Exhibition Review - The Greats - Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland - Art Gallery of NSW - October 2015

The Skating Minister - Reverent Robert Walker

For this year's Summer exhibition, the Art Gallery of NSW has secured a definite crowd pleaser, being The Greats - Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland which has been on tour in the United States, coast to coast from New York to San Francisco. The pictures on display have also been augmented by additional works drawn from the collection of the Art Gallery of NSW itself.

The exhibition is presented in 7 rooms at the Art Gallery of NSW and feature over 70 selected works by Masters such as  Botticelli, Titian, El Greco, Veronese, Velazquez, Rembrandt, Boucher, Constable, Gainsborough, Scottish artists Ramsay and Raeburn and the unmistakeble images of the impressionists, Monet, Cezanne, Pissaro and post impressionist Gauguin. The National Galleries of Scotland have carefully selected the paintings for the tour and notable inclusions are Botticelli's The Virgin adoring the sleeping Christ Child (The Wemyss Madonna) circa 1485 and Velazquez' An old woman cooking eggs 1618. A work by Rembrandt A woman in bed provides some amusement as no-one is actually sure whom she is.

Lady Agnew of Locknaw

Paintings closely associated with the National Galleries of Scotland are included most notably The Reverend Robert Walker skating on Duddingston Loch  by Henry Raeburn (arguably) [above] and John Singer Sargent's Lady Agnew of Locknaw [right].  Both of these works are now found on all manner of items from bookmarks, keyrings, mouse pads, fridge magnets, carry bags, book covers, t-shirts and so on, becoming virtual corporate logos of the Galleries themselves.

A feature of the Sydney exhibition is the generous allowance of space for each major painting to allow individual appreciation without the sense of crowding. In contrast, visitors to the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh find that many of the rooms are jam packed with works stretching up to the ceiling.

The exhibition runs from 24 October 2015 until 14 February 2016.

Concert Review - Fleetwood Mac - On with the Show - Sydney allphones arena - October 2015

John McVie and Stevie Nicks on stage

Age has not wearied them but ...the years have limited the ability to reach the high notes in the vocals - Fleetwood Mac's potentially last tour nonetheless again demonstrates the musical mastery of each of the band members despite the passage of years. The return of singer/songwriter Christine McVie after sixteen years reforms the completeness and symmetry of the group, an aspect openly acknowledged by drummer, Mick Fleetwood. Performing at the allphones arena in Sydney,  Fleetwood Mac performed their best known songs mainly from their most successful albums for their adoring fans, many of whom are now decidedly very middle-aged. Favourites such as Dreams, You make loving fun, Gold dust woman and a melodic rendition of Songbird by Christine McVie came from the Rumours album. Seven Wonders and Little Lies from the Tango in the Night album reminded the audience of the melodic texture of vocals with all the band singing together. Some aspects of the show did appear somewhat so so, with Sara, Gypsy and Say you love me being merely played rather than performed. Perhaps that's understandable as the Sydney gig follows over 130 other cities across the US and Europe on the current tour. To their rusted-on fans all is forgiven for any flatness in the show as they sang along enthusiastically with the band.

Perhaps the only element which should be changed is Mick Fleetwood's solo on the drums. This has become a ritual in all of the Fleetwood Mac concerts but seems more like bang-the-drum than precision percussion. In contrast, Lindsay Buckingham's solos with the acoustic guitar demonstrated his skill with the instrument while he remained on stage for the full two and a half hour concert.

How long can they continue ? Fleetwood Mac is almost a band from another era having formed in 1968 and achieved international success in 1975 with the eponymous album Fleetwood Mac followed in 1977 with the critically acclaimed album, Rumours. Mick Fleetwood is now aged 68, Lindsay Buckingham 66, Stevie Nicks 67, John McVie 69 and Christine McVie 72. Various comments from band members have indicated that the end is nigh in 2015 at least in terms of touring. But would missing the stage prove to be too much of an allure ?

Climate change - the myth of a hiatus in rising temperatures

Significant anomalies - NOAA

Assertions made in 2006 contending that there was a 'pause' or hiatus in global warming have been restated repeatedly by climate change sceptics for the past few years, particularly when attempting to rebuff the key reports such as the Fifth Assessment Report by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). New data from the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NAOO) has shown that global temperature change has continued unabated. There is no hiatus.

The year-to-date temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.53°F (0.85°C) above the 20^th century average. This was the highest for January–September in the 1880–2015 record, surpassing the previous record set in 2014 by 0.19°F (0.12°C).

The average Arctic sea ice extent for September 2015 was 720,000 square miles (28.88 percent) below the 1981–2010 average. This was the fourth smallest September extent since records began in 1979, according to analysis by the National Snow and Ice Data Center using data from NOAA and NASA. Below-average sea ice was observed across most regions of the Arctic, while near-average sea ice was observed in the Barents Sea.

The report from the NOAA can be located at the link below:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Report