Electric lightbulb moment

Greetings Eaters of Crow,

I write to you as Dansa Andrewsa, head in hands, heart in mouth, during these catastrophic times for the world as we know it. For Mexicans (aka Victorians) the world has in deed and in the great and only true Australian game, come to an unprecedented end. In deference to the rising Power of SA and during one of my electric lightbulb moments*, I was moved to change my name to incorporate SA in my nomenclature and to ask, nay plea with SA, not to Donald Trump and erect any more border barriers and thus deny my fellow Victorians free ingress to your amazing state of Hill of Grace.

*lightbulb moment: to redress the inequity (possibly iniquity) of Federation when Victoria nicked lots of good and fertile land from SA and drew the borderline much, much further west than anticipated and then later, also stole the Grand Prix, I, Dansa Andrewsa, now say, on behalf of all Victorians, I am very sorry. In recompense, I propose, in these times of complete devastation, that we now annex Victoria to South Australia.  Dam the Cockroaches and Banana Benders – SA /Victorious together- one mind, one state, one game again!

 

 

You have marshall – he can be sheriff. (SA’s Parliament House is grander than Melbourne’s anyway and Victoria will pay to finally put the top on yours) You have the Xmas pageant – we’ll cancel ours and zoom yours into every isolating Victorian home: you already have a Victoria Square so we exist in spirit. In fairness (unusual for politicians) we will rename Bourke Street,  Dunstan Boulevarde and the Crown Casino can become the Playford Palace. The Melbourne Cup can race in Bordertown. This will keep everyone unhappy. And let’s not forget, Gallery One can become Gallery One + One or perhaps Gallery One + Another One – you choose.

Andrewsa says: remember: We are one, we are many and from all of Melbourne’s suburbs we will come….

On a serious note, for those of us who understand the world of Victoria and the significance of the AFL* final at the MCG**, you know that the premiership of The Game is serum in their blood. Port Power*** winning the minor Premiership, let alone contesting The Grand Final, is a very low blow. Victorians will defeat COVID19, they will give up on the Belt and Roads but if the Power wins the AFL premiership, even though it will be played in Brizzy and not on the hallowed grounds of the MCG, such a loss will bite into their very essence and they will never recover. COVID will seem a relief.

Soon, they will be here. All ex-South Australians will be back home and visiting their friends and relatives. However, they may not be the loved ones you once knew. They have been through a lot. While we have been scratched, they have endured amputation. Be kind. Be gentle. Social distancing with lots of love.

* Australian Football League

** Melbourne Cricket Ground (please note: not even I would suggest renaming the MCG!)

*** fantastic South Australian AFL team full of bright, fit, intelligent, fast and capable players just in case you didn’t know. Make great life drawing models.

What’s happening in Gallery One: a new writing class. Wednesdays with Gillian Preston Creative Non Fiction. Sign up and join in. Open your world.

 

 

Nymphaea caerulea (blue lotus): an introduction to committee member, Marie Trebilcock. Marie and I arrived at Gallery One together…..hmmmm, some years ago. We both enrolled with Gary Lee-Gaston’s in his watercolour class: it was just us two but Marie must have wondered what hit her as all Gary and I did was disagree on politics. Marie, ever full of grace, tolerated our antics with her good humour and infectious smile. I do think Marie & I learned something about painting with watercolour from Gary – we really did!

One exercise Gary gave us was to imagine someone we knew as something else and I remember I thought immediately of Marie as the blue lotus: tall and elegant, startlingly different, rising above the waters, swaying in any breeze with just enough shift and movement to bow but not break and shatter her form. The bees and insects hover, visit: she embraces them all, entrances with her form and colour. The ancient Egyptians held the blue lotus sacred and so we also respect and thank our Marie Nymphaea for her time and energy and contribution over many years to the development and well-being of Gallery One.

 

I have mentioned her before and she is worth mentioning again, Donna Leon. I have been reading one of Leon’s early novels, A Sea of Troubles. It is one I had missed so I was pleased to see it appear on the gallery bookshelves and grabbed it.

Donna Leon writes about Venice. Her protagonist is Commissario Brunetti, a soft, likeable, intelligent detective who is married to Paola, a feminist university lecturer. They have 2 children. Brunetti’s family plays a major role in the series. There are 29 Brunetti works so you can really glue your nose to the pages and binge away the hours.

Leon is an American who lived in Venice for 30 years. The books are written in English and not translations. She is not coy about the politics of this beautiful folly of a city so there is a sense of the real Venice in her writing – or Venice as she sees it. Over the years I must have read almost all of the Brunetti novels and always look forward to new publications. Wikipedia informs me Leon no longer lives in Venice.

Happy binging: A Sea of Troubles will be back on the Gallery bookshelves as soon as I’ve finished it.

Stay safe, check your spare tyres – the ones in your car.

 

 

 

Photo Credits

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash Waterlilies

Photo by Dean Bennett on Unsplash MCG

Photo by Frank Vessia on Unsplash Lightbulb moment

Marie photos provided by Marie

 

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