Singular Scene

So Singular in Each Particular

You’re Going Where?

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Canberra, the nation’s capital seems to have a bit of a bad rep as the bottom drawer of holiday destinations.  I understand this, I mean, it ain’t exactly the Gold Coast of beaches and bodies in the sub tropics.  But Canberra has its charms.  I mean it, it really does!!

My mate Coldie has come into possession of a new VW Golf. It is a sweeeeet ride, and she wanted to take it for a ‘run’ so we decided we’d go for a mini-break out of Sydney.  Canberra’s a choice because it’s far enough out of town to not feel like Sydney and close enough that you can do it for a day if you REALLY want to…  We opted for an overnighter and as we were sharing expenses we went out on a limb and booked a room here.

[image by superciliousness via flickr]


This art deco styled hotel is the premier hotel in Canberra, and didn’t we feel flash rocking up in the Golf (and me, ever the classy chick.  with my Gap backpack rather than the overnight case as it had been lent out and not returned… *bangs head*).

There are so many things to see and do in Canberra, and as I’m supposed to be working right now rather than blogging, here’s a brief precis of what we got up to.

The National Gallery
The National Portrait Gallery and the exhibition of Vanity Fair photos.  Loved it!
Dinner at the Hyatt, not brilliant, as restaurant/cafe was booked out and they only have one!! Bizarre.
Movies – Coco Avant Chanel.  Seems I’m getting quite a fill of French cinema lately, Coco, Hunting and Gathering, The Chorus are all recent watches and I loved them all!
Sleeping in the delicious beds. There are few pleasures I love more than clean sheets.  Bliss.
Having room service for breakfast. Cost a bomb but all part of the experience!!
The Film and Sound Archive
The National Museum of Australia

The National Museum is a day’s worth of a visit. I could have spent so much longer there than we did but by the end of the weekend were were feeling a fair bit of information overload.

But for all those people who roll their eyes when you say you’re going to Canberra, give them a slap from me… it may not be the ideal destination for a splashy, exotic holiday, however, it is a great place to visit and the fact that all these museums are provided by the people for the people (the only exhibit we paid to see was Vanity Fair) and as they’re all done so well it really is worth the trip.

Next time I really need to get in a visit to Parliament as I’ve been to Canberra many times and haven’t managed to get there… usually because I’m on a time budget and I want to give it full attention!

Of course it has its limitations… coffee was one, pajamas the other… As I have done when visiting Canberra before I left my sleep wear at home… So, had to do a mad late Sat PM trip to the shops to find some… and do you think we could find a thing at Myer or David Jones???  Seemed like it was mid season or something because even to find a cheap pair of flannelette pajamas for a comfortably upholstered individual was impossible.    I ended up with a delightful (and expensive) silk nightie because I couldn’t find anything else before the shops closed.  Turns out it was a big ‘sale day’ and all the good stuff had been put out the back so the retailers didn’t have to discount ‘everything in store’… How rude!!  Still, a silk nightie seemed appropriate for the Hyatt Canberra so I’m not complaining!!

In the next little while I’ll update my Nextstop Page with Canberra recommendations.

Have you got places you love to go that make other people raise their eyebrows??  Spill in the comments so we can all have a shot at trying them out!!

I Started this Post about Sunday

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And ran out of steam.

It was a great day.

I sang in church for the first time in years. In A.Lot.Of.Years.  It wasn’t my usual church (see post below).

It was good.  It felt good.  I’m still not sure what to make of this change.  But I’m sure it will work itself out in the end.

I dreamed about my choir this morning, a huge choir that opened its gorgeous [collective] mouth (as it were) to sing and then my alarm woke me up. I’m still feeling ripped off they looked as though they would have sounded AMAZING.

I sang in church, did I mention that?

Yeah, still trying to figure out how I feel about that…

I watched ‘Glee‘ on TV.  Those channel 10 bastards for teasing us with the show that doesn’t kick off here until September… hey, Channel 10, haven’t you heard of Ninja Video?  Pah.. take THAT.  In any case, I loved it, and would class it as High School Musical for Grown ups. And I’ve never actually seen HSM.  Anyway, any singing thing would be cool with me right now that I have my singing mojo back… oh, any singing thing except Idol… refusing to get caught in that trap for another season.

Anyway, I seem to have picked up steam again… it’s just not about the church thing.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Sinking Sand

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Originally Published at the wiblog (old blog) on June 28th.

You’ve likely heard that hymn, right?

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;

All other ground is sinking.

I’m thinking about it today because there has been some growing upheaval in my world and I’m trying to negotiate it all. It isn’t that my faith is being tested really, which is why this hymn’s appropriate, my solid rock is firm, it’s just that, unfortunately the sweetest frame of my church and church leaders has had my trust in it rather badly dented and, quite frankly, it has me quietly withdrawing from much that goes on there, and even occasionally going elsewhere to worship.

Can you imagine the internal conflict that goes with that? It challenges all sorts of beliefs and paradigms I’ve had be those before coming to Sydney or after, and while I’m not in any way dragging down the church as a whole, or even really the genuine intentions of the leadership, but it has become increasingly challenging for me to have knowledge of what goes on behind closed doors which causes me to lose my trust in that which I hear from the pulpit. (Now, as I’m aware that there are those of you who actually know the congregation of which I speak, I want to categorically state that I’m in no way making accusation of any kind of scandalous impropriety in any of the leaders etc.)

In broad strokes, the area in which I’m finding the most conflict is this. We are an apostolic church with a vision to influence the city we’re in (and by extension the world) for Christ. We want for people to see the great change in their personal worlds, to give them the opportunity to meet Christ and find his plan/path/vision for their life and to see their lives radically changed with the peace, love, and hope that comes with faith in God. Sounds good, right?

They’re all noble goals, to be sure, and I believe them to be good and great and possible but I’m getting increasingly wary of following a massive vision handed down by a leader and the posse of people gathered up behind him. I’m cautious about only hearing the voice of Christ through one man’s vision, I’m questioning the ethos behind the vision becoming more important than the people who are passionate about bringing it about and who’ve given time, energy, money and in some cases their lives, to the service of God through that vision only to be discarded when the vision became about the next generation.

We’re undergoing change, we’re a huge ship being steered into a new course, a new younger, hipper, course and in that process a whole bunch of sterling individuals have found themselves surplus to requirement. The means for effecting this change has been, to put it baldly, pitifully managed. It seems to me that I’m seeing a culture develop where people are disposable and when I’m hearing things to cover those injustices, that sound like “it’s not comfortable, but I believe that “Ps _____” hears from God so we’ll go with it” I get all KINDS of itchy. Yes, I’m sure he hears from God, but I do too. So do you, but to put one’s head up above the parapet to voice any contrary thought or idea is to have the leadership lose faith in you and to fall out of favour and to find yourself leaving the in-crowd for the fringe.

I love the leaders here, I have been loved by the leaders here but I fear that love to be conditional upon my wholehearted support of where we’re going and how we get there and I cannot give it.

And this breaks my heart.