Girly Sue

I went for a manicure the other day, don't ask me why, because frankly, I don't know !! I just suddenly had a very strong urge to have one. I got there and then was talked into having a pedicure as well !! I'd come this far - "what the hell" I thought so off she went, trimming, cleaning, buffing, polishing, painting - toes AND fingers.
It was quite a fun hour or so until I realised that I couldn't put my shoes and socks back on until my toes dried !! Well how was I supposed to know? It was my first time...
"How do others get around this?" I asked innocently.

"oh" replied the young beautician "well most of the ladies have cars or others sit around and drink tea for 1/2 hour while they dry". Knowing that I was already pushing it by taking an extended lunch hour and faced with a 15 minute walk up a flight of stairs, under a railway bridge and across a few busy streets - my face must have conveyed my absolute terror.

"We do have some disposbale flip flops you are most welcome to borrow" she added helpfully. I immediately relaxed and after getting her to help me get my money out of my purse (well I didn't want to ruin my new beautiful nails now did I?") I set off , shoes in hand, disposable flip flops on my feet and it was all going well...until it started RAINING !!!

The flip flops were made of foam, which doesn't bode well with the oily streets of London at the best of times, let alone when there were puddles forming. It was a perilious journey - I nearly died twice and I actually almost cried, but I got there in the end - sat down in my edit suite, took this photo and thought "that looks quite nice actually !!".
I'm not sure I'll ever have another, but it was worth it !!

WARNING: Grabby Machines Are Dangerous !!!

I must say I laughed out loud when I saw this picture in the paper last week. A 3 year old boy somehow got stuck in one of those grabby machines (not their official name) where you put in your life savings and if you're very lucky - after about 3 hours you get a small fluffy toy worth abuot a quid !!!

I was seriously addicted to them as a kid and (until Mum made me throw my collection) had the toys to prove it. Brother Duncan is also rather partial to them...he put in a good effort in Blackpool a couple of years ago and succeeded in winning both Lib & I prizes...

I wonder if they gave the poor kid a toy as a consolation prize?

Allo Allo Allo...

I had to go out and film some new reconstuctions for my Masons show the other day. One of the biggest conspiracy theories surrounding the Freemasons for the last 100 years or so is that Jack the Ripper was a Mason* himself so we had to shoot a reconstruction showing that. There was talk of a police cover up at the time so we took ourselves off to a London alley & started filming.
We got lots of funny looks, but I guess you should expect that if you are going to take to the streets with fake blood, a knife, a man in a policeman's uniform and start graffiting walls with chalk !!

I couldn't resist trying it on myself !! Officer Sue at your service...
* you'll have to watch the show to find out if he is or not !!!

Health & Safety...

You expect some dangers to come with any job.

My job may have more than most - the chance of a light dropping on your head during a shoot, tripping over a cable, drowning whilst filming at the Underwater Hotel, getting shot whilst filming with gang members, receiving abuse from irate family members, being eaten by cannibals etc etc - just the run of the mill sorta stuff !!

What I didn't expect was for my edit suite to be taken over my wasps !!! And here is the proof -
luckily I'm not allergic - am I mum?

My mate Claire...

My mate Claire has gone back to Australia for a while and I miss her very much :-(

Here we are having dinner together with our matching dinner trays on the Bever couch - baked beans on toast - nice...

I was doing some tidying the other day and I decided to create this very special collection in the study... I was at a party on Saturday night with some of Claires other mates and I suddenly decided it would be a wonderful idea to call and chat to her. We sorta forgot about the time difference so I'm not sure if she particularly liked being woken, but I hope she liked hearing our drunken voices!!

See you soon Meechy...

The Blowing of One's Own Trumpet...

I realise it's a bit sad to blow your own trumpet, but that's never stopped me before ! Besides if you can't do it with family and friends, where can you !! My old university wrote this article about me...noone else is gonna read it, so I thought I'd share it here...

The secrets of killers

When little Sue McGregor was 12 years old running around with a video camera making movies in the backyard with her mates, she never dreamt she would produce and direct a documentary series on serial killers.

The Griffith University graduate loves meeting and telling the stories of a wide variety of people from killers and cannibals to ex-Prime Ministers, celebrities and everyday people with a good yarn.

Sue's first project straight out of university was working on a 26 part sitcom called Flotsam and Jetsam. “My role was ‘wardrobe assistant’ which basically meant I was ironing clothes for 16 hours a day for six months in a non-airconditioned bus in the middle of an Australian summer.
“My degree taught me to always be prepared for any task”.

Sue said that the best film she ever made was about organ donors. “It was emotionally a very draining film to make as one of my interviewees died (whilst waiting for a heart and lung transplant) during the making of the film,” she said.

“It was also one of the most meaningful. At the end of the show we flashed up a number that people could call if they wanted to join the organ donor register. Ten thousand people called within an hour of the show airing and that was a really amazing feeling”.

One in a series of Sue’s recent documentaries – Born To Kill – profiling serial killer Ivan Milat aired in July on Network Seven in Australia.

Sue graduated from Griffith with a BA in screen production in 1996. It was in her second year when she studied short film and documentary she realised where her passion lay.

“My time at Griffith was an extremely happy one,” she said. “I was encouraged to push the boundaries and was lucky enough to work with some amazing people and together we created some interesting and entertaining films.”

Former lecturer Trish FitzSimons said Sue was a very keen and competent student. “I have watched her progress from researcher to associate producer to director and in tracing the projects she has worked on it is possible to think about the ways that the documentary form has shifted across an era where television has been its primary way of reaching an audience.

“I'm proud of her achievements and tenacity and very glad that she keeps in touch with both her lecturers and other students that she studied with”.

Sue’s work predominately includes hour-long programs covering all genres. She has made shows for BBC1, BBC2, Channel 4, Five. Living, Sky One, Bravo, Animal Planet, Nine, Seven, Network Ten and SBS in Australia.

Sue is now living and working as a documentary filmmaker in London. Watch out for her next documentary on the secrets of the Freemasons.

Scrapping Scrapping Scrapping...

My mate Ang is very into scrapbooking - she even teaches it ! I think it's time to introduce you all to the world of scrapping so, here a few of her favourite layouts...I think they are great... And whilst I'm nicking things from her blog - he's a little story about her adorable son Joseph...

We took the kids to the Eumundi markets. They were given $10 each to spend at their will. They looked at all the stalls and made their choices. Jose picked a paint set for $6. He then spied a model car shop (Heaven for him!) and went to see if he could get something for $4. The man showed him every car he could afford, but Jose turned him down.

"Do you have any BMW?" he asks.

"I can give you this one for $4" says the man (ticket price says $5.50. "but it is a bargain!"

"That's not a bargain!"shouts Jose in his little trademark foghorn..."that's a BMW!!!"

It's Not Solid...

The Gorgeous Isla attempting to eat solids for the first time...

Inside the Freemasons..

I'm working on a series about the Freemasons at the moment so spent the day a couple of weeks ago filming in the Grand Lodge which is right in the heart of central London. I've always been fascinated by the Masons so it was amazing to be allowed access.

There are about 20 lodge rooms there which lodges from all over the UK come in and use.... The Grand Temple was absolutely amazing, there were some of the most beautiful designs I've ever seen... If you can look really really closely, it's all mosaic...

These photos don't do it justice really, but because we are filming on HD (high definition) they will look much better in the show, I hope !!

More of Ma & Pa

My blogger has been misbehaving a bit lately so I wasn't able to add all the photos that I wanted when I wrote that entry about the folks in London...here are some of the other pics I wanted to ad....

Going Underground...

Outside Buck Palace...
Zena and her Australian parents...

With Deborah & the kids on Brighton Beach...

Happy Birthday Mummy...

Keeping In Touch...

It's important to stay in touch when you live on the other side of the world. I talk to Dunk & Tash via MSN & sometimes webcam too....I'd highly recommend getting a webcam if you have friends or family living away from home, it's great. Let me know if any of you invest in one and we can work out a time to catch up. Dunk & Tash's cat Kia likes to get in on the act too...Some more pics for Dunk...

My Good Looking Friends...

I've been catching up with lots of old mates recently and seeing as I talk about them all the time, I thought I'd actually give you some "visuals"...

Emma, Maddy & Naomi...

Sophie, Yael, Mia & Nicola from Zig Zag...

Jax, Jo & Natasha...

Zena, Yvette & Susanna from my good old Edinburgh Festival days....

The Reverse Commute

The new job is going well - the only negative aspect of it is that, for the first time in my 81/2 years of living in London - I have to do a "proper" commute to work !! It's been an interesting (and very tiring) experience so far as it takes about 11/2 each way every day so that is 3 hours of time to kill. I spend it mainly working, reading books or newspapers or texting and chatting to my mates....and taking silly photos on my new camera phone...

The really odd thing about it is that I'm going in the opposite direction of everyone else. So because most people commute into London, I have to weave my way through ridiculous crowds just to get my train...it also means I get a seat, so I guess I shouldn't complain really !

My new office is located in an old bank - we keep our rushes in the safe, to make sure they are, well, safe !

see if you know any of the team

http://www.parthenonentertainment.com/

Just because it's SOOOOOO cool...

My mates Naomi & Richard...

This Week Is Special Because...

..it is Baby Loss Awareness Week over here in the UK. It's purpose is to "raise awareness of the issues surrounding pregnancy loss and infant death, to highlight the support available for bereaved parents and to raise funds for the five participating organisations. " These lovely ribbons are available @ http://www.babyloss-awareness.org/

I'll be wearing mine !So let's take a moment to remember little Kieran Thomas Hughes

and keep Libby & Ian in our thoughts, and in our prayers...

CRIKEY !!

Yes, I know it's a little late, but just wanted to make a brief entry about the loss of Steve Irwin. I was quite shocked when I initially heard the news, seeing as only 3 people had ever died that way in Australia's history ! His death and details of his funeral and everything filled the UK media for weeks after he died. I'd expect that of the US, but wasn't expecing it from the Brits. I know he can be a bit silly at times, but I honestly think he ultimately meant well.

THE CROCODILES ARE CRYING

Endless visions fill my head – this man – as large as life
And instantly my heart mourns for his angels and his wife
Because the way I see Steve Irwin – just put everything aside
It comes back to his family – it comes back to his pride

His animals inclusive – Crikey – light the place with love!
Shine his star with everything he fought to rise above
The crazy-man of Khaki from the day he left the pouch
Living out his dream and in that classic ‘Stevo’ crouch

Exploding forth with character and redefining cheek
It’s one thing to be honoured as a champion unique
It’s one thing to have microphones and spotlight cameras shoved
It’s another to be taken in and genuinely loved

But that was where he had it right – I guess he always knew
From his fathers’ modest reptile park and then Australia Zoo
We cringed at times and shook our heads – but true to natures call
There was something very Irwin in the make up of us all

Yes the more I care to think of it – the more he had it right
If you’re going to make a difference – make it big and make it bright!
Yes - he was a lunatic! Yes - he went head first!
But he made the world feel happy with his energetic burst

A world so large and loyal that it’s hard to comprehend
I doubt we truly count the warmth until life meets an end
To count it now I say a prayer with words of inspiration
May the spotlight shine forever on his dream for conservation

…My daughter broke the news to me – my six year old in tears
It was like she’d just turned old enough to show her honest fears
I tried to make some sense of it but whilst her Dad was trying
His little girl explained it best…she said “The crocodiles are crying”

Their best mate’s up in heaven now – the crocs up there are smiling!
And as sure as flowers, poems and cards and memories are piling
As sure as we’ll continue with the trademarks of his spiel
Of all the tributes worthy – he was rough…but he was real
As sure as ‘Crikey!’ fills the sky
I think we’ll miss ya Steve…goodbye

RUPERT McCALL 2006