Living End & Area 7 @ The Metro

The Crap Facts

This is my 152nd concert.

This is my 29th concert at The Metro.

This is my 33rd concert in Sydney.

This is my 147th concert in New South Wales.

This is my 149th concert in Australia.
Area 7 are the 202nd band I've seen.

Area 7 are the 50th different band I've seen at The Metro.
This is my 4th Living End concert.

Hong Kong, Hong Kong to Bateau Bay, Australia

I woke up at 11.30 am Hong Kong time (4.30 am London) to be served breakfast. Although I slept well last night, I was awoken twice because of turbulence.

We arrived at the new Hong Kong Airport at 1.30 pm. I disembarked and went straight to my gate, where my flight left at seven pm. I sat in the waiting room, writing in my diary and reading until I could no longer keep my eyes open. I didn’t sleep more than an hour, but I felt great when I woke up.

It then seemed to take forever before we boarded. I am on one of those new planes that have a television in the back of every seat. I also have two seats to myself as the plane is only half full, which you would think is conducive to sleep. However, I stayed awake the whole trip. I watched Mercury Rising, then Godzilla on the inflight movie channel, before moving on to write more in my diary. There is also an on-board computer which monitors where you are on a map and can be displayed on the tv right in front of you. While it kept me amused, it made it feel like forever before we got home.

Wednesday 7 October 1998

It is now 4.53 am Sydney time, and we only have 953 kilometers to go (or an hour, 27 minutes). We’re just about to cross the New South Wales/Queensland border. I spend my time seeing familiar sights and reflecting on an amazing last five months. So close to home!

London, England to Hong Kong, Hong Kong

This was it! I was continuously woken from 5.30 am as people wished me farewell before heading off to work.

I didn’t go anywhere this morning, just procrastinated about packing everything. It was only me and Luvo in the house until two pm, when he left after we’d had some lunch.

Finally, it came time for me to head to the station, but not without some drama. I closed the door behind me and then realized I didn’t know where my passport was (dickhead!). I frantically unpacked everything on the front step – but to no avail. My only hope was for a next-door neighbor to be home, and see if I can get in a back window. Fortunately, someone was and they supervised me jump the back fence. The back door was locked, as was the spare room, but the window near the fridge was open, so I climbed in. What a relief! I found the passport on the floor of the spare room and left in a hurry, pledging to call my first born after the neighbor.

I only waited five minutes at Streatham Hill for a train, and another was waiting for me at Victoria. A change at South Kensington was my last before the Heathrow Terminal.

I checked in with plenty of time to spare and wasn’t questioned about the excess three kilos on my baggage. I did, however, have my day pack checked in a random search. It’s one of those situations where you know you’ve done nothing wrong, but you can’t stop sweating and being nervous.

I had a good seat at the back of the plane with plenty of leg room and a chair that leant way back. I sat next to a guy, Dave from Leicester, who was a shoe manufacturer heading to Hong Kong on business. I watched The Truman Show, before a good night’s sleep.

London, England

At nine am Reggae decided that the whole house should be awake, much to no one’s delight.

I struggled to get up, but managed a shower before Brett and Simone came around. The three of us, with Reggae and Bert, went back to yesterday’s café for another plate of fat. It was good to catch up with Brett before I head home tomorrow, even though it was only for an hour. While members of the house went their own way for the day, I caught the train to Hammersmith to meet with Kern, Luvo, Johnny, Karla and Jen for lunch at a pub on the Thames. I thought I was doing badly being 20 minutes late, but I had to wait another 40 minutes for the others to arrive.

We had a Sunday roast at this pub and then headed to another, Salvation, to watch Liverpool and Chelsea on TV.

After the game, Johnny and Kern went back to their new place (they moved in yesterday), while Luvo and I made the trek back to Streatham Hill.

We got home at seven pm and Bert had made dinner for everyone, with some leftovers for us.

The night was spent in, as all of the Castle had had a big weekend, and was overflowing with people. I can’t believe I’m going home tomorrow. It depresses me in some ways, but I’m excited in others. I can’t wait to surprise mum and Kelly.

London, England

I arrived in Victoria Station at eight am, and it’s cold for the second day in a row. I caught the train down to the Castle and manage to wake up most of the household, who’ve had a big night last night.

Kern, Lisa, Cousin Suze and I head out for a fry-up breakfast at a café just around the corner. Most people were up by the time we got back, and if not, I made sure it was time they were.

The day was a pretty lazy one, with not much happening until two pm, when Luvo, Creany, Kel, Dan (Creany & Kel’s friend) and I went up to Camden to go through the markets again. I wish I had heaps of money, because I would’ve spent a fortune here again.

We walked down to Benno & Jane’s as they are having a house warming party tonight. We picked up some dinner and beers on the way, as the Hawaiian party kicked off at eight pm. The house was packed with about 60 people in their small 2-bedroom flat that they share with at Kiwi, Quinton. The party was great – the place was literally jumping, and I met a ton of new people.

Me, Camden, London, England

Me & Luvo, Camden, London, England

Johnny, Me, Simon, Luvo & Karla, Camden, London, England

Kern, Camden, London, England

Benno, Camden, London, England

Karla & Me, Camden, London, England

It wasn’t until 4.30 am that we decided to go home (and we left a dozen people there). Luke, Karla, Luvo and I caught a cab back to Streatham Hill, and I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

Edinburgh, Scotland to London, England

I left my backpack at the hostel to do a day’s sightseeing before heading back to London. First stop was the bus station to book on the 10.30 pm bus tonight. No problems there.

I went to the tourist office in order to plan my day. I started by getting on the Edinburgh Tour Bus, which takes you around the city allowing you to get off whenever, to look around. The bus started at the Walter Scott Monument, which couldn’t be seen due to restoration works (Scotland’s contribution to the growing European Scaffolding Plague). The bus went down to Prince Street (the main shopping street), and then into the old town.

My first stop was Edinburgh Castle. This 12th century castle is situated on an extinct volcano and gives great views over the city. There are numerous old buildings within the castle, and the free audio guide gave many insights into Edinburgh and the Castle’s history. Today the sight is used as headquarters for the Scottish Army, and also houses Scotland’s Crown Jewels.

After two hours in the castle, I got back on the bus, which headed down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace. This palace is used by the Queen when she visits Scotland. I walked around the outside of the grounds as it was too expensive to go in.

I got back on the bus and stayed with it as it drove around the new town, before stopping again in Princes Street. I got off here to go to the National Gallery. This gallery was filled with a variety of paintings by Scottish artists.

After walking around the gallery for a while I opted to wander around the streets, just looking around, it was 5.30 pm and most shops and sights were closed. I sat in Princes Street Gardens for a while, writing in my diary, before going for a baked potato for dinner.

I then went back to the Tron Hostel to get my stuff, before going to the bus station. The bus was half an hour late getting into Edinburgh, and was packed. I was squashed into my seat and tried desperately, to get some sleep, but was kept awake by pissed Newcastle supporters who didn’t shut up until they were threatened with removal by the bus driver. This was when we were in Leeds at 3.30 am, at which time everyone was ready to kill them. I slept on and off the rest of the way to London.

Glasgow, Scotland to Edinburgh, Scotland

This morning I checked out of the hostel and took my backpack up to the youth hostel where the bus picks up in the afternoon.

I walked through Kelvingrove Park to the museum. There was a small guided tour through the museum, which was basically an elderly volunteer telling us which paintings she did and did not like. Once that was complete, I had a look around for myself. There were paintings there by Monet, De Gas, De Goya, Whistler and Velazquez to name a few. Other areas of the museum had a dinosaur display, South Pacific art and an Armory, which had a full-size Storm Trooper suit.

After the museum I had enough time to grab some lunch before heading back to the hostel for the bus to pick us up.

It took only an hour to get to Edinburgh and we were dropped off at the Belford Hostel, an old converted church, just on the edge of the city. We ended up staying at the Tron Hostel in the old town, before kicking on to a couple of pubs in the Grassmarket area. There was me, Adam, Andy, Yvonne, Kathy, Catherine, Carol from Ireland, and Rick and Eve from New Zealand. It ended up being a really good night, that wrapped up at two am.