By the way...

Most of you probably thought I had disappeared off the face of the planet with the complete lack of blog updates over the last couple of months. 

Quietly, I have been preparing for the live Sydney Festival blog which I am writing for the Daily Telegraph and launched on Saturday.

There's been some technical problems which are slowly being ironed out with me re-uploading a whole heap of entries and images.

But we are getting there - so if you get the chance, check it out by CLICKING HERE. 

I am now even experimenting by using video in some of the posts to try and capture the mood of the festival - especially when I am surrounded by your average punter - such as last night ...

For what it's worth my picks for the festival are No Dice, Lipsynch, The Pianist, The Nargun and the Stars, the Cinematic Orchestra, Ivanov, The Swell Season and the FBi Night with Four Tet.

As a few of my Melbourne friends have acknowledged, our little summer festival in Sydney is a breath of fresh air to the Melbourne version which is all indoorsy. Hence the great music, outdoor events and general popular revelry. It's a delicious time of year to be here.

The Sydney Theatre Critics Awards are also on Monday night. It should be another lovely night to catch up, share notes and get ready for another year of theatre shenanigans. I'll be there of course, but will be heading off early to catch some Kosky madness with The Tell-Tale Heart at Carriageworks. 

Until then, I'll see you on the other side of the festival when we all come back down to earth.