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The White Hat Melbourne Newsletter

Archived Newsletter No.201 - 4 January 2007

Contents

Welcome to 2007
New market
Painting
Festival
Reader Feedback
Theatre
Sidney Myer free concerts
Crown Christmas display
Docklands
Kids’ sports sessions
From the White Hat Inbox
Rowing
Free holiday entertainment
Fairies
Country Victoria
The White Hat Quiz

Welcome to 2007

White Hat hopes you all had a wonderful new year and welcomes you to 2007. The White Hat Newsletter has a major surprise for you in 2007 but that is some way down the track, so for now it will have to remain a mystery. However we will reveal some clues to the mystery in forthcoming newsletters.

New market

A new arts market called Sunday Arts @ The Convent operating on the first Sunday of the month has commenced at the Abbotsford Convent. The Queen Victoria night markets continue on Wednesday nights. The volume of the bands has substantially increased from previous years so it will depend on your personal taste whether you find this an attraction or a deterrent. If you haven’t tried the St Kilda Night Market on a Thursday night, we recommend you give it a try. It is probably the closest thing you will get to a seaside holiday atmosphere that close to the city. Take along your own refreshments (or buy them there) and settle down for a relaxed evening on the grass. Because it’s at night you won’t even notice that the grass (like nearly everywhere else in Melbourne at the moment) is yellow. Details of both these markets at Night Markets in Melbourne.

Painting

For the next month at lunchtime on weekdays you can try your hand at painting in the city for free. Next week’s sessions are at the Fitzroy Gardens. Subsequent weeks are at the Docklands, Carlton Gardens and Flagstaff Gardens.

Festival

This is the time of year when a large number of cultural beliefs and traditions are celebrated. I am a great follower of the Dishes Fairy. If you leave your dirty dishes on the sink for long enough you will eventually come home from work or a show or wake up in the morning and the Dishes Fairy will have washed them all. Unfortunately the Dishes Fairy is very sensitive and it only takes one unbeliever in a household to keep her away for months at a time.

A more widely accepted tradition is that of La Befana in Italy. La Befana is a sort of good witch who rewards good children at the end of the Christmas season by leaving sweets in their stockings on the night of January 6th. Naughty children are rewarded with a lump of coal. On Saturday there will be a La Befana family festival in Lygon Street.

Also on Saturday is the traditional Blessing of the Waters Festival at Station Pier.

Reader Feedback

“Dear Mr White Hat,
If there were any such awards I would be nominating you for 'Newsletter of the Year'!!! My work colleagues were very entertained by my eruptions of mirth as I devoured your 'piece de resistance' for 2006, suffice to say you may now have a few more subscribers! The ignorance of some of your readers has me smiling for hours......bless them! Thank you once again for keeping me entertained and informed about this wonderful city I live in. The compliments of the Season to YOU and Yours.
Denise”

“Dear Mr White Hat
I've searched and I've searched .... NO MESSAGE FROM NAT !??!?!?!?!? Maybe she's busy fighting the fires? I hope she's AOK. Merry Christmas,
Kylie.”

Kylie, don’t worry. Nat has contacted us – see below.

“Hi Mr WH,
A few weeks ago I wrote to tell you about the astonishing sight of "pantomime koalas getting into their costumes" in the Myer Christmas windows. I was in the city again a few days ago, and wanted to show the wonderful koalas to my friend. Alas, the rear koala has been removed. The other koala was still there, still hooded and still with his bum in the air, but it seems there will be no more happy endings for him this year. Next time I will barge through, film it on my mobile and post it on YouTube. Hmmph. Merry Christmas and thank you for another great year of news and info,
Sandy”

A video has appeared on YouTube. You can view it here.

Theatre

The productions of Wind in the Willows and Midsummer Night’s Dream continue at the Botanic Gardens.

In February Melbourne Opera perform Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at Her Majesty’s Theatre then later in the year at the same theatre you have an opportunity to see the same story in an updated form in the musical Miss Saigon.

Sidney Myer Free Concerts

Dates and programs for the annual free orchestral concerts at the music bowl have been announced so you may want to put them in your diary.

Crown Christmas Display

The animated light and sound Christmas show at the casino ends on Sunday so there are only a few days left.

Docklands

There are a growing number of activities at the Docklands. This Sunday there is the finish of the Bay Cycling Classic with associated family festival activities. The remaining Sundays in January feature numbers of free activities and workshops suitable for adults or children in things like playing the ukulele, African Drumming, and Bollywood and Belly Dance. On Saturdays 6 & 24 there are circus skills workshops where you can learn the elements of juggling, clowning and other circus skills.

By February you will be turning up to parties with your African drum, juggling batons, belly dancing costume and ukulele just in case anyone asks you to perform.

Kids' sports sessions

For the next two weeks there are sport sessions with expert coaching for kids in a variety of sports. Next week’s sessions are at Fawkner Park in South Yarra. The following week is at Royal Park. Sports include hockey, volleyball, athletics, football, (I believe the AFL may be working on a version of football suitable for schools. No scores will be kept or recorded at the games but a written report will be produced at the end of the season.) basketball, soccer and tennis.

From the White Hat Inbox

“Hi there,
I'm so glad I stumbled on your website, this is going to keep me amused for hours. I particularly liked the Hidden Gems of Victoria story and can empathise with that. It puzzles me why people seek 5 star accommodation (inns and B&B's) in remote and natural areas, how can you get the feel of a place if you are in a replica of a city hotel? Anyway, enough waffling. Looking forward to my first Newsletter.
Thanks Ivan”

We also received the following personal message:

“hi from portc
its strange to be back with the gang after a yr. we sed we were friends 4ever but some seem to b drifting away. but its good to b together again. joshs mum still has the same loser boyfriend so we r using his place at portc. ive taken the kombi back to con & ruby for them to fix bits. its a bit hard explaining that I took a gap yr to c the world but only got as far as bright. i met this fab guy at nye  this will be a fun summer.
love from nat.”

Rowing

On the first Sunday of the month you can try your hand at rowing in an Olympic shell on Albert Park Lake for $10 per head. Details at Water Sports in Melbourne.

Free holiday entertainment

Starting next week, the excellent series of free entertainment in the parks returns. These include Sunday afternoon performances, Sunday evening dance tuition and performances on Saturday and Sunday nights. Take along a picnic. A rug, a good red (or maybe a good redhead) a good book and you can settle in for the evening. A full listing of performances can be found at Fitzroy Gardens

Fairies

Until 14 January you are invited to dress up in your fairy costume and run on twinkling toes to the fairy tree in Fitzroy Gardens. I note from a newsletter in 2004 that when we attended this event we observed “squealing three year old fairies, dainty fairies, fairies in Blundstones, fairies joined at the hip, young women who still can’t manage the real life thing, moth eaten fairies, belles dames sans merci, and fairies whose wingspan to mass ratio make flight seem highly improbable.” Details at: Children's Activities in Melbourne.

Country Victoria

This weekend in country Victoria there is the Geelong Rock & Roll Festival, free school holiday activities at Arthurs Seat, Tastes of Prom Country festival, Red Hills Country Music Festival and Friends of Thomas the Tank Engine in Queenscliff. Next weekend is the Lavendula Harvest Festival, the Bass Coast Agricultural Show, the Portarlington Mussel Festival, Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields, Timboon Rail Music Festival Market. Please note that the Taste of Falls Creek wil be held in Melbourne at Fed Square rather than at the Chalet..

For details go to our home page and select the appropriate weekend from the drop-down menu of events in country Victoria.

The White Hat Quiz

How well do you know Melbourne?

First to the answers to our last quiz. Yvonne was the first responder.

Please note: This section of the newsletter has been removed as it forms part of a forthcoming publication or because it is forms part of our Questing activities. If you find yourself on a tour where the guide is White Hat Accredited they are likely to know the answer to many questions you may have in this area. All guides on White Hat Tours are White Hat Accredited.

Now to this week’s quiz

Because many of you are on holidays at the beach we thought we would make this a seaside quiz.

1. What was the first point of the Australian coastline sighted on Captain Cook’s voyage?
2. What do the following names have in common – King, Victoria and Wellington?
3. Where in Victoria would you find an underwater peacock?
4. Most woods float. One wood is so dense that it sinks. (It is still possible to build a ship out of it – after all, iron and steel also sink unless shaped into a vessel.) What is the name of that wood and where might you find a ship made from that wood?
5. What connection is there between Collins Street in the city and Sullivans Cove on the Mornington Peninsula?
6. On what part of the Victorian coast did Time come to a halt?
7. Black Jack and Gunamatta Beach conjures up images of pirates. What is the real connection between these two?

And finally a question that visitors from Sydney may be able to answer:

8. How long is the Ninety Mile Beach?

No prizes – just glory and a warm inner glow.