Stimulated by Carmyl's story of being shaped by her girl guide captain and by being a member of guides, and the following vintage tea towel, we divided into pairs to reflect on these questions - "What do you remember about groups you belonged to as a young person; was there anyone in the group who shaped you in any way? Do you have any special memories related to this to share?"
We raised the topic of memoirs made into films, with Romulous My Father a standout, and the role of the interview genre as a form of memoir sharing in Australia. Two recent examples, on ABC arts documentar – ‘The Art of (Starting Over)' – interview based slices of life revealing how a number of celebrities, including Emma Wiggle, started over when life took them back to square one…
We also chatted about a new interview series as Memoir – Shaun Micallef’s ‘Eve of Destruction’. While we tended to agree that Shaun is often a bit 'too over the top' for us, this show, particularly the recent interview with Usman Khawaja and Peter Heliar, has proven insightful and worth viewing.
"It’s a talk show like no other: one question, two guests and the man everyone agrees is this country’s least experienced interviewer.
The question? If your house was about to be destroyed, what two things would you save?
“It’s a chance for the guest to set the agenda” says Shaun in an attempt to justify his own lack of preparation. “They bring into the studio the most significant items in their life; the things that they cannot imagine ever being without and I psychoanalyse them. I am not a certified therapist, but I think I can help these people.” (!?!)
Definitely a future topic!
Bev Lee
The question? If your house was about to be destroyed, what two things would you save?
“It’s a chance for the guest to set the agenda” says Shaun in an attempt to justify his own lack of preparation. “They bring into the studio the most significant items in their life; the things that they cannot imagine ever being without and I psychoanalyse them. I am not a certified therapist, but I think I can help these people.” (!?!)
Definitely a future topic!
Bev Lee
