Friday Five: Calendars



Bamburgh Castle - Joe Cornish

A New Year means new calendars - I love calendars; great pictures that change every month for variety and colour in the corner of your office/ kitchen/ bathroom. Of course, they are functional for recording holidays, doctor appointments and Liverpool football matches (and mother's day - an important one that) but I reckon you can tell a lot about a person by their choice of calendar. The number I own is only limited by the available space I have to hang them. So you can make of this what you will, without further ado...

My 5 2013 Calendars:

1. One I made myself featuring photos I've taken over the past year of places I've been
2. Joe Cornish's Landscape Light - an annual gift from my sister of fabulous scenic photos of North East England with an unexpected perspective
3. The Chilterns in watercolour - I bought this when I was back in England; with pictures of Marlow, Henley,Cookham Dean, Hughenden Manor and Christmas Common, how could I refuse?
4. Railway Poster Art from the National Railway Museum collection - all the vibrant prints are designed to promote to travel to areas of Britain, such as Devon, North Wales or the Lake District - the one for the Yorkshire Dales boasts 'a land of narrow valleys and attractive villages, of heather-covered hills and moors, of ancient abbeys and castles, the principal dales are readily accessible by rail and form a holiday paradise for walkers, anglers and all who prefer the quiter place'.
5. London Underground Diary - yes, well done eagle-eyed readers; it's a diary, but it has got brilliant images of posters from the 1910s to the 1960s and 'interesting facts' about the tube - this week I learned that 'during peak hours more than 500 trains are in operation'.

Artwork by Ronald Lampitt

My Newest Favourite Thing: Air Conditioning

We are struggling through a heat wave in Canberra. I got heat exhaustion on New Year's Eve. The early hours of the morning saw me gibbering on the bathroom floor trying to get cool - and (for once) it was nothing to do with the drink (not the alcoholic ones, anyway - it probably had a lot to do with the fact I had spent eight hours outdoors with insufficient hydration).

Temperatures here are in the high 30s/ low 40s, which is too hot for me. The Bureau of Meteorolgy has added new colours to its interactive weather forecasting chart (deep purple and pink) to widen the temperature range, previously capped at 50 degrees. There is now the added complication of gusting winds and no clouds, leading to electrical storms and no rain. Bush and grass fires are raging: I have heard almost continuous fire engine sirens today; the fire fighters are working overtime; the sky is dark and the air smells of smoke. This is my first 'bush fire season' and I'm not enjoying it.

I try to exercise early in the morning (not my best time, let's be honest) and then focus on more sedentary pursuits for the rest of the day. Lots of folk are heading to the seaside - we did that but it's a two-and-a-half hour drive and the road is now closed due to fire risk. Also, heat makes people grumpy and irritable - the last thing I want to do is be around lots of these type of people at the beach. We went to the mountains to cool down at the weekend (it's about five degrees cooler up there) - there is a bushfire there today.

I know some people like this sort of heat - cousin Rachael asked me to take a breath of the lung-desiccating air on her behalf (I took several, Rach) - but I am not one of them. Neither is the cat. He is flopping about the place even more than usual. The local government is warning people to drink lots of water, limit activity and stay indoors. This is all well and good if you've got air-conditioning. We haven't.

Him Outdoors works in air-conditioning buildings and drives around in the air-conditioned car, but there's nothing he can do about the stifling machine rooms and lift pits where the electical gadgetry is housed. In the last few days I have spent time at art galleries, cinemas and libraries. I like these places anyway, but their air-conditioning is the main drawcard at the moment. The only problem is the transport there - either walking 20 minutes to the bus stop and praying I don't have to run for the bus - or biking there and arriving with dripping hair under the bike helmet.

I have even spent more time than is strictly necessary in shopping malls and supermarkets. I know I have previously mentioned how much I dislike these places. But right now, keeping cool is a priority and I will do it any way I can. If only I could take Chester with me...

Friday Five: Favourite FIlms of 2012

I love the end-of-year best lists where critics, journalists and bloggers fall over themsleves to share their opinions on what they thought was the best of the year. I'm not going to do that with films.

I like films and the whole cinema experience a lot. But I know I'm no expert. I can't quote huge passages of dialogue from 1940s black and white masterpieces and I haven't studied techniques and interpretations by revered film directors and cinematographers.

When film critics list their best films ever made, I feel inadequate and sometimes slightly stupid - either I missed something hugely profound with Once Upon a Time in Anatolia or it is the biggest incidence of The Emperor's New Clothes since a publicity-hungry girl from Sandringham set her sights on the heir to the British throne.

So anyway, I make no claims to these being the best films of 2012, but they were my favourites (in alphabetical order, because ranking them is too difficult).

5 Favourite Films of 2012:

1. Holy Motors - utterly bonkers, and the most interesting and challenging film I've seen in ages.
2. A Royal Affair - sumptuous costume drama, perfectly paced, excellently acted and raising intriguing ideas about the dawning of enlightenment in eighteenth-century Denmark.
3. The Sapphires - Feel-good film about an all-girl Aborigine troop of entertainers performing soul for the troops in Vietnam, under the comic tutelage of Dave Lovelace (Chris O'Dowd) - an Aussie Dreamgirls if you will.
4. Seven Psychopaths - A struggling screenwriter (Colin Farrell) tries to finish his script by calling in his friends and every cliché in the Hollywood canon - great dialogue and acting (Sam Rockwell; Christopher Walken; Woody Harrelson) go a long way towards excusing the smug self-awareness.
5. Skyfall - Warning: this action film contains real acting, with limited CGI crap, and a brilliant opening sequence. Daniel Craig brings the sexy back and with director Sam Mendes and proper actors (Dame Judi, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris, Ben Wishaw, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney) it's the best Bond film ever - I'm a big fan, so that's saying something. 'Take the bloody shot'.

Friday Five: Christmas Fare



Festive Ice-Cream Terrine

For the Christmas period, I decided I wasn't really bothering with presents and decorations (apart from the book-tree of course) and all that malarkey, but I did make an effort with the food.

For Christmas dinner we had Tarragon-roasted chicken with pancetta and grapes accompanied by Maple-roasted veggies with orange and pine nut gremolata, which surprisingly didn't fit the overall theme. All the rest of the food followed a festive red and green/ red and white/ red, green and white colour scheme.

5 Colour-Schemed Christmas Dishes

1. Chicken, pepperdew and green bean salad
2. Green apple, ham and rosé risotto
3. Roasted aubergine, mushroom and tomato pasta wih ricotta
4. Beef, lentil and walnut salad
5. Festive ice-cream terrine

Friday Five: York Minster

When I was back in England earlier this year I visited York for the first time. I've been intending to blog about it for a while, and I shall do soon, but meanwhile, here are some photos which I think are fitting for this time of year.

5 Photos of York Minster:

1. It's very grand outside, and we approached it through twisted cobbled streets, so it sort of leaped out at us - part of the city and there when you need it.

2. These are the Sempahore Saints by Terry Hammill - at the west end of the nave there are twelve headless saints spelling out 'Christ is here' with their haloes. These are the first six.

3. Loyalty in stone

4. The rose window in the south transept dates from about 1500 and commemorates the union of the royal houses of York and Lancaster. It combines the red and white roses and has a sunflower in the centre.

5. The choir screen features the kings of England from William the Conqueror to Henry VI. I'm not actually sure who these two are, but I love the grumpy expression of him on our right.

Canberra: An Ideal City?

Commonwealth of Australia Federal Capital Competition - Griffin winning entry

The restored pictures of Marion Mahoney Griffin's artwork for the design of Canberra are on display in the cafe at the National Archives and they make a fabulous backdrop to a chai latte. She and her husband, Walter Burley Griffin, won the design award for Australia's capital and it is thanks to them that Canberra looks largely the way it does.

"I have planned a city not like any other city in the world. I have planned an ideal city - a city that meets my ideal of the city of the future." - Walter Burley Griffin

View from Summit of Mt Ainslie by Marion Mahony Griffin, 1911

The information panels point out that Marion's renderings were infused with sepia and gold and captured the colours of Canberra's landscape. This is all the more remarkable as she had never been to Canberra and instead made the drawings at her home in Chicago in winter 1911. Doubtless she took into account Walter's effusive comments about the light.

"The morning and evening lights at Canberra are wonderful. The shadows of the clouds and the mists as they cross the mountains are very beautiful indeed."

City and Environs - the Griffin plan for Canberra, 1911

Marion Griffin was one of the first licensed female architects in the world and is considered an original member of the Prairie School (of whom Frank Lloyd Wright is the most famous proponent). She and Walter were also greatly influenced by the City Beautiful and Garden City movements. Lacking the cultural history, artefacts and monuments of Old World capitals, the Griffins’ Canberra showcased nature instead. They incorporated the local topography into their triangular design, using the feature hill - Kurrajong Hill (now called Capital Hill) - as a natural apex.

"I think in a new country like Australia, a beautiful architectural type adapted to the needs of the climate, and harmonising with the topography can be evolved. I believe in architecture that is the logical outgrowth of the environment." - Walter Burley Griffin

The Griffins complemented their landscape design with an architectural scheme for the city. Although they worked on the design together, and Marion provided all the artwork, the competition entry featured only Walter's name. Walter negotiated a three-year contract with the Australian government to remain in Australia and oversee the implementation of the plan. He felt, however, that it was compromised and he struggled with political and bureaucratic obstacles. With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Griffin was under pressure to reduce the scope and scale of the plans due to the Government diverting funds towards the war effort.

Vision of Parliament House by Marion Mahony Griffin

The pace of building was slower than expected, partly because of a lack of funds and partly because of a dispute between Griffin and Federal government bureaucrats. The design also came under attack from other architects and the press. Rather than just adhering to the plans and the previously-made commitment, a Royal Commission determined that they had undermined Griffin's authority by supplying him with false data which he had used to carry out his work.

There was clearly a lot of rancour and Walter Burley Griffin resigned from the Canberra design project in December 1920. Many parts of his basic design were changed, and none of the buildings he designed for the capital were ever built.

Friday Five: Non-competitive pursuits

I think it's fair to say that I don't like reality TV. I have mentioned this before. One of my least favourite sub-genres is the competition variety. You know the type of thing, where people are pitted against each other to paint a room or build a wall and then someone wins and everyone at home thinks they could have done the same and the real decorators and stonemasons go out of business while general standards plummet.

Although I like the celebrity dancing ones (especially the ice-dancing one), I know I am no expert. This is not true of the people who routinely watch the singing shows and then feel free to critique performances about which they know nothing. It also means that we are left with chanteurs who think that to belt and warble is the epitome of 'singing' and we are left without subtlety, nuance or character. Bob Dylan or Florence Welch wouldn't make it through the first round.

With performance and artistic pursuits, a lot is left to personal preference - A might like sci-fi or farce; B might prefer romance or Jacobean drama; C might swoon at ballet and metaphysical poetry and so on. It doesn't mean any one is 'better' than the other - it just means they shouldn't be judged against each other. In 'pure' sport if you run fastest, jump highest or throw something furthest, you win. You are the best at that particular thing. Don't get me wrong, some things lend themselves to competition and this is a good thing (not keeping the score during football games because 'it's all about participation' is ridiculous!) but when subjectivity creeps in, nothing is so clear.

Acting, comedy and writing awards are often suspect. Yes, they are worth something when awarded by your peers, but often they are voted for by a partisan panel - the more friends you have in the audience; the more likely you are to win. These tributes might provide a feel-good factor, but they are relatively worthless. Entertainment is not a science; nor should it be a competition.

5 Things that should never be a competition:

1. Cooking - as far as I am concerned you either cook because it is your job and you are paid, or because it is a way of expressing love and friendship to those around you. Eat with me and know you are welcome. Do not judge the temperature of the soup or the slicing of the vegetables. I have prepared this gift for you in my own way.
2. Surgery - there will come a day when cameras go into operating theatres and viewers vote on who best wields the scalpel. I'm surprised it hasn't happened already. Health is personal, although you wouldn't know it from those shows which 'expose' physical deformities and laugh at fat people. Some things should be conducted behind the curtained cubicle - pull yourself together.
3. Sex - it's personal and not up for discussion apart from between the relevant parties. According to late-night phone-ins (you hear a lot driving home from rehearsals) many people seem to be concerned about whether or not their sex-life is 'normal'. As long as you and your partner are happy with it, whatever you're doing, or not doing, is fine.
4. Raising children - I hate the use of nouns as verbs, so have resisted the urge to call it parenting. I'm sure it's pretty difficult to raise a child to be a reasonable and responsible human being. Just do your job and stop comparing yourself and your child to others. In some respects they're all the same; in others they're all different - don't bother worrying or boasting, and if you must do either, do it to yourself as no one else cares. Really.
5. Friendship/love - when I was little I used to refer to 'best friends'. Now I know that best is a superlative meaning 'of the most excellent or outstanding or desirable kind' there can only be one, by definition. I would now say I have many good or close friends - all of them special to me in individual ways and I love and admire them for their specific qualities. I would never try to rank one above the other. That's not how this love thing works.