Squatter’s rights

Whenever international travelers gather in clusters of two or more, sooner or later the conversation turns to the worst toilets we’ve been confronted with.

I still remember my horror at the first squat toilet I encountered: a public museum in Italy circa 1996. Like most travelers I was wearing jeans and swiftly discovered this was not conducive to the task at hand, or rather, at foot.

If you see this sign in a public toilet, beware! It is not, I REPEAT NOT, a drawing of someone sitting in a go-kart! 

The light on the hill

I’m a sucker for pretty lights. Christmas lights, coloured lights, fairy lights, candle light, there’s something about low lights twinkling and flickering that makes me feel like I’ve entered a magical world, my own private Narnia.

So it’s not a surprise that I’ve been spending so much time at ENLIGHTEN, part of the Canberra Festival. For the second year now the exteriors of Canberra’s cultural institutions have become canvases for an art show made entirely of light.

It’s a chance to see the majestic white buildings literally in a new light, and they are truly entrancing.

Like thousands of visitors over the past week I've wandered around at night and did my best to capture the moment on my camera. My favourite art show was on the National Library. I’m used to seeing the white pillars of this 1968 Acropolis-like structure stand out against its lake setting, so seeing it awash with subtle colours and patterns was extraordinary.