tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46240751798254310052011-07-08T09:01:49.201+10:00An assortment of creative works by Douglas Wilkie. Un assortiment des travaux créateurs à côté de Douglas Wilkie.Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.comBlogger681100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-84252865054201767232009-12-13T14:14:00.009+11:002010-10-31T21:58:36.377+11:00

Here are a few new books available for preview and purchase. Click on the titles to go to the book store.Dear Rebecca by Douglas Wilkie | From Venus to Venice by Douglas Wilkie | The Memory of Dreams by Douglas Wilkie | Paris by Douglas Wilkie |

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-66308181485830299862009-08-06T08:08:00.004+10:002009-08-19T08:26:11.769+10:00

Have you read my story "The Memory of Dreams" ?You can now purchase the whole adventure as either a softcover text-only book or as a lavishly illustrated hardcover (or softcover) bookJust go to the online bookstore to preview the first few pages and place an order. The Memory of Dreams An Illustrated

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-42228171530648472732009-06-22T07:49:00.002+10:002009-06-22T07:53:57.755+10:00

Two new books are available - my travel adventure The Memory of Dreams, and a collection of images called Places and Spaces.They can be previewd and ordered from Blurb BookSmart Inc at the following links:The Memory of DreamsPlaces and SpacesType the rest of your post here.

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-81463063015432638312009-05-03T17:41:00.009+10:002009-05-03T18:32:18.690+10:00

A few weeks ago a friend suggested I submit some images for a photography exhibition at a small local gallery - The Oakhill Gallery. I thought about it and in the end decided to submit four images. It has been a few years since my last major exhibition.The first was a 1999 image taken in San Gimignano Italy - an image of an arch in the via di Matteo. It was about midday and midwinter. The sun

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-13716303622449731462009-03-11T08:53:00.005+11:002009-04-04T21:54:03.476+11:00

I spent last weekend in Brisbane. Down on the riverside at the Maritime Museum was a tiny wooden ship called the Duyfken.The original Duyfken was built for the Dutch East India Company in 1595. The next few years saw several voyages to the East Indies - present day Indonesia. In 1606 Willem Janszoon and Jan Roosengijn took Duyfken southeast along the south coast of New Guinea and then charted

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-62680910266162983982009-02-24T17:14:00.006+11:002009-04-04T21:43:16.772+11:00

I have just spent over a week at Hervey Bay in Queensland. That's about four hours north of Brisbane. About two and a half thousand kilometres from my home in Melbourne.Melbourne in recent weeks has been experiencing an extreme heat wave - temperatures well over 40 degrees celcius for days on end - and the state of Victoria has been suffering the ravages of horrific bushfires that have claimed

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-81877198334362630462009-02-13T16:56:00.001+11:002009-04-04T21:37:58.578+11:00

Monday 22 December 2008It was my last day in France.I must catch a taxi to the Macon Ville TGV station a few kilometres out of town. The train leaves at 10:30 am and arrives at the Gare de Lyon in Paris at about 2:00 pm.I have a window seat and watch the towns and farms flash past as this super fast train makes its way to the French capitol. Stations come and go so fast that there is no chance to

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-29464060016366582172009-02-12T17:41:00.010+11:002009-04-04T21:56:08.924+11:00

Thursday 4 december 2008I caught the 9:30am train at Termini Station in Rome and travelled to Milan where I changed to the 2:35pm train to Geneva, arriving in Switzerland at 6:30pm.I had a window seat and enjoyed the opportunity to sit back and put my feet up for a day while looking at the countryside flash past.I took many photos. But taking photos from a fast moving train has an element of

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-57832824773269971142009-02-09T07:00:00.004+11:002009-02-09T07:52:26.266+11:00

Monday 9 February 2009Last week I, and everybody else living here in Melbourne, endured five days of temperatures over 43 degrees Celcius. On Saturday the temperature reached a record 46 degrees with some parts of Melbourne recording 48 (118 degrees Farenheit).Now that is probably nothing unusual for people living in parts of the Middle East or Africa. But for Melbourne, which until recently

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-8430052642113270322009-02-07T19:41:00.002+11:002009-04-04T21:55:38.376+11:00

Friday 19 December 2008I was half way through reading Ken Follett's "The Pillars of the Earth" when I was prompted to take the train from Macon to Tournus. The train runs every hour and takes only thirty minutes. It is just a short walk from the station to the Place de l'Abbaye where the Romanesque Abbey of Saint Philbert can be found. It was built between the 11th and 12th Centuries AD.From

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-45306471836506431592009-02-05T18:53:00.000+11:002009-04-04T21:55:38.377+11:00

Tuesday 9 December 2008There is a lot to be seen in Cordoba and a few hours is not enough to see it all. Nevertheless, here is just a taste of what is there.My first stop was the Alcazar, the Citadel of the Christian conquerers which was built in 1328 by Alfonso XI on a site previously used by Julius Caesar in 65 BC and by other Cordoban rulers.The Alcazar is characterised by courtyards,

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-48935112003799768102009-02-05T15:34:00.008+11:002009-04-04T21:56:30.489+11:00

Friday 5 December 2008I arrived in Geneva on Thursday night after an all day train journey from Rome. On Saturday I went to Chamonix. And on Sunday I flew down to Seville. So on the Friday I made the most of what time I had.My hotel, the Hotel Strasbourg, was only a couple of blocks from Lake Geneva and only one from the station, so I spent much time admiring the lake and its fountain.Much of

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-72377993257331098542009-02-02T18:17:00.009+11:002009-04-04T21:55:38.377+11:00

Monday 2 February 2008It is often said that when one door closes another one opens.There have been a number of times during my life when a door closed on me unexpectedly. For a brief moment I was disoriented. For a short time I lost my way because I wasn't expecting the door to close. I was intent and contented to follow the path I had been following for a number of years and suddenly I found

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-35070278962297536202009-02-01T08:14:00.011+11:002009-04-04T21:41:07.582+11:00

Monday 8 December 2008One of the things that I noticed when arriving in Seville was the use of ceramic tiles - azulejos as the Moors called them - to create stunning mozaics on walls and floors. The original azulejos were patterns made with tiles of single colours, yet arranged in fantastic and complex patterns. Since the industrial revolution tiles could be made in multiple colours and could

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-74937334746922741592009-01-21T17:42:00.006+11:002009-04-04T22:08:41.016+11:00

Sunday 30 November 2008Today I went north to Tuscania.Arriving in the town there were streets paved with cobble stones and houses painted in all the colours of Tuscany - even though this town is really in Lazio.Walking along the ancient streets where countless numbers have walked before over thousands of years there are doorways behind which many stories have been played out. Here is a doorway

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-57655516337058464012009-01-15T08:39:00.001+11:002009-04-04T22:07:47.525+11:00

If you travel north of Rome along the via Cassia, then turn off onto the via Braccianese at La Storta and travel a few kilometres through the farms to Santa Maria di Galeria you will come across the church of Santa Maria in Celsano and buildings surrounding it. But there is more to Santa Maria di Galeria than meets the eye.And the reason that it isn't obvious to the casual visitor is that it is

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-74662030029250802292009-01-14T17:38:00.001+11:002009-04-04T22:07:47.526+11:00

Monday 24 November 2008Not far from Rome to the north along the via Appia there is a place called Santa Maria di Galeria. There is a church and its attendant buildings. They seem to date from the early 1800s and earlier. The countryside and the colours of the buildings are distinctly Tuscan.The orange and gold leave of vines cling to walls that seem to be painted to match.A clock tower

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-22212103808430460412009-01-12T14:25:00.007+11:002009-04-04T22:07:47.526+11:00

Wednesday 3rd December 2008I went to the Trevi Fountain today and made a wish. Then I walked along via dei Muratte past the Tempio di Adriano until I arrived at via dei Pastini, which leads in to the Piazza della Rotonda where the Pantheon is to be found.Via dei Pastini has a number of interesting and colourful shops and cafes.A grocery store with a lovely cart full of colourful vegetables.The

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-87577884929039623542009-01-11T17:33:00.004+11:002009-04-04T22:07:47.527+11:00

Tuesday 25 November 2008Today I went into Rome and climbed to the top of Il Vittoriano for some wonderful panoramic views of the city.In one direction, at the far side of the Forum, was the Colosseum.In another direction across the rooftops and churchs was the massive dome of Saint Peters.Immediately in front of me was the Forum, or what remains of it after years of neglect, pillage and

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-30901160712686698092009-01-08T17:57:00.005+11:002009-04-04T22:09:45.279+11:00

Sunday 7 - Monday 15 December 2008Old Seville is full of corners. Corners that surprise. Corners that disorient. Corners that lose the unwary visitor in a maze of alleys.As I made my way around the alleys and corners of the Santa cruz district of Seville I kept coming across sights and shapes, colours and forms, that were a pleasure to the eye.

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-91702117737919112312009-01-08T16:29:00.004+11:002009-04-04T21:38:59.960+11:00

Friday 19 December 2008On This day I caught the train from Macon to the town of Tournus, about 35 minute further up the River Saone.It was a cold and foggy day to start with and as I walked to the river the far bank was made indistinct by the mist. The bare tree branches, heavily pruned over many years, stood out starkly against the pale grey background.Occasionally the sun would break through

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-49623756248471108082009-01-05T18:49:00.006+11:002009-04-04T21:38:59.960+11:00

Sunday 6 December 2008It takes about 90 minutes to drive from Geneva to Chamonix in the French Alps. And that is where I went on this Sunday.There had been heavy snowfall and there was a considerable risk of avalanches. Several of the cable cars were closed and the train to the Mer de Glace was not running. No commentary is necessary. Just enjoy these images, some of which may yet adorn one

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-81482106532375093342009-01-03T07:29:00.004+11:002009-04-04T22:10:47.110+11:00

Ten years ago I purchased Nick Bantock's book 'The Forgetting Room'. It was set in the town of Ronda, in southern Spain. I had never heard of Ronda, but Bantock's descriptions of the town and the bridge across the deep gorge through which the Rio Guadelvin flows was unforgettable. I was determined to visit Ronda myself.Wednesday 10 December 2008On this day I am up at 7:30 and decide to walk to

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-58720256573705691042009-01-02T18:33:00.010+11:002009-04-04T21:42:12.040+11:00

In the past when I have flown from Melbourne to Europe it has been via a south east Asian stopover - Singapore, Kuala Lumpar, Bangkok - the 25 hour journey has until now been too long for a single flight. This time I flew from Melbourne to Seoul then from Seoul to Rome. That made the route of the second stage of the flight quite different to what I had been used to.Friday 21 November 20086:00 a.m

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-29325018564817121142008-11-17T17:32:00.004+11:002009-04-04T22:07:47.527+11:00

Would you believe that with two days to go Blogger has locked my Return to Rome blog because the robots have decided it looks like a Spam Blog!!Checking the Help Forums on Blogger to see if I can find a way around the problem I am dismayed to read the number of other blogs that have similarly been blocked for no good reason and how long it is taking, if ever, for Blogger to get around to

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-36802229458967154472008-10-25T16:35:00.009+11:002008-10-25T19:33:50.211+11:00

A while ago I wrote about my Memory Cabinet, a place where I keep things that remind me of the places or events or people of my life.Recently I tidied up some things belonging to my grandparents. Among the objects I collected together were small items that had clearly once been of great significance but now held only mystery. Perhaps a mystery awaiting exploration. My grandparents spent much

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-37745768390195376512008-10-23T09:28:00.013+11:002009-04-04T21:43:16.772+11:00

Last weekend I went to Hervey Bay in Queensland to visit my friend. Actually a few days more than a weekend - Thursday to Monday. I arrived in a tropical rainstorm and left on a bright sunny day. As usual I took a few photos.We went to a place called River Heads where the Mary and Susan Rivers reach the sea. The headland overlooks the two rivers on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other.

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-42244308404590118192008-10-11T15:24:00.003+11:002009-04-04T21:35:46.582+11:00

It is spring in my garden and week by week the flowers come and go, one to be replaced by another. Each weekend brings different colours, different scents.

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-79006096167610409702008-10-08T16:01:00.007+11:002009-04-04T22:11:47.683+11:00

I am about to visit Seville in Southern Spain and it occurred to me that Don Quixote was born in Seville. Back in 2000 and 2001 I visited Barcelona and subsequently wrote my account of visiting there in Chapter 18 of The Memory of Dreams.Even though I am not going back to Barcelona I wonder whether I might meet somebody in Seville like the girl I met in Barcelona in 2001. Here is what happened. I

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-38808683011408839602008-08-24T07:09:00.004+10:002008-08-24T08:31:11.604+10:00

I have just been reading Suzy's latest post in which she describes a couple visiting their psychiatrist in an attempt to resolve what is to be done about the birth or otherwise of their rapidly developing baby. Suzy describes them sitting on the psychiatrists' couch as a couple of "unmatched bookends with a thousand volumes between them". Suzy's writing about this unmatched couple apparently

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-10477104670284579842008-08-10T07:53:00.004+10:002009-04-04T22:15:42.338+11:00

Some time ago I wrote about Two Forgetting Rooms. One was that magical room described by Nick Bantock in his book The Forgetting Room. The other was my mother's room at the nursing home.In Nick Bantock's Forgetting Room, set in the southern Spanish town of Ronda, the memories of a lifetime are there to be discovered if only the clues can be found and deciphered.In my mother's Forgetting Room

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-77186491424305510142008-07-16T15:44:00.004+10:002009-04-04T22:19:50.844+11:00

I was reading Debora's recent post about how people see things in different ways. How one person's understanding of something or somebody can be very different to that of another person.It reminded me of John Berger's 1972 television series called Ways of Seeing.Although the series was largely about art and images, the ideas presented are worth consideration when thinking about how we see other

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-85051199393627697302008-07-13T17:23:00.006+10:002008-07-16T20:42:47.934+10:00

If this was being written with a pen and ink it would be smudged beyond recognition with the teardrops of a lifetime of memories.Yesterday I spent six hours talking, via MSN, to my friend 'S'. Six hours! But I suppose we were catching up on forty years!I first met 'S' in my first year at Art School. Tonight I am going to telephone her. She normally lives in Australia but at the moment she is

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-36575628735561462362008-07-10T07:07:00.011+10:002008-07-16T20:41:07.933+10:00

Sometimes amazing things happen just when you're not expecting them.Last night my email box announced that I had received an email from a person I didn't know. That's not unusual, because my various Family History web pages are constantly generating messages from people who have found something of interest.But this message turned out not to be from the person who owns the email address, but from

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-56864209576857263632008-07-02T20:08:00.008+10:002008-07-12T21:05:55.199+10:00

My house is in an ordinary street in an ordinary suburb.I bought it because it was convenient to where I work, and because after a divorce and property settlement it was what I could afford. But it is not the street nor the suburb that tells people anything about me, apart from what I have just told you myself.It is what is inside my house, what is in my garden, that will tell people about who I

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-52119461083218069802008-06-20T22:45:00.009+10:002009-04-04T21:35:46.582+11:00

I drove up to the country last Sunday to visit my son at Ballarat, about 100 km from Melbourne. It was early when I arrived so decided to visit the old cemetery at the end of his street.Ballarat did not exist before 1852. But then somebody discovered gold. Within months there were thousands of people seeking to make the riches they had not made elsewhere - mainly people from England, but also

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-303082516632061912008-05-27T17:50:00.009+10:002008-05-28T20:17:09.789+10:00

Who am I?That is the question I ask my clients to ask themselves when they come seeking assistance with planning their careers.When they first come in I ask "How can I help you?"And their response is often "I need somebody to tell me what to do." With the implied ending of the question being "With the rest of my life".My response is usually "Well, first you need to tell me who you are."Do you

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-29011070258018150072008-05-17T21:52:00.007+10:002009-04-04T21:35:46.583+11:00

I went to all of these places today. Take a close look. Enlarge the images to see them full size. And then tell me I couldn't have done it.But I must have. I left home at eight this morning and arrived back at five. The images were not in my camera when I left and they were there when I arrived back. So I must have.It seems a long time ago now and I'm trying to recall all the details. The

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-25848531051618306162008-05-11T15:57:00.003+10:002009-04-04T22:14:43.212+11:00

I posted this in my Images of France pages but I thought they could go here as well.When in Paris in 2005 I visited the Rodin Museum. As always, I did not simply want to take photos of things that I could purchase a ready made postcard of, or art works that I had a multitude of photos of in my art books at home. No, I looked for something a bit different. Those little things that meant

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-37667961578022696582008-05-10T23:07:00.008+10:002008-05-11T00:08:47.280+10:00

Today my daughter Stephanie was awarded her Diploma in Conservation and Land Management from the University of Melbourne.She has been studying by distance education for the past three years and finally completed it last December. The University of Melbourne has a small country campus in a town called Creswick, about 100 km from Melbourne. It is the home of their forestry, conservation and land

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-76368419251555817442008-05-08T22:15:00.015+10:002009-04-04T21:37:58.592+11:00

In May 2005 I stayed for a week at Saint Cyprien in south-west France. My hosts were Patrick and Sylvie. Patrick owned a montgolfier - a hot air balloon. It wasn't one of those huge balloons that carries a large basket capable of holding about sixteen passengers, but a smaller balloon with a tiny basket more like a laundry basket, that held about three people.At six in the morning we drove out

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-7050505043775956882008-05-06T07:45:00.005+10:002009-04-04T22:13:46.476+11:00

This is Chapter 8 of The Memory of Dreams. I have a memory. I have a dream. The decision is whether to revisit the memory of that dream.January 2001Florence - Ravenna – VeniceBefore leaving Florence this morning I made a quick visit to the small church behind the Casa Danté, behind Danté’s house. It is the church where Danté supposedly met Beatrice. She was Danté’s La Bella. And L’amor. To

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-16011714167436814502008-04-30T08:08:00.005+10:002008-04-30T18:21:35.964+10:00

Have you ever wondered how and why, you arrived at the situation in life that you now find yourself?I'm not thinking of the various crises that we sometimes encounter, or the low points, although we certainly do wonder what we might have done that brought us into those situations.My "day job" is as a careers counsellor for a local college. I help people find a path in life. Or to change the

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-32710353943791398592008-04-28T19:03:00.008+10:002008-04-28T20:44:10.511+10:00

You might recall from a post a week or so back that the books of Nick Bantock are among the favorites on my book shelf. "The Griffin and Sabine Trilogy", "The Venetian's Wife", "The Museum at Purgatory", and "The Forgetting Room".I mentioned "The Forgetting Room" because my mother was about to be moved to what is commonly called the "Dementia Wing" at her nursing home. When I visited her

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-4332180051536246972008-04-26T19:13:00.006+10:002008-04-26T19:45:10.029+10:00

If you have read the opening chapter of my three travel-based novels - Rebecca, The Memory of Dreams, or Travels With A Frog - you will soon realize that to travel from Australia to Europe is a major undertaking. A flight, usually in two stages, that takes between 25 and 30 hours. Unless you can afford to travel 1st class then you are bundled into a space holding some three hundred or more

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-76576583081225783352008-04-25T19:36:00.007+10:002008-04-26T05:26:05.922+10:00

Today in Australia it is ANZAC day. ANZAC. Australian & New Zealand Army Corps. That is what the the armies of Australian and New Zealand troops were called when they went to support the British Imperial Army during the First World War. Today is set aside in Australia to remember those who died not only during the First World War, but during any war.I have three reasons for taking particular

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-48774350010446205802008-04-24T18:59:00.008+10:002008-04-25T07:10:52.686+10:00

Well, having been confined to the house for a few days and not being able to do anything strenuous I took to browsing my floor to ceiling bookshelves.There's plenty to find there. Books to humour me; books to educate me; books to make me laugh or cry; books to take me away to real lands far away or to make-believe lands; books to take me into the historical past or to the imaginary future. Cook

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-60908637595923747162008-04-23T18:52:00.008+10:002008-04-23T21:05:06.535+10:00

Recent reminiscing over at Debora's place about the 1960's Cold War doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) coupled with my visit to the cardiology department of a local hospital this morning has left me with a desire to find something to amuse myself and feel a bit cheered up.Anyway I randomly came across this interesting diversion on YouTube...After initially having a bit of a laugh at

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-62965877228552750972008-04-22T20:14:00.009+10:002009-04-04T21:37:58.593+11:00

I was going through some of the photographs I had taken in Italy back in 1998 and 1999 just to remind me of the places I might visit on my trip in November this year. They brought back many memories and some are worth sharing. These are low resolution so won't enlarge to full screen size. However I will post some better quality copies in my Italian pages later. If you would like to read about

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-14439166786533844862008-04-19T19:07:00.003+10:002008-04-19T19:42:53.833+10:00

At last, after eleven years, Australia is led by somebody with a sense of the future, rather than being tied down in the past. A person with a vision, instead of a person who could not see beyond his own ideologies.Kevin Rudd, and the Labor Party, were elected to lead Australia last November after eleven years of the John Howard conservative government. One might wonder what took the majority

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-65944815743955029032008-04-17T20:07:00.007+10:002009-04-04T22:10:47.111+11:00

Forgetting Room #1Among my extensive book collection are a number of books by Nick Bantock, who, according to the biography on the back flap "lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest with his family".One of my favourite books is The Forgetting Room, which by chance is also the name of one of the rooms in Nick Bantock's Art Gallery - a place I must visit if ever I get to British Columbia.One of

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-59930729717310275052008-04-15T19:36:00.004+10:002008-04-16T15:09:36.740+10:00

15 April 2008A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away.... I lived in the country town of Hamilton, in Western Victoria. Our two daughters were aged nearly two and four. Our son hadn't been born. It was January 1987.We had moved to Hamilton at the beginning of 1986 and bought a good sized house on a large block. The house at that time was about twenty years old. It was the summer holidays

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-48633740919100869082008-04-14T18:23:00.001+10:002009-04-04T21:35:46.587+11:00

I take hundreds of photographs. Some get printed immediately. Others get filed away until some future date when I might look at them again and see something I failed to see the first time.The FarmhouseHere is an old abandoned farmhouse near the town of Glenthompson in Western Victoria. I took this photo about three years ago and recently rediscovered it again. This image, and others taken at

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-33821988819652695312008-04-08T14:14:00.006+10:002008-04-10T20:53:19.958+10:00

Love and IllusionI waited to see you again.For that day when I could look into your eyes once more.When I could enjoy the happiness of your smile.And hear the music of your voice.And while I waited my heart imaginedAll the feelings of love that it had ever experienced.And all those that it was yet to experience.My spirit soared to heights far above the clouds.And I was fearful of those

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-25923685463348338332008-04-06T06:54:00.006+10:002008-04-10T20:55:52.818+10:00

I woke up yesterday morning and found myself in 1968. I'm sure it was because I could hear Martin Luther King giving his famous "I have a dream" speech.It was on the radio. It sounded very topical. Not at all out of date. And then I realized that it has been forty years since he was assassinated.Was it really that long ago? Nineteen sixty-eight. But what a year it was! Those who are too young to

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-67263803562478281412008-04-02T08:27:00.006+11:002008-04-02T20:55:58.368+11:00

Dear _____,I wonder how many people have become rich on the basis of other people's fear and uncertainty. I'm thinking of insurance companies. You purchase a house. Drive a car. Own some possessions. And the insurance companies will want to insure you against all sorts of risks. So you look at the premium they want to charge and immediately think it's too much and that you could get by

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-54703594522658256252008-03-31T19:38:00.008+11:002008-04-01T15:47:33.107+11:00

Dear _____,Well, it has begun. And there's no stopping it now. I'm coming back to Rome. They say all roads lead to Rome but even so I've decided to look at some maps just to refresh my memory of those days when I was there before.Would you believe it's ten years ago that I first set foot in the Roman Forum; when I first ventured into the Colosseum and braved the Indian trinket-sellers, the

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-72765237659073259022008-03-30T15:00:00.012+11:002008-04-01T15:46:10.518+11:00

Dear _____,You won't believe what I have done.I went to the travel agent yesterday and purchased a ticket with Korean Airlines to fly from Melbourne to Rome via Seoul on 20 November this year! That's right! Do you remember when we first met? When was it? It seems like years ago. and maybe it was. Well, I'm coming back. I knew I would. One day. And you knew I would. Didn't you.So now I have

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-54747729804693440722008-03-26T20:30:00.005+11:002008-04-01T15:47:33.109+11:00

It has been for several months, possibly even for over a year, that I have been trying to make up my mind. Trying to come to a decision. Looking for an answer to the question.Do you ever have that experience? You think something should be done. You think you would like to do it. But there is something that holds you back from finally saying 'Yes'. And yet at the same time you never actually

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-53436791680415439492008-03-25T08:25:00.002+11:002009-04-04T22:13:46.477+11:00

This is Chapter 24 from my book The Memory of DreamsParisIn Paris the Hotel Lorette is in a street called the Rue Notre Dame de Lorette. There is a church by that name a few doors to the south. At the other end of the street, to the north, is the famous Moulin Rouge. It appears that the name of the church, Notre Dame de Lorette, can be roughly translated Our Lady of the Loose Women, or words to

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-45514258157460171982008-03-19T17:38:00.015+11:002009-04-04T22:19:50.849+11:00

In the Spring of 2007 I travelled from Melbourne to the Barossa Valley of South Australia to visit my daughter who works in a radio station in the region. It is 800kilometres and a ten hour drive. Three hundred and sixty kilometres west of Melbourne is the South Australian border. On the Victorian side of the border is the town of Casterton, on the South Australian side a hundred kilometres to

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-47146376616216469462008-03-17T11:56:00.006+11:002009-04-04T22:21:01.537+11:00

This is Chapter 9 of my story Portrait of a Young Man as an Artist. It is essentially an autobiographical novel based on my life at art school. It is a work in progress.What do you think an artist is? An imbecile who has only his eyes if he’s a painter, or ears if he’s a musician, or a lyre at every level of his heart if he’s a poet? On the contrary, he’s at the same time a political being,

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-12897891770340938332008-03-13T22:17:00.001+11:002009-04-04T22:13:46.477+11:00

I was in the middle of it when I heard the noise. First a click. Then an abrasive sound like metal scraping against metal. Like the sound of unoiled hinges. Then a rattling. A scratching, rubbing sound. Like a key being inserted into a lock. A click. Another drawn out squeal. A hiss. Like breath exhaling. A loud metallic bang that reverberated through the house. A second blunt thud.

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-9181992205772774572008-03-10T22:05:00.005+11:002009-04-04T21:37:58.595+11:00

Last week I went to Adelaide. You can read about The Angel and the Red Priest and the Northern Lights in the previous two pages.I took two days getting to Adelaide and stopped overnight at a place called Koonara in the Coonawarra Wine region of South East South Australia. The Koonara Winery has a cottage, not surprising called Koonara Cottage. I stayed overnight at Koonara Cottage.It is an old

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-14579390122189857322008-03-08T14:54:00.024+11:002009-04-04T22:19:50.851+11:00

I spent last week in Adelaide. It was too hot to do much but I did go to see The Angel and the Red Priest, and Last Riot at the Jam Factory, and at night enjoyed the Northern Lights on North Terrace where all the grand old public buildings of Adelaide were lit in fantastic patterns and transformed into buildings never seen before.Here are a few examples of what was to be seen (click on each to

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-28208511817336914682008-03-05T23:00:00.011+11:002009-04-04T21:42:12.042+11:00

This week I am in Adelaide. The Festival is on. As is Writers' Week, and Artists' Week, and the Fringe Festival. I decided it was time to take a week off and get away. But I'll probably get home again and feel like I need a week off... Anyway, tonight I went to see a play called The Angel and the Red Priest. It is about Anton Vivaldi... yes, the composer... who was actually a priest at the

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-1128861630327880202008-03-01T21:22:00.008+11:002008-04-01T15:49:10.448+11:00

I was visiting the city (of Melbourne) a couple of weeks back and came across Flinders Street Station fenced off, screened off and taken back in time sixty five years or so - to the mid 1940s. Steven Spielberg's film company had taken it over for a weekend while they filmed scenes for the sequel to 'Band of Brothers'. All signs of life post-1945 had gone.Sometimes you come across a place like

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4624075179825431005.post-25571789952375021082008-02-21T18:34:00.007+11:002011-06-04T16:33:01.252+10:00

Last night I was watching the old Frederico Fellini film about the life and exploits of Casanova - with Donald Sutherland in the title role, and brilliant staging and costumes, and music by Nino Rota. Much of it was set in Venice and both the setting and the costumes reminded me of my visits to Venice, of the exhibitions of photography I held afterwards, and the stories I wrote. This is the

Douglas Wnoreply@blogger.com2