Happy Australia Day!
We went on a special expotition this morning to the State Library of New South Wales to see the “Magic Pudding” exhibit that’s currently running. For those who haven’t heard of it – and I certainly hadn’t before I moved here – The Magic Pudding is an Australian children’s book written in 1917 about a magical pudding (i.e. baked dessert) that you can eat and eat but it never gets smaller. Oh, and he walks and talks and prefers to be called “Albert.” He’s owned by a sailor, a penguin, and a koala, and the band of pudd’n owners are beset by pudd’n thieves at every turn. It’s all food and fighting, which apparently the author (famous artist Norman Lindsay) thought were the things children most related to. (He’s right.) Snookums read it to me over several nights, and I was laughing my head off the whole time. Anyway, the exhibit is of several large watercolours that Lindsay painted of the characters. There are also a few puppets that were created for a famous travelling show based on the book, and a video presentation about the puppets runs on repeat. I absolutely loved the paintings, and I bought a few postcards and a poster. (I have grand plans to knit the pudd’n someday.) We also checked out the other exhibit that’s running: “Bondi Jitterbug”. It’s a collection of photos taken on Bondi Beach in the 30’s and 40’s. The neatest ones are of “beachobatics,” super fit gymnasts and athletes doing acrobatic poses on the beach. Those of you who like stunning B&W photos of half-naked muscle men (*cough* Andrew!) would do well to get over there before it closes.

   

I love pictures you stick your head through. They had a special setup for this one, where you could hit a button to take a digital photo and email it to yourself. The other one is of a knitter(!) balancing a guy on her back on the beach.