You are browsing the Blog for brisbane.

← Previous Entries

friday film: brisbane is back in business

January 21, 2011 in travel

It’s a week since the flood waters receded here in Brisbane and life is returning to normal – even my friends whose West End apartment was full of sludge this time last week are moving back home tomorrow!

In support of our local tourism industry, today’s Friday film is made by Ben Southall (AKA he of “the best job in the world” fame and Queensland Tourism Ambassador) that shows first had that our local attractions are back and open for business.

So come visit – we’re ready to welcome you!

(Note: In the interests of full disclosure, I do work for Tourism Queensland).

Tags: , , , , ,
2 Comments »

brisbane flood clean-up

January 15, 2011 in admin

Clean up in Orleigh Street in West End, 4pm Friday 14 January 2011

The boy and I have been helping friends clean up after the floods over the past few days. The mud is everywhere and people are turfing all of their ruined belongings onto the street.

If you’re in Brisbane, please be aware the volunteer task force is currently at capacity. If you want to help clean, help friends and family but try to stick to areas close to home to help curb the traffic. Rubberneckers are also politely asked to stay away.

I will return to normal posting on Monday in time for Golden Globes red carpet coverage – thank you for your patience during the Brisbane flood crisis.

Tags: , , ,
2 Comments »

queensland floods: how to help

January 14, 2011 in admin

Looking towards my street in Fig Tree Pocket from the other side of the hill, 6pm 12 January 2011

I’ve been very lucky to get out of these floods suffering only inconvenience and loss of power. Many of my fellow Queenslanders have not been so lucky. Here’s a round-up of some of the best ways to help them out.

- Mimco is donating 100% of all purchases today (Friday 14 January) from boutiques in Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Singapore.

- Also today, Witchery will donate 100% of all store sales to the flood relief appeal.

- Cue will donate 10% of all sales in Cue stores and Myer concessions stores on Sunday (16 January).

- Jeanswest will donate all profit made across all stores tomorrow (Saturday 15 January) to the appeal and will refund delivery on all Queensland online orders.

- Lorna Jane is donating 20% of all purchases made between today and Sunday, with the aim of reaching $100,000

- STA Travel is running eight travel auctions to raise funds over the next week including five Round the World flights (valued from $2699 each) and three Topdeck trips: The 14-day European Wonder, 22-day Europe Unplugged and 19-day Grand Kiwi; all with open travel dates.

- If you’re in Queensland or willing to make the trip, sign up to the CREW team. The recovery process will take many months and many hands will be needed. Sign up online or call 1800 994 100.

- Last, but by no means least, you can donate directly to the Premier’s Flood Relief appeal online.

Mamamia also has a list of different ways you can help out within Australia.

If you’ve heard of any other flood assistance charity opportunities, please leave a comment and I will update the post.

Tags: , , , ,
No Comments »

(early) friday film: floating on the flood

January 13, 2011 in admin

I’ve brought the Friday film forward a day to share this amazing video.

The Courier Mail made this clip yesterday floating around Brisbane’s inner west. It’s devastating to see how much of our city is underwater.

Coronation Drive is one of the main roads into Brisbane’s CBD and The University of Queensland was where I completed my studies. I find it quite surreal to see these places I know so well covered in metres of water.

Tags: , , , ,
2 Comments »

brisbane flooding update

January 13, 2011 in admin

Flooding in Fig Tree Pocket around 5pm, 12 January 2011

While our house safely weathered the flood overnight, the boy and I have escaped to a friend’s house to enjoy the luxury of electricity (thanks Pam!)

We don’t expect to have power at home for up to a week but we are so much luckier than many of our neighbours.

As you can see from the photo taken yesterday afternoon, the waters have got into many houses and the damage is truly heartbreaking. For example, one of the houses on the corner of our street was just two weeks away from completing a beautiful renovation.

To give context, the spot where I was standing in the photo from the morning is just near the post you can see on the right of this photo.

The flood level peaked at 4am last night and we checked it out to make sure we were safe. It was higher than you see here but luckily nowhere near us.

The recovery effort is going to be massive. My office is closed for the rest of the week and I plan to help less fortunate friends to clean mud out of their houses and start getting their lives back on track.

If you are in Brisbane and would like to help, Volunteering Qld is your first port of call. Unfortunately their website is suffering from high load level but keep trying.

If you are in Australia, you can help by shopping at Witchery or Mimco on Friday or Cue on Sunday – all stores will donate 100% of sales to the flood appeal on those days.

If you would like to donate directly, please donate to the Premier’s Flood Appeal. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated by those affected.

Tags: , , ,
No Comments »

← Previous Entries