Nimi Khanna planned and choreographed this wonderful party. She wanted our evening beside the Taj Mahal to be devoted to “amoré”.
The Taj Mahal stands to celebrate the matchless love Emperor Shah Jahan had for his Queen Mumtaz. The famous Bengali poet, Tagore, describing Shah Jahan’s grief on Mumtaz’ death, wrote “Running tears turned his garment white” and the rest of the court followed suit. As did we!
We alighted from our white-draped rickshaws walking through white-uniformed horse guards with spears held high and up a path lit by hundreds of white candles. We lounged on white bolsters under a new moon with plenty of cold Kingfisher and platters of prawn, chicken and beef kebabs from the kitchen of Sheraton’s famous Bukhara Restaurant watching Alan “performing” a recitation of Tagore’s poem.
At every mention of Mumtaz, my sister-in-law Jenny, demure in white, could be seen being attended to by her hand maidens behind semi-transparent Indian blinds and a curtain of threaded white flowers. Can you imagine 18 men remaining silent in rapt attention during a poetry reading? It was either the numbing effects of the cold Kingfisher beer, or dare I say, the performer himself!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Syria and Jordan Holiday
One of the best holidays I've shared with Pam and Ken Turner was to spend Christmas in Amman, Jordan with Midnight Mass at Mt Nebo in a Franciscan Church built on the spot overlooking thte Jordan Valley where Moses saw the Promised Land. And then to get to Damascus in Syria for New Year's Eve was terrific.
Our stay in Syria draws to a close on New Year’s Eve. We’re off early in the morning for Dubai and really want a simple drink and a sandwich. No such luck – The Four Seasons has been transformed for ‘party time’ and only six-course dinners in all their food outlets. Of course we succumb and end up in red or black top hats with a glamour crowd, but not blowing paper whistles. The patrons in the Four Seasons on such a night are living in a parallel world – a glamourous one, while the average Syrian family still observes New Year’s Eve enjoying special food and warm celebration in the home.
Our stay in Syria draws to a close on New Year’s Eve. We’re off early in the morning for Dubai and really want a simple drink and a sandwich. No such luck – The Four Seasons has been transformed for ‘party time’ and only six-course dinners in all their food outlets. Of course we succumb and end up in red or black top hats with a glamour crowd, but not blowing paper whistles. The patrons in the Four Seasons on such a night are living in a parallel world – a glamourous one, while the average Syrian family still observes New Year’s Eve enjoying special food and warm celebration in the home.
Michael's 65th Birthday Celebrations in India - 2007
Friends always ask me about the trip we took to India to celebrate my 65th birthday. It will be a difficult 'show' to repeat for any future birthday celebrations. Enjoy some of the photos from the Indian Wedding Party that we arranged at Kanota Fort in Jaipur for Lee and Annabel Campbell.
'Encore' Apartment and Morning Walks in Rushcutters Bay Park
I'm preparing to go overseas for seven weeks. I want to take some pictures of where I live to show friends along the way.
MY NEW CANON G10 CAMERA
Friends have asked me how I am capturing these photos and videos. I am using the Canon G10, which is a size below their entry SLR. It's handy for travel and as you can see, the functionality is quite impressive.
Here are some still life pictures of fruit and flora that have taken my eye.
Here are some still life pictures of fruit and flora that have taken my eye.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Kings Cross Food Fair
I've started honing my skills on recording some beautiful music at St Canice's, but now I think it’s time I found a new subject to photograph/video.
I went to the Kings Cross Food Fair this afternoon after Mass – but the people milling around the stalls made it a bit difficult to manoeuvre. I took some still shots of the activity and people I knew (or didn’t know). Here is a link from Picasa web album for you to get the feel. If you click on it, you can see the captions for each shot.
The crowd was so different to the weekly Food Market on a Saturday - or perhaps not as familiar. I'm in the habit of patronising a few local eating places and it was good to see others of the area offering samples of what they can do. I know I will now try Jimmy Lik on Victoria Street after trying their crab and chicken salad with the asian touches of lemongrass, coconut, Thai Basil and mint; I will also go back to Darling Point to Bei Amici for the first time in ten years after their delicious roast pork panini. Of course, I had to visit Haru from the restaurant in my building - his fresh garlic prawns were top notch.
If I had a longer Sunday afternoon, I might have put all this in a blog – my newly discovered communication device. IDEA!!!! Why not? Let’s see how quick I can be. There goes my afternoon sleep.
OK! From the thought forming to this moment is 40 minutes. And you have my thoughts, pictures, videos and all - IN ONE BLOG!
I went to the Kings Cross Food Fair this afternoon after Mass – but the people milling around the stalls made it a bit difficult to manoeuvre. I took some still shots of the activity and people I knew (or didn’t know). Here is a link from Picasa web album for you to get the feel. If you click on it, you can see the captions for each shot.
The crowd was so different to the weekly Food Market on a Saturday - or perhaps not as familiar. I'm in the habit of patronising a few local eating places and it was good to see others of the area offering samples of what they can do. I know I will now try Jimmy Lik on Victoria Street after trying their crab and chicken salad with the asian touches of lemongrass, coconut, Thai Basil and mint; I will also go back to Darling Point to Bei Amici for the first time in ten years after their delicious roast pork panini. Of course, I had to visit Haru from the restaurant in my building - his fresh garlic prawns were top notch.
If I had a longer Sunday afternoon, I might have put all this in a blog – my newly discovered communication device. IDEA!!!! Why not? Let’s see how quick I can be. There goes my afternoon sleep.
OK! From the thought forming to this moment is 40 minutes. And you have my thoughts, pictures, videos and all - IN ONE BLOG!
Another Sunday at St Canice's
Our cantor this morning was Catherine De Luca with a wonderful soprano voice. She sings with the Sydney Symphonia choir.
Today I went into the choir loft and managed to capture the Gloria from the Christopher Willcock’s “Missa Messina” on my little Canon G10 camera. He is a Jesuit and a prolific composer. Father Steve is 'loyal to the brand' and likes this Mass played even though some of the hymns are patchy in content and are long. (Better than the wailing Whilomena’s with the overhead projector that Anne has to contend with at the Gold Coast though.)
The Psalm “Let us Rejoice” shows Catherine's wonderful soprano voice to advantage.
It's interesting to hear the same Psalm as sung by the young tenor, Marcus Bortolotti at Mass a couple of Sundays ago too.
I photographed a solo by Catherine of “The Lord is my Shepherd” – the arrangement that is the theme of the TV series “The Vicar of Dibley” with Christine accompanying her on the piano. The children and other noises spoil what could have been very nice on this Good Shepherd Sunday. There's also some clicks in the recording. And I can’t edit these flaws out on the recently discovered Windows Movie Maker software in Microsoft Office 2007 recently installed on my computer. It takes .avi and .wav files but not .MOV format files that my camera uses.
Overall the quality of the video is not as good as last week because being up in the organ loft I am too far away to get a good focus. Also, I think the balance of sound among the organ, cantor and congregation is heavily biased in favour of the organ - my being in such close proximity.
After Mass, we are treated to a solo on the organ by Christine. Today "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" (Handel) and "Ode to Joy" (Beethoven).
Today I went into the choir loft and managed to capture the Gloria from the Christopher Willcock’s “Missa Messina” on my little Canon G10 camera. He is a Jesuit and a prolific composer. Father Steve is 'loyal to the brand' and likes this Mass played even though some of the hymns are patchy in content and are long. (Better than the wailing Whilomena’s with the overhead projector that Anne has to contend with at the Gold Coast though.)
The Psalm “Let us Rejoice” shows Catherine's wonderful soprano voice to advantage.
It's interesting to hear the same Psalm as sung by the young tenor, Marcus Bortolotti at Mass a couple of Sundays ago too.
I photographed a solo by Catherine of “The Lord is my Shepherd” – the arrangement that is the theme of the TV series “The Vicar of Dibley” with Christine accompanying her on the piano. The children and other noises spoil what could have been very nice on this Good Shepherd Sunday. There's also some clicks in the recording. And I can’t edit these flaws out on the recently discovered Windows Movie Maker software in Microsoft Office 2007 recently installed on my computer. It takes .avi and .wav files but not .MOV format files that my camera uses.
Overall the quality of the video is not as good as last week because being up in the organ loft I am too far away to get a good focus. Also, I think the balance of sound among the organ, cantor and congregation is heavily biased in favour of the organ - my being in such close proximity.
After Mass, we are treated to a solo on the organ by Christine. Today "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" (Handel) and "Ode to Joy" (Beethoven).
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