I don't know about you but I love spending time with my friends and family. They are interesting, funny and wildly entertaining.
Whether we visit an art gallery or concert, go to the beach, attend some kind of political event we always manage to squeeze in a visit to a cafe or bar - just so we can chat, catch up and enjoy each other's company.
Depending on where we are we often go to one of the many small bars that have sprung up around Perth. Often they have a great vibe, great coffee and menu as well as good selection of beverages.
These small bars are a relatively new concept in Perth and have been imported from Melbourne, our defiantly cooler cousin.
But the growth in these smaller venues have been met with some resistance often by those who haven't really been to enough to know that they aren't really like your local pub.
Many people argue that these small bars (which operate under the Government's small bar licence where you can enjoy an alcoholic beverage without buying a meal at the same time) encourage the over consumption of alcohol, causing people to become loud and disorderly.
But I beg to differ.
Small bars generally pull a different crowd. A crowd that is there to enjoy a quiet night out with friends. A crowd that is probably slightly older or not into the mainstream Aussie culture. A crowd that doesn't, on the whole, drink to get drunk.
Seriously people, they aren't that bad. They are just like cafes but with a more diverse menu.
Sure, they might be slightly louder than your newborn's bed room when she or he is sleeping but they aren't loader than your standard footie game or even your Friday Night Youth Group and kids birthday party. So, the next time you have nothing to do, go exploring a bit and see how much Perth is changing.
Since moving back to my mum and dad's house to house sit for them while they take a well earned holiday, I have fielded a couple of calls from people wanting to speak with them.
One such call was from the Australian Christians who wanted to know if Mum and Dad were available on election day and, explaining that they were on holiday, the caller (naturally assuming that I was a Christian) asked me if I was available to help.
If you know me at all you would know that I am a member of the Australian Labor Party and so when I said no because I believe in a separation of church and state and would be voting for a secular party, I was told that I 'hadn't thought it though'.
This seems a little unreasonable as I hold a degree in Politics and very interested in politics. It is inappropriate that a perfect stranger should tell me that I haven't thought it through just because I don't agree with him and the political party he represents.
As I am a facebook addict, my status update following this phone call invited a few people to comment and many of them were interesting.
They range from avoiding any debate of any kind to the idea that human rights sit outside religious doctrine and that we don't need religious politicians in order to have a civil society went on to disagree with the idea that if a person doesn't agree with another's religious beliefs they are not a moral and ethical individual.
Others pondered whether the introduction of Sharia Law by the Australian Government would assist the Australian Christian in reassessing their priorities in terms of separating organised religion and the state.
You only have to go to Iran and other similar countries to see how dangerous theocracies are, especially for minority religions such as the Coptic Christians in Egypt.
Someone else wrote something along that Christians often assume that the only religion to get a say is theirs but in a pluralistic country you have to give equal weight to all religions. He went on to say how aggressive (his words not mine) Islam can be politically and separation between church and state is key to ensure moderation and governing for all citizens. It it not to say that politicians shouldn't be people of faith because at our democratically elected governments is a representation of the diverse Australian society and those who have religious convictions are an integral part of that. All religious groups are more than welcome to participate in the debate and, after pontificating about gay marriage and abortion, can work with the system to promote common themes in the bible (or other such text) such as the working on behalf of the marginalised, mentally ill and those who have the miss fortune of being homeless. It is important to be mindful of the plurality and secular nature of the Australian society and not to assume that a particular value systems can be transplanted on the Australian public. While some might go for the pre-enlightenment patriarchal paradigm of yesteryear, I'll be voting for progressive Labor Party values such as working for the common good, fairness at work, marriage equality, balancing environmental sustainability with economic progress as well as a women's right to choose and gender equality in the workplace.
I love reading and it has to be one of life's great pleasures and here are some that I have recently been reading. The Pleasures
and Sorrows of Work
was a beautifully written book about work and daily life. Alain Du Botton beings looks at what people do for a living and why
they do it. He goes on to look at
logistics/shipping and what goes on in making sure with have “stuff” on our
supermarket shelves and goes on to look at biscuit making, career counselling,
accountancy, etc. Du Button reminded me that humans are just a tiny cog in this
massive wheel and that work is just one way that we feel connected and useful
to society, even though in reality it has no lasting impact. He is the only
writer that makes accounting cargo ship spotting and commuting to London sound
remotely romantic. This book does seem
like a poetic report of various random jobs and I would have liked a stronger
and overarching narrative. Du Button does interview very well on TV.
I was really excited to begin about Gillian
Slovo’sBlack Orchids as the
colonial era I find a little exotic but this book shows its dark underbelly. The book Black Orchids is set in 1950s Ceylon and Britain about a girl of
English heritage who had lived in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) for most of her life
and subsequently marries a local boy from a “good family” then proceed to move
to England. Unfortunately, it was at a time that England wasn’t really
impressed by those married people from the colonies. So the main character
Evelyn doesn’t really feel like she belongs anywhere, not really British but
not really from Ceylon either. When I first brought it as stories of outsiders,
cross cultural upbringings and marriages really interest me but I soon became
disappointed with the story and by the end I was glad it was all over. The
story did show what England was like at the time and how far it’s come,
although that is up for debate. I felt
that Evelyn began as a formidable woman but who ended up being a bit of a cop
out.
There
was so much that I loved about Hugh MacKay’sAdvance Australia Where? It seemed
to take the pulse of Australian society and shows how the country has changed.
Mackay’s general argument is that, to cope with the plethora of big issues that
affect us such as terrorism/national security, the global economy and climate
change (just to name a few)Australia has become increasingly insular and inward
looking.
He cites our inability to deal with issues on a personal level which
makes us focus on things we can change for example home renovations and
spirituality. MacKay feels that our keen interest in shows such as Better Homes
and Gardians, Backyard Blitz and shows like CSI and Law & Order are an
attempt to escape from having to engage with the big issues facing our society.
It is easier to renovate your house than to “stop the boats” or reduce
Aboriginal disadvantage, for example.
I
found myself wanting to throw the book at the wall when I was reading the
chapter on the Gender Revolution, not that I disagreed with it but because it
was so spot on, especially how modern Australian females have little
appreciation of the work done by generations of feminist women. His discussion
about the changing nature of gender roles was also really interesting.
This
is a great book about Australia and is well worth the read if you are
interested about modern Australian cultural history.
Ohhhh
how I loved Caleb’s Crossing by
Geraldine Brooks and gets 5 stars
straight away. It is about the first American Indian to attend Harvard University but more importantly it was about the relationship between Caleb and the highly intelligent Bethea (I think that is how you spell it) who is often relegated to domestic duties solely based on her gender. It was so well written and the characters were so clearly
defined. The protagonists moved throughout the book with much clarity that I
felt that understood them even if I didn't identify with them directly on a
personal level or even agree with their politics. As a modern girl who has
gained a university education, the era when even a basic primary education was
denied to 50% of the population just because of their gender was a bit of a
shock to me but Brooks wrote in such a way that I didn't hate the culture. This
book is amazing!!!!
Far To Go by Alison Pick is a book that I had mixed
feelings about. Partly because the central theme (why many of the
German/Polish/Czech Jews didn’t flee their homelands sooner) of the story
seemed to fascinate me so much and the characters seem shallow in the
circumstances and partly because the romantic subplots didn’t seem to add value
to the story.
But
I really loved how Pick managed to show the two sides of the Non-Jewish people
that the story’s family had contact with and how in their company they were
pleasant and friendly but out of their company they were sucked into the Nazi
propaganda. As it turns out it was one of these individuals that informed the
authorities of their Jewish heritage, despite their secular lifestyle.
But
despite the depressing story, it is easy to read and, while Far To Go is
fiction, it gives you some idea of why so many didn’t see the horrors of the
holocaust coming.
I
kept going with the Jewish, World Wars and exile theme with Anna Funder’s All That I Am. It is written from the prospective of two of Political
Activists (plus close knit group/family) that escape Nazi Germany and live in
London.
The
narrative is written from when these two Characters are in old age and trying
to make peace with their troubled past.
While
it centres around a close group of refugees in London who are trying to make a
difference in a world in turmoil but not everyone can stand the pressure of fleeing
persecution and surviving in a new hostile environment. Towards the end we
realise that not all is well and one of them becomes betrays the political work
of the group and this leads to a sad and tragic end.
In
the final quarter of the book, we slowly learn the details of the betrayal and
ultimate fall out.
I
loved how the present and past intertwined and found the characters to be
interesting and thoughtful.
I
didn’t really know much about the German political activists and while I know
it is fiction, I wonder if I could risk everything do the same thing if in a
similar situation
While
trawling through eBay one rainy Sunday afternoon I stumbled on the kind of wall
clock that you find in Swiss train stations and I immediately knew I had to
purchase same.
Having
a Swiss Mum and having been there on holiday many times, I have great memories
of train journeys from Geneva to Neuchâtel and beyond. Not only are the train
network super efficient but the views from them are amazing and breath taking.
My all time favourite journey is going from Geneva to Paris which meandered high
up along the sides of the mountains, giving spectacular views of the landscape.
Next on the list would have to be going to Interlaken at such a speed that it
was hard to fully appreciate the views.
The
Swiss are famous for their clocks as well as time keeping in general but what I
really appreciate about this clock is that it reminds me that I am not at work
and therefore my time is my own. Not that my weekends are run Swiss military
style with every minute accounted for but it reminds me to enjoy my time off
and fill it to the max with activities that are actually rewarding and
stimulating.
Everyone
needs something that reminds them to use their time wisely and to create a life
well lived and my Swiss clock keeps me in time.
Sometimes you want a change of routine – something different,
something new.
So yesterday, as I was doing my usual workout at the gym and
deciding what I wanted for lunch before work, I decided on a change from my
usual cheese sandwich.
This joint is based around toasted sandwiches and while this sounds
like something that couldn’t possibly work (why would you pay for something as
simple as a cheese sandwich?), the creative menu is what made me want to buy
one of their toasties.
Ranging from the traditional like ham and cheese to the downright
strange such as brie and jam as well as more contemporary flavours as pear and
blue cheese, I went straight away for the 3 cheeses sandwich.
Having both Swiss and English heritage, a toasted cheese sandwich
that included Gruyerre, Emmantel and Cheddar seemed to be a combination to die
for and instantly brought back memories of these far away countries.
At $ 7, it is little pricey but worth the trip down memory lane, and
a move to sourdough bread or the like would be the icing on the cake.
To compliment my sandwich and to prepare for the eight hour shift
that was to come, I ordered a coffee which was well made but lacked flavour and
proper caffeine hit that I was looking for.
It defiantly has an unusual menu, quirky vibe and is one of many
new venues in Perth’s alleys and laneways but I hope that is enough to ensure
its continued success.
Ever
since Maggie died in April I have been wondering why Britain’s first female
Prime Minister polarised people so much. You either love her or you hate her!
Dressed up as Maggie at a the Street Party fancy dress comp
I
grew up in Thatcher’s Britain. I lived in her shadow not knowing anything else
until her demise in the nineties and her recent death has inspired me to
find out more of the leader that ruled the country of my childhood.
I
must admit that my older sisters hated her with an absolute passion but as I
grew up I couldn't really understand why they found her so abhorrent while she
continued to win election after election.
Depending
on who you talked to, Thatcher’s rampage though Britain’s manufacturing sector
either destroyed the country for good for or gave it the clean out (read
“modernisation”) that it had to have.
Thatcher’s
closing of the collieries in the north of England, an act that that many people
say that the area never really recovered from. Without a proper plan to transition
from an area that dug things out of the ground to a region was a part of the innovation
revolution, it has become a place left behind from the modern day knowledge economy.
Rates of chronic employment remain high in the north east due to low economic
growth in areas such as construction as well as the decline in apprenticeships
and other modes of capacity building.
Another
big criticism of Thatcher’s selling off of public housing.
While
allowing people to own their own homes is a great policy, encouraging people to
buy overvalued properties isn’t such a wise move and according to an investigation
by The Daily Mirror 80% of these council flats have ended up being rented out by
private landlords.
What
also happened was that the properties that were sold in the North of the
country were worth much less than the houses in the more prosperous south.
It
seems that the policy of making property ownership more accessible has not
really benefited subsequent generations in Britain and we are seeing that the
rich continue to be in control of the property market and cheaper social housing
has become harder to find as they've been sold off. But I guess this policy was developed to help
the aspirational working class at the expense of those who don’t have the means
to own their own home.
But
Thatcher’s changes weren’t just limited to the housing market.
Like
any good Conservative, Thatcher believed in small government and this included
reducing the number of rules and regulations that the financial sector had to
follow. For example, this meant that building societies were given greater
freedom for to provide mortgage services and banks were now also allowed more
freedom to merge and acquire new businesses that provided financial services
such as stockbroking and insurance. The market was also opened up to foreign
investors and businesses.
While
it meant that the sector was allowed to grow and develop, it also meant that
the financial industry saw phenomenal growth as the same time as being more
susceptible downturns in the market as we saw with the Global Financial Crisis.
She
was also an amazing political tactician. In a conversation with Radio National
Broadcaster and ex Liberal Senator Amanda Vanstone, David Burchell describes
her as an essay in hatred in politics and how to present your opponents with a
set of issues that they don’t know how to handle. She had the ability to not
only bring great strength to her own cause but to also weaken the cause of her
political opponents.
In
1979, Britain Labour was in a state of flux – wedged between the traditional values
of the Union Movement and the need to move with the times. But when Thatcher
came to power, it gave them someone to hate and having such a clear enemy to
focus on seemed to lead them down a path of self destruction.
Struggling
with issues such as immigration, defence and what it meant to be British, the
party imploded and proceeded to take 20 years to regroup.
Burchell
argues that Thatcher didn’t set out to destroy the Labour Party but by
developing a set of “modernising” policies that the Labour Party couldn’t
create viable alternatives for, they were soon driven in to a corner to be perceived
as the bastions of “anti – modernisation”.
Thatcher
showed how easy it was to divide her opponents by pursing a set of clear set of
ideas and how to use political hatred to her advantage. Labour was so hell bent
on hating Thatcher that they became irrational and unable to develop policy
alternatives.
I
could go on about her record divided Britain and making it country that focuses
on the individual pursuit of wealth at all costs. In her death I hope she may rest
in peace and that we may learn from her mistakes and continue to work for the
common good so that no one may be left behind.
Since
it was lunch time I thought I might stop here for lunch. Since it was the last
day of my stay I thought I would go for the all day breakfast menu. My order poached eggs with salmon was quickly
taken and came out.
It
wasn’t bad, as you can it was well presented and tasted nice which are the main
things but I just found the aprox $14 a little expensive and would have
expected something a little more memorable for the price. The coffee wasn’t bad!
Most cool suburbs have cafes, bars and restaurants
that are so part of the local culture and traditions that they are considered institutions
and phd - Sup’herb Pho in Marrickville is a great example.
When I lived in Marrickville I was introduced to
what was its previous incarnation of Pho Bac by my nieces and nephew, whose Friday
night visits date back to when they were tiny. Since then it has a face lift
and a name change but the great tasting honest food remains the same.
So in a recent visit to Sydney for the Writers’Festival, I squeezed in a dinner out with the much loved Family at this old haunt.
First we ordered Vietnamese Fresh Spring rolls
which came out super fast and were well presented and tasted great. They were
good that they disappeared almost instantly!!
Next we ordered Vermicelli with Shredded Pork
and Salad whose complex flavours were nice but not overpowering and the same
goes for the Thai Style Braised Noodles.
We were tossing up whether to order the fried
rice or not because it can be a little boring but we weren't too
disappointed and as it complimented the other dishes we were quite glad that we
did.
We could go out for Vietnamese without
ordering a bowel of Pho and it was just what wanted. I don’t know if it was
authentically Vietnamese or what but it was hot, well cooked and brought back
memories of visiting that lovely country.
What was my favourite dish?
I don’t know! I can’t decide between the
Vermicelli and the Thai Noodles. The Thai Noodles, with its green vegetables, looked so green and vibrant that I could have ordered another portion but both
dishes were perfect and I would totally recommend them.
If you are in Marrickville, give this place a
go. It’s not super flash or could be considered fine dining but the food hits
the spot when it’s Friday and you've had a big week and you’re exhausted or
when it is Sunday night and you want some where chilled to take a bunch of hungry
kids.
“Have we got a story for you” was the mantra for the 2013 Sydney Writers’ Festival and what amazing stories they had.
But what was so wonderful about Sydney Writers’ Festival was that it was more than just fiction. While the kind of fiction that propels you into another world was an integral part of the week, it was also debate and ideas that were also important parts of the festival.
This year politics and feminism were a common thread but then again, it seems that the things that you are passionate about are usually the things that stick out.
I quite like SWF’s approach of bring together authors, journalists and social commentators to discuss a particular theme such as the people behind politics, literary magazines, what feminism means today or political rhetoric. This way, the books were set in a wider context and it was more interesting than just going to multiple book launches.
My festival journey began with attending the session on the Obama’s campaign and it was great to hear more about how different this campaign.
Obama campaign strategists Joe Rospars and Stephen Muller spoke about how this campaign was unique in that it put Americans back in the middle of the story and allowed them to take ownership of it. They used the campaign to reflect the community back to themselves and creating one of the most electric campaigns in history.
The strategy built the capacity of ordinary Americans to organise themselves to develop relationships with those in their local community and have conversations about what kind of future they wanted for America.
In a time of political apathy and the dislike of the political “spin” machine at an all time high, the effect was amazing. Rospars and Muller spoke about the ways people involved including organising meetings in their house to talk about issues.
It made me think that in the end, what will be more powerful – a conversation over the fence between neighbours or a professional advert on primetime commercial TV?
This session left many of us wanting these guys to stay behind in Australia to invigorate the upcoming federal election.
Another theme was feminism; there was Anne Summer’s Misogyny Factor, Naomi Wolf’s Vagina’s new biography, and a discussion about where feminism has gone since the publishing of the Feminist Mystique fifty years ago. Many events were co-presented with the Southbank Centre's Woman of the World Festival which provided us with many great role models who inspired us with their wisdom and passion for a better world.
It was great to be reminded that feminism is not about hating men but economic and social equity to be able to be in control of your destiny and reproduction.
It was also good to hear about the relationship between women from the developed world and those from developing countries and how it important it is to stand up against issues such as genital mutilation, rape, forced marriages, etc but without taking control but listening and providing support in what way the women in those situations ask for.
Finally, Saturday night saw a packed out session at the Sydney Town Hall with feisty Ruby Wax and Shami Chakrabarti on the panel of five opinionated women. While it started out about being about Vajazzling it went on to cover the politics of hair, what women do to their bodies and for whom as well as the women’s body as public property. It was a great night and you know it has been a powerful session when people continue to discuss ideas as they walk out.
Sunday was another day filled with sessions on Pride and Prejudice, what it means to have a good life and is rhetoric dead? It was another wonderful day filled with ideas, books and words.
I could go on forever singing the praises of the Sydney Writers’ Festival. Their stories, ideas and discussions ring in my ears long after I’ve come home and luckily, the books and podcasts will continue to entertain, move and inspire me until next year.
While Rudali (by Mahasweta Devi) may be a small book, its powerful story covers so many important topics. From abject poverty to the caste system and Indian funeral practices as well as the role of women in a strongly patriarchal society, this story challenges readers on their ideas on poverty and feminism. So powerful is this story that it has been transformed into a play and a movie.
Mahasweta Devi born in 1926 is an Indian author and comes from a family of Brahman writers. Both parents wrote and so did her brother as well as her Devi’s son who became a celebrated author. Mahasweta Devi went on to teach at Bijoygarh College while also becoming a journalist and creative writer. She has also become well known for becoming a social activist and bringing attention to the lives of those who are not economically powerful and don’t have the loudest voices.
Essentially, this story concerns the life of Sanichari. From the caste she was born into to being unfortunate enough to be born on unlucky Saturday, her life continues to see tragedy. Sanichari sees many of her immediate family pass away leaving her in a permanent state of insecurity. Somehow Sanichari continues to cling tightly to her dignity and this allows her to discover opportunities to allow her to support herself.
The realities of poverty regularly struck me especially when it is written, ‘For them, nothing has ever come easy. Just the daily struggle for a little maize gruel and salt is exhausting. Through motherhood and widowhood, they are tied to the money lender. While those people spend huge sums of money on death ceremonies, just to get prestige….’ This quote really is central to Sanichari story and the community that she is part of as well as her motivation to become a professional mourner. Those that do have money use it to improve their status.
But focusing on poverty, I was often remained that attitude and community were the keys to surviving life’s hardships, such as when Sanichari says ‘in this village everyone is unhappy. They understand suffering’ meaning that suffering is easier to bear if everyone is going through the same thing. Another example was when a lady with a new baby in the village offered to breastfed Sanichari’s infant grandson so she can go and work. Life was so hard for Sanichari but she managed to survive with the help of her community.
After being reunited with a childhood friend, both of them take up on an opportunity to become a professional mourner given to them by Dulan (a money lender who is of the more wealthy class above Sanichari and can be described as “a mover and a shaker”) who suggests that Sanichari should tap into her lifetime of misery and her inability to cry for the deaths of her own family to aid the wealthy in her society to stage an appropriate farewell from this earthly life. As a result the pair is able to work; they are able to gain some income and a bowls of rice as well as the ability to introducing other women of less socially acceptable professions to this way of securing their financial independence.
Professional morning has a long tradition in parts of India and in Rajasthan in particular. It is seen as important to give the deceased person a good funeral so that in death their status is elevated. I found it interesting that in the days prior to individual's passing away they were not cared for and left to sleep in their own excrement but once they were dead they were given the grandest funerals.
Many readers refer to this book as a Feminist text because of Sanichari’s ability to (with the help of Dulan) to manipulate the patriarchal culture resulting in her ability to support herself and not rely on men for life’s essentials. In many ways, I struggled with this idea of Rudali being a Feminist book as I never considered working for free for a wealthy landowner (as Sanichari had to do to) to pay a debt as very liberating or even manipulating the patriarchal paradigm as very progressive.
As a feminist who grow up in the west where the focus was on very western issues such as pay equality, abortion rights and an equal distribution of household responsibilities, I often felt uncomfortable when I read about Rudali being regarded a feminist text. When I first began read Rudali, I couldn’t really understand why it was considered feminist. But since finishing the story and thinking about it, my understanding of feminist has grown to appreciate that the struggles and agendas are culturally specific and different depending on where you live. In the West the aim is to push the boundaries of the patriarchal system but in Rudali and in more patriarchal cultures generally, women have to manipulate the system to suit their agenda in the same way that Sanichari does in the story.
Rudali and the story of Sanichari is defiantly worth reading and joins my long list of great Indian stories. While this book is a challenging one, it provides a lot to talk about, making it an ideal book for a book club and a priority read before your Indian adventure.
Small bars generally pull a different crowd. A crowd that is there to enjoy a quiet night out with friends. A crowd that is probably slightly older or not into the mainstream Aussie culture. A crowd that doesn't, on the whole, drink to get drunk. 
Sure, they might be slightly louder than your newborn's bed room when she or he is sleeping but they aren't loader than your standard footie game or even your Friday Night Youth Group and kids birthday party. 
