JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH/APRIL DIARY

I am writing this in June, stupefied at how fast this year has gone. As I go through what I have done in these first 4 months, no wonder really!

So, the year starts with me still without a car after my stupid car accident back in October at Port Macquarie. Not having a car was quite freeing in a way, but ultimately you lose a lot of freedom, which doesn't make sense, but what about this crazy life makes sense anyway!

I got it back finally mid-month, just over 3 months without it. I was initially very nervous about driving again, but it didn't take long to get back into shape. Roundabouts still give me a bit of PTSD though.

Work has been insane. In my day-job at Belmont Library, the work still delights and entertains me, however I have taken on a few other bits and pieces to help out, so my dance card is incredibly full. This has been exhausting. During this time I have been helping out with our Collections department, Readers Advisory and Collections (ordering books etc) is my great love and area of expertise, so I enjoy the experience, but it is a lot. I also filled in for my boss for a month or so, and I have been working on my large project, which is a Comic Con type event called Pop Bam: popular culture festival planned for late July. 

You can read more about POP BAM here.

And I am back teaching at TAFE, 2 nights a week online. I love this so very much. The actual teaching, and lesson prep comes pretty easily to me, so I don't find it too tiresome. However, the admin can be a killer, and even now I am only getting better at it. I have lovely colleagues who are very helpful and kind. This term I have been teaching copyright, which I thought was going to be pretty dull, but I have found it absolutely fascinating and get to teach it again next term with my other class!

First term was full on - juggling both jobs - and I had moments of oh boy, I have taken on too much (and I had), but by second term, some of the smaller things had fallen away and things were much more manageable, plus the more you do something the easier it becomes. It just means being super organised and only taking on what is important, I am super great at the first, and getting better at the second. And I wouldn't change a thing!

My health has been - touch wood - good, but my menopause has been a big pain in the arse. Menopause (and peri-menopause) is getting more traction these days. As always, it is up to GEN X to push the boundaries, but you do not hear much about this incredibly important rite of passage, until it hits you and even then, not much is said. This needs to be changed, and many of us are talking about our experiences. I felt like my experience has been mild until I started reading up about it more recently. And whilst it is nowhere near as bad as it could be, I realised I had been going through much worse than I had been thinking or saying. Not to whine or need sympathy, it is a fact and you need to be realistic about it! It can be tough, hot sweats (I get them really bad), mood swings, foggy brain, dry skin, and much much more. It is all there, so be nice to your late 40s to 50s ladies, you never know what they are going through!

I have also been having regular osteo and massage visits and this seems to be keeping my osteo arthritis under control...as such...I am always in chronic pain, but for the most part it is very manageable...except for severe weather changes...then it is a huge pain.

And I have made it 5 years clear of cancer, so that is something worth writing about.

Andrew and I continue to go back forth between Sydney and Newcastle most weekends, which is a lot of fun.

We have done a few cool things over these months.

Our friends fostered a heavily pregnant hound in between Christmas and NY, and 12 puppies later they were in a whole lot of beauty...and work. So we went puppy visiting and it was divine!!!

We saw David Sedaris at Sydney Opera House

And spent a little time in Sydney.

Beatnix at Lizottes

I did my usual Oscar Watch, here are my predictions and other information.

We saw Weird Al Yankovic at The Enmore

Tim Rogers at Lizottes

We celebrated Andrew's Dad's 90th birthday. He is in pretty good shape, mentally and mostly physically for 90. It was a joyous celebration

There was the remarkable Newcastle Writer's Festival

AND RocKwiz at The Civic Theatre.

A couple of weeks off at Easter.

And The World is a Vampire Tour.

The usual reviews:

Jan/Feb here.

And Mar/Apr here.

Life is most definitely for the living!

And here are some pics...

NEWCASTLE WRITERS FESTIVAL 2023

10 years!

I can't believe it, it only seems like yesterday that we headed to the inaugural NWF with the brilliant Miriam Margolyes doing the most wonderful opening for the festival.

She had us crying and in stitches laughing, a better presentation to the world could not be thought of.

It was also the year we got to meet Richard Fidler, as we kicked on at a pub after a session he hosted with my friend, Anita. She invited him and his manager to join us for drinks after and we had a great time, a time that led to me driving them both back to their hotel. And thus led to the moniker, Richard 'I drove him in my car once' Fidler. And yes, he is as lovely and kind and funny and sweet as you would hope he was.

Seemingly, in the blink of an eye, we were seated at the 10th Opening night of the NWF. This year the guest was the inimitable Grace Tame. The evening was at the grand dame of the city, The Civic Theatre, and we had great seats.

Friday 31 March, 2023

In her own words: an evening with Grace Tame

Civic Theatre, Festival Opening Night

As always there were speeches and people to thank for making this amazing weekend happen. As always Rosemarie Milsom was a goddess, for her simply idea and making it happen, not just once but for an entire decade. She always inspires me to push through my own roadblocks and issues and get stuff done!

She spoke at length about the economy and kudos the festival brings to the city. It is a big deal that I do not think gets enough coverage or support, but luckily she has some great sponsors helping her along. It is my weekend of the year, always!

Whilst all the lead-up speeches were great, especially the one from University Professor, John Fischetti - he described Librarians as the Keepers of Civilisation - we were really eagerly waiting for Grace.

She is much smaller and fragile looking than you would imagine, yet has this impressive steely manner. Her stories were peppered with humour, sometimes dark, which was incredibly endearing and helped her, I think, be able to tell some of her less-amusing stories. She had us laughing and sobbing. At times, I was worried, I felt a little voyeuristic listening to her stories being told given she is still quite a fragile person and she was close to tears herself on numerous occasions. Yet, she explained she wouldn't have it any other way, telling her story in her own way was and is incredibly important to her and her survival, and connecting to others is also something she very much loves and needs. Maddison Connaughton from The Saturday Paper was her interviewer and didn't need to do too much, just keep her moving forward. Some would say she was redunant, but I feel she was incredibly important, as an anchor for Grace and I think others may have pushed and pulled her to tell certain elements in a particular way. Maddison did not, she was respectful and a calming influence. It was a lovely evening.

Saturday 1 April, 2023

World Traveller: Richard Fidler in Conversation

Richard was in conversation with Paul Bevan. Richard is a great raconteur, he can talk about anything. This is exemplified in Conversations, his hit radio interview show on the ABC. He talked about his new book, The Book of Roads and Kingdoms, is about the time when Baghdad was the centre of the Persian and Arabic worlds. It is full of otherworldly tales, tales of conquering cities and expanding empires. He has done his research and I cannot wait to read it. 

Afterwards I took my newly bought copy of the book, and was third in line to get it signed. He was lovely and engaging, and remembered our night, 10 years ago, fondly. It was a perfect exchange.

Sunday 2 April, 2023

The day started early, with a lovely brunch on Darby, at Wil and Sons. It was a beautiful day in Newcastle, as you can see.

The Beatles and beyond: Paul McCartney and his creative practice

Phillip McIntyre has written a fascinating book about McCartney and where his creativity comes from. He was in conversation with Scott Bevan. This was fascinating, a Beatles fan, Phillip lectures at the University on creativity. He has based his studies on song writing and the music industry, and has written a book specifically about the creativity of Paul McCartney. His theories on his creativity, which he believes is sparked from many different ways, is the genesis for his genius. He told some great stories to back up these ideas. With so much written on McCartney and The Beatles, this was a fresh and interesting take on the man.

The Life of Iris

Fiona Kelly McGregor has based her latest historical novel on Iris Webber and was in conversation with Nancy Cushing. Iris was brought up on the wrong side of the tracks in the early 30s in Sydney and soon became ensconced in the underworld and underbelly of Sydney as a gunslinging petty criminal. She was in and out of jail, and also quite possibly a lesbian. Fiona researched the era to fill in the holes of the story with tight information on the era. A fascinating insight into the era and Iris through a fictional background.

Women and words: Pip Williams in conversation

Pip William's Dictionary of Lost Words was a huge deal in Australian publishing. She was in conversation with Ailsa Piper about it and her new book, The Bookbinder of Jericho. Both are based on true events, but she has taken characters and fleshed them and their story out with fiction, writing very easy to access fiction. I enjoyed Dictionary of Lost Words, but felt it fell very short of what it could have been having read The Surgeon of Crowthorne by Simon Winchester. This was the real non-fiction telling of the same story and far more interesting and a much superior read. She does take the female view in both stories which in reality was minimal, but nice to read about. Her research was insightful and the stories she told about the new book had me curious to give it a go.

I didn't get to many sessions this year as you can see. I have had a very intense start to the year juggling a lot of work, teaching 2 nights a week on top of my FT job means I missed trivia evening, which was a bit sad. And I had to work Saturday and had pre-booked RocKwiz Saturday night and was tired. But I picked some quality events and liked the new location of the University building on Hunter Street. Not quite the same feel as City Hall, but easy to find and get around which is great. Nice views of the city too.