Item 31: Notting Hill Carnival

Location: Notting Hill, Chepstow Rd, Westbourne Grove, Ladbroke Grove, W11 1HT

In the pleasant streets surrounding Notting Hill, the sound of the bass calls to you. You follow the crowd and stumble across the beginning of a parade. Extravagant costumes, clever use of body paint and dancers who've got all the moves. Yes, the Carribean party has come to town.

A celebration of culture and diversity, the Notting Hill Carnival is held during the August bank holiday weekend. The parade's route sections off an area containing 38 soundsystems scattered within its boundaries.

Walking around it's hard not to stumble upon a funky sound stage as well as some finger lickin' jerk chicken! Hot hot stuff!

But the fancy stores, with their windows boarded up for the weekend, provide a quick reminder that this is London. And these precautions by the shop owners don't go to waste.

The BBC today reports two stand offs and 330 arrests in total for the event. From it's historical aim of calming race riots in the 60's and 70's, how disappointing to see how little things change.

Item 31: Notting Hill Carnival? CHECK!

Item 30: Way Out West - "way way waaaayy out"

Location: Slottsskogen, Göteborg, Sweden

As a music festival virgin, this was a great weekend introduction to some quality acts during another visit to the Göteborg. It was its second year running and everything was smooth sailing over the three nights and two days. Well done my Swedish friends! With three stages in the park as well as in the clubs in town at night, choice was plentiful. This also meant running shoes between acts would have been handy.

Unlike the famed Glastonbury, there was no camping at the site. Although the muddy marshes from rains during the nights called for wellington boots by some, we got to go home to clean up when the day was over. This, in hand with our lucky emergency ponchos was the perfect recipe for a good time.

As for the artists there was so much to see and it all happened so fast!

The Caesars and Mando Diao represented the host nation with pride.

N.E.R.D had the crowd raise their hands with the Star Trek symbol before getting them to clap and bounce. Yes, Pharrell was there too.

Sigur Ros took us away to a magical place, possibly Iceland, as the sun went down.

The Flaming Lips surfed the crowd in a giant bubble before dancing with the Tellie Tubbies on stage for the rest of the set.

And as a side note, there seemed to be excessive facial hair sported by the majority of the male artists: José González; Wayne Coyne - The Flaming Lips; Sam Beam - Iron & Wine; Nick Cave – Grinderman; and the amazing NEIL YOUNG!

Item 30: Way Out West? CHECK!

Item 29: Visa!!! The Waiting Game

Location: London, United Kingdom

29 June 2008
The UK Boarder Agency made changes for people on working holiday visas:

We have now closed the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme to applications from people who are already in the United Kingdom, so it is no longer possible to stay in this country by switching into this category. The Highly Skilled Migrant Programme has been replaced by Tier 1 (General) of the points-based system. It is not possible to switch into this category if you are here as a working holidaymaker.

20 June 2008
As I had always expected, to prolong good times in London I would be required to get a proper work permit when the Working Holiday Visa expired after a year of work in the UK. However the impending changes at the end of June called for a race against time to get my HSMP application paperwork submitted to the Home Office before the closure date.

Around antipodean circles throughout the country, the confusion and frustration of interpreting new eligibility criteria, new processes to extend the visas of the long-termers over here and for me, a poorly timed trip back to Australia to get the passport stamped is a hot topic. (The old HSMP application followed a two stage process. The first was for approval for the permit in the UK. The second, which changed in February, requires entry clearance to be applied for in your home country).

Visa agencies are milking the changes for all their worth right now. They charge extortionate prices for doing not much except for giving their client's peace of mind, "No visa, no fee".

Waiting periods are estimated at 10-12 weeks before people get any response from the Home Office. Updates on their website regarding their current processing times are not even as promising. My new favourite site has become www.trackitt.com. Providing a community for people to eagerly wait together for outcomes of their application, allowing them to compare dates for the whole process with each other.

But enough with the complaining. We have only Australia to thank. This is after all,

"an Australian style points based system for managing migration"

Item 29: Visa? Waiting....

Item 28: Le Tour Eiffel

Location: Paris, France

Number one on the itinerary for a visit to Paris is the Eiffel Tower. It is iconic and, being the most visited monument in the world, rarely missed.

It was ticked off the list during my first trip to Paris, in more youthful days, whilst travelling on a Eurail ticket across Western Europe and living off the Aussie dollar for a month.

Teasing glimpses of the steel structure, built for the 1889 World Expo, can be seen throughout the city. In the summer weather with perfectly manicured grassland at its feet, the magnetic fields of the radio tower called to me once again.

This time being grossly grossly paid in British pounds (joking), I lived the lavish lifestyle. Ignoring the shorter queue for the 600 stairs to the second platform, I waited 45 minutes and paid the €12 to take the elevator to the top floor. That’s right, sky high!

In temperatures of around 26 degrees the cosy lift of well warmed tourists was luxury as I enjoyed the ascent to the second and third levels for clear landscapes of Paris. Picking out the Notre Dame, Sacré Coeur and the Seine River from the heights confirmed my visit to the cosmopolitan city, "Oui. Je suis à paris!"

Item 28: Le Tour Eiffel? CHECK!

Item 27: Göteborg – A Midsmmers Eve

Location: Göteborg, Sweden

Having travelled on what I vow to be the last 7:30am departure from Stansted Airport the previous weekend for a two day tour of Copenhagen, I made the most of a mid-week recovery period in preparation for Midsummer's in Göteborg, Sweden.

Midsummer's Eve is the big celebration before the summer solstice throughout Europe. With such anticipation, it was only typical for the day to be sprinkled with sporadic moments of rain throughout the day. It was only perfect timing for clouds to start appearing as we watched the maypole being erected in the local park for the flower-garlanded Swedish kids and their parents to dance around in celebration.

Refreshingly, with key thanks to Phil – who’s been seconded to the city for six months - I had the opportunity to immerse a little in the Viking culture.

Anders, Phil’s manager, generously invited the expats in his team along to his home for a traditional Midsummer's Eve meal. The celebration is said to be as big as Christmas, and arguably more so due to the more hospitable Summer weather.

One of the Spanish colleagues, Eduardo, got me all psyched up as the food was set up.

“Are you ready for some baby seal?”

Presented on the kitchen table was our meal of seal and new potatoes. No, it couldn’t have been. They couldn’t possibly be eating seals!

As I hesitantly dished up my plate with the potatoes, I had to confirm with the chef.

“Seal? No. Sill,” said Anders.

A quick conversation between the two Spaniards, Eduardo and Manuel.

“Ah, arenque”. (Translated from Spanish to English ‘herring’).

My stomach began to settle as I chose from the selection of pickled herring.

Obviously for a country that has restrictions on alcohol, for a celebration, our meal was accompanied by a selection of high percentage Swedish schnapps and assorted beer.

And, with more sunlight in which to play, we were introduced to the old Viking game of Kubb. Played in the park, in good weather, very simply the game consisted of two teams taking turns at throwing sticks to knock down the opponents kubbs(small wooden towers), that were set up on the base lines. The King in the centre of the grounds is knocked down at the finale. Think dodge-ball, with wooden sticks and without the people as obstacles.

We called it a draw at one game all and made way for me beer, wine and snacks inside Anders' Swedish home for the rest of the evening.

Item 27: Göteborg? CHECK!

* Many thanks to Anders for his generous hospitality

* Thanks Phil, for watching sun rise at 3:30am with me on mid-summers day :)

Item 26: Wimbledon - Sipping Pimms on Henman Hill

Location: All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon

The tickets for this prestigious event are sold via ballot each year. A limited number of tickets are sold at the grounds daily. Get in quick!

Or if your life is random, you can choose to join the mile long queue outside the All England Lawn Tennis Club for a chance at general admission.

As spectators leave towards the end of the day, people in line gain entry. Before 5pm it will cost £20 and after 5pm it’s £14. The gates close at 8pm and play finishes around 9:30, so as you watch the line shrink you also need to keep an eye on the clock.

Joining the queue that stretches through the golf course, past the fans setting up their tents for early morning tickets for the next day's centre court action and well into the car park, you’re handed a queue card by an official which will save your place should you need to buy refreshments or visit the port-a-loo during the wait.

It is an organised process to ensure there is no queue jumping. With everyone eager to make their 2 hour wait for entry worth the effort, when a lady trips over her Birkenstocks falling face flat onto the temporary non-slip footpath, other spectators will respectfully note, “I’m sorry but we have to keep moving”.

On the approach through the HSBC Hall of Fame and then seeing the golden security gates, the path to enlightenment nears.

Admission provides standing room access to Court 2 and seats in courts 3-19. With the big name players playing on Centre Court and Court 1, the overflow of spectators end up watching them on the big screen at ‘Henman Hill’.

It’s the grassy knoll named after the glory days of British hopeful Tim Henman. As the camera pans over the fans watching the nation’s latest hope - Andrew Murray - the crowd is loud and passionate. A five set win against Richard Gasquet in Round Four, and the cheers erupt from the hill dubbing it, for the moment, the ‘Murray Mound’.

Item 26: Wimbledon? CHECK!

Item 25: Red Bull Flugtag.... A bit of Birdman

Location: Hyde Park, London

June 7 2008, Red Bull Flugtag, (German: flight day, airshow).

There was a ticket ballot to this 80 000 seat free event held at Hyde Park so it was a genius idea to pass through the gates as close to the 10:30am opening time as possible.

As the starting hour of 1pm neared people started packing up their brunch-time picnics, and inched in closer to The Serpentine lake for a decent view of the flying contraptions that were to take off.

Consequently people with the get-in-quick attitude, were standing in prime position to see over the ‘Red Bull gives you wings’ banners the clever Marketing Department had tied up on the temporary fencing along the banks of lake.

That’s when the Mexican Wave of shouts “Sit Down! Sit Down” erupted from behind. The park came to life with aggravated voices of the crowd sitting in the grassy comfort, too far from the lake to see over our heads.

Should those standing at the banks sit, they wouldn’t have been able to see through the advertising. If they remained in position, the view was perfect. So, they stood their ground.

Round two of the “Sit Down” chant began. It was to be a battle of voices. A “Stand Up” cheer contended. Oh you poor 70 000 people unable to see the birdmen.

I do commend the individuals that came to speak to the “Standers” and negotiate a better view for the majority. Facing a crowd of content spectators and trying to get them to lose the best seats in the house is an admirable effort.

But kudos should go to the person who called the cops and got them to walk through the crowd telling them all to sit down. Who can really argue with that? Thanks also to those, who during the scuffles, removed the obstructive banners. Now you’re thinking!

Item 25: Red Bull Flugtag? Check!