And I had this all written on Friday but only got time to post today.
BECAUSE - I was expecting The Sweetheart to give me the photos he took while we were there so I could add them but he left them at his place. On a memory stick. Later...

Yesterday, Digital Radio was released in Australia. All the Melbourne based radio stations had a grand launch at Federation Square in the centre of Melbourne. The Sweetheart and I went in to it - at 5.30 in the morning!!!

I got to hug Ruby the ABC Radio's All Ears Dog for most of the morning.
Actually the Ruby Dog wasn't the dog on the above link but her 4 month old puppy, Storm. A Bassett. So lovely, all that lovely floppy loose skin and silky ears! Lots of people came up for a cuddle.
Of the dog.
Only Julia Gillard cuddled me.
Julia Gillard?
At one stage I turned around and was nose to nose with Julia Gillard our Deputy Prime Minister.
I can't imagine any other country where you could be hugged and kissed in a crowd by a Deputy PM and have a lovely chat to without any visible security. Julia and I spoke together at a Workplace Rally a few years ago (here & here ) - before she went into industrial strength politics - and she remembered me.

We got to meet a lot of the Stars Of Radio, some of TV (that very cute Andy Muirhead from The Collectors who was having a birthday and we all got a piece of his cake, and I had a nice chat to him - he lives in Hobart. A total sweet man!) and also many of the people Who Make It Happen.

One of the other Early Birds was a young lad who went to school with Smellie 4, and who had driven down (120 kms) from Castlemaine to be there. (The ABC is really Old People's radio in the eyes of Young People!!!).

AND I got to talk on radio too. Was interviewed on Jon Faine Show in front of a great crowd - afterwards remembering what I should have said, but maybe they didnt want a long discourse on the Melbourne Club anyway...

It was all very exciting. Tho not so much fun at first getting up at 4 a.m. to get there that early... There weren't many people there at that time, and also not too many people even bothered to turn out for the commercial stations, the biggest crowd was around the ABC.

And there will be some photos of all the excitement - I shall put them up another day.