Saturday, October 22nd …..

Australians certainly like to eat and we’re no exception. Today’s program has been arranged around two shared meals: we’ll meet at Old Parliament House for lunch and the Himalaya Restaurant in Manuka for dinner. In between, each host will show us visitors the sights according to what we would like to do. The National Gallery has always been a favourite attraction so we negotiated with Dianne that we would check that out in the morning and make a decision for the afternoon later.

The featured exhibit at the Gallery at the moment is Fred Williams. I’m aware of his work but would only be able to identify his early landscapes and, if I was pressed, I would have to admit that I don’t like them much. What a revelation! In my ignorance I might have avoided the exhibition but I’m glad we didn’t. His earlier work is as I remembered but his later work is subtly different and I loved many of the pieces on display. Certainly, there was any number I would have enjoyed in my home. Unfortunately, the best I can hope to have is a fridge magnet.

Lunch at Old Parliament House was delicious (at least, my Eggs Benedict was) but marred by a less than efficient waitress. However, we must overlook the deficiencies of people in training and enjoy the moment. Steve and Ann had arrived by this stage and we were all delighted to see them. They’ve been busy since we saw them last, having moved house but they are as full of enthusiasm as ever and planning future trip to exotic places. I am particularly impressed that they made the effort to come to the reunion; we’re only one of a number of parties they have led to far-flung places and attending reunions would certainly not be in their job descriptions.

After lunch, we all went our separate ways and we ended up again at the Gallery; to look at a Sidney Nolan exhibit and, especially, the revamped Aboriginal Galleries, which were wonderful. I was delighted to see two examples of bead necklaces made by Lola Greeno, a Tasmanian Aboriginal woman who regularly exhibits at our Craft Fair. It’s good to see that these lesser-known crafts are treated with the respect they deserve.

One of the highlights of the trip was certainly the dinner at Himalaya Restaurant. The chef, Surya Maharjan, has great credentials and he and his wife, Girlie (a filipina he met in Dubai) made us very welcome. The food was outstanding and not at all like the stuff we encountered at various dodgy establishments in Nepal. We all wore hats we had bought in Kathmandu and we reminisced and looked at photographs of our time on the roof of the world.