On Friday 2nd December last year FOBL’s chairperson, Fiona Mitchell kitted out in her bright yellow waterproof boat crew gear, regaled us with a highly entertaining account of her ‘Challenge of a lifetime’. This challenge was in response to an advertisement posted on the local Balmain ferry service. It offered the opportunity to join a crew on a 70 foot …
John Doyle – A Covid Memoir
How John Doyle coped with Covid We were very fortunate that John Doyle agreed to speak at a FOBL event. A date was set for September and there was a great response with a big, enthusiastic audience, many of whom had not been to a FOBL event before. They, especially, enjoyed the supper and wine provided and stayed long after …
Deborah Oswald – “A Murder I Could Imagine Committing”
We had a wonderful start, albeit belated, to our FOBL events this year. In May Debra Oswald joined us in Balmain Town Hall to talk about her book, The Family Doctor, to a large and enthusiastic audience. As some of the audience had not read her book, she was careful not to give away too much of the plot. She …
Jonica Newby and “Beyond Climate Grief”
On a cold, rainy night we held our last FOBL event for 2021 in Balmain Town Hall. An enthusiastic FOBL audience welcomed award winning science reporter, Jonica Newby, and her partner, Robyn Williams, beloved ABC science journalist and reporter, to talk to us about her book “Beyond Climate Change”. In a fascinating discussion Jonica explained why she wrote her revealing …
An evening with LA Larkin
An evening with LA Larkin. With the title “Cyber trolls, serial killers and the FBI – how does local author, L.A. Larkin, create such terrifying stories?” it was bound to be a fascinating talk. We were fortunate to host the launch of LA Larkin’s new book, Widow’s Island, at our second FOBL event for this year. It was held on …
Chair’s Report – FOBL AGM 2021
Good evening everyone, I am very happy to welcome you to the FOBL AGM for 2021 and indeed for 2020. I am Fiona Mitchell, the Chair of FOBL. I’d like to welcome and thank Beverley Malone, the archivist from the Balmain Rowing Club, for agreeing to speak tonight. We look forward to her talk. To begin: “I would like to …
“Her Kind of Luck” – A Talk by Michelle Balogh March 2021
Michelle Balogh was worth waiting for. Her talk was originally meant to take place in March 2020 but at that time we had felt it was wise to postpone her talk as government restrictions were beginning to be put into place. We were very grateful that a year later, Michele agreed to come back to be our first speaker this …
A great night with Bruce Beresford
On the last Friday of November, we co-hosted with the Inner West Council our final event for 2019. We were extremely fortunate that Bruce Beresford, well known and much- loved film director and Balmain resident, agreed to be our speaker. Bruce proved to be a great draw card with tickets selling fast. The staff from the Inner West libraries and …
July 2019 Quiz Night
Friends of the Balmain Library present Christmas in July Quiz Night– 26th July 2019 All the important people were there, the Quiz Mistress, Santa Claus and the little Green Elf dressed to the nines in tutu and boots. And of course the players. Those who had come along prepared to show off their knowledge about all things Christmas. Members of …
Nadia Wheatley – Her Mother’s Daughter
Our first FOBL event for the year was such a treat. Nadia Wheatley, a great supporter of FOBL over many years, spoke to a packed room about her latest book, her memoir, Her Mother’s Daughter. Mariella Totaro-Genevois, our former FOBL Chair and friend of Nadia’s, introduced Nadia. She spoke of Nadia’s many achievements, her prolific writing career and her support …
FOBL AGM 2023 – Chair’s Report
Good evening everyone, I would like to welcome you to the FOBL AGM in which I shall report on our work in the last year. I am Fiona Mitchell, the Chair of FOBL. I’d like to welcome and thank our speaker,Derek Mortimer whose book, Conditions Apply and other stories, will be launched after the AGM tonight. To begin: “I would …
Chair’s report – FOBL AGM May 2022
Good evening everyone, I would like to welcome you to the FOBL AGM for 2022. I am Fiona Mitchell, the Chair of FOBL. I’d like to welcome and thank Duncan MacAuslan, the President of the Balmain Association, for agreeing to speak to us tonight. We look forward to his talk. To begin: “I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians …
Friends of Libraries Australia (FOLA)
Prior to the formation of FOLA, a Friends Sub-Committee of the Library Promotion Committee of Victoria (LPCV) was established in 1987 by Daniel Ferguson. Friends of Libraries Australia (FOLA) was officially launched on the 9th of December 1994 by Justice Michael Kirby AC, SMG at the State Library of Victoria. On that occasion Daniel Ferguson, newly appointed Executive Officer, outlined …
Chair’s Report – FOBL AGM 2021
Good evening everyone, I am very happy to welcome you to the FOBL AGM for 2021 and indeed for 2020. I am Fiona Mitchell, the Chair of FOBL. I’d like to welcome and thank Beverley Malone, the archivist from the Balmain Rowing Club, for agreeing to speak tonight. We look forward to her talk. To begin: “I would like to …
News from FOBL
Dear FOBL members, We hope that this finds you and your loved ones well at this difficult time. We are delighted that our Balmain Library is open once again as, for us, at least, reading has been a great solace whilst we are keeping our distance from one another. The FOBL committee has been keeping itself busy. Just last week …
Professor Steve Rayner (1953-2020)
Many members, I am sure, will remember the memorable talk delivered in August of 2018 by Professor Steve Rayner of the James Martin Institute, Oxford University entitled “Climate Change: Armageddon or Damp Squib”. It was one of our most successful events attracting a large audience of both members and non-members alike. Few however, would have been aware at the time …
Pam Dingle – (1933-20.11.2019) Friend of the Friends of Balmain Library.
Pam was a very early member of FOBL. She served as both Chair and Membership Secretary as well as being involved in our other activities. She stepped into the role of Chair at a moment’s notice when I had to leave the role hastily for medical reasons. She was rather horrified by the large amount of paperwork I handed over …
Nadia Wheatley wins the Nib Literary Award
Nadia Wheatley was our first speaker of 2019. We are thrilled to hear that she has won the prestigious Nib Literary Award, chosen out of a short list of six finalists. It is a recognition of the meticulous research that went into her insightful and thought-provoking memoir, Her Mother’s Daughter. On winning Nadia said that writing the memoir was something …
September 2023 Open Book Group – Bewilderment by Richard Powers
Thank you to Jane for moderating Bewilderment by Richard Powers. Bewilderment was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize. Theo Byrne is an astrobiologist who spends his days in academia, trying to solve the Fermi Paradox – why given all the universe’s time and space, there seems to be no one out there. His wife Alyssa, a climate activist, has recently …
August 2023 Open Book Group – Horse by Geraldine Brooks
Welcome to Pamela and Pauline. Thank you to Lesley for moderating Horse by Geraldine Brooks. Geraldine Brooks is a celebrated writer of historical fiction. Her previous novels include Pulitzer Prize-winning March, Year of Wonders, The People of the Book (OBG September 2008), and The Secret Chord (OBG September 2017). Horse uses the true story of a 19th-century racehorse Lexington to …
July 2023 Open Book Group – Cold Coast by Robyn Mundy
I enjoyed moderating Cold Coast by Robyn Mundy. Cold Coast is feminist historical fiction centred around Wanny Woldstad. She was born Ivanna Margrethe Ingvardsen in Sommaroy Norway in 1893. In 1932, Anders Saeterdal recruited her for a trapping expedition to the remote Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. She was the first female trapper to go there. The novel reflects the values …
June 2023 Open Book Group – Lanny by Max Porter
Thank you to Maureen for moderating Lanny by Max Porter. It was placed on the shortlist for the 2021 Booker Prize. Lanny is Porter’s second novel after his successful debut Grief is the Thing with Feathers (2015). Both are experimental texts, playing with characters, format, and language. In Lanny, Robert, Jolie, and Lanny move to a quintessential English village within …
May 2023 Open Book Group – Hillbilly Elegy by J.D.Vance
Thank you to Jan for moderating Hillbilly Elegy by J.D.Vance. Hillbilly Elegy is J.D.Vance’s memoir of his upbringing in Middletown, Ohio. The story begins in post-war America when his grandparents move from Jackson in the Appalachian region of Kentucky to Middletown. Like many other hillbillies at the time, they sought to escape poverty. They found employment in the burgeoning steelworks. …
April 2023 Open Book Group – All that is Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien
Thank you to Trish for moderating All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien. All That’s Left Unsaid is journalist Lien’s debut novel about Ky, a young Vietnamese Australian woman. She returns home to Cabramatta, a suburb in southwest Sydney, after her brother, Denny, was murdered. Set in the 90s, Ky unravels the mystery of his death against the background of …
March 2023 Open Book Group – Educated by Tara Westover
Thank you to Pat for moderating Educated by Tara Westover. Educated is a memoir. Westwood recalls her upbringing in a survivalist, community in North Idaho. Her father, Gene, thought the public education and medical system were the work of socialist forces and could not be trusted. When her family suffered major medical crises including severe concussions and third-degree burns, they …
February 2023 Open Book Group – The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
Thank you to Maggie for moderating The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich. Winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Louise Erdrich is a member of the Chippewa tribe of the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota. In the afterword to The Night Watchman, she explains that short of inspiration for a new book, she re-read her grandfather’s letters written …
December 2022 Open Book Group – The Lovers by Paolo Cognetti
Welcome to Coral, Louise, and Lesley. Thank you to Rob for moderating The Lovers by Paolo Cognetti. Paolo Cognetti was born in Milan in 1978. Cognetti has had a successful career as a documentary filmmaker. His writing success is more recent – his first novel prize-winning Eight Mountains was published in 2016 and was followed by The Lovers in 2021. …
November 2022 Open Book Group – The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Amor Towles graduated from Yale College and received an MA in English from Stanford University. He worked for 20 years in investment banking before publishing his debut novel Rules of Civility in 2011. It became an instant bestseller. A Gentleman in Moscow (OBG October 2020) and The Lincoln Highway followed in 2016 and 2021 respectively. The three novels have collectively …