Australian Cultural Evening 2003

Multiculturalism, Vegemite, and Dancing at our Biggest Turnout Ever

Start  |  Elephant and Castle  |  Owl and Thistle  |  Pioneer Square  |  Roll of Honour

Without doubt, the crowning glory of the WinWriters conference was once again the very unofficial Australian Cultural Evening. Unfortunately, we only had one genuine Australian yet again, but that lacking (and the presence of three New Zealanders too many) was made up for by the sheer numbers this year. Forty-two revellers were honorary Australians for the night, our highest turnout ever! This volume caused considerable fright at the institutions we visited. There was an excellent multicultural feel to the cultural evening, with Australians from Germany, Denmark, Canada, the UK, USA (of course), and the Netherlands, as well as the aforementioned annoying Kiwis, taking part. There was plenty of Vegemite to go round, thanks to the new Vegemite Handy Travel Packs, and we all agreed that too much culture is never enough. We succeeded in getting locked out of one bar (the Hotel Seattle), thrown out of at least one other (the Owl and Thistle), and pilfering decor from yet another (the now famous Pioneer Square Tavern). The night ended in the wee hours of the morning with some spirited dancing at a bar whose name no-one can remember. There were still twenty of us standing when we were finally kicked out, and we all successfully made the long walk back uphill to the Sheraton.


The congregation point was the bar in the lobby at the Sheraton. The Australian flag ensured everyone felt at home.


Shutter your windows and lock your doors - here comes the Australians in search of a pub.

The evening started as usual in the bar in the Sheraton. A few lost souls were stupidly thinking that we might be assembling near the door to the lobby, rather than in the lobby bar, but they soon located the Australian flag and the dozens of already loud revellers. Edwin van den Dungen stunned the assembled throng by paying for the drinks on behalf of Scriptware's LinKit! product. (Future drink sponsors please note the gratitude and undying devotion that buying drinks brings.) After draining Edwin's drinks, it was time to head for the Elephant and Castle, just a block away.

The Elephant and Castle


First stop after the Sheraton was the Elephant and Castle. Here's a casual shot of us (courtesy Bob Chapman) looking so smooth. 


At the Elephant and Castle, spirited pool was played and filling food was eaten.

The Elephant and Castle were a bit surprised at our number, and were a bit slow with the drinks at first. They did know, though, that they should lock us away in a 'special' area, where the damage could be limited. We sensibly decided to get the eating part of the evening out of the way, so we all ordered hearty meals. (Tony's never arrived, so he had to eat the scraps and leftovers.) Tony, with the assistance of the New Zealand delegation, had brought along provisions of Vegemite, the world's richest source of Vitamin B. The revellers without exception took the opportunity to enjoy some Vegemite with their fish and chips, and all agreed that Vegemite is the tastiest and healthiest foodstuff on the planet.

Some German, European and Australian flags were carefully applied to various static and moving objects within the Elephant and Castle. Some vigorous pool playing was also enjoyed by the more energetic amongst us, but there was no dancing on the tables at this point. With precision timing, we bade farewell to the Elephant and Castle, and headed off towards the closest bar at the Hotel Seattle.


Sue Heim casually applies the first of our Australian flag stickers to unsuspecting waiter Lee.


Unfortunately, the flag has been placed upside down, which is appropriately the international signal of distress.


With bellies full and heads empty, the throng follows Julie and the Australian flag in search of our next stop, the Hotel Seattle.




Unfortunately, this is all we got to see of the Hotel Seattle. We arrived there at least 90 minutes before they closed. Maybe they were tipped off, or heard us coming down the street?

The Owl and Thistle

As the Hotel Seattle seemed to have prematurely closed (despite an earlier phone call to check that they would be open), we proceeded happily for many blocks until we reached the Owl and Thistle. This Irish-style pub was located in a suitably dark and dingy lane. The moment we arrived, the angry bouncer gave us grief. He demanded to see everyone's identification, as he couldn't seem to believe that anyone of us could possibly be over 21. (Told you it was a dark street.) Once inside, the arrival of a large group of Australians caused a sudden exodus of the existing clientele looking for a quiet drink. The grumpy waitress was a feature of this stop. There was no dancing on tables. The bouncer eventually agreed to throw us out, and we only had a short distance to travel in the Seattle drizzle to reach our next destination, the Pioneer Square Tavern.


Representatives of four Help Authoring Tool vendors prove that drink conquers all. "Mate, you're the best mate a mate could have." "I love you, mate." "Give me a hug, you big dag." "Mateship transcends love, mate." Stefan Olson (Hypertext Studio), Mike Hamilton (eHelp), Paul Trotter (AuthorIT), and Andrew VanConas (WebWorks).


The Owl and Thistle was swamped with the Aussie revellers. A few stragglers, including Scott Deloach and Julie Brock, caught up with us at this point, boosting our numbers. A very grumpy waitress couldn't dampen the spirits of the revellers. But after a Guinness or two, it was time to hit the road.


The scary bouncer found out that someone had been sticking Australian flags to his chest (see inset), and it was payback time. Kimberley and Sandi were first to feel his wrath.


But within seconds, their Australian accents had won over the fierce bouncer, and he just couldn't put those girls down. 

Pioneer Square

After picking ourselves off the ground and shouting the last few insults to the angry bouncer with the bad haircut, we were off down an even darker lane to find the now famous Pioneer Square Saloon. 


And there it was! The now famous Pioneer Square Saloon. It was even darker than this picture shows.


Darts sharps Heidi and Janine take aim on their way to winning $245 from their unsuspecting victims. Both Heidi and Janine were on an early morning flight to the World Darts Championships in Tokyo.

 

The above (Ray, Tony, Julie, Paul and Scott) relived old memories as they posed in the same spot that they were in a year ago. Soon after, the Peep Show poster disappeared in mysterious circumstances.


Adrian, trying not to be an asshole (that's what it said on her shirt), proves she can smoke, shoot pool and look smooth at the same time. This photo would look great on her CV.


Heather did her best to pick up some of the regulars at the bar, but her 'come hither' look just didn't cut it with the fellas.


So she reverted to the old handstand routine, and that sure attracted everyone's attention. At least she wasn't dancing on the tables.

The barman was starting to get edgy, particularly when Heather's gymnastics got out of hand. Hannes' English was getting better and better. Scott Deloach was getting excited because he had 'found' an autographed Sea Gals cheerleader poster. Jim was yearning for a karaoke bar. It was time to move on... but to where? At this point, disaster struck, as confusion about our next stop led to chaos. Some revellers ended up in the smelly J & M Cardroom, a fond stopoff from previous Cultural Evenings. But alas, there was no music there. Other revellers stumbled into a disco and started dancing the tango. Finally, lack of common sense kicked in, and we regrouped at a bar that no-one can remember the name of. It had an annoying spruiker on the door (a friend of Sandi from Alaska, it turned out), a live band, and a friendly barmaid. There was time for a few more drinks, some frivolity, and some dancing. Kimberley was a reluctant dancer at first, but became a convert to the ancient Australian art of combat dancing. But the camera was rapidly running out of photos, although there was still an abundance of Australian and German flags.


At last, some dancing on the tables. Tony shows off his pretty white shoes and stifles a yawn from Julie. Meanwhile, Michael, Scott and another Julie watch in stunned amazement while wishing they had chosen to sit at another table.


Flags started appearing in all sorts of places, including inaccessible locations down the cleavage of barmaids. Jamie and Scott must know how it got there. The waitress also has a koala, so she can't be happier.

And a flag mysteriously appeared on Chris's neck. I think this was a stick-on flag... or was this photo after the visit to the tattoo shop?

At a little after 2 am, we were finally cast out into the damp Seattle night. The long trudge uphill to the hotel was without major incident. And all too soon, the 2003 Cultural Evening drew to a close. Another successful event, full of happiness, harmony, multiculturalism, intellectual discourse, love and peace. Well done, Aussies.


Waving the flag till the end.

Roll of Honour

  1. Edwin van den Dungen, Netherlands
  2. Kristen Kralick, USA
  3. Evanne Hunt, USA
  4. Julie Newcome, USA
  5. Dave Gash, USA
  6. Michelle Cohen, USA
  7. Lieselottle Knoth-Weber, Germany
  8. Hannes Knoth-Weber, Germany
  9. Heidi Berg Frederiksen, Denmark
  10. Janine Lutz, USA
  11. Kathy Wyrwas, USA
  12. Tom Beverly, USA
  13. Vicky Marshall-Blair, USA
  14. Kimberley Nolder, USA
  15. Heather Israel, USA
  16. Michael Fiala, USA
  17. C Kruz, USA (Chris, is that you?)
  18. Sandi Tersteeg, Alaska, USA
  19. Jim Oyler, USA
  20. Robert Meijer, Netherlands
  21. Ian Johns, USA
  22. Debi Lane, USA
  23. Steve Shepard
  24. Paul Trotter, New Zealand
  25. Tasha Wade, USA Out of Africa
  26. Sean Brierley, USA
  27. Don Lammers, USA
  28. Rob Chapman, USA (but knew the Australian National Anthem)
  29. Mike Hamilton, USA
  30. Adrian Blagg, USA
  31. Andrew VanConas, USA
  32. Sharon Rowley, USA
  33. John Rowley, USA
  34. Jamie Roberts, Canada
  35. Ray Duncan, New Zealand
  36. Sue Heim, USA
  37. Stefan Olson, New Zealand
  38. Scott Boggan, USA
  39. Matthew Ellison, UK
  40. Michael Eagleson, USA
  41. Scott Deloach, USA
  42. Julie Brock, USA
  43. Tony Self, Australia

Corrections

If you find any errors in identification of revellers, or missing names, or any other thing that needs correcting, please e-mail Tony so that the problem can be fixed! Sorry for any inadvertent omissions or exceptions!

More?

Haven't seen enough? Still hungry for more memories? Kathy Wyrwas's photos have also come in. Take a look and you might see yourself!

And Vicky Marshall-Blair has sent in three more photos. 

And Bob Chapman has sent in even more photos. Keep 'em coming!

Did you also take photos on the night, and would like to share them with the rest of the revellers? Then send 'em to Tony right away, and I'll add them to the site.

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