Day 25: Tiffany 2

Birthday picnic with Tiffany hoops and mini Moet, 2008

The Tiffany silver hoops I’m wearing today are a nice segue from yesterday’s reminiscences  about my time with Pauline and John. When we were celebrating our first Christmas with them Languedoc in 2008, Robbie and the boys gave me these hoops as a birthday present. The earrings arrived via a somewhat circuitous route - we’d been living in the Netherlands for a few months before Christmas and Rob couldn’t access a Tiffany’s store from which to purchase what had become my annual treat. Thoughtfully, Rob contacted Suzie to track done his selection – she was then living in Dubai and heading to France to join us for Christmas; thankfully, Suzie generously did the deed.

On my birthday morning, delivered with breakfast in bed was the iconic blue box and white ribbon with the classic silver hoops inside. Later in the day, while Pauline and John took care of the boys, Rob and I headed off for a picnic in the hills, with a hamper of delicious grown-up goodies, including mini bottles of Moet. We arrived home to more wonderful food, champagne and dancing. It was such a happy, memorable day.

Admirality House ICC Reception, 2012

The link to Pauline is one reason that made me think of wearing these earrings today. Another is that they relate to an event that occurred 5 years ago this week (as reminded by facebook): a reception hosted by Quentin Bryce, the then Australian Governor General at her Sydney residence, for delegates to the International Criminal Court conference I helped organise with my dear colleagues from UNSW Law. It was a steamy hot February afternoon when our contingent of about 100 - made up of ICC, Australian and regional government officials, academics, civil society actors - descended on the lawn of Admiralty House. Overlooking the harbour and back to Opera House the city, it offered a knockout view for our international visitors, and signalled Australia’s high level commitment to addressing atrocity crimes.

I was wearing my Tiffany hoops at the reception. As much as I love these earrings, it is obvious from a photo of the occasion I was well and truly ‘trumped’ (in the pre-2016 sense of the term) in the earring stakes – which as every earring obsessive knows, can sometimes happen! Quentin Bryce, our first female GG, has exquisite fashion sense, and that was well on display this afternoon. Wearing a beautifully tailored magenta and black cocktail dress, the GG’s ears were adorned with a pair of stunning black jet chandelier earrings. Very few people could pull off the look, but Quentin is definitely one of them.

Inspirational Eve Ensler

While we were all on our best behaviour during the reception, we did have one mischief maker in our midst, the talented and very funny New York playwright Eve Ensler of Vagina Monologue’s fame. We’d invited Eve to the conference to speak about her work on women’s rights in the Congo. Eve kept Andy Durbach and I on our toes throughout the event after she’d declared that perhaps the best way to greet a female GG was “Your Vagina-highness”! Thankfully Andy and I avoided a diplomatic incident by gagging Eve, but we three did have a hilariously funny evening back at hotel afterwards imagining the scenarios.  In all seriousness, Eve is an incredible inspiration to me right now, detailing her own experiences of Cancerworld in her book 'In the body of the world'.

Angus' Year 5 swimming carnival 

Day 25 has been a bit of a rough ride. While I metabolise the latest blast of chemo and my white blood cells are shaken up, I’ve been feeling pretty ordinary – nausea is the worst side effect and aching bones, but others are now kicking in including a dry mouth which makes everything taste like cardboard (upstetting for a food lover). Chemo attacks every fast dividing cell in the body, of which, apparently, saliva cells are the fastest. I was grateful to have a physio treatment this morning which has helped shift some of the lymphatic fluid build up. 
Rob and I then made it to Angus’ swimming carnival – Go Red! A relaxing afternoon on the couch with all manner of soothing ginger treats helped pass the time.

The wonderful news that cousin Katie Kelly has received yet another accolade – and importantly $20,000 funding  - from the Primary Club for her incredible new Sports Access Foundation made me very happy. Go KK you amazing thing!