TRAVEL DIARY

A weblog regularly updated by Jodi Rose.

Saturday, May 1, 2004

1:05 PM
Posted by jodi rose

Brisbane ABC, Toowong, Brisbane

Visited the Indooroopilly Bridge yesterday, to get a feel for her and made some recordings along the walkway. What looks like cables in the photos are actually flat steel supports - the only cables are from behind the pylons over the top and then form the suspension curve along the top. Funny how an image of something gives you a completely false notion of it - the reality is far more bizarre. Many reports of people living in the bridge, and I have the phone number of those on the graceville side, which looks deserted. The Indooroopilly side I believe is inhabited by a member of the Gray family (found awebsite with family history, describing 'grandad' who was a toll collector on the bridge and now if you see washing hanging out on the line, it belongs to him) and rang the bell but he told me 'we don't do interviews.' Fair enough, it would get a bit annoying having strangers wanting to talk with you all the time about where you lived.
Wrote my first fictional narrative character based on imagining the life of the man who lives on the bridge - bears no relation to anyone, alive or dead. Sitting in the Brisbane ABC cafeteria - shockin' food, amazing view - looking out over the river and did a writing exercise for 20 minutes. Learning about self-discpline. It's never too late to start :)

This is written in my brand new weblog, courtesy of Jonathon, and if I had a digital camera or phone here, could upload pictures of it. Maybe can borrow one from Greg tomorrow - one of the organisers of small black box experimental music every month in the institute of modern art here, went along on sunday night, performances from the very serious australysis with sandy evans and jim denley improvising on sax and various horn instruments and MAX sound manipulations projected on the wall, to the silliest sound art gig ever, beanbag music from the gold coast - lounge music for people who can't afford lounges - which involved 3 people hidden behind the wall spinning vinyl in a cacophony of retro challenges, and a beanbag thrown into the mix which livened things up immensely.
Now off to interview historian Colin O'Connor, who has written many books on bridges of australia, and is now working on one about stone bridges around the world.

Loving being mobile, out and about in the world - it certainly breaks up the routine. What routine, you ask? well indeed. a railway station in helsinki one week, cathedral in barcelona the next, and a river in brisbane today. That's a life I can get used to....