God Jul
What a day!
I spent most of it with a friend who was admitted to hospital at short notice.
And now, tonight, I’m tired, both physically and emotionally.
Hoping this might give you a smile.
Similar Posts
Mornington Peninsula
I’ve just returned home from a terrific week’s holiday on the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne. I feel fully rested, have had some terrific experiences and have almost completely forgotten about work for a while (a major goal),In some respects it was a little like going home to Lismore, starting from the flight down. Not being entirely au fait with the geography of Melbourne, I booked a flight through Jetstar which flies into Avalon Airport. When my friend, Sue, told me “Avalon airport is half way to Geelong”, I thought she was just being dramatic. But no, she’s correct. And arriving there was just like arriving at Lismore airport in many ways.
We stayed at the house of a couple of Sue’s friends, Sue and Richard who were away. The house was at Frankston, overlooking Port Phillip Bay, and it was literally a 10 or 15 second walk from the back door to the beach, as this sunset photograph taken from the backstairs shows. In stark contrast to my life in inner-city Sydney, the house Sue and I were staying in was on a really quiet street, with the only noises we heard being that of the ocean and birdlife.
Consequently, we slept in most days until about 10am (or thereabouts), starting off the day with a bit of mid-morning television and breakfast ahead of some daytime wandering, shopping, eating, touring and visiting galleries.
The first gallery we visited was that of Marion Rozestky, an artist who specialises in painted pottery. Curiousity got the better of me, and I asked her if she was related to David Rozestky, to which she replied “I’m the mother of the artist”. I thought this was interesting, as the art group I’m part of, Hawkesbury One owns one of David Rozestky’s works. We spoke for a while about her talented children and about her own late interest in developing her artistic skills. “I still can’t draw”, she told us, “and so I guess that’s why I do dots”.
The local regional gallery, the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery had a very good exhibition called, Moist, featuring watercolours from the National Gallery. The exhibition featured an eclectic range of works, including Sue’s favourite, a piece called, “Curtis Dancing On E”. There was also an exhibition by Melbourne print-makers, including one called Lesbia Thorpe? “Do you reckon many children are called Lesbia, Sue?” I asked wyrly. “I’ll suggest it to Karen as she’s looking for interesting baby names at the moment”, she replied.
We also visited the McLelland Gallery, which is mostly focussed on sculpture. The garden featured a range of interesting works including some astroturf topiary, what appeared to be a toothbrush/windmill, some large glass mirrored cubes as well as some more traditional sculpture. We both really enjoyed the gallery and believe it would be worth a visit when the weather was better.
Visiting the gallery was the first sign of the local sponsorship of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch who lives closeby. Dame Elisabeth has also contributed to the new Royal Botanic Gardens (Cranbourne) which specialises in Australian plants. Our guide, Sue Galbally, told us the gardens had only recently been planted and that it would probably be two or three years before it comes into its own, since most Australian plants are reasonably fast growers (with the exception of the eucalypts).
With an emphasis on the importance of water on the Australian continent, the gardens recognise the many different biospheres, and in a very practical sense for gardens provides recommendations about various plants depending on water availability. An especially interesting aspect of the design was the use of computer modelling to help mimic the sound of flowing water in the bush, and the use of rusted steel to create the nearby escarpment. Overall, a very worthwhile experience and we would both recommend a visit.
When we weren’t out and about, we spent a fair bit of time just relaxing, eating, and watching DVDs. We watched loads of DVD’s including “My Fair Lady”, “Prick Up Your Ears”, “Ride On Stranger”, “Primary Colours”, “Frontline”, “To The Manner Born” and “Six Feet Under”. I’m not sure if the final episode of “Six Feet Under” has screened on free to air television here yet, but I have a preview DVD which we watched. It’s interesting. “A bit surreal”, as just about everyone who appears on television seems to say these days.
Mostly, we ate at home. But when we did wander out, we visited a couple of nice places including the “Flinders Bakery” (for lunch), where we enjoyed some yummy pies, as well as “The Baths” (for afternoon tea) at Sorrento, where the coffee and biscuits were good.
So yeah, it was a pretty enjoyable holiday.
Billie Holiday
I went searching on Spotify and Youtube Music yesterday for a comprehensive album or playlist of the works of Billie Holiday. Though it’s been at least 35 years since I bought her recordings on vinyl, and a few years later on CD, I was keen to find a good digital collection. You wouldn’t believe how many of the collections online DON’T include the song “Strange Fruit”.
In stark contrast, lyrically, to her other jazz recordings which are lighter love songs, “Strange Fruit” is an allegorical song about the “lynching” of black Americans. By “lynching”, I mean this.
Lynching in the United States was a widespread occurrence beginning in the 1830s Antebellum South until the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Although the victims of lynching in the U.S. for the first few decades of the phenomenon were predominantly white Southerners, after the American Civil War emancipated roughly 4 million enslaved African-Americans, they became the primary targets of lynchings beginning in the Reconstruction era. Lynchings in the U.S. reached their height from the 1890s to the 1920s, and primarily targeted African-Americans and other ethnic minorities. The American South saw the majority of lynchings as it contained the largest number of African-Americans residing there, although racially motivated lynchings occurred in the Midwest and border states as well.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_in_the_United_States
In my heart of hearts, I can’t understand why a human would ever be involved in such terrible behaviour. The lyrics of the song are so incredibly powerful.
Southern trees bear a strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swingin’ in the Southern breeze
Strange fruit hangin’ from the poplar treesPastoral scene of the gallant South
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Fruit
The bulgin’ eyes and the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolias sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burnin’ flesh
The film I saw yesterday, “The United States vs Billie Holiday” argues when she sang the song, she was seen as inciting violence and the growth of the civil rights movement.
The film explores her life story from the perspective she was relentlesly pursued by federal agents to either a) stop her from singing the song or b) stop her career.
That she had a significant problem with drugs made her an easier target. If they couldn’t stop her for the songs, they could pursue her for her drug use.
The film explains her problem with drugs possibly came from her earlier life’s problems, being raised by an abusive woman who was also sex worker, and being sexually abused from an early age. There’s a telling scene in the movie which portrays the idea her own personal sex life as being defined in an abusive way.
Despite the darkness of the film, there are also some wonderful moments where you get to understand her humanity, and the joy she obviously enjoyed from her performances on stage, and her friendships with fellow musicians.
The two key actors deliver wonderful performances: the actor who plays Billie, and the actor who plays Jimmy, who plays the federal agent who became her partner.
There’s a suggestion (or at least that’s how I read it) that Billie’s death (from a drug overdose) was not of her own devices, that she might have been killed.
The film is somewhat harrowing, but it’s still a film I’d highly recommend.
And of course, there’s her wonderful music.
I won’t give away too much about the film, except to say you should stay for the end of the film to see some information about the legal status of lynchings in the US today.
NSW Australian Of The Year
I have almost lost count of the number of times I’ve been to the announcement of the NSW Australian Of The Year. Though, it’s something I have a connection with through my work, it’s something I really enjoy being involved with on a personal level. There are so many great stories of people doing amazing things. Truly humbling.
Here are some photographs from tonight’s NSW @ausoftheyear (Australian Of The Year) highlighting a wonderfully expressive signer. Gosh she was great. It was a fabulous evening, and especially terrific to catch up with one of the finalists for Senior Australian, Terry O’Connell who I remember from my days in Wagga Wagga (where he was a local police officer), and Senior Australian Of The Year 2015, Jackie French, who I also came to know through my days living in Canberra. Flashback!
Hello? Hello?
There’s something kinda distressing about having workmen on your door first thing on a Monday morning.
You’ve woken up, you’re thinking about the week ahead, you’re trying to make an important fashion decision, and then you have to deal with two strange blokes installing a new intercom.
They weren’t strange blokes, of course. In fact, they were quite nice. And they did their job quickly and quietly. One down, 31 to go, they must haver been thinking to themselves.
And to be honest, I’m pleased I was allocated first thing on a Monday morning and not 10am Tuesday or something like that.
That was the highlight of my day, I guess.
Why you should drink Milo
A few months ago, I found myself in the hospital with a broken hip. I’ll never forget the surprise when someone from the Gerontology Department arrived. I always thought gerontology was for older people, but apparently, a 59-year-old man with a broken hip is unusual and likely a sign of osteoporosis.
After a bone density scan and a blood test, the diagnosis was confirmed today: I have osteoporosis. This is quite strange for a man of my age; it’s a condition that more commonly affects women due to hormonal changes. There is a history of osteoporosis among the women in my family, and it seems that despite not being a woman or a smoker (another common cause), I’ve inherited the condition.
This new reality means a few changes. Firstly, I need to increase my calcium intake. My doctor and I reviewed my diet and, while it’s not far off, I could use a bit more. She suggested a dietary supplement if I can’t make up the difference with food, so I picked one up from the chemist today.
On top of that, I’ll require bone-strengthening injections. For the first year, I’ll have them monthly, followed by a more potent annual injection. One of the risks associated with this treatment is the potential for a stroke, so my doctor has recommended I see a cardiologist to ensure everything is okay in that regard.
It’s been interesting learning about calcium sources. I knew about milk and cheese, which are already a regular part of my diet. In fact, looking into it, I was surprised to see that even something like Milo is actually a high source of calcium. I just thought it was chocolate, though I vaguely remember the ads on TV many years ago saying something about calcium. However, I was also surprised to learn that many fruits and vegetables, which I thought would be beneficial, don’t make a significant difference in comparison.
Can somebody recommend a podiatrist in Sydney?
My podiatrist cancelled on me today for the third time in a row. The clinic informed me that he no longer works there. This is particularly frustrating as my previous podiatrist also left his separate practice abruptly.
It seems there’s a shortage of podiatrists in Australia, a fact confirmed by a podiatrist I spoke with on the trip to China. She mentioned that the professional association is aware of the issue but is still figuring out how to address it.
So, that’s my health update for today. And please take a look at the calcium chart.
Back to life in Sydney
“Hi Jim how was the fridge? Have you settled in ok?” came the message from Karran earlier today. Having been away for four months, I told her I expected the fridge to be in need of cleaning out, but I thought the freezer would be okay. That wasn’t the case.
For dinner tonight, I pulled out some curry, frozen from a few months ago. After about two minutes in the microwave, the smell of something which had been frozen, but which had defrosted for a while became evident. Clearly, the power must have gone off for a while?
But aside from the fridge, I seem to have settled in okay.
I bought a few things online over the weekend and was surprised at how quickly they arrived. I was prepared for “lengthy delays”. A new desk and new chair from Officeworks arrived on Monday, though I wasn’t expecting it until tomorrow. For a moment I wondered why I didn’t get the fully constructed version of both. For the confusing bits (adding the casters in particular) I looked up how to do that on Youtube, instead of the paper instructions. Youtube is awesome for that kind of thing. In the end, I decided I didn’t really need to add the arms to the chair.
And I also bought a new vacuum cleaner, one of those “stick models” from Dyson. You wouldn’t believe how much “ground in dirt” there was in the carpet. It was like when I visited a bathhouse in China a few years ago and was scrubbed to within an inch of my life. I looked at my arms and there was dirt like I hadn’t expected. “Did that really come out of my skin?”, I asked the bloke who was scrubbing me down. Apparently so.
The one thing I can’t get over since arriving back in Sydney is the apparent low levels of mask-wearing. I spoke about this with some colleagues today. One of them lives in the Inner West, the other in Sutherland Shire, and they both reported almost everyone they’ve seen in their areas has been wearing masks. Here in Surry Hills, I’d estimate it’s only about fifty per cent.
A few months ago the non-mask wearers tended to be middle-aged and older blokes. Now it seems to be much younger people. They’re either not wearing masks at all, and or they have them under their chins. They’re clearly wearing them only in case they are pulled over by the police. By the look in their eyes, there seems to be defiance in their decision not to wear masks. Or maybe I’m reading too much into it?
That said, I saw someone at the supermarket last night who was wearing one of those “welding mask face shields”, rubber gloves, as well as full covering over her head and body. It was like she was in an Ebola ward.
Maybe she was immune-compromised or had another reason, but it did seem a little over the top. I snapped a sneaky pic! I’d love to listen in to a conversation between those in the two extremes of what I’ve seen so far.
Since arriving back I’ve been out most days for a walk or for some shopping. I haven’t been doing the amount of daily exercise I did in Lismore, and I’ve been feeling a little guilty about that. I’m back to making my own coffee at home, and it takes a little more effort to get to those lovely walking spots like I had in Lismore.
I think it’s time for a bit of exploration of my area, like I was doing back in Lismore.
One Comment