Bizzare

I’m starting to feel like the world is falling apart. Honestly, things just aren’t doing/ being what they’re supposed to be anymore.

Firstly we have freak weather. Masses of snow in England, masses of rain and masses of fire in Australia.

Next we have the financial crisis. Loss of jobs, loss of money, loss of things making sense. It starts to feel crazy when I’m told Woolworths will no longer be seen on UK high streets, and people in America leave their houses and post front door keys though the letterbox because it’s simply cheaper that way.

These things are all fairly major though, and have no real direct impact on me. This week, however, crazy land caught up with Esther Stewart of 1 Wigram Road.

Sitting in my practice room in the basement level of Sydney conservatorium I was hammering away at some Mozart when the world went dark. The red flashing light from my metronome was my only indication that I hadn’t gone blind. The fire alarm siren starting creeping into my eardrums (they start them quietly here and increase the volume, possibly to prevent heart attacks?) Oh not another fire drill please. This is the fourth one in a month.

No, not another fire drill. Leaving my practice room and bumping into other musicians we found our way stopped by shutters blocking the corridors. I felt as if on the Titanic. Had we been locked in? Were we the sacrifice that had to be made?

Thankfully a member of staff, donning his luminous jacket, showed us to a back exit; a path snaked around the back of the building and into the open. The fire brigade were already there, and the news spread of a power failure. Half an hour later, we were allowed back into the building to collect belongings. Feeling in the dark I found my bag and jacket and decided to abandon the rest until the morning.

On leaving the conservatorium, we discovered that the whole circular quay area of the city was in black out. Chaos. Policemen were playing substitute for the powerless traffic lights, people were sitting in dark cafes finishing their drinks, helicopters were flying overhead filming the footage I saw later on TV, and the streets were jam packed with the hundreds of office workers heading home. I felt like on a movie set.

On returning to my suburb of Glebe I found relative normality. Not long lasted. Wednesday morning I woke up to find the power cut had followed me home. A shower in the dark is an interesting experience. Thursday morning the power was back but we had no water. It’s a good thing I like drinking milk, but any kind of washing had to wait until I arrived at college (I was careful not to breathe on anyone during the bus ride).

What will tomorrow bring? More freak weather, or money madness, or will my house actually fall down? Who knows. It’s an exciting life at least.