Another Christmas, Plus A NYE, on Nauru

Plotting out our work schedule when we first got this new contract started, our team had dismayed at the prospect of being on island for the Christmas and NYE double within a rotation. Being away from home across the holiday period is always a bit strange, and tough on family. But I had done it last year and knew what we were in for, and with some forewarning, my family had our family gathering a weekend early at home.

The thing is, Nauru LOVES Christmas. They go all out! Decorations galore - and the lit up houses and businesses are worth accidentally doing a lap on the bus around the island. So pretty!

On Christmas morning, our team gathered early together for a breakfast in the Mess, and Secret Santa exchanges, before heading to work.

I managed to score a role to accompany clients to church for the morning, which was a pretty special experience. I definitely have never attended church on Christmas Day before, and as an an atheist, totally went for the amazing singing.

But it was so meaningful to see people so very into the spirit of Christmas, and finding such solace from their faith. I am, as always, in awe of the hope, courage, and support faith brings people.

This church pictured was not that one I went to, but one of the one's on the excursion on the day.

The week in between flew by, with our usual working schedule, and before I knew it it was time to figure out plans for NYE.

In the end, a couple of us headed down to the beautifully lit O-Dn Hotel. We had a couple of beers here, before getting some takeaways and heading down to the beach in front of the hotel.

Our little gathering sat at the waters edge in a haphazard circle in the sand, with the moon shining above us, lighting the shore, the pier and the cantilevers nearby. The moon had a spooky and magical ring around it, which seemed to make the night even more special.

We saw in the countdown at midnight, and then delighted in the local fireworks coming from the main road.

So many of my key, meaningful experiences over this rotation I cannot share, for several reasons. Needless to say, it was a Christmas build up and New Year Eve countdown to remember, with some really amazing people. Some very special memories that will have to remain my very own.

Our theme for the New Year's wishes seemed to naturally be "New Year, new start!" Such hope for this year, 2015, for change and humanity. May it be a happy one ahead, for all!

An Espy NYE!

Sorting out NYE is always a big deal, but after getting back from Nauru I found that Carlos had sorted tickets for us for the gig at The Espy for the evening. Perfect!

I was housesitting in Brunswick, so once we were ready we popped by North Melbourne to toast my sister and Heath, the coming new year, and the prospect of a family wedding in the coming year, after their engagement before I went away. Eeeeeee! So exciting!

Then we kept on our way on the tram down to St Kilda, and found seats in the Espy front beer garden with some of Carlos' mates, and watched the final sunset of the year. As the light was fading, we decided it was time to explore the music inside, and made our way to the Gershwin Room. Here, we were stopped in our tracks by Lurch & Chief - the indie garage rock band with alternating male and female lead, had me hooked!

Mary then found us at the front of the room, just as the bearded boys from The Basics were getting ready to begin their set.

The No 1 Cause Of Death Among Youth Today was their opener, and a favourite of mine. Just Hold On was in there, as was Three Cool Cats. Hey There and the jazzy Second Best, too.

My memory is a little hazy of the 40 minute set, as I am sure are the boys after they passed around a celebratory bottle of whiskey.

The new Lucky Country was played, and impressed again, before Have Love, Will Travel, and a cover of Jailbreak to round off a NYE send off from our much loved 3 piece Melbourne band.

Before we knew it the headliner for this bandroom was about to come on stage, and start the set to work towards the countdown to the new year. The evening seemed to go at a cracking pace!

Something For Kate took the stage, and launched into the tracks that I have been listening to a lot over the past year, as well as seeing them live a few time too. Some old favourites too.

Survival Expert and Star-Crossed Citizens were huge stand outs in the set. Then the epic Like A Version cover of Sweet Nothing, which was incredible, before the midnight countdown and followed by a cover of REMs The One I Love.

An awesome night to see off what has been a seriously amazing year for me. The Espy, a Melbourne Summer's night, 2 of my favourite bands, and a couple of my really great mates - and a slice of the rest of Melbourne's music fans! Perfect!

Sydney Resolution

Plans for this NYE shaped up when Jenny and I spotted that Jamiroquai were playing in Sydney to see in the New Year. I met Belinda at the airport on Friday night, and we both flew to Sydney where Jenny and I then made our way to Casa Wilson, to stay for the weekend. (Thank you, Wilsons!)

After having brunch with Amy at the local Sideways Cafe, Jenny and I then met Belinda and we traveled into the city, and made our way to the ferry dock to take us across to Glebe Island. Here we met up with Wizden, which was a total surprise, before we landed on the make-shift music festival area with the view of the Sydney Harbour Bride. As promised! Sydney Resolution kicked off for us as Pseudo Echo were finishing their set with Funky Town.

With the sun beating down, we grabbed some drinks and then grabbed a spot in the shade in front of the VIP area while Guy Sebastian gave us his set of the day. Monisha came and found us at this point, which expanded our group for the evening.

Next on stage were the Pet Shop Boys. Surely a must see live band, they were so great! It was certainly a bit strange to have them play whilst it was still daylight, as their visuals were a feature of their set, and also considering their heavy dance vibe. This enduring electro-pop duo pulled out all the punches for the crowd, and were a highlight of the night.

Hugh dance tracks of Always On My Mind and Go West were full of energy, the latter with Soviet marching images beamed across the screens. It's A Sin was in there, with so many tracks impressing with the stage choreography. Ending with West End Girls in the second encore.

We grabbed something to eat after this set, as the sun was setting behind the ANZAC Bridge. Taking in the location, this little non-island tucked around the corner from the Harbour is such a great spot for a gig like this! It was glorious in the sunshine!

Whilst the footage of the crowd for the show up on the screens made it look like there was a large crowd, in reality the front section looked packed, but the general admission section was fairly sparse. Disappointing, given the lineup and location, but probably because of the late promotion of the event. Was great for us though, as it meant minimal line ups for the bar, and only an occasional line for the portaloos.

We made it back to the front of the VIP area for the 9pm family fireworks, moving to the left of the stage to get a great view of the fire sparks popping over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This location allowed for a full view of the fireworks across the city.

Back to standing in front of the stage area, we were ready for Jay K and Jamiroquai. Opening with the title track of the new album, Rock Dust Light Star, the band moved through tracks from their 7 album span. Alright, Canned Heat and Virtual Insanity were big numbers, as album tracks like High Times and Traveling Without Moving also featured. You Give Me Something, Little L, and Love Foolosophy each had us dancing...the handful of people around us who were really into it. Jay K was chatty and talked about being in Australia, being single and having his birthday the day before.



The Jamiroquai set was scheduled to midnight, and thus Jay K hosted a bit of a countdown....but being on the Harbour the crowd interest soon diverted to the biggest fireworks display to see in the new year, moving to either side of the stage to get a live view. Jay K's set just kind of ended, as the 12 minutes of colour and light happened across the city and bridge in front of us.

The final band for this massive night of live music was Culture Club, with Boy George being a totally memorising and engaging presence on stage. Playing a few songs, they also gave us It's A Miracle and Do You Really Want To Hurt Me, before the massive Karma Chameleon.

We joined the line for the ferry whilst the remainder of the set played, and ended, to top off a huge day and night of music, dancing, sunshine and fireworks, and a New Years Eve to remember. Happy New Year!

Sydney New Years Eve Spectacular

This New Year's Eve was spent on the edge of the Sydney Harbour, for an indulgent but special night, with front row spots for the world renowned fireworks seeing in 2011. Being right there for the always-heralded aerial spectacular was very exciting, even for me, who is not usually enchanted by over-the-top expensive fire crackers!

Preparing for the evening, we then took the train into Circular Quay from Casa Wilson, which was all too easy, and made our way to The Rocks, and the entrance to the WaterFront for the evening. The Harbour was basking in sunshine, for a crisp, warm, gorgeous evening, with much of the people in the public areas staking our their spots since the morning.

Shown to our table for 4, located next to the dance floor, Melissa and Greg, Nick, and I found our places, each with a silly party hat at each placement. The Moet was soon flowing, as was the wine, and our menu selections from the amazing choices, were taken. Australia seafood sampler for entree, after our antipasto plate, followed by Beef Tenderloin and Lobster Tail, plus Chocolate treats for dessert - wow!

The 9pm fireworks above the Opera House were impressive enough, which happened between courses, and proved to us that we had the most impressive vantage point. The dance floor was also kicking by this stage, with much of the restaurant up dancing to the cute little cover band.

More Moet, and a random Brazilian dance display, we started preparing to be at the fence between restaurant patrons and the general public, for the big countdown and fireworks display. Penned as a $5 million effort this year, Melissa, Greg and I found our vantage point, bottle of bubbles at the ready. The anticipation in the Quay was electric.

The full
fireworks display got underway, and to be honest we were so engrossed, we didn't really notice a countdown. Colour and light from both sides of our view, being the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, were awe-inspiring, and such a great way to see out a cracker of a year...and see in the new, which has oh so much to live up to!

More dancing and Moet saw out the evening, being such an extravagant once-in-a-lifetime experience - so good! Happy New Year!

Top 5: NYEs

So many people bemoan New Year's Eve, and carry on about it being just another night. But I actually really love it - the chance to start afresh, the chance to say good riddance to a bad year, with the hope of a new one, or to toast a good year as we all move to biggest and better things in the next. Which is why I like to have good plan for NYE - no plans are lame.

The best NYE will probably always be our little trip to New Orleans in 1999/2000, to see the Millennium tick over. A wild, fun fun night along Bourbon Street, with Michelle, Donna, Bronwyn, and two others from Michelle's au pairs in Nashville group. This was part of my 3 month trip over to Nashville to visit, on a working holiday exchange, and we all stayed in this gorgeous empty French Colonial house, with a little pool out the back. Going from very cold Nashville, to mild New Orleans for this amazing weekend was also part of the treat. The drinks, the beads, and the mischief 6 foreign girls can get up to....

The very next year, I made my second trip to New York City, to see the ball drop in Times Square. A really full on year to visit New York. I stayed with Ruth, and managed to catch up with Talia and Breno too on this trip. Ruth and I froze as we waited for the countdown and the iconic ball movement.

Coming home from the UK, and spending NYE at Pyramid Rock Festival with my three sisters, and bunch of mates, was a special one. Dirty, drunky, camping, hot, but such fun!

Another cold NYE was spent in Helsinki, with Jenny and Katie. This was part of our Xmas in Sweden trip, and the start of Katie visiting me in the middle of my time away.

Rounding out at 5 would have to be the NYE spent at our house in Phnom Penh. A group of us that stayed in the city for the night gathered at my big house, with marble downstairs as our dancefloor, and the front yard held our long table for drinks, drinking games, and silliness. A hot one, but a great night. I remember we actually did the countdown at a bar, of which I cannot remember the name now, and that's about as long as I lasted. Too much gin, it turned out! Ha!

NYE is meant to be fun! And large!

Happy New Decade!

Amazingly, we made our flight in the wee hours of the morning, and Nick, Melissa, Wendy and I had 2 long flights from Melbourne to Perth, Perth to Broome, with a layover at Perth airport timely enough for us to see the opening session of the final day of the cricket.

We were sweating with the heat and humidity from the moment we set foot on ground! We grabbed our hire car, and made our way to our 5 star, 2 bedroom apartment for the next couple of nights, at The Pearle. Gorgegous! Complete with our own private plunge pool, if you don't mind!

The girls took Nick and I on a bit of a tour of Broome, with a beer overlooking Cable Beach at Zanders, before we made our way around to Gantheaume Point to check out the casts of dinosaur prints, and Anastasia's Pool - made by the lighthouse man for his arthritc wife, in the rock formations overlooking the ocean.

A beer at Matso's Brewery, and another one at the dodgy Roey, complete with misted water over punters in the beer garden - no water restrictions here! Getting supplies for our stay, we had a big BBQ cook up, a dip in the pool, with beer and wine.

Yesterday I helped out the girls with the passengers of the cruise ship docked for the day, which was their actual purpose for the trip. And haven't worked that hard in years, and years! Standing along side the ship all day, in the beating, sweating heat, we directed passangers to tours and shuttles into town. It reminded me why I don't really like people that much - such complainers!! And a little glimpse into Melissa's job when she's out of the office, travelling around.

Getting back to our apartment to wash, de-sweat, and finally get off our feet for a minute, we saw in the Melbourne New Year with beers, and Sydney fireworks on the tv. We then headed our to work friend's of Melissa's for a BBQ gathering, and NYE celebrations. Not a bad way to see in 2010.

After midnight, and hearing that the nightspots of Broome close at 1pm, we voted for getting back to our apartment and finishing off our bottles of wine in the pool. Happy 2010!

Seeing In 2009

So we have seen the back of 2008, and have welcomed in 2009. Such pressure as always to have a great plan for New Year's Eve, I had found an option that met our requirements on a pub crawl not long ago.

First, drinks at our house, with the commencement of the House of Mojito, finally getting into all that duty free rum I bought back from the Carribean. Lizette, Jenny and I had drinks out in the setting sun in our backyard with Leanne, Jules and Greg, before we got a tram into the city.

Detoured for the CBD festivities, it took us much longer to get across to Albert Park than anticipated, but we eventually arrived at Hotel Nest. We met Jo on arrival, and then made our way to the bar, and then the dancefloor.

Many drinks consumed, I remember being at the bar for the impromptu and all important countdown to midnight.

Once my out of practiced system had consumed too much, hitting the wall, I declared my need to go home. And luckily for me, Lizette and Jenny joined me for the long trek home via two trams, and a walk through the busy Melbourne city streets.

2008 has been such a rollercoaster, with great travel, scary lows and high highs. What a year it has been. I am looking forward to a nice stable, predictable 2009...with 2009 Husband Find go for launch! Gee, no pressure!

Has started with a killer hangover though! Happy New Year!

New Year’s Eve in Melbourne

I managed to catch up with Renee on New Year’s Eve, for a few beers, on her annual trip home from the UK. I met up with her, and we were joined by Narelle, for a great catch up for the three of us.

For then evening though, Simon and I caught the tram over to St Kilda – a very packed and sweaty tram! The hottest NYE ever, this year was sweltering, and whilst the trams were free, they certainly spared no expense with anything extravagant such as air conditioning!!

We met Nicole just outside The Espy, where we ventured in and scoped out the stages for the night. Pizza in the Espy Kitchen to tide us over for the evening, we eventually made our way to the Gershwin Room in the lower section of The Espy, for Architecture In Helsinki. They did a very quick count down into 2008, before launching into their set.

All their great hits, like Hold Music and Heart It Races, It’5!, Wishbone and Do The Whirlwind, were delivered with maximum energy and fun, despite the sweaty atmosphere.

Happy New Year! 2008 promises to be great!

Pyramid Rocking New Years

With no play on Day 4 at the 'G for Melissa's birthday on Friday, Plan B was activated for the day. Brunch in South Melbourne, following by a long afternoon drinking session at the Belgian Beer Cafe saw off Lissy's 27th in style. Located in the grounds of the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind, there were plenty of jokes around about that, as Melissa, Clinton, Adam, Steve and I got started for the session. Later joined by Charles, then Danielle, Katie, Jessie, and then Dave, Belinda and Brad popped in at the end of the day.

Up the next day with gear packed and car filled to capacity, Jessie, Melissa, Clinton and I piled into Melissa's car for the drive down to Phillip Island, and our New Years Eve destination - the Pyramid Rock Festival.

Lulled into a sense of false security about our hiding places for banned alcohol into the venue by Katie's carload, and Heath's the day before, we had our stash in amoungst our sleeping gear...which proved wrong, all wrong. Arriving in the middle of the day on Saturday, there weren't too many cars at the check-in point - and thus, the searchers had nothing but time. Pulling out half our well packed boot, eventually our first bottle of hidden vodka was found - and then the onslaught began. Watching them find our bottle of Jager, three bottles of vodka, a bottle of gin, and a bottle of wine hurt!

Gutted, and having repacked our car to drive in, we were met at the gate by Heath, who directed us to our already set up campsite, and a drunky Katie - did not cheer us up much!! Thinking we would struggle to recover from the clean out, our crew pooled together, and soon the drinks were flowing!

Heading into the stage area, we soon got involved, and the pain of our losses diminished, albeit slowly. There for Faker, Lior, and then my of my favourite gigs of the weekend, The Beautiful Girls, our rather large group at the Rock were having a good time. Silverchair played late on Saturday night, and I must say were quite grumpy and disappointing. Playing mostly new stuff, and ignoring requests from the crowd for their big numbers, their set would have to be one of the most ordinary of the weekend.

Sunday morning we got started slowly after the camping night, which had gotten quite cold in the end, the crew built up to the big night at just the right pace. At one point someone in the group had commented on the fact that the four of us Reid girls hanging out together and being so close was quite remarkable. It was so much fun hanging out as the four of us, and our big group of mates around us. A Xmas present from Melissa, Jessie and Katie, the weekend ticket with a NYE all together was so special, and something amazing to return home to Australia to.

The afternoon consisted of seeing bands, popping back for liquid refeshments and top ups, and a bit to eat, Sunday was such a fun day. A few drops of rain here and there did not manage to dampen the day, and I watched gigs from The Spazzys, a bit of Bertie Blackman, and Mia Dyson. I was there for the whole Bomba set, which was fun and funky, including a bit of crowd involvement with the band coming down from the stage to sit amoungst us for a number.

Being away for such a long stint, and being a little removed from the home grown music did not take away from my enjoyment. Listening to the bands talked up by my sisters and the crew, the weekend of music was awesome. The Grates and Xavier Rudd sets were huge, and then Evermore got up ready for the big one.

The Living End conducted the countdown to 2007 - and pulled off the set of the weekend. They were brilliant! We were all in fine form, and had an awesome NYE!

Yesterday, we took our time to get started, pack up our gear and get the car ready for the long line to get out of the festival and off Phillip Island. In good spirits after a massive weekend, we were dirty, dusty, sun blessed, and happy! Thanks for a great weekend for NYE girls!

Get-pis to 2006!!

We tried to learn "Happy New Year" in Finnish, but after hearing that is was about 15 syllables long, we discovered that "Cheers!" was "get-pis!". Now that's a phrase we could master, and master well! Hee hee.

After many drinks of Finlandia (when in Finland, drink what the Finns drink...), we could at last walk around Helsinki normally - well, some of us could. I think the fire in our bellies helped us get around more confidently on the ice covered streets, anyway. We wandered out to the Eteläesplandi amid fireworks going off at every turn. Another drink, and Katie schmoozing with the locals, we made it to Senate Square for midnight to see the end of 2005 and the beginning of 2006.

Prepared with the Finnish countdown to join in, it turns out we didn't need it, as the Finns gathered in the Square didn't count down! Just a big bang of fireworks amid all the others, and it was 2006!

Struggling to enjoy the breakfast buffet the next morning, we could see the snow sheeting down outside. We donned our thermals again, and set out to take in the streets of Helsinki. The festive lights and the blanket of snow made the city magical and pretty. The buildings were spectacular, although I think even Katie got over my "check out the Architecture in Helsinki" line at every gob-smacking building. And they were on every corner.

We walked around to see the Senate Square and Cathedral in the daylight, and then the Uspensky Cathedral and the icy sea. We stopped for coffee and a hangover rest at the lovely Kappeli, and could have easily snuggled in there in the warmth, with the view of the city being coated in more white stuff.

We managed to walk some more in the snow, and see the Temppeliaukio Church, the Finlandia Building (Oprea house, not vodka this time!), and the castle-like National Museum. (Photos)

A late night plane ride back to Stockholm, and the bus back to Uppsala, we are now taking a breather for the day before heading back to London tonight and work tomorrow. We have been to 4 countries in the last 4 days - do I know how to show a little sister a good time, or what!!

Stockholm and Tallinn

Katie and I headed into Stockholm to see what we could see, and get a feel for the city. Rugged up in head to toe thermals, we walked through some of the main shopping mall, and out to Gamla Stan (old town). We managed to catch the Swedish changing of the guards outside the royal palace, after being amazing at the snow sitting on all the beautiful buildings surrounding us.

We wandered along the shore of the little island that is the old town, and then through the tiny, gorgeous cobbled streets. So cute! We eventually stopped for a drink and cake, to try and thaw out, before we wandered around some more. (Photos)

Jenny met us at the bus station, and we figured out how to get to our overnight ferry. Boarding a boat very much like the Spirit of Tasmania, the Tallink ship took us from Sweden to Estonia overnight. Once the ship hit the middle of the Baltic Sea, and rougher waters, we began to question the choice of the all-you-can-eat buffet personal challenge. After watching some very bad dancing, and trying our luck with the party games in the nightclub area, we headed to our cabin to sleep off the seasickness (or not sleep, as it turned out).

Another stamp in our passports, and we were in Tallinn. We checked into our ultra modern hotel - Ulemiste Hotel, and then winged in on the local bus into the city. Whilst we hit the jackpot with the bus outside of the hotel, which did take us straight into town, we did misjudge getting on and off on a few trips, and ended up doing a tour of the city port a few too many times!! The bus was also a different price every time we rode it - I don't know what was going on there, but we collected a full set of tickets!!

That day and the next day we walked around Old Tallinn, the most preserved medieval city in Northern Europe. The first day was one of the coldest days of my life, wandering around in failing daylight at 3pm trying to get our bearings as it snowed down on us. The thermals seemed to make little difference - and the fact that I landed on my arse in the ice once or twice didn't help things at all!!

The Town Hall and the square was beatuiful, and we wandered around looking at the amazing churches (Olaf! And the Russian Nevski. Such amazing buildings), the old city wall, and the old old buildings lining the little streets.

We had a yummy dinner (hunger strikes when it's dark, although I think it was only 3pm again!) in a classy restaurant in the Town Hall square on our last night in Estonia. The rest of town that we saw was boxed shopping malls, and concrete - a modern city with a well preserved medieval heart. (Photos)

Jenny and Katie turned a shade of green on our Nordic Jet Line across to Helsinki the next morning. We arrived at our hotel - Hotel Simonkentta - just in time to have a drink for the Australian New Year's Eve.

We have now walked around Helsinki to get our bearings, and our Finlandia supplies for a large evening. Happy New Year!

Talia in London!

On Wednesday morning, after my much needed recovery from the cricket hangover, I went to the station to meet Talia, who was visiting for a couple of days. I haven't seen Tali since....New Years Eve, 2001, in New York, so it was so exciting to see her and catch up on everything.

I took her over to the Queen Mary for lunch, and an introduction to the UK drink - Pimm's, before we wandered along the Thames.

We then approached the ticket counter to purchase our "flight" on the London Eye. It's actually the British Airways London Eye, and has many airline-type terminology - the corporate sector gone mad! Contrary to stories I had heard, there was no massive line, and the cost was less than I had heard, and so Tali and I got a bird's eye view of sprawling London.

The full circuit takes about 30 minutes, and the fact that you are over 125 meters above the ground is only apparent by the view. It's a very smooth ride, and it was quite cool picking out all the major landmark buildings surrounding us.


Big Ben and the House of Parliment from the Eye
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After this we wandered down to Covent Garden, and then met a friend of Talia's for a beer or three.

Yesterday we headed off out of town to visit Windsor, and see the Castle! After getting off the train we walked across the bridge into Eton first, for a little peek at the famous school. Lots of young lads walking and running about, and many boys walking around in suits with tails - we were hoping to accidently stumble upon a function for Prince Harry's 21st birthday, but we weren't that cheeky! We did have lunch in the little village, before crossing back and walking over to the foreboding Castle overseeing the village of Windsor. (More photos.)

Windsor Castle is quite amazing, and so big! We walked through and saw the beautiful St George's Chapel, saw Queen Mary's amazing Dolls House, and the Castle's State Apartments and all it's royalty. All very impressive! Maybe I too could have been Queen material if I had a doll's house like that when I was little!!

Last night our house finally managed a night out all together, while showing Garrath another English pub on his visit over here. When poor Talia caught up with us, I think we were rowdy and boozy, Aussie-girl style! I am sure it reminded her of our Medley days.