Welcome to the Club

 I had lunch with a friend today. We meet up every few weeks. Thankfully they work in an office just across the road from mine so it's easy. Also, the Japanese place in the food court next door is pretty good. We've bonded over bento boxes. Honey soy chicken for them, spicy Bulduk chicken for me. They were champing to provide some information. 

"Well, I have news."

"Good news, I hope? All's well with the cat?"

"Yes, he's great, and I have a story about him, but I'll tell you my other news when we sit down."

We found a table and sat, stripping our chopsticks of their paper shroud, cracking our cans of Coke Zero. 

"It's big news."

"Get on with it." They weren't looking me in the eye, but that was normal. Neither of us are that fantastic with eye contact. 

"Well, with the encouragement and blessing of my partner, I went to seek a diagnosis."

"A diagnosis, I take it, for whether you're a match for the autism spectrum?"

"Yep."

Not so strangely, we clicked almost immediately at work a while ago. They were there when I was filling out the paperwork to get my diagnosis. We talked a lot at the time about they whats, whys and wherefores of searching for answers at the time. They mentioned that in your fifties, what's the point of getting diagnosed as you've worked most of it out. 

"And? How did you go?" I asked, chasing some of the roast vegetables around the box.

"Umm. Well, I'm AUDHD. With a few other letters just for me."

"Like me, but with a few more bits to you, which you can keep. I'm very proud of you," I told them. "How do you feel?"

They smiled. "Vindicated. Heard. Stronger. I'm getting a better understanding of myself. It's like somebody's replaced the light bulb in a dark room."

"Yep."

"And looking back, all the patterns were there."

"Yep"

"And you work out that a heap of your good friends are probably on the spectrum."

"To paraphrase Lewis Carroll, the best people are bonkers." I smiled at them. "I've found this neurodiversity journey very rewarding."

"I know. You helped give me the impetus to seek out the diagnosis. Thank you."

"You're welcome. It's all a part of the toolbox. It helps that we're in our fifties, what the old guard would call high functioning, and self-aware."

And we talked more about the ins and outs of being fairly recent converts to this rather strange neurodiversity club, which gives us some superpowers, and some challenges - as well as a lot of understanding.

"Oh, one thing," I told them, "You might find that the people that you click with might just be in the same boat."

"I'm seeing that already."

"But how good does it feel that the strange little kid, that had few friends, and loved science and dinosaurs, and still thinks going out is one of the most difficult things in the world, and who only eats ice cream with a teaspoon..."

"You only eat ice cream with a teaspoon?" They were incredulous. 

"You'll find out about neurodiversity and cutlery - it's a big thing. Actually, sensory stuff - you know your own quirks - not that you think there's anything strange..."

"Okay..."

"It's a journey. I think you'll like it."

"I think I will too."

Today's song: 

MAFS is Back

 "Now, Pandas, don't tell me you're going to be watching Married at First Sight again?" whine Barney over a text.

Barney doesn't like MAFS. Barney thin MAFS is rubbish. 

Barney is probably right. 

My rebuttal came swiftly.

"Barney. I live alone. It is my television! I will watch what I bloody well like."

There! That told him. 

MAFS is my guilty pleasure. My one bit of reality television that I watch religiously, more as a psychological and sociological experiment than anything else. 

It's so bad, it's good.  

I mean, where else do you get to see these things on your screen?

Veneers

Lip fillers

Fake Boobs

Tattoos

Sure, all of these things are a personal choice, and if people want to spend money on these things, good for them. 

Throw in the narcissistic personality disorders, the traumatised, undiagnosed neurodiverse, the little princesses, the men who are too close to their mothers.... and what do you have?

Oh yeah, him. What's the bet he smells like tuna?

Anyway, I worked late tonight, and MAFS was my little reward. 

Ah the drama. 

We all have our quirks. MAFS is mine. 

And that's all that needs to be said. 

Today's song: 

January Reads-

I've been wanting to do this for a while. Once a month, report back on what I've read and what I thought. Being a new year, it's time to have a look at what I got read over January. I'll go in finishing order. 

Book One

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

4 stars

This was our January book for book group - and the second time I'd read this. Instead of a paper copy, I listened to it on the way back from Adelaide - and it stood up to the second reading. 

It's a genre bending novel, a little bit of science fiction, a bit historical, with a bit of romance mixed in for good measure. You end up sort of falling in love with one of the main characters - Graham Gore, who was an actual person. It made me want to go out and learn more about 19th century polar exhibitions. 

Comes recommended. 

Second book: 

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

5 Stars

Loved, loved, loved this book. Again, I took this in as an audiobook, and it was flawlessly produced. 

And epistolary novel, you follow the life, family and friends of Sybil von Antwerp, a lawyer, judges clerk, a mother and grandmother as she ponders her later years, her life and the things she wishes she could to over. 

It's extraordinary. I was so sad when this finished. 

Highly, highly recommended. 

Third book:

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

5 Stars

Okay, my Shakespearean biases come out here. I'm not normally a Jodi Picoult fan, but I loved this as it took in two of my favourite things, Shakespeare and Theatre, and turned it into something great. Split into two different stories. The first of Melina, a playwright in New York in 2019. The second story looks at Melina's long lost relative, Emilia, a courtesan and writer who was working in the time of Shakespeare. Themes of a woman's role in creativity, sexism, family and friendship are all contained in here. 

I loved it. As a revisionist history, it's the absolute bomb. 

Book Four.

Babel by RF Kuang

4 Stars

I was reticent to read this after reading the author's well-known book, Yellowface - which I really did not like at all. A friend gave me this to read in England, saying, "You'll like this."

I did. 

For fans of Philip Pullman, Babel tells the story of Robin Swift, a boy rescued from the slums of Hong Kong to become a student at the School of Translation in Oxford, where they are housed at the Tower of Babel, which is a part of an alternate Oxford University - just like Pullman. With themes of racism, bettering oneself, fitting in and doing the right thing, this is a long and wordy book, but well with the effort. At 550 densely packed pages, this took me six weeks to read. Rather than race through it, I read a chapter a day and let it permeate my being. 

I can see why it received a British Book of the Year award. It's worth savouring every page. And thankfully, it's nothing like Yellowface. 

Fifth Book

A Guide to Berlin by Gail Jones

4 stars

I picked this up last year, then worked out that one of the things this book was about was the writer, Vladimir Nabokov, writer of Lolita. I got about thirty pages in before working out that I really should fill that reading hole and read Lolita before finishing this book. Which is what I did. 

Lolita is amazing - very disturbing, but the writing....oh my goodness!

Regardless, I came back to finish this. 

It's a slow burn, but Jones' writing is remarkable.

Recommended for more literary readers. It's a gentle novel about travel and friendship in strange places. 

Sixth Book

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

Stars 4.5

Okay, I've always been a huge fan of Geraldine Brooks, and this is up there with her best. (If you haven't read her Year of Wonders, what have you been doing?)

Like By Any Other Name there are a number of converging stories. In modern times, Jess, a scientist working at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. becomes involved in the hunt for answers over some horse bones found in the attic. Bring into this Theo, a Fine Arts PhD candidate who is looking for answers about a painting he found on the side of the road. 

In the 1800s, we meet the slave Jarret, and his foal, Darley, who becomes Lexington, the most famous racehorse in pre-Civil War times, and what happens to this incredible duo. 

My only small criticism of this book is that it closely follows Brooks' formula which she's used on a number of other books - The People of the Book being one of them. However, her fastidious research and wonderful writing shines through. 

In all, January was a great reading month. 

Today's song: 

Movie Review: Hamnet

 Movie Number 7 of 2026

The Movie: Hamnet

The Cinema: Hoyt Victoria Gardens

Runtime: Two hours, five minutes

Stars: 5

"But you've seen this already!" I hear you cry. 

Yes, and I've even reviewed it - the first five-star review of the year. 

Sometimes, it's good see a film for a second time with different people. You gather more information and insights. You get to appreciate some things you might have missed the first-time round or get reminded of the details which you loved - picking up more details of the screenwriter, director and actors' craft. 

I've had a two-week break between viewings. I've taken in some of the online reviews and had some time to think. Was the film emotionally manipulative? Umm, well, have you read the book? Do you know the loose story of Shakespeare's family situation? Have you ever been around anybody who's lost a child? (Heavens, I truly hope not). Aren't people going to find it all a bit depressing? (Again, read the bloody book!)

I must say, it was just as good the second time around. Everything I said in the first review stands. 

Now, as most people who are going to see it in the theatres have seen it, I'll add a few more takeaways from today's viewing. 

Please also remember, I've just finished Jodi Picoult's By Any Other Name, a book which looks at an alternative telling of how Shakespeare's plays came about. Shakespeare is a fairly minor character in the book, which jostles between modern times and Elizabethan England in his own right. Great book. But I've got a bit of Shakespeare running through me at the moment. 

Anyway, what did I notice on this second viewing? What got me? 

So much. 

The muck. The dirty fingernails. The fact that nobody looked clean. The rain on the cobblestones waiting to twist your ankles. The water from the river lapping at the hallway. The scenes in the forest. Magic. 

Jessie Buckley's performance and how she was 100% present in every frame of the film. If you've not seen Jessie Buckley before, she was amazing in Wicked Little Letters and Wild Rose. 

I loved seeing Paul Mescal as a father once again. As Shakespeare, his softness was appreciated. 

And Joe Alwyn as Agnes' brother. Bartholomew - trying not to remember that he was once Taylor Swift's boyfriend. Okay, that might not be a good thing, but he's not bad in this role. 

The small references to Shakespeare's plays, not just the big references, but the smaller quotes and asides that you hear are most wonderful. The normal layman won't twig, and that's okay too. 

Looking at it with fresh eyes, seeing how Agnes was treated in the village was interesting. A woman skilled in healing, she was branded as a witch by association. Of course, I felt that one. Agnes is a quiet powerhouse. Human, vulnerable, but incredibly strong. 

I loved that the boy playing Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe) had is brother on stage playing Hamlet (Noah Jupe). They look like brothers. They are brothers in real life.

The "Get thee to an nunnery!" speech, performed near the end of the film, was loaded like no other scene. Mescal, like Buckley, are both graduates of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). You can see their skill. 

And I loved most of all, the scenes at the end of the film that took place at The Globe Theatre. And I realise how much I miss having the Pop Up Globe here in Melbourne, and being able to see Shakespeare regularly, like I did in London. It's a near cellular ache. Those scenes are magic. 

The only people I wouldn't recommend this film to is to those who have experienced the loss of a child. I fear it would cut far too close to the bone. 

Otherwise, I reckon Jessie Buckley has the Best Actress in the bag  and there's a good chance Hamnet may win Best Oscar and Best Director for Chloe Zhao.

It's worth seeing on the big screen. (And read the bloody book for crying out loud - it's amazing.)

Today's song:

Sunday Stealing Goes Old School

 Today is housework day, so I'll do what I often do with these questions - one job about the house, the do a question. It makes the housework go faster. 

Questions, as always come from Sunday Stealing. 

I am passionate about ...

1) The written world. 

2) Cinema

3) Theatre

4) Abortion rights - and not that you need to ask, but I am very pro-choice. I'm also very thankful that I live in Australia where a woman's bodily autonomy is written into law. 

5) Travelling. Travelling anywhere, to be honest. 

(Now it's time to make my bed.)

 I'd like to learn ...

1) How to play the piano. 

2) Keep a cleaner house (which is a bit impossible for my ADHD brain to manage).

3) How to not have my face express utter boredom when I'm in yet another pointless meeting. 

4) How to have neater handwriting - mine is appalling. 

5) Maybe how to play pickle ball. I don't quite know why - it looks fun. 

(Time to hoover the floors). 

Things I say a lot ...

1) "You stupid piece of plastic crap!" Normally directed at some form of technology which isn't working. 

2) "Big stretch!" Directed at the cat - I think it's law that you have to say that.

3) "Big yawn!" Also directed at the cat, as above. 

4) "No! I don't want to dead ball slams." I HATE dead ball slams. Cleo, my trainer loves them.

5) "I have nothing to read!" Of course, I have plenty to read, but you can never have too many books. 

(Now I'm going to hang out my washing - it's not a bad day for it out there.)

Places I'd like to travel to ...

1)  Vietnam - I'm thinking this might be a great place to go to this year - maybe on an Intrepid Tour.

2) Cambodia - which I'd tag onto the Vietnam trip - only because I want to go to Angkor Wat. 

3) Japan - but there's lots of people there and it seems like everybody is travelling there - but it looks fascinating - and the food is amazing. 

4) Uluru - formerly known as Ayers Rock. Another place for a short Winter trip. It would be good to be back in the Territory again. 

5) And I'd like to go live in France for a few months and see more of the country. I adore Paris, but France has so much to see and experience.

Today's song:

Bend and Stretch

Remember that old tune from Play School? Bend and stretch, reach for the stars, here comes Jupiter, there goes Mars…

Why didn't they tell us we should be doing this regularly from a young age? Or maybe they did and I failed to register this. 

Anyway, one of my goals this year is to get more flexible - metaphorically as well as physically. 

I’m trying, and sometimes succeeding in remembering to do my in stretches. 99s, hip flexors, clam shells, lateral lunges, bridges…. You name it I should be doing it.

But why is it so hard to get down on that bloody yoga mat?

What does anything good for you always have an unpleasant tinge? Why do I avoid this? Even though I know there are great benefits from being flexible? I can’t remember what they are but I know it’s good for you…

Today’s song: 

Not a Movie Review: Melania

 I've got the reputation of seeing every movie I can get my hands on. 

I'll even take one for the team every now and then. I went and saw Cats for heaven's sake! I would have liked Cats more if I had been under the influence of a bit of the wacky backy or a couple of Southern Comfort and cokes. It's a film best seen under the influence. 

But I have found my bridge too far. 

I will not be seeing Melania - the "documentary".

Even though I have a slightly morbid curiosity about the whole thing, I can't do it. If somebody bought me a ticket, I wouldn't do it. I mean, why would I want to go and see this film about Slovenia's most famous expat? I'm told Trump is making his cabinet sit through private screenings. Aren't they lucky?

(I have to admit, she reminds me of a Fembot found in Austin Powers.)

I've got better things to do. 

Like watch Bridgerton. 

Sorry, that Melania film, despite being a fan of very bad films, just cannot be done. 

Oh, fun fact - how many famous Slovenians can you name? Interestingly, if you ask ChatGPT her name does not come up.

Today's song: