01. Dinner at Hazel. Hard to pick a highlight because everything was delicious, but… the bite-sized crab hash (above); the trout with salted cucumber and horseradish; the beef with charred carrots; and the radicchio, orange and ricotta salad… would eat all of those things again in a heartbeat.
02. An amazing start to the Melbourne International Film Festival – laughed our way through the poignant Memoir of a Snail, and bawled for much of Daughters, a documentary about a program connecting incarcerated men in the US with their daughters.
03. Started the week hearing Caoilinn Hughes, author of The Alternatives, at Readings. My review of the book is on the way but notably, it’s my first five star read this year. I’ll save lots of what she said for my review but in regards to her writing process, Hughes said that she writes very slowly and does only one draft! – “…I trust in gestation periods and slow work…”
04. My last Scandinavian Film Festival outing – Songs of Earth (Norwegian): this documentary was absolutely glorious. Breathtaking footage and a beautiful meditation on the meaning of place. I loved the bits about a significant spruce tree, the subtle commentary about climate change, and also how the filmmaker played with scale. Related: the film was produced by Wim Wenders (whose recent film, Perfect Days, was also sublime) and Liv Ullmann (whose daughter, Linn Ullmann, wrote one of the most memorable books I’ve read this year, Unquiet).
05. The Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling program has been announced. Tickets booked for a couple of events.
06. I have a weakness for stationery. These.
07. My Olympic highlight might be Hayley Lewis’s dedication to pastries. She’s thrilled, over and over again (and it seems the Dutch cakes are beating the French).
08. New songs from some of my favourite bands – Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers have released Dull, and The Buoys cover of Vampire for Triple JJJ’s Like a Version is now on Spotify.
Only one 5-star read in 8 months!? You are even stingier with the stars than I am 😉 I loved Hughes’s debut but she lost me with her second novel. I’ll look forward to your review and maybe I’ll try her again.
You are always posting tempting fine dining photos. You must have a lot of great restaurants in your area. Our go-to restaurant for special occasions recently got a great write-up in a national newspaper, which is great for them but I hope doesn’t mean it suddenly becomes impossible to get a table.
I am stingy with five stars but ordinarily would have had a few by now – it’s been a lean year!
We are very lucky to have loads of great restaurants around us – Melbourne is known as the dining capital of Australia and yes, we have a big restaurant and cafe scene but I have to say that Hobart (in Tasmania) has brilliant places to dine (if you ever visit Australia I’ll happily provide you with a dining list!).
Years ago we had a favourite local Japanese restaurant. Then it was reviewed by a major newspaper and after that it became so busy that the locals couldn’t get in anymore. Alas, the locals found other places, all the blow-ins went to where ever was reviewed next and ultimately the restaurant closed. We were devastated! Fingers crossed your local favourite doesn’t get too busy.
I’m stingy with five stars too but I don’t really rate, so in GR I give everything 4 stars with a very occasional 5 star. This year Stone Yard Devotional could be one (but can’t recollect if I actually did that or not.)
I ordinarily have two or three books each year that earn five stars. Although at the end of the year when I do a summary of my ‘favourites’, it’s not about the four and five star books, it’s about the books that I’m still thinking about (and that can be for all sorts of reasons).
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