My day in Toytown, NSW

SSS has had a very busy day.

Four hours of light duties and only one cup of coffee. 2 painkillers. Uneventful in the extreme, and that's the way I like it.

A pleasant afternoon with a friend at the Archibald exhibition. There are some beautiful paintings on show. The Heath Ledger portrait is amazing but it wasn't really a winner. My friend (a Kiwi) was less than impressed with the Tim Finn portrait. I liked it but it wasn't too remarkable. This doesn't do them justice but you can get an idea of the calibre of the work this year. I particularly liked 'Dad, what a smile' by Roger Boreham. If you live in Sydney or are visiting, do go and have a look. Entry to the gallery is free and a ticket to the exhibition will cost you $8.00. Steer clear of the scalper running the ice cream cart out at the front. Or maybe Paddle Pops really are two dollars.........

The NSW Art Gallery is happily situated in the Domain, Sydney. It's a beautiful public space, well used at lunchtime by groups of runners, Bootcamp style fitness types and pram pushing mums. My friend remarked that she'd never seen it without crowds of people before. It's a familiar location to most Sydneysiders and is host to many an outdoor event, Tropfest, Symphony in the Domain and Carols in the Domain to name a few. Best of all they're free!

As a side note, I met an old friend on the way to the gallery. My jumpy junkie shoeless friend was at the crossing right next to me. Still jumpy, still barefoot. Thin, unshaven, unkempt and apparently freezing cold in the middle of a 26 degree day.

Cue a few hours of aimless wandering in town, a spell of newspaper reading opposite the hospital then upstairs to Medical Imaging to enter The Tunnel of Death for my MRI scan. If you're claustrophobic, kiddies, this isn't the procedure for you. Imagine spending half an hour inside a white tube, the ceiling of which is mere inches from your face. You can't move and have workman style earphones on to protect you from the 'clang clang clang' of the big magnet thingy. Still, I was an excellent patient and I'm told the pictures are good. Hopefully I'll have some news tomorrow.

Home to some average take away Thai and a beer trial. Tonights big question - Which is best, Boags or Cascade? The battle of the Tasmanian brews was basically a no contest. I'm coming out in favour of Boags. Cascade is a bit too gassy for my likings. Besides, I had my first Boags 9 years ago and it's an old favourite. I pity my follow English folk who live in the motherland and have to drink Fosters. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

So......todays entry is a bit like a diary and it's a bit boring but let's face it, there's only about 5 of you reading this anyway!!!!!!!!!!!