David CoombeCanberran. Partner. Father. Retired systems analyst, designer & developer.
Original research on colonial artist S.T. Gill 1840-1853.
Gardens : vegetable, native.
I tend to follow hashtags more than I do accounts.
Portrait (detail) : by Phillip England (TasmanianTintype), gift of my daughter.
David CoombeAnalysis reveals two long-accepted colonial art works as clever fakes.
Several "Gill" watercolours surfaced in the 1890s with connections to amateur artist Margaret Scott and daughter journalist Winnifred "Magpie" Scott. Two were fake: Adelaide Racecourse and Dry Creek hunt.
#S_T_Gill #Adelaide #artHistoryAU #colonialArtAU
My new article: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_Scott_Fakes_and_Adelaide_Signatures.htm
David CoombeMum said she thought Dad might have a new girlfriend. He hadn't visited her in "hospital".
Mum has #dementia. Dad died 25 years ago. They were happily married for 45 years. (This challenging conversation had a very positive outcome.)
Mum repeated this girlfriend thing a few times and I resisted the obvious head-on factual approach and was replying "Dad wouldn't do that Mum".
Mum wasn't retrieving #memory from the "right" time. I wondered if a different hook might help.
I asked Mum, Do you remember when you last saw Dad? No. Do you remember Dad at home in W---? Yes! Do you remember Dad getting sick, having treatment and you working hard looking after him? Yes! And then he went to ---- Hospital? Yes! (Mum and I came up with the hospital name simultaneously.) And Dad died? Yes.
I saw the realisation on Mum's face. She wasn't distressed; she looked reassured. At this stage Mum had accessed a memory by coming from a different angle.
We talked about Dad a bit more. Mum even revealed she'd sneakily scattered some of Dad's ashes at our T--- family home. I don't recall that story myself!
Mum thanked me for reminiscing and helping her remember. It was a gentle joyful moment.
(This week, together with my son, I visited Mum for a few days. Mum is in an aged facility, 1200km away from me and even further from him.)
David CoombePhotography in Australia began in 1841 in Sydney as an indirect result of the failed expedition of the French ship Oriental-Hydrographe. What happened to that first Daguerreotype in Australia?
Who was South Australia's first photographer? Previous authorities haven't harmonised.
Revealed: A poster in a shop window changes the history of photography in Australia.
This is history redone and made possible by digitised newspapers.
#historyOfPhotography #daguerreotype #historyAU #SouthAustralia #Adelaide
New article (narrative & analysis): https://coombe.id.au/1840s_South_Australia/Daguerreotype_and_Early_Photography.htm
David CoombeNo Running in the Playground
“You, you and you! Up to my office!” - yelled from the second floor window.
One lunchtime 56 years ago 3 primary school kids were summoned to the principal’s office where we were given the cane for running in the playground. (Technically we were running out of our classroom towards the playground. All of it was bitumen.)
Today I returned to reclaim the right.
David CoombeAbsolutely bizarre thermometer graphic used on #ABCTV news tonight. Check the number scales both left (C) and right (F) in the #Canberra edition. No AI please! #ABCNewsAU
David CoombeAnalysis reveals two long-accepted colonial art works as clever fakes.
Several "Gill" watercolours surfaced in the 1890s with connections to amateur artist Margaret Scott and daughter journalist Winnifred "Magpie" Scott. Two were fake: Adelaide Racecourse and Dry Creek hunt.
#S_T_Gill #Adelaide #artHistoryAU #colonialArtAU
My new article: https://coombe.id.au/S_T_Gill/S_T_Gill_Scott_Fakes_and_Adelaide_Signatures.htm
David CoombeMum said she thought Dad might have a new girlfriend. He hadn't visited her in "hospital".
Mum has #dementia. Dad died 25 years ago. They were happily married for 45 years. (This challenging conversation had a very positive outcome.)
Mum repeated this girlfriend thing a few times and I resisted the obvious head-on factual approach and was replying "Dad wouldn't do that Mum".
Mum wasn't retrieving #memory from the "right" time. I wondered if a different hook might help.
I asked Mum, Do you remember when you last saw Dad? No. Do you remember Dad at home in W---? Yes! Do you remember Dad getting sick, having treatment and you working hard looking after him? Yes! And then he went to ---- Hospital? Yes! (Mum and I came up with the hospital name simultaneously.) And Dad died? Yes.
I saw the realisation on Mum's face. She wasn't distressed; she looked reassured. At this stage Mum had accessed a memory by coming from a different angle.
We talked about Dad a bit more. Mum even revealed she'd sneakily scattered some of Dad's ashes at our T--- family home. I don't recall that story myself!
Mum thanked me for reminiscing and helping her remember. It was a gentle joyful moment.
(This week, together with my son, I visited Mum for a few days. Mum is in an aged facility, 1200km away from me and even further from him.)
David CoombeNo Running in the Playground
“You, you and you! Up to my office!” - yelled from the second floor window.
One lunchtime 56 years ago 3 primary school kids were summoned to the principal’s office where we were given the cane for running in the playground. (Technically we were running out of our classroom towards the playground. All of it was bitumen.)
Today I returned to reclaim the right.
David CoombePhotography in Australia began in 1841 in Sydney as an indirect result of the failed expedition of the French ship Oriental-Hydrographe. What happened to that first Daguerreotype in Australia?
Who was South Australia's first photographer? Previous authorities haven't harmonised.
Revealed: A poster in a shop window changes the history of photography in Australia.
This is history redone and made possible by digitised newspapers.
#historyOfPhotography #daguerreotype #historyAU #SouthAustralia #Adelaide
New article (narrative & analysis): https://coombe.id.au/1840s_South_Australia/Daguerreotype_and_Early_Photography.htm