On the way back to the station we went in to see the famous picture of Chloe at Young and Jackson's pub opposite Flinders street station. It was a revelation. The hotel was really nice inside and the painting was beautiful. This is an iconic painting at an iconic pub in Melbourne. The painting has an interesting history. The nude figure offended the matrons of Melbourne in 1909.
I spent most of Saturday organising get togethers for the Wild Women, a group I am a part of and who have been friends for 25 years. Needless to say we are not so wild anymore but we have found new family responsibilities and travelling, as well as work getting in the way of keeping in touch. Some of the group are going through very tough times and are missing the support we used to give each other. We used to all meet regularly once a month but that has drifted due to changed circumstances. We aren't there for each other like we used to be.Then it was back to work such as marking and the ALIA accreditation panel work.
I took a break to catch a movie with Janine and a quick Chinese dinner. Next day it was Yum Cha with nephew Martin down from Sydney and brother in law Robert and his wife Wanda, my Nick and his partner Bec then back to work again.
When I checked my emails I had one from my dear French friends, Monique and Michel who had just completed the Via de la Plata. I was so excited and pleased for them. They had experienced unexpected cold like me and said they had walked "1000.3 kilometres and were a bit tired" ! What an understatement after 44 days walking. Coincidently, while I was checking the times for the "Woman in Gold" movie I had noticed another movie about walking the Camino. Naturally I was interested and got side tracked looking up information about it. Janine said she was interested in seeing it and assured me she wasn't bored stupid by my rapturous recollections of my two Caminos.
We managed to fit in an early evening session and I really enjoyed it. The documentary" Walking the Camino: six different ways" brought so many memories back and I felt quite teary and emotional. Better still Janine found it illuminating and then wanted to discuss some questions afterward so we went to our favourite Lygon street cafe, the Copperwood to share wine and Pizza. The movie is less the travel log than an investigation of the spiritual/emotional aspects of the walk.
It left me rather unsettled and almost desperate to undertake another walk. I feel fettered by work again which is really silly because life is nowhere like it was before I walked last year. It reminded me though about keeping it simple. Work and minding Ziggy have taken up my free time again. That balancing act is so hard to maintain. I also contribute to the intensity by not managing my time as effectively as I should.
It left me rather unsettled and almost desperate to undertake another walk. I feel fettered by work again which is really silly because life is nowhere like it was before I walked last year. It reminded me though about keeping it simple. Work and minding Ziggy have taken up my free time again. That balancing act is so hard to maintain. I also contribute to the intensity by not managing my time as effectively as I should.Next I was back to work and managed to knock off three more TAFES. What I didn't get to was my painting. That was disappointing.
This week seems to have too many appointments, work requirements and a forthcoming holiday with Mum making me feel somewhat overstretched. Deadlines, deadlines preying on my mind. I keep remembering how free or comfortable I felt when I had no deadlines. That almost twelve month break has left me less able or less willing perhaps to ratchet up my efforts. Once you have tasted the freedom it is hard to go back if you don't need to.
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