Task 35 - Always take the weather with you....

How are you taking the change of season in your stride?

JUMP!

Aimee - This is what I do when the kids are asleep!

Jump!

JUMP!

Two words: pelvic floor.

Jumping for Joy!

Hi there one and all!

Well here is my very first post and how excited am I to have finally got here....a perfect idea to start me off on my first Tale of Three....or so (thanks Aimee!!) contribution let alone my very first posting on a blog of any description!

Firstly I had to work out how to obtain my first google account, sign up for the blog, borrow my cousin's iphone for the photo, learn how to save photos to my computer and now actually learn to post a story and upload a photo all in one week! Wow! Here's to the technologically challenged - well I am in my 40's (does that give me an excuse??? - probably not!)

But on to the task at hand - JUMP!! What better place to jump than outside my beloved yoga school after doing my morning practice!! YEAH!! A great way to start my day and give everyone a look at where I hang out every morning. So here are a couple of yoga school shots....Then I thought it would be fun to jump just next to my new car - just like the Toyota Ads only my car is a Citroen and he's French and his name is Pierre - and he also gives me "Oh what a feeling...." zooming around Brissy in what I feel is luxury after the cars I've driven let alone the all the public transport in the past.

Between Yoga and my car....I am blessed! Two very good reasons to jump! Ruey :)

Task 34

Jump!

Clowns

Greer - Tell us about your funniest memory in the theatre?

So perhaps I'm stretching the definition of 'theatre' here, but I know I'm not alone when I say my thespian life began at home, with elaborately staged pantomimes, dance routines and other such extravaganzas. I had a partner in crime, my bestie Wolly, and on our regular weekend sleepovers, the writing and production of some sort of performance for our enduringly patient and supportive mothers was routine. And while we may have approached each show with all the seriousness a pair of red-headed 10-year-olds could muster, in retrospect, these are my funniest theatrical memories.

Usually a dance routine was involved. And I probably don't have to say that costumes and make-up were de rigueur. Rollerskates were ubiquitous - we raced in them, played in them, cooked in them...of course we would co-opt them into our performances, Cecil and Cecily, the rollerskating clowns, being the most memorable.

Another favourite was the Christmas pantomime, with me in Santa attire, complete with cotton wool beard. And then there was the pool spectacular. Wol was lucky enough to have a pool bang-smack in the middle of a nice flat lawn. Imagine the combined dryland/water spectaculars we choreographed there! Synchronised swimming, diving AND poolside dancing.


And while the memories are quite hazy now, I do vaguely recall a performance we put together for the primary school talent quest - me on piano, Wolly singing and...was there dancing? God help us! You'll have to jog my memory, Wol, but I'm certain we approached it with the utmost seriousness.


There have been many theatre experiences since, most amateur, many at university, some even semi-professional (didn't we make about 10 bucks each?) But these were the formative years, when the spirit of performing was moulded and nurtured. Dare I say there is evidence already growing in my four-year-old when she tells me to be quiet, she's singing and I have to listen and not join in. I only hope I can be as patient and encouraging as my mum and Mrs Wolly were.


Though photos of the above abound, I've failed to unearth them. I did, however, find this shot of my first actual stage role - The Balloon Girl in 'Gypsy, performed by the Orange Theatre Company in 1984. I was nine. I was in the opening scene, and stood on the far right of stage in a tutu with balloons pinned to me. On cue, I stepped to the right then ran off the stage, whereupon a crew member popped all of the balloons. I then sat around for two hours waiting for curtain call. Grand beginnings...

Woodend

Tell us about your funniest memory in the theatre.

Aimee

The five of us; Greer, Amanda, Kate, Ruani and I embarked on a creative adventure all the way back in 2003 when we wrote and devised and performed an "All Singing, All Stretching" comedy about 3 women in a yoga class. I have such happy memories of this show, strongfriendships, fearsome challenges in a new fringe culture, facing BIG fears (singing) and for the first time really finding a story that seemed to resonate with people. It was a time when lots and lots of people were trying yoga for the first time. Anyway I can talk about Downward Dog for hours, because it was such a fun FUN time in my life. We performed it firstly at Melbourne Fringe and then at Adelaide Fringe Festival, but in between we went to Woodend with it!

A little yoga studio was opening in the tiny beautiful town of Woodend and they wanted to bring our show to town for a special celebration. And the whole town it felt like turned up at the community hall that Saturday afternoon to join us. Here are some pics of us setting up! Real country hall, no lighting or sound, I think we had an electric keyboard, and that classic box pros arch.

Anyway there was a scene in the show that was very funny, it was about that taboo topic.......fanny farts! yep we went there. In fact we sang a song about them. This scene (if I do say so myself) was as shocking as it was hilarious. Such brave crusaders of women's lib we were back in the day. It always managed to break the audience and us up in laughter. But this particular performance I remember the community hall filled with happy Woodenders, were beside themselves, they were laughing so hard, I was clenching my teeth to stop from loosing it. And I remember a man in the aisle, a young trendy melbournite took off his heavy set glasses and was weeping with laughter, he wiped his face as he shook. I felt so happy to have had some part in this collective laughter. That moment, watching that man, was my funniest moment in theatre.

PS Spoutie I tried to upload the dvd but no success - I will retain my technophobe status on this one. I should put the song up, if it I had it handy......anyone??

Bursting with enthusiasm...

Kate-Tell us about your funniest moment in the theatre!

I should say this story is only funny for me in hindsight...but was hilarious at the time for the AUDIENCE!

As an acting student one is always delighted to have a lead role in a production. So when I was cast as Polly Peachum in The Beggars Opera, I was ecstatic! In one particularly dramatic number I had to fall over as I sung a top F. Quite an ask if I do say so...

I was bursting with enthusiasm on opening night and fell with such belief and energy that I somewhat lost my breath...and my top. My corset stayed put but my chest went up with the motion of the fall.

There is no glamorous way to put this...yes you guessed it...one boob popped out.

Needless to say, I "recovered" and continued on without missing a beat. I did hear an audible gasp and giggle from the audience but, as a dedicated acting student, I continued as if this was all part of the show.

Years later on my 21st birthday teddy bear (the one people sign and write lovely and cute messages to you on) I discovered these four simple words; "I saw the nipple".

This rude comment was unsigned and I never did find out who was so bold as to state this fact on my 21st birthday bear. Obviously a titillated audience member!

As a breastfeeding mother, I am now far more casual about the reveal of the nipple/s. And yes, I am quite often "bursting with enthusiasm", nipples out in public, for a far more important reason.

Let's just say... my baby girl Hannah has never complained!

Oh yes...for privacy reasons I decided, definately no photo with this post.

Task 33

Tell us about your funniest memory in the theatre?

Day by day, coffee by coffee...

Kate - Tell us about your local coffee shop, the one you end up at if you have 15 minutes to enjoy a cuppa. Be it glam or otherwise, who grinds your beans?

My Friendly Grocer... is my saviour. Since the birth of my beautiful baby girl Hannah Lorraine on the 26th April this year, I have realised the benefits of having a Friendly Grocer on the corner only 50 meters from your front door. These benefits include: orange chocolate, cake, magnums, baby nappies, vegetable rolls heated in the microwave and, of course... my daily decaf latte.

My Friendly Grocer is not glamorous, and certainly not the "place to be seen". There are no patterns on top of the cappuccinos and the blend of coffee they use is still unknown to me. However this coffee is simply... just perfect. Now let me qualify by suggesting to appreciate this coffee (as I do), to understand its absolute perfection... one must also add a large whack of sleep deprivation to the mix!

Yes, nothing tastes better after only four hours' sleep than a "Friendly Grocer coffee"!

The lovely staff at the Friendly Grocer have all been on our new family's journey with us, day by day, coffee by coffee. They looked at my husband and I with shy smiles as we patted, rocked and sung to our tiny one month old Hannah in her Hug-a-Bub carrier. They smiled as we forgot to pay, tripped over the donut table, stumbled over our order and chatted about something else to do with our baby girl's every move that day. They even smiled and were happy to witness signatures on important (but late) legal documents and they still smiled when we finally (after several months) asked what their names were.

Gradually, day by day, coffee by coffee, our Friendly Grocer has become just that. A fluoro-lit, brick shop with a damn fine take-away coffee... and a lot of heart.

Will Hannah ever remember these walks we take with our coffees in hand? First tucked up in her Baby Bjorn carrier and now in her Bugaboo pram? Often our walks are just Hannah and I alone, but when he can dad is happy to push the pram. Pa and Nana from Canberra have walked the block with a coffee and so has Granny Sue from Brisbane.

You see, we buy the coffees and do the same three blocks with our girl. I see the blossoms grow on the magnolia trees, the elderly man with his little dog who passes each day with a smile, the Chinese couple who are still laying down their driveway, the cheery black dog who greets us each day, the girl who grins at us after school as she cycles around the road on her bike and the lady who waves at us from her wheelchair in the sun across the road.

Hannah and my Friendly Grocer coffee remind me to live in the present, enjoy the ordinary moments in each day and to look out at the world which is so full of life. Even in our three circuits around the block, our little world is so rich.

So thank you my Friendly Grocer. As my little girl grows, my sleep deprivation is becoming a thing of the past.

But your coffee is still... just perfect!

Sweet lovely lovely

Greer - Tell us about your local coffee shop, the one you end up at if you have 15 mins to enjoy a cuppa. Be it glam or otherwise, who grinds your beans?

I love coffee. I LOVE IT. It is one of the pillars of my life, a cornerstone of my day, every day. While I may begin the morning with tea, things don't really get going till the first coffee. And that is usually mid-morning, it is usually a takeaway, and it is always, always, a soy latte. It occurred to me last weekend, returning from a dash up the road for a bottle of milk, a loaf of sourdough and a couple of large takeaways for the hub and I, that good coffee in a cardboard mug grabbed on the run could well be one of the hallmarks of a civilised society. For as long as that warm beverage lasts, things are rosier. Sitting in the cup holder in the car, or on the kitchen bench, or balanced in one hand while pushing a pram, that little disposable cup just makes everything better.

Nonetheless, there are still occasions when I can stop and sit to enjoy my coffee. And if the urge should take me, I have the choice of about half a dozen good cafes within easy walking distance of my front door. Lately, I've been choosing Esther's Table. This lovely corner cafe tucked away on a leafy Annandale street away from the hustle of the main drag has had a few incarnations over the years, but right now it's just right. There are striped awnings, crocheted cushions, metal chairs and a big bowl for dogs. Inside it's kid friendly, but I always sit outside. And the coffee is good, which is really all that matters.

Sorry, Aimee...

Uncle Russ - But what's in a name???

Tell us about your local coffee shop, the one you end up at if you have 15 mins to enjoy a cuppa. Be it glam or otherwise, who grinds your beans?

Aimee

I love cafes and I love coffee. It’s my vice and I am committed to the addiction. Sydney, New York, LA – I have always chosen my abode for its relativity to my chosen dealer. And I have always loved were I lived because of it. In fact I would go so far as to say I love cafes the way many people love cosy little bars. When I think back of the places I have lived, I think of the local café before I remember the flat. Perhaps the love affair is pretentious but it’s an honest one. That whir of the coffee machine pressing out its creamy espresso ignites all my thoughts and hopes for the day ahead. It is also a joy I share with my husband, we are different creatures on so many levels, but we unite in the face of well ground bean. And Sydneyites (and their Melbourne cousins) are fast becoming the most discerning coffee connoisseurs in all the world. Our expectations of an excellent cup of coffee are high.

So why oh why did I end up in Hong Kong!

I am sorry Honkers but on this occasion you are found sorely lacking. And why should you be any good at coffee, you are a nation with a rich history in tea sipping, trading, healing and then you were colonized by a tea obsessed nation. The odds are steeped against you on this one. And coupled with the monopoly of Starbucks and Pacific coffee, the coffee culture here is anything but organic.

But I live on an expat island and the supply of coffee is shipped in to quench the thirst of the Europeans, Australians and Americans who demand it. But like the fake bricks on the wall of Uncle Russ’s House of coffee (one of two cafes in this community of 15 thousand) the coffee is not produced out of a love affair but rather as a sole trader to a desperate market. Do we look as desperate as the people who fell upon opium traders that built this empire? Perhaps and thus I endure day after day of burnt milky coffee - disclaimer, the Uncle Russ staff are the friendliest bunch ever.

So my current café stands alone at a bus stop and a building site, across the road are huge towers of apartments being built, and a few stray golf carts. Apologies for the photo quality, the phone sweats here too.This site is full of a vision, which will be filled by families like ours, who will bustle in here to escape the sauna outside, they will wince daily at the first sip of the day. But they will continue to come here day in and day out to pay homage to their love affair with the bean. And if I end up here long enough perhaps one day I will succumb to the coconut and green tea smoothie that is this months special promotion. The last bit of ambience I might add, is Phil Collins diamonds on the souls of my shoes, which appears to be the LONGEST song ever made?

If Greer blogs about the Bourke St Bakery right now, I am going to cry.

The coffee drug...

Amanda
Tell us about your local coffee shop, the one you end up at if you have 15 mins to enjoy a cuppa. Be it glam or otherwise, who grinds your beans?

I just ran 10.76km. The longest distance I have ever run. I tell you this because it sums up the effect coffee has on me these days. It’s an incredible stimulant that even when drunk at 7am can keep me awake all night. Problem is….I love it. So when faced with this lovely little task I thought I’d skip the decaf just for one indulgent morning and enjoy a lovely flat white downstairs.

Having returned from London at the end of March the fiancé and I are still transient vagrants and are currently living in my dad’s Melbourne flat. It’s a tough call to move on given the amazing central location and the wonderful coffee shop downstairs.

Organic, hot, frothy and delicious the coffee is a treat on a Saturday morning. It’s going to be sad to leave this area and this little coffee ritual. A ritual that will return to a decaf one unless I happen to have a big run on that day!

Task 32 - Cup of Joe

Tell us about your local coffee shop, the one you end up at if you have 15 mins to enjoy a cuppa. Be it glam or otherwise, who grinds your beans?