Causerie
From my book ‘Lost Words…’ there is the 19th century English word ’causerie’. Coming from the French for ‘talk’ or ‘chat’ – and often used in the context of a …
A COVID Decameron
It is now 100 days (and 100 articles) since Beguidedbyart commenced as a response to the coronavirus lockdown. Giovanni Boccaccio set a precedent for writing 100 stories in ‘The Decameron’ …
Choreomania
When crises are over, people often feel the need to dance. In the closing scenes of the recent satirical antiwar movie, ‘Jojo Rabbit’, Jojo and Elsa dance to celebrate the …
don’t worry
As the number of coronavirus cases trebled in Melbourne this week, other countries struggled with upticks in infections, the economy foundered, and public demonstrations about racism continued, I was reminded …
Here’s looking at you …
From the feedback I have received, ‘Cocktails with a Curator’ from The Frick has proved to be a highlight of the week. While I suspect the reason is the very …
‘The Graftons’
In the introduction to ‘Soap Box’, Hilary Kingsley’s guide to soap operas, Kingsley describes the essence of this type of entertainment as: ‘ it must be a continuing story with …
‘Taking a knee’
What does it mean to kneel? What beliefs or emotions does kneeling communicate to others? The action ‘taking a knee’ has become increasingly common and is now seen around the …
The naked snollygoster
Early this year I bought a book titled ‘Lost Words – Collywobbles, Snollygosters, and other surprisingly useful terms worth resurrecting’ by Joe Gillard. It was the word ‘snollygosters’ that made …
For the person who has everything?
It is the Queen’s birthday long weekend and the annual acknowledgement of our Monarch. As a member of the Commonwealth of Nations we, along with other Commonwealth countries and territories, …
‘the vilest man I have ever known’
Yesterday there was considerable attention given around Australia to the ongoing plight of the Indigenous population. The choice of the date (6 June) was perhaps unintended for its significance, but …