I have been feasting on delicious Ethiopean cuisine at ‘Nyala’, with my father who has been editing his film, in Melbourne and re living his childhood experiences of this town. Father and I drank a lot, ate a lot, laughed a lot and then scurried back to our home-away-from-home hotels as the tram lines clicked against the approaching rain storm.
Last night at an intimate, perfect evening at ‘Italy’ .. apart from the slightly horrific experience of receiving the bill. E and I had as much fun talking and sharing as we did spying on a unique couple, across from us : every ten minutes they broke their talking to scurry to the outside street to smoke or to do something else in the lane shadows.
I was here for Red business and spent the last few days talking with Paul at The Australian Poetry Center about how his team there may support Red Room’s education program and our other innovations. Good progress was made. I had a hasty glass of wine with Mr Wallace-Crabbe and found it hard to compete with the giant glass of Red he sipped and that he was on his way from and back to the grand opening of the ‘Wheeler Center’.
I have focused on education discussions this trip and, at a small cafe in the middle of somewhere in the city, with E, met with Eytan who, as a working English and Art teacher at Caulfield Grammar, told us the 101 problems with Julia’s new website.
Now, back to writing about Tagore and a return to my own version of fasting which is no alcohol and minimal outings until my poems are completed.
