MARCH ROUND UP

 

I won’t lie March began in a fog, I had way too much going on, and almost crumpled underneath it all, but I did my very best to decompartmentalise (I am getting sooo much better at this as I get older) and work through each issue one at a time and by the weeks end I had a plan, and with a plan I always feel better. I slowly recovered as the month progressed and am feeling much better than I have in a long time, 2 weeks holidays also helped!!

 

This was good as I had a big day out with A, J, and L at The Vineyards for an outdoor concert featuring Hoodoo Gurus, The Sunnyboys, Violent Femmes, Died Pretty, and Rat Cat. My review, Pure Pop for Now People can be read here.

 

The weekend was rounded out with a cleansing night swim at Merewether Baths.

 

I caught up with a French exhibition at Lake Macquarie Art Gallery, Impressions of Paris. It featured prints from Lautrec, Degas, and  Daumier and was lovely. I always love to wander around the gardens and lakeside area near the gallery. It is in the most perfect location.

I enjoyed catching up with A and B for cocktails and afternoon tea at the new bar in The Junction, Kokomo. Despite the cheesy name, it was a very relaxing and delicious experience, and of course wonderful company.

I saw Hail Caesar at the cinemas. I really wanted to love this film. I love The Coens and love this era of film making they based their film on. But it was flawed. There were moments of perfection in the film and I was in heaven. These were the little pieces of film within a film, every person cast perfectly, every shot exactly as you would imagine it being back in the 50s, it was funny and clever and brilliant. But unfortunately the over arching premise of the film (based on a noirish/cold war kind of plot) just fell short and didn’t seem fleshed out enough and muddled. Possibly I need to see it again, It did make me laugh very loudly at times but I wanted it to be more!

 

My holidays began with my first French Friday of the year with J and we had yummy Vietnamese prior. The film was Marguerite. Set in Paris in the 1920s it is about a wealthy Opera singer in a small country town. But the thing is she cannot sing, and no one has ever told her this. She gets a really good review, by some cheeky young bohemians who appreciate the humour of what is going on, and is invited to sing at the Paris Opera. Her friends and family and now concerned she will become the laughing stock of Paris, but how can they help her without letting on to her the awful truth. This is a beautifully written and executed comedy/drama. Full of colourful characters, stunning set design, and beautiful music. But the melancholy to Marguerite’s life keeps it from being a parody. There are times you a crying from laughter and times you are simply crying. This is mostly due to the magnificent performance by Catherine Frot, already established as one of the great modern French actresses, this is surely her best film to date.

 

The following day I set off on a road trip to Sydney with my sisters and a friend to see Madonna. We did a bit of shopping on the way, but finally arrived at our destination eager to see Madonna. You can read about our experience here.

 

The following day I recouperated watching the F1 and then headed up to Cessnock to stay with a friend and relax and explore the vineyards. After the busy couple of days it was nice to truly slip into holiday mode in the loveliest chilled kind of way.

That first week of my holidays was pretty laid back, sleep ins, walks, dvds, reading, naps. I also managed to squeeze in a lovely lunch date to Foghorn although I was struggling with a sinus infection. It truly has been a hectic start to the year and I need serious down time! The Easter weekend was fairly quiet with a family dinner, assisting my nephew with an assignment and catching up with friends.

 

The second week I was out and about more, doing long exploratory walks in my neighbourhood and in Newcastle. I finally walked the Anzac Walk, and spend time reading in King Edward Park.

I ended the month catching up with N and V for a lovely lunch at Warners Bay.

I obviously got a lot of reading, watching and so forth in this month.

 

And some time to take photos!