Notes on a few trips

IMG_1428 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . There is a trend in Brisbane to post pictures of estate agents on the billboards... They might do better business with paper bags on their heads but go on... Give Charmaine a call... She will give you a huge reduction apparently...

Love on a tree trunk... , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . They have funny ideas about proposing marriage in Brisbane... Or at least they did five years ago...

Well it looks pretty if you like that sun, surf, sand and blue skies. Our family used to holiday near Coolangatta (which was the location for the film Muriel's Wedding)... For those of you not enjoying the summer, you can take solace in the fact that the Gold Coast is still full of bogans (chavs) and has no nightlife once the sun goes down (unless you call nightlife throwing yourself or falling off off your balcony ). Posted via email from paulinlondon's posterous

IMG_1413 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Of course "thongs" are "flip flops" elsewhere...

IMG_1402 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Strange things they put on pizza in Brisbane... Particularly on the Southbank...

The $4 coffee , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Brisbane people love their coffee and nowadays every 100 metres there seems to be a coffee shop, hole in the wall, coffee cart selling the stuff. But this is perhaps a sign of the (inflated) times in Newstead Brisbane: a takeaway flat white (that's a less milky latte) for $4. There were slightly larger sizes for more. In any currency that was a tad expensive, particularly when it wasn't that hot and the beans were a bit odd. If coffee is any measure of the state of the economy, things are getting a little crazy here... Still the cardboard cup it came in was lovely so I thought I'd make the most of my purchase with some flattering photographs of it before it was thrown in the garbage.

Friday evening I ventured to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre to see their Christmas concert Spirit of Christmas... It features a cast of thousands... Well at least the Queensland Symphony Orchestra , and four local choirs along with local celebrities and a reverend (to remind everyone about Jesus). Ten years ago I last performed in one of the choirs so I was keen to see what had changed. Well QPAC is obviously keeping up with tradition (and being frugal) as very little of the show had changed. In fact I could have got up and sung along with them as I knew most of the arrangements. One new addition was an African Noel that had the giant massed choir moving and swaying... I was surprised to see that many of the old timers still could move it. They could teach the LGMC a thing or two... It was a pity there wasn't more of the choirs given I understand they had them practicing every night of the week just for three songs and bit of colour behind the singalong carols... Highlight

IMG_1395 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Observing fashion trends in Brisbane has been... interesting. Maybe Kath and Kim isn't ironic afterall... But I did like Britney showing up in the bottle shop to buy some Vodka... Some girls can't pull that sort of look off, but this one was just... Toxic...

Dressed Yule Log , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . And for something different... French cooking class on Thursday night ended with this little marvel... It is meant to be a Yule Log but essentially with chocolate, butter cream, sponge and a bit of chestnut puree it is a device for inducing Type 2 Diabetes... It is still sitting in the fridge awaiting to be eaten... It will be some wait...

IMG_0027 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . The newly opened King George Square has attracted controversy from locals as they think it isn't shady enough... From this angle it is a bit hard to understand their point... Perhaps more troubling are the slabs of granite walls and the "no skateboarding" signs which give the square a less welcoming feel... The square doesn't really design out crime either... The local youths already have claimed some of the many nooks and crannies of this new space. A bin had been set alight when I passed by. Still it is an improvement on what was there and makes the best out of being on a bizarre sloping hill that should have been levelled when the city was originally built... Give the trees a few years and it should be a bit shadier as well...

IMG_0031 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . To tie-in with the Asia-Pacific Triennial at the Gallery of Modern Art , the cafe there was doing some Asian Fusion food... This was sushi with raw salmon... Even with the special sauce it was delicious...

Somewhere between London and Dubai around 1am Monday morning I found myself a little damp. The entire contents of a glass of champagne dropped into my lap after a flight attendant tripped on something or other (it might have been an aisle passenger's foot). It was a little bit alarming as I had successfully spent the last five months avoiding getting my Nudie jeans too dirty so I didn't need to wash them and now some clutzy flight attendant was going to force a premature wash... The whole flight crew seemed a little accident prone (well the ones providing the inflight service anyway), as they kept dropping things, running into each for the whole six hours as if they were Keystone Cops... Determined not to let a little champagne spoil the flight I suggested that if they gave me a towel and a glass of it then I wouldn't say anything further. Alcoholic drinks are complimentary on Emirates flights, except for their champagne which they charge some ludicrous price for... It mig

Corsica July 2009 009 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . The baguettes are bigger in Corsica...