Walk on the wild side...

Buddha, wall in Prahran, Melbourne

The photos in this post were all taken in Melbourne this weekend, where I paid a brief visit, to attend my brother Lindsay's wedding to Shirley, who I know as Rebekha.

This was not the only name confusion, as our stepfather, Mike, signed as a witness under the name of our father, Michael. (Its going to be corrected, by the way). Perhaps them having the same first name made it more confusing...

I also found out my brother's nickname, for the first time, from the best man, his friend since high school in NZ.

It was a happy day, with lots of emotion, champagne and hugs. Thanks, Lindsay and Shirley.

Meanwhile, back in Brisbane, I have virtually finished my final social work placement, but have negotiated to return for a few hours, to help everyone complete the mural, which has been an ongoing project since I started in July. I am hoping this can be achieved in three weeks...

Still one minor hurdle to get over - an oral 'exam' where we explain why we are 'ready to be social workers' in eight minutes - without notes. Somewhat daunting. I think my best bet is to write something and try to memorise it, sort of.

And I heard this morning of the death of Lou Reed, at the age of 71. I remember clearly the impact of Transformer, and listening to it after school in my friend Susan's bedroom, aged about 14 or 15, in 1972. She always knew better than me what was hip, and with us both being Bowie fans, it just had to be good. Reed described a world so different from ours, growing up in rural Devon cheescloth hippiedom, but gave us a window into the New York art scene, populated by Andy Warhol et al, so we could imagine ourselves also transformed.

Goodbye Lou, goodbye Susan, goodbye Dad. I miss you all, in different ways.

more later.