Land at last

First stop in the Bay of Islands and disaster strikes. I drown my expensive Canon SLR when a flask of water leaks in my bag and am left with only my iPhone for photography.

Toured Russell and enjoyed a burger lunch overlooking the Bay from the balcony of the local fishing club.

Lunch over the Bay

Later visited the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. The Flagstaff marks the spot where the treaty between the Maori and the Crown was signed. Our ship can be seen in the distance anchored in the Bay.

Waitangi Treaty Grounds

At sea

Days 2 (yesterday) and 3 (today) pleasant days at sea, participating in various activities. Shone at Trivia with my Queenly knowledge of films and minutiae and less Queenly knowledge of sport helping to contribute to the team effort.

Failed to impress at the formal dress Captain's dinner. I'm not a fashion Queen.

At sea, no land in sight

Departure

I haven't been updating my blog since departing on the cruise; an indication that we've bee well engaged in our holiday and sea board activities. I'll try to catch up now with some brief and not very illuminating comments. If downloading photos proves to be a step too far under this maritime internet access then I may not post anything at all!

The departure was not without incident. Ae managed to lock herself out of her State Room twice and get her finger stuck between the door and the door frame all within the first hour on board before we had even sailed out of Sydney Harbour.

Departing Sydney

The evening showtime performance welcoming us aboard was not encouraging for the remainder of the cruise being of dubious quality.

Sux serves of fush and chups...

Yes, New Zealand here we come. As this is published we are scheduled to depart Sydney on a cruise around our Kiwi cousins and back. Thirteen nights and fourteen days as advertised; although the first and final days are 'quarter' days at best. We have eight stopping points.

I'll take my MacBook along and will try to post about the trip if internet access permits.

This is our means of transport;

Sun Princess

American Hustle

'American Hustle' has arrived in town amidst a blaze of critical acclaim. It is a colourful embellishment of actual events when the FBI set out to entrap a number of corrupt politicians.

I'm in two minds about the film. I found myself getting lost in the increasingly complex twists of who is conning who; on the other hand the film has an interesting technique, is quite stylised and is always attractive to view. The acting is excellent with Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams leading the way but really the entire ensemble delivers.

The film contains a terrific 1980s soundtrack.

Perhaps I'm not as sold as the critics but this film is something different.
★★★1/2

With help like this.....

Teenagers will be teenagers and nowadays are far more knowing than I was at the same age. I make no judgement about the actions of the three schoolboys who engaged in sexual activity with a fourteen years old girl - especially as I was myself sexually active at the same age - but I was interested in the comment of the private school they attended after being informed of what occurred; in particular

'...we worked with the families. As a result of those discussions, the boys are no longer part of the school community...'

In other words, the school expelled the boys. This may well have been the appropriate outcome but I wonder whether the families found 'working with' the school helpful.

Just male

One promise fulfilled; one not...

The replacement jeans promised by the retailer when I notified them of Australia Post's apparent mis-delivery of my purchase have arrived.

Well done Just Jeans.

By the way, no response yet from Australia Post to my formal complaint about their mis-delivery.

Bridge

Tonight, 42.60%, 13/14

An update on online shopping

So far there has been no response from Australia Post to my complaint about the misdirected delivery of my online jeans purchase.

Now there is a surprise.

Some days after submitting my complaint it occurred to me belatedly that I should also complain to the retailer, if only so that they have feedback on the 'customer experience'. To their credit they  despatched another pair of jeans last Thursday, without cost to me, and have given me a number to call them to confirm successful delivery.

My faith in online shopping will be restored when the jeans arrive.

Bridge

Tonight, 43.30%, 11/12

Coming out

(The New Yorker)

The Spectacular Now

A high school student, with a secret need for alcohol to camouflage his insecurities, pursues two romances whilst seeking out his estranged father.

This is a low key coming of age drama nicely performed by a mainly 'no names' cast who look and act like average people rather than the plastic beauties of a major studio production.
★★★

It's an ill wind....

Sydney once had about 1,500 trams, 300 kilometres of track and the largest tram network in the then British Empire outside of London itself. There were 410 million passengers on Sydney's tram network in 1944; when the population of the entire country was only 7.3 million.

How tragic that the State Government removed Sydney's network entirely by 1961.

The light rail system reintroduced into Sydney in 1997 is being extended and plans have been announced for an extension that will run from Central Railway to Kingsford via the Cricket Ground and Football Stadium, Randwick Racecourse and the University of NSW. All at times are destinations for peak transport. That's fine.

The latest announcements include plans to remove hundreds of trees, albeit with the promise that replacement trees will be planted elsewhere along the route, the loss of hundreds of parking spaces at various points and even the destruction of an entire apartment block in Devonshire Street, Surry Hills.

This last point has perplexed me from the outset. Why are they routing the light rail via Devonshire Street? A narrower street for light rail could scarcely exist anywhere in Sydney. Why not use Oxford Street between Elizabeth Street and Taylors Square as did the original network so successfully? If Oxford Street does not suit nowadays then why not take the middle option and use Foveaux Street?

Additional plans are that existing bus routes from the south-eastern suburbs to the city will be curtailed or adjusted forcing passengers to change over to the light rail at some point. Included in those plans is a current service from Coogee to Circular Quay via Taylors Square. That service will instead divert at Taylors Square to Edgecliff.

Hello! Edgecliff? My ears prick up.

I live at Edgecliff. I live just one block from the bus and train stations in Edgecliff. That announcement will link my home through public transport to St Vincents Hospital, where I am volunteer; to Darlinghurst where my GP is located and to Randwick where I go to the movies so often. There is no direct public transport link between Edgecliff and those locations at present.

So amongst all those plans which upset so many people is one seemingly insignificant announcement which is music to my ears.

It is an ill wind.........

Wedding bells....or are you just happy to see me?

Bridge

Tonight, 52.90%, 5/12

By online, buy often etc

There is a lot of discussion about online shopping versus in person shopping at retail outlets. Are shops and stores suffering because of an inability to match online prices; should the Goods and Services Tax apply online and if so at what level?

I've been shopping online for ages. That is; if you regard using my computer for theatre bookings, flight bookings, hotel reservations, car hire, travel insurance as online shopping. Even more so if you take into account online banking and payment of bills as online shopping. But I don't think that is what most people consider to be 'shopping'. I imagine most people think of online shopping as something you purchase online that has to be delivered to you.

I dipped my first toe in the water of online shopping about ten days ago. It has not gone well.

I tried on a pair of jeans at a store, found they fit well and that I liked them and decided I wanted to purchase multiple pairs. Unfortunately the store only had one pair in my size and two other stores in the same chain had none.

I went online to locate other stores in the chain that I could visit and found the jeans, in my size, available for purchase online. Not only available for purchase online but available for purchase $30 cheaper than the pair I purchased in the store.

Well, I thought, what better opportunity to start online shopping than this? I ordered and paid for the jeans online. I received an immediate email confirming the purchase and informing me I would be notified of the progress of the delivery of my purchase to my home. How wonderful!

True to the promise, two emails followed 'tracking' the delivery. Terrific, I thought.

Then something strange. A third email. My purchase had been delivered. But it hadn't. Not to me anyway. It was signed for by someone at Alexandria. I don't live at Alexandria. The delivery address was not Alexandria.

Now I'm in a formal complaints process with Australia Post to ascertain, who in Alexandria has taken delivery of my purchase, why they have done so and how do I get my purchase delivered to me.

Waiting for Godot

(Sydney Theatre Company)

A line in 'Waiting for Godot' something along the lines 'nothing much happens, no-one comes and no-one goes' pretty well describes Samuel Beckett's highly regarded play about two homeless men filling in time waiting for the mysterious and unseen Godot to arrive. No-one seems to know who Godot is, what he does or what will happen when he arrives but does that matter?

Not really, especially when performances are as outstanding as in this Sydney Theatre Company staging. Richard Roxburgh, Hugo Weaving, Philip Quast and Luke Mullins deliver the exceptional performances.
★★★★1/2

One Chance

'One Chance' is the story of Paul Potts, the shy carphone salesman, who dreamed of an operatic career and who entered and won Britain's Got Talent in 2007.

This is yet another of those British comedy dramas about someone on struggle street overcoming the odds to realise their dreams.

James Corden is engaging as Potts and scenes set in Venice provide a bright counterpoint to dour  Welsh scenery.

There are no real surprises and although the film is somewhat a case of 'heartwarming by numbers' it still is a pleasant way to spend a hundred minutes.
★★★

Ending HIV

'Test more' caravan at Taylors Square in Sydney for World AIDS Day