Daily Life – Page 30 – helenthura.com

February 25, 2007

All in the details

Do we want another wedding post? It was quite a nice w/e and I haven’t done that many exciting things since then or not that I have photos of and really it is all about the photos isn’t it?

How about details. There was so many pretty things at the reception that just made it that little bit more special.

Michelle’s Bouquet. Can you see the Paua (Abalone) shells? NZ is famous for Paua shells and they really are quite pretty shells, sort of like opals of the sea. Can you see the spiral shell? It actually has a finger sized hole at the bottom and that is what Shawn proposed with 🙂

Aunty Susan and Lisa went out to the reception site on the morning of the wedding and they created a masterpiece. The tables were decorated with “white” and black sand, tumble weed, Paua shell, seaweed, shells and candles. They truly outdid themselves, the tables were gorgeous.

Hiding beneath those layers of icing were a white chocolate and a chocolate mud cake from The Cheesecake Shop. Mmm Mmm.

This was a photo I grabbed as I walked past the wedding car. I only had my 50mm lens on and I couldn’t walk back any further or I would have crashed through the wall of the marquee.

We are about to go pick up Erica, another cousin who is up in Brisbane for a couple of days for job training. It will be nice to see her as we haven’t seen her since we were in Tasmania last year.

February 22, 2007

The Man

It is pretty well known in these parts that my grandfather (herein after referred to as Grandad) is the coolest man around. He walks the walk, speaks the speak and has the ladies to the left and right sighing as he walks past and he is also a bit of a comedian as well.

Now imagine Grandad looking oh so suave in a cream shirt and trousers with his signature blue hat on a beach surrounded by a group of adoring fans.

This is the man of the ~~hour~~century, throwing back a glass of bubbly at the beach at Raglan. See that man to the right, looking down at the sand? That is the undercover NZ police officer who was in charge of Grandad’s security detail. You can’t take him out anywhere in public these days without a security detail.

When he is spotted by various grandchildren/children with bubbly in hand after a certain grandchild who very much adores her grandfather squeals something along the lines of “look, Grandad has a glass of bubbly”, the paparazzi set their focus on him and the adoring fans look on in admiration.

I had ladies coming up to me left, right and centre at the reception asking me “Is that your grandfather? I was chatting to him before, he is pretty cool. I wish my grandfather was like him”. Ok so I might have made that last little bit up but I am sure people think that after meeting Grandad. He is Grandad after all. In the end, the girls and guys just couldn’t give him a little space and he had to leave the reception with his entourage shortly after the gifts were opened.

This is a photo of one lady who had a chat to Grandad at the reception. The lady is Michelle, of course (you know, the bride) checking in with her new grandfather in law, making sure that he wasn’t been crowded by all the fans wanting autographs and that security was looking after his wants and needs. The pressures of having such a high profile celebrity at the reception. You’ld almost think Shane Warne was at the reception or something…

February 21, 2007

On the beach.

“How many photos did you take Helen?” asks any number of assorted relatives.
“Aw you know, just a few” I reply.

Out of that just a few photos I took during the wedding itself, this photo is without a doubt my favourite, both emotionally and technically. I just feel quite strong about it. The beach, the people, the composition, the feeling. This is the wedding. This is Shawn and Michelle on their day that they shared with 60 odd people who traveled from not only within Kiwi Land but England and Australia to be at Raglan for the wedding on the beach.

February 20, 2007February 20, 2007

Landed.

Well I got back from Kiwi Land this morning, I have caught up on some of my emails, had a shower, unpacked a bit and had a quiet look at my photos. I am about to have a nap since I have to go to work tonight and since I woke up this morning at 1:30am Brissie time I would be buggered at work without a nap.

Here is one photo from the weekend which shows the groom’s side of the family. Looking at my photos I don’t think there was one taken of both the families together. The Stephenson’s are on the left, the Howie’s are on the right with Shawn and Michelle in the middle.

It really was a gorgeous wedding. Low key, laid back and a lot of fun. It was a wedding that was very much an illustration of who Shawn and Michelle are. Anyway of course there are more photos to come 🙂

February 11, 2007February 21, 2007

All you need is love Beatles

So last night was The Beatles tribute gig and it was a fantastic night out. There was myself, Clare and four of her ~~convicts, followers, converts,~~ friends.

11 bands, a full house, 2 and a half hours, one small super sweaty room, one great cause, 200+ songs in The Beatles catalouge. One rocking night. We had fun guessing which songs would be done by the various bands. It was a great format with the bands doing between one and five songs each with most doing three or four, super quick changeover between sets (always a bonus) and of course a great cause in Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders). Since there is talk of doing a similar format later this year with a different artist and charity, it will be great to see who will be the focus of the next tribute.

I don’t have photos from all the bands who played but I do from six of the eleven.

Hot Liquid Sex.
These girls were glam. The drummer had pearls on. I don’t think we need to go further.

Ace
How rocking is this Beatles shirt? Last night was alllll about The Beatles shirts.
ace 1

The Blood Poets
This guy stood on my foot later in the night, I went ouch, he said sorry, it was all fine.

Kristy London and The Other Halves
Kristy was a total treat.

Emma Dean
Again another total treat. Probably the main attraction for Clare and I last night and she didn’t disappoint.

Glasshouse
These guys were big organisers of the night or came with the idea and as the second last band they had the floor bouncing as they channeled as much Beatles vibe as they could with a rip-roaring cover of A Hard Day’s Night

Tyrone Noonan finished the night and was a treat pulling out the tin whistle, as was Tara Simmons who opened the night in a cello trio, 26 who also had a large string section, Asa Broomhall who shined in his one song and The Gin Club who also gave all they had to the night.

It was such a fantabulous night. Lots and lots of singing along 🙂

February 4, 2007February 4, 2007

Die Happy

Last night was a blast and I can now Die Happy (incidentally a pretty cool German band I saw at the Pumpwerk in Wilhelmshaven. In terms of live music venues, the Pumpwerk stands out as one of the best for me. Just the right size. Just the right atmosphere. Just the right everything. I would love it if the Pumpwerk were in Brisbane). Back to the topic at hand which was Sam and Helen’s semi-big night out.

The highlight of my night was of course when Women in Docs pulled Sally Dastey up on stage near the end to do Tin Roof. It went off. In case you haven’t realised Tin Roof is pretty high up in that handful of songs that make up my all time favourites. It sits up there with Marrakesh Express by Crosby, Stills & Nash (who are playing in Brisbane in 3 weeks but the tickets are waaaay to pricey for me), Ice Cream by Sarah McLachlan, Safari by The Breeders, The Waitress by The Waifs, You Sound Like Louis Burdett by The Whitlams, The 59th Street Bridge Song by Simon and Garfunkel, Lady Madonna by The Beatles, Adelaide by Old 97’s, You or Your Memory by The Mountain Goats and a handful of other songs. Classic songs. Of course going to a concert and hearing one of your all time favourite songs is just top shelf stuff.

Last night with Sam was fantastic. So was the night before with Andrea. Though how could it not have been fantastic? Great music and good friends always equals fun times.

After the show was over we made our way down to Eagle St where Sam works to see Cory and to munch down some wedges and fold cutlery bundles for the next days trade. I have to say at the start of the night I didn’t think I would spend part of it wiping cutlery dry and giving it to Sam so she could wrap it up in a serviette. A couple of hours out on the town, dancing, drinking, chatting, walking and generally having a good time. Then we made our way home and that takes me to where we are now.

If you are going to be in Melbourne, Nowra or Canberra between March 14 and 23, I reckon you should check out the Gig Guide on the Women in Docs website and get a few friends or family and plan an easy night out with good music and lots of laughs 🙂