A BIG SURPRISE IN MY SHORTS

We had set ourselves up under a shady ledge on the sand near the deserted, beautiful rockpools and inlets of Boat Harbour. I had got out a book and was beginning to to happily doze off, lying on my all-too-well padded tummy. Suddenly Ian came up and cried, “Oh Bill, LOOK!” Instantly I was aware that I had been joined by something that was on the back of my thigh and was intruding itself into my bright red shorts. My legs flailed wildly, (giving my foot a minor injury against a sandstone outcrop) and I swatted at my legs and buttocks like a man possessed. The friendly, fearless personage you see pictured life-sized above, scurried away, wondering what all the fuss was about. Ian had taken his picture previously, about a hundred metres down the track.I’m glad to be back on lj. Ian had been quite ill for a few weeks and then had a computer crisis, so I’d had a period of limited access and I’d been a bit down myself. I sometimes have doubts about how well I’m doing as a carer and supporter of this wonderful man. I should have greater reserves of calm and stamina, but I’m afraid that sometimes I let things get to me. A couple of night ago, Sydney’s wonderful and unique SBS channel showed Fellini’s “Amacord”. It is the only major Fellini film I had never managed to see and, Oh how worth the wait it was. I adored it! I know recent revelations about him paint a not-very-flattering portrait of the old maestro, but whatever his collaborators went through, it was worth it. What unalloyed joy his films have afforded me through the years. Once again a magical ship loomed out of the darkness as it does in so many of his films, once again he thrilled me like no other has ever managed to do. (Certainly not James Cameron, Kate, Leonardo and a squillion bucks in “Titanically Fatuous”).Hope to be talking to y’all a bit more regularly for a while.

Helen & Charlotte Etc.

Still unwell with the same lurgi as Ian but I haven’t posted in days so I will offer a couple of random thoughts.First, having seen Charlotte Rampling in “Sous le Sable” and Helen Mirren in “Prime Suspect 6” this week, it is my contention that both actresses in their late 50’s have more sex-appeal in their little fingers than a busload of Britney Spears or Kylies or Beyonces.Secondly, of all the American expressions that have recently found a place in the Australian vernacular, the cruelest, most demeaning and inhumane has to be the repulsively smug term “loser”. Thirdly, please American friends, keep Mr Bush at home and remove him from office as soon as possible.The “reductio ad absurdam” of his administration’s policies would see only a very rich group of people left, inhabiting a wasteland.He seems to me to be capable of making the world of Samuel Beckett a reality.

Me in the backyard

Spring weather

An Afternoon at the Opera

Iv’e just watched a production by the Canadian Opera Company of “ Leporello’s Don Giovanni “, an innovative, exciting production which consists of all the scenes from “ Don Giovanni “ in which Leporello participates or which he witnesses. The same (very sexy ) singer appears as both Leporello and the Don , sometimes singing in duet with himself ( the Don is the subject of a black and white film being shown by Leporello).The women watching Leporello’s film all looked rather like the Duchess of Windsor, and the staging of the filmed performances was very clever.It was the best filmed production of an opera I’ve seen since the San Francisco Opera’s “Mefistofile’ and a very high-tech version of “The Damnation of Faust” by (I think) a German company whose name escapes me. There is also a very funny “Ring Cycle” showing on the tube at the moment, one act at a time. Wotan is a bikie, Seigfreid is a hash-smoking yahoo slob, Mime seems to be the proprietor of a greasy spoon café/ garage. I can’t wait to see what they make of Fafner the dragon. Except maybe for “Tristan and Isolde”, I think the only way Wagner can still be presented is as satire, as in the famous Boulez/ Chereau production. The man, his philosophy and his stage history are too repulsive to be presented without directorial comment for a modern audience unless they happen to be Germans in the 70+ age bracket.The Australian Opera, a few years ago had the good fortune to acquire the services of the wonderful Simone Young, who brought us productions of difficult , challenging works such as “ The Lady Macbeth of Mtensk” by Schostokovitch and “ Lulu “ by Berg. She lifted orchestral standards by enormous leaps. She. of course, had to go. “ Too expensive a vision, too challenging, too....well it’s not what we’re used to! “ So its back to Butterfly, Boheme, Traviata and Mikado for us thank you very much, and the blue-rinse set is able to re-affirms its cultural dominance, the corporate sector is comforted and we can all slip back into our semi-comas. We may have a great building, but Canada is miles ahead in spirit and adventurousness.Australian artistic boards chew up and spit out talented people, The treatment that was meted out to the great Australian choreographer Meryl Tankard and to the American genius director Peter Sellars are two recent embarrassing examples.Having priced themselves out of the reach of “just folks”, most tickets for opera and ballet are snapped up in blocks by corporate types with little appreciation for the arts but a great appreciation for being seen in all the right places. How do I know they have little appreciation for the arts? They behave like they’e at home watching”Big Brother”.Anyway, congratulations to the Canadians on a fabulous production.

Up and Running Again

Today was the first time for a while that both of us have been well enough to get out and about. The pic is of me midst a cloud of begonias at the Botanical Gardens. The day was a Sydney spring jewel - hot sun, cool breeze, ultramarine sky. Everwhere you could hear people saying, “ What a GLORIOUS day ! “The Opera House looked pristine from the Tarpeian Rock in the gardens.So this is my ” nice “ post after my last two political posts which bored or offended some of my friends but made me feel SWELL !Religion next......bring it on ! I enjoy snapping at those who think blogs should be like a Victorian hostess’s dinner conversation:” no politics, no religion, no sex....sorry, lots of sex”I guess I lied, I’m not really “ nice “.

Morning Mantra for Australians

We are all very brave,We are all very generous,We are all very open-hearted,And welcoming.We are all great at sports,We all love sport, We can all play sport, Better than anyone elseWe are all tolerant,Our contribution To the ArtsIs unparalleled.We can drinkEnormous amountsOf beer with noDeleterious effect.We need to be told,How we needTo be toldHow wonderful we areOne dayWe’ll be betterEven thanThe Americans