I arrive in Canberra at 3.45pm. It’s Christmas Eve. Jenny is there, and I’m thrilled I flew in.
I discover we’re going to Kieran & Viccie’s for dinner. Viccie’s sisters are here from England. Viccie’s working, so her sisters make everything beautifully, including the most scrumptious Apple Pie we’ve ever eaten. The table’s beautifully set, and Jenny takes a photo. The highlight for everyone is that we’ve brought along ‘Poppy’, who everybody loves!
I was thrilled you’d suggested we go to the National Museum to see the Roman Exhibition. This entire exhibition was on loan from the British Museum. I found it enthralling. Advertised as ‘Rome, City & Empire’, the highlights for me were an ancient carved marble head of a woman resembling Cleopatra; a Pompeii frieze; and a gold-&-jasper ring depicting Mark Antony. The statues and stories of everyday life were captivating.
In the foyer of the National Museum were various displays. This one, of an old FJ Holden and Caravan, pleased us as Mum & Dad had an old Holden and Caravan just like it.
You also took me to the National Gallery, to see the pre-Raphaelites – on loan from the Tate. I thought this an amazing, bold exhibition, covering such subjects as poetry, literature and the Bible – in fairly avant-garde ways. I loved the works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and the works of Millais, like ‘Sophie Gray’, and his iconic ‘Ophelia’, the face of this exhibition.
