And then bam … I Tonya soundtrack packs a punch

Every time I hear a Bad Company song in some random place I am surprised. I seem to forget about that band and how much I loved their music. And then bam, I hear one of their tracks, and I am flooded with emotion – not quite nostalgia because who would want to go back? – but memories of that time, when I didn’t know anything but thought I knew everything.

I wrote about I Tonya a few weeks ago, but I keep thinking about the soundtrack because it’s a cracker. It is full of tracks from the 1970s and early 1980s – before commercial radio was diced and sliced and when the music was either pop or rock – nothing else. So it’s not surprising that at least among my same-age-friends who have seen the film, one of the initial comments is “great soundtrack”.

From Bad Company’s Shooting Star to Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain, Supertramp’s Goodbye Stranger and Dire Straits Romeo and Juliet, the songs selected both perfectly capture the cultural musical references of the movie’s time-setting, and give context to the story on screen. I am not sure what kind of deals are done around placement of songs on movie soundtracks – it’s probably fairly cutthroat – who even remembered Souixie and the Banshees did a version of Iggy Pop’s The Passenger?

Ultimately, the music does its job in supporting the audience’s engagement in the film’s story, moving them through the emotional pathway of the story’s arc – the first time Tonya achieves the triple-axle jump in competition (Foreigner’s Feels like the first time) or Romeo and Juliet (althought I am not sure Tony and Jeff’s love was quite star-crossed). In many ways you could imagine some of these songs being written just for the movie, so perfectly do they match up.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/i-tonya-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/1318163084

Who are the Canberra Day Kelpies?

My new children’s book is now available.

Tilly and Banjo, the Canberra Day Kelpies, tells the adventure of two sheep dogs running free on the day that the name of the national capital of Australia was announced.

Targeting children from years 3 – 5 in primary school, the story aims to engage young children in the historical impact of the naming day. You can learn more here, and even order a copy of the book!

http://tillyandbanjo.wordpress.com/

Exploring Canberra’s public art

I always take lots of photos of statues and sculptures when we are travelling in other places.  But what about the excellent public art that we have in Canberra?  I want to find out more, so the black kelpie and I are going to investigate some of these pieces further.

Today, we looked at Chalchiuhtlicue, located in Latin America Plaza, just in the newly developed end of Childers Street, in Civic.

The name of the statue means “The Goddess of Water” and is “inspired by the pre-Hispanic stone sculpture of the same name, found at the archaeological site of Teotihuacan, Mexico.”  It is made of steel, and the artist is Jesus Mayagoitia. (My Spanish isn’t great, but I think this is his site – http://jesusmayagoitia-escultor.blogspot.com.au/2010/02/avances-de-la-investigacion.html)  The main impact of this statute was to make me want to go to Mexico to see the inspiration!  More travel.  Note to self: must find job.

 

Also at Latin American Plaza is a replica of the capsule that rescued the 33 trapped miners in Chile in 2010.  It was a gift from the People and Government of Chile to the Government of Australia.   Looking at the replica, I was taken back to this disaster, and the fear for the men who were trapped underground for so long.  And how weird it would have been to be transported up to the light, in this little cage.  Although I am sure each of them was glad of the opportunity!

Arts ACT and the ACT Government recently issued (or re-issued) an electronic guide to the public art that has been commissioned by the local or federal government, and is in the ACT.  More to come!

http://www.arts.act.gov.au/functions/functionality/public_art_database/chronological_order

Commemoration an important ritual

In 1990, we travelled (frugally) in Europe for several months.  Our travels took us to many places, including through the swathes of First World War battle sites in Belgium, France and Germany.

I’ll never forget the shock I felt when I first saw the war grave sites dotted throughout the landscape; the white crosses seemed to go on forever, interspersed with quite a few crescent moon grave stones, indicating the soldier had been a Muslim.  This shock was despite a life of solemn reverence for those who had died in or as a result of their war service; my grandfather being one.

In April 1995, we returned to the north of France, and by chance saw a small brochure on a town hall bulletin board advising that there would be an ANZAC Day Memorial Service at Villers-Bretonneux in a few days’ time.  The Australian Ambassador would be in attendance, as would other town dignitaries.  Our plans were flexible, so we immediately decided to stay in the area, and attend the service.

Driving in to Villers-Bretonneux is an unsettling experience.  So much Australian referencing! In rural France!  I had always been aware in general of the role of Australian soldiers in protecting this Somme battle area.  But it was still a surprise to see so much Australiana so far from home – streets, hotels and restaurants with Australian names.  And the school is called the Victoria School, in memory of the many Victorian soldiers who died defending the area, stopping the German advance on 24 April 1918.

The Australian Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux was inaugurated in 1938, and has been the focal point for many Australian ANZAC Day ceremonies over the years.  The main tower is flanked by memorial walls listing the names of missing soldiers, as well as the battle honours of the first Australian Infantry Force.  I was overwhelmed to be there, it is such a beautiful site, so well cared for.

Attendance numbers at the service were large on the day we were there, with Australian school groups and service groups accompanying groups of local and national dignitaries.  I am always moved by the bagpipes – it’s such a mournful sound.  And I am not a jingoistic nationalist – the current trend of wrapping Australian flags around everything concerns me.  However, I was moved to tears singing the Australian national anthem at that place, knowing the generations of loss that had gone before, not just there, but at every war zone. And that’s the reason I attend the ANZAC day ceremonies from time to time – to remember the losses we suffer, and the futility of wars.

 

NOTE: The arrangements for attending ANZAC Day services at Villers-Brettoneaux these days are far more complex. (http://www.dva.gov.au/commems_oawg/commemorations/commemorative_events/anzac_day/Pages/france.aspx)  And the trees in these photos have since been removed from the site

Sighting Newcastle heritage, one site at a time

Being the second oldest white settlement in Australia, there’s plenty of history in Newcastle and the National Trust is very active there.  Tourism is one of the most important future growth areas for Newcastle, and it really has so much potential: historical buildings, beaches, and wineries in the Hunter Valley.  I left Newcastle in 1980, and by the age of 35 had lived away from the city longer than I had lived in it.  But regular visits to family mean I can now catch up on all the sights.

Last week, we visited two places – one that I was very aware of, Fort Scratchley, which was a no go zone when I was a kid but has now been restored by local historical groups;and Miss Porter’s House, a National Trust historical house.

(There are some interesting pictures on the Facebook site https://www.facebook.com/pages/Miss-Porters-House/140843169416116?ref=stream)

Miss Porter’s House is in King Street, and was built in the early 1900s.  Local business owner, Herbert Porter moved into his new house in 1910 along with wife, Florence Jolly.  Their children, Ella and Hazel were born soon after in 1911 and 1914.  Sadly, Herbert and his mother died during the epidemic of Spanish flu in 1919, leaving Florence, Ella and Hazel to live on in the house making a living as best they could.

Both of the women grew up in the house, and remained living there all of their lives, with neither one marrying.  Hazel was the last one to pass away; she died in 1997 and left the house and all of its contents to the National Trust.  And there are lots of contents.

Despite the house suffering significant damage during the earthquake in Newcastle in 1989 – the two sisters had to be dug out from the house by neighbours – the National Trust has done a fantastic job of restoring and displaying a whole variety of furniture, knick knacks, kitchen equipment, clothes, dolls, and ephemera providing a series of snapshots in time of the women’s lives in this Edwardian building.

Each room has a volunteer explainer, partly to monitor the room’s contents, but mainly to explain the materials and activities of the house.

Miss Porter’s House is open every second Sunday from 1pm-4pm; there is an entry fee.

Going through it, I wonder what the National Trust would think of the contents of my mother’s house?

Fort Scratchley is also a very interesting and quite significant Australian historical site.  Built in the 1880s to guard the resources being exploited already in the region by the white settlers– the area is rich in coal seams – the Fort offers wide views of the Hunter River and the beaches to the north and south and would have provided an excellent vantage point to monitor approaching vessels.

Interestingly though, a Japanese submarine was able to sneak right up to the Harbour in June 1942, firing off 34 shells with several landing at various spots around the city foreshore.  The Fort’s guns could not return fire due to the low angle of the submarine in the water – the guns could not be directed down low enough.

Visiting the Fort today is fascinating, with a guided tour (fee charged) that takes you down through the tunnels underneath.  You don’t have to take the guided tour, though, and there is more than enough of interest if you wander through the rooms and exhibits at your own pace.

And just to remind you of where you are, they do fire canons.  This small one was fired a couple of times while we were there; our visit coincided with that of a large group of people from a cruise ship.

No reservations about Tidbinbilla open day

We had much fun at the Tidbinbilla Extravaganza today.  The glorious autumn weather resulted in a good turn out for the event, which is designed to encourage families to become more familiar with the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.  Along with its fantastic interactive playground, the ACT Parks and Conservation Services puts on a range of child-focussed activities and entertainment each year.

The free BBQs were well used, and picnics were another popular choice for families, backed up by some hot food options that were for sale.

The entertainment included Questacon’s Excited Particles show, one of its popular outreach programs that explains science in every day language.  They really do a great job of keeping it real. Exploring the topic of energy, apparently there are 101 uses for liquid nitrogen: freezing an onion with liquid nitrogen, then smashing it with a hammer; mixing liquid nitrogen with detergent and water, to produce large amounts of froth; and a demonstration of the injection of liquid nitrogen into a balloon. Guess what, it pops!

Also popular was the reptile talk and sing along, aimed to foster respect for, rather than fear of, reptiles.  Several “brave” volunteers held snakes and patted a baby crocodile. The message was clear – staying away from them is the best way for us all to keep safe.

ACT Parks and Conservation Service has a program of activities designed to educate the community about indigenous history and use of land in and around Canberra.  Rangers were on hand to talk about some of the local foods, plants, animals and history.

Snake body painting was very popular, and they also had samples of emu, wallaby and possum from their BBQ, which were very tasty.

Announced today was the donation of an all-terrain wheelchair to the ACT community, by the National Parks Association of the ACT.  The wheelchair operates on one, centrally located wheel, and is designed to be steered by at least two people.  The aim is for people with a mobility impairment to use the wheelchair out on the tracks in the ACT’s conservation reserves, opening up opportunities for them to experience the Territory’s natural environment.

Autumn is a really pleasant time to be outside in the ACT – it’s not baking hot, and it’s not really cold (although I don’t mind the latter).  Today was a cracker of a day – 26 degrees C – and by the look of it, lots of Canberrans agreed with me that the Tidbinbilla Extravaganza was the place to be.