I followed Aidan blindly through the city. "We'll use the toilets at Town Hall," says he - thus leading me to the conclusion that Town Hall is in fact our final destination.

He has been teasing me with cryptic hints for weeks now. "Keep the 7th free," he said. "I don't know if you'll like it, the concept is good but the host is bad." I was clueless!

We stood in a long queue outside Town Hall, which had no advertising outside... and then he showed me the ticket: The Choir of Hard Knocks!!! The Choir is a group of homeless and disadvantaged people brought together by conductor Jonathon Welch. Their months of working together culminated in their gala launch last night at Town Hall in Melbourne.

I had my reservations, but I kept an open mind and agreed with Aidan that the concept was indeed good.

It wasn't long before we realised that the singing was also very good! There are some extremely talented indivduals among the choir, including the vendor I often buy The Big Issue from. I saw him this morning, and told him what a wonderful night it was!

The Choir of Hard Knocks was joined by the Melbourne Gay & Lesbian Chorus, Jimmy Barnes's daughter Mahalia, and Timothy McCallum. All the performers were outstanding, and it was a really fun event!

A wonderful birthday present for this little socialist! Yup, I'm 24 today. Yay me! I hope everybody has a happy my-birthday!