POSTCODE 3000
The Age
Monday February 1, 2010
Party with the dame is icing on the cakeA WEEK is a long time in the politics of the Melbourne Recital Centre but the discord will be put aside on February 8 for the venue's first birthday. The date coincides with the 101st birthday of patron Dame Elisabeth Murdoch and a joint celebration will be held if the much-loved matriarch can attend. Musical chairs at Southbank culminated with the resignation of the centre's chief executive, Jacques de Vos Malan, three months into a two-year contract extension. He will be farewelled with drinks on Wednesday and a career change is in the wings. Jacques may point his compass towards a consultancy in project development. Invitations have gone out to the city's movers and shakers for the birthday soiree, though the off-stage dramas will put a different light on the "Happy" part of "Birthday" when the cake is cut.Scratching the surfaceFOR a peek into the psyche of Adam Elliot, join his Drawing of the Week Club. The animator has depicted himself as the "Man Wearing Prickly Jumper" and agonises over his wool allergy in an email to members: "I'm sitting at my computer wondering if I will ever write another film or even string a sentence together. All I can think about are my allergies." There's dust, horses, figs, walnuts, noisy restaurants and the knits of his mother Val that he wore as a child: jumpers, scarves, beanies and finger puppets. Poor Adam. It wasn't just the itching but the embarrassment. "My mother never knew that orange, pink and brown don't go together and I often felt like I was a little Licorice Allsort with legs."Mystery envelopeTHE cheque's in the mail €” except when the mail is contaminated and destroyed. That's what happened in Sorrento when someone popped something into the mailbox. An apologetic note on the box from Australia Post said an "unknown substance" had contaminated mail posted between January 13 and January 14. Sorry about that. To quote Donald Rumsfeld: "There are known unknowns." The staffer who collected the bag detected a foul odour, the MFB was called and the unknown substance was deemed suspicious. If your cheque, birthday card or love letter didn't arrive, you know why.Close to the boneAS A retired geriatrician, John Wright-Smith has switched from old people's bones to tickling funny bones as an author. His book of poems, English is a Funny Language, devotes a chapter to "Bodily matters" and the ditty called "I'm a public patient" may hit a nerve among oldies and their families. Here's a snippet: "Evening's meal at half-past four/I sometimes wish it was late/When it comes, the quality's poor/It's cold, why don't they let it thaw?/And they wonder why I lose weight?" Wright-Smith donates all proceeds from the book to Riding for the Disabled and is already working on his next one €” his medical memoirs. It should rattle a few trays.
© 2010 The Age
Share This