No phone still but some internet

I've been advised by iiNet that Telstra will (maybe) have fixed our landline by Tuesday close of business (hurry up, don't waste time) but the internet is working on-and-off, well enough to finish the crossword and do other necessary tasks like Luminosity. I've finished Memory Train for the week. Next week, one of the tasks involves a colour-coded egg timer which we haven't got. I'll use the David Herbert method. Thank God there are only two weeks to go: over before I know it. P. went into town for some shopping and I finished off the leftover soto for lunch. The phone and therefore the internet came back in the early afternoon. What a relief! And only three days after I reported something that shouldn't have happened at all. After an arvo nap, P. made a fine curry for dinner then we watched teev. The best of it was Vera, always a triumph. Rake should not have made the new series.

Revolt of the devices plus electrifying concert

Yesterday (Friday), my phone (landline) was suffering massive interference and the internet went down (probably as a result as that's how it gets in. No NBN of course being in a Green electorate). Meanwhile, in the living room, the remote for the teev is refusing to let P. into it to replace the batteries. Nothing daunted we got Barnaby (Franz has temporarily disappeared) then Frank and went off to Victoria Gardens. We got Noel's and our shopping and took it off to him, then had a good brunch at Dr Morse, which was very busy on the footie public holiday. We met Frank again at Yoyogi in the evening, then went to the Recital Centre for the ANAM orchestra conducted brilliantly by Douglas Boyd. It is great to see how the ANAM players have matured over the year and with Boyd's coaching produced an excellent reading of Mozart's symphonies nos 39, 40 and 41. They obviously enjoyed it and so did we. It's good to catch up with Frank pending his departure as we'll miss him during his month away. We also saw Bryony and Philip at the concert last night which was good, especially for Philip's report on the Bobbie concert as part of the ongoing (love, P.&P./hate me) relationship with the Nobel laureate. This morning, Saturday, the massive papers arrived. Rupert has put up his subscription by one dollar a week to 'ensure quality journalism' (what a joke!) but the Saturday Review still makes it worthwhile (just). I also contacted iiNet about the phone and internet. They're referred to, guess who, Telstra, but while I was on the phone the internet came back. So I'm catching up while I can until repairs are effected. It's a quiet weekend pending a storm of events next week. I also did some more booking including for a premiere of a new opera by the English National Opera, Jack the Ripper. Their prices are moderate compared with those for La Scala, which I am now reconsidering. We had salmon patties for lunch, then smoked salmon for entree at dinner, followed by fish soup. An (almost) all fish day.

Lunch with Barry

I did Luminosity and Memory Train this morning. Memory Train is playing up. The game would not let me finish, then made me do the whole day again. As I'm getting bored with it anyway, this was infuriating. I've complained to the researchers but haven't heard back yet. P. and I went to Mario's in Brunswick Street to have lunch with Barry D. who is looking very well after his stint in hospital. The lunch was very good value too. In the evening, P. made Greek lamb which was delicious. We followed up with the plot-thickening Loch Ness.

Frustration

I did some more booking this morning but am still frustrated by car hire and the hotel in Aix-en-Provence can only provide car parking if it knows what kind of car we have (i.e. compact for its small garage). We'll get there, but we are accommodated in Hong Kong and Milan thanks to recommendations from friends. P. was not feeling well today but is better now so I made angel-hair pasta with smoked salmon for dinner from Donnini's pasta book. It was delicious.

Booking plus great concert

Yesterday (Tuesday), I did quite a lot of booking but was frustrated by the car-hire booking. Perhaps it is too early to book for next April. I'll find out. We had soup for lunch and in the afternoon headed off to the Recital Centre for the deferred Plexus concert (because of illness in June). The trio (violin, clarinet and piano) performed three premiere works by Connor D'Netto, Catherine Likhuta and Peggy Polias which balanced well with an older but bravura work by Sebastian Currier (1997) called Verge. You'll get the drift when I give the section titles: I almost too fast, II almost too slow, III almost too mechanical, IV almost too dark, V almost too light, VI almost too fractured, VII almost too much, VIII almost too little, IX almost too calm. It finished with a new arrangement of Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (1947) for trio and soprano. Merlyn Quaife sang superbly. Though the attendance was not brilliant for such a well-curated concert it included singers Liane Keagan and Siobhan Stagg. We had a good meal afterwards at Blondie. Also in the restaurant were many of the performers and audience having a grand time.

House renos

I did the usual catching up on the computer this morning (it didn't say 'No'). My Luminosity scores are still not brilliant and I won't be back to Memory Train till Wednesday when I start a new week (phew! I'm getting very bored with it). I did some more booking for Europe but I can't book the trains till about December or thereabouts when the bookings open for April. Danny the architect visited to resolve some more issues (which we did) and take more measurements. He also brought his first bill, so things are getting serious. We had soup for lunch and leftover soto for dinner.

Very quiet Sunday until the end

Today was quite cool. We did the crossword lickety-split and I passed both tests in Memory Train and did the homework. I'm still not doing wonderfully well in Luminosity. P. got pies and cakes from the Convent for lunch plus some bread. In the evening, Frank joined us and we went off for the usual yummy dinner chez Noel. Noel and I got into a shouting match over transgender politics, which was unusual but we kissed and made up by the end of the evening.

Shopping plus

Today, I got up early so I could fit in more Memory Training and I passed both virtual days for today, plus the homework task (I think). However, having nearly finished week three, I am getting very bored with it and have three weeks left to go. Having come thus far, I will persist. I am perpetually stuck on the same level in Luminosity. I think I'd improve if I got more sleep but I don't seem able to do more than seven hours. P. and I picked up Franz (Frank was otherwise engaged) and had a fairly efficient shop at Victoria Gardens mall then delivered Noel's goodies to him and came home for salmon patties (from the mall) for lunch. In the early evening, P. and I had a quick meal at Yoyogi then went to the Recital Centre for Musica Viva, the Borodin Quartet from balmy Moscow. They played quartets by Haydn, Shostakovich and Beethoven superbly, almost too superbly, without any emoting at all except in the playing. It was as if their training was: either you play perfectly or I break your fingers. The experience was sublime, but I wonder what lies behind it.

A bit of Lehrer

Yesterday (Thursday), I kept on with booking while P. went off to lunch with Robin S. and friends. We had soto for early dinner then trekked off to Gasworks in Albert Park (?) to see Tomfoolery, a compendium of Lehrer's most famous songs and some lesser-known ones. It was well performed and most enjoyable and our nod to the Fringe Festival. One of the performers, Sean, we had met over dinner with Noel. In the foyer, we meet his mum, the archetypal stage mother. Best of all, we only took about three-quarters of an hour to get home at a late hour (the show was at 9.30, very fringey). The booking is now about half done though the trickiest bits are yet to come (Paris, Milan). We had soup for lunch then P. made delicious roast pork for dinner followed by i-voo catch up on Loch Ness. Nothing like some good murders after dinner.

Planning days plus soprano hit

Yesterday (Tuesday) was mainly spent planning our overseas trip next year and a bit of tidying up. P. went off to do some errands for Noel. In the evening, we had soto ayam for dinner. It was not a bad one if I say so myself. More planning today plus Luminosity and the start of week three of Memory Train. I'm not sure my memory is getting any better. On Monday, I forgot my prospective memory task of sending P. off with my diary so he could make a suitable doctor's appointment. However, a new strategy was outlined in today's video which I have tried and IT WORKS, at least so far. In the afternoon, after a short nap, I went to Fed. Square to join a rather pissy demo. against the Apple Shop. I felt as though I knew everyone at the demo. even though I didn't. I took the opportunity to lobby one of our councillors, Steve Jolley, about car share parking places in the City of Yarra. I then went to the Arts Centre where I had a not very good meal at the Vic Cafe, the only place I could get into. The service was good, the food pretty ordinary. Then I went to the Fairfax Studio for Emma Matthews in the Grabovsky/Vizard piece, The Space Between. The combination of good singing and good music didn't make up for the unrelenting tone of a soprano at (almost) full tilt for 70 minutes. A bit more light and shade, please fellas. I'm glad I went for both the music and the singing.

A 'good' funeral

This morning, I hiked off to the church on the corner of Glenferrie and Burwood Roads for Rosanne Turner's funeral. The church (priest, singer and organist) were like a well-oiled machine. The whole service and mass took one hour exactly. Three of Rosanne's children spoke eloquently of Rosanne's life and other members of the (very large) family took part in readings etc. A small group of ex-Penguinis retired to the pub for a drink to Rosanne.

Quiet Sunday, I hope

This morning, I woke up early needing a pee so I got the Sunday Age from the veranda, filled in one across and one down as usual, then went back to bed. When I woke, P. had nearly finished it, so I just put on the finishing touches and it was done, very early. Now for Luminosity and the end of week two of Memory Train. Yay! I passed both Virtual Day simulations, so when I receive next week's instructions, I move on to the next phase. We had chicken soup for lunch then a nap. I made salmon, chips and beans for dinner then we had a teev night while I started on making the soto ayam for later in the week.

Papers plus Brandenburg

This morning there was the usual avalanche of Saturday papers (Age, Australian and The Saturday Paper). Scummo says we are sick of hearing about Federal pollies, but I'm loving it. They can hardly get funnier. The ABC comedy channel can't possibly keep up. I also did the usual Luminosity and what is becoming usual Memory Train, week two. I did the Virtual Day test twice and passed the first, flunked the second. (I forgot to fit my new bike chain at the bike shop!) We had leftovers for lunch plus French onion soup. Early in the evening, after a short nap, P. and I went to town for a quick and good meal at Yoyogi (what will we do when/if they close) then to the Recital Centre in the rain for the Brandenburg Orchestra. They had a Spanish-flavoured night with violinist Daniel Pinteno, who performed some rarities from the Spanish baroque. It was beautifully played though somehow seemed a bit been-there-done-that. Are we just too jaded with very good performances? Home again as the rain cleared.

Around and about

This morning, P. and I picked up Franz and did the shopping for ourselves and Noel. We delivered the stuff to Noel's, came home for salmon cakes for lunch then had a quick nap. Then we picked up Billy the Corolla (because he doesn't have a baby seat) and took Noel and his walker to the doctor's. Home again, in unfortunate peak hour traffic, then P. made leftover chook for dinner and we watched the finales of two cop shows on the teev (Killing Eve and Marcella). A good night.

Much binding in the marsh

This morning, I did one more subscription (Melbourne Chamber Orchestra) for next year (there aren't many left, I hope) and paid a couple of bills, then did a report on a play (I forgot to mention that one, a freebie for a friend). P. went off for lunch with the S. sisters. In the evening, P. and I had a delicious meal at Chocolate Buddha then went to The Edge for the Song Company doing a journey through the seasons (western and Aboriginal) with two Indigenous dancers plus singers. They sang oldies and goldies ('Sumer is icumen in', Vivaldi) and mainly modern Australian work plus some Poulenc. An excellent and unusual concert played to a sadly small audience.

Tidying up

This morning, I tidied up lots of things: invoiced for the last three reader's reports, completed Luminosity and Memory Train and sorted some more of the house renovations. P. went off shopping, then we had French onion soup for lunch. He made delicious beef slow-roasted pot roast for dinner with loads of accompaniments: tomato sauce (home-made), gravy, mustard and hot horseradish. There was also mashed potato and zucchini with vinegar. Teev followed but it was not very good.

Clearing the desk

This morning, I completed the report on the novel, so it has gone back to the publisher. They will probably be proceeding with the book and I should be lucky enough to edit it, as I really like it. I also did Luminosity and Memory Train. On the virtual day two rounds I was perfect on the first, then flunked the second. Better luck tomorrow. I also did the end of week quiz which this time was testing how much I had absorbed the methodology of Memory Train. I think I passed that. One week down, five to go. Phew! P. went shopping and we both just had scratch lunch. In the evening, I 'cooked' the beef Wellingtons from the butcher at Victoria Gardens. They were no good. The steak was tough and there was not even a whiff of pate. The pastry was okay, but that's not saying much. Even the teev was no good with Jenny Brockie dealing with a heap of well-off leveraged property owners arguing about pre-nuptial agreements. Sigh! The only bright side was the brawl between the Potato and Randy von Quadbike. Not edifying but entertaining.

A New Week

I started well this morning by getting a small proofread of a picture section off to the publishers. Then I completed Luminosity and day three of Memory Train. I passed (yay!) and will move on to the next scary level tomorrow. Now I have to bunker down and do the reader's report on the novel. It shouldn't be too arduous but as it is a kind of detective story I have to watch the details. I'm now about halfway through so I'll finish the rest tomorrow. I made French onion soup for lunch. In the evening, P. made chicken wrapped in bacon (a David Herbert recipe) and we settled back to Monday night teev including a Q&A restoring our faith in young persons if we needed it.

Very busy Sunday

Today, we got the Sunday crossword finished early, then Sal arrived to pick up our parking permit so she and Jannie could go to Music in the Round at the Convent. P. and I went into town to the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra who were having a Spanish afternoon. Due to an illness, Slava Grigoryan had to step in and do Rodrigo's Concerto de Aranjuez, and he did, brilliantly. They also performed works by Granados, Albeniz and Turina. By the end, we were all feeling a little bit Spanish. P. and I then went into town to get a birthday present for Michael P. and restored ourselves with a coffee at Brunetti's in Carlton. We then met Michael, Lesley and Louise and Frank (again, as he was at the MCO) at the Green Man Hotel in Carlton for a vego/vegan meal. Michael has nearly finished his law degree and will come back to Melbourne for his 'articles' or whatever they are these days. Eventually, some time next year, he should be a lawyer. The occasion was his 24th birthday and it was a very good meal.

Working day

Yesterday (Friday), P. was still a bit crook but I worked away, finishing reading the novel and will do a report on it on Monday. I also did day 2 of Memory Train, which I fear will become a bit tedious over six weeks. We'll see. I also discovered another design fault. As an early acceptor, I have been asked by the research assistants to report any problems, so I have. After soup (canned) for lunch, I defrosted some vera from the freezer for dinner as P. didn't feel like cooking. We had a good teev night. Today was not a working day. We picked up Franz, then Frank and did all of our shopping, then dropped off Noel's to him. After a brief nap, P., Frank and I went to South Melbourne where we had another good meal at Salon de Sushi then went to ANAM for the Australian String Quartet's Britten concert no. 2 with the students. They performed his string quartets nos 2 & 3, then his young variations on a theme by Frank Bridge. It was a splendid concert.

A sort of normal day

Now that most catch-up things have happened after our week away and urgent appointments are out of the way, it's sort of back to normal and back to work. I hope, at last after three days, to get back to the novel for report and finish it before next Monday. I have an additional task to do with Memory Train as well as Luminosity daily. I made good progress on the novel (nearly a third through) and completed all my 'brain tasks'. P. is still not well but managed to get through our meeting this morning with Danny the architect. He came to measure up and sort out a few more 'issues'. We had the rest of the French onion soup for lunch, then for dinner P. had noodles as he didn't feel like anything else and I had a Leaneo Cuisini beef rendang, which was okay but nothing like real rendang.

Memory plus Dumb Waiter

Today I went this morning to see Aimee at the Australian Catholic University (ptchui! There are religious symbols everywhere including some of those awful plaster statues). She gave me training on the next phase of memory train which involves four-times-a-week sessions on a lapdog and on paper. It looks a bit arduous but I can now see how it works to train your memory so I'll persist. In the evening, P. was still not well so I went off to Chapel Off Chapel by myself, having failed to find a replacement. It was just as well as, in spite of having very good experienced actors, it didn't quite work. Perhaps the direction was crook or they haven't that necessary sense of comic timing but we got more laughs in a reading in about 1968 at Melbourne Uni. I had a meal beforehand at Koko San in Greville Street which was quite tasty. Back in South Australia: We hit the mainland from the ferry and headed to McLaren Vale where we had a package at Serafino's winery: dinner, bed and breakfast. Their food for dinner was okay (why did they have to mess with traditional vitello tonnato), and the accommodation good with wonderful trees and birds. Breakfast was excellent (leave 'em laughing). We then headed for Adelaide and the familiar Grand Chancellor which let us in early for the usual rort ($30 upgrade). We returned the Thrifty car without incident and had a splendid dinner at Shobosho whose maitre-d. informed us that it was our third visit. The food and service were good as ever and it was wonderful being close and personal with the very attractive chefs doing their fiery thing. Next day, we had a good time at the Art Gallery including lunch before heading to the airport and home.

Kangaroo Island part two plus coffee concert

Yesterday (Tuesday), P. and I went to a Musica Viva coffee concert. On the way, we meet Sal's friend, Jannie, who was diverted by roadworks in Nicholson Street installing superstops. The concert was the Australian Brass Quintet in brassy form doing a mini overture by Lutoslawski, a modern work by Joan Tower (the most famous modern woman composer!). There were arrangements for brass of a Spanish sixteenth century work by del Encina, Bernstein (West Side Story) and Crespo of three spirituals. These last two were the crowd pleasers though the whole concert was enjoyable. They made a good joke about having a leadership spill. We went home to have leftover vera on toast for lunch. P. was not feeling well so we had French onion soup for dinner. Back on Kangaroo Island: on Wednesday, we checked out of the Wilderness Retreat after a pleasant stay (their courtyard between the units is populated by wallabies and lots of birds). We headed for the northwest of the island to Cape Borda. We have now done the lighthouses on the three corners of the island. There was a pleasant though rocky walk past lots of wildflowers. We lunched at the little hamlet of Parndana (hardly the gourmet capital of anywhere) then went to Kingscote where we stayed at the Seaside Inn motel, a pleasant place with sea views but a bit out of town. We had a superior pub meal at the seafront pub. Next day, we visited the eucalyptus farm, the oyster cafe at American River (much patronised by seafood-hungry Asians) and the local gin distillery. Loaded up with produce, internally and externally, we retired to Kingscote where we had a superior fish'n'chips. Next morning, we drove to Dudley winery and loaded up with some plonk. It has a superb view across the cliffs to the mainland and a very friendly host. We had a tasty Italian lunch in Penneshaw then caught the ferry to the mainland in another almost smooth crossing.

Kangaroo Island

Yesterday (Monday), in spite of many demands on our time, we had to do shopping (ours and Noel's) so went off with Franz the Corolla and not Frank to Vic. Gardens, Brunswick Street (for coffee) and the Health Centre (for pills). Thus stocked up we retreated home for lunch (salmon cakes) and a nap then I made garlic prawns for dinner and we had baby cheeses and watched normal Monday teev with a better than usual Q&A. Back to Kangaroo Island: last Monday we caught the ferry over to the island having manoeuvred the car into a tight space at the back of the ferry. It was a fairly smooth trip both ways unlike last time when Frank turned a lighter shade of green during a very rough crossing. We went to the southwest of the island via Seal Rocks where we did a tour on the beach and stared at the seals while they stared at us. We had lunch at the very hippie Seal Rock Cafe so followed up with a very large chips'n'gravy at the Vivonne Bay Store which was like something out of the fifties (19 that is). On to the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Retreat, a fairly remote place staffed mainly by backpackers, two of whom I nicknamed Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. They, too, were very hippie. Our initial room had some soggy carpet (from bathroom overflow I suspect) so we were relocated. The rooms here are quite good and the food excellent, especially considering how hard it must be to both get supplies and staff. Next day, we ventured into the Flinders Chase National Park and had a good walk to the river, ostensibly to see platypus (which we didn't) but got up close and personal with kangas and a koala on the track plus lots of Cape Barron Geese. There were also lots of wildflowers. We had a picnic lunch (supplied by the Retreat), then went to Remarkable Rocks and the Lighthouse. P. walked down to the rocks to see more seals. We had another good evening meal at the Retreat. Sadly, ABC TV was a bit fuzzy, because of the remoteness, they said. More anon.

Home again

We got back yesterday evening after a trouble-free exit and flight from Adelaide to face a very busy week, so I'll try over the next couple of days to recount our adventures on Kangaroo Island and brief transit through Adelaide. We started last Saturday with a Virgin flight to Adelaide, thence to our hotel (the Grand Chancellor in Hindley Street, consensus seems to be on a short 'i' for pronunciation). They have a racket which charges $30 for an upgrade for early access but is actually worth it to unpack the bags and get going free from encumbrance. We went off to the Museum after a quick brunch where there was an excellent exhibition of photographs from the National Geographic Competition. We also revisited the Indigenous section of the museum which is quite large. In the evening, we caught the train to Marino to catch up with Betty and David Snowden who are renovating their house quite drastically. Betty is a lot better than before having discontinued chemotherapy but is still receiving treatment. David dropped us back to the train after a very good meal and mag. Next day we picked up Veronica (Ronnie) the Corolla from the nearby Thrifty office and headed off to the Fleurieu Peninsula. We had morning coffee at Clarendon with sticky cakes. Then we arrived at the Tregenzas, where we met up with Jill Walsh and had a splendid lunch on the veranda taking in the view across the valley and the farm. Off then to Cape Jervis where we stayed at the basic but comfy cabin accommodation and had their basic but adequate meal.