Long Weekend

A random pic of some abodes. These houses are right at the top of a cliff overlooking the bay in Wellington, New Zealand. They would have spectacular views. A couple of years ago we were in Wellington and were wandering along the promenade on our way to dinner when I took this picture.

It’s a long weekend here in Victoria and I love three day weekends! That extra day really makes it feel special.

On Friday night I watched Premonition on Foxtel. What’s up with that movie? I think I get it – she is basically living the days of her week out of order, but then won’t she end up in that insane asylum eventually? Or was each day out of order actually an alternate reality? And what’s up with Julian McMahon’s eyebrows? He was wearing more makeup than Sandra Bullock!

On Saturday we did our grocery shopping and pottered around at home. Selina Byrne says we should spend more time just pottering.

Then on Saturday night I went with Pam to the Concert Hall to see John Williams in concert with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. We had a nice dinner at the Cafe Vic before wandering over to pick up our tickets. I’ve been everywhere else in the Arts Cente (State Theatre, Playbox, Fairfax, the National Gallery) but this was the first time I’ve been to the Concert Hall. On the lower level they have hundreds of Sidney Nolan prints on the walls that look amazing. We preordered our interval drinks then went in. We were in Row B, and there was no-one in our section of Row A for most of the night. We were practically in the Strings Section with our eyes at stage level, which means you notice every orchestra members’ shoes. The conductor (Oleg Caetani) was so entertaining to watch – because we were over to one side we could see all of his facial expressions and you could hear him take deep breaths just before something dramatically musical (or is that musically dramatic) was about to happen. It was also interesting to watch how different orchestra members approached playing their instruments – some were completely calm and expressionless, others were contorting their faces in concentration and could barely remain in their chairs. They started off playing Hymne by Olivier Messian. Then John Williams joined the MSO for the next two pieces – Takemitsu’s To The Edge of Dream, and then my favourite – Peter Sculthorpe’s Nourlangie. Sculthorpe was there on the night and it was great to see him emerge from the audience and take a bow with John Williams and the conductor. John Williams was just perfect. He wore a flowing ecclesiastical-purple silk shirt which stood out among the black and white of the orchestra. He played with such calm energy and precision. After the interval it was back to the MSO performing Mahler’s Symphony No 1 in D.

On Sunday I did a little bit of shopping and then came home to hide from the heat. I bought Amy Winehouse’s Live DVD (I told you about her last September), and the latest John Williams CD. I then photographed and listed a couple of items on EBay and had a relaxing time. Mark and I decided on the menu for next week’s dinner party.

As for today – there’s a book I really need to finish, plus I think I need to either do some genealogy research or maybe even some painting. I would like to also finish organising our New Zealand trip for my brother’s wedding (need to work out daily activities as well as prepare a comprehensive document for our housesitter).

About these ads