Better Than

John Butler Trio, Hordern Pavillion

After a midweek jaunt, Friday soon crept up and with it came a second gig in 3 days. This time, the John Butler Trio. Not a band I've ever really spent much time listening to, though I've certainly been told a lot about them - especially how great their live shows are.

For this reason I bought myself a ticket some months ago, and was really looking forward to seeing what they had to offer. Soon after the first notes had been plucked, the Hordern Pavillion started to smell a little different, and from no help of the stage smoke machines, the atmosphere a little hazy.

So with the crowd about as mellow as they could be, the gig played through to the delight of everyone in the building. Even without knowing too much of their work, I could really enjoy the talent that John and his two buddies brought to Sydney.

The following, surprisingly pleasent morning, I rode my bike across Randwick to spend some final time with Em before she jumped on a plane to Cairns. Em's goodbye brunch was followed by some weekend down time. The evening time Jock & Di were in town, Aaron, Jarrad & I met with them and their friends for some Spanish Tapas.

The weekend ended with yet more drinks, this time over in Pyrmont.

After some careful thought and deliberation, I decided I'd had enough of drinking for a while. So from that day forth I was to be T total... for a while anyway...

Apply Some Pressure

Maximo Park, The Metro

I was happy that one of those dates I always look forward to was upon me; one of my favourite bands coming to Sydney and me having snared a few tickets for it.

So along with Az and Benny, we headed to The Metro on George Street - probably the last significant venue I'd yet to visit in Sydney to watch the Sunderland boys twang out tunes from their two albums. Really good to hear the bands new stuff after getting to see a part of their set at a very muddy new bands tent on the first day of Glastonbury 2005. My voice took a beating which is generally one of the marks of a good gig for me...

In a week when the Arctic Monkeys, Editors & Bloc Party all visited, it's looking a bit bleak on the UK bands front... fingers crossed that changes soon.

Last This Day

Long Distance Weekend, Sydney

Another Year, another Long weekend, another one with not much rest....

I was given a traditonal Bundock wake-up call by my Aaron and Jarrad - bursting into my room at 7.15am; party poppers blazing with a body slam thrown in just to make sure I was awake!

Once the boys had gone off to work, I set about a day of forgetting myself and the world. Into Randwick for a haircut (though I'm not sure how much I actually had taken off) before grabbing a Boost Juice and going for a read in the park - I got some new; very much appreciated reading material from my old travel friend Flee; now based in the UK.

After some lunch I packed my camera and a book and headed to Maroubra beach for nothing much in particular. I took some random shots, I read some book, I even did some study - it was all good on a Sydney Winters day of 23 degrees.

I headed home and treated myself to some noodles from the Spot before I finished speaking to my family back home in England.

Jarrad, emma and myself then headed out to the Palace to start the evenings festivities off. By the time 9.30 rolled around, everyone was with us on Pitt St ready for Tapas.

Sangria, good food and great company meant the evening rolled out real nice. Now was time to head onward - Le Cross of course, and a late night as we danced into the early hours.

Of course I woke up feeling like a million dollars, luckily some musical therapy was at hand, and an impromtu jam session took myself and Aaron through the latter morning hours of the day. After a brief sleep, it was time to move on to the 2nd engagement of the weekend.

Our good friend Emily is leaving us for the tropical climbes of Queensland; Cairns to be precise. Not sure why, since she doesn't like scuba diving ;)

So of course, this called for another party. And since today was the warmest day since (from my recollection) around early May, it seemed only fitting it should be a BBQ party. My biggest problem with all of this, was the fact that my third engagement of the weekend - was a 14km run the following morning. Great will-power won-thru though and I stayed sober for the whole day. Which, I found can really give you the upper hand in playing tricks on drunken friends... 4 peoples big toes painted with pink nail polish before anyone noticed.

City 2 Surf (The following picture is obviously not mine and props go to the Sydney Morning Herald Website)

So after 2 months of very occasional training (I think the total stood at 1x10km+ run, 3x6km+runs and a bi-weekly round trip to the gym and back (at 3kms a pop)) 6.30am rolled around and it was time to slip on my running gear and make my way with Jarrad (along with 64,000 other people) to the starting area for the 2007 37th annual City 2 Surf 14km (8.7miles) run.

As Jarrad had already qualified last year, he disappeared off to the front of the pack group, I was left in with the 3rd group to be allowed to start the race. After one false start, we finally got going a full 10minutes after the initial pack had been let loose on the route. I didn't start running for around 300metres due to the sheer amount of people surrounding me, but eventually started to pick up pace as I headed toward the Kings Cross Coca Cola sign.

If I'm honest, I felt pretty dreadful at that point. I was well warmed up - yet really not feeling the running, and I needed to pee. Luckily, as we exited the under-pass - I was well into the spirit of things, passing by the odd pub with rock bands up on the awnings serenading the rapidly moving crowds. So from kilometre no 2, to around kilometre no 6, I was happy - exploring suburbs of Sydney I'd yet to see, appreciative of the gorgeous sunshine keeping me warm as I bounded past the marina near Double Bay.

I finally stopped to relieve myself under the comfort of a large tree, before heading onward to tackle "Heartbreak Hill". Several straight KMs uphill were definitely the hardest part of the run, and I had to stop for about 20metres of walking just to let my breathing recover. Though from that point I managed to see out the rest of the race without stopping.

Far from it, as I entered the last 4kms of the run, I was pleasently encouraged by the fact that the majority of runners surrounding me were from the group that started 5minutes ahead of my pack - I was confident I would make the top qualifiers group.

As I came down the final hill at North Bondi, I picked up my pace, some crowds clapping me on... before my actual fitness got the better of me - some severe wincing directed at the road before me; I levelled my pace out as I headed down Campbells Parade. Right at this point, I heard a familiar voice shout "Come on The Fon!"... Aaron and Em from the sidelines gave me an adrenaline shot that I figured would carry me home... that boost picked up my pace and wore me out again pretty quickly, but with the final hairpin, I started really motoring, and sucking for as much air as possible.

The Finish Line, 72minutes and 54 seconds - I made it.

Jarrad and I took a quick dive in the Wintery Bondi waters, and were ready for some big lunch. Which pretty soon ended up in the pub, chatting to friends about the mornings accomplishments and trying our hardest not to let our physical states get the better of us.

6 or so beers later, it was time to bail... and on arriving home, I passed out on my bed after a shower, and then went on to sleep pretty damn well.

The Tuesday after the event, the results were published in the Syndey Morning Herald, and out of the 60,000 that took part, I came in in 4,888th position! I prefer to think of it as coming 4th out of 60 ;)

The Gift That Keeps Giving

Mount Hotham, Victoria

This year has seen some records broken in Australian weather. The tropical Gold Coast resort of Surfers Paradise recorded its first EVER sub zero temperatures during the crack of dawn. Sydney has also been really cold, rivalling Wintery days of my homeland. However with the last few weeks, the clouds and low temperatures have fallen away. The sun is once again shining and I've been able to lose my jacket whilst wondering the city streets. This week though, I couldn't wait to be cold again. The destination and reason: Mt Hotham, Victoria - snowboard riding.

As I left my final client in Bondi Junction, I got a call from Az asking if I was gonna be late (as per usual), fortune was on my side as I stepped straight on a bus that would drop me at the end of my road. Pretty soon, Todd had joined us and we had his car packed with our boards, clothes and supplies.

We were united with Wedgie, Alison and Rog but just had one Lowen to arrive... Human tetris on YouTube helped pass those final moments of city confinement. Then the fun started... 6 hours driving to Albury, with the most amazing bouts of 20 questions you'd come across, and err Maccas... Luckily, at some point around the time we crossed the state border of New South Wales to Victoria, I fell asleep in the back for around 2hours (a rarity for me) and combined with the other 5hours sleep I got in a bed at Wedgies parents place, I was set for my first days riding.

So after a ridiulously early start, we arrived at Mount Hotham at around 9ish, parted with "I don't want to think about how much" for a 3day lift pass and set about cutting some new lines. Initially, I was pretty disappointed with the snow quality. It's not that there wasn't much of it, more so that it had rained the day before and made it all incredibly wet and slushy - like the stuff you see packed around fresh fish at the local mongers. So after the least enjoyable days riding I can ever remember (all aside from a day of rain in Austria 05), I wasn't hopeful of much for Hotham.

Luckily, we brought a good party to Victoria and the mood wouldn't be dampened by a bit of rain. Myself and Aaron kicked off the long weekends cook fest with some chicken fajitas. Several beers each later, the physicality of the day and the extended travel meant every one was soon crashed out.

A second days riding didn't offer much hope first off. The lower temps had given the pistes a bullet proof sheen which would finally soften up after lunch and allow for some fun, though still not much. The sun was out for a while though, and my riding mood most definitely improved. A late arvo whiteout would provide the best find of the day though. Todd and myself headed where there were no people. Skiers right off the Heavenly Valley lift descended a short way under the cloud line, and a clear lightly covered gulley awaited.

Rog and Todd stepped up to the wheels of fire and prepared one of the most memorable meals of all time... Goulash. Several hours of cooking time ensured everyone was pretty well 'relaxed' by the time the food was served up, it finally arrived and was gobbled up by everyone around the table. It wasn't the last we'd experience of the wonderful delights of goulash though. uh uh.

Day 3 - a dump! a whopping 10mm of snow meant there was at least something to cut out the icy sounds booming up with every turn, and finally, we could start to appreciate the terrain that Hotham had to offer. Snowmaking was now full steam ahead too, and so it was technically snowing all day long.

That wasn't the only dump that started the day off though... on their first visit to the little boys room, certain members of the party were once again re-united with the familiar smell of last nights goulash... and one member in particular would be sniffing that oh so distinctive, pungent smell all day. On just about every lift. And just about everytime his jacket puffed out some air - that smell would be there to haunt he and all around him... for the next 36hours. He wasn't impressed, nor was the poor woman that had to share a room with 3 croaking guys for 4days... ah, heck, why talk in the third person eh!?

So back to day 3's riding... and, well, it made me realise just how great a resort Hotham really is. By far the best of the 3 Australian ones I've been to thus far, the terrain is varied and interesting with something for all snow sports lovers... except maybe air quality (during my stay in the village). By late afternoon, our lift tickets were dwindling to an end, and we just had to make the most of the heavily falling snow as it made the pistes and back country great fun to ride in. That snow continued to fall, on and off most of the night... until the early hours.

Most of the gang headed out to Jack Frosts, though we soon moved on the General Store as we'd heard there was some kinda band playing a gig there. And indeed there was, though what the guy singing was like, I have not much recollection... as the night slipped into morning just as the twanging guitar strums slipped into a bangin' DJ set. I'm thinking it was about 3.30am when Todd and I made it back to our rooms; heck we didn't have to get up for anything the next day!?

7.10am day 4, I start to stir. I'd fallen asleep in the clothes I went out in the night before (always nice). I felt like a small rodent had taken up residence in my head...

7.14am day 4, Lowen, who had been sensible enough to boycott the previous nights musical frivolities looks out the window of our room and notices the 15cm dump of snow. He comes back past my bed and says "I'm off for a ski". I says "really?". "Yup". So within 90 seconds, I'd whipped on my board riding gear and was out that door quicker than a round of jagers being emptied.

With no valid lift passes, we'd have to be careful... and the fact we had to vacate our rooms by 10am. This meant 2 things. We'd have to go hard and fast to make this early morning jaunt worthwhile and I'd just have to deal with the overriding feeling in my head and gut.

Fortune favours the brave they say. I'd say I was pretty brave since I coulda blown chunks at any moment. But instead was blown away by this quality snowfall... this quality snowfall that we would have to rape and pillage, before leaving it to the sleepy heads that still had time left on the mountain.

Myself and Lowen duly left our mark on several runs, and managed to not get challenged by any lifties... our conscience' were clear after the amount we'd paid for lift passes... and it was now time to wrap up our time on the mountain.

9hours back in a car to Sydney, via Wedgies folks place, who put up an awesome mid trip meal... and I was dreaming of snowy times ahead... though this time - 5months ahead. Time to get some gym time in.

Thanks again to everyone involved... see you in the video; coming soon.

Bump

Unplanned, Unwired & Ultimately good fun.

With last weekends adrenaline fuelled frolics still strong in my memory, I had planned to keep this weekend low-key. To an extent it was, but not to quite the levels I'd hoped.

Friday night saw me out for a few beers and games of pool with some guys from work, before heading to Bondi's Beach Road Hotel for a few more beers and catch up chats with my friends, old and new.

After getting over Friday with a Thai lunch in the Junction, and some token shopping, it was time to get back onto the merry go round of life with a beer with good friends in the company of a band. This time it was The Butterfly Effect, a Brisbane band I saw before at last years Homebake festival. The venue was pretty cool - albeir a uni bar, the Roundhouse allowed for an awesomely in your face volume. See a clip I took of the band performing my favourite of their tracks 'Gone' complete with lead-singer hissy fit when his mic packs up here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0yCiR1I8YY

I finally got a decent sleep after a couple of weeks of many short short ones, and slowly got motivated to getting myself out into the world. This weeks activity of choice being a trip to the Aroma festival - Coffee, Chocolate & Spices. It was clear I wouldn't last long at this one, for one, I've never finished a cup of coffee in my life, in fact, I've only tried the stuff about 4 times in various guises. We bought some fudge which sicked me out straight away, it didn't help that I'd already eaten some liquorice and a packet of Crispy M&Ms not long before. Since all coffees were just a dollar, I figured I should try the stuff again.

A flat white was to be my next dabble with the dark drink. I decided to avoid sugar, but I still sprinkled some choc dust across it, there's something safe about chocolate. My verdict was "well it still has that disgusting coffee taste lingering after each mouthfull, but it ain't bad". I finished it. Well I got as far as the cold horrible bitter bit near the bottom.

So how could I beat that? Well, I couldn't. Instead, we convened outside one of the better Sydney pubs - "The Australian" and ate the chunkiest topped pizzas and guzzled a full set of taps worth of pinted variety beers. All was left to do of a lazy Sunday arvo, was to head home. But we accidentally managed to fall into one of Sydney's hottest new bars; The Argyle. A huge place that you just have to see to believe was so impressive to behold upon arrival... the only thing was a distinct lack of the opposite sex.

Aaron pointed this out to me, and eventually my senses realised it. Yup. Gay Night.We managed to snag a corner away from the err... action and of course still had a good fun weekend sundown.

PS. Happy 2nd birthday to http://www.starsofcctv.blogspot.com/

Luke Fonfara

Away From Here

Thredbo,

Imagine that feeling you may have had once or twice only in life, that feels a bit like how, I figure, a vice clamping across your temples might start to feel; as a direct result of work related stress. I think I got to this stage with an unpleasent combination of long hours, cold weather, stressful factors at work and a pending cold, all creeping into my week together. It should've been for the best intentions; a good week whereby I had my sights firmly set on a great weekend. Unfortunately not.

Friday, the fight continued right through the day with my schedule getting stacked back toward clocking off time, just convenietly adding to the grey hair inducing stuff. I finally shook my last clients hand of the day, jumped in an elevator and decended down seventeen floors of green glassed skyscraper (as seen in the Matrix). Out on the street again, the urgence in my step was being driven by a new energy. A force aquired from the thought of where my body would be in 15hours time. The thought of what I would be doing and what I wouldn't be doing, gave my mind some solace.

An hour later I was home, and my good friend Rog was there with a Land Cruiser packed with his ski gear. All was left, was to add my snowboard gear and me... plus some long hours driving, petrol and the worst nights kip in a hostel of all my days. To speed past that, I found myself shivering whilst walking toward the same carpark I had parked in back at Easter in the centre of Canberra. Sleep depravated and still with lingering thoughts from the working week, some people may have questionned what I was doing when a choice to spend the whole weekend in bed could have been so easy to take.

As we made early tracks toward lake Jindabyne, it all became clear. Pastel shades painted a picture around us as the sun rose, almost a solid state rainbow with blues, pinks, oranges, yellows and greens eminating from the horizon in front of us. As we arrived in the Kosciusko state park, I was forced to hit the brakes to let a family of Kangeroos hop on across the front of our car (100% pure Australia!). This put a smile on our faces, a smile which would be with me for the whole weekend ahead in Thredbo.

With my T1's laced up, my Cartels latched and in perfect position, my little WorldWideWeapon gleaming, freshly waxed in the sunlight, it was time to slide down a slippery slope. I promised myself I'd go easy on my first run... I broke that promise as soon as I realised my legs had enough in them to warrant not having to go easy. A little shaky, never the less, I was back in a personal paradise. Cold wind on my face felt just as good as any beachy warm breeze today.

I've never needed such a fix of snowboarding as this weekend just gone by, and to think I have but 3 weeks to wait until the next excursion - well, I'm stoked.

Even though weekends in Australian resorts tend to get a name for themselves as being busy, I'd be the first to admit that things were really not too bad. The longest we ever waited for a lift was a couple of minutes, and once we'd found some enjoyable runs with good conditions, it was all the easier since T-bars tend to fend off large crowds by their very nature.

At the end of day 1, I think both Rog and I felt pretty overwhelmed, but still managed a few beers and games of pool before saying g'night to the starry night in typical fashion.

Sunday seemed to have sent some of the crowds home, so slightly less busy, the day involved me trying to get back to as close as I could to my personal best form of March 2005. I could certainly go fast, and I was grabbing mute and tails in no time. I managed some baby 360's and even got to riding some switch out of a couple of little 1's.

Aside from the muscular aches around my ribs, and dare I try to forget, my left groin I'm in great shape after the impromptu weekend of snow fun...

Again? Bring it on.

Suspicious Eyes

Recap

Some weeks ago, the gang went to a contemporary Italian restaurant, a big group of us y'know, and we dined in honour of our good friend Emily. 25years young. I had the duck a l'oranage which was tasty, however not exactly filling, and those who know me well will know I don't like miserly portions of food. Regardless we managed to squeeze in dessert before squeezing into a tiny little club in the Cross... it goes without saying that we partied until others had chosen to give up.

Some more rock climbing, plenty more gym sessions and I've also started training for a "fun"run which takes place in August. It's 14kms and travels from inner city out to the beach at Bondi... which gives its name "City 2 Surf". So as well as a 3km round trips to and from the gym, I've managed a 8km run locally, and last weekend I managed to crack double figures by running the coastal track from Coogee to Tamarama (one stop before Bondi). I'm feeling pretty good in the old legs, so hope to finish the final run well within the qualifying time that allows you to run in the faster group next year. Truth is; I'll be happy to make the whole thing without having to stop for a breather. I'll put up a link for sponsorship in the coming weeks so if you feel like donating to a worthy cause (my local towns kids hospital), They and I would be most grateful.

Last weekend was a celebration of nothing imparticular, other than the end of a week at work and of course the 7th day of the 7th month in the, errr 8th year of this millenium. Over two nights I made the weekend count, and last Saturday I went for a bit of quiet time. So I managed to take in the Max Dupain photographic exhibition at the NSW Library; an architectural photographer by trade, there was some real cool stuff. Much of his subject matter is relatively familiar to me as he was based in NSW for most of his life, highly recommended if you're in the area.

After that I figured I'd go see the home of the 5,000 sailors that had invaded Sydney over the weekend. The US Military's Kitty Hawk - on it's final visit to this part of the world before it floats back to the US to be replaced by the Nuclear Powered George Washington. I've never seen such a huge vessel afloat in honesty, I'd estimate something like 30 aircraft aboard it alongside the runway. Through my cameras viewfinder, I could see armed crew members checking out the surroundings in Wooloomooloo. It's kinda weird when something like that, so colossal in size, comes to visit you - when usually it'd be us that make the pilgrimage to go visit such an extraordinary engineering feat.

The house has become a little emptier with Jarrad off on world travels. He's currently in Ireland before hitting up London and Hong Kong. With Aaron off to Melbourne this weekend, I was gonna have to organise something good to keep entertained...