Happy Birthday to me!

So...another year on Earth has passed for me. We left the Gold Coast this morning and headed up to Brisbane to find that Syd's Pie and British Food Shop was closed on Sundays. We visited IKEA next for a few more Blue Moon items, the last of the insulated blinds we need for the windows and some new crockery. We then drove to our accomodation in Brisbane for the next two nights, a very nice two bedroomed apartment on South Bank. It is definitely a step up from the Palm Beach Hotel we were in on the Gold Coast. This afternoon we went to see the film of the moment, 'Avengers: Endgame'. It was over three hours long but it didn't feel that long at all. We picked up a Chinese takeaway for dinner and took it back to our apartment before heading off to the airport at midnight to collect our special guest for the next month...Yes, Anne's back!

Verdi's Requiem

So...this weekend we have come down to the Gold Coast and tonight we saw Verdi's Requiem at HOTA (Home of the Arts). It was in the open air theatre under the stars and was quite spectacular with its accompanying pyrotechnics. Here are some pictures of our weekend...

 

It's a sign!

So...stop distracting them with flashing signs then!

Behold!

So...today I used our new oven for the first time and made some 'Dulcie Biscuits' and some flapjack for my Dad.

Easter at The Piano Mill.

So...today we visited The Piano Mill at Wilson's Downfall for a moist, misty, atmospheric afternoon of sound in nature.The Piano Mill is a hybrid building and musical instrument, designed and purpose-built to house sixteen reclaimed pianos in a tower structure. The instrument is designed to have the sixteen pianos played simultaneously. The Piano Mill, constructed in Wilson’s Downfall, Northern New South Wales, Australia, was designed by architect Bruce Wolfe specifically for composer Erik Griswold. This structure is a copper clad tower approximately 9m tall with a footprint of 4.5m X 4.5m and its lowest floor is 1.6m above the ground allowing the pianos to be installed post-construction. The mill is equipped with tuned grader blades as chimes and two sonic periscopes. The Piano Mill has won awards including a World Architecture Festival 2018 Award for the Culture category, a National Commendation at the Australian Institute of Architects 2017 Awards and a National Award for Experimental Music at the 2017 APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards. (Wikipedia).The venue is on the edge of The Great Dividing Range and for much of the day we were in the clouds. It is owned by Bruce and Jocelyn Wolfe. There were a number of different performances pieces that we attended throughout the afternoon finishing at The Piano Mill itself.Firstly we were in The Lagavulin, a stone clad building to hear 'Sonic Dreams: Extinction', a piece composed by Vanessa Thomlinson and performed by her and Erik Griswold. Following that we wandered through the forest encountering different musicians and performance artists before visiting 'Limeburners' another building where 'three human performers join a host of birds on the sonic journey from sunset into darkness.' Finally we all gathered outside the Piano Mill itself to hear the World Premiere of Tiangong by Alistair Noble.Hmmm, it was all very atmospheric and an incredibly beautiful setting but much of the music was discordant and improvised and I cannot say that I enjoyed it. We didn't stay until the very end as the weather got wetter and the music was not melodic. It was a visual and sonic experience unlike any other I have seen though.