weekend

Tess and I were exploring down by the creek the other day, when we came across this skate spot! I fell in the creek in the process of getting closer to examine it.



A posse gathered at our place for a skate in the wilderness. I can't recall exactly what we found so amusing here. It may have been Tim's cap.



My skate coverage is slipping. We hit three parks, of which Yea is by far the superior. I believe Joey is about to fall over here. He does that a lot, it's quite unnerving.



Jason is back from a month away in his Canadian homeland. We are all stoked to have him back, none more so than Marcelle.



Dave performed an amazing alley-oop manouvre over the hip.



Scenic stuff



That evening, it was the Gasometer's first birthday celebrations, which I have been looking forward to for some time. Strangely though, it was full of people I had never seen before - younger people than I. They all wear glasses and beanies and talk about clothes and look at each other furtively. Scottie tried to put on a brave face.



Part of an ongoing series shot by Scottie, a sort of goodbye as he bailed out from the evening. Rosie is suitably disturbed.



We had some fun times, wished Kody and Liege well, ate some ribs and drank some great free beer, and kept it pretty sedate. I guess I was just expecting some sort of Cheers like craziness, but it's bigger than me.



We went to a BBQ at Kate, Alana and Nadia's house, which used to be my house too. Tess was loving the attention from two of her faves - Charlotte and Bonnie Bee.



Kate's mum had brought a swag of free make-up for all the ladies in the house, which Georgia wasted no time in getting involved in. "Straight to the blog" she observed as I clicked this shot. Indeed.



It was good to catch up with old housemate Alana, who showed me her artwork and interesting chord playing stringed instrument.

Banjo jamboree

It was that time of year again - banjo jamboree! Dedicated viewers will remember my coverage of the 2009 jamboree, though not many of you will recall my entry from last year. That's because we didn't go. It was raining.

Anyway, we went this year! In the midst of feverish packing, hurricane Bret showed up and hilariously took over our lives for a while.



On the road again, the newly crowned queen of driving was at the helm. That's right, Rosie got her provisional license! Tess had no idea what was going on.



We stopped off at Kyneton for a minute, which Tess quite understandably presumed was our final destination. She made the most of it alright, tearing around and getting all outdoorsy in the middle of a creek. Little did she know what adventures were in store.



Banjo jamboree!! Here are Indigo, Chris and Marcel, enjoying a beverage while sitting around lazily - basically the essence of jamboreeing. Tess is blissing out.



A few things were noticeably different this time around; for one thing, Roopa and Sarah have a new camping buddy - South!



The good doctors Che and Kyle don't jamboree by halves.



Two of our faves - Banjo himself and Georgia! In a dress! It was nearly time for the barn dance.



Chris, however, wouldn't make it to the dance. He took that sign super seriously.



Indigo stayed in also. Rosie on the other hand was dolled up and ready to strip the yearling or whatever it is. Hang on, that's a dance move, you know.



The pub was jumping.



The barn dance delivered.



Roopa and South were favourites on the dancefloor. South occasionally stepped in with the handclap component of the dance moves. Such a happy time. How often do this many people smile like this at the same time?



Afterwards, we visited the pub. Every room had a jam session going on.



This back room was a hot spot. We decided to go to the window on the other side for a better view.



En route, we found Georgia and Kate tuning this young afro dude.



The view from the window was good.



A guy took lots of photos of Rosie and I looking through the window. Hopefully I will get hold of them.



Katy's friend Stacy revealed her Tamworth roots with a bout of spooning that left the old musos speechless.



We headed back to the campsite to brush our teeth and go to slee... I mean drink heaps more beers and party on.



Tess slept outside, of course. She wouldn't be comfortable burrowing into our bedding.



The next morning, we engaged in our traditional jamboree ritual of sitting around comparing notes on the night just been and laughing at the contents of the Sunday paper.



The dogs were loving it.



Another great jamboree. Let the camping season begin!



Later on at Clifton Hill, I spent a sparkling couple of hours with good folk including Shane and Mike.



On the way home, I dropped in and said hello to Tim and Charlotte, who just returned from a trip abroad. Good weekend!



In other news, I updated my folio site. Have a look if you're interested!

Faces

I'm running a bit late this morning. I mean, I can do whatever the hell I want on my day off, but there's a lot of stuff I want to do. For one, I want to get my website back online - holy hell! Lord knows how many clicks I'm missing out on, even as I type these wise words.

Max Creasy had some pictures in a group show on Friday night at Light Projects in Northcote. We trooped up there and ate some tacos. It was freaking cold. Over there in the corner, you may spy his Maxness, chatting away to your friend and mine, Sam. If you don't know what either of them look like, ponder the two ladies in bright blue coats.



Riding with Scottie is always a joy, particularly when you find yourself meandering down laneways not designed to accommodate cars and the only art rock song ever written about me comes on the stereo. Magic!



Rosie and I drove to the Mornington Peninsula on Saturday, to rest our weary bones in natural springs, in the rain. It was lovely, but no photos were clicked. Michelle gave us a tip off for the best chips she has eaten in Australia and we hit up this classic joint.



The guy has been there for 36 years he reckons, and didn't even flinch when I told him of Michelle's glowing recommendation to his establishment. He knew he was the best.



That's the good stuff! Rosie says this is how fish and chips are in New Zealand.



This would make a good t-shirt design for the Serps.



Head down there. It's in Rosebud.



Fruitless antiquing followed, with amusing, disturbing sidenotes. They saw us coming a mile off.



Dogs licking themselves bookends.



Genius! I would've bought it for Sam but it cost $60 or something.



Good mask.



Banjo jamboree is coming up this weekend. I could've been the envy of the campsite with this number, but once again, it cost like $500.



Fruitless skate on Sunday in relentless gale-force winds. Adam Elford was still smiling and jumping around at this rough as guts spot.



I noticed this orchid flower looks like a Chinese emperor. Imagine the emperor telling his couturier to make him look like this flower.



Another Max cooked us gumbo at Jake and Gen's on Sunday night. Good rue!



Sophie is loving having Frank Black back in her life. They brought him along in his little hutch for a visit.



Spotted this underbite missing dog flyer on our walk this morning. He's been gone for a while now, I hope he responded to some treats from the right people. Remember that bit from the Mad Circle video? That was good.



Lisa sent me the new issue of New Planes. Thanks Lisa!



It has some interesting stories in there, including one from Amanda. I wrote a story to accompany a photo Andrew Long took and it turned out marvellously. It's about the world trade centre going down, unknowingly coinciding well with the ten year anniversary.