Sunday, August 12

Yes,it's me again back after 6 months of not writing anything on the blog.  At the time, I was pretty involved in study and bored with the task of trying to find time to write down all the things that were running around in my brain.  I'm also finding it more and more difficult to type as the arthritis gradually takes over the joints of my fingers; however, chatting with a friend the other day he announced to me that he was writing a book and was using a program to convert his words into text so I thought I would give it ago with the blog and this is my first attempt.

One of the things we have become interested in is an old Art Deco theatre which has been restored in Launceston.  It was opened in 1937 and, for many years, was the store for the Saint Vincent de Paul Society.  A group of locals took it over a year or two ago and with a bit of a grant from the government have restored to its former glory.  Upstairs, there is traditional theatre seating but with upgraded sound, and downstairs is an open with lounges and lounge chairs and beanbags.  The screen has been made larger and it's really quite a good experience. There is a cafe in the foyer and if we don't fancy a movie we pop in to have a coffee from time to time.

On one of our visits we noticed that there was to be a fundraiser for the Tamar Valley Peace Trust who were organising a peace festival.  I've been to Peace Festivals before but this a modern version, more like a Community Festival to welcome new immigrants and involve local international groups.

The Star Theatre showed the film Pride with the proceeds going to the festival.  What a fantastic film!  It's a story about the coal miners' strikes in Britain during the 1980s and how a group of gays and lesbians in London raised money to help the miners.  It's based on real people and the film ends with a run-down on what has happened to them in the intervening 30-odd years.

It's the midst of winter here in Launceston and so we are often reluctant to go out at night but the Peace Festival had invited Brendan Nelson as a guest, so we braved the elements to hear him speak.  He spoke for an hour without pausing and without notes.  I hadn't remembered that he was brought up in Launceston, had his first GP practice in Hobart and became President of the AMA while still a resident in this state.  I could say a lot more about his talk, and might do so in the next post.