When I originally started my “Glimpses of…” series, I intended for its posts to be (only) of places I visited overseas. In short, places that are unfamiliar to me. But then I arrived home in Canberra, and realised that many of you reading this blog don’t, in fact, live in Canberra. (And why not, I ask you? We have so very, very many roundabouts. You really should come and live with us and our roundabouts. Life is more fantastic when you get to drive in circles all the time, I promise.)
So I started thinking that maybe this “Glimpses of…” thing doesn’t necessarily have to stop simply because I’m back on home turf. In other words, maybe you lot will be able to scrounge up some interest in this country Down Under, and at the same time I can benefit from trying to see Australia with fresh eyes. So what do you think? Here’s a taster, anyway…
“On The Staircase, 2005”, by Keld Moseholm. Garema Place, Canberra City.
What’s even better than a fat man reading a book? Gradations of fat men. Reading books. On a staircase.
It’s like a metaphor for… [I’m lost. Complete this sentence, someone?]
Flowers at Floriade. (Mum? What flowers are these?)
Oh, yes, I agree with you that these flowers look pretty. But hark! What was that? I think I hear the sound of hayfever in the distance! Yes, yes, there it is! The booming of impending doom, drawing ever nearer! Collect your hankies and your nasal sprays, beloveds. We’ve got one mother of a sneezy Spring to get through…
(Note to self: Don’t smugly tell your friends that you escaped hayfever this year, unless you simultaneously knock on wood. Otherwise you’ll find yourself moping around at home for four days in a row, headachey and exhausted. Pollen is vindictive that way.)
At Floriade.
So the drought caused all your trees to die this year? No worries. Just make a tree yourself out of plastic tubing and baskets. No one will ever know the difference.
Sand sculpture in Garema Place, Canberra City.
Bottom! Sand bottom! Bottom of sand! Eaten sandy bottom of sand eaten shark bottom! Bottom!
At Beyond Q, Curtin
I will never ever forgive myself for not buying this book the minute I saw it. Would you believe that when I returned the next day to purchase it, it was gone? I’ve had to make do with imagining the plot myself. It has something to do with a Red-Wearing Harlot of disproportionately-long legs seducing men with her thongs (that’s flip-flops to you Americans… although…) into ravaging her in algae-infested ponds, then getting sued by said men until she manages to convince her lawyer to elope with her. And something about a stone. Okay, the finer details still need to be hammered out.
Teacup bereft of tea. What a sad teacup.
I haven’t told you about this granola yet. But I will. Pinky swear.
Wayfaring Chocolate out!
P.S. So what do you think, really? Is Canberra interesting enough for y’all to want to see more?
P.P.S. You know the magical almond maple cake? The maple flavour gets stronger with each day that passes. It’s fabulous.
I’m interested! Are there lots of sculptures, sand or otherwise, in Canberra? I do love public art.
p.s. I think they might be violets.
There seems to have been a big push towards art-ifying Canberra in the past few years, which I’m not averse to! The sand sculptures seemed to be part of a competition-thingy, though, so I doubt we’ll see many more of those. Particularly as Canberra is nowhere near a beach…
Camille is right … they are violas (the family), most commonly known as violets. Love your Glimpses of Canberra – even though I live here, a new perspective never goes astray and this sure is a new perspective. After all, where’s the War Memorial. You surely aren’t going to do a Glimpses of Canberra without the War Memorial are you?
Hmm, you’re probably right there. Although I can’t even remember the last time I went to the War Memorial! Oops…
p.p.s I adore the fact that you tagged this post “chastity.”
I completely entertained myself by doing that too
that is one impressive sand castle!
Don’t you mean sand bottom?
Oh, I love the one of the reading guys. Reminds me of those people at the gym who seem more intersted in their magazines than in actually elipticalling (or whatever you call it).
Hey, don’t knock those people! I used to be one of them. And then I just stopped going to the gym and stuck with the reading instead
Yep, tell us about Canberra. We might actually be somewhere near there at some point during next year’s mtb orienteering trip. Ooo, exciting (but a year away so not really that exciting yet)! But the roundabouts concern me as our drivers took a fancy to being maniacs on the ones we did encounter…
That’s definitely exciting! Especially taking into consideration how quickly the years are flying by… you’ll be here before we know it! Hurrah!
But that’s the fun of roundabouts. Being a maniac.
oooh great pics! I live in Canberra and have seen NONE of those!!!
A lot of it was new to me too! The reading one is ouside the entrance to DJs
I have lived in Canberra, actually just last year, for a year, and am always interested in what there is to do there! I found it a little boring at first, but once you started to uncover things to do, it became much more interesting.
Your roundabouts comment made me lol. I have to say that Canberra drivers are nuts!
Oh, what a shame that you’re not here anymore! We could’ve had adventures! I think you’re on the money about Canberra, though. It’s a city that makes you work for the fun, but once you figure it out, it’s not so bad
All the good spots are hidden, is all!
I’d also like to say that, for the record, I might be the only Canberran driver who indicates. Woot.
Oh no you’re not!
Ah, so indicating is genetic? That explains it!
oh yes, more please! I am of the belief that there is much to find in your own city – and going out with a camera like a tourist in your home town is lots of fun. Though I do worry you might be morphing into margery sharp.
And interestingly my first memory of canberra as a teenager was my dad going round and round the roundabouts with us trying to yell out the exits that he was missing ( who needs european vacation when you can have canberra vacation!)
Thank you Johanna! I love your take on this
Except for the Margery Sharp thing… is that a comment on my singleness? 
Also, brilliant first memory of Canberra. Clearly you need to come visit so that you can make sure Sylvia’s first memory of the capital is the same as yours!
No comment on your being single, just that you sound like you could have a good stab at writing the book – though maybe Margery would not talk about thongs and algae infested pools – but I would love to see your version!
Ah, I like this interpretation of your comment far, far better!
I keep wanting to get back to my earlier fiction-writing escapades but I keep chickening out…
I’d love to see more of Canberra, having only visited our nation’s capital the one time, and that was for a two day medical conference
Fat blokes reading books on stairs – are they meant to represent the National Party candidates?
Haha! I don’t know, there seems to have been a trend away from porky pollies these days
Holy moly, you’ve only been here once?! Wow!
Sell Canberra to me. Sell it. Fill the vacuum that is my knowledge of the finer points of Canberran existence. I basically have no knowledge of Canberra as a place where people live. I’m guessing you’re not all politicians buying hardcore porn and fireworks, but people don’t exactly sell Canberra as a tourist destination and interesting city that isn’t all about government and politics, so I just don’t know much about it.
I probably wouldn’t visit Brisbane if I didn’t live here and know about it. But – it’s worth visiting. IF ONLY I KNEW (if I hypothetically didn’t). I felt like telling that to a guy whose blog I was reading who said that a conference on suicide prevention research was being held in Brisbane this year, then proceeded to rant quite with very strong touches of insanity about how Brisbane will cause people to commit suicide and having a suicide prevention/research conference there is completely ironic and visitors to Brisbane will probably get assaulted by racists or homophobes. Then he linked to one article in some crappy newspaper about an Indian restaurant in Brisbane that had its windows kicked in as evidence that Brisbane and Brisbane alone is seething with violent racists.
So yeah… education about places that people aren’t familiar with = important!
Gosh, this is a heavy weight of responsibility on my chocolate-reviewing shoulders! I shall endeavour to make Canberra not seem like a place for suicide, though. (Also, on that point… wow. That’s one crazy, thinks-he’s-funny-but-isn’t blogger. I mean, insensitive much?!)
The thing that I can’t stand about media coverage, and the public perception of Canberra, is how it says “Canberra did…” when referring to politicians. Firstly, most of the blighters refuse to live here. Second, it was *extremely* galling during the Howards years, when “Canberra” was blamed for everything, when we’re pretty much the one place in Australia that will *always* vote Labour.
/end rant.
WONDERFUL idea! So glad you’re doing this! Do share more soon.
Are the flowers pansies?
I wuff Canberra. I don’t care what anybody says.
And please tell me about that granola. Please tell me alllllllll about it. As soon as possible.
You’re the pansy. SNAP.
(I jest. You know how much I love you.)
I actually rather like it too. I actually wish I hadn’t grown up here, because I think it would be a good place to end up.
And I pinky swore I’ll tell you soon! Granola ahoy!
Pansies and Violets are all in the same Viola family, but I think these are more what we’d call Violets BUT don’t quote me. I’m no expert.
That fatmanbookstair sculpture is awesome – love it.
I wish I could take credit for having sculpted it with my bare hands… but in all honesty I couldn’t even take that good a photo of it!
Hannah, Hannah… Hannah!
You make me home sick.
Please post many more “glimpses” of Canberra so that I may vicariously experience my beautiful second hometown
Also, P.S., Canberra’s roundabouts ROCK. Even if you feel you love them to little bits when you live there, you don’t know just HOW much you love them until you move to a place in great need of more roundabouts. Roundabouts as a traffic management device FTW.
I’m interested!
Good to see CAnberra through you. have not been there yet!
Ah, I must work towards making you want to visit!
Yes I am interested! I love that sculpture!
Me too! I only just discovered it, but I think it’s great
I love the Glimpses of Canberra concept. I lived there for 2 years (Garran), and enjoy the occasional visits, so feel I know/knew it reasonably well. Still fun to catch a few more Glimpses. I too, love the fatmanstair installation, though am rather mystified by it’s purpose and or significance. And I can’t believe that I’ve never seen it outside DJs there. My first memories of Canberra are from the multitude of school excursions we undertook to go and gaze in wonder at Phar Lap’s heart- bet you didn’t know that it’s currently off display (til sometime next year, when I am hoping to see it again, and show it to the next generation of Phar Laps heart viewers). I believe the flowers to be some form of viola rather than a pansy. And I am so planning on making the Magical Almond Maple Cake sometime soon. Sounds fab, and may even be low GI.
I’m fairly certain maple syrup is low gi, and almond meal would have to be, so surely this cake would be fine for your current eating style? In addition, this recipe doesn’t make very much, so you could always eat small pieces with some low gi fruit or something
I’m not sure I knew you once lived in Canberra! How exciting! Did you know my mum then, or only after you moved to Orange?
I must say I had no idea we had Phar Lap’s heart here. Not entirely sure how I feel about that…?!
What?! Your mother worked in the building where Phar Lap’s heart was housed for years and years! And years after we moved in, tourists would still come looking for Phar Lap’s heart. I think they’ve finally realised now, some 26 years later that the heart is NOT there.
Then how come you never took me to see it?
Oh, wait. Was it no longer there when I arrived in this world? If so, then you really can’t blame me for not knowing!
You got it … it was no longer there when you made your entry into the world … but you should know anyhow ‘cos, well, ‘cos it’s Canberra history!
Well you should know that I didn’t know, ‘cos that’s Hannah history!
hahaha you should look and see if that book’s available for purchase online! So awesome.
Also, your city looks beautiful! I don’t know why I’ve never visited Australia before but I need to sooooon!
You absolutely do! Australia is wonderful – I think you’d really enjoy visiting
Yes…. More more more…. Canberra is a beautiful city with so many wonderful treasures. I love it!
I think you’re a little biased
But no matter, I accept your “more” request with excitement!
…and not Louise and I didn’t know each other then, but I was aware that she’d lived here.
Ok, so that’s jet lag (or jet tiredness since 3 hours time difference doesn’t really mean “lag” I think) but I meant “and no” NOT “and not”.
Understood
Now go have a nap!
Ugh. I would so get stuck behind that fat guy, too busy reading his book to hurry along, and too fat to manoeuvre around.
Is he reading The Stone of Chastity?
And even if you did get around him, you’d just get stuck behind the next one.
I bet he was reading The Stone of Chastity. It makes him feel less alone.