August was
busy, crazy busy. But I managed some quiet moments and I felt great mentally. I
did feel physically unwell most of it, fighting off a weird fluey bug, aching
bones, headaches, swollen glands, sore throat. This came and went, came and
went, and left me feeling tired and poorly. Not enough to have time off work or
need to see a doctor, or even really be 'sick' but enough to slow me a bit, and
want a lot of sleep. But you know, I survived!
At work I
have been juggling multiple projects, on top of my usual work, each of them
inching along slowly, but starting to form into something great as the month
progressed. A few weeks prior to going on leave right at the end of the month I
did have a minor anxiety attack when I looked at what I needed to achieve prior
to my holidays to ensure they all came off as well as I wanted to, but I managed
to work my way through them. This is the kind of stress I do well
in...mostly...anxiety attacks aside!
One of my
projects is a Social Media talk for seniors, I have done many of these before
but not on this scale. It will be presented at the very end of September and
will (hopefully) turn into multiple one on one sessions over the following
months. At the time of writing it has been very popular which is incredibly
exciting, and I had better actually finish putting the presentation together!
The other project is one I have wanted to do for a long time, Rocktober.
Children of the late 70s and early 80s will remember Rocktober! So Rocktober
will turn Swansea Library into all things musical during October. I have a lot
of things in the mix, and so far it is going as I hoped, more information to
follow. The final project I can't talk about yet...but soon...and it's fucking
fantastic!!!!!!
We also put
up a magnificent Book Week Display, had schools visit us for storytimes,
showcased local embroidery, discussed The 100 Year Old Man at Bookclub, had my
baby storytime, and watched The Matrix at Movie Night. I really love the
diversity of my work.
I
have also been out and about in the community of Swansea and surrounding areas,
spreading the word about Swansea Library, feeling like a preacher, but hopefully
not coming across like one! This is an ongoing project for some years now but
it's gaining momentum and I'm feeling the love with those I am collaborating
with. This includes my wonderful team and the people we are working with, mostly
schools during this past month or so. I am just hoping all this hard work will
result in better statistics and more people walking through our doors. So much
to compete with these days, but libraries are still relevant and exciting places
to visit...so make sure you visit your local library!!
I started
the month with a lovely family dinner, we don't do this as regularly as we
should, but it's always fun when we do. My niece and nephew - the loves of my
life - are growing up so beautifully and are smart, funny, but normal kids. My
sister and brother-in-law are doing good!
I finally
got to have a meal at Foghorn Brewery, at an ALIA (Library) function. I had
their Foghorn Burger and their locally brewed Summer Ale - both great. It has a
lovely atmosphere and interesting design, you can see the vats and beer brewing,
very industrial, hip, and cool. After the long lunch, I took a long work in the
sun, and then checked out a few exhibits at Newcastle Art Gallery. The bottom
floor was closed for a new exhibit but upstairs had a few interesting small
exhibits. Brett McMahon's Installation was large pieces of geometric abstracts
and mixed media, I spent time looking at and meditating there. Different
Realities by Peter Boggs was hypnotic oils including some pieces from/on Boboli
Gardens in Florence, where I've been. They were lovely. Interior Lives featured
pieces from the larger collection depicting domestic spaces and including some
beautiful works by Grace Cossington-Smith, a National Treasure for
sure!
I still had
time to kill so I made the most and read in the sun before meeting A and L at
the movies. We saw Trainwreck - we had planned on seeing the Amy Winehouse doco
but it was pushed back a week so we choose another Amy - and it was a lot of
fun. No Oscar winner here, but that's ok, sometimes you need a mindless movie to
just take it as it comes and have a laugh. There is definitely something
charismatic about Amy and a scene stealing character from the always remarkable
Tilda Swinton. Afterwards we had planned on visiting Parry Street Garage but you
couldn't book and there was a very long wait, so we ended up at The Junction Inn
and had a great meal, followed by a Blue Heaven milkshake from Jims - that's so
Newcastle!
M and I
dined at The Clarendon and then headed to The Playhouse for Dylan Thomas: Return
Journey, a one man show/play. Bob Kingdom embodied Thomas during this 90 minute
show, he was wonderful, witty, poignant. The show was pieces of his life, I
guess taking from historical information and fleshed out, laced with his
beautiful poems. The pieces were very funny, wry witted, and just lovely. The
poems were, without a doubt, show stopping stunning. Every night at The Theatre
should be this good!
The
following night I headed to The Conservatorium to meet L and C for Visual Arts.
This was a wonderful evening of homegrown Novocastrian Music, Film, and Dance.
It was a magnificent collaboration with performers ranging from very young to
86. The music was a joyous combination of jazz, classical, and choral works, all
modern and all composed by Novocastrian Frank Millward. All the music was backed
by interesting visuals which added to the experience.
I also had
a long weekend where I chilled at home, walked, read, and slept and I really
needed that. I do got out a lot for an introvert, so these quieter weekends are
really important to help me recharge my batteries and give me the quiet I often
crave.
The second
last weekend was intense, soccer semis, the new Woody Allen, Amy Winehouse doco,
Hamlet, and Go Set A Watchmen. Sometimes I don't think these things
through!
Irrational
Man, the new Woody Allen, was pretty good. Not one of his best, but certainly
better than most movies out there. I loved the dialogue and script, particularly
the first half of the movie. Emma Stone was a delight as always, and Joaquin
Phoenix also good. Lovely to see Parker Posey in a small role, shame it wasn't
fleshed out better. The ending left a lot to be desired, and the plot kinda
reminded me of Crimes and Misdemeanors, I must rewatch to see if Woody is
starting to rehash!
My nephew
won his semis for Soccer which was exciting. It was a tight match and you can
see these young boys starting to grow into fine, athletic men. I was away for
the finals, but they went down 1 point. Apparently he was gutted, but put in a
gallant effort. That afternoon I headed for my Book Club to discuss the
controversial Go Set A Watchman. You can read all about my thoughts leading up to, reading, and of course our discussion of the book here.
J, L and I
had Napoli for dinner. I hadn't been there since it opened, and was pleased to
see nothing much had changed. It was still as busy and popular as ever, and the
food amazing. Pizzas as they are meant to be eaten, just like we did in Italy.
Afterwards we saw Amy, the Amy Winehouse documentary.
M, J, C,
and I dined at The Clarendon (yes it's the place to go before the theatre,
mostly as parking is shite in Newcastle, and it's nearby and you don't have to
move cars!) before M, C and I headed to The Civic for Bell Shakespeare's Hamlet.
I do love Shakespeare, and had seen Hamlet a few times before, but this was a
superb production. I have been quite open in my love and then unlove for Bell
Shakespeare over the years. I feel they went through a rough patch where they
just either tried too hard or not hard enough and the plays presented were
ordinary. I kept the faith until they ruined my favourite, Macbeth, with a very
ordinary production including a Coles plastic bag for the witches cauldron and
the weakest Lady Macbeth I had ever seen. I think I even dozed off in parts!! It
took a while for me to see them again but they won me back with a very wicked
and clever Richard III a few years old. Hamlet was very edgy, modern, with a
stasi edge of spying on the key character, in terms of reporting what was
happening, which sounds convoluted but worked well. Hamlet was sexy and wild and
completely mad, also hilariously funny. In fact, the play had been tweaked to
include far more jokes than it usually had and it was all the better for it.
Hamlet is touring still, so if you get a chance, it's a must see.
The month
ended as it began with a lovely family dinner out at Verda Luna, for my sister,
A's birthday. We had amazing Italian feast, followed by delicious Red Velvet
Mudcake back at my parents.
And the
final weekend I flew out to Melbourne for 10 days. I will blog about that very
soon!!!
And some photos...
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