In that unflinching spirit, we armed ourselves with tickets for their final concert and were hit by a freight train of driving drums, pumping guitar and soaring vocals from the aging legends. It was better than the "Bass" back in 1979 when they used to do the free gig on alternate Wednesday nights, more powerful than the "Workies" sweatbox in the mid eighties and even more polished acoustically than the Hope Estate Makaratta Project with its guest artists and poignant calls for reconciliation and awareness just last year. What an eclectic playlist, and what crazy energy and trademark robotic, fevered dancing from the 68 year old Garrett. How could this band be better at its craft 46 years after formation?! Jen and Vince and Cass and I were blown away by this unforgettable swansong: parting is such sweet sorrow!
I'm a tragic student of the rise of the Third Reich, so it might be just me, but does anyone else get a sense of other-worldly wonder when they drive into Canberra and think they're in a some sort of Nazi planned Utopian version of what Berlin might have become had the Germans won the war?! No? Oh well..! I can't get Albert Speer's grand architectural plans for a post war capital out of my head when I travel through the manicured gardens, the concentric circles of roadway and the neogothic buildings handsomely clad in stone, decadently spaced and delicately positioned. Not to mention the linear arrangement of grand edifices, the strategic placement of lakes and parks, even a suspiciously German-style eagle on a big pole....as I say, it must be me alone, but it's kind of freaky!
We managed to squeeze a Canberra road trip in between bouts of renovations as we faced a lengthy delay precipitated by our builder's Covid isolation, a lengthy wait on a third party's supply of a part and then the wrong item being ordered! We thought we'd make a positive from the negative and sneak to the nation's capital to see the Jeffery Smart exhibition considering we'd aborted two earlier art trips to Brisbane and Melbourne respectively, as Covid restrictions thwarted our plans.
Full touristing was the order of the trip from the sluicing down new super highways and futuristic toll tunnels (with a strong echo of Taiwan's road infrastructure) to arrive at our destination in record time, to a surprising but welcome upgrade to a one room apartment at our already slick accommodation. While luxuriously ensconced, we could wander across the road to trendy cafes or around the corner to lively pubs for food and drinks. We wondered at the skill and wry commentary from the master Jeffery Smart at the National Gallery before re-familiarising ourselves with Australia's greatest iconic works housed there as well. Smart's gamut of work was extensive and surprising, startling in its range and scope of differing subject matter and skilful interplay of themes and opinions. He famously denounces all attempts to categorise or interpret his own works, rather leaving it to the critics and viewers to calculate their own "artistic fallacy"...I suppose then, everyone's interpretation is correct!
A trip to the Australian Museum allowed us to "get our Aussie on"(!). It's a magnificent building in a scenic location and chock full of interesting Aussie artefacts, mate! A pleasant stroll around the lake and lunch on the deck of the café overlooking same rounded out our visit. We cruised into the grounds of the ANU to the Sound and Film Archive where we stumbled on a quite spectacular exhibition of Aussies in Hollywood. Right in our wheelhouse, clips and memorabilia from Mad Max all the way through to "Muriel's" wedding dress and everything in-between. We'd struck gold! We rounded our trip out with a visit to the Portrait Gallery and a drive to the top of Mt. Ainslie for the spectacular view before reluctantly bidding Albert Speer's utopian vision farewell till another time (!)
In news closer to home, the grand old man of the family reached a lofty status recently when he joined that rare and venerable coterie of folk who become octogenarians! We celebrated his special milestone with a superb lunch at Newcastle's own first international standard restaurant (in my humble opinion!). Kristin came down from Stroud to stay for the occasion, so Chris was able to bathe in the warm glow of admiration from his family in their entirety. "The Roundhouse" is very special indeed, and the spectacular backdrop of the working harbour and burgeoning city are a perfect foil for chef Natalie Bolt's masterfully prepared, innovative and locally sourced dishes. All this magnificence is housed in a soaring glass and steel addition plonked on top of the old city administration block, now known as the hotel Crystalbrook Kingsley. It conjures memories of Saffron 46 in Taipei or even 58 TourEiffel in Paris. Regardless, it is the first time we've felt this delightful jolt of contemporary, international flavour and luxury in our hometown. Valerie's special fruitcake rounded out the celebrations the following day...
Reno news: we're in a holding pattern due to supply chain issues, but hopeful that when things resume, it will be full speed towards the end! Canberra album here.