heathcote

Spending the day at Graham and Tanya’s property at Heathcote. The weather by and large very pleasant. Barry had never spent a day away from his home before and was initially freaked out, though now struts around like this is how it’s always been (and for all he knows this is how it’ll always be, though little does he know we’re going back in a few hours): the whole thing has been a petit vacance for Mia, who works too hard.

The biggest moment of the day was probably catching three flies on three separate occasions in a drinking glass (now washed) and letting them free in the garden. They help to break down kangaroo shit on the property and thus solve global warming, you see. Also reading Early Melbourne Architecture 1840-1888, a nice little vol. Second edition from 1963. Sad book. So many of the buildings recently demolished in 63, now probably only 1/10 of them still standing.

Playing a lot of Bix Beiderbecke albums and similar. There was a label in the 70s called Joker which seemed to specialize in reissuing old jazzy recordings of a period long before. Fun.

Other things not Heathcote related, which need to be recorded:

1. Two days ago my niece Florence spoke to me for the first time. This was achieved by her not knowing who was on the phone. She said, ‘I’m having a babychino’.
2. The Mia Schoen Group’s EP is about to come out. If you want one let me know.
3. People who run conferences badly are the scourge of the Earth. You probably thought it was dictators or malaria but no, it’s people who run conferences badly.
4. The new Panel of Judges album is sensational.
5. If anyone tells you I have written another book, do not believe it. I have contributed three chapters to a new book and that’s all. They were written off the top of my head OK.