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The umbrella of history
This week’s Design File is about the Citroen 2CV, the umbrella on wheels that Pierre Boulanger demanded. I have a particular love for this car as it reminds me of my very first ‘continental’ holiday...
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A dance to the music of design
Life is full of surprises. In April 2013 an email was forwarded to me by Janne Ryan, the producer of Radio National’s By Design. It was from Tracks Dance Company in Darwin in Australia’s Top End and I...
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Almost French?
I’m dripping in France at the moment. As I wrote several posts ago, I’m writing a novel set in France, spanning the first fifty or so years of the twentieth century. That’s two World Wars, the rise...
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A grand tour
It’s always difficult returning to Australia after being in Europe because I feel more European than Australian. I spent two weeks in France, mainly in Paris but also in the small village of Vezelay...
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Bastille Day
Well, any excuse to think French…Bastille Day at Opera Bastille, perhaps? I’ll be celebrating with a sip or four of a soft Bordeaux or… Vive la Republique!Filed under: Travel Tagged: France, Paris
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The agony of the First Person novel
I’m in the middle of writing a novel in the First Person. I haven’t written in the First Person before because there are limitations. I like descriptive passages and few people go off on long riffs...
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Design overload?
image-moka-espresso-pot-by-bialetti-kanaka-menehune-flickr-com-cc-by-nc This is a reminder for all design aficionados and social historians that you can find all my spoken pieces for ABC RN’s By...
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Look at me!
I know I’ve posted about doors before (see Abandon Hope) and how important I think they are. I am an unashamed lover of entrances, which is a tricky thing to say with a straight face. What that says...
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Taking the B out of Bland.
Bland buildings are horrible things. The world is full of them. They say ‘this’ll do’ rather than ‘this will make you feel good.’ They make you think that no one cares and you feel cheated,...
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A lesson at Villa Savoye
What makes a house great? I’ve been wondering about this a lot recently because I’m renovating my own house. I’ve been thinking about room sizes and how they interact, materials, window sizes and so...
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Talking Japanese
When I was a boy in the 1960s, anything that said ‘Made in Japan’ meant cheap and nasty. We used to snigger at their cars, too. Japan meant plastic. And yet you can’t study the history of art without...
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Very Inspiring Blogger Award
It was the end of rather a fractious day but then a lovely message popped into my Inbox: France Says had nominated me for a Very Inspiring Blogger Award. I love unexpected gifts like that! And I was...
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House whisperings
It’s the end of the year and I planned a quick post to wish my readers and fellow bloggers a very happy time and perhaps add a few photos from the past year. But then I started thinking about that past...
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It’s my ABC
My first months of living in Australia in the mid 1990s felt like inhabiting some kind of parallel universe. Everything was familiar but not quite the same. Post boxes were red but post was delivered...
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Jean Badovici, mystery man
One of the surprising things about writing a novel set within the last hundred years is how difficult it can be to find out information. It seems like such recent history and yet some people’s lives...
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The waiting game
There’s one aspect of writing that few people mention and that’s all the waiting. I don’t mean waiting for divine inspiration but the plodding, seemingly endless wait for approval. Because when you’ve...
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China syndrome
The joy of travel is all about new experiences and appreciating how others in our tiny world live. I’ve just returned from my first trip to China and I think it’ll take a while to digest everything I...
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Iconic Buildings update
You may not be aware that I am currently doing a series on iconic buildings for ABC Radio National’s Saturday programme Blueprint for Living. You can find podcasts of these on its own Podcasts page...
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France, mon amour!
Visiting some countries just puts a spring in your step. I love seeing new places but there’s one country in particular that always makes my heart sing: France. The moment I land at Roissy and take one...
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A radiant unity
Surrounded by trees, set in parkland… Earlier this year I broadcast a piece on ABC Radio National about Le Corbusier’s Unité d’habitation (listen here). It’s a confronting building for some because a)...
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