One Big Party Town

Although I missed the Friday party, I did manage to go out on Saturday. Ross Noble was playing as part of the Fringe. He’s really popular over here – just stands up for a show and ad-libs a fair part of it. So bizarre, it’s great.

I eventually had a day off. Ina and I spent it walking. Although it had started to cool down, summer was not actually over. In a completely typical way, the big charts at Onkaparinga Gorge showing the paths were completely out of date. So we probably walked further than we intended, seeing real Kangaroos and finches.

On the way back we stopped at a shopping centre in the middle of nowhere but by the side of the main road and managed to find a fruit stall selling fresh apples. IN the evening I went back to the Salsa classes. I was so rusty, but it was good to be doing it again.

And Tuesday was a day off too. I went to see Interpol in the evening. Not the best gig I’ve ever been to, but they were very good. And because I went on my own, it meant I could dance and no-one cared. Nearly the only person dancing, in fact. I got talking to a group who had seen them in Sydney too, and Adelaide is definitely not the place to go for lively crowds. I’d happily see them again.

Back to work the next day, although I’ve had a couple of easier weeks. Last week I did nothing. After working until 2 again on Friday night (and missing the opening party of the Festival – which apparently was rubbish. One of my colleagues took his kids, and left when they asked him to “make that man stop talking” That man was the state President. Apparently his speech was pretty much all that happened), I was 2 hours behind all Saturday. I made it to the market and that was about it for the weekend. It did give me a bit of a chance to catch up the blog. And try to fix the bike. Obviously I spent a month eating out and it’s been too hot to cycle, really. So the bike’s been sitting there for a month and the back tyre is almost completely flat. I tried to pump it up and realised that that little black rubber piece that has been floating around the lounge is a really important bit of the pump. It’s the part that turns it into a machine for inflating tyres, not deflating. Obviously I could put my hands straight on it when I needed.

I bought a new pump, then. After spending a long time in the shop explaining that the tyres have the old fashioned valves and being assured it would work. So now I’m putting off trying to sort it out for fear of the complaints about the language from the next door neighbours.

Since then it’s been getting hotter. I think with each hot spell, I find it slightly easier. But with the festival on, I seem to just have been going out in the evenings instead. By the time I go to bed at one, I’m just too tired to care.

On Thursday Ina & I went to the Fringe theatre – which is an old Pie Factory about to be demolished that has been taken over for a while. All the shows start at the same time. When you finally negotiate (or give up on) where to pick up your ticket and you sit with your drink in a foyer that has been set up to look like a number of lounges in a student house. (That’s UK ‘lounges’ as in ‘living room’, not Aussie ‘lounges’ which would just be a lot of very big chairs) Then everyone gets called through to their show just before it starts. We saw an Irish man who played the fiddle and talked bollocks. It was probably a 2 hour show for a performer not on speed. It lasted just over an hour. And finally got given our tickets as we walked out.
After that we went to the “Garden of Unearthly Delights” which is the main fringe outdoor area, with lots of shows. We didn’t make it to any of the shows, by the time we’d eaten then Sonia joined us and we just sat drinking in the warm evening. Thankfully I was on an office day yesterday, so I could go in late and leave in time to go out last night.

Last night was a Latin American party – a couple of us from work went, plus some of the dance class. It’s fine if you know some basic steps as long as you dance with someone who knows what they’re doing, and it must be even easier being a bird as all you have to do is follow the man and hope you don’t stand on his feet too often. Obviously a small amount of alcohol helps you stop thinking too much about what your feet are doing, although by the end I was probably too sober. The barman just didn’t get the “vodka, lime and lemonade” thing, so I spent the evening on the lemonade!

The dance floor was full of couples who obviously knew what they were doing, but there were a couple of blokes who were willing to show off to a novice so I got a couple of dances. The do was at the Arkaba, aka “Grab-a-Granny”. Ina didn’t. She grabbed a Grandad. He was as short as Ina and Sonia christened him the “Tiny Man”. At least when he tried to chat me up he was obvious about it saying “you have to try”. But Ina just didn’t realise and as a consequence, just couldn’t shake the Tiny Man off. I guess we were lucky that there weren’t more like him.

Today is even hotter and I’m not at work, so I don’t even have that respite. I had to go and get the car from where I left it last night (I really must sort the bike out tomorrow), and unfortunately the bus only goes half way. So I ended up walking across Victoria Park (almost open again after Clipsal) in ridiculous heat.

I got a great book last week. It’s a compendium of all the herbs and spices you can think of, and quite a lot that you’ve never heard of. Including Aussie ones. What’s even better is that the bloke who write the book has a company exporting spices all over the world. And there have been a few that I’ve been looking for in Peterborough and irritatingly not found. (And that I can’t grow either). I spent some of this weekend looking for more spices and found an Indian Spice shop on this side of town, an amazing dingy cavern full of sacks and racking with Indian food (although I’m not sure how genuine Sharwood’s are – food technologist(s), feel free to contradict). As a bonus it’s right next door to an Asian Supermarket. So the pantry smells interesting now.

And I’ll need to finish up now as we’re going to the Persian Garden...

... back into town this morning to go and get the car again (third time). It’s handy having buses, but not if they only go once an hour, and it’s getting too dark to walk to the other bus stop. There’s a paucity of streetlamps (have I said before?). The car was left at work again (that’s so handy), and four of us went for a Chinese meal. Then we walked along North Terrace, the buildings of which are illuminated by the most amazing lights. One of them had Celtic knotwork projected on, and it was so accurate (even down to smudging that looked like worn stone) that it could have been carved. Absolutely incredible.

The Persian Garden is a concrete amphitheatre just between the Festival Centre and the river where bands play – last night was a bit of jazz / funk. There was also a carpeted area with bean bags so we just sat and talked. Until about half one when we went to dance for a bit.

WOMAD is on at the moment, but it’s just too hot to stand outside. So I decided not to try and get a ticket which gave me today free. After getting the car, I tried to find the Farmer’s Market. I knew it was at the Showground, so I tried the front. There I was given directions to the back entrance, which I could drive through – and pay $5 for the privilege or go round. The directions I was given were definitely to follow the roads round to the left, and I knew it would be wring, but thought maybe there was a cut through I didn’t know about. Once I had driven over the railway I knew it was wrong, but of course I then had to turn round and it’s all right by a junction of 3 major dual carriageways. Aarrgghh.

When I eventually found it, I had about 10 minutes before it shut. Great for peppers (of the capsical sort), stone fruit, and 12 punnets of strawberries for £10. Some great cheese too (goat’s milk camembert) and a stall selling rabbit ready to cook. And the ice cream stall again, the one which uses the native fruit. That’s the real reason I went. Mountain Pepperberry this time. And when I got back I still had to go to the greengrocers for everything else.

That’s the end of the partying for a day or two. The festival ends next w/end. Tomorrow the Chemical Brothers are playing next to work, which is very frustrating because I’ll be dealing with all the dehydrated drunks instead, and as it’s a Bank Holiday (Adelaide cup – but that will affect Flinders Medical Centre more), there’ll be no beds.

Que sera sera.