Matching Curtains

Meanwhile, back in the Southern Hemisphere ...

I blog today from the cosiness of my place in my tiny Oxfordshire village (well it's cosy inside), after having been dazzled by the metropolises of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and falling in love with the natural splendour of Northern Australia, which is most definitely the heart of the country in more ways than one. Alongside catching up with one of my bestest friends, which was just wonderful, Uluru was the holiday's other big highlight.

I thought I'd offer you a quick roundup of the trip before resuming normal service. What first hit me (other than the sun and the heat) was how big everything seemed; coming back to Oxford and the Cotswolds buildings seemed so dainty and doll-like! Melbourne was the first port of call and had a definite European flavour; I was really won over by it and particularly enjoyed Melbourne Zoo, shopping on Brunswick Street and wandering round St Kilda's streets and beach. Whilst there I even swallowed my misconceptions and in the spirit of holidaying, went to see Wicked at the Regent Theatre. Filmknitter will no doubt observe somewhat smugly that I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite my disparaging remarks about it a few years ago (hangs head - honestly, how could I?!).

From Melbourne to Sydney. Sydney's harbour and Opera House definitely had the wow factor. I love docklands areas generally,there's always such a mingled sense of melancholy and possibility about them. I also adored wandering around the superb Botanic Gardens (loved the fruitbats), but having not been blessed with great weather for some of the trip (my brolly literally snapped in two from the wind on the final day there), it was hard to venture as far afield as planned. One especially windy day we made it to one of Sydney's fantastic cinemas (dimly lit, ambient bars just off the entrance, arthouse fare on offer) just off from the Harbourside and caught Australia, as you'll have noted from my earlier blog. The symmetry of seeing it in the country it's about wasn't lost on me, as you will see from the picture below (couldn't resist) ...

The Art Gallery of New South Wales also hosted a thought-provoking exhibition on Black Australia called Half Light, which was very powerful and featured a range of different mediums. I also made an exciting new discovery there: Destiny Deacon, an indigenous Australian woman whose work deals with post-colonial politics and tackles stereotypes about what it is to be Aboriginal. I really liked what I saw, it was really challenging and confrontational. On a continuing cultural note (get me), when in Brisbane I paid a visit to it's Gallery of Modern Art, and saw an installation by the hyper-realist sculpter Ron Mueck (In Bed, see image taken from Flickr below) which I was very excited about as I've always been interested in his work. Seeing one of his creations for real really rammed home to me the true meaning of the word uncanny - I felt very strange and voyeuristic standing there looking at something so lifelike, almost like I was violating the space of the sculpture (this in spite of its size and, well, unrealness). In Bed, as with all Mueck's work, definitely raises lots of interesting questions about the physicality of what it is to view art and is a very creepy experience. Fresh from Wikipedia, I can also tell film-fans reading this that he's been a model maker and pupeteer for kid's TV and movies, including Labyrinth and The Storyteller. So there you go! Who knows when that might crop up in a pub quiz?!

And now for Uluru, Kata Tjuta and the breathtaking landscapes of northern Australia. Wonderful. If I were less of a wimpish Pom I would love to live out there - the tenacity and rawness of the landscape appealed to me like nothing before has: there's a magic about the place which you breathe from the moment you step off the plane. And lots of mosquitos, as my legs will testify. And that's why I am what our antipodean cousins would call a whinging Pom. Seriously though - I can't recommend the Northern Territory and Ayers Rock Resort enough. There is a soulfulness about the country there and you can really see why Uluru is sacred to the Aboriginal people. It was amazing to learn more about Australia's indigenous culture, a culture which has endured despite the disgusting treatment it received at the hands of white settlers and a culture which is Australia's true heart and history. I can say no more but just add this picture, which does more than any words.

Bon Voyage!!

Right folks, I'm off for a few weeks - this time tomorrow I'll be well on my way to Australia. If I remember my laptop (which given how much I have still to remember is rather unlikely) you may well get a 'wish you were here' type blog, but failing that, have a cracking run up to Christmas!

I'll leave you with a variant on the theme of Australia and movies - here's the trailer for Baz Luhrhmann's epic new film, Australia (released in the UK on 26 December I believe). I can't wait to see it!

Edinburgh

Ah, my babies it has been far too long. I promise you that my absence was not ill-spent! Work took some of us to a conference in Edinburgh at Murrayfields Stadium (where I got to sit in a corporate box for an author meeting no less!), which basically meant a few hours networking (urgh) followed by much carousing with my colleagues (Edinburgh has some excellent restuarants BTW - I recommend The Ship in Leith, which specialises in fish but rustled up some excellent venison for me). This was my first visit to the city and I am totally won over - it's really open, spacious and has an austere, slightly gloomy beauty which I loved. The skyline from Princes Street is something special; it's so perfect it looks like cut out castles have been pasted against the sky - it reminded me of something from a fairy story (one of the scary ones!). The hills and the jostling rooftops also reminded me of Montmartre if any comparison could be made at all, but really it's a unique city that doesn't seem to have been taken over by the usual commercial chains you expect. They're there for sure, but they pale into insignificance next to the impressiveness of the architecture and the landscapes. I'm gushing I know. But here's the proof:

That's the famous castle! It sits atop a tremendous rock which is an extinct volcano whose shape was formed in the ice age. The gardens all around used to be a loch until it was drained and landscaped, and you feel a million miles away from the insanely busy road just minutes away when taking a turn around them.

What really struck me was how foreboding everything looked: the landscape and the buildings seemed perfectly at one. Such a contrast to the daintiness of some English buildings in the villages around Oxford and different again to the predominantly golden, pretty colleges which formed the terrain of my student years. I will definitely be returning to the city as I felt my sightseeing, crammed in between conferences, flights and yes, drinking, was far too compacted. But for now here are a few other images which will stay with me:

This is the Walter Scott Memorial, which stopped us dead when we wandered along the streets on our first night and which one of my companions compared to the Sagrada Familia. I'm not sure about that but he might well be onto something. It definitely conjoured up the feelings of the sublime that Gaudi's work-in-progress did - I was terrified by this black silhouette against the night sky but also moved to awe. It's quite something!

I also saw a fountain in the gardens of the castle, some of which was apparently designed by the guy who worked on some of the Louvre's architecture (see below). I love this picture, its so Gormenghast!Am patting myself on the back for such superior photography - look at that light slanting through the clouds ... What's that you say - fluke? Be off with you! :-)

One more thing I must show you - Edinburgh's optical illusion which a very lovely cab driver pointed out to me (see below). The big spire you see in the centre actually belongs to another building entirely, but from where I was standing you'd never know. Cool huh?

In short I had a ball but am sad to say that I returned haggis-less. Next time!! I'll stop now but implore you to hotfoot it to Edinburgh if you haven't already been. It's gothic grandeur will not fail to impress.

We meet again ...

Hello!! I am BACK, back from Alicante via Liverpool and - wait for it - I even have a slight tan. Yes, I am distinctly biscuit coloured rather than blueish, although actually a bit relieved to have escaped the 36 degree heat now! My feeble English constitution can't take the Spanish heat I am afraid ... How do people manage to perfect looking so unruffled by the heat?

Anyway, please bear with me as I get all MySpace on your asses with a quick recap: Liverpool was great fun - I saw an old uni friend, went boogeying with work colleagues, and stayed in the actually rather sophisticated Beatles themed hotel A Hard Day's Night. The hotel was amazing, they managed to take something which could have been tacky and turn it into a very classy venture. For a Beatles aficionado such as myself, I was loving it. My room is pictured below (yes, I turned into the cliched tourist snapping everything in sight):

The room's plasma screen telly played a raft of Beatles songs upon being turned on - most of the popular choices, less stuff from Revolver and the White Album which contain some of my absolute ESSENTIAL songs for living, but I guess the mop top/Sergeant Pepper stuff is what the majority of people want and what we all associate with the Fab Four. The spiral staircases and ornate glass lift took you on a photographic journey as you went up, with large black and white Beatles photographs wrapping themselves around you.

The bar did some absolutely cracking cocktails with names based on Beatles tracks - Honey Can't Buy Me Love, Strawberry Fields with Pepper, Rocky Rasberry Racoon ... I personally was loving the Bellini (champagne, darling, with peach - YUM). For your delectation, here's the bar:

Classy huh? The food was also delicious and the staff were lovely too - I recommend it highly! Sitting in the bar it felt as though you could easily be in Manhattan or somewhere: it had a really cosmopolitan, boutique vibe. When you think about it, it's hard to believe that a Beatles-themed hotel hasn't been tried before in Liverpool.

I really love Liverpool - walking along the docks, the Liver birds ahead of me, I had the same feeling I've had on previous trips - the sense of possibility. It's a gorgeous place, there's so much going on there, and the people are so warm and friendly that I reckon you'd need to be made of stone not to want to make many return trips. Oh - and no trip would be complete without some drunken tourism, which my colleagues and I took full advantage of:

I know. I am wearing a cowgirl hat. It's best you don't ask. And that smile is the smile that is borne of far too much drink. Believe me, I felt ill the next day.

Anyway, from Liverpool it was on to Spain for a few days in the sun. It was a much needed break.

Pretty huh? I got some reading done, thought about more ideas for my novel (ahem) and also got the opportunity to parade my new Birkenstocks (a brilliant EBay bargain). I was so proud, this despite the blisters ... Coming back to the drizzle in Oxford was less enjoyable though - I am now pining for the skin peeling heat which frazzled me so. Never happy eh?

I'm not procrastinating, honest

So before I plunge into the dull ocean of monotony that is my working day (it's not that bad really - I'd just prefer to still be in bed), I wanted to remind myself what its all about. I'm heading down under later this year and can't wait. Hopefully this piccie will keep me going as I go about my day ... Always good to have a juicy carrot waiting for you!