Catching Up

I worked all weekend. Which isn't as bad as it sounds. We ran a marvellous conference about memoir and autobiography and it was exciting watching the panel sessions that we'd imagined take shape. I don't think there was a single poor paper and there were many outstanding ones. Nevertheless, I am now exhausted. I didn't think I was but the weariness has crept up on me. Last night I was asleep early with Mr M and tonight I'm already in my pjs and contemplating bed.

The prospect of bed is very tempting as, although I'd read a great deal in preparation for the conference, I added to the book pile beside the bed with some new purchases:

• A Certain Maritime Incident: The Sinking of SIEV X by Tony Kevin (because I really should know more about this horrific incident in recent history)
• The Little Red Writing Book by Mark Tredinnick (because I'm a sucker for writing books)
• Australia's Quarter Acre by Peter Timms (I can think of at least two family members who would be interested in this one), and
• Living Politics by Margaret Reynolds (she spoke so inspirationally about the need to get women involved in public life).

It will be a while before I read these though. I'm going to indulge in some non-work reading. A feast of chick lit. I prepared for it last week when I discovered two novels by Katie Fforde in a second-hand shop we visit semi-regularly. The shop is tucked down an alleyway in Fyshwick, opposite a building supplies storehouse that specialises in recycled materials. The books are light entertainment, romantic comedies set amongst English hedgerows and canals. All the kitchens have Agas (my dream stove) and all the women are fiercely independent. I'm going to indulge in the reader's equivalent of Days of Our Lives for a while. Relaxation for the mind.

TV's Night of Nights

It's Logies night. Both boys are asleep so I've snuck out to the loungeroom to watch a little bit of the Logies. This is a fairly meaningless thing to do because these days I watch very little television. True, I was a committed viewer of Robin Hood (which ended last Sunday night - and how dare they kill off Marion?). But I gave up on East of Everything after episode 2 and I'm hoping that Underbelly will soon be available from the dvd shop otherwise I'll never see it. As for all those soapie regulars - Neighbours, Home and Away, Macleod's Daughters, Sea Patrol - some I've never seen and some I haven't watched for years and years and years.

I have discovered, however, that it's the fiftieth year of the Logies and they are doing quite a bit of 'memory lane' stuff. This at least means that there are some faces I recognise. And John Clarke is being inducted into the Hall of Fame as I type. A worthy recipient. Hamish and Andy are doing the green room interviews. And Adam Hills has made me smile. But who is Lincoln Lewis?

Once upon a time, I would have known most of the nominees in all the categories, except the ones about sport and maybe current affairs. I wouldn't have missed the Logies anymore than I'd have missed the Oscars and I'd watch it from beginning to end. This would be despite the fact that there wouldn't have been a single Australian actor staring down from my bedroom walls. That space was reserved for the 'teen idol' stars of The Hardy Boys, Eight is Enough and the like. I'd probably have bought TV Week the morning after to look again at the frocks and read the behind-the-scenes stories.

Now, though, I'm old, or older. I've become a serious viewer of the ABC. I don't have time in my hectic life to make the kind of commitment series television requires. I have never watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy. I saw part episodes of Ugly Betty but couldn't keep up. And not having access to satellite television, I have a sneaking suspicion that the really interesting Australian programming is happening elsewhere.

Still, love them or hate them, the Logies has provided some memorable moments. Will Susie Eleman ever live down the bald head? And who will ever forget Bert Newton calling Mohammed Ali 'nigger'? Even if we only saw it replayed twenty years later.