City of Green Lightses
27/01/2004 09:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
izmeinaIz has been lurking in the Min. After all, when yet again we only have five loaves and 2 fishes to last until Wednesday evening, gotta find cheap entertainment.
Izzie normally works Monday evenings and Tuesday mornings. Just after Christmas, put in a request to have yesterday off. It was all done and delivered as usual but for some reason the woman in the office farted around with the Roster and changed the Izzie Monday to Tuesday. Was asked if it was OK. In fact turned out better than the original arrangement because Iz could not only go to see the fireworks in the city and snooze late the next day but also would get paid the extra 50% for working a public holiday. (Iz likes the fireworks so much that she was prepared to lose those free 3 hours as would have been the case if things had gone as originally requested)
Like the previous years, Iz would visit "The Secret Garden Cafe" and squiggle in the little green book and read a page of Potter or two. Next stop is a gorgeous church on a hill overlooking the city and watching with amusement how just about every patch of green would be covered in cars by folks trying to get good spots to see the fireworks.
Then we usually visit our crawling friends at the Zoo before finally getting some last minute nibblies and visit to the loo before arriving at the riverside just after 7pm or so in time to watch the last rays of sun setting on the city followed by the green lightses at 8pm.
Lots of people make a day of it and will set up their picnics at midday!!! or even earlier just to get a good spot. I guess it makes sense if there is a bunch of you. But Iz is always on her ownsome and manages to find the most wonderful spots right next to the water even only 30 mins before the show.
But this year, since I was working until 1pm, did not go to the zoo and instead got a bus at 3pm to the little cafe and sat there for a couple of hours with the Preciousssss. This time it wasn't a Potter for the simple reason that so far we have got up to Mr Crouch in Goblet and wants to save certain chapters for our "Dark Mark Day" party by the light of the full moon next Friday. So it was "The Two Towers" instead. It has been pretty good actually. But now we're up to the battle scenes, has reverted back to the sort of stuff that made Iz give up after only a couple chapters of the first book.
Wormtail and Treebeard were most fascinating creatures indeed.
Iz enjoyed the fireworks and was particularly amused at how many drunk skunks were skulking around. Some folks had been at it since midday or so. Lounging around by the river with nothing to do but toss another shrimp on the barbie, toss a ball or two and get totally pissed. It is a most fascinating occasion for studying the leisure habits of Muggles.
They are finally realizing that there are more to bangs than simply being big. These days there is a bit more choreography and artistry involved. Not all of it was appreciated by the dickheads though.
One particulary pretty effect is the fairy lightses where there are pinkish red fireworks like lanterns that are delicate and drift slowly downwards to the river. Simply and absolutely gorgeouss. Izzie's favorite in fact along with the green spirals ;) But the little shits behind us were moaning "Boring. Boring. We want bangs. We want bangs"
The music was designed to go with the lightses but this year they committed the unforgiveable sin of NOT starting the show with "Bittersweet Symphony" like they did last year and which is simply perfect for a grand entrance.
It's nice to be back to good old fashioned music and fun and not the patriotic jingoistic corny crap they had the years before last. Iz just cringed with embarrassment. Lot's of people are happy to see that go. Lets' leave the 'hand on heart' stuff to the Americans.
Sunday night was also the Chinese New Year fireworks which they decided to move to the weekend (of course) but Iz had just left work and was not in an area to see much except the giant chrysanthemums which have nothing really to recommend except their size.
Fireworks are strange things. Watching them on TV is just not the same. They played the whole thing on television about 10.30 pm but Iz does not see the point. There is something, an atmosphere or whatever - like it is real life and there is something about having nearly 300,000 people or so turn up that makes it a real ritual.
I had the odd glass or two of red with the creatures so the broomstick got left at home and I walked back to the ma's place. Used to live just around the corner to the river near the zoo and it was one of evil Izzie's favorite entertainments after the show to watch all the muggles with motors stuck in the traffic jams for hours after the event. The smart ones keep partying and leave an hours after the show.
But it is a 40 minute walk to Petunia's place and lots of yobbos hang around after the show. In fact on the news today, turned out there was a very big and nasty brawl in the general area of where Izzie was. A whole bunch of people ended up in hospital. So lucky I didn't lurk, I guess.
Izzie normally works Monday evenings and Tuesday mornings. Just after Christmas, put in a request to have yesterday off. It was all done and delivered as usual but for some reason the woman in the office farted around with the Roster and changed the Izzie Monday to Tuesday. Was asked if it was OK. In fact turned out better than the original arrangement because Iz could not only go to see the fireworks in the city and snooze late the next day but also would get paid the extra 50% for working a public holiday. (Iz likes the fireworks so much that she was prepared to lose those free 3 hours as would have been the case if things had gone as originally requested)
Like the previous years, Iz would visit "The Secret Garden Cafe" and squiggle in the little green book and read a page of Potter or two. Next stop is a gorgeous church on a hill overlooking the city and watching with amusement how just about every patch of green would be covered in cars by folks trying to get good spots to see the fireworks.
Then we usually visit our crawling friends at the Zoo before finally getting some last minute nibblies and visit to the loo before arriving at the riverside just after 7pm or so in time to watch the last rays of sun setting on the city followed by the green lightses at 8pm.
Lots of people make a day of it and will set up their picnics at midday!!! or even earlier just to get a good spot. I guess it makes sense if there is a bunch of you. But Iz is always on her ownsome and manages to find the most wonderful spots right next to the water even only 30 mins before the show.
But this year, since I was working until 1pm, did not go to the zoo and instead got a bus at 3pm to the little cafe and sat there for a couple of hours with the Preciousssss. This time it wasn't a Potter for the simple reason that so far we have got up to Mr Crouch in Goblet and wants to save certain chapters for our "Dark Mark Day" party by the light of the full moon next Friday. So it was "The Two Towers" instead. It has been pretty good actually. But now we're up to the battle scenes, has reverted back to the sort of stuff that made Iz give up after only a couple chapters of the first book.
Wormtail and Treebeard were most fascinating creatures indeed.
Iz enjoyed the fireworks and was particularly amused at how many drunk skunks were skulking around. Some folks had been at it since midday or so. Lounging around by the river with nothing to do but toss another shrimp on the barbie, toss a ball or two and get totally pissed. It is a most fascinating occasion for studying the leisure habits of Muggles.
They are finally realizing that there are more to bangs than simply being big. These days there is a bit more choreography and artistry involved. Not all of it was appreciated by the dickheads though.
One particulary pretty effect is the fairy lightses where there are pinkish red fireworks like lanterns that are delicate and drift slowly downwards to the river. Simply and absolutely gorgeouss. Izzie's favorite in fact along with the green spirals ;) But the little shits behind us were moaning "Boring. Boring. We want bangs. We want bangs"
The music was designed to go with the lightses but this year they committed the unforgiveable sin of NOT starting the show with "Bittersweet Symphony" like they did last year and which is simply perfect for a grand entrance.
It's nice to be back to good old fashioned music and fun and not the patriotic jingoistic corny crap they had the years before last. Iz just cringed with embarrassment. Lot's of people are happy to see that go. Lets' leave the 'hand on heart' stuff to the Americans.
Sunday night was also the Chinese New Year fireworks which they decided to move to the weekend (of course) but Iz had just left work and was not in an area to see much except the giant chrysanthemums which have nothing really to recommend except their size.
Fireworks are strange things. Watching them on TV is just not the same. They played the whole thing on television about 10.30 pm but Iz does not see the point. There is something, an atmosphere or whatever - like it is real life and there is something about having nearly 300,000 people or so turn up that makes it a real ritual.
I had the odd glass or two of red with the creatures so the broomstick got left at home and I walked back to the ma's place. Used to live just around the corner to the river near the zoo and it was one of evil Izzie's favorite entertainments after the show to watch all the muggles with motors stuck in the traffic jams for hours after the event. The smart ones keep partying and leave an hours after the show.
But it is a 40 minute walk to Petunia's place and lots of yobbos hang around after the show. In fact on the news today, turned out there was a very big and nasty brawl in the general area of where Izzie was. A whole bunch of people ended up in hospital. So lucky I didn't lurk, I guess.
