Apparently today has been the coldest May day here in decades. All I know is it’s wet and cold. Because of this, I’ve had a lazy day today. 

Before the rain set in too much, I visited Heide Museum of Modern Art at Bulleen this morning. Albert Tucker’s works are on display at the moment but what I really loved were the gardens and the old house at Heide I. The library at Heide I was just wonderful. I wanted to sit and browse through all those books but they were behind glass. It was great to get a glimpse of the life of John and Sunday Reed and I could sense their spirit still around the place. It is a place of love, of sorrow, of confused thoughts and a place of refuge for so many of their friends.

I could picture Sunday working in the gardens, of John milking the cows in the old shed. The kitchen gardens are wonderful and make me yearn for that simple life. But while it was simple, there is a richness of thoughts and ideas there too. Of free spirits. The magnificent library shows their thirst for knowledge, their questioning of life.

The Heide web site is here if you want to find out more.

The Doll’s House was John Reed’s old milking shed

The kitchen garden at Heide I

Heide I

Sunday Reed created this heart garden in memory of her love affair with Sidney Nolan

The kitchen garden at Heide II

This shed is beside the Heide II kitchen garden

After I left Heide, I was at a bit of a loose end. I drove around a little bit then found some shops at Camberwell. Not much to see but I came across the Hush Hush cafe hidden away. It was a pleasant spot to get a bit of lunch and a nice coffee. I didn’t know what to do after that but it suddenly occurred to me that I could go see a movie. I managed to find a lovely old cinema at Balwyn. I didn’t have a clue where to park so I parked in a suburban street a couple of blocks away and with my trusty umbrella, I walked back to the cinema. I saw “Mad Bastards” which was a thought provoking movie about the issues of alcohol abuse and the damage it inflicts within the aboriginal community. The movie was set in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

I think that just about wraps up today. Tomorrow morning I leave Melbourne and start to make my way home. I was going to look at Mt Baw Baw and Walhalla on the way but with the reports of snow, maybe it isn’t such a good idea.

One of the Melbourne trams