MAY ROUND UP

MAY ROUND UP

The month started drizzly and cool, after a quick trip to the markets, I then spent the day in Cessnock with A.

We continued to be busy at work, more and more training, projects starting to come together, Star Wars Day, and Library and Information Week which had school visits, Biggest Morning Tea, and my SM for Seniors course.

 

May is the month of spectacular sunsets, so many an afternoon was spent pulling the car over to grab a fine pic.

 

We had a lovely discussion about a favourite book, Olive Kitteridge, at Book Club, and enjoyed a day with the family for Mother's Day.

I finally caught up with my bestie, C, and we had tea and chatter, a night out at Cardiff Library learning about Bees, great Thai takeaway and more chatter and laughs, Oh how lifted I feel after just moments in this gal’s presence, but hours...even better!

My clever cousin, D, has been moving her stunning art onto Etsy. But often we see a sneak preview on Facebook. I was eyeing off a series of night time paintings of my beloved Sydney Opera House, but the colours she was using wouldn’t work with my decor at home. I silently willed her to paint a blue and green one and she did. I waited patiently for it to arrive in her store so I could send off an order. We were both equally excited, and the art looked even better in real life. I am still trying to work out where to hang it!

 

A and J and I headed to the Lambton Park Hotel for an 80s cover night, which was ok. But always nice to get out, give something new a go, and of course spend time with my gals!

 

The middle Saturday of the month was what I call perfect weather, sun shining but a coolish breeze, I had a nice sleep in, got the washing out, then had a long long walk around the lake before hitting the markets, and bringing home fruit, veges, and lunch. Friends had recommended Lena Dunham’s podcast, and I spent the afternoon writing in my study, listening to these remarkable women with the sun shining through...perfection!

Eurovision was also a highlight over this weekend, with my favourite winning, and Australia coming in second. What I love the most is the online community and their wit during this fun weekend.

 

The following weekend I spent the day at Sydney Writers Festival.

 

I also went to two evenings of Science at The Edwards for a Pint of Science with C, and brilliantly organised by L. What a joy these evenings were, learning about cells and DNA and such on the Monday night, and Space Science and 3D printing on the Wednesday.

 

I had a splendid evening at City Hall listening to Sydney Symphony Orchestra play Schubert, Mozart, Schultz, and Prokofiev. Always a delight, I cannot begin to say how much I love hearing classical music live. I should do more of it, as it is a totally relaxing and divine experience.

 

The month ended with a lovely visit to The Tea Project on King Street with A and B. I highly recommend an escape there, the atmosphere is relaxing and otherworldly, the food and tea superb. And of course catching up with my lovely friends was really the highlight.

 

You can read what Music, Books, Movies, Television etc I reviewed here. 

And as always a few pics from here and there.

TINA 2015

This Is Not Art (TINA) and The National Young Writers Festival are always on the October long weekend, usually with loads of other amazing entertainment. Everything that appealed to us was on the Saturday this year so we strapped ourselves in for a full and exciting day.

 

I headed to the first session at The Gun Club, ironically called Love is All You Need. Last year I experienced The Gun Club, as it is known, for the first time. It is really called The United Services Club, and is a gorgeous old terrace on Watt Street, filled with war and gun memorabilia. So not my thing, yet I am somehow very much drawn to the place...in an ironic way.

 

The panel were great with differing opinions on love and sex. 2 females and a male, some cynical, some romantic, all pretty funny too. The Male writer, a romantic poet, spoke about hearing an Arabic version of Romeo and Juliet when he was 5 and it really affected him, so his decision is to never write anything after a trauma so as not to affect any of his readers similarly. The Romance writer spoke about that community and how supportive it is and also about sex and romance and how erotic romance is not about getting off but part of the character's journey. The cynic wrote about her own experiences and has no restraint with her stories almost always ending in sex. To her romance and sex are codependent. Her stories are funny, awkward, and messy because they are real. The male preferred ambiguity and subtleness and prefers to hint at sex. He says just talking to someone can be sexy (oh I so agree) and to use your imagination, as sexy is random, and he does write with an audience in mind. Whereas the cynic writes what she wants, gives everything away and is as honest as humanly possible about her experiences, often to the detriment of those involved. Her theory is if she writes about the really awful stuff others will not feel alone.

 

I caught up with A, L, and L at the stunning Staple Manor also in Watt Street for Big Issues: Press Freedom, Whistleblowing, and National Security. This featured Paul Farrell interviewing Freya Newman about exposing Abbott's daughter and becoming the hunted instead. What a remarkable woman, and a Librarian too! How awful it must have been for her during this time but what a coup. There was much discussion on how to protect sources and how bad the law is in light of such exposure.

 

Then back to The Gun Club for Out of Canberra: The Politics Panel. This was a sheer delight, an amusing look at politics today with Tom Ballard, James Arvanitakis, and Sam Dastyari. Tom and James pressed Sam for Labor Information, and riffed on all the changes in the past five years and the 'disposable' Prime Minister situation. Totally informative and fascinating, and very funny too.

 

After a lovely lunch at the new East End Hub, and a look at some of the exhibitions at The Lock Up we headed to The Royal Exchange for a few sessions.

First up When The Internet Fails You and then Weird Science. When The Internet Fails You was an insightful and frightening look into bullying on The Net, mostly aimed towards women, the panel spoke of their experiences and how they handled it. Weird Science was a great all female panel riffing on the great things happening in the science world today.

 

J joined us for our final session back at The Gun Club, It's All In The Family. This was an interesting panel with a range of writers who write about family and how much information they share, what their family thinks or even if they know. Some were very full on with what they write, whilst others were a little more restrained. It was funny and intriguing and helpful to anyone who might want to start memoirs and unsure what to write about or how to approach their subject.

We then had a wander down the mall and had a look at some more exhibits before having dinner at The Crown and Anchor and then ended the evening following HoboTechno's Nomadic Projections around the streets for a while.

TINA is always a great weekend out and we look forward to what 2016 has to offer.