St Kilda Living

This is one of my favourite apartment blocks along the St Kilda Foreshore. I have only see the block from the road. I have never had the opportunity to go inside. I keep hoping to go past and find there is an Open for Inspection.

Nothing is perfect and when you get up close you can see that cracks are beginning to form and some of the concrete is chipping away . Nothing some maintenance couldn't eliminate but none the less the design looks better than the construction.


Next time you are passing have a look and see what you think of it.

Tree Art in St Kilda

It is never dull living in St Kilda. This morning while I was walking I saw this decorated tree. It is outside a development site and it is tempting to thing that the Tradies on the project have filled in some down time by adding the pots.

A further look and I can see that the Port Phillip Council have spotted the tree and added their notice to the trunk. As I wandered on I wonder whether the Tradies had cut the tree to this raw state to make their on-site job easier.

It's a mystery! And it's unlikely that anyone will come forward to solve it.

A touch of spring in mid-winter

Daffodiles are in the shops again. Not in my garden but it is lovely to see their bright blooms on the edge of the grey footpath on a grey day. It is very wintery here in Melbourne and now spring has come to my hallway.

Winter - Veg Out Community Garden - St Kilda

The Veg Out Community Garden can be fun but this morning this dear old bullock was standing, looking more forlorn than usual, as he watched the world through his wire cage - any moment he is going to give a heart rendering Mooooooo.

He has a purpose. He is succesful in scaring off the possums - the Silverbeet growing around him is flourishing. These beautifully healthy plants haven't a nibble between them.

Look at it. Ready to pick and cook

In my backyard garden, further down the road, the local possums have eaten all the leaves from my silverbeet, leaving the stems as a reminder of what could have been. But then I haven't got a bullock.

Pigeons taking a liking to Cafe Food

A cold day in South Melbourne and the pigeons have their eyes on the outside tables at Gas Cafe on Coventry Street. The diners had only just stepped away when these three descended.

Is the standing pigeon being polite or is he making a judgement call as to whether the food is to his liking??

Pink Blue Gum flowers

It is very wintery here in melbourne with misty days and grey skies. In the suburb where I am working these beautiful gum flowers break through the morning fog in a glorious pink burst.Mid winter would seem an unlikely time for them come into flower but it is wonderful that they do so. They are incredibly beautiful and such a contrast to the weather.

Summer Hours - movie review

The Siblings in Summer Hours

We saw the movie ‘Summer Hours” last week. I have decided that I need to put up an outline of the story before I discuss it. Reading this synopsis doesn’t spoil the film because most of it becomes clear in the first fifteen or twenty minutes but it does give an idea what all the interactions are about and this film is a film about working through events – ‘a slice of life’ if you like
For her 75th birthday, Helene's (Edith Scob) sons, Frederic (Charles Berling) and Jeremie (Jeremie Renier), bring their wives Lisa (Dominique Reymond) and Angela (Valerie Bonneton) plus their respective children, and her daughter Adrienne (Juliette Binoche) flies in from America. The widowed Helene lives in the country house of famous artist the late Paul Berthier, whose works and collection of antiques has to be passed on appropriately after her death. Indeed, it's not long before the siblings have to face this reality, made complicated by their differing needs. Carving up the estate, especially the house, brings out their different lifestyles and wishes. Teenage granddaughter Sylvie (Alice de Lencquesaing) comes to understand the importance of her late grandmother and the role the house played in her life.
This is a very French film; at least I found it so. I have read that it has been described as a mature film by an accomplished director. I am happy to believe this and I am happy to believe that the characters all behave in a very French way. Their reactions to situations are reactions that I wouldn’t expect to find within a New Zealand or Australian family. This made the film more interesting but less satisfying as it was hard to identify with them. Looking at another culture is always interesting and of course the French are fascinating.
To show just how little we do understand the culture there were times when some the characters laughed out loud. Neither my friend (a good Australian) and I could see the joke. For example Frederic and Lisa were in the café of the Musee d’Orsay discussing their children having a party when they both burst into ‘rolling around the floor type’ of laughter.
If anyone knows what was so funny do tell me.
At the end of the film I felt I had had a very beautiful visual experience and on a chilly late autumn evening that is a pleasure in itself. However I felt let down at the end and I can only put that down to all the people being so civilized and nice that they were unreal. It would not be stretching it to say they were bland. Maybe it was the culture
Another cultural difference I found interesting was the attitude of the two siblings who were planning to make their lives overseas. Not once did they say “of course France will still be home” or “I’ll always be French” or words to that effect. I believe Australian and New Zealanders would have needed to state that out loud to prevent themselves feeling guilt about leaving their country of birth; perhaps it just an unfortunate habit we have.