Bridge

Tonight, 48.60%, 9/15

The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

(Sydney Theatre Company)

William Shakespeare's popular tale of the young lovers from warring families and their doomed relationship.

This production of 'Romeo and Juliet' is set in modern dress and on a revolving set that spins, at times, at a dizzying pace.

There are strong performances particularly from Eryn Jean Norvill (Juliet), Julie Forsyth (Nurse), Eamon Farren (Mercutio) and Colin Moody (Capulet). Our Romeo was a little underwhelming to begin with although he improved as the play progressed.

Overall, quite an enjoyable and generally well acted production.

★★★1/2

Ricky Martin at the NRL Grand Final

Here is a far better photograph of Ricky Martin performing at the NRL Grand Final than my distant pin prick of a photograph in the earlier post; taken from Mr Martin's Twitter account @ricky_martin

@ricky_martin

Daylight-lagged

I'm not a dinosaur on the issue of daylight saving. I don't believe it makes the curtains fade nor do I believe the cows get confused by the change in their milking time; not that I have any cows to milk anyway.

I like daylight saving.

But I do suffer, ever so briefly, in the transition. The first couple of days in the transition - either to daylight saving or from daylight saving - I wake feeling as if I have been drugged. It's not a major thing, just a minor irritation that I can't seem to escape.

It happened again yesterday, the first day of daylight saving for 2013/14 in (some states of) Australia. I awoke feeling very slightly doped. I mentioned this to Cs and Ch with whom I had spent the previous evening on my balcony watching the International Fleet Review fireworks display and they both reported a similar  reaction. Cs felt it might have been the affects of the smokey fireworks atmosphere we had experienced before going to bed.

Maybe that's an explanation but it is a feeling I experience each year.

Battle of the birds

The Sydney Roosters triumphed over the Manly Sea Eagles 26-18 in last night's grand final of the National Rugby League before an attendance of 81,491.

Ricky Martin led the pre-match entertainment. Ricky is the tiny figure in white at the front of the on field stage in this photo;

Players line up for the national anthem ahead of kick-off;

The kick off:

Full time;

The after match presentation;

Reach for the sky

Between 2pm and 5.30pm yesterday, a series of aeronautical displays bridged the gap between the formal International Fleet Review earlier and the evening fireworks and light display.

Here are some photos; click on them to enlarge.

An F18 I think; very noisy, very fast

Something older, slower and quieter

A quartet of little things

An oddball pair

At 4pm the Rhapsody of the Sea departed for a cruise winding its way down harbour around the warships with the aeronautical display continuing overhead.

Rhapsody of the Sea with the Manly Ferry passing by

A Constellation

The Roulettes performed amazing acrobatics.

The Roulettes over the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House

The Roulettes with Rhapsody of the Sea passing out to the Pacific Ocean

The Roulettes back over the city

Going my way?

One Roulette went off on his own way doing loop the loops whilst the other four continued doing 'lazy' circles in the distance.

Plunging

Bottom of the loop; the other Roulettes in the background

Top of the loop; flying upside down

Spectators watching the Roulettes from Beare Park, Double Bay

International Fleet Review 2013

The formalities continue today. Here are some snaps of the scenes this morning from my balcony.

Smaller vessels commence procession towards the review point

The Review passes by HMAS Leeuwin which has on board the Governor-General of Australia, Britain's Prince Harry, the Governor of NSW, the Australian Prime Minister and other dignitaries.

Click on the following photo to enlarge. HMAS Leeuwin can be seen moored mid harbour beneath the arm of the giant dockyard crane. The light canopy is providing shade for the dignitaries. The mansion surrounded by lawn located to the right is Admiralty House, the Sydney residence of Australia's Governor-General. To the left and under the roadway approach, which is to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, you can just make out thousands of sightseers at that vantage point.

HMAS Leeuwin takes the Review

Royal Australian Navy vessels make their way in the procession

A section of the aeronautical display

An older trio of planes

The trio on the turn as they near the Harbour Bridge

Helicopters on display

The Australian flag & RAN Ensign on display over the harbour

The Review continues through the afternoon followed by a fireworks and light display this evening.

Here's Harry

International Fleet

Four of the International Fleet vessels moored in sight of my apartment

The fleet arrives

This weekend the International Fleet Review 2013 is being staged to commemorate the centenary of the arrival of the first Royal Australian Navy fleet of seven vessels) into Sydney Harbour on 4 October 1913.

Yesterday 16 tall ships entered Sydney Harbour and today 37 warships from 17 countries enter the harbour in five groups between 6am and 7pm. Tomorrow the Fleet will be reviewed in the presence of (by?) a certain read headed foreign Prince;

followed by a fireworks and light display over the harbour in the evening.

Yesterday I lunched with friends at Ripples Milsons Point (by the harbour)

and unfortunately it was a rather wet day - our first in weeks - for the arrival of most of the tall ships. We kept an eye on proceedings through rain drenched plastic covers whilst we lunched. Here are pics of several ships passing under the Harbour Bridge on their way to berths at darling Harbour.

Squint and you can make out the ships between the raindrops.

The rain had cleared as we made our way after lunch from the restaurant (right) to the wharf (left) for our trip home. The Luna Park fun park is in the distance.

Oh, I almost forgot. 8,000 sailors are in town for the Review. Whooppee!

The collection

The three monthly council domestic household collection occurred on Monday. I left a portable analogue television for collection; one that I inherited from the vendors from whom I purchased my apartment. The old television is barely useable - and will not be useable when the analogue signal is switched off at the end of the year.

I expected the television to be taken quickly by scavengers ahead of the actual collection by someone who would see in it prospects for reuse or cannibalisation or resale. Sure enough several hours later this guy had opened it on the verge of the footpath and was working away at the old unit's innards.

Bridge

Tonight, 57.20%, 4/12

#sweptaway

#sweptaway was the hashtag used for the South Pacific Flash Mob held on the steps of the Opera House on Sunday.

Here are some snaps;

Rehearsing

Rehearsing

Rehearsing

Rehearsing

Members of the cast of South Pacific introduced to the Flash Mob ahead of filming;

Two beautifully behaved dogs participated throughout the three hours of rehearsals and filming performing the movements better than many of the humans; well better than this human managed at any rate;

Cast members join in with the Flash Mob

Now for the big finish

Whilst the Flash Mob was in progress someone proposed via an aerial sign writer.

I wonder whether s/he said 'yes'?