The White Hat Melbourne Newsletter

Archived Newsletter No.161 - 10 February 2006

Contents

Greek Festival
Rhyming slang
Family
Carnivale
Reader feedback
Music
Advance notice
Classical music
From the White Hat Inbox
Country Victoria
The White Hat Quiz

Greek Festival

This weekend there is a Greek Festival at Northcote. Details at Ethnic Festivals in Melbourne. There is a community festival in Yarraville - see Community Festivals in Melbourne and The Food & Wine Festival continues with Wine at the Waterfront. Details at Food and Wine Festivals in Melbourne.

Rhyming Slang

“Hi White Hat I was a little disappointed to read in your Reader Feedback comments by Wendi stating that rhyming slang had died. My friends and I (we're all in our early 30's) still use it quite often and actually have come up with our own modern touch on this art form. We are all big cricket fans so you'll notice that theme running through it. Some examples: David Gower = shower; Melrose Place = face; David Boon = spoon; Billy Guyatt = diet; [deleted]; Jam and honey = dunny; Mark Boucher = voucher.
Cheers Luke”

We have deleted one reference in the interests of good taste, and this newsletter is always in the best of possible taste.

In order to keep the art alive, we have decided to include a number of examples in the rest of the newsletter just to confuse the skim readers who have skipped this section.

Family

If you are looking for something to do with the tin lids why not take them along to the Kids Biz entertainment on Saturdays in the Fitzroy Gardens? If the family stays on for the twilight entertainment, mum and dad get up on their plates of meat and trip the light fantastic at the Twilight Rhythms.

Carnivale

This weekend the Volvo Yachts sail out of Melbourne and if the entertainment lives up to its previous standards the Saturday night Carnivale should be a ripper. Put on your best reg grundies and head down to the docklands for music, dancing and fireworks. The fireworks in the last couple of weeks associated with this event have been fantastic and, as this is the farewell I suspect they will be the best of the lot. Details at Docklands.

Reader feedback

“Hi Whitehat, “You may have mentioned this place earlier but if so i missed it. Its Fatface in Dryburgh St, North Melbourne, a workers breakfast and lunch joint. It defies the stereotype, and has a picture of a fat face on the board outside. It’s near the top of the hill (whet’s the name of that hill?) towards the Dynon Rd end and is on the silo side of the road in a single story terrace,
cheers Mark”

Music

Tonight (Friday) there is jazz and voice at Fed Square and again tomorrow (Saturday) there is jazz at BMW Edge. Tonight (and for the next few Fridays) there is Music under the Stars at CERES Park. On Sunday is world music at the Fairfield Amphitheatre, Afrobeats Festival at Fed Square and a Good Vibrations Festival at the Music Bowl with James Brown. A production of Rent (the musical) has just opened at the National Theatre in St Kilda. On Tuesday you can celebrate Valentine’s Day by attending a concert by David Hasselhoff or one by John Farnham. If you know him as Johnny Farnham you’re too old to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Details of all these at Music in Melbourne.

Advance notice

The following weekend (18&19 Feb) has loads of events in both Melbourne and country Victoria. There is the Writers at Como Festival, the Holland Festival, the Sustainable Living Festival at Fed Square and the Maroondah Festival. The cruise Ship Queen Elizabeth the Second is visiting Station Pier on the Saturday. (I don’t believe anyone has tried to name a cruise ship The Henry the Third.)

In the country there is the Shep Country Music Festival, Buninyong Gold King Festival, Bruthen Blues Festival, the Riverboats and Jazz Festival in Echuca, Colac Country Music, Truck & Ute Show, Yarra Valley Grape Grazing Festival, The All Ford Day at Geelong. To get to even half of these you would be flat out like a lizard drinking.

For details of all of these, go to our home page and choose the appropriate weekend from the drop-down events menu.

Classical music

Tomorrow night (Saturday) is the last of the free orchestral concerts at the Music Bowl. Next Friday there is a free orchestral concert at the Town Hall. The Australian Chamber Orchestra commence their season on Sunday and, as always, their programming is intelligent and sometimes irreverent (where have I heard that before?) and Andreas Scholl opens the Musica Viva season on Saturday. On Thursday the Southern Cross Soloists combine with the principal flute of the Israel Phil at Melba Hall. Those who think he’s a flutist will be seated on the right of the hall and those who think he’s a flautist will be seated on the left.

The White Hat website has what we believe to be the most comprehensive listing of major classical music performances in Melbourne at Classical Music in Melbourne. If, for instance, you are looking for a concert featuring your favourite composer use the drop-down menu near the top of the page. You should find it easy to use – unless, of course, you’re Brahms and Liszt.

From the White Hat Inbox

“Dear WH, A couple of weeks ago you promised to tell us why the statue of LaTrobe is on his head. I've been waiting with baited breath (must remember to do something about that) ever since. Could you please pass on this information before I find it necessary to throw myself off the top of an upside-down statue. Do you know where I could find one?
Glenn”

“in reply to Denise who wrote: “On my recent visit to Melbourne, I came across the statue of la trobe upside down. My curiosity has got the better of me and I would love to know why his statue is upside down!
Denise” I, too, was pondering the significance... On Friday I found the plaque near the statue (had not spotted it before!) which says: "Despite his [La Trobe's] enormous contributions to Melbourne development, La Trobe remains unrepresented in Melbourne's public monuments. The contemporary artist Charles] Robb's inversion of La Trobe questions the purpose of public monuments, and their meaning in contemporary society".

You can read a larger quote from that plaque and see a larger photograph of the statue at Governor Charles La Trobe.

We also received the following personal messages:

“hi from portc. started work at the juice bay so dad will buy me a car. all the guys came down last nite and bought a juice except for karl. hes going back to a global warming rally in melb but has to travel at nite. MT is taking me out on the bay to a rock island – i think its called the popes nose. how romantic. cant wait for you to meet him. love nat.”

Country Victoria

This weekend is the Whittlesea Country Music Festival, Drouin Ficifolia Festival, Buchan Foothills Festival, the Wunta Festival in Warrnambool, the Grampians Jazz Festival (watch out for the Joe Blakes), a lifesaving festival in Geelong and Lorne (watch out for the Noah’s arks), the Glenlyon Music Festival and the Murray River Music Festival, the Wedderburn Gold Festival and an auction and fair at Digger Rest.

Details of all these can be found by going to our home page and choosing this weekend on the drop-down menu of events in country Victoria. As always, if you are making a special trip, always check by getting on the dog and bone to the number listed with the event. Otherwise if you turn up and find that it’s not on you’ll be as mad as a cut snake.

The White Hat Quiz

How well do you know Melbourne?

You lot have been rather slack with the last two quizzes with no correct answers coming in, so we will have to go away and make up the answers ourselves and publish them in a future newsletter.

Now to this week’s quiz. Now that you have the idea of rhyming slang, we make it a bit harder. In the best Australian (and Cockney) tradition the rhyming word is often omitted. Thus instead of having a butcher’s hook (look) you simply have a butchers.

For this week’s quiz, translate the following.

“I’m going down the frog for a dogs with dead. Does anyone want to come?” “Nah – I’m going down the rubbidy with a few chinas to sink a few germaines. I bet Johnno disappears before it’s his wally. You know what they’re like from steak and kidney – really tight with their oxfords.” “What about Peter? Do you reckon he’d come with me?” “You’ve got two chances mate! He’s going home to pick up the trouble, put on a bag and head off to sing in the eddie.”