BIG DAY OUT '11 - Gold Coast. Sun. 23rd Jan.

A rather large post this one showing most of the acts that I was able to see in the 11 hours of Big Day Out.

First view of the double Main Stages.

First band - KIDS OF 88. A NZ band, reminded me of Suede.

GYPSY AND THE CAT. Heard 3 or 4 songs. Not bad.

JIM JONES REVUE. Pretty good.

AIRBOURNE. Excellent metal band. Their lead singer would shake up a beer then smash it on his head until it burst. Brilliant !

LUPE FIASCO. Pretty good. I don't mind a little rap.

ANNA LUNOE. Excellent DJ performing in the dance tent known as 'the Boiler Room'.

Highlight of the day DIE ANTWOORD. South African rappers. Awesome.

PLAN B. Incredible. My favourite act of the whole day - he didn't 'Stay too long' this time.

BIRDS OF TOKYO - surprisingly good songs.

PAUL DEMPSEY. Only heard a couple of his songs, but they were good.

BLUE KING BROWN. Aussie roots singer. VERY good.

EDWARD SHARPE AND THE MAGNETIC ZEROES. American band. Good show.

WOLFMOTHER. Started with a cover of the WHO's Baba O'Reilly that was superb.

IGGY POP. What's he all about these days? Still, it was good to see the legend.

SIA. Very good performance even with her cardboard backing.
RAMMSTEIN. Cliche Krautrock.

RATATAT. Superb band.

PNAU. Excellent Aussie modern music.

TOOL. Name says it all.

A revelation. NICK CAVE & GRINDERMAN. He is a great performer. A legend.

Last act of the day M.I.A. - if only she really were missing in action. Hopeless!

Sydney Annapurna reunion.

Paula & I to Sydney as Capt. Jon and wife Liz flew in from the UK.

After David joined us we wandered down to the opera house for champagne as the sun set.

We were also joined by Joe & Jez and we all went off to the Rocks for pizza then a 'cleansing ale' at the Lord Nelson pub.

Feeling just like George Clooney today.

Just made my first coffee at home on the Nespresso gadget.

It is most excellent and saves mucking around grinding beans and having to clean up afterwards.

Brisbane Flood photos.

Brisbane Floods.

We arrived back from Japan into Sydney on the morning of Tues. 11th Jan. to see TV coverage of the flash floods in Toowoomba which killed several people.

When we landed in Brisbane later that morning the rain was torrential and the prediction of floods greater than the inundation of 1974 was all over the media.

Many of our friends living close to the river were overseas on their holidays.

The predicted peak of the river was at 4.30 am on Thursday 13th.

I set my alarm and drove to the edge of the city and walked down the hill toward the lower lying streets.

It was eerie to be in town with no traffic and only a handful of police and other keen photographers around. A few alarms were going. Most of the shops had sandbags in front.

Up above are a few of the photos I took.

HEADING BACK HOME

Dropped into Nagano to catch the Shinkansen Bullet train.

Time to visit the Zenkoji temple - 1,400 years old!

Then a little R & R on the bullet train.

Last Day Skiing.

A very snowy day so not much skiing.

Into the restaurant for a little 'comfortable elegant time'.
Final run was a bit of a wintry tale.
Final trip to Cedar House in the evening - Paula with complimentary origami.

9th Day Skiing - still no injuries!

Grace joined us for a day skiing.

I went up to the top to get the view.
Paula concentrated on improving her style.