Silvers Circus Giveaway!

I love me a circus, and I happen to think that Silvers Circus is the best one in Australia, hands down.

We had the absolute pleasure of seeing Silvers Circus last year and we loved it. You can read all about that here.

Tickets to see Silvers Circus start at just $20 and you can get them here on their website, or fromt he box office at the tent.

Thanks to Silvers Circus, I have THREE Family Passes to give away. (2 adults and 2 kids, valued at $120 per pass)

You can choose where and when you'd like to see it from any of the performances listed below in Bacchus Marsh, Ballarat, Roxburgh Park or even their upcoming Melbourne season in Richmond!

All you have to do is fill out the form below and tell me in about 25 words why you want to run away and join the circus. The answers that amuse or confuse our judge the most will be the winners!

This will be a quick competition, so that if your preferred venue is Bacchus Marsh you will have time to see it this weekend before they move onto Ballarat!  Open now and closing Thursday at 9pm. Winners will be contacted by email early on Friday!

SILVERS CIRCUS IS HEADING TO A LOCATION NEAR YOU

with all your favourite acts and more!!!

Bacchus Marsh – Rotary Park - Wednesday 11^th – Sunday 15^th May, 2016

Ballarat - Ballarat Showgrounds - Wednesday 18^th – Sunday 29^th May, 2016

Roxburgh – Roxburgh Park - Wednesday 1^st June – Sunday 19^th June, 2016

MELBOURNE SEASON

Burney Oval, Richmond -  Wednesday 22nd June - Sunday 10th July 2016

For more details visit www.silverscircus.com.au

None Bourbon, None Scotch, None Beer

I don't drink.

Well, that's not strictly true. Perhaps I should have said 'I very rarely drink.'

Now, before you go thinking I must be VERY dehydrated, I am talking about drinking alcohol.

Seriously though, I'm pretty much a non drinker. I would probably have alcohol twice in a busy drinking year. If it's a special occasion, or I'm in the mood, or at a swim up bar things might be different.

Swim up bars are my best favourite.

I find people's reactions to this very strange. The things people say to me when they offer me wine and I say I'd just like a glass of water amuse me. They try offering different types of alcohol, they try things like 'Oh go on, one won't hurt you', they tell me this particular bottle is delicious and I simply MUST try it.

What if I was a recovering alcoholic? What if I was on medication and the doctor had advised me to lay off the booze for a bit? What if I was the designated driver that night?

Obviously there is grog in the beer, but mine was just a regular frozen raspberry!

Does this happen with anything else in our society? Can you imagine the uproar if I tried to pressure everyone that came to my house into smoking a cigarette with me? You don't want menthol? I've got regular! 'Oh go on, one won't hurt you!' Try these ones I got in Bali last week, they are strawberry flavoured! People would be MAD.

I used to drink, quite a lot. When I was 18 or so and thought I knew it all, going to the pub on a Saturday night turned into going Friday and Saturday night and before long it was Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. These were the good old days when I would take $20 with me and that was enough to buy me 3 UDL cans of scotch and coke and I would still have enough left over for a beer. I'd then stumble home via the train tracks and get up the next day and do it all again.

This photo contains one husband. And booze.

So, I hear you asking, why don't I drink? There's no one reason for this, but I think some of the things that have contributed to it are as follows:

1. I don't like wine. It isn't sweet enough. (And please don't tell me to try moscato, been there, it's ok if I add lemonade to it, but otherwise, nah)

2. When I should have been learning how to appreciate wine I was discovering liqueurs. Think Midori and Kahlua. Neither of those go very well with food, so if I was out to dinner and my friends ordered wine, I would just have water or soft drink and then at the end of the night when they were ready to move onto the harder stuff, I figured I had managed this long without it, why start at 10pm?

3. Someone has to drive Chyken home.

4. Drinking when you are out is expensive. I would rather spend that money on my beloved cigarettes. Or theatre tickets.

5. I've seen sides of people I know come out when they are drunk that I really don't like. We all know people like that, the angry drunk, or the one that bothers me the most, the depressed drunk. I don't want to be like that. Even though I am assured that I just get louder and slightly more annoying when I drink.

6. I really, really, really, hate hangovers. Like, really. For me, it's just not worth the whole day that gets written off when I get on the turps.

Nope, this one doesn't have alcohol in it either!

I have no problem with you drinking as much as you like. It's just not for me. But... if you have non-drinkers in your life, please try not to hassle them about it. They are adults and can make up their own minds, and you're probably making them feel awkward by harping on about it.


And I don't drink coffee either. But that's a whole other blog post for another day.

Giveaway! Silvers Circus in Mornington and Noble Park!

Silvers Circus is setting up their big top in Mornington and Noble Park and you can win tickets to see them!  Read on to find out how!


Silvers Circus was established in 1976 and provides a top night out for young and old.

Here are just some of the acts you will see under the air conditioned big top!

•    Wheel of Steel. A young man with nerves of Steel, Dominik Gasser will run, jump, skip and flip through a routine of sheer physical ordacity, just as the apparatus he challenges defies description. Its wheels osolate and revolve from group level to dizzying heights. This spectacle will leave you chewing your nails and squirming in your seats! The Wheel of Steel…. (for strong constitutions only!!)

•    The Globe of Death. The world famous Phoenix Riders speed around inside a 3-1/2 meter diameter metal globe on motorbikes, missing each other by mere millimetres.

•    Hoola Hoops.  Up to 80 hoola hoops at once are managed while a balancing act is taking place upon a mobile mirror ball all at the same time

•    Clowns.  Expect the unexpected.  This act is guaranteed to tickle the funny bone

•    The Roman Rings. A very unique act which is performed with extreme strength and elegance. Little girls will be amazed by the beauty and grown men in awe of the control and physicality.

•    Illusionist.  Ringmaster Simon Tait has over 25 years’ experience in circus and will mesmerise the audience with his celebrated illusions and audience repour.

•    NEW – The Bicycle Act - Justin Valise is a professional idiot specializing in stupidity and acrobatics on a bicycle. Trained at the school of hard knocks and inspired by Murphy’s Law i.e. “what can go wrong will go wrong,” Justin has created an act that wrestles with the unexpected and lives up to the challenge, “the show must go on.” With hard work and some measure of good fortune, Justin has managed to combine the theatricality of a modern day fool with the physical skills of an acrobat to create distinctive and engaging entertainment.


I wish the Bicycle Act had been there when I saw this circus in Gisborne, it sounds amazing! You can read my review of that night here!

Tickets start from just $20 and can be booked here: www.silverscircus.com.au 

Silvers Circus is showing at the following places and times:

•    Beta Show Grounds, 1158 Nepean Highway, Mornington        4th to 26th January , 2016
•    Sandown Park Hotel Car Park, Princes Highway, Noble Park        29th January – 21st February, 2016
 

I have three family passes (2 adults and 2 kids valued at $120 each) to give away to shows at both Mornington AND Noble Park!

Tickets for Mornington are for the show at 8pm on Saturday 16th January.

Tickets for Noble Park are for the showat 8pm on Saturday 6th February.

All you need to do is fill out the one of the forms below and tell me in about 25 words why you would like to run away with the circus. The answer that amuses or confuses our judge the most will win! (If you want, you can enter twice, but you are only eligible to win once)

Entries close at 5pm AEDT on Saturday January 9th and the winners will be notified shortly afterwards.

Fill out this form if you want to win tickets to the Mornington show... 


 




Fill out this form if you want to win tickets to the Noble Park show...





Good luck!

Win Tickets To See CATS the Musical!

The winners of the Cats the Musical competition have been decided by our judge... They are Pamela and Marita! Well done and have fun at the show! Thanks to everyone that entered and check back at the blog for more competitions soon!

It's no secret that I love cats. We have four of them, and it is a lot of cat.

Do you know what's almost as good as real cats? People dressed as cats who sing and dance!  It's true!

CATS is one of my very favourite musicals and it is currently on a tour around Australia.  I was so excited that I purchased tickets to see it with my very own money the very day they were released. Then I was contacted by the lovely people at Cavanagh PR who are sending me and Chyken to opening night and have given me some tickets to give away.  Read on to find out how YOU can win some of them!

If you've never seen CATS, well, shame on you! It tends to be one of those musicals that people either love or hate, I am firmly in the love category! Pussycatties AND a musical? What's not to love!?

Basically though, it's based on T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats, it has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and it is set in a junkyard. The performers act like cats, it really is extraordinary to see, they never break character and if you know cats at all I guarantee you will see familiar movements going on.

The Jellicle Cats come out to play on one special night of the year, for the Jellicle Ball! They all have a chance to tell their story to Old Deuteronomy who is their leader and who will choose just one cat to ascend to The Heavyside Layer and be reborn into a new Jellicle life.

The cast includes Delta Goodrem, and although I was initially hesitant when I heard this announced, I have watched a couple of videos since the show started in Sydney, and I think she's great as Grizabella, I'm really looking forward to seeing her. CATS really is an ensemble show though, and although you might not know the names of those that make up the rest of the cast, I bet you've seen them in other shows.

CATS is currently in Sydney and the reviews I've read have been excellent, I'm pumped for it to arrive here in Melbourne!

Sydney, Capitol Theatre from 30 October, 2015
Hobart, Derwent Theatre from 10 December, 2015
Melbourne, Regent Theatre from 18 December, 2015
Brisbane, Lyric Theatre from 29 January, 2016
Adelaide, Festival Centre from 18 March, 2016
Perth, Crown Theatre from 16 April, 2016

Tickets start from $69.90 plus booking fees and all the information you need to buy them can be found by clicking this link!

Buttttttt... Remember I said I had a giveaway?  Well, I do! You can win one of TWO double passes to see CATS the Musical in the stunning Regent Theatre here in Melbourne on Friday 18th December at 8pm.  These tickets are valued at $119.90 per ticket, so that means $239.80 per double pass.

Entries close Sunday 15th November at 5pm AESST and I'll email the winners and announce them back here on this post and on my Facebook page shortly after that.

All you need to to to enter is like Chickens and Bees and CATS the Musical on Facebook and then fill out the form below telling me why you want to win!   

I'll choose a winner based on the answer that tickles my fancy the most.  

(Hint: I'm a sucker for a poem, but only ones that rhyme.)

Good luck!

Silvers Circus Is Coming To Gisborne! ***Giveaway***

***This competition is now closed. Jules, Sarah, Bernadette, Jaki, and Sally were the lucky winners.***



Silvers Circus have never set up their tent in Gisborne, but that is set to change this week when they roll into town!  I've got some family passes valued at $120 to give away (2 adults and 2 kids) for the show this Friday night, 16th October, read on to see how you can win one of them!

Now, I know a lot of people have heard of Silvers Circus, but did you know that the family that own Silvers actually live in Gisborne when they're not under the big top? The Gasser family moved here about 20 years ago when Gisborne was a little village. It's close to the airport, so it allows them to get to and from wherever the circus is at the time. The whole circus family is super excited to finally set the big top up here and show everyone what they can do! 

Silvers Circus have been travelling around Australia for nearly three decades. I remember seeing this circus as a kid down on the Mornington Peninsula and being entranced by the whole thing, especially the magic tricks!

Silvers Circus still has magic, but now has so much more as well. There's Gypsy, who manipulates up to 80 hoola hoops. At the same time!!!

There's Klara, who juggles fire.  With her FEET!

Rosita shows strength and grace on the Roman Rings.

And two young men with nerves of steel will have you holding your breath as they zoom around in the Double Wheel of Steel.

There is all this and more at Silvers Circus!  They have top notch fairy floss and I haven't even mentioned the Wheel Of Death yet!  Curious?  Well, you'll have to go along to see what I mean!  You can get your tickets from their website and they start at just $20!

Show times for New Gisborne are:

October 2015
Wednesday 14th - 7.30pm 
Thursday 15th - 7.30pm
Friday 16th - 7.30pm
Saturday 17th - 1.00pm & 7.30pm
Sunday 18th - 11.00am

The lovely people at Silvers Circus have given me some family passes for the Friday October 16th show to give to you guys!  All you have to do is leave a comment here or on the Silvers Circus post on the Chickens and Bees Facebook page and in 25ish words, tell me what you're most looking forward to seeing at Silvers Circus. 

You have to until Tuesday at 8pm to enter and then we'll choose the winners and you'll be running away with the circus before you can say 'Roll Up! Roll Up!'

(Please make sure you leave an email address if you're commenting here on the blog so I can contact you!)

The Block 2014

We took a trip to The Block. 

I couldn't see an awful lot, mainly due to the action starting on level one and me not having a ladder.

It's a gorgeous old building.

I'm loving the pool area.

You can see my previous Block visits here & here.

Five Years Ago

Wordless Wednesday - Meerkats!

 

 

So. Freaking. Excited.

Late last night I was in bed playing on Twitter instead of sleeping and saw someone tweet something wonderful.  Two minutes later I had purchased this.

 

It's like being 16 again, except this time I didn't have to beg my Mum to be allowed to go to an over 18's show.

In fact, I think I'm even more excited this time around.  If that is possible!

 

So, in the space of 8 days during April I will be seeing DAAS and Bryan Adams. Should I perm my hair again too?

A Birthday Treasure Hunt