Shipping Container Exhibition (and other exciting things at the National Maritime Museum)

Darling Harbour is fast becoming one of my favourite places in Sydney. By far the most exciting part of the area is the Maritime Museum full of walk-on ships, submarines and I kid you not...a free shipping container exhibition comprised of six different themed shipping containers exploring the history of how containerisation changed the world...needless to say, I am now heavily clued up on the history of transporting goods on a global scale!

I can just picture Finn and Bea walking around here before they moved to Erinsborough with Finn coming up with his dastardly plan to get revenge on everybody on Ramsay Street and lock them all in that shipping container in the middle of the bush!

It turns out my Uncle Malcom is the founding father of the shipping container and is indirectly responsible for imprisoning of Susan, Elly and Bea!

Did someone say "pineapples"?

Not only are there shipping containers galore at the Maritime Museum, you can also have a guided tour around a replica of the Endeavour (the ship that Captain Cook sailed sailed away in on his Aussie adventures) AND far more excitingly...a cargo ship called the James Craig, which originally was called the Clan MacLeod.

I definitely think this would have been a much better boat for Hamish and Louise [McLeod] to steal than the broken piece of junk belonging to his ex lover's ex husband! Just think about it, there'd be no engine to restore, he wouldn't have had to come up with a ridiculous and convoluted plot to get his bastard son on side just for it to all backfire and ultimately piss him off so much that he decided to twat him over the head with a gnome AND Louise would have a bell WITH HER NAME ON!!! 

The James Craig, formerly the Clan MacLeod...moored up right next to the [Lou] Carpentaria!

Ding ding, all aboard the Nurse McLeod!

However the actual most exciting thing in the whole museum wasn't remotely Neighbours related at all* (it may come as a shock to you but I do also have other interests) in the form of a temporary exhibition all about James Cameron's love of the ocean which included many props from Titanic! It was very very difficult to walk out of that place without buying my very own Heart of the Ocean in the museum shop but somehow my will power did not let me down which is a relief because the decent quality ones (ie the non plastic ones) were extremely expensive for something I would have eventually felt an overwhelming urge to fling into the ocean at some point in my life.

* I say it has nothing to do with Neighbours but I do know Toadie is quite partial to a bit of Titanic 

Dessine moi comme une de tes filles Françaises! (excuse my terrible Google translation)

Yes, that is the real Heart of the Ocean and other items from Rose's dressing table

There are obviously lots of other exciting things at the museum, both inside the main building and all around the harbour (which is utterly stunning) and I highly recommend checking it out if you're ever in the area. Go to their website for more info.

Yer a Wizard Patrick!

On Tuesday night I managed to combine my love of Neighbours with my love of Harry Potter and the result involved hopping along to the Alex Theatre in St Kilda to see Puffs, a play about the Hufflepuffs that went to Hogwarts at the same time as Harry. But what does this have to do with Neighbours I hear you ask? Well the actor playing Cedric Diggory was infact none other than Rob Mills (or Millsy as everyone calls him round here) who plays Elly's ex, the dastardly Mr Finn Kelly who was so hell bent on becoming the Principal of Erinsborough High that he poisoned Susan by switching her meds with Piper's and then manipulated one of his student's, Xanthe, to fall in love with him so she could do all his dirty work. Then he had an aneurysm and went to jail but he's currently back and brought Elly's long lost sister with him and is pretending to be a paraplegic called Partick in an attempt to somehow win Elly back and I assume poison Susan all over again. Good old Neighbours and their ridiculous plots!

When I got to the theatre I was really impressed at how beautifully decorated the foyer was and at the range of merchandise that was on offer. As a proud Hufflepuff myself, I had to restrain myself from buying everything and I ended up walking away with just a t-shirt and a programme (although I very nearly bought a beanie as well). The auditorium was also vastly decorated with bunting, books, portraits all over the walls (without their subjects standing in them because they were obviously elsewhere or very shy) and two notice boards with amusing notes and posters plastered all over them.

The play itself was really well paced and hilarious and was taylored beautifully to the Australian audience. There were a lot of in jokes taken from both the Harry Potter books and films that they didn't waste time explaining. The overriding message of the play was that some people are destined to be the hero but a lot of people aren't and that you should embrace your mediocrity as long as you try your best which I think is a really lovely message to promote and it was such a perfect celebration of Harry Potter fandom.

As a Brit who has only seen Millsy in Neighbours up until now, I was eager to find out why the Aussies all love him so much (he was in Australian Idol and ever since has become a firm favourite on the telly and on the stage). He played Cedric so well and for the first time in my life I actually warmed to the character as I really can't stand Robert Pattinson...even before he became a shit vampire!

After the show, the whole cast mingled in the foyer afterwards and chatted merrily with the audience. Whilst I was waiting for my friend to come back from an urgent mission to find some abandoned knitting outside, I managed to catch Millsy briefly and gush at him about how much I loved Neighbours and Finn Kelly's dastardly ways.

Two specky gits!

I think everybody on Ramsay Street will concur that he is 100% a Snake!

Puffs is on at the Alex Theatre in St Kilda until the end of July. There is a lot of adult humour in this play but the weekend matinees are suitable for all ages. Go to the website for more details and ticket bookings.