Feeling a bit grim in this the first week of our stage 4 lockdown in Melbourne. Numbers of cases go up and down - up today; hospital admissions go up - by a lot today due to people from aged care homes being transferred; deaths go up - including today, a man in his thirties. To cheer myself up I've been exploring the garden. It's freezing out … [Read more...] about Lockdown Garden – August 2020
MIFF 2019 – The Rest
It's always tricky identifying the best films at a festival when you've seen as many as I do. Looking at the rest, those to which I have awarded four and three stars, I find, after a year's cogitation, that there are only a few that I would really recommend. Family Tour This is especially relevant given the current debate about China that's … [Read more...] about MIFF 2019 – The Rest
MIFF 2019 – Five Star Films
MIFF 2020 is almost upon us; although this year, thanks to Covid-19 it's going to be very different. One of the things I've always loved about MIFF is experiencing a film in a large, crowded theatre. It's terrific being with up to a thousand other people enjoying a story. That's not going to happen this year. We will all be watching films on-line … [Read more...] about MIFF 2019 – Five Star Films
July Reading
Along with a couple of lengthy tomes on Wagner which I've written about here and here, I've been on a bit of a nostalgia kick with my July reading. This was kicked off, by my reading Annie Ernaux's memoir, The Years. I don't know whether I was enthusiastic enough about this book, which I've written about here. Leafing through it again I am … [Read more...] about July Reading
Darebin Creek Trail
On the 16th of July Joe and I walked along the Darebin Creek, not knowing that a couple of weeks later we'd be prohibited from driving anywhere to have a walk. On this day we drove to Alphington Station and from there walked down to the Darebin Wetlands. This is a lovely park created on an old rubbish dump - shows what can be done. It was a … [Read more...] about Darebin Creek Trail
Lockdown Look
Our second lockdown in Melbourne had been more depressing than the first. Caused, no doubt, by the daily reports of more and more cases, more people in hospital, more patients in intensive care and more people, mostly but not all very old, dying. The numbers go up and down but thus far have all been in the hundreds. Today we had 357 new cases and … [Read more...] about Lockdown Look