what a carry on

It's been years since I sat down and watch a Carry On movie. For some unknown reason I stumbled across a delicious box set of 18 movies - all fully restored and with amazing bonus features. Each film has its own commentary track - 13 episodes of the Carry On TV series from 1975 - on set photographs - trailers and so much more. The set was advertised on Amazon.co.uk for ₤125.00 but I managed to find it on hmv.co.uk for only ₤17.00. Well worth buying at that price!

luna park

Whilst in Sydney I purchased the Luna Park DVD - Spirit of the Carnival and Just For Fun a book by Sam Marshall. Both were a wonderful insight into the history of Luna Park. I discovered it started it's life in Glenelg, South Australia, but with constant moaning from the local government and residents, it was packed up and moved to Sydney.

Luna Park is probably the one park in the world that can claim to have been opened, closed, opened, closed, bulldozed, rebuilt, closed, opened all in the space of 73 years .

The Spirit of the Carnival was a great accompaniment to the book with much historical footage and great interviews with people who helped shape the park. Both the book and DVD are highly recommended. You don't need to travel to Sydney to purachase these, they are available from the Luna Park Web Site: http://www.lunaparksydney.com

sydney, australia

Sydney was great. I found everything really easy to navigate & the people very friendly. Sydney Harbour was just beautiful - so photogenic. Hyde Park was a nice place to relax after long treks around the city. We worked it out that I covered approximately about 50km on foot on the first day. I needed to rest. The Opera House is incredible up close. Wandering over the bridge was great - you can really appreciate the work that went into building it. Luna Park was quiet, but mercifully it was open so I got to see most things. I even got to witness the bats flying around at dusk – pretty cool!

And did I manage to photograph everything I wanted? I sure did!

the amazing race

Since New Years Eve I've become hooked on The Amazing Race (it was my show to watch on New Years Eve when eveyone else was out seeing in the New Year.) It's possibly one of the best reality shows around. Sure, some of the contestants get testy, some downright annoying, but mostly they are a joy to watch. It's a show where age is no barrier (unless it's something extremely physical - but hey, look at Gretchen, in Season 7 - she abseiled a wall in no time)

Other countries have hosted their own version. Why can't we? I want Australia to have their own version. I want to be on it. I want to be testy and down right annoying!

going nowhere

Funny thing the new year. You can never expect when life will throw one of those unforeseen twists. The holiday that was planned for August and September has now been postponed until July 2009. On the positive side I’ll get to be in the States for Independence Day. This is good.

On another positive note, with current temperatures being the hottest on record, I splashed out and got an air conditioner! Finally no more fans circulating hot air. I can now sleep at night.

So, out of bad things come good things. Half full or half empty? I reckon it’s half full.

That Girl

If I had to describe that ultimate "look" of the late 1960's woman I would instantly pick, Tina Louise (Ginger on Gilligan's Island) and umm..."THAT GIRL!" Yes, Marlo Thomas and Tina Louise hands down. The wonderful flip-do hair and the ultra heavy black eyeliner with tons of fake eyelashes.

Why would I even bother to mention this is 2007? Well, I recently purchased the first two seasons of That Girl. (I already own all the Gilligan episodes). Unlike Gilligan, the archives of That Girl have well and truly been opened and floods of material are available as bonus features.

The show itself is hardly comedy slapstick - it does have it's fair share of moments but it relies more on the talent of Marlo and her wonderful chemistry with co-star, Ted Bessell. Marlo herself looks simply fantastic.

Season Three has just been released and going on the strengths of Season One & Two, I'll make sure to pick it up.

it's all about marketing

You might not be able to stop the beat but it's also hard to stop the Hairspray DVD purchases. In a clever marketing ploy American retailer, Wal-Mart, have optioned a bonus DVD if you buy the single disc edition from them. So, what to do if you can't get to your local Wal-Mart? Buy it from eBay at a much higher price.

So, is it worth the extra cost? Well yes, and no. Some features are "extended versions" from the Shake and Shimmy 2 disc edition. But the real "wow factor" comes from the ShoWest preview in Las Vegas. At a preview launch for the film, the cast assembled for a "live" performance. It's pretty cool - a number of council members perform with the cast in front of the giant screen. There's amazing footage of Nikki Blonski being told she has the part of Tracy - her reaction is funny and heart warming.

The three Tracy's, Ricki (original), Marrisa (Broadway) & Nikki (2006) are interviewed and seen recording the song, 'Mama, I'm A Big Girl Now'. It's all great footage.

Is it worth getting both discs? If you love Hairspray and want to see everything! Yes!