It's such a nice spot there, one of my favourite places in Canberra
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Uriarra Crossing
I took the kids out to Uriarra Crossing with some friends and their kids on Sunday afternoon and we had a lovely barbecue by the river.
It's such a nice spot there, one of my favourite places in Canberra
It's such a nice spot there, one of my favourite places in Canberra
Giants v Kangaroos
I was lucky enough to win two tickets to the Aussie Rules (AFL) game at Manuka Oval through the wonderful folk at VisitCanberra and so decided to take Eli along for his first experience of sport played in front of a big stadium of people.
The 'home' side GWS Giants play three games a season in Canberra and this time they were pitched against North Melbourne (Kangaroos). GWS Giants are newcomers to the Australian Football League whereas the Kangaroos are one of the oldest (having been formed in 1869). What that means in practical terms is that the Kangaroos are an established team (having had a golden period in the 1960s) whereas the Giants are just really finding their way. The Giants have a young squad and are tipped to develop into something big in four or five years time whereas the Kangaroos are already there.
We had great seats and despite being winter the weather was a sunny and warm 14 degrees. The match kicked off and Eli (rightly so) started asking me what was going on. I think this was the third or fourth AFL game I'd been to but to be honest I'm still a bit sketchy on the rules. I turned to the chap next to me for help but he said he'd not been to an AFL game before but luckily the lady to my left shared a few more detailed pointers.
As all AFL games the match was pretty hectic. There's no slow build ups as in football and scoring is quick and frequent. Whether you love or loathe the game it's hard not to be impressed with the stamina and general fitness of the players. The sport requires you to not only run, but catch, jump and push(!) competently. I've found friends brought up on AFL are always the most vocal critics when watching football(soccer) when a player dives 10 feet along the ground because they've been nudged by the opposition, there's no time for that in AFL. I guess the main reason is that when teams score 150 points there's less advantage to be had than by a theatrical dive in the box to secure a vital 1-0 win in football(soccer).
The game is also looooong. Four quarters of 30 minutes obviously with a break between quarters. I'd thought we'd last till half time before Eli would get bored, but he was transfixed and watched almost the whole match which was great.
The Kangaroos were well ahead after the first quarter but the Giants fought back to trail by only a handful of points at half time. Eli and I took a wander round the ground (Eli got freaked out by G-Man - the HUGE Giants mascot) and by the time we returned to our seats the Kangaroos had scored several goals to lead the 3rd quarter significantly.
The match finished 126 v 51 so pretty much a walk-over, but it was still good fun to watch. Eli tried to switch support towards the end when he saw which way the game was going, but I reminded him he had to stay loyal to his team as they might win next time.
I guess a lifetime of watching some of the dross served up at the Molinuex had taught me that.
The 'home' side GWS Giants play three games a season in Canberra and this time they were pitched against North Melbourne (Kangaroos). GWS Giants are newcomers to the Australian Football League whereas the Kangaroos are one of the oldest (having been formed in 1869). What that means in practical terms is that the Kangaroos are an established team (having had a golden period in the 1960s) whereas the Giants are just really finding their way. The Giants have a young squad and are tipped to develop into something big in four or five years time whereas the Kangaroos are already there.
We had great seats and despite being winter the weather was a sunny and warm 14 degrees. The match kicked off and Eli (rightly so) started asking me what was going on. I think this was the third or fourth AFL game I'd been to but to be honest I'm still a bit sketchy on the rules. I turned to the chap next to me for help but he said he'd not been to an AFL game before but luckily the lady to my left shared a few more detailed pointers.
As all AFL games the match was pretty hectic. There's no slow build ups as in football and scoring is quick and frequent. Whether you love or loathe the game it's hard not to be impressed with the stamina and general fitness of the players. The sport requires you to not only run, but catch, jump and push(!) competently. I've found friends brought up on AFL are always the most vocal critics when watching football(soccer) when a player dives 10 feet along the ground because they've been nudged by the opposition, there's no time for that in AFL. I guess the main reason is that when teams score 150 points there's less advantage to be had than by a theatrical dive in the box to secure a vital 1-0 win in football(soccer).
The game is also looooong. Four quarters of 30 minutes obviously with a break between quarters. I'd thought we'd last till half time before Eli would get bored, but he was transfixed and watched almost the whole match which was great.
The Kangaroos were well ahead after the first quarter but the Giants fought back to trail by only a handful of points at half time. Eli and I took a wander round the ground (Eli got freaked out by G-Man - the HUGE Giants mascot) and by the time we returned to our seats the Kangaroos had scored several goals to lead the 3rd quarter significantly.
The match finished 126 v 51 so pretty much a walk-over, but it was still good fun to watch. Eli tried to switch support towards the end when he saw which way the game was going, but I reminded him he had to stay loyal to his team as they might win next time.
I guess a lifetime of watching some of the dross served up at the Molinuex had taught me that.
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| Everyone loves a thunderstick! |
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| having a kick around at half time |
Thursday, August 7, 2014
The anger of the artist as a young girl
Audrey loves drawing. If the mood takes her she can spend hours entertaining herself with drawing and colouring pictures. It's nice to see but it does mean we have a constant scattering of A4 paper throughout the house falling from her room through to the living room and sometimes even scribbled sheets find their way into the bathroom. At one point we bought her a desk for her room in an attempt to contain it all but it got filled up pretty quickly and she went back to drawing on the floor, her bed, under the bed on the sofa etc.
This morning Audrey drew Pearlie. Pearlie is a fairy who lives in a park and stars in a series of books. Audrey loves Pearlie - I think because they have a lot in common (Pearly has a messy bedroom too).
Audrey had already knocked off a drawing of Pearlie a few days ago and had handed it over to one of her best mates - no doubt to clutter up her parent's house (or bin) and now she was desperate to re-create it for her own 'gallery'. In Audrey's mind Pearlie Drawing No.1 had been a masterpiece....a veritable Rembrandt or Rosetti. Now it was gone.
Pearly Drawing No.2 had started well. The head was drawn, skirt coloured in but the eyes, oh the eyes. Audrey drew, rubbed out and redrew the eyes a number of times. They weren't quite circular - all cartoons are based around circles - ask our kids and they'll tell you "Disney Loves a Circle" (a phrase picked up from a cartoon workshop they went to). I tried to help, but only increased the angst - Audrey sees through every attempt to 'humour her'. Eventually Pearlie's eyes were finished but now the smile.
Did Leonardo take such time over Mona's enigmatic smile as Audrey took over Pearlie's? I doubt it. Sometimes smiling, sometimes scowling Pearlie's smile was drawn over and over again as the eraser on the end of the pencil frantically wore the paper down ever thinner and greyer.
I thought eventually the artist would be satisfied, but she wasn't. A scream a shout and temper now at complete boiling point. The drawing was literally kicked and thrown around the bedroom. A terrifying sight of a nearly seven year old in full flight flinging an A4 sketch around her room. If the picture had been on canvas I have absolutely no doubt a size 2 shoe would have gone through it.
Eventually (after much cajoling) Audrey calmed down and came to breakfast. Perhaps she'll try again later with Pearlie Drawing No.3.
If she does, this time I'll stay well clear.
This morning Audrey drew Pearlie. Pearlie is a fairy who lives in a park and stars in a series of books. Audrey loves Pearlie - I think because they have a lot in common (Pearly has a messy bedroom too).
Audrey had already knocked off a drawing of Pearlie a few days ago and had handed it over to one of her best mates - no doubt to clutter up her parent's house (or bin) and now she was desperate to re-create it for her own 'gallery'. In Audrey's mind Pearlie Drawing No.1 had been a masterpiece....a veritable Rembrandt or Rosetti. Now it was gone.
Pearly Drawing No.2 had started well. The head was drawn, skirt coloured in but the eyes, oh the eyes. Audrey drew, rubbed out and redrew the eyes a number of times. They weren't quite circular - all cartoons are based around circles - ask our kids and they'll tell you "Disney Loves a Circle" (a phrase picked up from a cartoon workshop they went to). I tried to help, but only increased the angst - Audrey sees through every attempt to 'humour her'. Eventually Pearlie's eyes were finished but now the smile.
Did Leonardo take such time over Mona's enigmatic smile as Audrey took over Pearlie's? I doubt it. Sometimes smiling, sometimes scowling Pearlie's smile was drawn over and over again as the eraser on the end of the pencil frantically wore the paper down ever thinner and greyer.
I thought eventually the artist would be satisfied, but she wasn't. A scream a shout and temper now at complete boiling point. The drawing was literally kicked and thrown around the bedroom. A terrifying sight of a nearly seven year old in full flight flinging an A4 sketch around her room. If the picture had been on canvas I have absolutely no doubt a size 2 shoe would have gone through it.
Eventually (after much cajoling) Audrey calmed down and came to breakfast. Perhaps she'll try again later with Pearlie Drawing No.3.
If she does, this time I'll stay well clear.
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| Pearlie drawing No.2 (mixed media) |
Monday, August 4, 2014
Winter Festival at the National Portrait Gallery
Sunday marked the inaugural (I think) winter festival at the excellently appointed National Portrait Gallery.
The day promised a day’s worth of entertainment all of it free. I often think how lucky we are in Canberra that there is a constant stream of free entertainment, from Floriade to the balloon festival and many many things in between and most of it only requiring a short car or bike ride to access it.
Audrey, Eli and I went along with our friend Rob and his two children, arriving just in time to see the fabulous fire twirling outside of the gallery. The guy was excellent and the kids were enthralled.
Having seen similar performances as buskers or at other festivals you tend to get complacent about the skills something like that takes but it sometimes pays to look at things through the eyes of a child. The chap was fantastic and probably deserved more than the polite applause he received. Audrey and Eli loved it and talked about it for the rest of the day.
There was also a great “yarn bombing” exhibition in the Gordon Darling Hall and an ice sculptor had made a fabulous statue of Douglas Mawson. Apparently it is the same image which appears on the $100 note, but as I can’t remember ever having seen a note of that size(!) I didn’t recognise it.
Afterwards there was a comedy performance by the Etcetera Duo followed up with a fashion show (in winter, fire theme) which led us around the galleries. We then did some snowflake craft with the kids and wrapped up a fun afternoon with a beer and banana bread on the terrace.
The day promised a day’s worth of entertainment all of it free. I often think how lucky we are in Canberra that there is a constant stream of free entertainment, from Floriade to the balloon festival and many many things in between and most of it only requiring a short car or bike ride to access it.
Audrey, Eli and I went along with our friend Rob and his two children, arriving just in time to see the fabulous fire twirling outside of the gallery. The guy was excellent and the kids were enthralled.
Having seen similar performances as buskers or at other festivals you tend to get complacent about the skills something like that takes but it sometimes pays to look at things through the eyes of a child. The chap was fantastic and probably deserved more than the polite applause he received. Audrey and Eli loved it and talked about it for the rest of the day.
There was also a great “yarn bombing” exhibition in the Gordon Darling Hall and an ice sculptor had made a fabulous statue of Douglas Mawson. Apparently it is the same image which appears on the $100 note, but as I can’t remember ever having seen a note of that size(!) I didn’t recognise it.
Afterwards there was a comedy performance by the Etcetera Duo followed up with a fashion show (in winter, fire theme) which led us around the galleries. We then did some snowflake craft with the kids and wrapped up a fun afternoon with a beer and banana bread on the terrace.
Friday, August 1, 2014
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