A voice in the wilderness

David Suzuki created this lecture (and the book and film that followed) in response to the idea of leaving a legacy, or an answer to the question, “If you had one last lecture to give, what would you say?” Suzuki delivered his legacy lecture with passion, vigour and honesty. Much like the title of the film, he reminded us that as a human species, “we have become a force of nature.”

At the ripe old age of 74, David Suzuki spoke with the wisdom of a grandfather and the energy of a young college student. He was never officially asked to give a “legacy lecture”, but that hasn’t stopped him. With age comes wisdom, and he believes that his generation should start talking: “it is our duty as elders to distill a legacy [because] we can speak the truth.”

Once you withdraw, you lose all your interest!

That's what John Burke, my boss at the ANZ Bank, used to jokingly tell me! However, I have never lost my interest in the ANZ Bank for whom I worked for a relatively short time only, from December 1965 to December 1967 which were my first two years in Australia, and again from April 1969, after I had returned from South-West Africa (now Namibia), until December 1969, when I decided to go to Papua New Guinea.

Despite this short employment record, it was a hugely important milestone in my life. I will always be grateful to Mr Robert Reid, the then manager of the ANZ Bank in Canberra who passed away in 1996, aged 86, who hired me as a youngster, fresh off the boat from Europe, and gave me the chance of a new start in a new country.

 

From the Canberra Times of October 1962. Mr Reid retired ten years later in 1972.

 

And, of course, the Bank's social life and the team spirit, together with living in a boarding-house full of other "Bank Johnnies", left me with many memories. I indulged in some of those memories in my Barton House webpage.

I've recently discovered the webpage of the ANZ Retired Officers Club and emailed them in the hope of making contact again with some of the old colleagues and friends. John Burke, Reg Elliott, Jeff Bennett, John Sheppard, Bob Willard, Dennis Everitt, John McKeon, Kevin Sloan, John Julian, Peter Simpson, Merv Quine, Greg Forster and Doreen and Sue Loudon, Colleen Murray, Kay Atkinson, Pam Dewhurst, and the Assistant Manager, Mr Bradford, come to mind.

Sadly, Mr Reid, the Canberra manager, passed away in 1996 - click here, and quite recently, in September, Bob Southwell did, too.

Ταξίδι στα Κύθηρα

 

 

Cythera, in Greek mythology, is the isle of dreams where one can dedicate oneself to happiness.

Voyage to Cythera is really a reworking of the myth of the Return of Odysseus according to a myth which preceded Homer. Similar to Dante's version, there is a pre-Homeric version that Odysseus set sail again after reaching Ithaca. So the film becomes more a leaving than a homecoming. Everything has already been dealt with in the ancient writings and there really is nothing new. We are all just revising and reconsidering ideas that the ancients first treated.

Voyage to Cythera is about an old man, a recently returned political exile who's been in the Soviet Union for thirty-two years and is now stateless, who cannot become reconciled to his country's present or perhaps it is Greece that is not ready to come to grips with its past.

In the end, the old man is set adrift on a raft headed away from Greece into international waters, with no home to steer toward, joined by his wife, a latter-day Penelope, who, despite the fact that this man is more a stranger than a husband to her after so many years, chooses to share the rest of her life with him and in doing so accepts all of his past, his sorrow, his politics and his failed dreams. It is a journey to the dark side of Greek history where it crosses paths with myth.

I gave this DVD to my friend, Nick the Greek. I suspect the visual impact of this movie, coupled with Eleni Karaindrou's music score, will moisten his eyes as it did mine.



P.S. For another dark side of Greece, read [this].

Oyster Farmer

We live on the Clyde River which is famous for its fantastic oysters. More fantastic even than the oysters on the Hawkesbury River. They haven't made a film about it yet but they made one about the life of the oyster farmers on the Hawkesbury. We've just watched it and it's a great Australian romantic comedy - with typical Australian black humour - about love and life on the Hawkesbury River.

The little river communities, the oyster farmers with their long-held traditions, and the Vietnam vets who have formed a kind of isolated commune are beautifully evoked in an affectionate examination of unusual lifestyles.

The movie is wonderfully relaxing and visually appealing, even with the shots of the very sub-standard accommodation that many of the oyster farmers endure. Some of the images are just so peaceful and moving that it's a shame some of them have to end to make way for the next scene - early morning on the river is a classic example of this.



"Oyster Farmer" is a revelation. It is warm, humourous, engaging and most of all, totally believable and very rewarding. Bring on the oysters!

Every granny needs a nook!

In the new year we will start on the renovation of our old kitchen.


The plans are drawn up and the quotes are in. It took a while to find a kitchen installer who was willing and able to build an eat-in kitchen nook similar to these examples.

Now I have to find a supplier for a "Zugleuchte" (pull-down lamp) which I want to fix above the kitchen nook table.

In the 'fifties such lights were a common fixture in German households. Many were the nights when I did my homework at the kitchen table, with the "Zugleuchte" drawn down low onto my books.

It seems that they have become a lot more elegant and expensive since then as the one I tracked down costs well over €400.