Ragerianna

Paper conservator adventures:

  A 'captured' japanese book from WW2. Currently not in an accessible state for researchers. I need to make it easier to handle and more stable for people to use it for research purposes.

Steps:

1. Pulling apart the pages. Making sure all the pages stay in order and noting what pages were together in what order and where any attached strings or staples were.

2. Humidifying all the pages, then flattening them.

Quote from a British Librarian in 1952 about women working in a paper making factory:

"After rough dusting, the rags are passed to the manufacturer's rag loft to be inspected, sorted and examined by women operatives...the women operatives who undertake the task of sorting and examining the rags are highly skilled in their work"

Last week, I went to see Stevie Nicks in concert with some girlfriends from uni.

I won’t talk about the show. It was pretty great. In fact, I even got to touch Stevie Nicks – yes she held my hand and looked into my soul for about 2 seconds. What I want to mention is The Crowd. The crazy Canberra (and I suppose surrounding) bogans that made the show so memorable for me.

We were at the back of the seated area where at most shows would be standing area. It was a pretty good view. We were enjoying ourselves immensely as too was most of the crowd.

As the show went on, there were a bunch of chicks standing behind us chattering and nattering, REALLY LOUDLY. They were the type of chicks you see often around Canberra. Early to mid 30s, Skinny, bleach blond or top deck (blond on top, brown underneath) coloured, ironed straight with their $200 GHD (I have one myself I make no judgments about that) hair, sharp features, a bit too much make up,  wearing whatever is in fashion at Portmans or some shop like that. They had the kind of Kath and Kim voices you hear around, but a little bit squeakier and slightly more high pitched (probably due to their drinking of too many Smirnoff Ice Vodkas or Jim Beam and Coke’s on sale for extortionate prices at the bar).

All this loud chatter was definitely starting to grate on our ears as it was overwhelming Stevie Nicks’ live performance. We felt it unnecessary to make a scene just yet so we sat for a little longer, but we could see all the people in the rows in front of us constantly turning around looking pissed off. Then, out from the side, a woman from the row in front of us got up and said angrily: “Could you please SHUT UP!” This was a bad move:

“EXC-EEEEE-UUUUSE MEI! Don’t chu talk to me loik that!” one of them responded “We’re just trying to have a good toime!”

Then various people in the rows in front chimed in: “yeah , shut up” etc. This resulted in much more of the above from the ‘chicks’. Eventually the guy directly in front of me turned around and yelled “JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!”

“HOW DAAAARE you talk to me like that you dirty man!”

“Shut the fuck up you silly bitch”

“Cum on! Come here and say that to my face! I bet you talk to your woif loik that!”

At this stage the man’s girlfriend or wife was trying to restrain him from responding further.

It carried on like this with them both accusing to get each other kicked out by security. It was quite intense being right in the MIDDLE of this argument. The man got up and walked away to the front, and a couple minutes later a security guard came and had a word to the ‘ladies’ under the pretence of asking them not to take photos. Thank god that was over.

So that was scenario 1.

Next scenario, just regular crowd rudeness. Stevie Nicks is introducing her band members telling stories of how long they’ve know each other, etc etc…The bogans in the crowd were not having any of this. Fuck courtesy, they wanted music. “SING US A SONG STEVIE!” someone would shout out of nowhere while she’s mid sentence telling a story that obviously means a lot to her. “YEAH STEVIE, STOP TALKING, GIVE US A SONG!” This type of commenting carried on throughout Stevie’s talking. She should have just told them to shut the fuck up. I was amazed at the lack of courtesy.

Scenario number 3. Set ended with Edge of Seventeen one guy near us probably in his late 20s early 30s yells: “STEVIE! ROOM 4 at the YOWANI COUNTRY CLUB!” that was Hilarious, especially as the Yowani country club is not the fanciest place in Canberra.

All goes dark, much clapping, screaming then stomping from the crowd. They come out again to sing one more song. Stevie talks about how she likes to end a show with a ballad, so here’s a new one. By this stage my friends and I are right up the front mere metres away from Stevie Nicks, infact this is post hand holding. So she’s singing along, and once again the crowd starts heckling: “Beautiful Stevie!, just beautiful” at least this time they were saying nice things. Then the cherry on the top of the cake for the bogans that night: someone just behind us yells gently “I love you Stevie”, then another person right near her agrees with so much passion “FUCKEN OATH”. Hahahahahahahahahaha. We couldn’t believe our ears, and we couldn’t stop laughing. It was amazing. Said with so much passion and meaning and love: “fucken oath”.

Thomas Bewick's Bear

Thomas Bewick: English wood engraver "the undisputed genius of the revival [in relief printing for book illustration] in the late eighteenth century" (Bamber Gascoine, How To Identify Prints, 2nd editition, Thames and Hudson, London, 2004)