Author: cottonward

Fancy a game of Scrabble?

six people playing scrabble
And the Gold Logie goes to…

Six of us went round to David’s for a fun games night — Scrabble, the TV Week Trivia board game and Cards Against Humanity.

Was totally shocked at the unbridled cheating from some gameplayers, with pieces and cards being swapped when noone was looking.

TV Week board game

The TV Week Trivia board game was incredible — it had been sealed intact since 2005, so this was the first time it was opened. The drawback was that many of the questions were very dated, but we still managed to guess a Who Am I? (Kylie Minogue) and several Gold Logie winners from back in the day. A highlight was the six Logie-shaped playing pieces!

Are “ne” and “lum” even words? Apparently so, says Scrabble online dictionary.

Scrabble was ferociously contested, with constant requests to check which 2-letter words were acceptable. There were begging pleas to “open up the board” as some players strategically didn’t want to easily give away a triple word score. L made several heroic efforts to get rid of her letter “Q”.

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Sydney LGBTIQA Mardi Gras

It was the 40th Anniversary and so amazing. The numerous dance venues created a mini city and it was as buzzy and packed as the peak 1990s era.

Was privileged to be sitting next to a 78er, Peter McEwan from Melbourne, while waiting for Cher’s performance. He’d visited Sydney in 1978 for a national homosexual conference at Paddington Town Hall, and was involved in the protests. “The agenda back then used to include fighting in solidarity for everyone — access to abortion, refugees, women’s rights. I wish that solidarity was still around today. Other issues are important too.” He prefers the term “Queer” to “Gay”, as it’s more gender fluid.

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Mary Ward

mumchat (1)

Mary wanted an upbeat celebration of her life, as she had been blessed with an incredibly wonderful and rich life. She often said it was the people in her life who’d made it so great.

EARLY YEARS

It all began in Leeds in 1939 — Mary was always proud of being a Yorkshire lass, with three other siblings, Patrick, Christine and Bernard, and her loving parents, Annie and Thomas. It was a terrible blow when her younger brother and sister died later on (“It’s like losing two legs from a table. The table is still standing but it’s a bit wobbly.”). Her memories of Leeds were of a close community of friends and cousins, especially Margaret, Pauline and Tony, who used to meet every Sunday morning after mass at the Holy Family Church with around 15 people in the room, chatting for hours. Mary was often asked to read aloud at school due to her lovely voice and reading skills and was very proud of a scholarship she won at 11 to go to a private girls’ school.

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Eurovision slumber party!

eurovision2017

Went to a Eurovision slumber party with scavenger hunt and bingo at Louise’s place. Started on Saturday night, watching the second semi-final, while Louise cooked delicious Ukrainian dishes – borscht soup and Chicken Kiev – to honour this year’s host nation.

It was lucky for us ABBA fans that Ukraine’s flag has the same colours as Sweden, so there were plenty of blue and yellow streamers strung around!

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Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence visit Taronga Zoo

Went with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence on their 24th annual Taronga Park Zoo sistersvisitation. We’re told to wear sensible shoes, a hat, and that the event will go ahead in all weathers. The first highlight is the amazing ferry trip across Sydney Harbour, with a view of the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and the visiting Queen Mary cruise ship.

Mostly international Mardi Gras visitors attend this excursion so they can appreciate our local fauna, and the Sisters, led by Mother Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation, provide a hilarious commentary of poems dedicated to each animal and – to the shock of attendees – early colonial recipes for eating them! Kangaroo tail is to be made like oxtail soup, and black swans should be cooked in a moderate oven for two hours. There were also tips on how to make a delicious Galah Pie and Roast Wombat!

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