Tine Lund, Sydney

My name is Tine Lund and I come from Danish Bonnier Publications, where I normally create the magazine I Form with 14 other women. I applied for Weldon Owen in Sydney, which is a publishing house that creates books for other publishing houses. 

I feel so lucky to be the first one to start the GROW program in February. I find this a fantastic opportunity that I would not miss for the world. Along with being inspired just by being part of everyday life in Australia, it is so enlightening to be in Weldon Owen.  I sense a Bonnier spirit like the one we talk about in Denmark. People have been enormously kind and open, asking me if I have plans for the weekend and when I don't, inviting me to join in on theirs.

It was not difficult to find something to write about this first time because, as some people might know, Sydney has just had its fabulous festival, Mardi Gras. This festival ended with a huge parade this Saturday. And it was broadcast though out Australia by FOX television.

Happy Mardi Gras!!!!

It was out of this world. The whole city went amok!

I got there two hours in advance and  still had a very hard time finding a spot to see the parade from. There were so many people out to party and we had a nice, warm night in Sydney. First the Dykes on Bikes came.  They were noisy and fearless. Then there were people from the police academy, the fire fighters from different states, different hospitals, Catholics, "the Pope", Christians, Jews, the S&M people, Amnesty International, pilots, stewards and flight cabin crews, the lifeguards from Bondi Beach and then all the other queers and lesbians from around the world.  Even Denmark was among them. It was massive! For at least two hours, the parade just went on and on, and my feet got so tired that I had to take breaks and sit down on a stool. 

After the parade, I went to a disco called ARQ, a gay disco for gays and femme lesbian women. Everybody was having fun and I stayed out a bit too late to catch the last train home.  It was not easy to get a cab that night. What a city I have come to!