A Rainy Afternoon

On a recent trip to Newcastle we had some afternoon drinks on the lakefront balcony of the house where we often stay. It's a beautiful spot, and we always see quite a few birds. None of these birds are particularly rare, indeed most of these are quite common, but it was great to see such a range in quarter of an hour, without moving an inch (and all while enjoying bubbles- best birdwatching ever?).

I thought the kookaburra was close on the neighbours antenna

and then he came and sat on our gutter
(Dacelo novaeguineae)

A crested tern took refuge on the jetty
(Thalasseus bergii)

Spotted Dove
(Streptopelia chinensis- introduced)

Rainbow lorikeet
(Trichloglossus haematodus)

Mallard Duck
(Anas platyrhynchos- introduced)

An artwork on the balcony

Saturday Snapshot is a wonderful weekly meme now hosted by WestMetroMommy

Pigeon of Paris

When I saw this book on my recent foray to the Bathurst Lifeline Book Fair I nearly snapped my wrist grabbing at it. Paris. Birds (if only pigeons). Quentin Blake. And all for 50 cents? No brainer. It was mine. No matter that I hadn't heard of it before, I had to buy it, then and there, and then I had to read it rather soon.

Pigeon of Paris is the rather touching story of Evangeline, a spinster pigeon living on Notre Dame. Evangeline is lonely, and looking for a mate, but she runs foul of the pigeon-hating Chief of Police.

'There are too many pigeons in Paris,' he said to the policeman. 'They defile the statues and clutter the parks. There must be a thousand pigeons roosing on Notre Dame alone.'

Even in 1960 pigeons must have been a problem in Paris. I certainly noticed pigeons on my trip to Paris in 2010. Paris is like many cities around the world that have tried to curb their growing pigeon populations.

Franglais anyone?

The story here though was a secondary pleasure for me. I loved this book. It was quaint, by an author new to me, and I learnt so much!

One blustery spring morning, a storm blew in from the west. It blew across the city of Paris, rattling the chimney pots and swaying the Eiffel tower the five inches it may move without falling over. 

I hadn't heard that before. But it seems it's true. Amazing to learn that she grows by up to six inches in summer as the metal heats up.

Pigeons drink in a sucking way, unlike that of other birds who must lift their heads with every few drops.

Unmarried women of 25 years were called Catherinettes in France, after Saint Catherine.

I was briefly hopeful that this would be one of Quentin Blake's earliest books. It's not really. He illustrated his first children's book in 1960. Still it's fascinating to see some of his early work.

Natalie Savage Carlson was an American author who lived in Paris for many years. It seems quite a number of her stories were set in Paris. She was nominated for the Hans Christian Anderson Award, and what seems to be her most famous book, The Family Under the Bridge, was a Newbery Honor book in 1959. Yes, that sound is my TBR growing yet again.

Dreaming of France is a wonderful Monday meme
from Paulita at An Accidental Blog

Books on France, a great 2013 challenge
 from Emma at Words and Peace

Cirque du Freak

Horror is not my genre of choice. I did dabble with it in my younger years though, so have had a limited exposure. I remember a short lived passion for zombie comics as a teenager. I never did get through even one Stephen King book though. I started with The Stand, gross in the beginning, boring in the middle, never got to the end. That did Stephen King for me, and I've never been tempted again. Well, until quite recently, that JFK one sounded intriguing but is too long for me to attempt reading at the moment. 

Similarly I did dabble with vampire stories as a young adult. I remember reading some of Anne Rice's vampire series way back when, but became bored with them and over time I've become less and less inclined to read vampire lit. Or werewolves. Or any of the vast numbers of books with black and red covers. The whole Twilight phenomenon passed me by, and firmed my resolve to avoid them (sad to say that Twilight is actually one of these 1001 books, and I will have to crack the cover at some stage in the future). Although I did quite surprise myself by revelling in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies a few years ago.

So anyway, I was somewhat apprehensive approaching Cirque du Freak recently. I wasn't sure that I would like this one, and worried that I would find it actively hard to read. Even the acknowledgments worried me…

And the ghoulish pupils of Askeaton Primary School (and others) who served as willing guinea pigs and braved nightmares to make this book as tight, dark and chilling as possible. 

And then on the first page of the introduction:

Going to sleep, I used to imagine the spider creeping down, crawling into my mouth, sliding down my throat and laying loads of eggs in my belly. The baby spiders would hatch after a while and eat me alive, from the inside out.

Oh dear. But if the primary school kids can handle it, surely I can? A grown woman? Actually I didn't find the rest of the story as scary, or as gross, as that introduction. Cirque du Freak is the first book in what came to be a lengthy series of 16 books based on the adventures of the self titled Darren Shan. Andy Griffiths does that too, and I don't quite get it, and for some reason it bothers me when the main character has the authors name. I suppose it doesn't really matter, but I find it annoying somehow.

Darren is a regular boy, going to school, hanging out with his friends and playing soccer at lunchtime. 
Darren and his best friend Steve get tickets to attend the travelling Cirque du Freak, an old fashioned freak show, still travelling, but in secret now, as they are unpopular and possibly illegal. The boys are very excited to go of course. It is a night that will change their lives for ever. I really enjoyed the freak show part of the story, the later vampire bits not so much. 

Cirque du Freak turned out to be an easy, and even mostly enjoyable read for me! The chapters are short, generally only three or four pages, and the story clicks along at quite a pace. I didn't find it all that scary, mainly because as a somewhat jaded adult I don't believe in vampires or other creatures of the night. It would make a perfect read for those kids who like to be scared. 



220/1001

Musée Maillol

Paris has so many amazing museums. Some are world famous of course, like the Louvre or Musée d'Orsay. Some are less well known, but still worth a visit. I'd never heard of Musée Maillol, but found it on my wanderings around our neighbourhood in Paris this year. It seems every Paris neighbourhood offers up fascinating gems like this.

The magnificent Fountain of the Four Seasons by Edme Bouchardon
caught my eye from the corner

It certainly looked intriguing. I couldn't resist.

They were having a Murano glass exhibition
I don't think I'd ever been to a glass exhibition before
and didn't quite know what to expect

It was an amazing exhibition showcasing 700 years of Murano glass, with 200 pieces from public and private collections. Sadly photos were interdit, so my stealth photos are pretty ordinary. There was a very informative audio guide available in English (and French of course, and one or two other languages from memory). 

Glassmaking began in Venice in the 10th century, and the industry was moved to the island of Murano in the 13th century because of fears about fire spreading from the dangerous furnaces. The Venetian glassmakers drew on the heritage of both east and west, the legacy of the Roman Empire, and also enamel painting which hadn't been seen in Europe.

My favourite piece
Carrona, Javier Perez
a really cool red chandelier, smashed, with ravens

Everyone stopped to admire it

My audio guide told me that the contrast of textures represented the contrast inherent in the human condition, that crows initially had white plumage, but they were turned black by too much vanity. Interesting, but it seems some folks think about ravens way too much. The audio guide also told me the black represented mourning and the red suffering and destruction. It was a very arresting artwork and much to my surprise I had worked out the artists implications before the audio guide told me!

This one has a "sand" walkway of glass
you can just see the glass steps leading up to the video steps
the glass steps formed then disappeared over again
so that the figure in video was walking away

A collection of glass turkeys in a wire cage
I'm not sure why either

I also got to see a glass covered table made for Napoleon. I was less impressed with the rest of the museum devoted to the afore unknown (to me at least) Aristide Maillol. The paintings were impossible to try to catch a picture of, but I did prefer his sculpture work anyway. I was running short of time at this stage, I imagine these are studies for his larger works. 

The Murano exhibition is now closed, but you can take a quick video tour here.

Musée Maillol
61 Rue de Grenelle
Paris 75007
Open daily 10.30-19.00 (21.30 on Friday)
11 euros
Free for children under 11 (The French love imparting art to their children and many museums are free for kids).

February 2015- sad news today as Musée Maillol announced closure due to bankruptcy.

There is a Dallayou very close by, and I may have popped in after my artistic meanderings. Only to help Mr Wicker along on his eclair challenge mind you.

The lovely man gave me a bonus cerise/pistache macaron!

Saturday Snapshot is a wonderful weekly meme now hosted by WestMetroMommy

Dreaming of France is a wonderful Monday meme
from Paulita at An Accidental Blog

New Zealand Supermarket

I do love visiting foreign supermarkets. It's always fascinating, whether in France or in Holland. Even on a visit to New Zealand you can find a range of exotic delicacies to delight the senses, in one way or another.

Kiwis love feijoa
here it's in yoghurt

Pohutukawa is a lovely NZ native tree with gorgeous red flowers,
 I don't imagine it actually has anything to do with coffee

Hokey Pokey is a crunchy sort of honeycomb
 I don't imagine that the wholegrains counter much of the effect of the hokey pokey

L&P is an iconic NZ soft drink
this is the only one of these products that I managed to try
it was overly sweet for my tastes

Fish and chips is another Kiwi icon
I've never seen packets of frozen fish and chips before
it makes a certain amount of sense

Saturday Snapshot is a wonderful weekly meme now hosted by WestMetroMommy

Mondrian on the streets of Paris

I love seeing themes pop up from the streets of Paris. I was surprised to notice the ongoing influence of Piet Mondrian in Paris. Piet Mondrian was a Dutch painter, his nonrepresentational form is apparently called neoplasticism.

148 Blvd St Germain 75006

Mondrian bags for sale

or from the supermarche

You see Mondrian everywhere when you look.

Mondrian cows

Mondrian jewellery

We had seen an Yves St Laurent Mondrian dress at Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. I didn't know at that stage that it was the start of a trend. 

Dreaming of France is a wonderful Monday meme
from Paulita at An Accidental Blog

The Silver Brumby

I'm so glad to have finally read this classic Australian book, it's a crying shame that I hadn't read it before. I really wish I had read it when I was going through my horse mad preadolescence though, I'm sure it would have become a cherished childhood memory. Reading it now, it's still an enjoyable, rather thrilling story, and I can definitely see why it is such a beloved favourite for many people, especially those lucky enough to read it in their own childhoods. 

The Silver Brumby tells the story of Thowra, a magnificent silver foal born to Bel Bel at the start of the book. Bel Bel teaches Thowra how to survive the difficult life of a brumby (a feral horse in Australia). She teaches him to watch the weather, to learn his way around the rugged terrain where they live, how to find food despite the winter snows, and most of all to be afraid of men. Very afraid. Bel Bel knows that Thowra's beauty will make him become hunted, and that he must use his cunning to remain free. 

Elyne Mitchell's famous Silver Brumby books are set in the remote alpine high country of New South Wales. Elyne lived, worked and rode in the area, and her knowledge and passion for it is very obvious. 

Spring was coming to all this mountain kingdom. Foals would be born, young kangaroos, possums and wombats would be snugly in their mothers' pouches. The hawks and great wedge-tail eagles would hatch their young; fat dingo pups would roll in the sunshine; and the wild horses would fight for their mares and gallop over the hills in all the glory of their strength.

I was surprised to have Bel Bel come across a dingo, as I don't normally think of them as alpine creatures, but they're there in low numbers. I also learnt that the beautiful crimson rosellas that I see every day are also called lowries, I've certainly never heard that name before. I wonder if it was a more common name for them in the 1950s when The Silver Brumby was written?

I do love that she's grounded it in such a specific, real area. Usually I don't like books with maps at the start, but I've enjoyed the map here, and have checked back to it quite often. I have visited the area, but not for a very long time. I've climbed Kosciosko (our highest mountain, and "climbed" I mean walk up the quite gentle track) as a teenager, but haven't really been back since then. I really must take the time to return some time soon. 

The Silver Brumby is well written and fast paced, with action in every shortish chapter. The author really conveys Thowra's fear of man, and his changing nature- his early antics as a foal, his love and knowledge of the wild, high places that Bel Bel has taught him, and his growing maturity as he grows up to become a colt and then a stallion with his own herd.

The bush was quiet as he went on his scouting expedition. The only sounds were the normal rustlings and movements of evening, as the wombats came out to sun themselves in the last pleasant rays, as the animals who feed by day went off to their homes, and those that fed by night started to stir. He knew no possums would come till that strange moment that belongs to no time at all, when it is neither dark nor light. Then their pointed faces, that are both curious and wistful, would peer down on him from the gum trees, and he would smell the strange possum smell, more pungent than eucalyptus, but very like it. 

Elyne Mitchell went on to write 13 Silver Brumby books over 6 decades! The Silver Brumby was Highly Commended in the 1959 Children's Book Council of Australia Awards. Sadly it was beaten by two joint winners- Nan Chauncy's Devil's Hill and John Gunn's Sea Menace, both of which I fear are rather forgotten titles, I've not heard of them before, they appear to both be out of print and neither are available in my library. I've seen it speculated that the horses talking to each other, and to the other animals put the judges off. Whatever it was, with hindsight it was probably a mistake.

The Centenary Edition is perhaps a bit misleading. The centenary is celebrating the anniversary of the birth of the extraordinary Elyne Mitchell, not the publication of the book. Whatever the occasion I do think that it's wonderful that people are still reading this book.

219/1001