Mister Brisbane: Good intentions
Solo stars | By the book | Last drinks | Brewery scoop
This not a post where I get all self-righteous about people who get all self-righteous about things. I’m not going to pour scorn on those people who boast in public forums about their superior diet or lifestyle or some other thing that makes them an all-round better person than me and you. But I am going to make a point about people who pretend, and perhaps even convince themselves, that they are “doing the right thing” when they are doing exactly the opposite.
And the best example I can think of is people who take their second-hand clothes, books and household items to charity bins only to find they are full. Do they drive off and find an empty charity bin, or take the stuff back home to return another day after the bin has been emptied? No, they just leave it on top of the bin or on the ground around it. As my photo (above) shows, this is done even when there are signs clearly stating that anything not in the bin is rubbish. It makes the area look unattractive, it’s unhygienic, and it leaves the items exposed to the elements, probably rendering them useless. If you’re an offender, you’re not doing anybody any favours. Somebody has to clean up after you, and if they’re a charity worker then they definitely have better things to do.
Incidentally, can anybody tell me why posting a photo like the one above might get me into strife in China? The answer is at the bottom of this newsletter.
Join Brett Debritz and Spencer Howson for the Mister Brisbane show on Reading Radio at 1296AM or DAB+ in Brisbane on Tuesdays at 6.30pm, Wednesdays at 4am and 7am, Fridays at 4am, Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 5pm. It is also available as a podcast on popular platforms including Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts.
END OF AN ERA?
Brisbane has the Fourex Brewery. Adelaide has the West End Brewery. Except soon that will be “had”, as owner LionCo has announced plans to close the South Australian brewery that’s been operating since 1859. While the beer will still be made, that will be done interstate. Every so often there’s a rumour that the famous brewery in Milton (below) will close, and there are cries of outrage followed by a reassuring message from the owners — also Lion. Hopefully, the popularity of XXXX Gold (Australia’s favourite tipple) will keep the doors open. However that, too, can be — and sometimes is — brewed elsewhere. The bottom line is that Lion, like any other company, will inevitably produce its product where it’s cheapest and most convenient to do so. Sentiment doesn’t count for a lot in business these days.
Photo: Kelly Hunter
MUSIC TO MY EARS
Thanks to Janelle (@Bundynelle) on Twitter for reminding me, and her other followers, about Rusty and the Ayres Rockettes. Rusty was a popular fixture on the Brisbane pub-music scene in the 1980s and 90s. Her tweet feigning disappointment that Rusty wouldn’t be playing at the AFL grand final* got me thinking about other musicians doing the rounds in Brisbane when I was young. I have fond memories of Phil Hollett playing piano at the old America’s Cup Bar at the Hilton, and later at the Treasury Casino, and with the help of my buddy Ted I also recalled Hemi, who was a huge drawcard in the day. Ted was (and still is) a big fan of blues guitarist John Malcolm, and we both fondly remember pianist Wylie Reed.
A lot of great bands have come out of Brisbane, from The Saints to Wickety Wak, but I’m interested in the small acts, mainly solo performers, who played in the pubs and clubs in the late 20th Century. Can anyone add to the list of blasts from the past? Or tell me who’s popular right now?
*The line-up for the GF this weekend is Sheppard, Cub Sport, Andrew Stockdale, and Electric Fields featuring Thelma Plum and Busby Marou, plus the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and a welcome to country performed by Tribal Experiences.
NOVEL APPROACH
Thanks, too, to Anna, who reminded me of the existence of NaNoWriMo. Never heard of it? It stands for National Novel Writing Month and it’s an online challenge for people to write a book in 30 days during November. I tried it once and it wasn’t a great success. The only other person to read it was a friend who said it was better than she expected it to be. Which, of course, is very faint praise. I won’t be writing another romance novel in a hurry.
Nevertheless, it’s a good discipline for a writer to work to a deadline and, while a book written in 30 days may not be immediately publishable, it may become so after a few rewrites and editing. Or, then again, maybe you’re the next Barbara Cartland, Agatha Christie or Enid Blyton, all of whom could all pump books out almost as fast as their fans could read them.
MEANWHILE…
As part of QPAC’s Queensland’s Own program, Circa will perform Humans at the Playhouse from November 18-22 and Carnival of the Animals from December 16-20.
Naomi Price will be performing her fab cabaret show, Lady Beatle, at the Brisbane Powerhouse on November 18. Details here.
FEEDBACK
Last week’s big question was: who would you like to see perform in Brisbane’s Got Talent, if there were such a show. Daniel reckons “the steel drum dude from outside the casino would be a crowd favourite” — and I agree!
SOLUTION
There’s a Winnie the Pooh stuffed toy on top of the bin, just to the left of the upside-down thong with a popped popper. Images of Pooh are frowned upon in China since online wags noticed his similarity to the nation’s president and he failed to see the funny side of it. In fact, the film Christopher Robin was banned because it had too much Pooh.
Does Phil Hollett still play, was in a band with him back in 1982 trying to catchup again