Creative PennyG

Monday, 19 February 2018

Catching up on Reading

My time is currently absorbed in a writing project for a dear family friend, a memoir of his experiences in the second world war. As of this morning I had typed 145,000 words and it is a challenging project (much of it is hand written), exhausting but also intriguing, sad, funny and downright interesting.

The pile of books on my bedside table has been languishing because I can't bear to read any more after an engrossing session reading about the war. But as therapy, I have managed to finally finish four books I started some weeks ago.

Truly inspiring, Leonardo was a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer and anatomist all rolled into one. This wonderful biography is packed full of his illustrations and art and is a book I will refer to time and again.

I'm a big fan of both Michael Crichton and Robin Cook; their medical thrillers are fabulous. But I think Ken McClure could possibly beat them both. I read these two each in one sitting - I simply couldn't put them down.

Hypocrites' Isle exposes the desperate paradoxes of the medical research industry and the hidden politics of drug manufacturers. Fascinating. Wildcard is part of the Steven Dunbar series; in this book Dunbar investigates the source of an outbreak of an unknown virus first thought to be Ebola and discovers a shocking truth. Amazing.

And now for something completely different. A friend gifted me The Little Library Cookbook by former Queenslander, now Brit Kate Young, for Christmas. Aside from the recipes of these wonderful foods there is much to be learned from the plethora of novels from which they come. A joy to read and I'm certainly looking forward to making some of the recipes.

And now its back to the project...

Tuesday, 16 January 2018

New year, new reading challenges

I can't believe we're already halfway through January and I haven't yet blogged for 2018. Well, here's what I've been reading so far this year.

I began with The Birdman's Wife by Melissa Ashley, a book of creative non-fiction based on the life of the very talented Elizabeth Gould, wife of the famous zoologist John Gould. The book traces Elizabeth's life, her marriage, children and her career as an artist and covers the couple's ornithological adventures around the world including in Tasmania. Beautifully written and extensively researched, this is a book I could certainly read again - I loved everything about it.

For a change of pace I then read Dregs by Norwegian author Jorn Lier Horst, one in a series of crime novels featuring Detective William Wisting. I can't wait to read more of Horst's work.

A friend lent me Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier. I have spent the last year researching and writing about extinction and de-extinction and I seem to attract books that delve into these kinds of topics. This is one such book. It is historical fiction based on the life of Mary Anning who was a fossil hunter in the early 1800s. Wonderful story, fascinating topic.

And I have just begun the real challenge for the early part of this year; a biography of Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson, famous for his biographies of Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin. Isaacson based the book on thousands of pages from Leonardo's notebooks and as I am a fan of da Vinci's work - not just his art but his studies of anatomy, fossils, botany, geology and of course his amazing inventions - I can't wait to get into it.

Happy New Year everyone - and good reading in 2018!

Thursday, 7 December 2017

Daring in Dubai...

We visited Dubai twice and our first experience was a not-to-be-forgotten afternoon shore excursion from the cruise ship. We were picked up in a Landcruiser along with our friends Irene and Andrew, and a couple from Perth and driven, in convoy, to the desert. First we visited a camel farm and then our driver (from Pakistan) let down the tyres of our 4WD, a top-of-the-range Landcruiser equipped with roll bars. He proceeded to drive us up and over the sand dunes at a fast pace with one hand on the steering wheel while the other changed gears.

Along the way we spotted local wildlife including the oryx and the gazelle, and the odd camel or two. Finally we came to a stop to view an amazing sunset and then drove on to a Bedouin camp for dinner. Like an oasis, this wonderful enormous soft-walled structure was literally in the middle of nowhere. It comprised a series of tents, red carpeted floors and low trestle tables with cushions, all under soft lighting. What a sight! There were approximately 90 Landscruisers parked outside from four different companies so we estimated there were at least 500 people inside!

Before dinner camel rides were offered, so Penny joined Irene and Andrew whilst Jim took photos. The food was delicious - entree of goats cheese and spinach wraps, chicken kebabs and lamb balls; main course was roast beef, chicken and lamb with salads, hummus (the best we've tasted), tabbouleh, rice and olives. And even though alcohol is not available for sale in the UAE, we were granted a glass each of beer and wine which was local and of good quality.

After dinner Penny had her hand henna tattooed by a local woman and watched a man making bottles of coloured sands. Then a belly dancer entertained us before we departed back to the ship.

Gazelle

Jim, Penny, Andrew and Irene at our Landcruiser

Oryx

A common sight in the desert

Camels waiting to be ridden

What a ride!

Henna tattooing

Coloured sand bottling

Belly dancing

Seated at the table on cushions on the floor for dinner

The following day we docked in Abu Dhabi and this time left early on a shore excursion entitled 'A Day in the Desert'. Again we joined Irene and Andrew in the Landcruiser, this time with a couple from Japan. Our first stop was another camel farm where Penny got to know a baby camel. Then it was on to the racetrack to watch camels racing and training, just like racehorses.

This time our driver (also from Pakistan) was considerably more adventurous than our previous driver. So in the desert he drove super fast up incredibly high sand dunes and often sideways on the way down with sand flying in all directions. We raced around corners and swerved on the flatter ground. All we could see was sand in any direction; no trees and no buildings. We were truly in the desert.

The ride was both terrifying and exhilarating, and there was much screaming and laughter, particularly from the Japanese. The worst part was seeing the vehicle in front careering around a dune, and knowing we were next!

Finally we pulled into another Bedouin camp for a salad lunch - supplied, no less, by DOME coffee shop.

On the racetrack

At the camel farm

Relief at the end of our 4WD adventure

At Abu Dhabi we took a shuttle back to Dubai and spent three days in this wonderful city. The first day we walked the old town and visited the fantastic Dubai Museum which is situated inside a fort built in the late 1700s, the oldest building in the city. It is packed full of wonderful life-size dioramas detailing the history and culture of the city as well as tools, weapons and even boats. We then walked down to the river through the old souk and lunched at a local restaurant where we took in the cool breeze off the water.

Ancient Arab weapons

Some of the life-size dioramas

Water taxi in old Dubai

Lunch at Bayt al Wakeel restaurant

The following day we took the metro to the biggest shopping centre in world - Dubai Mall - and toured the amazing aquarium and underground zoo which sits right in the middle of the centre. From the railway station, we walked 1km in air-conditioned comfort along travelators to the Mall, viewing the very modern Dubai along the way.