Brisbane Writer's Festival Write Up

Last weekend was a big one in Brisbane. What with the Brisbane Writers Festival and Brisbane Festival on. The city and South Bank were jumping for a good four or five days across the two festivals.

I got to go to a lot of the writers festival, as I took the Friday off work. I did go to the reading at Greystone Bar at Southbank on the Thursday night, where Carl Cleves, Marie Munkara, Tom Cho and Christian Lander each gave a reading from their books. I particularly enjoyed Tom Cho and Christian Lander, both who are masters at the art of deadpan delivery. Lots of laughs to be had there.

Tom Cho at Greystone Bar

Christian Lander at Greystone Bar

My first event on Friday morning was the "Conversations With Richard Fidler" session that was live to air for ABC radio. The subject was "Not Tonight Honey" with guests Bettina Arndt and Linda Javin. It was fascinating to be behind the scenes for a live to air radio broadcast and a great topic of conversation. I found Bettina Arndt absolutely delightful, and Richard Fidler is always good value. Not so impressed with Linda Javin, but she did raise some interesting points.

Bettina Arndt

The next session I went to was local author Krissy Kneen in the Red Box theatrette. Krissy has written a sexual memoir, and boy is she a brave lady. She has really put her whole life out there and isn't afraid to talk about it. I admire that, even though her life and her values are somewhat different to my own. She really hit the nail on the head when she said that she didn't care if people didn't like her personally (or her lifestyle) but she felt it when they criticised her writing. I deeply admire that attitude. A fascinating session, and hosted by a friend of Krissy's, Benjamin Law.

My last session for the day was the "Creativity: Art or Science" with John Birmingham, Rowan Gilmore and Mandyam Srinivasan. A lot more scientific talk than I had anticipated, but I did really enjoy it and it gave me some good food for thought.

I had planned to turn up early on the Saturday morning, but was knackered so I stayed home and had a bit of a sleep in, and hit the 11.30am session first up, "Disco Boy: What's in a Name" with Nick Earls and Dominic Knight, hosted by a very sexy Scotsman in a kilt, who I have subsequently found out is one Lee McGowan. Lots of laughs to be had in this session, as is always expected in any session featuring Nick Earls.

Lee McGowan, Nick Earls and Dominic Knight

The next session I went to, "My Big Fat Eccentric Family" with Gary Bryson, Tom Cho and Catherine Therese turned out to be both the biggest surprise and the highlight of the entire festival for me. Gary Bryson read a fantastic passage from his book a fiction piece that is very reminiscent of his own childhood life in Scotland. Tom Cho gave some readings from his book, including his fantastic reworking of Dirty Dancing. But it was Catherine Therese that was the surprise and delight. Her reading turned into a performance piece and she's such a delightful creature, honest and true to herself, and the inclusion of Bryson and Cho into the piece was fantastic.

Catherine Therese

After that, I dashed over to the Breezeway to the "Adventurers: Moving On from the Boy Scouts" session with Chris Bray, Gary Weare and Andrew Westoll. We heard about their boys own adventures, in the Himalayas, Arctic and South American jungle. Inspirational to hear their stories and perhaps find my own adventures.

The final event for the writers festival for me was a major disappointment. I went along to "Strong Women Write Strong Women" with Tobsha Learner and Marianne de Pierres. I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more if they'd had someone other than Tobsha Learner, who was more interested in talking about how successful she was rather than the strong women that she apparently writes. Marianne de Pierres would have been interesting enough to see on her own, she is a rare creature of Australian authors - a female speculative fiction writer. Very disappointing session to end on.

That said though, as a whole I really enjoyed the Brisbane Writers Festival 2009, especially as they've gone back to the format with plenty of free events available. The average person can't afford four days worth of events that start at $10, so I missed a couple of years there. It's good to be able to go and see writers from all over Australia and around the world strut their stuff.

Burgers in Brisbane

Oh how I love a good burger. A REALLY good burger.

Photo courtesy of Flickr

I'm not talking about your McDonald's greasy kind, or your local takeaway where they do the plain but hearty kind. I'm talking about your beautifully grilled, good quality meat, real cheeses, a selection of hand made sauces, mayos and relishes, and real onions and potatoes on the side.

Luckily for me, this kind of burger is becoming really easy to find in Brisbane.

There is the chain Grill'd, which have several locations in Brisbane and I heard last night that they're opening up one in South Bank, just down from the cinemas where Batavia used to be. I've been to the one at Bulimba and the burger I had there was delicious. And the chips... oh I could sell my soul for those herbed chips. So it will be a welcome thing to have one as close as South Bank for me. Even though it is sad to see the lovely Batavia go.

Last night I took some lovely Twitter ladies to Beastie Burgers at South Bank before we went to BTUB, the first Friday of the month Brisbane Twitter get together at Greystone Bar. One look at the menu and I was stuck. Which of these delicious burgers was I going to chose? One with haloumi, the king of cheeses? One with sweet potato, the queen of potatoes? I ended up going with the Swiss Miss, the princess of burgers. A beef burger with swiss cheese, seasoned mayo, onions and gherkins. I also ordered a side of "fries".

I wasn't disappointed in my choice. The burger was HUGE, the meat was really good quality and the other fillings all married up in a delicious medley. When the fries came, they were actually little chat potatoes that I think had been roasted, served with aioli. Damn they were good. Sadly the burger was so huge that I couldn't eat them all, and everyone else was pretty full too.

One of the ladies in our group also ordered a Lindt chocolate milkshake, and when it arrived I could smell it's chocolatey goodness. She was unable to finish it, it was so rich and huge.

All in all, one of the best burger meals I have ever had, and I'll certainly be revisiting so that I can try some of the other varieties. If you're at South Bank and want a good hearty meal, perfect for before a movie or a big night out, or for a weekend lunch, I definitely recommend trying out Beastie Burgers on Little Stanley Street.

Sunday Fete Fun

It's been a long time since I went to a school fete. But when my friend Paul told me that the school his boys attend, St Brendan's Catholic Primary School at Moorooka, would be having one this weekend, and that his Beatles tribute band would be playing there, I decided it was time to renew my acquaintance with a good school fete!

It started with a Trash n' Treasure sale in the courtyard of the school. Lots of books, games, clothes, and general bric-a-brac. I picked up these two cute glasses for about 50c.

Then out the back through a fabulous food court that was a true multi-cultural fare. From Sudanese afternoon tea, Vietnamese spring rolls, English strawberries and cream or Devonshire tea, a Tongan barbecue, Ethiopian coffee to a good old Aussie Lions club steak sandwich or sausage sizzle, there was something for everything. It was a fairly breezy day today and the scents being carried throughout the school grounds were absolutely heavenly.

Outside there were the traditional fete stalls. Sweets and cakes, plants, a silent auction, lucky dips and tomobola, face painting, raffles and lock and key games.

But one special new kind of fete stall that I am starting to see pop up at fetes and fairs these days, in our lovely multi-cultural city... a henna tattoo stall.

I've always wanted to have a henna tattoo done. Those of you who know me know that I love the permanent ink, I have three tattoos myself. And while henna tattoos are not permanent, they're a beautiful form of ink body adornment that I've always had a fondness for. So I decided to indulge and have my left hand hennaed.

Beautiful huh? It's even nicer now that it has dried and set.

Finally we settled in to enjoy Paul's band, ironically called "The Beetles". They did a fantastic and fun set of the early Beatles stuff before we had to scoot.

I enjoyed them and so did their audience, which were of all ages.

I really must make the effort to get to more fetes and fairs around this city, they're always such a lovely way to spend a weekend afternoon.

Broadening Social Horizons: BTUB and Greystone Bar

It's been a little while since I talked BrisVegas with y'all, hasn't it? I've actually been working on a few things, but none of them have been up to scratch, so I'll sit on them for a little longer until I'm ready to share it with you all.

Instead, tonight I'm going to talk to you about two things. The first being BTUB, the second being Greystone Bar at South Bank, both of which are now quite firmly linked together.

Image courtesy of Nicole Jensen

Let's start with BTUB. For those of you that don't know, BTUB is the Brisbane Twitter community. It stands for Brisbane Twitter Underground Brigade, though now that Twitter is hitting the mainstream, the U can be interchanged for "User". Either way, it's a collective group of Brisbane Twitter users (and any that are visiting to our fair town are welcome too) who use Twitter to meet socially as well as online.

My first involvement with BTUB was a breakfast at the Pancake Manor I went to one morning before work. A handful of people, all guys that particular day, met for breakfast and I tagged along. Everyone was very welcoming and friendly, and I enjoyed meeting new people and having a bit of socialising before work. Since then I've been to cupcakes in New Farm park, various coffees and breakfasts, high tea at the Stamford Plaza and have added the first Friday of the month get together to my regular social calendar.

I'm amazed at the whole BTUB thing. In the past few months I have met so many very cool people, from all kinds of walks of life, age groups, interests and careers. And one common thread I find through the majority of them are that they are lovely open-minded and open-hearted people who welcome anyone to the fold. Not only have I broadened my general social circle, and been able to be part of a bunch of new experiences, but I feel I've made some lovely new friends along the way.

If you're in Brisbane and are looking to expand your social circle, this is the way to do it. If you're not, check if there is a "TUB" for where you are.

Which brings me to Greystone Bar. For the past two months, the regular BTUB "First Friday of the month" social event has been held at Greystone Bar at South Bank. I only went to one at the previous venue, The Ship Inn, and while the space allocated was very good, with plenty of room and lots of seating, it didn't feel like they wanted the custom of this rather large group of paying customers. Which kind of boggles my brain, as it is a good sized group, guaranteed to be spending on both food and drinks, and is a mellow, happy group too. No fights, no bad behaviour, courteous and fun.

But anyway, their loss is our gain. The past two months as I mentioned, the venue has been Greystone Bar in Little Stanley Street, opposite the South Bank Cinemas. And I doubt they could be a more welcoming venue. They actively interact on Twitter with pretty much anyone in Brisbane (well, mostly the lovely Laura from Greystone Bar does all the tweeting!) in a personal, friendly, natural manner. They understand the Twitter community doesn't want to be sold to, and that it's not just about people broadcasting about what they had for breakfast. They welcome the BTUB folks, treat them like valued customers the whole night (not just when they first get them in the door) and welcome them back at any other time with just one friend or a group.

Greystone Bar are welcoming, have a great atmosphere, lots of gorgeous cocktails made with good quality ingredients (no cheap flavourings or mixes) for a reasonable price, as well as all the beer, wine and spirits you can think of, tasty finger foods and lots of comfy seating and heaters for the outdoor areas for those that suffer in what Brisbane calls winter! They also have a finger on the pulse for all of the events happening in and around South Bank. I can highly recommend them.

If you're on Twitter, here are the accounts to follow:

@BTUB

@greystonebar

@sleepydumpling (me!)

Greystone Bar are also on Facebook and are an active Facebook presence!

Brother Espresso

Found myself a nice new coffee spot this morning.  Well, not so much found but was introduced to.  Met with @lexiphanic, @leesargent and @mirandaforwood to discuss technology/social media in the public service, and this was our meeting place.  I believe they have more than one cafe, but we met at the one in Margaret Street in the CBD.

Service was a bit... aloof, but the fruit and pecan toast was delicious, the coffee good and the cafe decor and seating groovy but comfortable.  I liked the idea of instead of giving you an order number, you get a playing card (@lexiphanic got the joker).

If you're in the neighbourhood, check it out perhaps.  Brother Espresso

BrisVegas Challenge

As per my other blogs, Kath Times 23 and The Sleepydumpling's Big Adventure, I am opening up this blog to you, my readers to challenge me to blog about any subject!

However, as this blog is about Brisbane, I'd like to keep it somehow related to Brisbane, so please keep that in mind when issuing your challenges to me.

So, if you live in Brisbane, and want me to share/talk about something you love, raise an issue about Brisbane, or even talk about your event/business, issue me a challenge.

OR, if you live elsewhere and have questions about Brisbane, or would like to know more about anything in particular, again, issue me a challenge.

I am sure you can come up with something for me to get my teeth into.

My Home Town...

I came across this beautiful video entitled "Brisbane In May" a few days ago, and have been meaning to post it.

Brisbane In May from Rhys Day on Vimeo.

It captures my beautiful home town perfectly, and features some locations that just fill me with warmth for this gorgeous city.

Enjoy!