Category: Parties

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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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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Eurovision party 2014

Held a Eurovision party at my place. We’ve all been die-hard Eurovision watchers since the 1990s, when it was first shown in Australia. Preparation: read the Des Mangan “This Is Sweden Calling” book and Terry Wogan’s “Is It Me?” and watched the two semi-finals.

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Amish transcendentalism

Went to an inner-west party recently where late-night discussion turned to Thoreau and Emerson, rebellious utopian 19th-century communes, and Amish transcendentalism.

J wearing an authentic bonnet made by an Amish lady.

What keeps Amish society together? (from here)

Transcendence: making the individual feel like an integral part of the larger organisation.

Persecution strengthens bonds. Hostility from outside world increases unity.

“Worldy” people are thrown out.

Different language and dress increase isolation and separation.

Living in rural areas to be separate. Encouraged to feel fearful of the “evil world outside”.

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Socialist Alliance conference

Went to the four-day Socialist Alliance conference held at the University of Sydney. I hadn’t been to an SA event before. Quote: “One day everyone will embrace socialism. Solidarity comrades!”

The book stall.

My impressions:
* They view themselves as a “say what we really think” group. “We get to say what we like.” Members of Parliament often say to them: “You say all the things I want to say but can’t.” They strive for influence, rather than political seats. But they stand candidates for elections because it gets the public talking and thinking about them.
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