QUIDAM and other reflections

On Friday night Mark and I went to see Cirque Du Soleil's 'Quidam' under the Grand Chapiteau. It was the most breath-taking and inspiring performance I've ever seen - many of the feats were quite simply, beyond belief. One that completely amazed me was a contortionist who performed upon a cluster of 6-7 metal rods, which looked to be about 1 meter high. Each rod was about 2cm in diameter and at the top of each was a small block that her hands could comfortably wrap around. With grace and incrementally slow movements, she contorted, twisted and strained her body, arching it in directions which, seemed to defy gravity, moving from one rod to another. From the side of the stage, a man dressed in white appeared, bearing another rod, somewhat longer than the others, fitted with a mouth piece instead of a block. He inserted this rod into the stage floor, slightly apart from the other rods, and went away. Meanwhile the contortionist continued with her act... gradually she positioned herself in front of the last rod, in the form of a bent handstand - her arms were positioned as in push up, with her neck outstretched, and face looking forward. Her body was arched up and over - like the letter 'J' but with crouching arms supporting her underneath. Biting upon the mouth piece, flooded with light, her arms, one by one, outstretched behind her and she held the position, biting upon the mouth piece, for what must have been 4-5 seconds - her whole body a single extension of the rod, without any other support. This was just one highlight, but there were many others too... It was a great night. They are going to be in Melbourne next year.

Another highlight of late was my trip to Melbourne in October. I stayed with my sister, her husband and and my little nephews, from the 20-27. When I arrived home in Brisbane I was feeling homesick for Melbourne - for my family and friends. Apart from Sarah and Chris, I didn't catch up with any other friends, although I had intentions too. In the end I had lots of quiet time with family, which was just what I needed. One lovely place I visited on the second last day was Cloud Hill in Olinda. If you are ever out that way, you should call in. It is a garden that was built in the 1930s and is just delightful - full of art work and beautiful established trees. It made me long for a garden in the hills, away from the sub tropical climate of Bris Vegas! They also have a commercial nursery attached, where you can buy garden art that is quite gorgeous. I'll attach some photos so you can see what I'm raving about.