Look up in the sky....

It's a bird, it's a plane... No, it's a Helicopter Ballet. It's an amazing display of death defying aerobatics & skill flying everything from the RAAF Roulettes, the Pilatus PC-9s, Seahawk & Squirrel Helicopters. Sounds like an Airshow. Sure was. We went to the International Airshow 2007 at Avalon on Saturday.

An early start got us onto the Public viewing area just as the first Roulettes roared into life above us. They were the start of an amazing array of planes of all shapes and sizes showcasing the most awesome moves (handling) I have ever seen. I usually watch (or not look) at these displays through eyes covered by hands, but this weekend I watched in fascination and sometimes just plain (forgive the pun) fear as these planes roared around, looped the loop, threaded the needle, fell from the sky and dive bombed & buzzed the thousands of people watching.

We saw many planes from the RAAF flown by very experienced trainer pilots. These included the Red & White Roulettes, the Mighty F-111 with it's 'dump & burn' routine - wow what a sight. The F/A 18 Hornet, the F-16 Fighting Falcon & the F-15 Eagle all were visitors from the USAF and entertained us all with their superb flying routines. The B-52 Bomber made an appearnce flying by twice from an place unkown & returning to same unknown place.

Other Australian services were represented with the Caribou STOL tactical transport, the P-3 Orion Maritime patrol aircraft & the C-130 Hercules transport. To see these large planes just take off and bank, right in front of you is just an awesome sight.

Airliner fans were not forgotten either with a display of 70 years of commercial aviation with the Douglas DC-3, Lockheed Super Constellation, Boeing 737 being just some of the aircraft represented both in the air and on the ground.

Helicopters were well represented with the Army Aviation presenting a simulated battle sequence involving Iroquois, Kiowa & Black Hawk Helicopters.

For the Vintage & historic aircraft fans there was plenty of action with the Southern Knights T-6 Harvard formation areobatic team, a P-40 Kittyhawk, P-51 Mustang, Yakolev Yak-9 and Cessna A-37 warbirds. The larger old military planes including the Neptune & the Catalina had the oldies in the crowd remembering days gone by.

Bob Carlton's Silent - 1N self launching glider gave the crowd a quiet moment watching the large glider, powered by two tiny engines, perform an almost classical piece of flying.


Of course everyone is waiting for the Aerobatics displays flown by skilled pilots and this weekend was no exception. Pip Borman & Chris Sperou's double act with Beech Debonair light aircraft was just jaw dropping. American guest Jim Leroy and Lithuanian, Jurkis Kairys kept everyone entertained with their 'impossible' physics defying routines and the day finished in great style with a bang - litterally. A routine called Tin stix of Dynamite & The Wall of Fire had us all jumping.

All this took place at Avalon Airport which is now home to Jetstar so we also had front row seats to a number of normal arrival & departures of Jetstar flights. I wonder what the passengers thought as they watched planes circling the airspace waiting for them to land so they could return to their activities.

A lot less excitment on Sunday when we had a wander round the Food & Wine Fair at Birrarung Marr, the Greek Festival in Lonsdale St and finished the day at a 'Stop the traffik' concert at Queensbridge Square. Mezz Coleman and her band were performing first up. (Mezz & the boys are the very talented kids of a friend I grew up with).

So with March almost over & Easter just around the corner, life in the fast (& noisy) lane can be put on hold for a while. There is a verandah among the Karri trees just calling us back for a little quality time with good friends.

A safe and Happy Easter to you all.

until next time............

Melbourne in March.......

Requires a huge amount of stamina to keep pace with the myriad of events that take place. Some have called it Event Overload but I call it FUN. Our adventures in March started off on the first weekend with the Ferrari Festival in Lygon St. This was a lead up event to the Grand Prix which took place last week. Lygon St was transformed into Ferrari heaven with a display of 60 ferraris, all different models and colours (I thought Ferrari's were all red but the Yellow one looked pretty cool too). Lygon St became a racetrack for the day with a parade of the famous cars and one GP test car driven by test driver Mark Gene. A sea of fans made for a fun day with great atmosphere. Lunch was eaten with the roar of the race car - very exciting.

On the way home we found a High Country exhibition at Federation Square so checked that out and now have maps of all the ski fields in Victoria. Well I'm sure I can use them next year. Later that night we had a change of pace seeing a great show at the 'old' Atheneum Theatre in Collins St. It was a Cat Steven's tribute show called Moonshadows - Sensational. If it travels it is a must see if you like the music.

The following weekend was Moomba. Saturday saw us wandering around Birrarung Marr & Alexander Gardens, which had been transformed into a huge carnival with rides, centre stage for the many & varied entertainments on offer, and lots of interactive sports areas. Of course the Yarra river running through the middle of these two areas was where the action was with the Moomba Waterfest taking place. We had lunch at Federation Wharf and returned to watch the Waterski events sitting in the sunshine on a beautiful day. A short rest at home saw us return to the river that evening for the Moomba Fireshow & Fireworks all from barges along the Yarra. Again Spectacular.

A rest day with a difference was called for on Sunday and we headed off to the Yarra Valley with friends to Riverstone Winery where we had a great lunch, a few drinks and a wonderful afternoon being entertained by a trio called Wild Honey.

Back at Moomba on Monday morning we watched the Parade. Had front row (gutter) seats just 10 mins walk from home. After a wander through a very busy city we headed for home via Crown to check out the Ferrari's 60th Birthday display in the Atrium. At this point all touristed out we went home for a well deserved rest.



And so to the Big Event itself. We went to the Grand Prix on Sunday. Again Red was the predominant colour and Ferrari won out in the end. It was never in doubt. Albert Park was transformed but all the noise (wow, do those F1 cars ROAR) and people (105,000) didn't seem to bother the Black Swans who just kept puddling around on the lake. The air display prior to the big race was amazing (I couldn't watch some of it). The highlight was a huge Qantas Jumbo (Flight 109 to London - they said) flying along the back straight at 1000 ft before heading off into the bright blue yonder. We were sitting right next to the back straight - Awesome!

Dinner with friends featured during March as well. A few good nights out have been had. And there is still a week or more left, stay tuned for more exciting adventures. I hope I can make it.

until next time.......

Fabulous Feburary

Is over and the Grand old dame that is Melbourne is changing her costume again. The tennis players have gone and so has Centre Court from Rod Laver Arena and there is now an olympic sized swimming pool right in the middle for the upcoming FINA World Championships. The tennis match we saw there in January was great so I can't wait to see the swimming now.

Cricket has moved on from the MCG and Football, yes already, is back both there and at Telstra Dome. We went and watched our first game at The Dome last Saturday night with some friends. It was so hot that Bill had to buy a hat so he didn't get a burnt head. Well that was his excuse anyway. I think he just wanted a new Essendon hat.

Basketball has also finished for the year with 'our' South Dragons getting into the final 8 but unfortunately no further. The Tigers have Melbournes hopes riding on their shoulders now.

The Yarra and Birrarung Marr are in the process of being transformed for the Moomba Waterfest which is on next weekend, the platform for 'The Birdman Rally' standing out in the Yarra this week. The city will be teeming with people watching the Moomba parade on Monday. Last year all the water activities were put on hold as preparations for the Commonwealth Games went ahead so we are looking forward to seeing it all this year.

March is heaven for the Petrol Heads with the Grand Prix and the Airshow. The Grand Prix activites start today with a Ferrari Festival in Lygon St, celebrating Ferrari's 60th Aniversary. A display of more than 60 Ferrari road cars and the sight and sound of the Ferrari F1 car driven down Lygon St should add a bit of excitment to the day.

Chinese New Year is an ongoing celebration during Feb/March with the Golden Dragon at the Casino and many businesses decorated with Chinese Lanterns. The Year of the Pig was ushered in for the first time without crackers as the weekend was over 38 both days and with no water to spare a total fire ban was issued for the Dancing Dragons.

At the NGV Tezuka's Astroboy has gone home and Bollywood has come to town with Cinema India - The Art of Bollywood showing. Not sure I'll get there but we do want to see 'Sneakers' - stay tuned.

Weatherwise Melburnians are getting to wear their summer clothes for a bit longer than usual with a very hot Feburary and a hot start to March. The fashion centres are all parading their winter collections but so far there is not much sign of needing them, though I know that wont be forever.

Our adventures in Feburary were maily of a culinary nature. Auntie Muriel was visiting from England for 6 weeks and with her we found some wonderful venues. Dinner at Cafe LA in the Sofitel in Collins St is a must do if you are in town. It is on the 31st floor and the view is spectacular and I'm pleased to say the food is excellent too. Chloe's, upstairs in Young & Jacksons was another highlight with it's beautifully restored dining room being the total opposite of the modern Cafe LA. Again the food was wonderful. Miss Marple's in Sassafras was a wonderful place for Sunday lunch and the little village of Sassafras a treat to spend some time wandering around. Of course many other little local cafes got a workout when we weren't eating at home which we did do sometimes.

Bill had some adventures of his own with a trip to Darwin, staying to watch Essendon play the Aboriganal Allstars and catching up with Peter Miller for Breakfast before flying home on Saturday. The following week he had a couple of days on Hamilton Island - hard work eh!

So to this weeks sculpture 'The Business Men who bought their own lunch' which can be found on the corner of Bourke St mall and Swanston St. I pass these 3 guys every morning as I get off the tram on my way to work and got to thinking 'what would they think of all the goings on around them every day'. The world rushes by, tourists by the droves have their photo's taken with them, many varied parades pass down Swanston St during the year and still they clasp their 'lunches' and walk on. Pretty much like us all. I guess we all need to stop, look around us and see what is really happening in the places we live, it can be an amazing adventure sometime. Oops, enough of the deep & meaningful, I'm off to find some more adventures.

until next time.......