I went to the Boyer Lecture today.
This year’s lecture was given by Peter Cosgrove, former head of the defence forces.
In today’s lecture he reflected on how many times Australia has gone to war without facing any direct threat, but for reasons of “national interest”.
In the case of the First World war, he argued, it was about sureing up our position with the UK.
In the Vietnam War, it was about sureing up our position with the US.
In between, he noted, we did actually face a threat from Japan, but ended up fighting for more important reasons against Nazism.
He also reflected on the many reasons why a country goes to war, and the many issues that need to be considered, including the cost and the possibility of success. In doing so, he reflected on some comments he made a few years ago about how he felt Vietnam was a mistake.
It was an interesting speech, and a nice way to spend a bit of Sunday afternoon.
Aside from that, I haven’t done much else today.
I got a little “snap happy” on the way home last night, although I’m not exactly sure why. Perhaps it was the glass or two of wine I had? Perhaps it was because the semi-full moon made everything seem so bright? Perhaps it was because I pretty much had the street to myself and felt less self-conscious about taking photographs? Or perhaps it was just an appreciation I live in a pretty terrific neighbourhood with lots to see? Whatever it was, I found myself inspired to take photographs of some of the more interesting signs, shops and sights I noticed, as I walked home along Crown Street, Surry Hills at about 12.30/1.00 this morning.
Enjoy the walk…
It’s the twentieth anniversary today of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I doubt there’ll be television specials except perhaps on the ABC or SBS, but I note there is a Beck’s Beer advertising campaign appearing on bus shelters around Sydney.
I’m not sure why, but I’ve always felt a bit of an affinity with Germany. I guess it has something to do with those childhood memories and learning German in high school. As I recalled about twelve months ago on this blog…
Twenty-six years ago, aged seventeen, I travelled to Germany (well, West Germany as it was then), with a group of school-mates and our teacher. I was in Year 12 and I’d been learning German for a number of years. Sometime a couple of years early, one of us had the idea of fund-raising for a trip to Germany, and so that’s just what we did. As well as the fund-raising, I also had a part-time job, and after two or three years, we had enough money to actually do it in May 1983. The memories of that trip remain incredibly vivid for most of my adult life. But particularly today, as I’ve walked around Berlin, many of those memories have come flooding back.
I remember the incredibly long overnight train trip from Frankfurt, being woken in the middle of the night for passport check (I couldn’t find mine for a moment), and then arriving in Berlin itself. I remember our day trip to East Berlin, and in particular, I remember going through one of the border points in Berlin (I remember it WASN’T Checkpoint Charlie), and going on a brief tour of East Berlin with an emphasis on galleries, museums and things like that. The East German tour guide was very proper, as I recall.
Later during our time in Berlin, I have an incredibly vivid memory of standing in the Tiergarten near Brandenberg Gate, where there were two guards goose-stepping their way around. Along with my two school-mates, Louise and Amanda, we waved at them, hoping for some response. Nothing. Nothing. And then finally, a very brief raised hand in response.
Travelling back to West Germany in the daylight hours, I also have a very vivid memory of seeing a school outside the train window, which declared with a huge sign that “The sun always shines in East Germany”.
Last year, I returned to Berlin and made the following observations…
A lot has changed in twenty five years, obviously. For a start, I’m staying in what was East Berlin. And so far, I’ve yet to wander over the border into what was West Berlin. From my perspective, it’s like visiting a whole new city, because in some ways it is. However, there are a few buildings I’ve recognised from that brief day-trip to East Germany. There’s been a wonderful sense of dejavu.
For a while the memories were a little overwhelming and I found myself a little overcome. “This is a total mindfuck”, I thought to myself at one point, reflecting on how different was the experience now. Not only because Berlin has changed dramatically, but also because I’m now seeing it through the eyes of a forty-two year old.
Interestingly enough, November 9 is an important day in German history. There’s a terrific article which discusses the significance of November 9 in German history, which I’d recommend.
Though it takes about an hour to get from Central to Cabramatta via train, the trip is well worth it. Sue and I headed out today for the annual Moon Festival, which I understand is traditionally in Vietnam, a “mid-autumn celebration”.
Both physically and metaphorically, Cabramatta is “home” to many Australians with Vietnamese heritage, because it’s an area where many people settled, soon after they arrived here in the wake of the Vietnam war.
The festival attracts a huge crowd, and in the midst of the more traditional Vietnamese stalls, there’s a fun fair, there were Japanese food demonstrations, and members of the highly entertaining (and very cute), Jerusalem street food bakery, Knafeh.
We had an awesome afternoon
It was just after midnight last night when I entered Tallinn’s grooviest nightclub, Angel for the third time. But as I entered the bar last night something was quite different. In stark contrast to the two previous times I’ve been there, the place last night was actually empty.
“There’s no one here yet. The place starts late?”, I said to the bloke behind the bar. With a nod of his head he confirmed as much. For a while it was just me, him, and another bloke who arrived at about the same time. It was probably one o’clock before anyone else turned up. Ordinarily I’d be thinking going home at that time in the morning, but I’m on holiday so I figured “why not have a late night on the town”?
I’d been out earlier in the night for a quick bit to eat. The restaurant was a dark and dingy cave-like affair that I happened upon. I don’t recall the name of the place, though it’s probably not the kind of place I’d recommend anyway. It was the kind of place you might walk past, look briefly at, and then keep walking, as you imagine there might be somewhere better further along. But a voice inside my head told me to go back.
The tuna salad they served was okay, as was the wine. The atmosphere was good though, with lots of 20 and 30-somethings enjoying good conversation, and cheap food ahead of a late night on the town in Tallinn.
There was only one conversation I could listen into though. A couple of young Australian blokes were sitting next to me. Their conversation was pretty innane, actually, as they discussed the pros and cons of living with parents. It was like they were describing a share house situation, more than anything, with the central theme being the kind of arguments you can have about the usual share-house dilemmas cooking and cleaning.
From there I wandered back to my hotel, dropped off my camera, and then made a return to the nightclub area of Tallinn’s Old Town. I had a couple of beers at the rather confrontingly named X Baar. Last night all the staff were female, and I suspect it might have been a lesbian-inclined evening. Still, men were very welcome.
Behind the bar there was an older woman who might have been the owner. There was something a bit “Dawn O’Donnell” about her as she surveyed the room. Amusingly there was another woman behind the bar who bore a remarkable resemblance to Gretel Killeen. I must have been staring a little too much, as she gave me a “why are you staring at me” look at one point.
And just when I thought I was gonna go home, that little voice inside my head told me to walk next door to Angel. Even though it was my third time this trip, I thought “why not”? And I’m really pleased I did, as I met a nice bloke there and had my first “real” conversation with a “local”.
Later he told me he was born in a small town near the Estonian/Latvian border. He’s also lived in both the United States and Spain, and would like to live in Australia. “I’m too old to get a working visa”, he told me. I gave him the good news the entry requirements have changed somewhat in the last twelve months. “Tallinn is too small”, he added.
Today was my last day in Tallinn, as I’m heading off to Riga tomorrow morning. In some ways I haven’t explored as much of the city as I probably should have. Today, for example, I didn’t do very much at all.
After sleeping in, I went for a wander around town. I went without my map this time, and unfortunately I got terribly lost again. Once again, I was forced to catch a cab home. But that’s not a problem as they’re reasonably cheap.
I’ve discovered the problem is the city isn’t well sign-posted. There’s one point right in the middle of town, at a major intersection, where you can’t actually see any road signs at all. I was reassured it wasn’t just me when I saw a young backpacker late this afternoon with a look of absolute confusion on his face, as he too, tried to make sense of the town’s geography. If I’d felt a little more confident in my skills to get around I suspect I’d have explored more.
And tonight I’m back in my room, resting up and channel hopping. Oddly enough, there’s an Australian sketch comedy show on television. They run “Home & Away” here too.
But unlike Sweden where they just sub-title English language programs, and Germany where they dub, in Estonia, they have a variation I’ve never seen before. The programs are in English with as Estonian over-dub. So you can hear the English in the background, but over the top there’s a single bloke who reads the script in translation. He doesn’t act, he just reads the script. On another channel there’s an American program which is overdubbed into Russian (you can still hear the English) and with Estonian sub-titles.
I’ve been trying to avoid BBC World, as the current war between Russia and Georgia is dominating the news. It’s odd, isn’t it. Although Georgia is thousands of kilometres away, it still seems very close. And then, of course, you’re reminded Estonia was a former Soviet country just twenty years ago. There have been occasions while I’ve been here where I’ve had to stop and think for a moment what the people here have had to live through, with both German and Russian occupation in the last century. Amazing stuff.
After four weeks on the road with some pretty intense experiences, it’s been great just to rest up for a while in some nice accommodation. I’ve managed to beat the bug that I picked up, and the blister on my foot has gone for the moment.
And I feel pretty good about the world, ready for my next big adventure.
I made a brief appearance on national radio last night, in an hour-long segment asking…
The way we listen to radio has changed dramatically. What does the future hold? And why is radio such a powerful medium? James O’Brien is the Acting Manager of the ABC’s Capital City Radio Group and Steve Ahern is a radio trainer, historian and consultant.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.
It’s fixed!!