Wine, women and books

I've heard it said that we all destined to become our mothers (or fathers, as the case may be if you are male), and it seems I am already following in my mother's footsteps. Not simply in the sense of spawning two human beings (at least one of which is destined to become like me by virtue of her sex). No, I have joined a book group... exactly as my own mother did when she was around my current age.

It all started some months ago (back in April) when, at the invitation of The Bibliophile, I agreed (with some trepidation), to join in a monthly meet-up of other women who also all happen to be mothers of pre-school children. The premise was to read books and then chat about them.

Our book list, so far... 

April: Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung 

May: Carpentaria by Alexis Wright

June: Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali 

July: Joe Cinque's Consolation by Helen Garner

August: The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas 

September: On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

October: The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery

However, The Bibliophile had a secret agenda to create an excuse a reason for us to get out to the pub for an evening of good company, good food and good wine; and as a way to continue the friendships we had formed through our childrens' playgroup as our children get older and move on to other things.

For the first few months, we met at the Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Then, when we had tired of that menu, we moved on to The Post Office Hotel (which has recently been renovated and has just opened it's kitchen...  fantastic menu!). However for our most recent meeting, ArizonaGal invited us all to her home for our book group evening because her hubbie BotanyBoy is a bit of a sustainability guru and was interested to join in the discussion on Tim Flannery's The Weather Makers.

The evening was notable because:
(a) The Adel-Lady was present for the first time (with previous absences to be fairly attributed PainterSam's ever-increasing notoriety since getting all famous and stuff);
(b) we welcomed a new member, K., bringing the number of our group to nine;
(c) the presence of BotanyBoy was the first time we have had a male in our midst; and
(d) we weren't at a pub.

Indeed, the highlight of the evening for me was the lovely atmosphere created by ArizonaGal and BotanyBoy. When we arrived, the scene was set for a garden-party, with lawn chairs set out ready for our discussion. With drinks in hands, we gathered under the hills hoist to commence proceedings. Discussion was robust, and we all seemed to find plenty to say (despite the fact that the majority of us had not finished -- or in some cases even started -- reading the book). As dusk fell, we paused to spray ourselves with insect repellent (drat those infernal mosquitoes) and to say goodnight to LittleMissL and MasterS who were off to bed after watching Mary Poppins.

As night fell, we adjourned to the outdoor dining table for dinner, surrounded by candle-lit lanterns scattered around the garden. BotanyBoy looked quite comfortable seated at the head of the table, surrounded all of us mums-on-a-night-off. Several empty bottles of wine were cleared away, making space to serve ArizonaGal's delicious vegetable lasagna (made with BotanyBoy's home-grown pumpkin). Dessert was a choice of yummy cakes (lemon or chocolate) brought by E. and L. (OK, OK, there was no choice involved, I had a piece of each!)

After a time, the discussion wandered away from the topic of climate change and onto more mundane things (including our children, which is a topic that is supposedly banned at book group) and the evening slowly drew to a close.

It was without doubt, a lovely evening, full of style and sophistication. And although we didn't manage to solve the problem of humanity-induced climate change, The Weather Makers made a strong impression on me. I am now inclined to read Here On Earth: a case for hope, Tim Flannery's new book.
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