There’s seems little way to get in touch with ‘my bezzie’ Michelle Louise Laurie Catherine Forthergill Carter; but I never forgot when your birthday is. Somehow?! hehe…so this is my attempt to wish you a great day, all the way from New Zealand!

This last ten days has been pretty cool, whilst I didn’t go out and party “every” night like some of the younger chaps and chapess’s in the band, I did manage to do quite well, finished reading Manda Scott’s “Dreaming the Bull” from the Boudica Series, now I am on the final installment! I also managed to meet up with Nicole who used to work with my sister in Hong Kong. Rather than rattle on though I’ll share a couple of pic’s from my trip with ya!

I guess I have a thing for architecture, especially if it’s something not quite of the norm! This building in Brisbane just kind of stood out to me as worthy of a pic!

This was taken on the South Side near Victoria Bridge facing North, one of the many bridges that spans the river that meanders through Brisbane. In this photo you can see the mix of old and new buildings in this metropolitan place.

This interesting walkway is what I believe to be the entry to the South Bank Parklands, you can almost imagine a line of Elephants rasing there trunks!

This is a picture taken of Burleigh Heads, which is about 25 mins South of Surfer’s Paradise, where I had a bite to eat and strole with Nicole.

This is a little way up “The Heads” looking out across to the Surfer’s Paradise area, ok techincally I think we are looking at Broadbeach but I won’t split too many hairs…

Not sure if you saw this guy in the last pic, just a quick reminder of some of the nasty creepy and possibly dangerous things that live in Australia, apart from Dame Edna of course!

These are the not so dangerous, but strange enough to see roosting up a hill in a tree?! A bunch of “Bush Turkeys”, well it ain’t no Koala but it’s something I guess?

This is the view across to Surfer’s Paradise from Burleigh Heads, and ok ok! It was a bit of an overcast day, so I’ve done a little photoshopping to spruce the pic a bit, coz it was looking a little lame =p

Finally a pic of me and Nicole, I’m showing what’s left of my spare tyre round the waste, but the weight continues to drop~! Thanks to this break I have finally gone below 16 stone! Which = about 100Kg for the Imperially Challenged =p Not bad considering I was near to 120Kg when I moved out to NZ huh!

A couple of rather conspicious highlights from my break - ordering three bottles of wine and a bottle of bubbly on room service in Brisbane after we won the B Grade, and I still am unable to remember when I lost consciousness…o.O

And getting lost somewhere in Surfers Paradise, and not getting back to the appartment till 5.30am - if that wasn’t enough?! I was still a bit tanked and boosed, and lost ALL ability to use a key, in the end I resorted to climbing the balcony to open one of the patio doors, this worked but only after to tenth attempt.

Good times!

You know, all this time I had often wondered… Does the sink empty any differently in Australia compared to the UK? Well, I can offer the answer today… no. I’m feeling a little drained today both physically and financially I slightly overdid the sauce last night in town and didn’t get back to the appartment until sometime past 05.30hrs?!

As penance I forced myself to get up around 11am, chilled for a bit, and walked for 25 mins to get to the mall and type this. I’m too hard on myself sometimes

It’s been a most exhilerating weekend, with us (Pelorus Trust Wellington Brass Band) coming 5th in the Marching Contest!! beating many A Grade bands a result none of us were expecting, especially when I added an extra note at the end?!

We then walked away with the Hymn, Test Piece and Own Choice 1st place prizes but we lost out on the sit down March by about 1 point despite that minor set back, the aggregate score means we are now currently the new Australian National Champions for B-Grade, and if we retain the NZ National title later this year we will be the first band in history to hold both titles concurruntly!

This is the stuff that dreams are made of!

Alas Arthur has left us, this is possibly the saddest news I have seen in a long time!

This is one author and visionary who will be missed by the entire world I am sure! I hope that suitable tribute can be found for such as he…

In my lame attempt to save my soul from eternal damnation etc…. I’d just like to point out my post regarding the ‘new’ classification of sins recently mooted in the media was supposed to be my ‘tongue-in-cheeck’ take on it all, and would never overtly ridicule anything of a serious nature.

You got to admit though, anyone wearing a dress and pointy hat, has to have a sense of humour…. …right? :loopy:

I must have gone through a bottle and a half of Bourbon, the number of singles and doubles I had on Friday night, all started innocently enough on the Gold Max Beer… but as soon as I hit the Bourbon that was the beginning of the end, I have to say it MUST have been a good night, because I have a few pockets of amnesia! Somehow I managed to have the presence of mind to get a taxi home sometime around 3-4am (the night started at 5.30pm the day before by the way)…at least I didn’t wake up in a gutter at around 5.30am and start chucking my guts up - like ’some’ colleagues I could mention!!

As you can imagine I didn’t get up too early on Saturday, in fact lets just skip Saturday ok..? It’s full of not feeling so well moments, and flashbacks etc…

So….Sunday! Today, another day of rehersal, marching practice and more rehersal, and just so we get the marching drill right, we had some pointers off the drum major for the Central Band of the New Zealand Royal Air Force! So we learned a little about dressing by the centre and by the right, and of course check pacing; I think if we all just concentrate on the day we might just pull it off!! We also have to memorise the march - apparently we will get more points for that!

And that’s my weekend done… next stop? BRISBANE!

Apparently the Pope has decided to decree another seven sins to add onto the original seven deadly sins?!

NEW
Genetic modification
Carrying out experiments on humans
Polluting the environment
Causing social injustice
Causing poverty
Becoming obscenely wealthy
Taking drugs

ORIGINAL SEVEN
Sloth
Envy
Gluttony
Greed
Lust
Wrath
Pride

So, without even thinking about the old lets get all pedantic on the new ones eh..?

1) Genetic Modification > I guess you can kiss goodbye to any heart/limb transplants or bone marrow transplants, or blood transfusions to save lives, because you are putting someone elses genetic material inside a body, thus genetically modifying it…SINNER!!!!

2) Carrying out experiments on humans > No more GCSE’s, No more A Levels, No more Degree’s, No more Polls these are all forms of statistical experimentation on humans whether for informational purposes or to gauge intelligence…hmmm hang on this is a bad thing? SINNER!!!!

3) Polluting the environment > oh well I guess if you fart one more time, you’ll end up in the ninth circle of hell!! SINNER!!!!

4) Causing social injustice > Ok so this could be related to the last one, you fart in a public place, maybe a lift in a MALL? Boy?!!! That’s a Social Injustice alright! SINNER!!!!

5) Causing poverty > So by getting up everyday and going to work to earn a wage, you are putting someone else somewhere (probably more qualified too) out of a job thus causing poverty SINNER!!!!

6) Becoming obscenely wealthy > No wonder Bill Gates is standing down from Microsoft and given up the top spot as richest man in the world! SINNER!!!!

7) Taking drugs > “Drugs are bad m’k?” What?! you took a lemsip for you cold last night..? SINNER!!!!

But I’d argue that these new version are surplus to recquirement and simply a repetition of the older traditional sins in one form or another:

1) Genetic modification - could be tied into Envy - Does she go for the breast enlargement or the breast reduction?!

2) Carrying out experiments on humans - could be tied into Pride, Lust and Wrath depending on the mood of the torturer…(cough) I mean scientist….

3) Polluting the environment - Well simply put this is gluttony, wanting limitless energy at the cost of the ozone…

4) Causing social injustice - Again a happy mixture of Greed, Lust, and Wrath! Maybe Pride too if you took your injusticing seriously enough?

5) Causing poverty - Again Greed, Lust, Sloth, Gluttony take you pick any one of the original 7 can contribute to this

6) Becoming obscenely wealthy - Greed, Gluttony, Pride, Lust

7) Taking drugs - Sloth, Lust, Greed, Pride etc…. they all still fit!

As you can see I am taking a very dim view and have in the very posting of this commited no end of sins myself, oh well at least I am suitabley named (minus the sixes on forehead), there’s just one conundrum that has me quaking and nervous about all of this, since sinning is a very negative thing there is now a tip in the balance, 14 sins to 7 virtues….who on EARTH?! can come up with another 7 virtues to even the score????

Answers on a postcard too….