A very mumsy entry this week I’m afraid – I’ve had a bit of a cold so my limited energies have mainly been focused on Maisie!
On Tuesday a friend from Playgroup, Michele, invited a few of us round to their multi-level townhouse (a challenge once you have children!) for our kids to try out her newly purchased trampoline. Her daughter, Sophia, is a natural gymnast, but Maisie didn’t really get it at all! She was happy pushing a toy buggy around endlessly (this is her modus operandi at Playgroup). We were all either British or Kiwi, and all unsure about our future plans. Jenny, from the Midlands, has tried living in Australia twice (her British husband would like to settle here) but she’s decided it’s not for her, so instead they are going to try a new place – Ireland!
In the evening I saw the new film by the director of ‘Blue Valentine’, entitled ‘The Place beyond the Pines’. It was an ambitious triptych, the first part starring the undeniably gorgeous Ryan Gosling as a fairground motorbike stunt rider, drawn into bank robbery when he discovers he has a young son and becomes desperate to provide for him. The second section focuses on the idealistic young cop who shoots him down, is hailed as a hero but gets sucked into a coterie of corrupt officers, and makes the brave decision to whistle-blow. The final segment pits the sons of these two men against each other, when they meet aged 17 (in a ham-fisted set-up) at school, not knowing who their fathers are. It was a shame that the film lost its way in this final section, when up till then it had been thrillingly intense, both men convincingly compromised and complex.
Maisie screamed (for no apparent reason) for 40 minutes through Wednesday’s workout, and was only calm if I chain-fed her grapes, so I didn’t build up a sweat at all (even though our helpful trainer, Leah, gave me alternative exercises to do by the buggy). As soon as we got to the café Maisie was as right as rain, running around with Elka, attempting to drink from all the dog water bowls! We strolled into town to revisit the Mexican photography exhibition we saw last weekend, as Neil and I had been thinking about the images and had decided that we might like to invest in one. They were just as strong on a second viewing, so I took a deep breath and handed the money over. The one we chose is particularly dramatic – a close-up of a fabulously painted female face, roaring. Hopefully it’ll inspire (rather than scare) Maisie! The picture below is one of Melbourne’s famous ‘laneways’ – old cobbled back alleys which run parallel to the main streets.
One of Neil’s birthday presents was a DVD of Steve Coogan’s most recent incarnation of Alan Partridge, as the presenter of ‘Mid Morning Matters’ on’ North Norfolk digital radio’. It’s completely compelling, whilst being virtually unwatchable! Apparently there’s full-length film of it due to come out in the not-too-distant future – the mind boggles…
The temperature has dropped 10 degrees since last week. It was a gloomy day on Thursday (a brief ray of sun made the leaves of our neighbouring trees glow), the sea darkly opaque and choppy. Torrential showers kept us inside for a long afternoon. I was glad to escape to my gamelan rehearsal (although Jeremy’s carpet warehouse is freezing – we huddled round an ancient electric bar heater), where I finally made it to the end of a tricky meandering gender wayang piece called ‘Candi Rebah’.
On Friday morning my lovely friend Rochelle (mother of Holly and Alexis), invited Maisie and I to coffee at her place with several other friends. She rents a beautiful decaying 1930s art deco flat complete with geometrically moulded ceilings, and complemented by her and her partners’ choice 1950s furniture. I hadn’t met the other mums before but they all had interesting tales to tell and useful tips to pass on. Holly and Alexis were the perfect hosts, having no problem sharing their toys (in marked contrast to Maisie later on in the week when Sally and Iggy visited and she threw all her toys around the room rather than share them with Iggy!). The afternoon was spent at Playgroup, where Maisie discovered the push-along trike (see picture).
A low-key weekend started with an afternoon in upmarket South Yarra buying Maisie (non-upmarket!) winter clothes and tools for indoor activities. We found a small art gallery, showing quirky neon artworks (see picture). In the evening I babysat for my friend Rachel. Her husband works for an art-house film distributor, so they had shelves full of films that I was dying to see! I picked a documentary recently released here, called ‘Chasing Ice’, about a photographer who set up time-lapse cameras in the Arctic to capture the melting of the glaciers. The footage was stunning and absolutely devastating. Without sensationalising the topic at all, it was quite clear by the end of the film that man has already destroyed this planet once and for all. It was hard to know what to follow that with, but at that point (before 9.30pm), Rachel’s husband came home (he had some work to do and wanted an excuse to escape from the party!) so I got home earlier than usual.
I was a little unwell on Sunday so spent the day in, but Neil valiantly kept the cultural flag flying, taking Maisie out to two exhibitions – one about trams, the other on street art, and in between catching some sword-dancing at a Buddhist festival where a kindly-looking guy rushed up to Maisie to give her the last blessed ribbon bracelet of the day.
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