From Peceli
There was a big bang of half a million fire balls of crackers in the heart of the City of MELBOURNE just after midnight to bring in the yar 2010. What a waste?
Happy new Year to you all !!!!
This last year 2009 will be long remembered to us all.
From today’s Herald Sun:
Storms ushes in 2010 A SPECTACULAR fireworks show soaring from the tops of Melbourne skyscrapers made it all worthwhile for those who braved soaking rain, lightning and thunder to usher in 2010.
At one stage Mother Nature, with booming cracks of thunder and lightning, threatened to dwarf the man-made extravaganza, but like all things showbusiness, the show went on.
The anticipated 500,000 crowd for Melbourne's New Year's Eve celebrations did not eventuate because of the drenching rain that arrived with a cool change in the city just after 9pm (AEDT).
Organisers estimated 150,000 hardy souls ventured into the city for the fireworks and they received glowing praise from Lord Mayor Robert Doyle.
"The fireworks were not as mighty as they might have been on a clear night, but the crowd showed the resilience of Melbourne people," Mr Doyle said. He promised next year's show would be bigger and better.
The question I ask is how are we going to use the next twelve months. To spend unwisely like the big bang fireworks going up in smoke, or are we to think about what we do with our time and resources. To be a bit wiser.
Here are some photos taken last night at the Fijian celebration of the New Year. We went to Chadstone Uniting Church.
May God bless you in this New Year.
and from Wendy, (later - Friday)
A few more photos are here, taken last night at Chadstone Uniting Church for the vakatawase celebration. There were seven preachers last night and a few choirs singing, then we ate a nice supper and kava was flowing. I talked with several interesting people - some have been in Melbourne many years, but others are newer - only two years and one lovely woman only a few months. It's always good to talk one-to-one. We got home at 4 a.m. - a late night for two people who had got married on New Year's Eve, December 31st 1966 at Lautoka!
And a Happy New Year to you both, Wendy and Peceli, with appreciation for this excellent post, to which you devote much care and loloma. Fireworks in Sydney were also quite an expensive dazzle. Our new Lady Premier justified the cost as bringing $150 million into the state, much of that I would imagine in the rip-off prices that are charged in hotels on New Years Eve.
ReplyDeleteSome news that may interest you and your readers: We received a Christmas letter from our long-time colleagues in academic study -Padma and Brij Lal (Prof). Brij Lal(of ANU) will "test" the regime's expulsion of him (which the Fiji government claim was not an expulsion) when he attempts to enter Fiji later this year(2010) to launch his book on Jai Ram Reddy.
Hello Andrew and a Happy New Year to you and your family also. About Brij Lal, he's from Labasa of course and I admire his writing.
ReplyDeleteWendy