AUGUST ROUND UP

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.

C and I had dinner at The Clarendon before spending a delightful evening at The Ballet. It was her maiden expedition to The Ballet and I loved seeing her excitement.

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!!!

Here are my reviews: what I've been reading, watching, listening to.

And some photos...

Amy: the documentary

I cannot remember how I came about Frank by Amy Winehouse. I think I heard Valerie and loved it and bought it on a whim, sounds about right. It's a great album, and her voice on those songs are stunning. There was a truth and an old sensibility to it that has not dated to this day.

 

I do remember the first time I heard Rehab, on the radio, I loved it and its 60s soul stylings, I was hooked. The voice was familiar, it took me a while to realise it was Amy, as the song was so different to those on Frank. More polished, more joyous sounding (despite the lyrics), the snappy filmclip was king and she was backed by Sharon Jones' Dap-Kings. I bought Back To Black and was impressed, but not surprised, with what Mark Ronson had done. I knew a little bit about Amy prior to this, but not a lot. I'm not that interested in the lives of musicians unless they are talking about the musicality of their art. Of course, some musicians you cannot help but learn more about if they become huge and Amy's success with her second album had her everywhere.

 

So I watched as her body got smaller, her hair got larger, and her fame started to destroy her. As did everyone else. We read about her addiction, laughed at her Rehab song when we realised, loved her gumption and guts, worried about her father and her husband. But stayed in love and in awe of her talent.

 

And that's the thing...she could really fucking sing. She had a voice unlike any other modern female pop singer, except maybe Aretha. She was in the league of Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald. She could REALLY sing. That voice killed me and the more I listened to Back To Black, the more I re-listened to Frank. It was superior, maybe not as polished, but deeper, rawer, more real, more Amy. To this day it is still my preferred album. I did grow tired of Back To Black, you just heard it everywhere. My theory has always been no matter how superb something is, over saturation will kill it. Well for me, it does...and it did...sort of.

 

Watching the documentary, made me understand Back To Black a lot more, the poetry of those songs mirrored the life she was living at that time. And there came a point where she simply couldn't sing those songs any more, she wanted to more on from them and the subject matter. Of course the public still loved and revered that album and wouldn't let her. This was part of her undoing, and for that alone I will struggle to listen to that album. It almost seems wrong to do so. I am sure in time Amy would have overcome those thoughts and begun to love those songs again, but the thing is we will never find that out.

 

My favourite memory of Amy was The Grammys at the height of all of this. Amy was clean, sober, but couldn't get a Visa to attend the ceremony. She performed live from London, it was a great performance. I remember her childlike excitement and Amy-like honesty when she spoke. It broke my heart she wasn't there to perform, meet her idols (she was introduced by Tony Bennett and Natalie Cole), or receive her awards. I felt those around had let her down. Yes, she obviously had issues, many do, but who was looking after this headstrong, but fragile young girl?

 

It was at that precise moment in the Film Documentary, Amy, that I broke down. I was surprised I had held it together for so long. But it showed additional footage and you could see the awe of her presenters and the realisation she had missed the boat (or plane) in getting to meet them. Her eyes were so wide in surprise and her voice childlike, saying, "Look Daddy, it's Tony Bennett." I just lost it, not doing so well keeping it together writing this now to be honest.

 

Amy, is directed by Asif Kapadia. Asif directed Senna, another superb documentary and as soon as I realised he was behind this I knew she was in safe, considered hands.

 

The thing about documentaries today is all the raw footage to be used, everything is documented regardless and Amy being a star at this time presented so much for him to work with. It was seamless in look and story - as was Senna - but you knew it was cleverly crafted to appear so. The film delves more into her pre Back To Black days, and there was much I didn't now or only minorly suspected. Her lifetime friends, and early management and working partners were interviewed throughout the film as voiceovers and it was heartbreakingly effective. These were the people behind the scenes trying desperately to save her. But the gravy train was working hard and they had much to get in their truly altruistic ways.

 

To see her life and it highs and lows presented in roughly two hours was a rough watch, even when it was lovely and beautiful you were thinking, well this could have been... And when things were rough, they seemed concentrated and moreso up on the big screen. But harsh as her reality was, there was much empathy for the girl. My friend J said she had the talent of an old soul but the emotion of someone much younger than she actually was, and she couldn't reconcile the two. This is true, add in addiction and some enablers and it kind of writes itself.

 

Of course we all know how this story ends, but it is rough to watch. I remember when I heard about her death, I was so upset but not at all surprised. It seemed inevitable, to me, and to anyone I talked to. And that is what hurts the most about it all, if the world knew, why didn't those around her know. Well, some did, the friends and her bodyguard seemed to be the only ones trying but she had so many more not trying, the walls were too high.

 

It's not the first time this has happened, so many have had similar experiences before her, and I suspect many more to come. This continues to make me sad.

 

And whilst I paint a depressing portrait, I assure you this film is worth watching. Because you get to see the joy when she is enjoying her music, her writing, her singing. That alone is worth the price of admission.

 

My favourite bit in the film is when she is recording with Tony Bennett, for his duets album. She is beside herself with joy, nerves, and everything in between, you can tell in her eyes, her body language, and she says it too! Tony is just lovely, he knows how she is feeling. She is singing well but asking the recording to stop. She sounds great, but not great enough in her mind. To a lay person, you think she is being precious. Tony says it all when he says something like it's ok, I understand, you want to get it just right, I have all day. She starts to relax and then nails it. It's spine tingling, she knows it, Tony knows it, the camera cuts to this wry smile of delight that Tony gives her. They finish the song and embrace. I wept for all that could have come and all that we missed. I wasn't alone in my tears. 

If you were a fan or even if you were not, this is a great film, an important film, and one very much worth watching.