The dark...where no one can see what you do *cue spooky music!

I am a fabulous dancer....a cross between Ginger Rogers, Margot Fonteyn, and the latest winner of "So you think you can dance"...or at least.... I am in my head!

The sad truth is that I am crap at dancing. I hear rhythm in my head, but somehow there is a break down in the message between my brain and the rest of my body, which means my coordination with the music is rubbish.

Like, I had ballroom dance lessons with my hubby and did my back in. Another time my daughter took me to Zumba classes but ended up banning me from going again because I ran over a beautiful little disabled lady at the back of the class - my daughter says she's never been so embarrassed....until the next terrible thing I did!

But this week I was thrilled, because my daughter gave me one last chance and took me to "No lights, no lycra", in Reid, Canberra. I have to admit to being rather nervous, but it turns out that it's a dance class that you do completely in the dark. The good news is you do keep your clothes on! AND, it's only 5 bucks!

I absolutely loved this dance class. I was able to release my inner wild child and dance my crazy moves which I think is innovative choreography, but daughter calls mortifying. To be completely uninhibited and not worry what anyone thinks is truly liberating. Plus, I got a great work out.

To all you people out there, or at least in Canberra, if you fancy a boogy-on-down, a bit of exercise, or just an hour of fun, I can't recommend the class enough: Wednesday evenings, 7:30-9pm, at St John's Church Hall in Reid - $5 on the door. Check out the details on the Facebook page here.

'Make my day' - a day of my life in Canberra

Over the last couple of weeks I have taken part in a Canberra project called 'Make my day'. 'Make my day' is a Design Canberra project organised by Kate Shaw.

The aim of the project was for participants to take photos during their day every couple of hours. Kate collated the photos to make a shared story of how Canberra defines participants and how the participants defined Canberra. The final product was displayed in an exhibition last weekend in Northbourne Street.

I submitted photos from Friday 20th and Sunday 22nd November. My favorite photo was taken first thing on Sunday of a pair of shoes that a girl had left lying on the pavement from the evening before - I hope they weren't too expensive.

It was fascinating to see all the photos put into themes and made into a giant mosaic. 

 
Canberra clearly is a very busy place, and at the same time means so many different things to different people.

I expected to see many glossy "posed" Instagram photos, but was pleasantly surprised to see very ordinary pictures which felt so much more authentic.

Canberra get a bum rap from many people who pass by, but to those of us who live here, Canberra is a vibrant place with many faces. 

 

Lessons learned from being guest blogger at the 2015 Canberra Film Festival

I was very lucky to have been invited to be a guest blogger for this year's Canberra Film Festival with my daughter, Ellen. 

The 2015 Canberra Film Festival was very enjoyable. I loved the new venue at the National Sound and Film Archive - the film screen is second to none. The program was interesting. The greater emphasis on local film makers and documentaries from the Asia region was a change from the more main stream films that have been shown in previous years. I certainly had my eyes opened by some of the documentaries, and the local films illustrated the fabulous talent of film makers that live and work in Australia.

Being a guest blogger for a film festival is great fun, not least because I got to see films than I normally would not go to see. At the same time, it was tiring because there was a pressure to get reviews written in a timely way. I found it a challenge to write the reviews in a way that demonstrated I knew about film-making but bringing a personal slant. Rotten Tomatoes was a useful resource to check out what professional film reviewers thought about a particular film. But inevitably, my opinion differed from the general view on that website, probably because I am not a film professional, and was writing purely from an emotional point of view, as opposed to a more technical one.

Here are the reviews that Ellen and I wrote about the films we saw.

The festival has now finished, and I am feeling a degree of film withdrawal. But I am reassured knowing that two outdoor cinema seasons are coming up -  Ben and Jerry's Outdoor Cinema and Sunset Cinema.

What would be your review of the latest film you have watched?

Community garden plot all planted up for the summer

 

I am extremely excited to have taken procession of a plot in a community garden. I got my poor hubby to dig it over and we've prepared it with compost, horse manure and mulch, and are all ready to go with growing stuff.

We've planted:

• tomato plants grown from seeds and 2 tomato plants that we've bought from a nursery;
•  2 cucumbers;
• 2 chilli plants we've bought, and 1 plant I've grown from seed;
• 2 egg plants;
• 2 melons;
• 2 capsicums; and
• a lavender bush to attract bees.

The plot gets a lot of sun so will need lots of watering in the summer months. But we're noticing that we have a lot of worms in the soil which is a good thing, and the chilies and capsicums are already thriving.

Do you have any tips on how to maintain a small, raised garden bed?

New sport facility for Canberra

 A permanent Petanque piste was opened in Western Park, Canberra last weekend.

Petanque is a French sport which is growing in popularity in Australia. It has been played in Canberra for some years by the Capital Petanque Club at various locations, but there hasn't been a permanent location until now.This has been remedied by the ACT Government who has funded the building of a permanent piste in Western Park. The piste was opened on Sunday by the ACT Chief Minister, Shane Rattenbury, as part of an upgrade of Western Park.

Petanque is a great game that can be played by anyone. It can be anything from a gentle leisure activity played at a picnic to a fiercely strategic game contested at international competitions.

The new piste is fabulous. It's just over the road from Lake Burley, and BBQ and toilet facilities. There's nothing nicer than playing in the late afternoon, being surrounded by feeding kangaroos.

 
The piste at Western Park is open to anyone to use at any time. If you want to play with people who have some expertise and can show you what to do, you are very welcome to come along on Sunday afternoons at 5pm (in the summer) and any time after 4pm on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Full details about the Canberra Petanque Club can be found at the club's website: http://www.capitalpetanque.com

Have you ever played Petanque? How did you get on?

Are you ready for the 2015 Canberra International Film Festival?

My daughter, Ellen, and I have been asked to be a social reporter for this year's Canberra International Film Festival, CIFF 2015. I was delighted to agree to take on this role because I am a huge fan of CIFF, however, I was a little perturbed when I saw this year's program.

It appears that CIFF has significantly changed its focus. Gone are the European and American films. This year's program is made up of Asian, Australian Indigenous and Canberra films. To be honest, I wasn't sure how I felt having main stream films removed from the festival. I have spoken to a few CIFF stalwarts, who have not welcomed this change. 

I put this concern to Andrew Pike, who is the festival manager. Andrew replied that this year's festival program is about getting back to a more traditional feel for a film festival and giving people access to films they are highly unlikely to see in the main stream cinema. In particular, CIFF 2015 is focusing on local Canberra film-makers with the aim of putting "Canberra" back into "Canberra Film Festival".

The program managers are very passionate about film and this year's festival and Andrew told me to trust them and go along for the ride.

So I am going to take Andrew at his word.

I hope you enjoy hearing about the films Ellen and I go to see over the next few days on the CIFF 2015 blog.

Experimenting with an inground compost

One of the disadvantages of living in a flat, as opposed to a house with a garden, is that I cannot do anything useful with my food scraps. Now I have my little plot in the Kingston community garden, I can go back to saving food scraps for compost.

 One of the gardeners in Kingston has recommended that I try to develop an in-ground compost system. This requires "planting" a plastic container in the plot, with its bottom removed, like this upside down ice cream container. It needs a lid that can be removed. Waste food then goes into the container. Hopefully, worms make their way to the food  and break it down, and then the material is placed around plants to nourish them. 

You can buy the containers from places like Bunnings. I am using an ice cream container but I think it is going to be too small and I might need to progress to a larger container.

Have you ever used an in-ground compost system, or worm farm? How did you get on? 

Got me a plot in a community garden!

I moved to Canberra three years ago, and have recently bought a flat that is currently being built on the edge of Lake Burley. Whilst I am looking forward to moving in, I am very sad that I will no longer have a garden. So, luckily for me, I recently found a community garden nearby in Kingston, and I have been fortunate enough to have been allocated a plot that I can use for as long as I wish.

The plot isn't too large - big enough for me to potter about and keep me out of mischief. I am a lazy gardener - I like to grow plants but not so keen on weeding and all the maintenance work that a garden needs. So I was grateful to my hubby who came down and fixed the plot frame which had started to come apart, and readied the plot for planting.

The garden has a strict organic policy so I am having to find out what makes the best organic fertilizer. And another challenge is to work out how best to compost my waste food and utlise the power of worms. I have been introduced to the concept of the in-ground worm farm, which I hope to introduce to the plot.

My hubby bought me a plastic green house which I have been making use of on my flat balcony to get chilli and tomato seeds started. I think I'll grow from seeds, getting started in the greenhouse and then moving the seedlings down to the plot when they are ready. Hopefully, I'll be able to grow vegetables all year round.

As for this summer, I am going to try tomatoes, chilies, cucumber and capsicum. I am also going to try to grow some herbs, parsley, basil and coriander, because I haven't had any luck so far growing them in pots.

I have been learning about companion planting so am going to mix in some french marigolds. I also want to attract bees to the garden, so will either plant a lavender bush or sage - I haven't made up my mind what to try. What other flowers could I plant that are pretty and also good for attracting bees and butterflies?

The big challenge will be keeping the plot well watered, especially in the depth of the hot Canberra summer. So the next thing I want to do is investigate watering systems.