Tea at Chapels on Whatley
The end of the long weekend. Today was WA day, the day on which Western Australia was 'founded', ie. the anniversary of the day that the English settlers arrived in WA to establish a colony in 1829. The name was recently changed from Foundation Day to recognise that the aboriginal people were the original inhabitants of the land. After watching Utopia on SBS the other night, a documentary about the continuing awful treatment of the original inhabitants of Australia, I'm finding it hard to feel a sense of celebration. Apparently the documentary was considered controversial, but to deny there is a problem with the way successive governments have treated the Aboriginal people is unbelievable. I found it incredibly moving and powerful and I felt ashamed that so many Aboriginal people are still living below the poverty line, with so many issues (health, imprisonment, education…) in our wealthy country. Why does it feel like the gap between the rich and the poor in this country is growing…
So, I had a contemplative day. I went with a friend to a tea cafe where they do endless refills of whatever variety of tea you feel like for a grand total of $5.95, and I think I drank about 10 cups! That, and I finished a book by one of my favourite authors, Witi Ihimaera (he also wrote The Whale Rider). That guy can really write - I love everything he's written.
Speaking of books and tea, I wish more public libraries would have cafes in them, and I would love to see bookshops, cafes and libraries coming together more often. I guess there would be a bunch of hurdles to make that kind of idea happen, but it would just be cool. I've heard the argument so many times that people who love libraries also buy books, so why not bring them together? As for cafes in Libraries, I do like what The Grove Library has done with their cafe in the library! This is not really me as a librarian speaking, but as someone who likes to visit libraries, spend time browsing and reading, and chatting to the staff.
OK, it's back to work tomorrow and I will be writing about something more relevant to my work in academic libraries. Happy blogjuning!
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