Barry

Let me introduce you to Barry, who has become an important part of my life here in Melbourne.
Barry is very sexy looking in his different blue shapes and he makes me smile every time I see him.

My number one bike friend is actually Olga and back home in Brighton, I was thinking of taking her to the other side of the world with me but decided against it as I wasn't sure how easy it'd be to travel around with her. It was the right decision in the end as otherwise I'd never have met Barry!

One evening when I had nothing on ;-) I had a look at Gumtree and there he was. A proper blue GIANT looking for a new owner. I texted the number provided and was told that he was still available. The guy invited me to come and see him before 12pm the next day as I sounded nicer than the other person interested :)!

It was meant to be. Saw him, fell in love and took him home with me (the bike).

Back in Brighton I cycled everywhere in any weather. Living in England made me invest in full rain gear, which turns me into a 99% waterproof cyclist (I’m still thinking about the helmet cover, but they just look so silly)! Rain protection for my shoes are part of my gear though :-)!

Another 'Maberly' I like. This could be the off road version of Barry :-) ! See more if you like: facebook.com/GuyMaberlyArt

I expected it to be just as easy getting around Melbourne on a bike as it was in Brighton because I was told Melbourne was really good for cycling. Well, I’m not sure if whoever said that has been to England, or even Germany where there’s an actual system for bikes in place and where trucks go on different types of roads. We call them Autobahn or motorway. Here it’s all one!

My first try riding Barry to work was probably one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. I had to cross over three lanes to turn right. The moment I made it the lights turned red. I had to wait on an uphill road and Barry has only got one gear!

I wasn’t that impressed when this massive truck pulled over behind me waiting for the same lights. I gave everything starting off quickly on that hill and the big truck overtook me while I was turning into the road. I closed my eyes for a second but I think they must have seen me as I’m still alive today!

I think I should add that I was staying out west in a suburb called ‘Sunshine’ at the time. All that’s there are big roads, a lot of cars and trucks as it’s quite industrial. When I visited my friend in St. Kilda I saw heaps of cyclists in fancy outfits following pretty cycling paths all over the place. Therefore my experience might only be what you get in Sunshine.

However, at first I didn’t realise how big Melbourne is with all its suburbs and different areas! It’s not like Brighton where you can just cycle from one end to the other in under an hour. This is a bit like getting around between London and Eastbourne if that makes sense :-).

Also, I still had no idea where I was going and how to get to places. I used my brand new ‘iFriend’ to get me around more cycle friendly areas (that still means big roads with several lanes and cars passing fast and very close to us). It wasn’t that easy though as I had to stop constantly to get the phone out to see where I am.

One day I wrote a little bit of a frustrated email to my friend Bryn and told him about my new love Barry but also how disappointed I was that cycling didn’t make things easier in a bit city like this. I usually talk to Bryn if there is anything bike related I’d like to share.

The reason is that I know Bryn likes bikes so much that he designs and sells cycling equipment. I didn’t even think of that when I wrote the email but he must have had the feeling that Barry and I needed some help :-). Get this, he sent a present from the UK all the way here!

Barry and I were very excited when it arrived! It was full of goodies that changed our lives :-)! We received a handle bar bag with room for my ‘iFriend’. I can see the screen through it to follow my route plus I’m able to wear my head phones for the American lady to tell me when to turn. That wasn’t everything though. We also got a really cool gel saddle cover as I’d mentioned the rough saddle too! I didn’t even know those existed!

Thanks so much Bryn :-)! Also my lovely readers, if you should happen to be into cycling and don’t already know what cool accessories are out there, why not look up what great work Bryn has done on that :-).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_so_1?rh=n%3A318949011%2Ck%3ABTR%2Cp_89%3ABTR&keywords=BTR&ie=UTF8&qid=1433943934

Now my new everyday life with Barry is like this: We cycle pretty much everywhere and I’m as comfortable as being on him as in an arm chair. Even to work. We use trains for further distances but are left with enough cycling opportunities after that. Flemington where I live now surprised us with nice cycling paths that connect different parts around North Melbourne with no highways involved.

The link to dancing is that we make it to classes this way now, which also means I don’t need to worry as much anymore about missing the last tram :-). The only slight problem is that we can only go where Barry can come inside as I can’t afford a lock at the moment, but we’ll get that sorted soon too :-).

Keds

Here’s some nice little info I picked up during one of my chats on the door shift at the Melbourne Swing Festival.

I always wondered why most people in classes and swing events wear the exact same trendy looking shoes (in different colours, but still).

I noticed it first back in England together with a friend who knew those type of shoes were called ‘Keds’ but neither of us had the answer as to how come so many people wore them.

However, after thinking about it I came up with my own answer that this type of shoe must be super comfy and also have the perfect sole for dancing.

Then at some point I saw a girl put on some duct tape on the soles of her shoes and she explained to me that it made them more slippery for the dance floor. What a cool idea!

From that moment on I wondered whether that was a secret thing all dancers do behind closed doors as I never saw anybody doing it so openly in front of me again.

The real story was revealed to me by my lovely shift mate who I randomly share my thoughts with. It is indeed a trend …

Keds shoes are part of the Converse family and it might be the case they sponsored the Swing Patrol London. A new special collection will be released soon providing funky models with crazy patterns (can’t wait).

Also, dancers do indeed tape their shoes. I was told about one dancer that is very specific with the type of tape she uses for the perfect feeling on the dance floor. She always gets it from a little convenience store near her place and wouldn’t use any other.

While watching one of the workshops at the festival I focused on people’s feet a lot (you’re not supposed to normally) and I noticed a tiny little bit of tape sticking out from under a KED. Aha!! Cool on the outside but perfection underneath J! I have to say, I really want some now too!

The Painting

If I add up all the hours I was wearing my favourite blue dancing dress it'd probably be weeks but half of it wasn’t actually me dancing in it. One of my closest Brighton friends Guy asked me to sit for him as a model for a painting. I agreed and was very excited about it as I’d never done anything like it before.

You'd think that sitting down not having anything to do would be an easy job and a favour you'd happily do for anybody but that's not quite true. After only half an hour sitting on the narrow window sill not being able to move, it felt like the hardest thing ever for different reasons.

Firstly, my eyes have never felt so heavy and I had to work really hard to stop them shutting. Not even trying to do some dancing in my head helped much :-(.

Secondly, I experienced something quite new to me: Boredom. I never get bored usually. I like chilling out somewhere, thinking about stuff or watching a movie. Even my 22 hour flight to Melbourne didn't feel long enough as I couldn’t finish one of the films I was watching! It must be the unrelaxed sitting I guess.

Thirdly, sitting still is hard! I really thought sitting still for a bit shouldn't be too bad but it feels very different if you aren’t allowed to move at all. I started feeling itchy a lot. Sitting relaxed on a cosy couch or on a plane is a different story!

I got the feeling I might not have been the easiest model. I needed a lot of toilet breaks, tea and chocolate breaks, as well as normal breaks, in which I would stop fighting my eye lids and have some power naps. I felt more exhausted after Guy had left my place than I did after a day at work.

On the upside Guy always made sure I wouldn’t be hungry during those sessions and never came round without food and always prepared a yummy lunch :-).

The other cool thing was to see the painting developing …
There was a little mirror on the wall I could see out of the corner of my eye and I was able to watch Guy secretly, which was a good way to distract myself from wanting to move so badly.

Painter and model went through different seasons doing those sessions. That meant we had to adjust the times of the sessions to catch the daylight. In the winter we needed a hot water bottle behind my back, so I wouldn't get too cold leaning against the glass, whereas in the summer we had to be done before the sun was shining on the window and heated it up too much. Also, Guy wasn’t that impressed with the owners from one of the houses in the background when they put up some scaffolding!

I haven't counted how many hours and days our project took in total but it felt like a long time. It was definitely worth it though and I'll be forevermore, the girl in the polka dot dress, in a bona fide Maberly painting.

If you want to see more of Guy's art, have a look at his website:

facebook.com/GuyMaberlyArt

http://guymaberly.tumblr.com/
http://twitter.com/GuyMaberly

The Birthday Girl Idea

I developed the 'birthday girl idea' as part of my mental preparation for the Aussie adventure. I was planning on meeting lovely people and making new friends through dancing while being out there all by myself.

However, I was quite worried I might end up standing in the corner of a dance floor alone not being seen or danced with. That idea came from my first experience dancing away from home. A little group of us Brighton dancers got some tickets to the Swing Patrol Christmas Ball in London (2014).

I was very excited about that and just blown away by the venue. The ball took place in a spacious tent with beautiful lighting, two dance floors, bars and stunning Christmas decoration. It was so impressive that it made me feel very small as I was only used to dancing upstairs in cosy pubs. I had a couple of warm up dances with some of my friends but they were all more experienced than me and disappeared sooner or later onto the dance floor to explore new dancers.

I looked around and everyone was dressed so smart or beautifully and all I could see was very experienced dancers everywhere. Now and then one of my friends popped back to the table and encouraged me with the words: “Come on! Go and ask somebody! That's how it works :-)!”

Easier said than done!

I looked around and tried to spot somebody who was not on the way to the busy dance floor, in deep conversation with someone or sitting on a chair looking rather relaxed.

There weren't many good set ups like that around but there he was! A lead standing by the dance floor all alone, looking very much in dancing mood, even bouncing slightly to the music. I pushed myself as hard as I could and started walking towards him. One … two … three steps … almost there when out of nowhere this stylish looking follower popped up right next to him on the other side.

He turned around to her, nodded and they made their way to the dance floor. To avoid being caught coming from the other side, I sheepishly turned around as quickly as possible and headed back to the safe table pretending I had forgotten my drink!

Despite that ‘setback’, I still had a really good night and loved the Swing Patrol performances as well (I made it a plan then to look them up as soon as I’d get to Melbourne), but I wasn't very impressed with myself by the way I’d handled the ‘finding a dance situation’. To be fair, I was offered a dance twice, collected one compliment about my dress and did manage to grab that very same lead for a dance after all. However, this can't really be called smooth!

So I came up with the ‘birthday girl idea’. A badge! That’s it! Saying: “It’s my birthday, please dance with me!”

If I stood in a corner alone wearing that, there was no way people wouldn't notice! Somebody would come up to me to wish a happy birthday and ask for a dance! Good plan in case I didn't manage to leave the corner ;-).

When the badge eventually arrived I couldn't believe it. I can't remember what it was called when I ordered it but it was the size above ‘huge’ as I didn’t want it to be too small. Well, that’s exactly what it was … the size above huge!
Anyone from a kilometer away could have
easily read it!

Of course I then couldn't figure out where to attach the badge and still be able to still dance comfortably … not so easy for a girl ;-)) ... so I decided against taking it in the end and before I left Brighton I left it as a present for a special friend to guarantee him the birthday dance I wouldn't be able to provide.

In the end I almost managed to get a smaller version of a birthday badge. My lovely Kiwi friend designed one especially to go with that one dress I took travelling. He ordered it in New Zealand from the States and it was sent to Aussie for me (wow! modern day technology J!) Unfortunately it got a little delayed and I also never found some social dancing on my actual birthday. Therefore I’ll keep it safe for next year.

Read more about how you'd never need such badge going social dancing in Melbourne :-).