STATE LIBRARY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The State Library of South Australia is quite remarkable. It has been named one of the most beautiful libraries in the world and you can see why. As a Librarian and a lover of literature, visiting libraries is a favourite thing to do.

The Library fills three connecting buildings. The oldest building, The Institute Building, was the original library. It was moved into that building in 1861 as an expansion, after being in 2 other locations prior. It is a lovely old building that houses exhibitions, friends of the library and archival rooms.

The Mortlock Library next door took about 18 years to build and was opened in 1884. It is a stunning French Renaissance style building that is often called The Harry Potter library. The top balconies are stacked with old books from various collections bequeathed to the library. There are beautiful old desks and lamps in each section and the day I was there, every single one of them was in use by students studying. The Royal Geographical Society operate in a room just above the balcony. They have limited hours and were closed when I was there.

An old rickety elevator takes you up and down, and a stunning glass doomed roof lets natural light into the building.

The ground floor holds an amazing array of memorabilia and South Australian historical artefacts, a fascinating and eclectic mix to look at and entertain.

I was overwhelmed with emotion during the time I slowly and quietly explored this stunning building. I felt such joy and passion being inside such an important and beautiful place. As a Librarian, I imagined the thrill of spending time there every day. And I wanted to be one of the students studying silently at those huge wooden desks on the balconies. 

What have those desks encountered over the years!?

A modern section, The Spence Wing, joins both old buildings with a glass portal of a corridor, looking fantastical and open and light. That is the State Library proper and was full of people reading and studying and looking for books. It featured rows and rows and rows of books, looking as a modern library should look. There was a huge serials section, research rooms, and archival areas, rooms of computers and desks to study on and areas to plug in your own device scattered throughout along with desks and funky chairs and lounges. The glass areas that link these three areas are also decorated with a lot of memorabilia and museum style pieces. This includes a lot of Bradman memorabilia and trophies from when the F1 was held in Adelaide, amongst paintings and similar.

Underneath, a lovely cafe called The Library Cafe offered snacks and I spent some time in the middle of my visit with a health shake and little raw tart contemplating all I had seen.

NEWCASTLE WRITERS FESTIVAL 2020, Day One

Of all the things that were cancelled during this unprecedented time the one that hurt the most was Newcastle Writers Festival. It is my favourite weekend of the year, it feeds my brain and my soul, and as a Librarian introduces me to new authors and books which is very important.

I love hearing the about the creative process and little insights from authors. I love hearing about books I have already read, and discovering new titles to read. I love running into so many friends and acquaintances at the festival, it brings out the best people.

So, you can imagine how thrilled I was when the wonderful Rosemarie Milsom announced there would be sessions online over the weekend. A lovely selection of things I had wanted to see and others I wouldn't have seen due to so many simultaneous sections.

A tremendous effort to bring the festival to the comfort of our homes and it should be applauded.

I don't mind saying I wept with joy.

Please consider making a donation to NWF, as we've been very blessed to have this weekend given to us free of charge! It takes a lot to keep such huge festivals going, and it will all assist to pave and pay the way for next year!

https://www.newcastlewritersfestival.org.au/donate/

And you can go and watch any of these yourself.

I started in my study/library - my happy place - watching on my laptop which allowed me to type my thoughts as I went and tidy them in between session!

The sessions were back-to-back but with wriggle room (ok, loo stops and food stops) in between. And plus excuse my photos, but I like to pop a pic with each session!

So here is Day 1:

Surviving a Toxic Family with David Owen Kelly in conversation with Ed Wright

I was fortunate enough to go to David's book launch last year and purchase a copy of his memoir about looking back to his past, his childhood, and in particular finding his adopted brothers who were Aboriginal.

David was one of a large family of adopted, fostered and step siblings. Their home life wasn't great, but they had each other. When their Mother wed her second husband, things got worse. His 2 Aboriginal brothers left as soon as they could and disappeared without a trace. He always thought about them, and later in life started looking for them.
I bought a copy of his book at the launch and popped it on my very large to read pile and have yet to read it, it will make its way higher for sure!

All At Sea - Lucy Treloar in conversation with Susan Wyndham

Wolfe Island is historical fiction set in the near future on the island, Wolfe Island, off the coast of the North East Coast in the US. Climate change is changing the world and Kitty, a writer and artist, is isolated on the island until she has to move on. Sounds fascinating and quite timely given the state of the world right now.
Lucy spoke about visiting the island and thinking it a great location for a sort of dystopia near future, the action leaves the island after a while as circumstances mean they have to. She now has her grand-daughter (she is estranged from her daughter) and her friends in tow.

Lucy, obviously, had no idea how close to reality her book would get. It is another I will add to my pile!

How Our Bodies Shape Us with Gabrielle Jackson and Lee Kofman in conversation with Caroline Baum

Gabrielle Jackson wrote the book Pain and Prejudice: a call to arms for women and their bodies. She talked about chronic pain and how it is not taken seriously. She especially focused on period pain.

Lee Kofman wrote Imperfect: how our bodies shape the people we become. It was based on operations she had when she was younger after being born with heart issues and then had a bus accident and being 70s Russia, she was left with a lot of scars. 

They both talk about the conflicting thoughts about images and appearances of women. We are meant to look as the media pushes out, but yet we are not meant to be vain. It is an ambiguous area and there is so much that impacts on it.

Gabrielle talks about pain between women and men, they suffer it differently and yet, most of the drug testing it done on men! Unreal, and so very disappointing.

Lee says self acceptance is a constant work in progress. When things are ok, we are happier with our selves, but stress can make us more negative.

Both books sound fascinating, I will add them to my to read list.

Men, Women and the Whole Damn Thing with David Lesser in conversation with Rosemarie Milsom

David is a well-known long form journalist. Men, Women and the Whole Damn Thing  is his second book.  It came from a conversation with his daughter when she found out he was going to write a feature on the Me Too movement. She didn't want him to as she didn't think he fully understood the situation. So they had in depth and confronting conversations about it.

He realised he had to have a rigorous self interrogation before he could really write about this. And really research the great feminists. He looked at his wife and marriage and realised there was inequality in their marriage in terms labour.

The feature was well received, more than any other feature. And from there he continued to research to write the book. He also goes back and looks at the seeds of misogyny. Which goes back to BC. And of course looks at modern history and masculinity and the broken men out there.

Rosemarie asked what does it mean to be a good man? His answer was what does it mean to be a good person? Generosity, kindness, resolve and ambition where it is required without being at the expense of others. Be strong and tender, also vulnerable. View women with respect, and raise your sons with respect.

Fascinating and honest, I really really want to read his book.

Smells Like Teen Spirit With Sarah Macdonald and Cathy Wilcox in conversation with Meredith Jaffe.

Fascinating conversation about teenagers from Sarah and Cathy and Meredith based on their book, Smells Like Teen Spirit.  They talked about how wonderful teenagers can be, and how challenging they can be. Also the whole new era of online and fluid sexuality. Which can be great and bad. Whilst I don't have teens, I found it interesting.

The Weekend with Charlotte Wood in conversation with Ailsa Piper.

The Weekend is Charlotte's 7th book and is about 3 friends who come together to grieve a 4th friend who has recently passed. There is also an ageing dog in the book and Charlotte spoke about the background into adding this 'character', and how it helped with plot in the story.

Secrets and Lies with Susan Francis and Stephanie Wood in conversation with Suzanne Leal

Suzanne started the conversation talking to the authors about how they were going workwise and creatively during this time. Stephanie is at the beginning of a new book and has plenty of ideas but is unsure what will be worthy of publication and meaningful at the end of this time. It is an interesting thought. Susan is well into her next book and is soldiering ahead.

Stephanie's book, Fake, which I have read, is about a man she met online who ended up being a complete fake and was having a relationship with another woman simultaneously. The book came from an article she had written about the experience that I read with horror around the same time I started online dating. It helped me be less naive in my endeavours. The book fleshes the story out and goes into the psychological aspect of people who do that and those that get caught in their wake.

I didn't know much about Susan's memoir, The Love that Remains. I knew it had been well received. It is about meeting her true love later in life after a period where she had been searching for her parents, she had been adopted. She found happiness in this man and they married and decided to pack up and live in Spain for a year after her husband said we should live before we die. But unfortunately he died while they were overseas. How absolutely heartbreaking. And then she drops in a spoiler of an additional turn, which I will not add here. 

It was intense, but I just cannot wait to get my hands on the book so I can read it!!

Surf by Day Jam by Night with Ash Grunwald in conversation with Nick Milligan.

Ash has written a book about how surfing and music go hand in hand. He interviews various musicians and surfers who do both and describes why they do work together. He talked about a whole range of ideas and things related to staying fit and happy, being in the moment, and how music feeds the surf and vice versa.

You can read about Day 2 here.

ADELAIDE FESTIVAL AND WRITERS' WEEK

The Adelaide Festival is huge and was on while I was there. Womad is a large part of the festival. It also includes the Fringe Festival and Writers' Week.

The Writers' Week was held in the Pioneer Women's Memorial Gardens which was a beautiful location. There were two large stages that ran simultaneously, the theme of the week was Being Human. The whole festival is free and the crowds were huge.

I missed most of it, but my first full day in Adelaide was the last day of the festival. So after a morning walk in the city I made my way to the gardens.

I saw Margaret Simons talking about her book on Penny Wong. It was originally not approved of by Penny, but she slowly pursued her and Penny finally turned around and gave her a couple of short interviews. Penny is as amazing and formidable as you can imagine and hope.

After lunch I caught the end of Mohammed Massoud Morsi's talk. Mohammed is an Egyptian Journalist and spoke about writing about conflict, politics, his country, and so forth. Fascinating and scary and important, I was quite taken by it all.

I moved straight to a wonderful chat with Michael Robotham and Felicity McLean. I haven't read anything by Robotham, not my genre, but I have heard him talk before and he is charismatic and interesting. I have Felicity's book, The Van Apfel Girls are Gone, on my to read list. They each talked about their processes and books. They both started as ghost writers for mostly "autobiographies" and felt it gave them great training for capturing character and finding their voice.

Felicity's story was fascinating. She is a journalist and was a ghost writer and a few years back was on a panel at SWF and was asked to read something she had written. She couldn't read anything she had written, being a ghost writer,  but had an idea she was tossing around. She made up something on the spot and felt relieved she had gotten away with it...until the Q and A, and Bryan Brown was in the front row and asked her more about the book. She had to fess up and he challenged her to write it, and a few years later it was an instant best seller. She wanted to do a community mystery in the vein of Picnic at Hanging Rock. She wrote it over 2 years during 5am and 7am every day. I can't wait to read it.

The final session of the day was Vicki Laveau-Harvie talking about her remarkable memoir, The Erratics. I recently read it and was blown away. It is about her estranged parents, and the period when she was called back to help out when her elderly mother was admitted to hospital after a fall. It weaves around time to tell the story of why Vicki and her sister were both estranged from her parents, her mother's mental health, and the possibility she was slowly killing their father. A tale of dreadful parenting and tenacity and survival. Written with beauty and honesty and humour, no wonder it has won so many awards.

Listening to Vicki talk, was an absolute joy. She is a born storyteller, intelligent, eloquent, vivacious, and funny. She told stories behind the story, fleshed out sections that were not in the memoir, and explained how those written about reacted to the book. If you ever get the chance to be in her company, do not refuse, and go and read the book. 

The next day I headed to the festival centre building, which is a huge complex opposite the gardens. It has theatres, galleries, and a large restaurant and cafe within it. Every day during the festival David Marr was doing an hour talk with someone involved in the festival. I got there early and had a wander about before grabbing a hot chocolate and then finding a good seat. I was lucky I got a seat in the third row and the place filled, like standing room only full!

The person we were waiting to see, was a famous English stage actress who was out here in a play for the festival. Juliet Stevenson is also a movie and television actress, and the star of one of my all-time favourite fims, Truly, Madly, Deeply. I was beside myself to be in her presence. I have seen her in many other films and recently loved her in S2 of Riviera. She was also in Emma, Mona Lisa Smile, Being Julia, Bend it like Beckham and many more.

Juliet was gracious and lovely and honest and open and gave us everything which was wonderful. David, it goes without saying, was a wonderful interviews and they had a lovely chemistry. She was very down to earth but had this charismatic feel that only the big stars, I imagine, have. Her intelligence was fierce and her stories fascinating. She spoke about politics and feminism and racism and ethics which were among many of the themes within her play, The Doctor. It sounded quite fascinating, I wish I would have had the chance to see it.

They had a Q and A at the end and I so desperately wanted to ask her what it was like to act opposite the late, great Alan Rickman and was the Musical scene as much fun to shoot as it looked. But I didn't, she was here to talk about her play. But I just felt so happy to be in her presence, it really didn't matter.

After the session ended I went and had a look at the photography display in the centre. It was called the 150 Psalms Exhibition and featured 150 extraordinary photographs from the archive of The Australian matched with a Psalm.

There was also a lot of wonderful art exhibited around the corridors of the building.

I had a late lunch in their cafe before heading off for Day 1 of Womad. 

FEBRUARY DIARY

Hey everyone,
I survived February and as I write this, I am currently on holidays!

So for those playing at home, February has been a pretty bad month for me the past two years. One week in the middle in particular.

Two years ago during that week I found out I had breast cancer and last year during the very same week I found out that during my work restructure I had been dropped two grades and no longer classified as a Librarian. And to be honest I have no idea which is worse. At least with the cancer I could place my faith in the medical profession to get me through...and they did. I was really lucky to have caught it really early through thorough and regular check ups. So please go and get your boobs checked.

The work thing is more far complex, I was lucky enough to retain a job, but a job far removed from what I was trained, educated, and used to doing. I am still working through this trauma. Being a Librarian WAS my life, my calling, my love. There are no words to describe the pain involved with this, and feels infinitely worse than when I was working through the cancer. I still work in libraries but it is very much back to basic and whilst I am still loving the work and trying to make the most of a dire situation, I have no idea where I am headed and at nearly 50 that is very frightening.

So it was lovely to get through the month without anything too traumatic or challenging happening this year! And working through the month, it was nice to know I had a break and a holiday waiting for me. During this past 2 years of hell, I have had breaks, mostly sick leave but some actual annual leave, and I had a few breaks away but no real actual holiday. So I have 5 weeks off and am headed to Adelaide (and Womad) for 2 weeks and then 1 week in Melbourne, with time at home ending with the Newcastle Writer's Festival. Whilst it doesn't sound like the most exciting holiday, it is exactly what I need. Time to chill, rest, walk, look up, be still, explore a new city in my own time, and mainline a LOT of culture!!!

But onto the month of February and what I got up to.

The month started with Oscar Watch and a lot of film going. I saw JoJo Rabbit, The Joker, Ford V Ferrari, and 1917.

You can read my Oscar Watch Reviews here.

You can read my Oscar Watch predictions here and my round up here.

I caught up with my lovely friend Di at The Surfhouse, mid month, we had a lovely lunch and chatter. I have known Di since Kindi, so we've always plenty to chat about.

Libraries celebrate Library Lovers Day on February 14th and we decorated the library, bought some red heart lollypops, and encouraged our customers to write about their love of libraries and books. It was a lovely day.

I finally got to a Chat 10, Looks 3 Live Podcast. It is one of my favourite podcasts with Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb chatting about all things cultural. Watching them live in person was sheer joy. I know we'd be firm friends. They were funny, dramatic, and so super intelligent and lovely, I was in heaven. Early on in their podcast, they referenced their assistant as Cathy the Librarian, she was really Brenda, but she WAS a Librarian. I often pretended they were talking about me. So when we lined up to meet them after the show, I couldn't resist telling them that, and they loved it and still let me have a pic with them!

I saw Emma with Belinda and just loved it! I am an Austen fan and a fan of period drama done well. It was beautifully filmed and the set design and costume design stunning. It was fun and made you feel happy and also have a laugh. The cast were young and fresh and Bill Nighy adorable as Emma's father. It was indeed swoon worthy, loads of pastels, lovely outside scenary, lavish feast scenes, beautiful jewels and on and on.

We farewelled another colleague at Pippys. She will be very much missed and I always enjoyed working my Saturdays with her. I am sure she will have a lovely retirement.

The final day of the month was the first day of my holidays and I me,t my bestie at a great new cafe at Marks Point, The Captain and the Crew. They do an amazing all day breakfast menu. I had the Ricotta Hotcakes with granola and berries. Absolutely delicious, lovely service, nice atmosphere, and everything looked great. Wonderful chatter goes without saying, we'll be back.

It was also our first day back to Bibliptweeps Book Club, I finished the book literally in time to walk out the door to attend. It was The Friend by Sigrid Nunez and you can read my thoughts about it in my monthly reviews blog.

That evening I met friends at Mayfield Bowlo for dinner and a dance to our fave band, Yes Commissioner. The food was pub standard but good, the venue left a lot to be desired with the band room right near the 'smoking room' and the smoke billowed out and was almost unbearable plus it was super hot. When we moved closer to the air con and away from the smoke the night improved. The band was on fire, one of the best gigs I have seen them play in ages. They are always great, but this was super great. And what I love most is their followers. All older, say 45 to 60ish in age, ageing punks, rockers, goths just loving the music. Absolutely glorious, and the music is 80s indie, The Cure, Talking Heads, Bowie, The Ramones, The Clash, Elvis Costello, The Sex Pistols etc.  They ended with a punkish version of the Batman Theme and there were many variations of The Batusi on the dancefloor!!

There was the usual markets and some photography.

FEBRUARY REVIEWS

What I've Been Reading

The Shepherd’s Hut by Tim Winton – I listened to this on spoken word read by Kate Mulvany. What a great story, about a young boy who is on the run in the outback and finds a hut and an old man. Why is the man there, alone in the middle of nowhere, should he approach him, and why indeed is the boy on the run anyway? Kate Mulvany brings this storytelling alive with her accents and fabulous vocal stylings. And Winton, once again, shows he is the master of storytelling. I felt like I was there and could imagine every thing that happened, a remarkable skill that not every writer has.

The Friend by Sigrid Nunez - This was a lovely shortish novel (only 212 pages) and a delight to read. It is about a woman, who inherits an ageing Great Dane, when her friend and mentor commits suicide. She is an English Literature Lecturer. The book is a mix of various subjects and themes. It is a meditation on her friend's life and her pondering on why he did what he did. It is about Literature and her thoughts wander to great writers and how they would look at situations, Woolf figures heavily of course. And then there is her relationship with this great dog, she initially is reluctant to take on the responsibility, mostly as her rent-controlled apartment in NY does not allow dogs. This could have been a depressing and dull book, but it is uplifting, fascinating, educational (in a good way) and interesting. I really loved this book.

Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig – this was a solid little read. It is part memoir, part self-help, and about the period of his life when he had serious depression and anxiety, and tried to commit suicide. It beautifully describes how he was feeling, or not feeling and how he – with much help – pulled himself through it. It is a great book to read if you or someone you know suffers from this affliction, it is easy to read and understand and super helpful!

Complete Self Help For Your Nerves by Dr Claire Weekes - I read about Dr Weekes in Clare Bowditch's magnificent memoir. Her works really helped her recover from a bad nervous breakdown when she was much younger. As I suffer from anxiety and mild depression from time to time, I figured it was worth a read. All of the books we hold at the library by Dr Weekes are in demand, presumably by those who have read Clare's book as most are quite old. I found the book enlightening and easy to read and follow. And I found I already utilise a lot of her methods, thanks to my own time in therapy. But there was a lot more I picked up, especially in terms of sleep, too much and when you can't. Given everyone suffers from what Holly Golightly called 'the mean reds' from time to time, I think this is a book everyone should read. 

The Power Age: a celebration of life's second act by Kelly Doust - this was a great book full of all sorts of information on ageing presented in a sexy, sassy, and powerful way. Interviews with famous and not so famous people on the power of ageing. Tips and tricks about all sorts of things relating to ageing from work to relationships to sex and health. This was a great book to dip in and out of. As I approach 50 I am determined not to feel old and in despair!

Taming Toxic People: the science of identifying and dealing with psychopaths at work and at home by David Gillespie – I listened to an episode of Conversations with Richard Fidler on it. David is most well known for his Poison Sugar books but this is infinitely more interesting. But he was talking about this book and it was incredibly frightening and yet utterly fascinating. I recognised behaviours of acquaintances and it gave me shivers. Long story short, you really cannot win over these douchbags, you’ve gotta run away. But that, of course, is not always possible, so there are tips on how to manoeuvre around these idiots. If you feel there are psychopaths in your path or just regular toxic people, especially in the workplace, this book WILL unnerve you but it will help you manage through.

Elegance: the beauty of French fashion by Megan Hess – this is another stunning book by Hess. She writes about fashion and style, and illustrates the book herself with the most gorgeous strokes. Her books are works of art.

Incidental Inventions by Elena Ferrante - I honestly do not understand why Ferrante is held in such a high adoration. I think her writing is good and readable, but it is not great. This is a book of essays or columns for a newspaper she wrote over a year. She was given interesting topics that could have been quite fascinating to write about and they were readable and good, but again, not great.

Picasso – this is a lovely little art book I picked up second hand at Cooks Hill Book Shop. It tells the story of Picasso in a brief memoir and more detailed description of his artistic value and his various stages accompanied by a fabulous painting on each page. I do love Picasso, so this was pure joy.

What I've Been Watching

Everything's Gonna Be OK - this is the new Josh Thomas and it is, of course, wonderful. Much like his absolutely brilliant Please Like Me, this has a lovely loose vibe that layers the characters week after week. It has the same lovely jaunty melancholy. Again, Josh plays a similar version of himself, a little but flakey, a little bit funny. He is holidaying with his father in the US when he learns his father hasn't long to live due to an aggressive cancer. He becomes the guardian of his 2 teenage step-sisters. The older is high-functioning autistic and the younger one is a little shy and doesn't fit in well. Josh is in a new relationship and remains in the US to juggle all these commitments. It is stunning and funny and sad and melancholy. Josh just writes such beautiful layered characters in very real situations. He is a National Treasure. Oh and there is a dog, an amazing dog!!! 

Shrill S2 -  I loved S1 so much, I thought S2 would never arrive, but it did and it was as good, if not possibly better! It picks up exactly where it left off, and hilariously so. I loved Aidy Bryant before this, I worship her now, lol! She is as fierce and fabulous as her writer, Lindy West. I read and loved Shrill years ago and was a little worried when they announced this show, I should not have been. Aidy plays Annie, a 'larger' size gal who is a writer with a loud voice waiting to emerge. I personally would call Annie - based on what I see in my life - an average sized gal, but whatever. The show runs far deeper than size. It has fascinating, layered characters and this season we get to know all of them a bit more. Both Annie and her flatmate/bestie, Fran (man I love Lolly Adefope) have challenging relationships with their mothers, and this season brings that to a stunning head. Daniel Stern is a revelation as Annie's father. Her relationship with her boyfriend continued to confuddle me (no spoilers!) and that with her spectacularly toxic boss, Gabe (John Cameron Mitchell is everything, his party episode is truly wonderful, and it gets to showcase the other talents we know he has - ok spoiler, he does a brilliant version of Moonage Daydream!). Shrill S2 is totally worth your time, not only will you be entertained and amused (it is very funny) but you will grow watching it. I know that sounds wanky, but trust me, it is a worthwhile thing!

Will and Grace S3 - been loving this new season, these guys, they are just brilliant together and funny. It is what we need in these dreary times. What more can I say, you know the show, get with the program.

Celebrity Gogglebox UK - ok, this is a bit of a guilty pleasure. I watch regular Australian Gogglebox and love it. When I stumbled across this I felt a little dirty, I have to say. The term celebrity is used very loosely and if it wasn't for the gorgeous Martin Kemp (from Spandau Ballet and still very good looking, in fact, better looking) and his teenage son, I probably would have passed. They are lovely and some of the others grow on you. The final two episodes bring in a new couple, Shaun and his mate, Bez, from Manchester. Yes, Shaun Ryder and Bez from The Happy Mondays, and they are as hilarious as you can imagine. I want more!!!!

Amazing Race - I do love anything to do with travel and other countries, and this will always suck me in, even though some of the people are super annoying, always the ones who win too, sigh. 

Booksmart – I enjoyed this movie about 2 swotty girls on the eve of high school graduation racing to do all the fun stuff they missed out on while they were studying. It has gotten rave reviews, I wouldn’t go that far. I felt like I had seen the film before numerous times to the point I wondered whether it was a remake of something. But in all a good teen movie.

Bee Nation  - documentary following some First Nation kids from a small town in the first province-wide First Nations Spelling Bee. It shows families doing it rough ensuring their kids get a fair go at life. Some very smart cookies in the mix and watching the actual Spelling Bee has you on the edge of your seat hoping the kids get through. Really wonderful stuff.

What I've Been Listening To

Colorado - Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Neil is as prolific as ever, and this was a good solid album, but nothing outstanding.

Everyday Life by Coldplay – this is very different to other Coldplay albums and I really enjoyed it. I know it is not cool to like Coldplay but I do. I don’t worship them or would call myself a fan. But I do like them. This is a very chill album, I felt incredibly relaxed listening to it. It had a real Pink Floyd vibe to it in part. I read an article where they played around with genres and you really get that feeling. Worth a listen.

Wild Seeds by Seeker Lover Keeper -  also a very chill album, but given the trio of Aussie singers that is to be expected. Seeker Lover Keeper are the sublime Sarah Blasko, Sally Seltman, and Holly Throsby and this is their 2^nd album, 8 years after the first. It is lovely, melodic, beautiful, touching, all the feels. Totally recommend.

Remind Me Tomorrow by Sharon Van Etten – I really like Sharon Van Etten’s atmospheric, hypnotic sound. It is no wonder she was in Twin Peaks and on the soundtrack. Modern and catchy, yet thoroughly classic feeling. The album is a little bit pop, a little bit ballad, a little bit trip-hop, a little bit everything. Whilst I know her work, this is the first album of hers I have listened to and I really loved it.

Hit Parade  - another new podcast! Oh vey, so many podcasts, so little time. This is by a journo from Slate magazine and each episode he tackles a subject and how it relates to something else or history musically. Absolutely fabulous, as a music buff I am learning things and remembering stuff long forgotten. He links Tom Petty with Prince in one episode (more cross overs than you would think), Elton and George Michael, the history of Red Red Wine, B-sides, Madonna, The Beatles and so on. If you love music, this is for you! I think they only come out monthly, but I am going back to the beginning and listening in order, there are a lot to catch up on.

Rumble with Michael Moore  -  Continuing to love this prolific podcast. I loved the RuPaul episode, if you want to hear a lovely chat about inclusiveness and making the world a better place, this is for you. Moore and RuPaul have a lovely chemistry and I can assure you, you will smile and feel better about the world. The De Niro one is equally as fabulous, but more political and packs a punch. These guys are amazing and similarly placed politically and their take down on Trump the Clown is pretty brilliant!