Brits Wild On Kylie's Pants

The Age

Saturday April 7, 2007

Kay O'sullivan

UNLIKE a certain Frenchman, the Brits can't seem to get enough of our Kylie.

First she conquers Madame Tussauds and now she has taken over the hallowed halls of the Victoria and Albert (V&A), that venerable institution that bills itself as the world's greatest museum of art and design.

Early figures for Kylie - The Exhibition at the V&A show that since its opening on February 8 more than 100,000 Brits, and one suspects a fair sprinkling of Australian backpackers, have ogled Kylie's gold hotpants, marvelled at her white jumpsuit and generally admired the way the girl from Melbourne morphed into an international icon.

A V&A spokeswoman said the museum was happy with the crowds it was attracting, as well as the 350,000 or so hits on the exhibition's website. The exhibition, on loan from the Arts Centre, Melbourne, is free but bookings are recommended to avoid that other venerable British institution of queueing.

While the public has embraced Kylie enthusiastically, not so the critic for The Times who described the exhibition thus: "It is like raiding a drag queen's wardrobe while under the influence of every drug ever invented." His main gripe being that it is just pretty dresses and pop. Well, what did he expect from the Princess of Pop?

LINK: www.vam.ac.uk

Carry on at airport

Fortunately there was not much carry on about the new regulations for carry-on luggage on international flights when they were introduced around Australia last weekend.

Tom Perry, communications manager with Melbourne Airport, reports that no planes were delayed and passengers were generally aware of the changes that mean that any liquids, aerosols and gels going in the cabin with you must be in containers of 100 ml or less and then stored in a sealed, transparent, 20cm x 20cm bag.

Only four wheelie bins of refuse were collected on the first day and most of that was water bottles "surrendered" by passengers. The word confiscate is not used here. It's all voluntary; you either check the offending items in, surrender them or miss your plane.

To expedite processing through security, Melbourne Airport has a stockpile of 700,000 clear plastic bags to give away.

Duty-free operators must be pleased with the change as once you are past security you can buy whatever size bottle or tube you want and take them on board. Staff behind counters have been worded up to warn passengers that the regulations vary around the world and you could find yourself surrendering said items elsewhere.

LINK: www.dotars.gov.au or 1300 791 581

Warning

Whether human error was behind the tragic crash in Indonesia last month has not stopped the Australian Government from advising its officials to avoid flying on certain Indonesian airlines. Indeed the report posted on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's website (smarttraveller.gov.au) is sobering reading for anyone considering flying in Indonesia. Not one commercial Indonesian airline meets the requirements of the safety regulations set down by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

LINK: smarttraveller.gov.au

Where there's smoke...

While Easter is the busiest getaway time, visitor numbers are up in the north-east and Gippsland, the two areas affected by the summer's bushfires. Both regions are heavily booked this weekend but some vacancies exist for the second week of the school holidays.

kayosull@optusnet.com.au

© 2007 The Age

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