My Saturday
Have been re-reading The Showgirl and the Brumby by Lucy Lehmann, for a variety of reasons (admiring her piece about Sydney, now being acquainted with Cowra as a town). I'd dismissed the book last time as being a bit too long, a bit quaint, but 'with the benefit of a few years I found it quite charming and an accomplished piece of writing. 'She's created a range of characters with a range of emotions and inner lives and accumulated personal histories and anguish that makes them who they are. SHe's intermingled this with the humour of small day to day observations: middle aged men who'd prefer to sit alone in the car outside than have to brave small talk (my grandfather, my father in law).
Meanwhile Mr Right is in Adelaide on a work trip and has gone off to the Roller Derby tonight, on an invite from ""Mink de la Rink", a friend of ours who seems to have found her calling. He keeps calling from the noisy venue, trying to explain the rules, the teams, their fashion code. It all sounds fabulous.
It's so interesting to contemplate how different people spend their weekends, whether it's running around after family members (to their resentment) or in thrall to their own needs, or filling in time with retail therapy, pursuing a passion, a hobby, a sporting interest, at a loose end, blissfully at home or under the thumb of domestic chores. My day began with crawling out of bed for the 7am swim training session: it could be my last for a while due to transport issues. But I swam 1.8km, which I thought was quite impressive, and definitely the furthest I've swum for nearly a year. THe important thing is that I paced myself, and worked on my stroke technique-the left hand finally pulled it's weight-it properly entered the water at the right angle, curved to hold the water and pulled down to the pool floor (which is fancy talk for swimming).
After the class, feeling all virtuous, I had a little chat to Sue about her swim training, because I knew she does outrigging> She explained that she swims at the jetty of a Saturday morning (apparently this is quite a big word of mouth scene), paddles for fun during the off season for rigging and does a Thursday morning 5:30am swim session with other squad members, where the warm up is 1000metres. Ouch. But she looks fit and fabulous for a fifty something (written as I reach over for some more wine).
Have been listening to and loving The Mess Hall and been looking up their upcoming shows, also reading about Loene Carmen and all their musical influences and finding a nice synchronicity in the mix, of who they are influenced by, tour with, what they're up to. Just like the Potts Point bookshop all over again, finding obscure but like minded interesting things to read. (Duckworth currently reading about the Irish Liberation Army).
Then looked up some potential books to buy and films to see-had long been thinking I'd like to watch some Paul Cox movies and found that EXILE was filmed in the Freycinet Peninsula around Coles Bay, what a great location> I'd only been there in summer time but find the whole East Coast a very amazing place, rugged and harsh and easily evokes the convict era... but then in sunshine the whole rocks and lichen and green fields take on a beautiful sundrenched quality, the yellow grass waves, the ocean seems calm and entertaining, not your enemy and you forget how isolated you are and just enjoy the moment.
Meanwhile Mr Right is in Adelaide on a work trip and has gone off to the Roller Derby tonight, on an invite from ""Mink de la Rink", a friend of ours who seems to have found her calling. He keeps calling from the noisy venue, trying to explain the rules, the teams, their fashion code. It all sounds fabulous.
It's so interesting to contemplate how different people spend their weekends, whether it's running around after family members (to their resentment) or in thrall to their own needs, or filling in time with retail therapy, pursuing a passion, a hobby, a sporting interest, at a loose end, blissfully at home or under the thumb of domestic chores. My day began with crawling out of bed for the 7am swim training session: it could be my last for a while due to transport issues. But I swam 1.8km, which I thought was quite impressive, and definitely the furthest I've swum for nearly a year. THe important thing is that I paced myself, and worked on my stroke technique-the left hand finally pulled it's weight-it properly entered the water at the right angle, curved to hold the water and pulled down to the pool floor (which is fancy talk for swimming).
After the class, feeling all virtuous, I had a little chat to Sue about her swim training, because I knew she does outrigging> She explained that she swims at the jetty of a Saturday morning (apparently this is quite a big word of mouth scene), paddles for fun during the off season for rigging and does a Thursday morning 5:30am swim session with other squad members, where the warm up is 1000metres. Ouch. But she looks fit and fabulous for a fifty something (written as I reach over for some more wine).
Have been listening to and loving The Mess Hall and been looking up their upcoming shows, also reading about Loene Carmen and all their musical influences and finding a nice synchronicity in the mix, of who they are influenced by, tour with, what they're up to. Just like the Potts Point bookshop all over again, finding obscure but like minded interesting things to read. (Duckworth currently reading about the Irish Liberation Army).
Then looked up some potential books to buy and films to see-had long been thinking I'd like to watch some Paul Cox movies and found that EXILE was filmed in the Freycinet Peninsula around Coles Bay, what a great location> I'd only been there in summer time but find the whole East Coast a very amazing place, rugged and harsh and easily evokes the convict era... but then in sunshine the whole rocks and lichen and green fields take on a beautiful sundrenched quality, the yellow grass waves, the ocean seems calm and entertaining, not your enemy and you forget how isolated you are and just enjoy the moment.
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