Rainbow Serpent Nights!!

This was the end of one of the best days I have had in a long time. Thanks to everyone who made my experience at Rainbow Serpent festival so much fun. I had a fantastic time and value the new friendships that I made and hope to see you all soon.

Rainbow Serpent Festival & The Nargile Lounge

Whilst in Melbourne friends and I spent almost a week at a festival called Rainbow Serpent. It was held in the bush near Beaufort and Ballarat about 2 hours outside of Melbourne. There were lots of DJ's and a few live acts as well as various performers and entertainers too.

I was part of a group that went and set up a gift economy space called the Nargile Lounge. A lot of the organisers were Burning Man people and this is a concept that is very common at Burning Man festivals around the world. I haver never been a part of something like this though and so was not sure what to expect.


The aim of the Nargile Lounge was to provide a free space for people to come and enjoy and hang out in. Nargile or Nargila as it's pronounced are hookah pipes, or hubbly bubbly pipes as I call them. We had several of these for people to smoke as well as given out peppermint tea and various snacks like dried fruit, nuts and turkish delight.

It was amazing to see how much people appreciated the space and were so grateful for the chance to enjoy the tent with us. It made me feel really great to be a part of the team and to be offering people this experience.


The festival was awesome. Some great music was played and I was often found dancing away till the sun rose each morning. There was a huge mix of people at the festival and all seemed to be enjoying their experiences.

It's been a long time since I went to a good festival and so was great to let my hair down and enjoy every aspect of it and meet some fantastic people along the way.

Melbourne - oh how I love thee!!

Yesterday I returned from 2 weeks in Melbourne. It's a city I have always had a fondness for. I lived there for 6 months when I was 19 and have always said I want to move there one day. 

I was a little apprehensive about going there as had such fond memories of the city and wasn't sure if I would see it in the same light. No worries about it though. It's exactly the same as I remember and even better. It's been so long since I was in a big city, I'd forgotten how much I love the hustle and bustle of it all. There was always something going on whatever time of day or day of the week. I especially loved the trams and travelling around exploring the city on them.

I managed to catch up with old friends as well whilst there and it was fantastic to chat about old times and it even felt as if I'd only seen them about 6 months ago even though it had been at least 8 years with most of them!

I loved the shopping. Melbourne is a shoppers paradise! So much to choose from. So many great designers and funky stores as well as amazing discount stores like Target which quickly became and regular haunt for us. 


The food was amazing too. We found a fantastic place to have breakfast on Sydney Road. It served all kinds of things including american style pancakes with real maple syrup and made a great cup of coffee to have with it.

Melbourne definitely has a special buzz about it and I can't wait to go back and discover more of it at some point in the future!

AN OBITUARY PRINTED IN THE LONDON TIMES

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, 'Common Sense', who has
been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his
birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be
remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; 

Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more
than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in
charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but
overbearing regulations were set in place. 

Reports of a 6-year-old boy
charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from
school for using mouth wash after lunch; and a teacher fired for
reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job
that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.


It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent
to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but could not inform
parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. 

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and
criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar
in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to
realise that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her
lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. 

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust. His
wife, Discretion, his daughter, Responsibility, his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights; I Want It Now;
Someone Else Is To Blame; I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone. If you
still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Dinner watching the sunset in Hokitka

 originally uploaded by Fire Fairy.

I was on the West Coast with work last week and one night stayed at the Beachfront Hotel in Hokitka. The restaurant in the hotel had an amazing view from the balcony and I ate dinner whilst watching the sunset!! What better way to enjoy a meal!!

The Phoenix Foundation to release Christmas album

Following in the footsteps of Cliff Richard and The Darkness, The Phoenix Foundation are releasing a Christmas album, both digitally and physically, on the 7th of December titled MERRY KRISKMASS. The first single to be released is Everybody’s Money and although not Christmas themed is still a great tune that will have you swaying in your seats.

The lyric’s however, give an ironic twist to the upbeat tone of song. I asked Samuel Scott from The Phoenix Foundation what the story was behind the lyrics: It was written in London last year. The whole credit crunch thing was going down and I wanted to sing about that in a joyful fun tone. Not that I enjoy financial troubles, I just wanted to poke fun at what is ultimately a rather absurd situation. Specifically it was written in James Milne's (aka Lawrence Arabia) flat in Dalston. I wrote a few tunes about Dalston itself and for a while James and I were going to write a Christmas musical about the joys of North East London.

Why a release Christmas album? Why not! It almost coincidental that it's Christmas album. But Chris and Krisk (the two 'people' on the cover and the subject of some of the lyrics) are essentially Christmas ornaments. So it was a mix of timing ridiculous content and a desire to be like Cliff Richard.

What’s your favourite Christmas album and why? To be honest I have never met a Christmas album that I liked. Actually thats not entirely true, there was a Twinset Xmas thing featuring Dermania Loyd, that was pretty good. My family always play this Dean Martin Christmas album, it's horrible.

What are your plans for the Christmas holidays? Eat some Roast Krisk.

Any plans to come to play in Christchurch in the near future? I hope so. In fact I think we are coming down in February, I'm not sure of the details. Christchurch has become a really good destination for TPF, we always have a great time.

Everybody’s Money for some reason makes me think of a great night out on the town followed by the hangover from hell the next day, hugging the sofa, reminiscing about the night before with something easy to listen to on the stereo. And for me to be listening to anything at all the day after a big night out it has to be good. The lyrics are clever and I love the contrast between them and the tune. This is definitely one song to be added to my i-pod for my summer roadtrip and I can’t wait to hear the rest of the album.

The September Issue

R J Cutler’s documentary The September Issue is a must-see film at this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival, on now at the Regent on Worcester.

The film takes a close look at the notorious Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of the prestigious American Vogue magazine and the nine-month process to create the September 2007 issue – the bible of the fashion world.

The crew follows Wintour to runway shows and fashion weeks, private breakfast meetings with advertisers and designers and into her private office to film heated debates about finances and editorial content with the creative director, Grace Coddington.

It will have you gasping in your seats and realising that your boss really isn’t that bad after all!