A Radical Romance: A Memoir of Love, Grief and Consolation, Alison Light This is a beautifully written account of a relationship with lots of wisdom about life and quotable bits on every page. The author is searingly honest about herself and includes much more of her background than I expected. It's about her marriage to a charismatic left-wing … [Read more...] about Reading, April-May 2020
Latest Reading – February 2020
Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown, Anne Glenconner. The title says it all really - the shadow of the crown is not a great place to live. She was a Maid of Honour at the Queen's coronation which seems to have been the high point in her life. That and her continuing relationship with the Royals. There are pictures … [Read more...] about Latest Reading – February 2020
The Ambiguous Ethics and Politics of Simone De Beauvoir
Simone De Beauvoir always said she was not a philosopher which seems strange when she was one of the brightest philosophy students in France in her year and wrote lots of philosophy during her life. She said it because in her view a philosopher was one who had developed an entire philosophical theory - Kant, Hegel etc. She always regarded her … [Read more...] about The Ambiguous Ethics and Politics of Simone De Beauvoir
More Culture in Canberra
We went to the Australian National Portrait Gallery while in Canberra in March. There were two two exhibitions on show. The first was of finalists in the inaugural, 2020 Darling Portrait Prize sponsored by the Australian National Portrait Gallery. The prize is named after L. Gordon Darling, the Founding Patron of the Gallery and the winner receives … [Read more...] about More Culture in Canberra
Matisse & Picasso
We were lucky enough to get to this exhibition which was on at the National Gallery of Australia from 13 December 2019 to 13 April 2020. It's been unlucky; first with bushfires forcing closure and now Covid-19. So, we count ourselves lucky. We went to pre-book tickets on the 10th of March thinking we might need to wait until the next day to visit, … [Read more...] about Matisse & Picasso
Canberra Balloon Spectacular
Serendipitously rather than pre-planned we were in Canberra for the Canberra Balloon Spectacular. They've been doing this every March for thirty years now and this year ran from the 7th to 15th. People can take rides for over $300. I wouldn't! Others take to kayaks on the lake to get a closer look. They take off from the lawns of Old Parliament … [Read more...] about Canberra Balloon Spectacular