guys as a band to get out there and make music (other than Money)? Well it’s definitely not for the money “cos that ain’t what I make now”. It’s hard to say. Like anyone pursuing an art form, it becomes an addiction. You keep developing and finding a new buzz in what you’re doing. We’ve been doing it for so long now that it has just become what we do. Meeting so many new people all the time must have something to do with it too. Some people find it hard to meet people. We’re in rooms crammed with hundreds of people, multiple times a week. We’ve met all sorts and love hanging with people we’ve never met before.

Do you have any advice for other bands, who may be starting out, that look up to you guys as consistently touring musicians? You just can’t stop. As soon as you stop, you’ve lost a heap of the work you’ve done. Keep playing shows, keep writing and recording music. Stick around.

If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be? I’d make it illegal to make noise complaints. Those old uptight fuckers are ruining the industry. The irony is that they’re the same guys that go on about the good old days of Rock & Roll.

Quick Fire

1. The one song I wish I wrote is... Reptillia – The Strokes

2. Three things I can’t live without are... Mushrooms, The Ocean, Music

3. If I could only play music in one genre for the rest of my life it would be... Ska

4. Three adjectives that describe my life are... Salty, Impatient, Immature

5. If I held a world record it would be for... Holding my eye lids inside out.

6. My first memory of loving music is... First CD – Elvis Presley Greatest Hits

7. The song of mine that I am the most proud of is… Is He Your Man

8. My favourite venue i’ve ever played is... The Triffid - Brisbane

9. The ideal environment for me to create music in is… Somewhere that’s not home.

10. If I could have any two bands open for me they would be… Gold Member (dreams do come true) and Papooz (France).

Answered by Oli Leimbach

Make sure to grab your tickets and come have a dance!

Keep up to date Lime Cordiale on Social Media! Instagram | Spotify | Youtube | Twitter | Facebook

Interview by Mandie Hailwood

[getseriouser]

20 THOUGHTS: Trade Radio Ga Ga (’is this real life or just a fantasy?’)

WHAT a stupid year. 

The losers of the NRL Grand Final are paid out as winners by bookmakers, and not because of a silly betting promotion but because the code and its officials are as relevant and effective in their jobs as contraception to Irish catholic newlyweds on their honeymoon.

Where Donald Trump himself is evidence our species might now be regressing, the fact endless hours of Trade Radio always have talkback callers is the proof in that devolution pudding.

And in a year where all the conservatives and right-wingers in this country should be as excited as a Beagle on full lipstick following ScoMo’s Steven Bradbury effort in May, they’re got their pantyhose and pressed slacks in a twist because of what some Volvo factory-worker’s teenage daughter has to say about the inclement weather conditions.

There was chaos and anarchy on Swan Street for the second time in three years last month but Hold Kong locals asked Richmond fans if they could hold their beer. We lost Polly and Spud, and said vale, gone too soon, to Saturday Night Rove. Five clubs let go of their coaches, Pope Francis delisted one of his cardinals, and a ginger from Christchurch defeated his own country by the virtue of most boundaries.

But at least we retained the Ashes in England.

  1.       Let’s start with the footy, trades season is almost done. Hutchy to his credit was a genius for seeing revenue opportunity in this trade period, with an ‘insert sponsor here’ open line and hours and hours of coverage, its been a windfall and then some for his business. But I reckon we’re only a year or so away from the unwashed realising there’s no relevance in any of it until the final day. There’s only so many Terry Wallace orations on the merits of list analysis before your average punter switches off. Know when to hold them, know when to fold them, Craig.

2.       The biggest name out there with a day to go is Joe Daniher. Was that meeting with Tom Harley a personal one or an actual, official Swans’ approach? Soft tacos, hard tacos, why not both? Now we have Essendon playing hardball and who knows if it gets done. Chances are it does, Geelong last year with Tim Kelly was more exception than example, if the Swans want him bad enough, they’ll lump up the pieces, especially if they fear as I do that Bud’s barely got ten more games in him in a market that requires a star.

3.       St Kilda has a lot on. Jack Steven and Josh Bruce are two big losses, but getting in Dougal Howard, Bradley Hill, Zak Jones, Paddy Ryder and Dan Butler are some nice pieces. If Ratten can indeed coach, and as an ex-Clarko assistant he should be just fine, next year looks properly solid down at Moorabbin.

4.       Whats the thinking with the Dogs? Aaron Naughton looks like a key forward gun, and Josh Schache was just starting to show something as a footballer without being a star. Yet they’re throwing all the cash at Josh Bruce for a go at a third flag? I do know he was free to a good home because the Saints were hellbent Max King’s twin at the Gold Coast would head home next year – not now after that re-signing yesterday. Couple big mistakes there for mine.

5.       Tom Papley worth pick nine? Righto. And the Masked Singer will be popular on Australian television too, right?..... Yep, pick nine sounds about right then, forgive me.

6.       Jack Martin though, to Carlton, that’s the steal of the whole thing. Martin is a freak, who has gone underappreciated playing in the ghost town that is Gold Coast, for a horribly weak side, in a club that can’t develop anyone not named Tom Lynch. But has talent to burn and could easily become one of Carlton’s top 10 players next year, in fact based on the player he can become, he should. Think 2019 Michael Walters. Seriously. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

7.       Collingwood have cap issues? Really? Firstly who really knows, unlike North American sports where contracts are public, only each club really knows how much room they’ve got and how that ever would be divulged puzzles me. And yes they have to pay Grundy, De Goey and Moore next year, although the latter won’t be all that much given his hamstrings are like an Uber driver with turrets, unreliable and could snap at any time. But given the Pies were offering Tom Lynch the same financial terms as Richmond this time last year, with Scott Pendlebury out of contract next year and coming down in salary, with less stars to pay than West Coast, how is this a thing? It isn’t. Chris Mayne is overpaid, sure, but that’s it. Wells has retired, Beams took a cut, and unless George Calombaris oversaw their player payments and there’s backpay to cover off, I think it’s a total beat-up. But sure, let James Aish being wanted by his former backs coach at Freo to fuel that fable.

8.       Crows hired Matthew Nicks. Reckon that’s got fail all over it. Adelaide’s list is in a heap, the review basically said their post Grand-Final plans two years ago totally wiped the place out like a broken toilet on a buck’s weekend, and not seeing to the damage since has only exacerbated the crap spilling out all over the shop. Good half dozen or so quality players leaving this offseason, Walker and Sloane are the wrong side of 30 and they’ve got only a few good kids, most clubs around them have better youth and are more rapidly improving. Either Nicks can’t coach at the level or he can but the Crows will be a bad side regardless, either way it doesn’t see him making a new contract beyond whats given out today.

9.       NRL. Definiton of a pub league. Your local Wednesday night basketball is better run. And with better officiating. That Six Again controversy was the most befitting thing you’ll ever see to a sport, a sport where 13 of its 16 clubs run insolvent, but that’s ok because all their giant pokies-infested leagues club venues write them all a cheque to cover the losses each year. Absolute pub league.

10.   If an umpire or referee makes a bad call, it’s only made worse by changing that decision midstream. If a player marks the ball, but then the umpire overrules saying no, it was touched, its no mark, and because you’ve claimed it and made no attempt to get rid of it its now holding the ball, you just can’t do that. Kids are taught to play to the whistle. Except in rugby league then. Because chances are what the ref just said isn’t what he is about to mean in a couple seconds time, just be patient. That referee shouldn’t be crucified for what’s essentially just one error, but in the grand scheme of things, he needs witness protection. Or better yet, stay off the roster for trips to Canberra next season.

11.   It was mentioned in the preamble but no wonder SportsBet paid out all Canberra to win bets. The Raiders had all the momentum, it was 8-all, and it was near the Roosters tryline. They were no guarantee to score off that play, at best they might have got a repeat set. But if there was anyone more likely to break that deadlock given who was playing better but also, more importantly, the territory battle, it was the Green Machine. This isn’t SportsBet just being philanthropic, the result is just that shady.

12.   Speaking of Sportsbet – Western United. Made their A-League debut on the weekend, won one-nil in front of some fans at Wellington. But it was midweek that we saw their announcement which said “we are proud to announce SportsBet has joined the club as its exclusive sports wagering partner”. Firstly, poor form, in a city where all the AFL clubs are quite publicly backing out of gambling revenue, to be going the other way stinks big time. But secondly, what does that even mean? That if I go into a TAB all Western United games are unavailable to bet on. Coz that’s just not even close to true. Dumb and stupid in all of the ways, that.

13.   So the new boys have their home opener this weekend down at Geelong, even though they’re a team based out of Tarneit. Melbourne Victory when they’ve ventured down to Sleepy Hollow attract 14,000 or so, who knows how many turn up for the novelty first time around this Saturday. But going forward, given Melbourne City don’t exceed 10,000 and they play in town, if they’re getting anymore than 5,000-6,000 in what’s otherwise a 36,000 AFL venue, its going to look oh so pretty on television. What’s the opposite of the eggplant emoji?

14.   Few more on the A-League, firstly, why have your opening round smack bang in the middle of an international window? They were so hyper vigilant to schedule their opening round after the AFL and NRL had ended they failed to recognise all of the good Aussie players will be off winning 28-nil against Chinese Taipei or Christmas Island or whoever it was. Its like Victoria Police planning a social function on New Year’s Eve. No-one’s going to be able to make it you morons.

15.   And you open up with the Melbourne Derby. Lucky Victory is a terrifically run club with a strong, loyal fanbase. But only 33,000, with zero promotion? These should be nudging 50,000.

16.   Lastly, you know they’re going really well when the free-to-air partner this season is the ABC. Even the VFL got a commercial broadcaster, yet the country’s premier round ball competition shares a channel with Gardening Australia and Four Corners. And the cherry on the top is when it comes to finals, and I’ll quote the ABC press release on this one, where “one A-League match per round broadcast live on ABC TV and iView around the country… and a selection of A-League finals on delay, including the grand final.” Delay?! Remember those days? You can’t make this stuff up.

17.   Darren Weir got done for using jiggers. Rest of racing stays dead quiet. Right. Now is that because Darren is their mate and despite the heinous crimes blood is thicker than water in the industry and they have some empathy for him? Or is it a case of if he can get caught, then maybe some of the others equally as guilty could so easily as well, and staying mum is step one of avoiding such scrutiny? I wonder.

18.   So, Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge broke the two-hour barrier for running a marathon. Phenomenal achievement, just ridiculous to even comprehend the feat. Amazing. But it won’t count as a world record. Why? Well it wasn’t a race. Old mate contrived the event with a couple dozen pacers to help him do it and that’s it. It’s like if me and some mates hire lane eight down Altona Pool Thursday morning, and fresh off a high-protein breakfast and a quick hit of flakka happen to break 20 seconds for one-lap of freestyle – you think FINA will recognise it? You think Kieran Perkins will shout me free Light Start for life off the back of it? As a milk crusader I could only dream of such a reward but yeah nah. Nice stunt Eliud, you’re a freak of a human. But we’re in the same boat brother.

19.   Tough one, not just for boxing because its bigger than that, but Patrick Day is in real bother and sincere optimism about his recovery to one side, so is his sport. Day was knocked out in the tenth round in a bout with Charles Conwell in Chicago in the weekend, which in itself is not unusual. But the consequences of the blow are such that Day is in a coma and in an “extremely critical condition”. Again, nothing but positive wishes about his eventual recovery first and foremost, but in an era where concussion in the football codes is as alarming as ever, combat spots’ existence, like boxing, could/would/should be on borrowed time with cases like this.

20.   TV ratings worry the pants off me. By far the most important and major revenue source for all the sport we love to watch, it helps grow the professionalism and the standards, and the access really. But as TV viewership declines, so does the viewership with live sport. And we all waited with bated breath for the NRL Grand Final numbers in the hope maybe they would be good, and it wasn’t just sport in general in trouble, that maybe rugby league was still on an upward trajectory and its just everyone else.

Nope, it was down too. Usually something that rates at times near 3m nationally, it was around 1.8m. The AFL Grand Final, with an engaged Sydney audience, has been on a trajectory over 3.5m, topping 4m occasionally, it was under 3m for the first time in years. Australia Open primetime slots were down, cricket was good but still down, be it the summer on Seven or The Ashes mid-year on Nine.

What does this mean? It means less people are watching live sport. And when advertisers hear that, they’ll be paying less to the networks for the privilege of putting 30 seconds of their product in front of the eyeballs of footy fans. And that then means TV networks will hand over less cash, subsequently, to the sporting bodies for the rights to broadcast their fixtures.

It doesn’t mean that we’re all destined to see the days of the 1980s return where players need a job outside of footy and only one game is broadcast a week and all that nostalgia. But the idea that salaries will keep going up and up is gone, the idea the game can grow at the same rate looks doomed. So unless someone makes Foxtel honest (nudge nudge Amazon Prime) or this is only a lull, and once we get over Fortnite and Korean boy-bands we will all fall back in love with Friday night in front of the telly watching footy, it’s a big, big concern. 

[jeremystrele]

Doing Business Across ‘The Ditch’

Doing Business Across ‘The Ditch’

Creative People

by Elle Murrell

Auckland/Melbourne-based furniture and lighting studio Douglas & Bec’sWall Light. Photo – Tony Brown.

To celebrate a decade in design, Douglas and Bec launched its most ambitious furniture and lighting collection to date last year. pictured here, the Arch Chair.  Photo – Tony Brown.

Inside Bec Dowie’s Clevedon home. ‘I’m spending more and more time in Melbourne – I love it, it’s such a contrast from my rural lifestyle. I get to slap on some glad rags and be a city girl!’ she tells. ‘After a few days, though, I like to get back to my children, dogs and husband!’ Photo – courtesy of Douglas & Bec.

From left to right: Douglas Snelling, Paul Dowie and Bec Dowie of Douglas & Bec.

Douglas & Bec

Established in 2007, Douglas and Bec is a New Zealand-based furniture and lighting company led by father-and-daughter team Douglas Snelling and Bec Dowie. Today, they run showrooms in Auckland and Melbourne, showcasing their unique collection of timeless, contemporary furniture and lighting designs that hero old-fashioned craftsmanship.

Growing up on a farm in the north of NZ, Bec studied fine arts in Auckland. She spent her early 20s in Melbourne, working as a barista in Fitzroy, before returning home to launch and co-run the family business.

‘We had amazing feedback through blogs and media (such as yourselves) and so knew there was demand for our product in Australia,’ tells Bec of their motivation to branch into the Melbourne market. While Douglas & Bec were already stocked at a couple of Aussie retailers, being a sell-direct company was always a priority, so they wanted a presence on the ground. ‘It was really a no-brainer to set up: an opportunity arose with Julia from Dagmar Rousset to open a space next to hers in Collingwood. I was so familiar with the area, so I jumped on a plane the very next day!’ recalls Bec.

Bec does admit that logistics, shipping and maintaining a great team across two countries are the major challenges they have to work to stay on top of, and advises having a great accountant is a must! Overall, though, opening in Melbourne has been an overwhelming success for Douglas and Bec, and has allowed them to reach a much greater pool of potential customers and projects. ‘It’s such an inclusive industry; in both cities, there are creative and clever people supporting one another.’ 

Douglas & Bec is re-opening its Melbourne showroom on Bedford Street in late May. Coincidently, they’re actually working with our next NZ creative (below) on their new fit-out…!

Knight Associate’s project: Kowtow Wellington, was completed this year. Photo – Simon Wilson.

Inside Kowtow Wellington. Photo – Simon Wilson.

Kowtow Wellington. Photo – Simon Wilson.

Rufus Knight urges aspiring creatives to be aware of Australia’s breadth of history and culture and its value in contemporary society, as well as respectful of a long-standing commitment to design and the arts. Photo – Simon Wilson.

The multi-residential building The International in Auckland. Photo – Simon Wilson.

Knight Associates

Growing up in the small North-Island towns of Opotiki and Ohakune, Rufus Knight studied Architecture and Design at Victoria University in Wellington, where he also later taught. He relocated to Auckland to take up a job at Fearon Hay Architects, and  had the opportunity to gain experience in Europe, working with Vincent Van Duysen Architects in Antwerp (that is a BIG deal!) as well as a Paris-based art publication.

The high-achiever decided it was time to launch his own Auckland practice in 2016. His team of three focuses on interior architecture and design, and has amassed some award-winning and much-hyped projects, including The International multi-residential building, and Lonely‘s flagship in Ponsonby, Auckland, as well as the NZ pavilion at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale, and collaborations with Australian skincare empire Aēsop.

For Rufus, 31, it’s important to contribute to ‘a design language that is reflective of our cultural diversity’, with an understanding of how this design vocabulary can be valued in the global market. ‘It is clear to me that our greatest asset in communicating this diverse creative identity is through our native materials, and the inherent narratives they contain – materials have meaning, just like words, and we can speak through them’ he says.

Knight Associates are currently finishing up the commercial refurbishment of a Federation warehouse in Sydney’s CBD, in collaboration with Intermain and Paul Davies. Then there’s the new 120-square-metre Douglas & Bec Collingwood showroom, in collaboration with MUIR Architecture.

For Rufus, business growth in Australia has been welcomed but was not intentional, instead stemming from relationships with NZ companies opening in the Australian market. ‘Australia has such a strong and vibrant design culture, I can’t yet see how our office could add value to that,’ tells the humble director. ‘However, last year I was fortunate enough to be selected for the Dulux DIAlogue Tour  (with the Design Institute of Australia and Designers Institute of New Zealand) where I got to discuss the differences and similarities between our design cultures with respected practitioners such as Miriam Fanning, Mim Design Studio, and Adele Winteridge, Foolscap Studio, from which I felt a sense of accord – we are similar design cultures tackling many of the same social, cultural, and economic challenges.’

Look out for Knight Associates Auckland project with Aēsop, which is set to be completed next month. Follow their international work at Knightassociates.co.nz.

A wellness space offering restorative facials, Little Company is located in Cremorne. Photo – Bobby Clark.

Owner and founder Stacey Burt. Photo – Bobby Clark.

Stacey left NZ in 2005, chasing the sun to Burleigh Heads. Eighteen months later the food, culture and city life drew her to Melbourne. Photo – Bobby Clark.

‘Our locations and spaces are an extension of our philosophy, with design supporting restoration in a stripped back, minimal, and energetically nurturing environment,’ she tells. Photo – Bobby Clark.

She used eBay and Gumtree for second-hand plants and planters, clearance plywood, and excess stock left from a prior business.’ Photo – Bobby Clark.

Stacey has never been short on finding fellow creatives keen to swap contra services. Photo – Bobby Clark.

Little Company

Hailing from Whakatane, A small town in the middle of the North Island, Stacey Burt today calls Byron Bay home – though you may have seen her Warrandyte home (now on Airbnb!) which was one of our top 10 last year!

After training and working at a facialist at a Polynesian spa, Stacey left NZ in 2005, chasing the sun to Burleigh Heads, Queensland. Eighteen months later, the food, culture and city life drew her to Melbourne, where she decided to launch her own business in 2016.

A wellness space offering restorative facials, Little Company is located in Cremorne, with a second premises set to open in Byron Bay. ‘We are a little company dedicated to treating the skin as a living organ: taking a supportive approach (no quick fixes) and using only the best natural and organic ingredients plus sustainable practices,’ details Stacey. ‘Our locations and spaces are an extension of our philosophy, with design supporting restoration in an energetically nurturing environment – far from the clinical feeling you usually find in beauty businesses.’

Though moving to Australia was more of a lifestyle choice than a business decision for Stacey, she has found that within the beauty industry, the size of the Australian market has enabled her to break new ground, and create a tailored business with its own niche.

Addressing Kiwis looking to branch into business in Australia, or visa versa, she recommends a lean approach to business, ‘bootstrapping’ as much as possible. For Little Company, in the beginning, this meant working with the resources at hand. ‘Venue/space budgets can often blow out, so our family helped with our initial build, painting and the fit-out, then even other things like accounting and washing machine repairs!’ she tells. ‘We used eBay and Gumtree for second-hand plants and planters, clearance plywood, and excess stock left from a prior business.’

Having a lot of creative Kiwi friends living in Australia also gave Stacey a hand up, as she has never been short on finding someone keen to swap services. She has Charl Laubscher to thank for web design and creative direction, Shayna Quinn for artworks and textiles, and Ben Wilkie for interior architecture tips, to name but a few!

Stacey and her family are off chasing the sun again, relocating to Byron Bay to open their second Little Company space this June. Find out more at Littlecompany.com.au and stay tuned for the release of their range of living skin products.

[roodiaries]

Tropical Thunder

The Journey North

I'm not talking of a Game of Thrones journey north, where the bitter cold whips one's bones to the brittle core as they pass beyond The Wall and into the icy depths of the unforgiving wildling realms. No. A nice gentle tropical journey north towards the equator, where beaches and tourists are plentiful, the palm trees nestled along an expansive Pacific coastline and the state of relaxation knows no bounds as yet another shrimp is procured from the figurative barbie. Stereotypes aside, the East Coast is fun, but a little too popular and similar at times. You have to make it your own, with good travel mates and a random journey.

Fresh from my incredible holiday in Vanuatu, I left Sydney with Yusuke on 11 September, excited to jump in the Nissan and plough northwards. I had to be in Cairns (2400km away) in 9 days for my new job. We didn't bother messing about too much in New South Wales, as we'd both spent a lot of time here and seen all we wanted to see. We Byron Bayed for a night, and enjoyed the tremendous views on offer there, before a short jump over the Queensland border to Brisbane, where we spent two nights and almost got towed.

The real journey into the unknown began after this, along with an epic 14-hour driving day where we ended up talking to a local woman about the effects of the recent cyclone in Rockhampton (which lies on the Tropic of Capricorn) and eventually reached Airlie Beach. Its electric atmosphere was unfortunately wasted on us tired travellers, as all we wanted to do was go to bed and shovel food down without the pressure and distraction of hostel kitchen chit-chat. Of course, we were awoken by an Aussie guy screaming – “I'll fucken' cut ye open, yer cunt!” – to a guy who had boldly told him to quieten down. Next day was the legendary Whitsunday Islands trip. All prior knowledge about this archipelago and national park had conjured up images of a calm sandy paradise, but we were in for a huge surprise as it turned out to be the ferry ride from hell and one of the roughest sea journeys I've ever experienced. I'm never sure whether I'm just being overly affected by things (scientifically known as OABT Syndrome), but it was bumpy as. Whitehaven Beach was a real treat, however.

It was more driving, driving in our car, north past the dispersing Great Dividing Range and glinty inland sunsets, through forests and fields, over sugar cane train tracks and past vast banana plantations. Townsville & Magnetic Island was the highlight of the trip for me. Mostly because the hostel was good quality – a good balance between social and quiet – and we met spirited Dutch Oz-newbie Jenny, who joined us for the sunset hike up Castle Rock, a towering and majestic hill over Townsville. The Maggie Island daytrip involved joining forces with Jenny's friend Lizzy, renting a mini open-top 4x4, a hot hike past wild koalas to WWII fortifications (I think I bored the others with any over-zealous talk of wartime history), one incredible sunset at West Point, a shy echidna and two brown tree snakes.

Cairns

Named after Irishman & Governor of Queensland, William Wellington Cairns, and unpronounceable without adopting an Aussie accent, this modest city of 140,000 inhabitants is a surprisingly pumping tourist mega-hotspot. Go more than 200m from the ocean and everything basically becomes shit (e.g. classic highways lined with industrial outlets and nothingy commercial suburbs), but the heart of the city is the marina and downtown area. Despite a smaller size, it has a nightlife to compete with most other Australian cities and a huge mix of nationalities. Steamy nights at Salt House, Pier Bar, The Reef Casino, Three Wolves and even The Woolshed will stay with me for a long time. The gorgeous green hills provide a tropical backdrop, and the Trinity Inlet is a beautiful spot to the south, while the beachside suburbs to the north – Trinity Beach, Kewarra, Palm Cove to name just three – are incredibly chilled out and enjoyable. Fishing with fun work-mates Max, Tun & Rankin on a boat trip up the river was a real privilege; as well as trips to Shangri-La's North Bar overlooking the marina with ex-Pullmanites and great friends Caitlin & Davide; the work-mate pool party at Caitlin & Max's house with poker and Cards Against Humanity was yet another reminder that this is not a normal life for an Englishman.

Nothing makes you feel more like you're in the tropics than the pungent smell of bat shit outside the Cairns Library, where hundreds of them gather before fleeing and feeding across the night sky. They are the animal that most represent Cairns for me, along with the ominous curlew, a gangly and awkward flightless bird that drifts in a ghostly way by night. I discovered the city by bicycle and was able to experience the city in all its hot, heavy, pungent glory.

The Winkworth Way

I moved in to 45 Winkworth Street in the western suburbs, paying $135 per week for a single room with a double-bed and air-conditioning. It was by far the best accommodation I've had in Australia. I loved the house for its airy openness and traditional Queenslander ambience, but mostly because of the fantastic people I lived with. I don't say this often, because I generally seem to end up in accommodation that's less than ideal. We were all travellers in the house, and all worked a lot so often wouldn't see each other for days at a time. But that made it all the more special when we did meet and hang out. There was Yukie, a Japanese lady from downstairs who dropped her keys in a bush when she fell down the stairs drunk one time; Ander from the Basque Country, who enjoys parties, bed bugs and violently offering biscuits as well as taking me on some excellent and fun day-trips; Leonie whose surname and town of origin (Ter Stege and Enschede respectively) Ander and I always enjoyed repeating back to her in a Dutch accent for immature amusement, who works too much but has a heart of gold; Tim, an Austin Powersy German dive instructor and goon connoisseur as well as a valued source of Stephen Colbert episodes; and Kacie from Texas, who is a rock of a friend and proves the Trump-American stereotypes wrong with a kind, fair outlook on life, and loves Australia if only it weren't for the cockroaches constantly falling on her head.

Even Andrew, the landlord, was pretty cool. Except for the occasions when he simply could not stop swearing in anger for minutes at a time, over some trivial thing that's happened with the roof or his phone. “Oh no. You baaastard!”

Pullmania

Working took up the bulk of my time. 39% of my waking hours over three months in Cairns were spent in the Pullman Cairns International Hotel. I actually calculated it. I had transferred up here from Sydney to fill the same role (a Food & Beverage Attendant, in Banquets), so technically should have known what I was doing. However, a few factors made PCI more challenging than PSHP: the climate was hotter, the furniture heavier, and many of the events much bigger and more challenging. It was a hectic & sweaty 3 months, and below I've chosen some events to paint a picture:

Friday 22 September: my first shift. I found my way through the labyrinthine back-of-house corridors in time for briefing, simultaneously meeting my manager, Karen, and the staff working tonight (most of the banquets team). In addition, we had lots of staff from Coco's (the restaurant in the lobby) and Staffing Solutions (a hospitality agency). I was behind the main bar with Italian sage Davide for a 400-pax cocktail reception, meaning canapés and free drinks for a bunch of lairy let-loose corporate types. Since it was the pool-deck, we couldn't serve glass bottles, so had to pour every single beer into a plastic cup. The queue was infinite, with murmurs of disapproval when not getting served immediately, and over the fact they had to drink beer out of plastic glasses. The struggle was very real and lasted for hours: one guy simply sighed, while another shook his head and laughed in disgust at my occasionally over-foamy beers. An arrogant racktastic blonde kept appearing at the bar, clicking her fingers and demanding to be served her rum & Coke (she knew it was my first day and that I would be a soft touch). I really felt shell-shocked when the event finally ended, and then overwhelmed with fatigue and frustration for the next few hours when we had to replace all of the furniture and polish all of the glasses we'd used tonight, which took us until 2am. 10-hour physical shift, no breaks. I soon realised this was not unusual.

Tiffany & Gareth: The Unhappy Bride. The grand ballroom was used to host the wedding reception of Tiffany and Gareth, an aboriginal couple who had married earlier today. Most of the guests were indigenous, too, and I always enjoyed doing events with aboriginal people, since I had seldom met any during my time in the South-East. However, Tiffany decided she wanted to ruin her own day by complaining about everything and causing problems in a truly bogan manner. Why didn't everyone have champagne for the toast!? This wasn't what I asked for on the buffet! Why are people getting too many free drinks!? Why did I get married!? The banquets team was on edge, and people snapped at each other, while our trooper of a supervisor, Shontelle, bore the brunt of the complaints (she had met with Tiffany several times before the event, and none of the things she was complaining about had ever been mentioned). She wanted a Fairytale Wedding, but wasn't the fairytale bride.

Melbourne Cup Day: I hadn't slept well the night before, and my body and mind weren't ready for a rare daytime shift. Some of the richest people in Cairns came to the hotel to mingle with fellow poshos over lunch, look fancy and watch the Melbourne Cup horse race on big TV screens. I was put in the fenced-off VIP section with my Team Leader, Harumi. All we had to do was pour drinks for them, or fetch beers from the bar, then clear their plates when they were finished with their buffet lunch. But things went wrong early on when I opened a bottle of champagne and the cork literally flew up to hit the ceiling, bouncing off it and landing in someone's lap on the other side of the ballroom. I could have melted with embarrassment, but played it off as the fault of the bottle (“she was a fizzy one!”) to the gawkingly judgemental woman I was serving. Luckily, neither the General Manager of the hotel, my F&B Manager nor the Banquets Manager had noticed, but I still felt traumatised and on-edge for the rest of the day. I over-compensated by being especially servile and smiley, and somehow managed to gain a $10 tip for my efforts. It was a horrible shift and I felt very alone. Some staff, like Tun, were supportive, patient and helpful, some were less understanding, while others simply didn't care. I hate the pressure not to mess up in these kind of VIP environments, constantly being on display and concentrating hard not to bump into stuff, drop things or spill drinks (difficult for me). And to look busy, even if you're inconveniencing the customer by reaching over unnecessarily to grab that one extra glass. It made me question whether the job was for me. But is this my career? Hell no. I decided to try meditation to relieve stress, which was reaching unhealthy levels during some shifts, like this one. It would have been nice to have some kind of feedback on your work, and to be told you had done well, or how to improve in certain areas. But that didn't seem to happen much here.

Other stories:

The Scotland Rugby League team & the hype of the Rugby League World Cup being in town: we served them dinner and lunch. I was surprised that almost all of them were actually from the Midlands and northern England!

When we had four Christmas parties on four floors at the same time: I did the one on the pool-deck with Abi, serving 30 insurance workers drinks and dinner and watching them get merry and sloshed and chant our names!

The high-school graduation events at the end of November, with synchronised student dances, numerous presentations, and thankfully no alcohol

Some huge alternate drop dinners with some hot & heavy plate carrying, and equally strenuous plate-clearing

Moving stacks of chairs across the road to the Pullman Reef Casino with Rankin, and them constantly toppling on the uneven kerb onto the zebra crossing!

Three consecutive evening shifts in October where I was transferred to Novotel Oasis Cairns Resort with Tun, Aimee and Caitlin for one work conference's dinner events. It was a lot of fun, and nice to work in a smaller, more personal hotel

The Cairns experience is now at an end, but I will never forget those 3 months I spent in Far North Tropical Queensland, and the friends I made there. I am now in Darwin about to begin a road trip down the West Coast, so I will be writing about that as my final blog in Australia.

Thank you for reading,

Oliver

[grapsandclaps]

ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK!!

Hello again everyone!! Welcome to the story of show 63 of the #100showyear taking me on an international journey of sorts to the Valleys of Wales and to be precise - Cardiff for my first taste of ATTACK Pro Wrestling who have built a good reputation amongst twitter glitterati for being an all in all fun night of wrestling and I for one wasnt dissappointed at the end of the night with it. So where do I start? Well with a 650am journey to Manchester for a meet up with @clinay (Chris) @rawcass (Sean) and the self proclaimed @theboozerweight (Chris Duffy) all of whom are decent lads and are worth a follow on Twitter. Meeting place which possibly must have been voted somewhere as one of the top 5 worst Wetherspoons - The Piccadilly Gardens Spoons which is usually infiltrated with Spice addicts and the occasional morning drunkard that frequent that certain area on a weekday. I went for a Large Breakfast and a large latte which come to at least a quid dearer than any other spoons, as the waitress turned up to table 14 she presented me with the wrong breakfast - a large vegetarian breakfast but still with my 2 pieces of black pudding in contact, i would recommend this type of breakfast apart from the bland taste of the Quorn Sausages. Breakfast done it was on our way on the long and arduos journey to Cardiff - all 3 hrs and 48 minutes picking up a few more characters, Our Geoff, Golazo Dan and Phil from Creeeeeeeewwwwwwweeeee to add to the mornings entertainment. So with a selection of energy drinks, Old Mout Cider, IPAs and water laid across the table seats it was time to chew the fat over Mad Japanese Wrestling, Who is everyones favourite Parker? and the night before's NXT and the upcoming festivities of WWE Summerslam - All interesting topics of conversation were had. 115pm was the time we arrived in Cardiff to meet up with other Twitter luminaries (The Noncebusters) and it was off to explore the bright lights of Cardiff till the show doors opened up at 645pm for a 730pm start. First port of call was Tiny Rebel Cardiff Brewery Tap next to the gigantic once rumored venue for a WrestleMania - The Millenium Stadium. Now this pub had a wide selection of craft ales with many from the rebel range and other breweries from across the British Isles, I settled for the Summer Fruit Stout (4.5%) at a cost of £3.50 and it was a good start to the day's drinking. Next stop was one amongst many a Brains Brewery pub in the City Centre - The Duke of Wellington which produced a really nice keg pint of Black Stout at a cost of £3.80. Very much recommend one of their pubs if visiting Cardiff, at least 4/5 to go around. It was time to go and reconvene with the rest of the group in the Great Western Wetherspoons near the station. Probably the only downpoint of the day was this pub with its poor selection of real ales (even though they were in the £2.50 marker), we somehow stopped in here for over 2 hours or so till moving on to pastures new of The Cambrian Tap which was another Brains pub with around 10 ales on tap plus a special offer of 2 pork pies topped with a cranberry sauce with a side of mustard grain for £3.50 complimented with another ale costing £3.70. Now as in previous issues of Graps and Claps you will know of the ongoing britwres fans Pool Championship currently held by our Geoff. Well the long search for a pool table in Cardiff took us to the Queen Vaults which is a pub down a side street offering Sky Sports, 8 real ales, a carvery and more importantly 3 pool tables. Results in this session of pool included myself losing 4-1 to Geoff and the title rematch between Geoff and former champion Chris Linay in a thrilling tussle with Chris missing the final black leaving Geoff open to clear the remaining 3 yellows and the all important black ball to retain his title to send Big Chris to the back of the contenders line. Rumours of a match with britwres oracle Alan Boon look set for Wolverhampton in 2 weeks on the King of Trios weekender - Stay Tuned. 645pm hit and it was time to hit the Walkabout venue for ATTACK Pro Wrestling Winterslam 2. A packed crowd of 350/400 surrounded the lower and balcony levels of the building to see the red hot action that was about to be produced, so lets see what went down in the matches that took place. Eddie Dennis vs Sarge Travis Banks was first up and it was great to see Banks Comedy side which is far away from the strong style kiwi buzzsaw character we are more accustomed to on these shores. This went a good 15 minutes going back and forth with Eddie Dennis proving he can hang with one of the scenes best, hitting Banks in one spot with a Razors edge type manaeuver whilst Banks was waving atop saying goodbye, some great facials from Travis here. The end came when Dennis reversed a move into the Next Stop Driver for the big 1-2-3 win fantastic opener to get the crowd going and a pleasure as ever to see Banks in a different role that works. Next up was a scramble with Drew Parker vs Goldschlager vs Beano (a bubblegum type character) vs Charlie Sterling vs Bronco Brendan vs Charli Evans in what you can expect with a Scramble match with lots of high impact moves, dives, shenanigans and tower of doom spots. Very good to see Charlie Sterling again after not seeing him for a while, not sure what his gimmick is supposed to be but he was getting a lot of Aaaaaaarrrrrrgggghhhhing from our section. Charli Evans who has just come over from down under to follow in her compatriots footsteps of trying to make a name for herself over here like TK Cooper, Travis Banks and Aussie Open impressed in her first outing in front of my eyes and i would certainly like to see a bit of in the coming months. Evans picked up the win with a very popular pop up powerbomb to Drew Parker to get the win. Next up following a turn from hostage victim Split Mcpins on his partner Fat Cat Lloyd Kat joined forces with the Brothers of Obstruction to face Kat and The Aussie Open in a very fun 6 man match that has some great stuff in it with Mark Davis showing off his considerable power to Piledriver The Obstructors. Finish came after much shenanigans with Splits turning on his new allies (Batista style) and joining his Kat friend to defeat the bad guys with Davis hitting The Awful Waffle to a huge pop and a popular win. Next is a topic of huge conversation today on Twitter with Bird & Boar vs Chris Brookes and Ryan Smile in what i thought was a decent tag match but was infiltrated with The Local Village Idiots antagonising Smile over comments Young Ryan made on the old Twitter machine about LGBT. Whilst some of the comments Ryan made were not welcome, no one deserves being told to "kill themselves" as said previous this spoilt a decent match by people with an agenda. Boar picked up the win for his team here with a package piledriver. Next up was Elijah vs the ever popular Omari in a short 8 minute match with Elijah i think picking up the surprise victory here over young Omari. This was alright whilst it lasted and two wrestlers with a bright future on the UK Scene. Main event time with Career vs Title as Flash Morgan Webster faced Champion NO FUNNNNAAAAHHH Damien Dunne in a fantastic 25 minute main event which went Walkabout around the Walkabout spilling to the merch table, many a run in from varipus rosters members including Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher pulled this awesome facial reaction when he got dived on - search it out on Alan Boons Twitter for the picture, I was rolling in stitches at this. Eddie Dennis hit a razors edge on the giant Los Federales Jr to a huge pop, Former ATTACK 24/7 Champion Warren speared Purser as well this was mental stuff. Despite skullduggery from crooked official Shay Purser, Morgan Webster picked up the victory thanks to dissension between Damien Dunne and Travis Banks (Banks hit the Slice of Heaven to Dunne, Webster only picked up a nearfall from this but reveresed it into a strangke to get the win and the ATTACK title to send the masses dancing to their booths for Summerslam later on. I only ended up stopping at the Walkabout till midnight as i was flagging abit, so decamped to The Marriott Hotel across the road (£62 for the night) and a fantastic hotel. Beer and food at the Walkabout included £2 a pint for Fosters, £2.60 for a pint of coke 😔. Food i can only go off what our Geoff had which was basically chilli con carne and 3 potato wedges in a baked bean tin for £4.75 (ripoff tory britain strikes again). As i type i am now on the way home from Cardiff having spent the morning sampling the Spoons Breakfast (£1 cheaper than yesterdays effort) and also trying out a couple more pubs charging under £2.50 for a pint. Overall a fun trip meeting as ever some good people and a chance to see a fantastic promotion like ATTACK who dont take themselves too seriously but provide great entertainment, but despite the 4 hour journey down from Manchester I would recommend anyone to go down and experience them live you will not be disappointed by them. Next review is WCPW Leeds which takes place tomorrow at the 02 Academy and looks a fantastic card including Banks vs Kushida, Mysterio vs Ricochet and Scurll vs Ospreay. Also it is my 33rd Birthday tomorrow so its a nice thing to actually see graps on my birthday, till then #grapsandclaps

[13thfloornz]

On the eve of Mother’s Day, Wellington musician Thomas Oliver gave us all an early present (including the mums) by stopping in at his home town on his national tour.  The fuss was the release of his first proper album, Floating in The Darkness. 

Ok, ‘proper’ is probably not quite the word, given he’s already made a bunch of others, first as part of the Thomas Oliver Band, and then there’s  an all instrumental release from back in 2013 called Beneath the Weissenborn.  The Weissenborn, by the way is a type of lap slide guitar, originally made by Herman Weissenborn in LA back in the 1920’s and 30’s.�� It’s an instrument Oliver has come to master over the years and we certainly got plenty of chances to see his skills in action tonight.

Most of tonight’s set is from the new work.  Oliver starts off slowly with a stripped back version of Tenderly, mainly featuring Oliver on his Weissenborn.  On the album, it’s got a bigger sound thanks to his meticulous production standards and fanatical approach.  On stage, it’s a little more loose and a bit more of a quiet storm than the big soul swell that you get on the CD.  I certainly missed the ever-present soul-sister BV’s of Lisa Tomlins but that said Bella Florence does an equally nice job.  Her touch is subtler but it suits this live rendition pretty well.

Next up is a very tender ballad, Remember, which is a delicious slow burner.  Again, the album version has a certain vibe to it that varies from Oliver’s live version.  For the better, in this case, I think.  His voice is so pure and sweet, utterly convincing and bordering on goosebumps inducing at times.  But the sweetest, most delicate moment is on one of his older songs Boy – a track that’s been in his tour set for a while now.  It tells the tale of growing up and stepping out in the world but unlike many coming of age songs it’s devoid of mushy sentiment.  Just more of Oliver’s simple vocals and his guitar.

The band comes to life with the album tracks Shine Like The Sun and Budapest is Beautiful (which was written, incidentally, in that great city).  It’s at this time that we get a fleeting visit from flugelhorn player Barret Hocking, who provides some sweet and jazzy brass under this bittersweet love song.  They play in support but slowly but surely start to come into the foreground.  Ed Zuccollo’s Rhodes-like keyboards are particularly wonderful as they start to pepper each tune, giving everything a slightly ecumenical feel.

After this, Oliver clears the stage and performs a very sensitive take on Bob Marley’s Is This Love, which he originally did for a recent tribute album to the man.  It’s very different from Bob’s original, delicately constructed around the melody and unfettered by the usual reggae feel.  It works surprisingly well.  The audience stand with their mouths open in amazement, savouring every second.  Me, too.  You can really feel the love.

To break the spell, the band return and knock out the ol’ standard Take Me To The River.  Ed gets to put his keyboard through its paces on this one.  I was hoping to hear a bit more from his vintage Moog but maybe it needed to cool down.

If that wasn’t impressive then they were just warming up, with the best coming.  Bad Talkin’ Man is a simple tune but, done well, it’s a pretty stunning blues jam and Oliver and his band give it their all.  We get a crazy good solo on the Weissenborn from Mr O followed by funky solos on keys from Ed Zuccollo and then a face off between drummer Sam Norman and bassist Johnny Lawrence.  Just when you think it’s all over they reprise it all and get the audience to join in for another 10 minutes.  But no one was checking their watches.  We were all too busy wigging out!

Finally, they close it down and finish up with the big single – If I Move To Mars, which they do just as it is on the album.  It’s a great tune and works as well live as on the very cool video Oliver made and released last year.  The crowd loved it and are shouting at the top of their voices ‘Encore, encore!’  Just as well, as it gives Oliver the chance to bring out his other guest, legendary Kiwi digital music composer Rhian Sheehan, to help out on the trippy finale Let This Be The One.  Sheehan adds layer upon layer of guitar is subtle, spacey walls of sound that provide the perfect architecture for this song.  It builds slowly to a climax, swirling around Oliver’s simple but clever song lines and yet more sweet vocals.

If you haven’t seen Thomas Oliver yet, there’s still time.  Although tonight was sold out, so be quick!  Two years ago, he was the one to watch.  With a couple of year’s performing in festivals around the world he’s gained enough stage time to say that he’s now the one you shouldn’t miss! He’s done Aussie, Vietnam, Europe and supported Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker and Fat Freddy’s Drop.  And check out his new album, Floating in The Darkness.  Tonight was the first time I’d heard it played live and it’s a keeper, I’d say.

Tim Gruar

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Tim Gruar:

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Thomas Oliver Set list:

Tenderly

Remember

Boy

Shine Like The Sun

Budapest In Beautiful

Losin’

Is This Love

Take Me To The River

Bad Talkin’ Man

If I Move To Mars

Let This Be The One

Thomas Oliver – San Fran May 13, 2017 On the eve of Mother’s Day, Wellington musician Thomas Oliver gave us all an early present (including the mums) by stopping in at his home town on his national tour. 

[getseriouser]

VERY SERIOUS PREDICTIONS FOR THE YEAR IN SPORT

2017, another year, so much to look forward to, so much to predict, and predict accurately, because how possibly can we get anything wrong, I mean its not like anyone got anything wrong last year? 

We predicted Brexit.. no wait, we didn’t, true, but we did get the US Election right... nope, got that really wrong. So perhaps 2017 is the year we get things right again, starting with my top ten fearless predictions for the world of sport.

1. Australia wins back the Ashes

So four of the five tests take place before the calendar year ends and we’ll have the Urn back in our keep before the 5th Test in Sydney. The Poms are extremely beatable away from home and much like Mitchell Johnson tore them to shreds last time around with pace and bounce and fear, we’ll have Mitchell Starc this time doing the same thing - but it gets better, we’ll have Pat Cummins from the other end whose even quicker.

2. But the Aussies will get done big time in India

So next month the Test team travels to India on a wave of momentum from four successive test victories - to a country where we’ll hardly be able to get their batsmen out at all. Their wickets will turn sideways from the first session and we won’t have the team to capitalise - our batsmen will do ok but we will bowl atrociously. Nathan Lyon won’t bowl anything “nice” all tour and Stephen O’Keefe has sliding doors installed throughout his house because door knobs are too much, he can’t turn anything.

3. GWS give the AFL a stiffy by winning the flag

Oh the joy to be had when the AFL gets what they want the most (they probably overdid it with Hird but that’s for another day) when the Giants go to the big dance and salute in 2017. Not only will they have enough experienced leaders in their team to successfully navigate the month of September, those talented teenagers who were on the wrong end of thrashings only a couple years ago, they’re now all approaching stardom in their own right into their mid 20s . The dynasty begins - how many they win is up for debate but they’ll take stopping put it that way.

4. Little Gaz is back in Geelong

No matter the year Gary Ablett Jnr has nor how good or bad a season the Gold Coast has, Ablett will end up back in blue and white hoops for one last hurrah (major injury aside). It surprisingly didn’t get done last trade period but another 12 months on, the lure home won’t have disappeared and given he’ll be 33 with one year left arguably in 2018, the prodigal son will come home to try and pinch one more flag whilst Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood are keeping the Cats’ premiership window open.

5. But Dusty will have moved on

Not sure where exactly but Dustin Martin will play his final season at Richmond this year. There is serious money for him wherever he looks, the Tigers will regress or at best stagnate this year and he will find the most attractive offer too tempting. He is only 25 with seven or eight good years still in him which makes him the most sought after ‘proper’ free agent since its inception a few years back (Buddy Franklin was always going to Sydney, be it the Giants or Swans and for Dangerfield it was stay with Adelaide or head home to Geelong).

6. The A-League will make a huge mistake

The Western Sydney Wanderers are one of the great franchises in Australian sport already and they’ve been around for five minutes. But they are a once in a lifetime bit of business. The clowns at the FFA are hellbent on expanding their league by at least two more clubs, a league that has the sugar daddy to end all sugar daddies in the City Group controlling Melbourne City who can barely get over 10,000 to a game, the Newcastle Jets and Central Coast Mariners who get two blokes and their dogs to their home games (Labradors too, beautiful dogs) and Wellington Phoenix who play in a round, cricket venue to attendances the size of Donald Trump’s hands. So let’s have two more of those success stories please, yeah sure...

7. Ricciardo validates the accolades by winning F1 World Championship

Problem: Daniel Ricciardo is seen by those in the know to be the best driver on the F1 grid, or at worst on par with Lewis Hamilton, the reigning world champion, yet he is in a far slower car than the short-arse Englishman.

Solution: Red Bull, unlike recent years, have got a car that can finally go with the Mercedes in 2017 and the plucky Aussie who never stops smiling will have good reason too as he edges Hamilton and his teammate Max Verstappen to his maiden F1 crown.

8. Kyrgios makes a fool of many and wins a Major.

Nick Kyrgios, yes that petulant bastard who plays tennis, yes him. He is mighty talented yet hasn’t cared one iota about tennis, or moreover being the best tennis player he can, at any stage since becoming a professional. This year is different -  now he does care. And when not caring gets you to the top 20 in the world with a whimper, the improvement he will find by busting a gut to achieve greatness will do exactly that as the Canberra native takes home Wimbledon or the US Open, possibly the latter.

9. Queensland whitewash the State of Origin.

Quite easy really, the Maroons have two games at Suncorp for the first time since 2014, they won last year and they still have amazing players like Cameron Smith, Greg Inglis, Jonathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk. But crucially they regain Billy Slater from injury and Valentine Holmes and Dylan Napa from suspension and with talented youngsters like Anthony Milford, Ben Hunt and Cameron Munster too demanding a spot, its a fair dinkum Jet factory north of Tweed.

10. Winx wins third Cox Plate in a row

Sure, its hardly surprising that Winx can front up and win the 2017 Cox Plate given the ease she won in 2015 but then dominating even more so in 2016. But its a tough ask to win three on the trot. Sunline only won twice, same with Lonhro and So You Think, and other than Kingston Town it hasn’t been done since the 50s. But Winx is that good, there’s no horse out there or on the rise that will stop her, she will make history.

(originally published January 11)