The Less said about the Football, the Better

>:-(

Quickie

Back from the beach, off to the Grand Final!!! And yes, I DID lay down in the street to get the shot and yes, it IS asphalt. :-)

Got some nice shots at the beach house with our friends yesterday and hope to have more from the football today. See you on Best Shot Monday!!!!

Theme Thursday: Wide

Adelaide is famous for its 'wide' streets.

For WIDE range of interpretations....check out Picture This.

Typical Holidays

Here I am, day 3 of being childfree and all I have achieved is vacuuming the house, interminable loads of washing/ironing and visits to the accountant and tax man. Alright, I lie, I did go and see Stardust (cool website!!! and cool movie if you like mindless fantasy) with the Bestie. But that's it!!!

What happened to holidays being times for meeting friends at fashionable cafes and lunching with sav blanc down at The Bay? What happened to lazing by pools, visiting museums and leaving the country?

Huh.

To be fair, I don't think I've ever really had holidays like that. Mostly school holidays involve stopping. And catching up. And refereeing children. Don't ever feel jealous of the amount of holidays a school teacher gets. I still have marking to do and I need to start planning next term's work as well.

Meanwhile, The Baby Angel is off with her father and stepmother in.........FIJI!!!!!!!!!! Can't complain though. My dad was a University lecturer and over the years we got to visit some really cool places. Strangely however, I seemed to have to go to school in most of them! :-)
We visited (and were schooled in) the UK, the USA and Canada through my childhood so I guess I've been pretty lucky. And I have been to Disneyland and Tokyo Disney, and Alton Towers in the UK (another theme/adventure park).....and I DID have some wonderful holidays with my sister and brother-in-law in France and Cornwall and more great holidays with friends in Cyprus and Spain...........

OK. Maybe its just these holidays that suck.

Now to think about Theme Thursday hmmmmmmmm

GO YOU MIGHTY ROOSTERS

Now the other thing which has been on our minds and on our social calendar lately are
THE MIGHTY ROOSTERS!!! Have a quick look at their site because it is designed and managed by none other than Himself and his band of merry multimedia men. Run your cursor over the rooster emblem on the banner.......cool eh? (and mildly irritating)

Before the National League (AFL), each state had their own Football League with local clubs, traditions, awards etc. In the mid 90s the AFL was created and South Australia put up two teams, The Adelaide Crows and the Port Adelaide Power. Although this stripped a number of the local clubs of their best players, the local SA League continues to provide a good standard of football, a great deal of club loyalty and is still reasonably well followed.
The North Adelaide Football Club is one of those teams.

Himself's company sponsors the club as well as running the website and producing other marketing and motivational items. As a result we get to go and see them in the Member's Stand at the Adelaide Oval from time to time. Additionally, we know one of the players, Nick Gill, as his girlfriend used to work for us so that gives us a personal interest in the team and the game. Well, it gives me a personal interest; Himself just loves football!
Me in the Member's Stand two weeks ago.

Nick is quite a character. Known as The Emu for his height and gangly legs, he is a superb mark (that means catching the ball on the full) and covers a huge amount of ground throughout the game. He really is an exceptional player...except for one thing, he can't kick straight. This of course can be an advantage when you are facing away from the goals on an impossible angle, a position from which Gilly has been known to score on a number of occasions. It is a disadvantage however when you are 10metres out from an open goal, dead in front. From this normally certain position, Nick has been known to kick the ball and not only miss the goals to only score a point...but to kick it out of bounds altogether!!! So it is with mixed feelings that we observe him take a spectacular mark knowing that the next move, the free kick, could be a disaster. Despite this he was selected for The Adelaide Crows and has played most of the season with them this year, only returning to Norths when the Crows were eliminated in the final rounds of the national competition.
I think they were trying to teach him to kick. (Himself says he kicks like a girl)

But I digress. You see, Norths have made it to the Grand Finals this year! First time since 1991!
We were there in the Member's Stand two weeks ago when they lost the Preliminary Final so we took Small Boy down this weekend just gone, to see them claw their way back into the Finals by knocking out Woodville/West Torrens. A Boy and his Dad at the ticket booth.

It was a very fraught game. At one point we were 20 points behind. (One goal=6 points) See scoreboard below. The scoreboard itself is an item of interest because as you can see it has not been updated to include electronic nonsense. I actually think it is Heritage Listed...do you know Dad?
If you look at the points total you can see we were behind. (A Behind on the board by the way is another name for a point, scored when the ball passes between the two outer posts rather than the inner ones...confusing but you'll get it) Check the time on the clock too. Of the 7 'Behinds' or 'Points' scored by North Adelaide, Nick Gill was responsible for at least 3!

But the MIGHTY ROOSTERS were not plucked yet! Check out the final scoreboard (new time on the clock).Yes!!! A resounding victory and Nick Gill had a key part to play, snapping in 3 goals from ludicrous angles and generally making himself useful all over the ground! I was extremely excited by the whole thing. Small Boy and Dad took it much more in their stride.

When we got home we got a call from the CEO of the Club asking Himself to get straight on to designing the Grand Final Merchandise. Himself mentioned that we'd been at the game.
"Ah yes," he quipped,"I thought I heard your wife barracking."
(Himself laughs),"Ha ha...no we were on the Hill today, not in the Stands."
"Yes....." says the CEO.

Cheeky bugger!

Oh now, I've just found this on Youtube so if you want to see what a 'mark' looks like and get an idea of why the Aussies are so passionate about their football.....get a load of this.



You don't have to watch it all the way through, although girls...there is some very nice eye candy here...and there is a really cute bit right at the end!

So, Grand Finals here we come. We have been invited to the Magary Box at the AAMI Stadium next Sunday. GO YOU MIGHTY ROOSTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eight jobs I have Had

Kim at Cancio tagged me for this meme back in the middle of September but what with the whole nightmare reports/teaching/costumes/musical thing I am only now getting around to doing it.

Righto, here we go. Eight jobs I have had. Hmm, when I start to think about it there have been quite a few! (That's enough out of you Mam)........

1. Check Out Chick: An occupation made famous by Norman Gunston in his Soap Opera parody entitled...strangely enough "Checkout Chicks".
I happily intoned,
"Thank you for shopping at Coles New World"
on and off for about 3 years through Matric and Uni. I was even promoted to Fruit and Veg at one point. At least I think it was a promotion.

2. Sewing Machine Operator: in a kids clothing factory in the UK. I did this for 9 months whilst saving to back pack around Europe. I learned many things in this job. Sewing, obviously, the joy of a cheese and onion sandwich and most importantly, the cultural difference in tolerance for bad language that exists between the UK and Australia. One of the more colourful words which peppered my vernacular throughout University and my theatrical career, did NOT go down well when directed at my section supervisor. Even in a light hearted manner. I got all my warnings at once :-(
On a positive note, once I had resigned to go back packing, I had the buzz of seeing one of the outfits I had been a part of making, being worn in Germany!!!!

3. Entertainer: yes, I actually did this for money at one point! Throughout my teenage years I was part of a company who put on children's musicals every school holidays. They drew their chorus from their drama school and paid us the princely sum of $20.00 for two weeks work, two shows a day and a matinee on Saturdays. As we got older and scored bigger parts (Rabbit in Winnie the Pooh: see below) I seem to remember getting a pay rise to about $100.00. I could be mistaken however :-D
(btw: Eeyore is that now famous comedian Shaun Micallef)
Of course I also did a couple of touring musical shows and worked in a theatre restaurant for 2 years but that is a whole other post!

4. Sprouker: "Ladies, step over to the kitchenware department where this month we are having a fantastic sale on Decor products. Look at all these practical but decorative items, all in the new summer 'yummy' colours. Goodness it makes my mouth water just talking about them."
Sad but true. I think they tripled their sales on Decor that month.

5. Pathology: well, not actually pathology but I did have several jobs within a pathology business. I started as a Data Entry Operator in Biochem (How do you recognise the Irish Data Entry Operator? She's the one with Tippex on her screen...) moved to Results/Enquiries where I did the whole telephone voice thing again (see job no 4) and finally Specimen Reception where I was the Night Supervisor. This series of jobs funded me through Teacher's College. Later I also worked as a Courier for a rival Path Lab, in between casual teaching contracts. I could cope with everything except sputum.

6. Doctor's Receptionist: over one Summer when I was Relief Teaching I 'helped out' a friend's father by working in his surgery. He loved me so much that I spent all of first term there before leaving to concentrate on teaching. I learned a lot in this job too. How to take an ECG, do an audiogram and hold a patient's cheek inside out whilst the doctor removed a cyst. I think it was after that experience that I remembered I was supposed to be teaching.

7. Boarding House Mistress: This one was a HOOT. In the few years that I was relief teaching I needed extra cash to fill in the gaps when I didn't get a day's work. As such I took a job as a casual House Mistress in a fancy girl's boarding school in Sydney. I worked Thursday nights and weekends including sleeping over. The girls were revolting!! This job was the first time I realised that I had been entrusted with a Flaming Sword. There was another girl who started at the same time as I did and we were collectively appalled by the behaviour of the pupils. After our first night we asked what 'consequences' we could assign for poor behaviour and were told we could 'gate' the girls (removal of exeat privileges...no weekend trips to town). That weekend we gated 6 dorms. Things improved after that. We once overheard a year 7 girl asking a friend when things were 'going back to normal'...to which we called after her "This IS normal!!!!!"
Sheesh. The funny thing about all this was that when I was at school one of my best friends was a boarder and I regularly rang up on her behalf using my best telephone voice (see jobs no 4 and 5) pretending to be her grandmother and getting her permission to go 'out' on the weekends. Suffice to say that when the girls in my care tried it....I was onto them!

And finally

8. Teacher: my real career. I have worked in One Teacher primary schools, as a Small School Principal, as a large school Deputy Head and as a Special Education Coordinator. Somehow I have segued into secondary school teaching and who knows where my journey will lead me next!(Teaching Assistant Principal circa 1993)...blonde hair and questionable outfit although I remember loving it at the time!!!

Now I am supposed to tag people.....but most people have already done this one. If you haven't done it...please consider yourself 'tagged' and leave a comment to say you have done yours. Then everyone can call over and check you out!!

Best Shot Monday: The Musical

This is my Best Shot from the last week at The Musical. Look at all these vibrant, excited kids, full of the joy of life and the magic of being involved in theatre. This was taken on Thursday night as they waited outside the theatre between the matinee and the evening performance.
And here's what captivates us. The stage.
This was taken from prompt side where I was ensconced in my little Stage Manager's position. I love the height of the curtains and the side light casting long shadows across the stage.

One guess as to what THIS represents! Yes, it is the endless hours of sewing I did for costumes.
The purple thing is one of the infamous 'gypsy waistcoats'...although truth be known they had nothing to do with gypsies.
These exuberant two are my lighting girls. They were stunners! Capable, reliable, mostly on task..they left the boys for dead although I have to say that after three days of me explaining exactly what I needed the Tech boys did rise to the occasion.
At the beginning of each day, the cast and crew sat in the theatre to have the roll called. This was a time of great conviviality and a chance to give feedback and production 'notes'. Here's most of them waiting for the producer to do her thing. Look at our lovely theatre! The only downside is the seats which are the same ones that were there when I last worked in the theatre 27 years ago!

These ones are really for my family in the UK. Many school holidays were spent n the Scott Theatre. I think my Dad is the only family member who has not performed on the stage here. (Although maybe SmokyJo was only backstage...refresh my memory Sis)...
Look what they've done to the courtyard which used to be a grey tiled, prison style exercise yard. I'm sure the gumtree at the rhs wasn't there before. It's a pretty cool theatre though isn't it? It was originally part of the teacher's college and was used as a training theatre for drama students and the like. As such it had all mod cons, stage revolves, trapdoors, massive lighting rigs, access to the stage from all directions and good sized wings (unlike many theatres). This was the gang waiting around on the Thursday night. I think they'd just finished having an ice fight. The picture doesn't capture it as I was too late as usual but the excitement that night was extraordinary. High as kites on life they all were.

Now look what they've done to the dressing rooms!!!!! The size of the dressing rooms was the real downer in the old days. The dancers were always packed into the Green Room as there was not enough room in the dressing rooms for everyone. Now they have knocked walls out and extended back under the stage and under the road behind the building so there are dressing rooms this size on both sides of the main corridor.

This is how I've been spending my days for the last 5 weeks.....with a head full of costume racks. Recognise the dress on the end Mum?? Debenhams in Romsey I think it was...circa 1995. Recycling is a great part of costume coordination. Don't worry, I got the dress back!

Onstage after the show for 'notes'. Those are the gates to 'Heaven' in the background. Not quite the impressive structures I had envisaged......
And so, the musical is over. I didn't get any production shots of course as I was too busy calling cues (standby tabs, standby sfx 5, standby AV 12, standby LX 67.......) but I'm hoping there may be some available on the school intranet which I can pinch. It was a fantastic week. Exhausting but exhilarating. I really bonded with the tech crew as we wisecracked our way through the performance (watch out on youtube for the video they secretly took of me dancing side stage).
Me: so, sweepstakes; how far downstage do you think these two will come tonight?
Spot Tech: first tab.....
AV: by the sofa..........
Lighting: they'll go exactly as far as they always do.......
She was right they never came any further down......no matter WHAT the director said to them.

On the last night the Techies approached me with furtive and conspiratorial glances. "Can we have a word with you Mrs A?" It transpired that this was the last musical for their AV teacher and they wanted to do something special. It was my job to get him on stage while the Techies, all in black and wearing aviator sunglasses, marched down both aisles to the tune of 'The Eye of the Tiger' and paraded onto the stage to make a presentation to their 'Chief'. It was fantastic! I was called upon to come up with very inventive stories as to why the Techies couldn't join us on stage to start with and to distract the chief at the end of the show when he was trying to herd them all down.....I think he figured it out eventually. I'm a hopeless liar it must be said.

Did I ever wish I was onstage again? Maybe. I miss dancing particularly. I can't sing anymore although that didn't stop me turning off my headset mike and croaking along at the top of my voice to 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' (it's OK, there was a chorus around a mike in the wings so I wasn't ruining anything) and also bellowing the last few choruses of 'A Pilgrim People' sung to the tune of Jupiter from Holst's 'The Planets'.

We praise you God the Father
We praise you Christ the Son
We praise you Holy Spirit
The best is yet to come......


I always loved these mirrors.



For an unbiased and hilarious critique of the show (and my response to same) check out the Bestie's Blog.

For other Best Shots