2008
The Carnival is Over
22 October 2008
The carnival is over - now I have to get on with the rest of my life. It’s the morning after - four days of constant intellectual stimulus, sheer good fun and interesting company. We have discussed the big issues of the world here in tiny Bali – ethics of capital punishment, future of religious tolerance in Indonesia in the face of Islamic fanaticism, the conservation of the forests and the tiny population of Bali starlings, how to alleviate poverty in the slums of Africa. And we have covered the not so big issues of what the travel writers pack when they go on assignment and where is there left to go. Tony Wheeler has most recently been in Russia seeing off a privately paying cosmonaut ($30 million fare) into outer space. Is their next Lonely Planet guide going to be a Guide to Outer Space?
The last day started for me with a session called “Brilliant at Breakfast” – a paying event at Terazo - my favourite classy restaurant in Ubud. The best breakfast I’ve had in years too, with eggs benedict, mango yoghurt and croissants, as well as the usual array of tropical fruits and Balinese breakfast nasi goreng. But it was the accompanying Oz performing poets (and one milder, gentle Irishman) –sexy Edwina Blush – more in her element than interviewing notable writers!! Also Tug Dumbly and Benito di Fonzo who are apparently very well known to ABC Triple J radio listeners (but not Radio National ones like me!) and I presume, to those who hang out in Newtown’s late night venues. Their very clever poems were mostly on alcohol and hangover themes and extremely crude but very, very funny. I have bought one of Tug’s CDs. His letter to his liver was a marvel! But it was the delivery – hilarious expressions and actions. Haven’t had so much fun at breakfast in my life – and it went on till 11.30!!
The writer who most impressed us is a young Tamil Malaysian woman, living in Singapore called Shamini Flint – a real live wire. An ex-lawyer, married to an Englishman, she now writes detective novels (I have one and am loving it) and illustrated children’s books – a delightful series starring her daughter Sasha in all sorts of places in Asia (I have bought the one where Sasha visits Bali for Jasmin) – Sasha is a non-specific Asian child in the drawings, and the aim is to help English-speaking Asian children feel part of their region, despite their European style upbringing. Shamini has also written a novel for 12-year olds, Animal Talk, about saving threatened species like the orangutan – went to the launch yesterday evening and it was enormous fun – Alex was there with the boys who had already met Shamini at a children’s session. I am hoping to get her books into Australian primary schools where they teach Indonesian.
The last event I attended was the grand launch of the four volumes of Australian expat artist, Donald Friend’s diaries – held at the 5-star Alila hotel way, way out of Ubud – but it was a shambles. All the high society of Seminyak and Sanur expats were there – including friends Pete and Chris and Ron Harrison, as well as Writers Festival people – it was just that the program had given a time an hour later than the readings from the diary were to begin – and we all turned up when it was almost over. It was held in a small airless room with no windows and poor AC. I managed to slip in and perch on the end of a sofa for the last half hour of the 1.5 hour session so got to hear some of the fine voice of the reader taking excerpts from various periods of Friend’s life – he has a beautiful literary style for a painter! (Needless to say, no excerpts that might have revealed his predilection for young Balinese boys were read out!!) However the crowd gathering outside, jammed into the hallway unable to get in were making a lot of noise and the reader was getting very angry and pausing for long periods mid-sentence – but there was no one outside to move the crowd away and nowhere for them to go anyway. When the reading was over we all crushed into the small gallery for the opening of an exhibition of paintings and old Holdsworth Gallery posters that were very familiar to me. (I went to those exhibitions there, around the corner from me in Paddington, in the 80s.) However the Alila gallery too was so stuffy and overcrowded and none of us could hear the speaker, nor get close enough to a painting to take it in. Spent most of the time outside sipping on a very welcome beer, talking to Pete and Chris and Ron. Vern was there too, having been too frail and lacking in energy to attend any of the festival till then.
I forwent the farewell party at Antonio Blanco’s studio, having been disgusted last time, at the blatant hagiography of the place, now a mausoleum for the dead and (to me) talentless painter with an outrageous ego when he was alive. He had a lovely, kind Balinese wife though, who was always charming to us when we made family visits years ago. Maybe last night's party was better than former years – will find out today from others who went.
Josh took Jasmin to a puppet show related to the children’s program of the festival yesterday afternoon and said she is much better – thank god- and will probably be at kindy today – will go up and see her there, after I send this. Still had a cough though.
I forwent the farewell party at Antonio Blanco’s studio, having been disgusted last time, at the blatant hagiography of the place, now a mausoleum for the dead and (to me) talentless painter with an outrageous ego when he was alive. He had a lovely, kind Balinese wife though, who was always charming to us when we made family visits years ago. Maybe last night's party was better than former years – will find out today from others who went.
Josh took Jasmin to a puppet show related to the children’s program of the festival yesterday afternoon and said she is much better – thank god- and will probably be at kindy today – will go up and see her there, after I send this. Still had a cough though.