Return to Perth

 H aving seen many Iranian films over the years I was rather shocked to hear that The President's Cake is the first Iraqi film to be shown in the Perth Festival. In a Q&A with an Iraqi film maker who now lives in Perth, he seemed somewhat embarrased by aspects of the movie. He insisted that Iraqis weren't like the bad characters we were about to see; that it wasn't a "true" story; that life was too difficult in Iraq to make films just for entertainment. But it was more than entertainment and as is often the case with a good film, it's "truth" lies in its exploration of the human condition.  Set during Sadam Hussein's regime, in the southern marshlands of Iraq, its the story of a young girl who lives with her grandmother in a reed house above the water. The landscape is amazing and a character in itself. In a time of American sanctions and bombing, she has to find the ingredients to make a cake so her school can celebrate Hussien's birthda...

There were some solar panels on the roof of 106 Archibald St but in the flush of finance, saving some money by buying in Willagee rather than a fancier suburb, we decided to help the environment and invest in both more panels and a battery. Of course I have to confess that I know nothing about how to make the best choice of a new solar system but luckily Susan had a well informed friend and we have a self-described electricity Nazi as a neighbour. So between these two helpful blokes, we signed on the dotted line for: 10kw inverter 16kw battery 36 new solar panels Plus all the wiring, switchboard upgrades and even a bollard to protect the battery from bad drivers! The team that came to do the installation included Phil, the boss, an electrician for 40 years, plus a team of young apprentices including his godson. They were all nice folk, grateful for the cool drinks and biscuits we provided, and good at cleaning up after themselves. Usually, the company takes away old solar panels and sh...

I've mentioned the Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre before and I had another chance to visit it last weekend. Susan and I had a delightful lunch catching up with cousin Andrew and his partner Debra in the grounds of the Arts Centre. It was the perfect day to be sitting out under the shade of some trees. I've often felt ghosts in places that have previously been mental asylums or prisons but not in this building. Maybe because no matter how difficult life was for the inmates, they could come outside and enjoy the sea breeze and the sunshine. After lunch we went in to see an exhibition of a Fremantle artist Theo Koning (1950-2022). The exhibition includes artworks spanning his entire oeuvre with examples of assemblage, sculpture, repurposed materials, paintings, drawings, collage and print editions, including artist books and examples of his poster art. Over many rooms, this tells a story of a man who must have lived every day for his art, always on the lookout for something to tur...

  I think it was our Dacia Tour driver in Bucharest who mentioned the 1987 BBC TV series Fortunes of War based on the novels of Olivia Manning. Its one of those rare series that captures a piece of history in an almost unknown  country at a time where the focus was on other parts of Europe - in this case, the story starts in Romania during the early years of World War Two. It's an 8-part series set not only in Romania but also Greece and Egypt and it's almost worth watching for the architecture and historic buildings alone. From what I could find online, it was one of the most expensive TV series of its time, costing the BBC 7 million pounds. The number of extras alone must have cost of fortune, let alone clearing historic sites, such as the Parthenon and the Pyramids, of tourists so scenes with one or two lead actors could be filmed. It's fascinating to watch a series that is nearly forty years old. It has a leisurely pace for all that it's set in a time of war. It sta...

Not surprisingly given my slightly obscure food tastes, one of my go-to choices in pubs and restaurants is often fish and chips. And given many years experience in many parts of Australia and overseas, I confess that I'm a picky fish and chipper. Good crunchy batter. Delicate fish. Tartare sauce with some oomph. Lots of salt. No vinegar, And hot, crisp but not hard chips. When we moved into Willagee I was pleased to spot a fish and chippery in our little shopping centre. Unfortunately, its turned out to be a disappointment. Apparently the owners have been there for 25 years or more and I don't think the outside or the inside of the shop have changed over that time. While the fish is acceptable, they do a strange crumbed covering rather than a good batter. Luckily, 7 minutes drive away in Attadale, there's Redfish Fish, Chips and Grill. It doesn't work for me for take away because by the time the chips get home after a 3 kilometre drive, they won't be perfectly hot b...

  Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet was amongst my favourite books of 2016. In my Libib keeping-track-of-books app, I said: "This is an exquiste novel. I've read books based on the lives of Shakespeare and Marlowe but this is the best. Partly because Shakespeare is never named and so the focus is on his family. Partly because there's an impressive depth of research about the smells and sounds and living in 16th century England. Partly because the characters are so warmly crafted. And partly because this story of grief is so profoundly told. A beautiful, lyrical piece of writing." Not surprisingly, I decided to see the film. I'd seen the shorts during last year's British Film Festival and wasn't particularly impressed but then the nominations started pouring forth and I convinced Susan and some friends to go. However, just after we'd bought our tickets, some negative commentary started coming out. Was this, the critics asked, grief-porn? But we walked i...