I Must Carry My Camera

I went to a concert at the new Melbourne Recital Centre yesterday afternoon. A friend of mine was singing in "The Cho!r". I wasn't in a particularly good mood when I headed off, and it took more than the usual effort to get myself out the door.

I'd heard a lot about the new Recital Centre--all of it good, but I wasn't sure exactly where it was, nor what it looked like. Well here it is: It was worth the effort of going out for the building itself, let alone the concert! This is the front of the building. The inside is pretty much 100% wood. Beautiful carved natural timber! In fact one of the surprising things about all the talk I've heard about this hall is that it is universally praised, by musicians. The acoustic is brilliant--and that's a rare thing.

Anyway, today I should be made to write out 100 lines, "I must carry my camera. I must carry my camera. I must carry my camera. . . ." There I was with this magnificent, intricate, beautiful building on a clear Melbourne evening and no camera. Not good. At least I had the phone, but when the light is as good as it was and the details as wonderful, the phone isn't quite the thing.

As for textiles, there's a large tapestry in the upstairs foyer from the Melbourne Tapestry Workshop. I'm not too sure of the protocol around that, so I didn't photograph it, but I'd love to find out more.