It’s opening night tonight for ‘Allo ‘Allo at the Twelfth Night Theatre on Cintra Rd, Bowen Hills - click here for a Google Map showing the exact location.

‘Allo ‘Allo is a classic farce set in World War II - Rene, the owner of a small cafe in Occupied France, tries to carry on affairs with his waitresses while not getting caught by his wife, and also not getting shot by either the Germans (because he is hiding some very stupid British airmen in the cafe) or the Resistance (who distrust him because he lets Germans eat and drink in his cafe).

For a better idea of the plot, click here for the Wikipedia article (not really suitable for young children, but older teens will probably think the “naughty bits” are actually a bit tame compared to the latest Top 40 clip).

The characters of Rene, Mimi and Leutnant Gruber are being played by the actors who made the roles famous in the original TV show - Gorden Kaye, Sue Hodge and Guy Siner.

Private Helga Geerhart is played by Australian actor Chole Dallimore, who also played Ulla in the local version of The Producers - I saw this production, and I can verify that Ms Dallimore can lie with her back on the floor, kick behind her head and touch the floor with her toe.

Contact the Twelfth Night theatre to book your tickets for ‘Allo ‘Allo.

I took some photos yesterday, and when I looked at this one from the Merivale rail bridge, I was amazed at how much detail the camera was able to pick up:

Anticlockwise from the bottom, I saw a bike path next to the river, an exit from the Riverside Expressway to Hale St with the Fourex Brewery in the background, the giant flagpole on Coronation Drive in Milton, and Oxley’s on the River restaurant.

Click here to see a Google Map showing where each part of the photo is.

If you click on any of the photos you will get taken to where they are stored at Flickr, the photo-sharing website, where you can see different sizes, download them for your own use or watch them as a slideshow.

Dinner at Mspiggy’s, originally uploaded by David.

David says if I want to post anything to his blog I have to introduce myself. Hi I am David’s friend MsPiggy and I may post about Brisbane too occasionally. *waves*

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports about the Queenslanders recognised in today’s Queen’s Birthday honours list.

Justice Margaret McMurdo, who is the President of the Queensland Court of Appeal, was awarded the highest rank - she is now a Companion of the Order of Australia.

A nurse at the Bundaberg Hospital, Toni Hoffman, has been appointed a Member of the Order. Ms Hoffman was the ‘whistleblower’ who exposed the scandal surrounding Dr Jayant Patel.

The Order of Australia was started in 1975, to replace the old British Imperial honours system.

For ten years (1976 - 1986) people could be appointed a Knight or a Dame of the Order of Australia, but not any more. Prime Minister Mr John Howard, leader of the conservative coalition government for the last eleven years, has never looked like bringing back Australian knighthoods. Only twleve knights (including Prince Charles) and two Dames were ever appointed, and only five of them are still alive.

Even though the Order of Australia is, in theory, awarded by the Governor-General, who represents the Queen of Australia, Elizabeth II (who is also the Queen of the UK). In reality the awards are decided by the Council for the Order of Australia, which has representatives from State and Territory Governments, the Federal Government, some public officials and the community.

You can see the list of all Australians honoured today if you click here. If you’d like to nominate someone for an award in the Order of Australia, click here.

Congratulations to all the new appointees to the Order Of Australia!

It’s been raining! Brisbane’s been in the middle of a long, dry time - in fact right now we have Level 5 Water Use restrictions it’s so dry.

But it’s been raining since Tuesday and that’s making people very happy indeed - the dams are getting some water too.

The Brisbane Times, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (also here) and the brisneyland LiveJournal group have all been following the rain - and here’s some pictures I just took of a rainy night:

Despite the rain, Level 6 Water Use restrictions are likely in September, says the Premier, Mr Beattie.