2008 will be great...

Happy 2008 to all. For a full summary of my new year’s evening here in Sydney, visit my mum’s blog here, as she’s pretty much covered it all! We had an incredible view, and it was definitely an experience well worth having while I’m living here in Sydney. My housemates visited a music festival in Brisbane called Woodford, which they came home raving about, so that’s the seed of an idea planted for next year’s NYE. Meanwhile all pics from this year’s celebration (including some dodgy shaky ill-advised pics of fireworks – don’t worry I’ve spared you most of them) are available here.

For an alternative view of the new year festivities, I found this interesting blog written by a London paramedic, who walked round Trafalgar Square this year and dealt with the drunk and disorderly (and just plain stupid). His blog makes insightful reading year-round, but I though you might like to read how he spent his new year.

So, with my first year in Australia under my belt, I reflect back on the past year with amazement – how much my life has changed and how well I’ve adapted to my new country. I didn’t choose Australia, it chose me, but I’ve embraced the opportunity with relish, and am making the most of this adventure. The challenges of my job here are fairly huge, and I have more responsibility and pressure than I had in London, but I also feel like I’m making a big difference here, and will leave a legacy after my three-year term that will live on in the festival’s history (at least I hope!).

I’ve made some fab friends here, kept in touch with Aussie friends from London who have come home to Sydney, and met some wonderful people through my work, with whom I really hope I will keep in touch. Working in the film industry here has emphasised to me just how small the world actually is, and I feel the possibilities for me career-wise once I leave Australia are endless.

Claire, Christina, Ruth, Me and Erik at Kino

With Matt at his birthday party


However, this excitement and personal growth has not come without a price. I miss my friends in the UK terribly, and my life is so crazy-hectic that I realise how awful I am at keeping in touch! I have the odd phone conversation, occasional lengthy email, blog comments, facebook chatter, but nothing beats going to a pub (preferably in London Bridge!) and hanging out with my friends, or chilling in Clissold Park, or catching a movie at the NFT. I have half-written letters on my desk, half-written emails in my drafts folder, and an aching sense of loss at the neglect of my friendships. The death of my uncle Jonathan in June hit home to me just how far away Australia really is, and how powerless I felt being here while my family mourned so far away.

With the Princesses in London


So here are my new year’s revolutions for 2008:

1. Be better at keeping in touch with friends and family
2. Work hard at mending my back and getting fitter
3. Visit at least one international film festival outside of Australia (preferably Toronto)
4. Try to maintain a healthier work-life balance (ok this one’s going to be hard!)
5. And to continue my environmental crusade – challenge for 2008 will be to buy less new stuff (buy used or borrow instead).


The Blue Mountains

Continuing my recent trend of torturing mum and Keith with Outdoor Pursuits, we ventured out to the Blue Mountains yesterday, about a 2-hour drive west of Sydney. The mountains look blue when the sunlight refracts through the vapour from the eucalyptus trees on the mountains, giving a stunning effect. The Blue Mountains are part of the Great Dividing Range which separate the eastern cities from the vast deserts of Australia, and they are of an incredible scale, stretching more than 3500km in total. I was a little disappointed at first that the day had decided to be overcast, with a cloudy English-looking sky, as I thought this might make the impact less spectacular, but later we were glad of the shade and the reduced temperature as we trekked through the rainforest. We decided to take a gentle trip down the Furber Steps near Katoomba, down into the valley and then back up on the steepest incline railway in the world. Every now and then we took a detour for a point of interest, such as Queen Elizabeth’s Lookout, and Vera’s Copse.

Intrepid Explorers


Every part of this place has an interesting history, usually linked with the first settlers and their relationships with the Aboriginal inhabitants. As we drove the well-travelled roads from Sydney it was humbling to think about the convicts over 100 years ago who were offered a pardon if they built a passable track through these mountains. They had no suncream and were shackled together, using primitive instruments to make their way through the impassable rainforests.

Carmel in the rainforest


Needless to say, I wore them out well and we caught the railway back up the mountain, which freaked mum out quite a lot with its steepness. All of our calf muscles were aching this morning, especially mine after a two-hour yoga class on top of the bushwalking! More pictures of our adventures are here.

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