Hooray for Hollywood
Start | Lucky Strike | Dublins | Baja Cantina | Saddle Ranch | Power House | Roll of Honour
The WinWriters Conference may have changed its name, but
the Australian Cultural Evening (ACE) tradition was alive and well at the
WritersUA Conference in Hollywood. Unbelievably, the turnout was again our
highest ever, with at least fifty-seven revellers starting the ACE journey on the
30th March (with three of the stupidest ending up in the hotel pool at 2:45 am
on the morning of the 31st).
Undoubtedly, one of the highlights of the evening was Paul Neshamkin's determined ride on the mechanical bull in the Cowboy Bar. Surprisingly, Paul emerged with no broken bones, but a nasty hand injury which he is still trying to explain to his wife. One of the lowlights would be Tony accidentally dropping Julie onto the less than spotless floor of the Power House in an horrific tango accident.
But first things first. The evening started off in the lobby bar of the Renaissance Hotel, the Conference venue. Quite a crowd collected itself; the anticipation of the evening ahead could be tasted in the Bud Lights, the Chablis, the Hefeweizens, the Martinis, and the Jack and Cokes. A bar towel in the form of an Australian flag materialised, identifying us as Aussies for the night.
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After one drink (or two for some), we departed into the night for the very short walk to the Lucky Strike Bowling Alley. For bowling, I hear you ask? No! For eating and drinking!
The Lucky Strike is not a bowling alley in the traditional, bowling alley sense. It is a bit hip, but we managed to fit right in anyway. The waiters were quite startled when we arrived, as they had been hoping for a quiet night. But the gift of a few clip-on koalas soon won them over. Some revellers quaintly thought it might be fun to bowl, and bowl they did. Scott DeLoach had organised for his birthday to be that very day, and the revellers took turns giving him big hugs. Most people wisely chose to eat at this establishment, which got the whole meal thing out of the way, leaving the rest of the night free for responsible drinking.
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 Dana, Sue, Mari and Lore shooting the breeze. They're probably asking when the food's coming! |
 Sharon and Georgette started the night smiling, but both ended the evening a giggling mess. |
 Between bowling frames, Debi and Elisa share a laugh. |
 Scott B and Paul look very worldly. Scott is looking a bit haggard, but you have to remember he was rooming with Tony, and his nerves were shot. |
 Rob, surrounded by girls, thought he'd died and gone to Heaven. Hey Rob, this photo proves it wasn't just another one of those dreams! |
 Kristen strikes a sexy pose, as Kathy, Evanne, Becca's husband Jeremy (hey, he's not on the Roll either), Becca and Laurie look on in shock. |
 Jeff, Char and Mark ham it up for the camera. Some idiot's acting the fool behind them. |
 Jen, Jason and Chris are looking cool. |
 Terry and Angie share a joke. |
 Jason and Adrienne don't seem to notice that the green stuff is escaping from the glass on the table! |
 Andrea scores a strike yet again, while Debi and Elisa look on in disbelief. |
 Waiting for cabs |
The next task, though, was to find enough taxis to take us all down to our next drinking hole on Sunset strip. This involved a boring wait, but the ride in the taxi proved exciting for many. Some tried to enliven the journey by insulting the driver. Joe had a crack at fitting 12 people into his hire car, and his passengers discovered new intimate friendships as a result.
We were still a big crowd by the time the six taxis had dropped us at Dublin's on Sunset Boulevard. Some of the younger revellers had to show ID to get in, including Tony, who used his "Society of Wellingtonians Into Guinness" (SWIG) membership card. Once past the bouncers, we hit the bar. The barman was particularly grumpy, but we soon found there was a second bar. And pool tables. Before long, the conviviality was flowing.
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 Jeff shows off his fancy new hat, while Becky and John look on. |
 Kimberley and Tasha meet Scott and Keith (from the Paradise Hotel reality TV programme) |
 Joe, Paul and Dave discuss whether the lemon in Paul's drink is a bit girlie. |
 Edwin gives the camera "the look". |
 Kimberley and Jen discuss how the ACE has been progressing so far. |
 On the road again, on the way to the Cantina. But first, a quick snap outside the Body Shop. A few of the boys were tempted to sample the entertainment provided by "live girls". |
After an elegant amount of time at Dublin's, and with precision timing, the revellers drained their drinks and asked the bouncers to be thrown out. We had more places to visit...
Our next stop was a Mexican Cantina whose name no-one seems to remember. But Paul from AuthorIT will never forget this place, because this is where he offered to buy a round of drinks, unaware of (a) how many revellers were still aboard, (b) the cost of margueritas, and (c) how thirsty Australians can get. Thanks, Paul! And everyone, remember AuthorIT bought you a marguerita when you are next out shopping for authoring tools!
The toilets in this establishment proved a challenge for many. Scott D was seen in the Senoritas toilet with two girls. Kimberley was temporarily kidnapped by some drinkers in the front room. And a group of Australians became embroiled in a lively and at times heated argument about Ringo Starr's wife. (It was Barbara Bach!)
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 Katy, Jenn and Anne wonder why Scott D and Rob are taking a photo of the waitress. |
 Kathy and Laurie are still fresh as daisies. |
 Michael, Tony, Kim, Ray and Scott B enjoy a ribald joke about goats and gaffer tape. |
 Ah ha! It was dancing that Ray and Julie were doing! |
When everyone had had their fill of the atmosphere and vibe of the Cantina, it was time to move on. Our target was the House of Blues. (Unfortunately, we accidentally left a bunch of people behind, as the precision timing and organisational finesse had long departed by this time. But they caught up with the others a short while later.)
The enormous bouncer with the nose ring and tattoos at the House of Blues was terrified when she saw the mob of Australians approaching, and quickly locked the gates. We decided that any pub that wouldn't let us in was not worth going in, so we rapidly changed direction and headed back towards the "cowboy bar", which apparently was actually called the Saddle Ranch.
The Saddle Ranch was very crowded, but revellers still managed to fight their way to the bar and check out the establishment. An extra Australian from Sydney was discovered in the masses by Kristen, who had been well-behaved all night. In retrospect, it seemed that those of us with cameras almost lost the capacity to use them at this point, as there are very few photos from this stop. However, we are pleased that Paul's brave ride on the mechanical bull was captured in full glory. The entire bar was upstanding and applauding Paul's 69 second ride.
 Paul fearlessly rides the mechanical bull, after having to sign three waivers, two insurance policies, and at least seven drink coasters. |
By the time we were finished with the Saddle Ranch, only the hardy (or foolhardy, to be more accurate) remained. After some almost hailed a police car, we eventually bundled ourselves into taxis to head back towards our starting point at the Renaissance. But the lure of the Power House across the road proved too strong for a number.
Once inside the Power House, a second wind struck. The Power House rocks! OK, admittedly, it is a crack den, and the furniture has been damaged with bullet holes and knife wounds, but the staff are courteous, and they serve beer. Besides, Yvette had found it to be a great pickup bar in the past. It didn't take long before we were singing, head-banging and dancing to AC/DC on the juke box. Curiously, we got told off for not smoking enough. But that's the type of place the Power House is.
 The hardcore crew settle into the salubrious surroundings at the Power House. Mark, Rob, Julie, Scott, Paul, Katy, Scott and Kathy are visible. |
 Oh no! Not again! Last year it was dancing on the tables, but this time they're doing the Tango (the Forbidden Dance) in the Power House. |
 It's 2 am already! The bouncer waves us goodbye, and tells us never to darken his doorway again. Until tomorrow, that is. |
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At a little after 2 am, the barman roared a command for everyone to leave, and reached for his shotgun. We cheerily bid farewell to the staff, and slowly came to the sad realisation that our evening of Australian culture was almost over. With many a tear in many an eye, we trudged forlornly back to our hotel. Another ACE in the hole.
Waving the flag till the end.
But it was not quite over for a few. Fearing that they hadn't been thrown out of enough establishments, the three stupidest Australians went swimming in the hotel pool at 2:45. With pride, they were ordered out by hotel security, thus finishing the night on a high note. The three stupidest? Kristen, Scott D and Katy.
Thanks to Madalyn, Rob M, Kimberley, Rob H and Scott D for the photos.
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! I can't remember everything! (In fact, it's a miracle I can remember anything!)
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. We are in particular looking for photos of Chip, Carol, Matthew, Eric and Aimee, who did not feature in the photos above.
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