"Tower, this is Ghost Rider requesting a flyby"


-- Top Gun



St Patrick's Day came and went with lots of work, lots of Red Bull, and more than a few Iraqi Occupations. We managed to break all records at the pub, including biggest day for takings, biggest week for takings, most Guinness sold, and longest shift ever worked (me with an impressive sixteen and a half hours).

But it was a fun day nonetheless. The Australians go for Paddy's Day in a big way, not surprising when you consider the Irish population. But it was a day for everyone, where boundaries of race, class and culture came crashing down in favour of a nationwide piss up.

Meanwhile it has been event after event here in fair Melbourne. We've had Paddy's Day obviously, and the St Kilda Festival, and the Melbourne Grand Prix, and some kind of International Swimming tournament that the details are hazy on, and then next week it's the Melbourne Comedy Festival.

Although we couldn't see the Grand Prix track from where we're staying, what with their high walls, we could certainly hear it, and for those that like that sort of thing its been a massive four day party.

Personally I tried to sleep through it. I managed to doze right through the squadron of Black Hawk helicopters doing loop the loops right outside my bedroom window at 11am on Sunday, but I did wake up to the F/A-18 Fighter Jet performing a sonic boom at around midday. And if you stick your head out of the window and shout "Shut up, you b******s!" then you're accused of being a killjoy, which is hardly fair.

By the time the Quantas 747 was spinning around in circles a few metres away from my head I got up and went to try and find some breakfast.

Monday was supposed to be getting back to normal, but the Melbourne airshow was starting, which was yet another great excuse for fighter jets to annoy me. This time it was another F/A 18, this time balancing on the wing of a big Hercules transport ship as the two did spins and pirouettes... can you guess where? That's right, just outside my bedroom window!

Honestly.

It's not that I dislike all these wonderful spectacles and distractions, it's just that I'm trying to enter the boring phase of my travels, where I keep my head down and do some work and never, NEVER, go to visit an aquarium. It's hard to knuckle down and save money when everywhere you look something's sonic booming or festivaling or driving really fast or celebrating being Irish.... I can but try.

In other news, Cai, Welsh Hero that we met in Fremantle, has been here for a week or two now, so that's good. By surrounding myself with friends and well-wishers I am able to dull the constant pain that living without Vinny is causing...

And speaking of the Ginger Jedi, he assures me that he's going to add his own entry about just what the hell he's been up to any moment now, so that's nice... Whether I let him mess with my flashing red dot remains to be seen.

That's it for now.


xxx







Photos on this entry were supplied by the Pint on Punt official photographer, Tim Chmielewski, and were reproduced with permission. www.photos.timchuma.com . My camera, though shagged, now works again but I was working on the night you see and not really ready with my finger on the button.